collections and pamphlets
Bloofer by Cathleen Allyn Conway | Broken Sleep Books, 2023
Buy here. Watch the launch reading here.
Praise for Bloofer:
An act of devotion, resurrection and rescue, Bloofer is a significant achievement. These poems combine lyrical, incantatory phrasing with startlingly powerful visual qualities, all unified by a dedication to collage and radical technique. Conway has a remarkable ear for the effective phrase, the click and satisfaction when something modulates into a surprising and oddly apposite conclusion. Provocative, haunting and ultimately empowering. — Luke Kennard, Notes on the Sonnets
Bloofer is a queen-sized, blood-dripping, free-falling collection for creepy girls that holds flaming torches and pitchforks up to interrogate the entangled imagery of vamp and heroine. Conway dissects and reanimates gothic film and literature in a way that is both sensual and macabre, magical and grounding. This is not only a collection to sink your teeth into – it is also one that will bite back. — E.P. Jenkins, Rituals
Praise for Bloofer:
An act of devotion, resurrection and rescue, Bloofer is a significant achievement. These poems combine lyrical, incantatory phrasing with startlingly powerful visual qualities, all unified by a dedication to collage and radical technique. Conway has a remarkable ear for the effective phrase, the click and satisfaction when something modulates into a surprising and oddly apposite conclusion. Provocative, haunting and ultimately empowering. — Luke Kennard, Notes on the Sonnets
Bloofer is a queen-sized, blood-dripping, free-falling collection for creepy girls that holds flaming torches and pitchforks up to interrogate the entangled imagery of vamp and heroine. Conway dissects and reanimates gothic film and literature in a way that is both sensual and macabre, magical and grounding. This is not only a collection to sink your teeth into – it is also one that will bite back. — E.P. Jenkins, Rituals
Nocturnes by Cathleen Allyn Conway | Cherry Dress Chapbooks, 2024
Praise for Nocturnes
In this collection of poems sourced from a French translation of Anne Rice’s The Witching Hour, Cathleen Allyn Conway lures her readers into a world of lush language and dark imaginings that few will want to leave. We are invited to watch “a film that spread out of the coffin/into the living room/lighting the candles,” and we submit, happily. – Sarah Nichols, author of These Violent Delights and Hexenhaus
Conway’s poems inhabit a space of anxious beauty, where prettiness turns to danger, where what appeals to the senses cannot be trusted. Meticulously crafted and full of tension, the poems of Nocturnes are not sweet reverie but dark imaginings, like sweet-flowered vines that strangle—“a lesson on the dangers of the garden”. – Jessica L. Walsh, author of Book of Gods and Grudges
In Nocturnes, Cathleen Allyn Conway assembles a detailed and wild curio cabinet of memorable poems, shelves filled with the magical, the everyday and the fantastic, where “silver cigarettes in a cup” sit next to “found chandeliers, linen tureens” or “banana scales” maybe a “white blouse.” These poems open you to healing, they confirm how memories are complicated, they remind you that, when you gaze into the golden hour of the past, remember to “soften your ears. The sky is busy.” --Trapper Markelz, author of Childproof Sky
In this collection of poems sourced from a French translation of Anne Rice’s The Witching Hour, Cathleen Allyn Conway lures her readers into a world of lush language and dark imaginings that few will want to leave. We are invited to watch “a film that spread out of the coffin/into the living room/lighting the candles,” and we submit, happily. – Sarah Nichols, author of These Violent Delights and Hexenhaus
Conway’s poems inhabit a space of anxious beauty, where prettiness turns to danger, where what appeals to the senses cannot be trusted. Meticulously crafted and full of tension, the poems of Nocturnes are not sweet reverie but dark imaginings, like sweet-flowered vines that strangle—“a lesson on the dangers of the garden”. – Jessica L. Walsh, author of Book of Gods and Grudges
In Nocturnes, Cathleen Allyn Conway assembles a detailed and wild curio cabinet of memorable poems, shelves filled with the magical, the everyday and the fantastic, where “silver cigarettes in a cup” sit next to “found chandeliers, linen tureens” or “banana scales” maybe a “white blouse.” These poems open you to healing, they confirm how memories are complicated, they remind you that, when you gaze into the golden hour of the past, remember to “soften your ears. The sky is busy.” --Trapper Markelz, author of Childproof Sky
American Ingénue by Cathleen Allyn Conway | Broken Sleep Books, 2021
All the Twists of the Tongue by Cathleen Allyn Conway | Grey Book Press, 2018
Buy here. Review by Emma Lee here. Interview with Spoken Word here.
Praise for All the Twists of the Tongue
Cathleen Allyn Conway has built some of these striking poems from well-researched quotes that Ted Hughes deleted from Sylvia Plath’s journals prior to their initial publication. That in itself is a service to poetry and truth. And how Conway has ‘remixed’ them with her own work is powerful indeed. – Robin Morgan, author of Monster
Cathleen Allyn Conway, through her commitment both to the mythology of Sylvia Plath and to the redressing of patriarchal injustice, has written a one-of-a-kind chapbook in which ‘lost’ fragments are skilfully repurposed as unified narratives of sexual politics. Though apparently triggered by anger, these poems inhabit the full range of human emotion, employing an experimental lyric voice that is simultaneously familiar strange. These unique Plath ‘hybrids’ are wonderfully inventive, raw and wise. – Kathryn Maris, author of The House with Only an Attic and a Basement
Praise for All the Twists of the Tongue
Cathleen Allyn Conway has built some of these striking poems from well-researched quotes that Ted Hughes deleted from Sylvia Plath’s journals prior to their initial publication. That in itself is a service to poetry and truth. And how Conway has ‘remixed’ them with her own work is powerful indeed. – Robin Morgan, author of Monster
Cathleen Allyn Conway, through her commitment both to the mythology of Sylvia Plath and to the redressing of patriarchal injustice, has written a one-of-a-kind chapbook in which ‘lost’ fragments are skilfully repurposed as unified narratives of sexual politics. Though apparently triggered by anger, these poems inhabit the full range of human emotion, employing an experimental lyric voice that is simultaneously familiar strange. These unique Plath ‘hybrids’ are wonderfully inventive, raw and wise. – Kathryn Maris, author of The House with Only an Attic and a Basement
Static Cling by Cathleen Allyn Conway | Dancing Girl Press, 2012
Buy online here. Profile on Peony Moon here. Review by Éireann Lorsung at Sabotage Reviews here; listed in Claire Trévien's personal top of 2012 here.
Single poems and anthologies
POEMS
Dissections, The Journal of Contemporary Horror (2023) "Solomanari”, 'The Influence"
Punk Noir (2021) "Her Name", 'Her Twilight World", "Control"
Coven Poetry (2021) "Office de Minuit aux Fêtes (VI)".
The Oddville Press (2021) "Complies des Nuages (I)", "Matines de Sirènes (IX)".
Prototype (2) (2020) "At Least I'm Pretty", "18 and Still Beautiful". Buy.
Drunk Monkeys (2020) "LIZ THAN ZERO (2) I drive to Todd’s house, but he isn’t there"
Anthropocene (2020) "Shopping", "Date with Evelyn", "Sightseeing"
The Broken Spine 1 (2020) "Pretend You Are Drowning". Buy.
Printed Words (2019) "She's Going to Be Dazzling"
Five:2:One #thesideshow (2019) "I'm a Monster", "Vamping", "Vamanos!", "Grammar", "How I Am, Still"
Glass: A Journal of Poetry (2018) "Nothing"
Gingerbread House (2018) "The Little Princess"
Tears in the Fence 67 (2018) "The Worst Is Yet to Come" (print)
Voicemail Poems (2018) "The Rising"
Dream Pop Press (2018) "Morphia Powders"
Luna Luna Magazine (2018) "The Vampire Who Said He Was You", The Villagers Never Liked You", "Lucy's Sweet Purity"
Calamus Journal #15 (2018) "Lagoon", "The Girl He Met in the Park", "Baleful Posthumous Existence"
Moonchild Magazine (2017) "Are You Missing Something?", "Something to Write Home About"
Red Paint Hill Poetry Journal (2017) "Parting Without Sequel" (offline)
Spooky Girlfriend Press 7" Single Series (2017) "The Silence Inside Her"
Medical Journal of Australia (2017) "Dad's in Hospital Again"
Drunk Monkeys (2017) "Trump During the Second Debate"
Eye to the Telescope (2016) "Admittance". Analysis by guest editor Shannon Connor Winward
Thank You for Swallowing (2016) "Clay Freud is paying attention to her daughter!"
The New Verse News (2016) "The Man Who Spent His Presidential Campaign Degrading LGBTs Wants You to Know You're in His #thoughtsandprayers"
Rogue Agent (2016) "A Moment's Courage and Then It Is Done"
Yellow Chair Review (2015) "Miss Edith Speaks Out of Turn"
Writers for Calais Refugees (2015) "Bedtime Stories"
The London Grip (2015) "Letting Go"
Well Versed, The Morning Star (2015) "Kiyiya Vuran Insanlik"
Ink Sweat and Tears (2010) "Filling the Ghost Position"
3:AM Magazine (2010) "The Monsters", "Motel Interlude". "Femme Fatale"
Full of Crow (2010) "Intermediate House Type No. 5", "Rust Belts", "Fan Club"
The Beat (2010) "Young One" (offline)
Cliterature (2010) "This Romeo"
South Bank Poetry (2010) "Orange County" (print)
Magma 43 (2010) "Captured"
Spirits (1995) "Whatever Happened to Polite Conversation in Fancy Restaurants?", "Scott Lemons", "Lines Composed During Fever Sleep", "Cement on My Sneakers" (print)
ANTHOLOGIES
Footprints: An Anthology of New Ecopoetry edited by Charlie Baylis and Aaron Kent | Broken Sleep Books, 2022
Poem, “City of Big Shoulders”. Buy.
The Emma Press Anthology of Contemporary Gothic Verse edited by Nisha Bhakoo | The Emma Press, 2019
Poem, “Urbane Gothic”. Buy. Review from Angela Topping at The London Grip here.
Come As You Are edited by E Kristin Anderson | ELJ Publications, 2017
Poem, “We Were in Paris”.
Three Drops from a Cauldron Samhain 2016 edited by Kate Garrett | Three Drops Press, 2016
Poem, “Close on Claudia”.
Full Moon & Foxglove: An Anthology of Witches and Witchcraft edited by Kate Garrett | Three Drops Press, 2016
Poem, “Light As a Feather, Stiff As a Board”.
Bad Jobs & Bullshit: It's Unlikely That We'll Be Missed - An Anthology from The Geeky Press edited by Amber Peckham, Brad King and Jessica Dyer | The Geeky Press, 2016
Poem, "Pillow Dictionary".
This Is Poetry: Women of the Small Press | Citizens for Decent Literature, 2015
Poem, “Inanna in Illinois”. Buy.
This Is Poetry: The Midwest | Citizens for Decent Literature, 2014
Poem, “Motel Interlude”. Buy.
Advice on Proposals, edited by Angela Topping | Like This Press, 2014
Poem, “Persuasion”. Review from Sabotage Reviews.
Entanglements New Ecopoetry, edited by David Knowles and Sharon Blackie | Two Ravens Press, 2012
Poem, “The Pageant”. Buy.
Steel Shores, edited by Mary Nolan and William K. Buckley | Indiana University Northwest, 2005
Poem, “Riley Road”.
Dissections, The Journal of Contemporary Horror (2023) "Solomanari”, 'The Influence"
Punk Noir (2021) "Her Name", 'Her Twilight World", "Control"
Coven Poetry (2021) "Office de Minuit aux Fêtes (VI)".
The Oddville Press (2021) "Complies des Nuages (I)", "Matines de Sirènes (IX)".
Prototype (2) (2020) "At Least I'm Pretty", "18 and Still Beautiful". Buy.
Drunk Monkeys (2020) "LIZ THAN ZERO (2) I drive to Todd’s house, but he isn’t there"
Anthropocene (2020) "Shopping", "Date with Evelyn", "Sightseeing"
The Broken Spine 1 (2020) "Pretend You Are Drowning". Buy.
Printed Words (2019) "She's Going to Be Dazzling"
Five:2:One #thesideshow (2019) "I'm a Monster", "Vamping", "Vamanos!", "Grammar", "How I Am, Still"
Glass: A Journal of Poetry (2018) "Nothing"
Gingerbread House (2018) "The Little Princess"
Tears in the Fence 67 (2018) "The Worst Is Yet to Come" (print)
Voicemail Poems (2018) "The Rising"
Dream Pop Press (2018) "Morphia Powders"
Luna Luna Magazine (2018) "The Vampire Who Said He Was You", The Villagers Never Liked You", "Lucy's Sweet Purity"
Calamus Journal #15 (2018) "Lagoon", "The Girl He Met in the Park", "Baleful Posthumous Existence"
Moonchild Magazine (2017) "Are You Missing Something?", "Something to Write Home About"
Red Paint Hill Poetry Journal (2017) "Parting Without Sequel" (offline)
Spooky Girlfriend Press 7" Single Series (2017) "The Silence Inside Her"
Medical Journal of Australia (2017) "Dad's in Hospital Again"
Drunk Monkeys (2017) "Trump During the Second Debate"
Eye to the Telescope (2016) "Admittance". Analysis by guest editor Shannon Connor Winward
Thank You for Swallowing (2016) "Clay Freud is paying attention to her daughter!"
The New Verse News (2016) "The Man Who Spent His Presidential Campaign Degrading LGBTs Wants You to Know You're in His #thoughtsandprayers"
Rogue Agent (2016) "A Moment's Courage and Then It Is Done"
Yellow Chair Review (2015) "Miss Edith Speaks Out of Turn"
Writers for Calais Refugees (2015) "Bedtime Stories"
The London Grip (2015) "Letting Go"
Well Versed, The Morning Star (2015) "Kiyiya Vuran Insanlik"
Ink Sweat and Tears (2010) "Filling the Ghost Position"
3:AM Magazine (2010) "The Monsters", "Motel Interlude". "Femme Fatale"
Full of Crow (2010) "Intermediate House Type No. 5", "Rust Belts", "Fan Club"
The Beat (2010) "Young One" (offline)
Cliterature (2010) "This Romeo"
South Bank Poetry (2010) "Orange County" (print)
Magma 43 (2010) "Captured"
Spirits (1995) "Whatever Happened to Polite Conversation in Fancy Restaurants?", "Scott Lemons", "Lines Composed During Fever Sleep", "Cement on My Sneakers" (print)
ANTHOLOGIES
Footprints: An Anthology of New Ecopoetry edited by Charlie Baylis and Aaron Kent | Broken Sleep Books, 2022
Poem, “City of Big Shoulders”. Buy.
The Emma Press Anthology of Contemporary Gothic Verse edited by Nisha Bhakoo | The Emma Press, 2019
Poem, “Urbane Gothic”. Buy. Review from Angela Topping at The London Grip here.
Come As You Are edited by E Kristin Anderson | ELJ Publications, 2017
Poem, “We Were in Paris”.
Three Drops from a Cauldron Samhain 2016 edited by Kate Garrett | Three Drops Press, 2016
Poem, “Close on Claudia”.
Full Moon & Foxglove: An Anthology of Witches and Witchcraft edited by Kate Garrett | Three Drops Press, 2016
Poem, “Light As a Feather, Stiff As a Board”.
Bad Jobs & Bullshit: It's Unlikely That We'll Be Missed - An Anthology from The Geeky Press edited by Amber Peckham, Brad King and Jessica Dyer | The Geeky Press, 2016
Poem, "Pillow Dictionary".
This Is Poetry: Women of the Small Press | Citizens for Decent Literature, 2015
Poem, “Inanna in Illinois”. Buy.
This Is Poetry: The Midwest | Citizens for Decent Literature, 2014
Poem, “Motel Interlude”. Buy.
Advice on Proposals, edited by Angela Topping | Like This Press, 2014
Poem, “Persuasion”. Review from Sabotage Reviews.
Entanglements New Ecopoetry, edited by David Knowles and Sharon Blackie | Two Ravens Press, 2012
Poem, “The Pageant”. Buy.
Steel Shores, edited by Mary Nolan and William K. Buckley | Indiana University Northwest, 2005
Poem, “Riley Road”.
reviews and press
VIDA | WHERE IS SHE? TWO CONTEMPORARY POETS ON ERASURE, GENDERED VIOLENCE, & POETRY
Co-interview with Sarah Nichols. Link.
THE FEM | Featured Fem
Interview about Thank You for Swallowing. Link.
Psalmandala by Michael Patrick Collins | ELJ Publications, 2014
Review for Blotterature magazine. Link.
The Arctic Circle by Kristina Marie Darling | BlazeVOX [Books], 2015
Review for Blotterature magazine. Link.
Co-interview with Sarah Nichols. Link.
THE FEM | Featured Fem
Interview about Thank You for Swallowing. Link.
Psalmandala by Michael Patrick Collins | ELJ Publications, 2014
Review for Blotterature magazine. Link.
The Arctic Circle by Kristina Marie Darling | BlazeVOX [Books], 2015
Review for Blotterature magazine. Link.
Cover image, homework assignment on a Gothic author by Theo Curtis, year 9, 2022