Introducing

​NOT A VIOLIN
(Kelsay Books 2025)
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​Martin Agee’s collection of poems, Not a Violin, nullifies, initially, the idea of being a violin, of music. What a violin is—a God, a human, a life, a space in between—is everywhere in this collection. The poems are all music and so, in this sense, the book is its own kind of instrument. It’s an instrument of desire and truth with a consistency of presence. There is always something there, watching, lurking, that has both bigness and smallness to it. He writes, “Some nights a very large dog sits at the foot of my bed/growling...” The growl is everywhere in this book, and it is a song, that big dog, too. Agee’s gift is the gift of surprise and reflection. One never feels comfortable in these poems, like you know where it will take you, and this is the joy. This is the sonic and visual landscape of Not a Violin. When you put it down you will still hear its notes in your daily doings. Listen!

-Matthew Lippman, author of We Are All Sleeping With Our Sneakers On


Poetry Readings

Martin Agee is widely recognized for his distinctive music and poetry events, which blend poetry readings with live musical performances. He was recently invited to appear in the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center's pre-concert discussion, Inside the Orchestra, at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York. He read selected poems from Not a Violin and reflected on the inner lives of musicians before joining the Festival Orchestra onstage at David Geffen Hall.
Inside the Orchestra photos by Lawrence Sumulong, (c) Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts


​​Selected Fiction and Poetry



​
Short Stories/Flash Fiction


Idle Ink: "The Dendrophobe"
 ​https://idleink.org/2021/09/04/the-dendrophobe-by-martin-agee/


Literally Stories: "About 465 nm: A Chronology"
https://literallystories2014.com/2021/08/12/about-465-nm-a-chronology-by-martin-agee/

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Bright Flash Literary Review: "Rebirth"
https://brightflash1000.com/2023/02/02/rebirth/


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Selected Poems


Parcham: "Eucalyptus Soliloquy"
https://parchamonline.in/2023/04/21/poems-third-issue/6/#eucalyptus-soliloquy-martin-agee


Willows Wept Review: "Spinning Silk," "Sometimes at the Cafe There Are Warblers"
https://www.magcloud.com/webviewer/2837201?__r=150177&s=w

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The Daily Drunk: "Rewrites"
https://dailydrunkmag.com/2021/05/11/rewrites/


Jerry Jazz Musician: "The Köln Concert"
https://www.jerryjazzmusician.com/the-sunday-poem-the-koln-concert-by-martin-agee/


​© 2012-26 Martin Agee