Scott C. Holstad's Blog

Prolific author and poet Holstad has…continued to maintain his somewhat cult-favorite status as the dark troubadour of the rebellious underbelly of contemporary American poetry.

Much of this poetry can be instantly and favorably compared to the poems of Bukowski or some of the messier-around-the-edges work of particular beat poet extraordinaires, such as Kerouac and Burroughs. Holstad, in many ways, carries the torch of such heavyweight literary forbearers into present-day American poetics. For readers who enjoy such “edges-of-life,” funky, non-mainstream material, the poems in this collection offer many deliciously nightmarish treats from a celebrated contemporary trickster-poet.

RECOMMENDED by the US Review

FULL REVIEW of Surviving Immortality Again at The US Review of Books

AMAZON: SCOTT C. HOLSTAD’S SURVIVING IMMORTALITY AGAIN

SCOTT REVIEWED

A raw poetry collection with an unrelentingly bleak point of view.

Holstad combines character studies with dark inner monologues… the poet effectively blends brutality with compassion..”. Holstad excels at visceral descriptions, like that of Bianca, who had “so many track / marks, it looked like a / river of small lakes on / her torn body.”

KIRKUS REVIEWS: SURVIVING IMMORTALITY AGAIN by Scott C. Holstad

AMAZON: SCOTT C. HOLSTAD’S SURVIVING IMMORTALITY AGAIN

SCOTT REVIEWED

US Review of Books: RECOMMENDED REVIEW of Scott C. Holstad’s Surviving Immortality Again!

Very excited to get a couple of copies of the awesome new miniMAG #Anthology (176), Hyper Foreigner, with 5 of my poems in it, joining some truly excellent other #writers & #artists. This is 130 pages of kick-ass! Thanks miniMAG! #poetry #minimag #experimentalpoetry @miniMAG_lit pic.twitter.com/X9GbHJF3hv

— Scott C. Holstad (@tangledscott) November 19, 2025

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RetroHakked — [Another Random Cut-Up Series Creation] by Scott C. Holstad

Things are rocking at haiQu fOO! Some good hard edged, creative, unique haiQu experiments are getting published there and I’ve been lucky enough to have some of mine appearing every month for the past few months.

I’ve told you and posted about that publication/site before and the editor is at a place where he’s now open to receiving some decent submissions so for any of you who like to experiment with short form poems, particularly in the traditional haiku form but utilizing the techniques outlined there, try it out and send in some stuff!

Here are two recent ones of my own, tentatively titled “assaults me in my dreams” and “arms are shredding wild.“ (I especially rely on the cut-up method and found poetry…) As always, feel free to comment.

I hope to give a brief update on how my new book, Surviving Immortality Again, is doing now that it’s been out on the market for over two weeks. Thanks to all and have a good one. — Scott H

Poet, writer & author Scott C. Holstad reads a dirty realism short story titled “Premeditated” that was published in Bristol Noir magazine in August 2025.

I hope you all enjoy this short story. It’s a bit over the top, but could it be true? Ah, that’s not the point. It’s Fiction, not NonFiction, right? Lemme know what you think because I’m thinking of some more similar stories if people like this one. Thanks.

(And check out my YouTube channel because I’m adding several videos a week of me reading lots of different things I’ve written. Cheers!)

Scott Holstad

New Book of Poems: SURVIVING IMMORTALITY AGAIN