--SORRY, I’M JUST SCARED OF THE FUTURE

…Yesterday I finished a book and wrote the author to tell her how fucking talented she is and she wrote me back and I could tell, even if I was just reading words typed with letters, that she was very happy, and of course, that made me happier than her.

…Yesterday I wrote twenty new poems.  Yep, twenty.  I think some were even pretty good.  A few were cuter.  Most were sad.  Some were bitter.  These days, that’s how it goes.  These days, that’s called a good day.  I’ll start posting them on Friday or so.  There aren’t many things better than writing something that seems like it’s decent.

…There are nine weeks left of the year.  I’m going to have a long talk with 2019 before she heads out of town.  There are things we need to get straight, her and I, air we need to clear.

…October battered me around some.  I could be me and dwell on the bad stuff, but I got a fair amount of things published in a short span and people seemed to like what I wrote.  They were kind enough to tell me.  I even saved some of their notes.  I have a file for this kind of stuff.  It’s here in my computer, in a file marked “Special.”  I save them for when I have a tough day or when I’m doubting myself.  The funny thing is I’ve had the file for well over a decade and I’ve never looked in it.

But (BIG braggart alert) here’s what I’m going to drop in that file the moment after I post this:

Len, another of your fine pieces that speaks for many of us. You are the bravest person I know

What you do with language is extraordinary!

This is heartbreaking, Len. Like all your writing it is all the more powerful because it is bare to the bone, stripped of sentimentality and thought-provoking.

Len Kuntz continues to amaze!!!

Raw and real and beautiful. Like the author. Thank you.

Len Kuntz AGAIN! Thank the gods!

The month of October belongs to the brilliant Len Kuntz!!! 

 Your writing is amazing & you help others who have had similar experiences - your gift is so eloquently saying what others wish to say. Thank you

Do you write with a pen or a carving knife? Cleaving the nerve from the bone and grinding it all to dust and ash the way you do.

Raw, shocking, and unfortunately understood. 

What a treat! More Len Kuntz!!!

Len Kuntz and beautiful words!

Wow. So raw and so compelling. So much beautiful language. 

So amazingly beautiful. Thank you.

Gorgeous gut-punching work.

This is so beautifully written. Both raw and powerful.

Wow! I love the sound of this. Your language is stunning.

Thank you for being a phenomenal writer,

Remarkable.

Your writing is always so moving and cuts deep into those dark, tender places.

That last line, my goodness.  Beautiful, beautiful work, Len.

I am struck. Thanks for sharing your writings. Such incredibly powerful and thought-provoking work. Even if we don’t want to think about this “stuff” it bubbles up.

You have an uncanny knack at precise language, and how it cuts through any b.s.  Both of these pieces left me with my jaw wide open in awe!

A must read- for ALL of us. Thank you, Len Kuntz!

Whoosh, Len. I have to re-center myself here. Damn, I’m honored and happy to be with you here this weekend.

Wow!  Beautiful.

I wanted to quote my favorite parts, but I realized it's the whole first paragraph. You put your foot on the gas and don't let up. "Everyone danced for you." Damn it.

"I draw a circle/ around nothing/ and claim it" ❤ Stunning. 

"like a/crib recalled too late." Blam. Right between the eyes.

These are absolute beauties! DAMN!

I love what you do.