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Punatic
TheHawaiianManWithTheDarkEyesPiercesMyHeartWithHisShark-smile...- Pacific Meditation
39 pages, Paperback
Published March 31, 2019
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About the author
James Schwartz
36 books39 followersAbout James Schwartz
James Schwartz is a poet, writer, slam performer, speaker & author.
His book THE LITERARY PARTY: GROWING UP GAY AND AMISH IN AMERICA was published by inGroup Press in 2011 + nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. Schwartz has also been a Pushcart Prize nominee for his poems "Northern Skies" and "Hands."
Poetry by Schwartz has been published / forthcoming in various journals including -
SILVER BIRCH PRESS, THE NEW VERSE NEWS, OVERGROUND / UNDERGROUND MAGAZINE, ICEFLOE PRESS, FEVERS OF THE MIND, ROI FAINEANT PRESS & BEATLIFE: THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL BEAT POETRY FOUNDATION INC.
POETRY ANTHOLOGIES:
ALL POETRY IS PRAYER (2010)
AMONG THE LEAVES: QUEER MALE POETS ON THE MIDWESTERN EXPERIENCE (2012)
MILK & HONEY SIREN (2013)
WRITING KNIGHTS PRESS 2014 ANTHOLOGY
PAGE-A-DAY POETRY ANTHOLOGY 2015
QDA: A QUEER DISABILITY ANTHOLOGY (2015)
DANGEROUS SUBMISSIONS (2017)
CHALLENGING SUBMISSIONS (2017)
# R E S I S T (2017)
GRAND SHOWCASE 2018 (2018)
NOT MY PRESIDENT: THE ANTHOLOGY OF DISSENT (2017)
LOVEJETS: QUEER MALE POETS ON 200 YEARS OF WALT WHITMAN (2019)
POETRY IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS (2020)
MARCH 2020: A COVID-19 ANTHOLOGY
JUNE 2020: A PANDEMIC ANTHOLOGY
SWEETER VOICES STILL: AN LGBTQ ANTHOLOGY FROM MIDDLE AMERICA (2021)
GOOD COP/BAD COP: AN ANTHOLOGY (2021)
ALIEN BUDDHA ZINE #38 (2022)
PSALMS OF THE ALIEN BUDDHA 2 (2022)
HARD RAIN POETRY: FOREVER DYLAN ANTHOLOGY (2022)
ALIEN BUDDHA SKIPS THE PARTY 2 (2022)
THE ALIEN BUDDHA: BEST OF 2022
THE ALIEN BUDDHA GETS A REAL JOB 2 (2023)
FEVERS OF THE MIND POETRY & ART ISSUE 6: THE EMPATH DIES IN THE END (2023)
ON THE HIGHWAYS WITH MANY MILES... TO GO (2023)
FEVERS OF THE MIND POETRY AND ART ISSUE 8: INSPIRE ME (2023)
ALIEN BUDDHA ZINE #56 (2023)
THE ALIEN BUDDHA LOVES YOU (2023)
THE ALIEN BUDDHA'S BEST OF 2023
FEVERS OF THE MIND POETRY, ART & MUSIC ISSUE 11: THE LONE ROAD (2024)
THEY'RE CONSPIRING AGAINST THE ALIEN BUDDHA TOO (2024)
ALIEN BUDDHA ZINE #65 (2024)
PSALMS OF THE ALIEN BUDDHA 3: THE FINAL TRACK (2024)
ECCENTRIC ORBITS 5 (2024)
THE ALIEN BUDDHA'S BEST OF 2024
ALIEN BUDDHA ZINE #72 (March, 2025)
THE ALIEN BUDDHA'S BIG BACKPACK FULL OF SOUP CANS (2025)
ALIEN BUDDHA ZINE #75 (2025)
THE ALIEN BUDDHA LOVES YOU TOO (2025)
WHISPERS OF THE SEASONS – A CONTEMPORARY HAIKU ANTHOLOGY (2025)
THE ALIEN BUDDHA'S ARCANE MAGICK (2025)
SNOWFALL AND STARLIGHT: A CHRISTMAS HAIKU ANTHOLOGY (2025)
ALIEN BUDDHA ZINE #82 (2026)
POETRY COLLECTIONS & CHAPBOOKS by Schwartz:
THE LITERARY PARTY: GROWING UP GAY AND AMISH IN AMERICA (2011)
ALPINE SUITE (2013)
POETRY 4 FOOD 2 (2013)
POETRY 4 FOOD 3 (2014)
ARRIVAL & DEPARTURE (2014)
SECULAR, SATIRICAL & SACRED MEDITATIONS (2016)
MICHIGAN MEDITATIONS (2016)
PUNATIC (2019)
MOTOR CITY MIX (2022)
SOME ARE AND MOST AREN'T AND IT'S ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THAT: SELECTED POEMS 2004-2024 (2024)
BIG ISLAND BEATNIK: POETRY & PHOTOGRAPHY FROM THE LOWER EAST RIFT ZONE (2025)
FICTION by Schwartz:
JONATHAN: A JOURNAL OF QUEER MALE FICTION (2014)
THE ALIEN BUDDHA'S MICRODOSES (2022)
SUNSET IN ROME (2022)
LONG LOST FRIEND (2023)
SUMMER SUCKS!!! (2025)
THE ALIEN BUDDHA GETS ISOLATED & WEIRD (2025)
SHHH! BREATHE SLOW! ANTHOLOGY 4 (2025)
THE ALIEN BUDDHA'S CHAOS COUNTDOWNS 2 (2025)
.
NON-FICTION essays by Schwartz:
RFD MAGAZINE
THE GOOD MEN PROJECT
BEST OF BOOKS BY THE BED #2: WHAT WRITERS ARE READING BEFORE LIGHTS OUT (2014)
EMPTY MIRROR: SECRET OF THE MASTERS: AN INTERVIEW WITH POET EDWARD FIELD (2017)
OUR HAPPY HOURS: LGBT VOICES FROM THE GAY BARS (2017)
PHOTOGRAPHY by Schwartz:
THE WAYWARD SWORD: # RESIST (2017)
PUNATIC (2019)
THE STORMS JOURNAL ISSUE 2 (2023)
WALTZIN THROUGH RUSTY CAGES (2023)
BIG ISLAND BEATNIK (2025
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 23, 2019
Advance Reader Review:
I had the pleasure of reading the ebook of PUNATIC, by James Schwartz, author of THE LITERARY PARTY: GROWING UP GAY AND AMISH IN AMERICA 2011, a Lambda Literary Nominee for Poetry.
James Schwartz "used to be Amish, then he went English now he's Hawaiian (Islander humor)".
James's journey to Puna is a "mixed-media" collection of poetry with color photos of Pacific Meditations, a live literary mixtape from his readings at venues on the island (even a rainforest!)
The photos are stunning and quirky: A road through lush tropical foliage. A historical church. A Green Lake lost to lava in the 2018 eruption. A volcano!!
If the photos are meant to be symbolic than this represents his rebirth: rooting down / rising up. Resurrection / A Punatic Passion.
Not all poems are set in Hawaii.
Riverside Meditation (taken from Michigan Meditations, Dangerous Submissions anthology) is a startling scene of the Midwest meth epidemic (Schwartz was born in an Amish community in Michigan).
The Apostates, another Michigan Meditation, is a comedic meeting of gay ex-Amish men or Apostates, a satire on Amish tourism and Punatic Part 1 and 2 shows his comedic side and an homage to Mark Twain who famously visited the island.
In the introduction Schwartz writes about his Hawaiian spiritual transformation, citing The Bowl of Light by Hank Wesselman and Kahuna of Light by Moke Kupihea. I plan to read them. His first poem begins at LAX - "Bukowski Country"! LMAOROTF!
"Punatic" has a comedic tone through much of the book, especially the live material.
An exception is the show-stopping long duet poem, Gaia, flowing between Schwartz and Puna slam performer Seth Speaks (YouTube/KukuAuStudio) showcasing both unique talents beautifully. Under A Strange Occupation heralds the Hawaiian sovereignty movement, The Children of Sirius highlighting climate change.
Puna is on the Big Island, home to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and an artsy boho fringe: here he has found his spiritual tribe. Think Nahko & Medicine for the People. Schwartz's poetic path from Amish to Aloha makes for a happy ending - almost! The end comes as a shock but I won't give away his surprise twist ending here!
My favorite poem may be the Hawaiian flavored love-song-poem Kapu. Schwartz takes the native Hawaiian man for his Adonis-David- Muse, in Pacific Meditation writes "piercing my heart with his shark-smile". Hawaiian culture is more accepting to LGBT than the Amish communities are which gives him the freedom to bare his heart in Ghost At the Coast and Kapu. These are his Sacred Meditations, A Lord Byron in Exile, sitting at the Kahuna's knee.
James Schwartz is a welcome poet I have read over the years in QDA: A Queer Disability Anthology and Our Happy Hours, LGBT VOICES FROM THE GAY BARS. I have added Lovejets: Queer Male Poets on 200 Years of Walt Whitman, his other book release to my reading list!
I love this book, in the back of my mind I was calculating frequent flyer miles! I have never considered a volcano romantic but Schwartz clearly does in Kalapana Meditation, an adventurous trek to a lava flow - Pele the Volcano Goddess herself! and in the Introduction, Going With The Flow.
James Schwartz conjures Whitman, the Beats, Mark Twain, indigenous Pacific spirituality, Hawaiian "Punatic" politics with humor, heart and a rebel refrain.
Here is a poet inspired by a new land and culture and I was too.
Noted for his book "The Literary Party: Growing Up Gay and Amish in America"
James Schwartz has written another book of culture shock: when Amish meets Aloha.
I had the pleasure of reading the ebook of PUNATIC, by James Schwartz, author of THE LITERARY PARTY: GROWING UP GAY AND AMISH IN AMERICA 2011, a Lambda Literary Nominee for Poetry.
James Schwartz "used to be Amish, then he went English now he's Hawaiian (Islander humor)".
James's journey to Puna is a "mixed-media" collection of poetry with color photos of Pacific Meditations, a live literary mixtape from his readings at venues on the island (even a rainforest!)
The photos are stunning and quirky: A road through lush tropical foliage. A historical church. A Green Lake lost to lava in the 2018 eruption. A volcano!!
If the photos are meant to be symbolic than this represents his rebirth: rooting down / rising up. Resurrection / A Punatic Passion.
Not all poems are set in Hawaii.
Riverside Meditation (taken from Michigan Meditations, Dangerous Submissions anthology) is a startling scene of the Midwest meth epidemic (Schwartz was born in an Amish community in Michigan).
The Apostates, another Michigan Meditation, is a comedic meeting of gay ex-Amish men or Apostates, a satire on Amish tourism and Punatic Part 1 and 2 shows his comedic side and an homage to Mark Twain who famously visited the island.
In the introduction Schwartz writes about his Hawaiian spiritual transformation, citing The Bowl of Light by Hank Wesselman and Kahuna of Light by Moke Kupihea. I plan to read them. His first poem begins at LAX - "Bukowski Country"! LMAOROTF!
"Punatic" has a comedic tone through much of the book, especially the live material.
An exception is the show-stopping long duet poem, Gaia, flowing between Schwartz and Puna slam performer Seth Speaks (YouTube/KukuAuStudio) showcasing both unique talents beautifully. Under A Strange Occupation heralds the Hawaiian sovereignty movement, The Children of Sirius highlighting climate change.
Puna is on the Big Island, home to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and an artsy boho fringe: here he has found his spiritual tribe. Think Nahko & Medicine for the People. Schwartz's poetic path from Amish to Aloha makes for a happy ending - almost! The end comes as a shock but I won't give away his surprise twist ending here!
My favorite poem may be the Hawaiian flavored love-song-poem Kapu. Schwartz takes the native Hawaiian man for his Adonis-David- Muse, in Pacific Meditation writes "piercing my heart with his shark-smile". Hawaiian culture is more accepting to LGBT than the Amish communities are which gives him the freedom to bare his heart in Ghost At the Coast and Kapu. These are his Sacred Meditations, A Lord Byron in Exile, sitting at the Kahuna's knee.
James Schwartz is a welcome poet I have read over the years in QDA: A Queer Disability Anthology and Our Happy Hours, LGBT VOICES FROM THE GAY BARS. I have added Lovejets: Queer Male Poets on 200 Years of Walt Whitman, his other book release to my reading list!
I love this book, in the back of my mind I was calculating frequent flyer miles! I have never considered a volcano romantic but Schwartz clearly does in Kalapana Meditation, an adventurous trek to a lava flow - Pele the Volcano Goddess herself! and in the Introduction, Going With The Flow.
James Schwartz conjures Whitman, the Beats, Mark Twain, indigenous Pacific spirituality, Hawaiian "Punatic" politics with humor, heart and a rebel refrain.
Here is a poet inspired by a new land and culture and I was too.
Noted for his book "The Literary Party: Growing Up Gay and Amish in America"
James Schwartz has written another book of culture shock: when Amish meets Aloha.
Displaying 1 of 1 review