Brendan Slater

(10 November 1971– 15 September 2022)

Brendan Slater was born in Stoke on Trent, England on November 10, 1971. He spent most of his life there save for a brief time in the Netherlands. He was a software developer, a brilliant poet and most importantly a father to his son Jonah, whom he affectionately called Joe.

Brendan was an accomplished publisher, editor and poet and was responsible for several books and the beloved E-zine Moongarlic. His publication credits are extensive.

He began experimenting with Japanese short form poetry in 2009 and the rest is history. He took to it and found in it a new passion. His aesthetic was minimalist and he excelled at it.

Brendan spent much time workshopping on Jane Reichhold’s AHA poetry forum and when it folded upon Jane’s passing in 2016, he followed the AHA crowd to what is now Inkstone Poetry Forum.

By this time, Brendan was writing tanka as he felt it gave him more artistic freedom and allowed him to color outside the lines as he loved to do. His work was raw and audacious. He wrote honestly and bravely from his own life experiences, holding nothing back.

This is the last tanka he posted on Inkstone a week before his death:

everybody knows
of the darkest violations
I’ll never confess—
something of the night
will always be inside me

In true Brendan form, it is indeed raw and telling. He lived a rich if dangerous life and was unafraid to share it with the world. “You know I just want to be provocative, stace” he would say to me. And he was.

He was most prolific early on while writing haiku, and he published and edited several books.

His credits include:

• Four Virtual Haiku Poets, eds. Brendan Slater and Alan Summers; Haiku by Scott Terrill, Brendan Slater, Colin Stewart Jones and Michael Goglia; Introduction by Alan Summers, (Yet To Be Named Free Press, 2012);
• In Bed With Kerouac, Brendan Slater, Introduction by Michael McClintock, (Yet To Be Named Free Press, 2012);
• Rum, Sodomy and the Wash, Brendan Slater, (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012);
• Yellow Light: Haiku, by Jack Galmitz, with forward by Brendan Slater, (Yet To Be Named Free Press, 2013);
• 2.2.: Anthology of short verse, Brendan Slater & Alan Summers, (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013);
• Dream Language {For 3 Voices}, Hannah Mahoney, Brendan Slater, and Jack Galmitz, (Yet To Be Named Free Press, 2013).

His work was often selected for publication in print periodicals including Acorn 25 (Fall 2010) and Atlas Poetica 17 (Spring 2014).

Online, his work appeared in the following journals:

A Hundred Gourds, Notes from the Gean, Bones, Electronic Poetry Network,his own E-zine Moongarlic, Per Diem, The Heron’s Nest, Tinywords, Contemporary Haibun Online, Daily Haiga, The Living Haiku Anthology and others.

He was also listed on Krzysztof Kokot’s “The European Top 100 Most Creative Haiku Authors” for 2010 and 2011.

 Brendan and I followed each other from AHA to Inkstone and realized we were kindred spirits through poetry. We began to converse almost daily about poetry and our lives. He was overjoyed about his burgeoning relationship with his son, Joe. He shared with me all their visits, their coffees with vanilla slices and whatever else was going on.

We would send our tanka back and forth across the pond, each of us eager for the other’s input, open and willing to learn together.

We both struggled with our mental health and found great support by sharing our experiences. We propped each other up.

In late 2021 Brendan became interested in my free verse and wanted to try it for himself. He was of course, wonderful at it. He was incredibly inquisitive and absorbed knowledge like a sponge. “Why did you choose that word there, stace”, “How did you decide you wanted the enjambment on that line”, “What were you thinking when you wrote this particular strophe”. His curiosity was boundless.

Through the rest of 2021 and into 2022 Brendan, or B, as I called him, would send me free verse regularly and ask for my input. I did the same with him. In March of 2022, B wrote a piece called “The Touch”. He forwarded it to me and neither of us made any changes to it. It was perfect.

It was the last thing published in his life. It appeared in Pages Literary Journal on September 8, 2022 approximately a week before his passing. I hope he knew about it.

The Touch
by Brendan Slater

My understated swagger
and sincere half-truths, the subtext
you almost but never read;
until it’s too late, to forget
what you swear to remember,
and I’ll be long-gone-here-forever.

Although we never met in person, B was my friend and a friend to all his peers on Inkstone and throughout the poetry world. We will never forget his unflinching penchant for writing the truth and sharing his experiences with us all.

There is a huge hole in the world without his voice and I for one, still see his light shining brightly and use it to guide me along my way every day.

We’ll take it from here, B -- rest easy, my friend. You are missed.

    Stacey Dye

Some selected memorable work:

we share
bitter coffee
first light

(Acorn 25 Fall 2010)

*

dawn . . .
the secrets
behind my door

(Daily Haiga, January 2, 2011)

*

night sky . . .
everything
I have lost

(Daily Haiga, October 11, 2011)

*

grasping
at prayer
moonrise

(Four Virtual Haiku Poets, 2012)

*

no moon
i explore
my inner space

(Notes from the Gean 2.3)

*         

rusty gate
the beaten track
of its swing

(The Heron’s Nest 12.2)

*

pewter sky
the litany
of the ocean

no moon
i explore
my inner space

(In Bed With Kerouac, 2012)

*

I wake 100 yards from where I last remember

(Rum, Sodomy & the Wash, 2012)

*

made up
prefabricated gray—
is this the last
image my child
has of me?

(Atlas Poetica, 17 Spring 2014)

*

a spatter
of raindrops on the window
abnormal cells

(In Bed With Kerouac, 2012; THF Per Diem selection, Loaded, 2018)

*

we are all as old as each other……..stardust

(posted on Inkstone on July 11, 2022; provided by Jenny Angyal, Global Moderator at Inkstone Poetry Forum)

Some of Brendan’s books are available to read here: 

• Four Virtual Haiku Poets –https://www.thehaikufoundation.org/omeka/files/original/dc429826288ff127b59cbef0f1dc5c1a.pdf
• Dream Language – https://www.calameo.com/read/0020057834396ab5a01ff
• In Bed With Kerouac – https://www.calameo.com/read/0010953721737f6d4c618

***

With gratitude to Stacey Dye who produced this tribute and for all the contributions and kind messages from Brendan’s friends and fellow poets Jenny Angyal, Marion Clarke, Alan Summers, and Rebecca Drouilhet.

Brendan Slater