MEET "THE PUMPKIN KING" KA OPPERMAN
K.A. Opperman is an incredibly multitalented, artist, writer of dark poetry and short horror stories as well hailing from Southern California.
Kyle has been published in a wide array of contemporary horror and dark fantasy magazines, journals, and anthologies, including Weirdbook, Skelos, Ravenwood Quarterly, The Audient Void, The Weird Fiction Review, Spectral Realms, and many others.
While not drinking a fine ale or writing morbid poems, he can often be found tending to his pumpkin patch.
He has a religiously zealous, year-round devotion to Halloween, and some people have called him "The Pumpkin King".
Unlike many modern poets, he writes exclusively in strict rhyme and meter, tools which he uses both to emulate traditional forms, and invent his own.
His main poetic influences include Clark Ashton Smith, George Sterling, H.P. Lovecraft, Donald Wandrei, David Park Barnitz, and Donald Sidney-Fryer.
K. A. OPPERMAN'S latest midnight offerings "Past the Glad and Sunlit Season: Poems for Halloween" and "October Ghosts and Autumn Dreams: More Poems for Halloween" are not only the talk of cemetery ghouls but are a fan favorite of Halloween lovers all over the globe!
Past the Glad and Sunlit Season: Poems for Halloween
K. A. OPPERMAN conjures up a pageant of autumnal imagery sure to delight all fans of the Halloween season.
Often recalling the charming rhymes on vintage postcards, these poems take us on a stirring journey deep into October’s heart, offering treats and a few tricks to those brave enough to follow the jack-o’-lantern’s orange grin into the night.
Put on your costume, grab your pumpkin-shaped treat-bucket, and come discover what treasures are to be found past the glad and sunlit season, where both the dying year and youth itself confront what it means to face the darkness at summer’s end.
With a preface by Halloween expert and award-winning author Lisa Morton and 15 atmospheric full-page black and white illustrations by Dan Sauer.
[K. A. Opperman] is the gifted descendent of poets ranging from Poe to Walter Scott to Robert Burns, all of whom understood that Halloween’s deliciously dark mood may be best served by poetry.”—From the Preface by Lisa Morton, author of Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween
“K. A. Opperman’s poems evoke both the dark chill of late October and the warmth of a cottage fireside. He captures a time outside of time, an otherworld populated by Pumpkin Kings and haunted souls who wander the edges of our consciousness begging to come inside. The book is a heartfelt incantation to mysteries of Halloween.”—Lesley Pratt Bannatyne, author of Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History
"These visions of All Hallows’ Eve are sure to enchant and whisk the reader away to a world of crisp autumn leaves, brimming with magic. The poems within this collection are steeped in folklore and perfectly reflect the ambiance of Halloween. This book will become your treasured new Halloween tradition.”—Mickie Mueller, author of Llewellyn’s Little Book of Halloween
Mickie Mueller, author of Llewellyn’s Little Book of Halloween shares a peek into Past the Glad and Sunlit Season: Poems for Halloween by K.A. Opperman (Jackanapes Press, September 29, 2020).
Excerpt:
The Orange Book
Take down the book from off the dusty shelf Yes, brush away the cobwebs carefully; A jack-o’-lantern joined by fay and elf Adorns its orange cover scarefully.
Take down the book of poems, charms, and spells, Such as enchant in autumn all the more— The goblin book that in a whisper tells Of Halloweens of old that went before.
A witch’s cackle echoes as you crack The cover slowly open, to the page Whereon is writ, in ink of cauldron black, A rhyme recalled from childhood’s youngest age....
You read the words and travel through the Veil Back to a haunted, dim-remembered time, When with a filled and grinning candy-pail, By candlelight, you read each treasured rhyme.
BUY THE BOOK Past the Glad and Sunlit Season: Poems for Halloween
When you buy the book, why not buy the t shirt to complete the package? or maybe buy a fiend or two a spooktacular and unique Half-O-Ween present and get both the book and t shirt for them as well and spread the Halloween love?
Kyle is a poet of dark and macabre inspirations who likes traditional verse, evocative images and collects obscure vocabulary items.
"I first began writing poetry as an antidote to the rejections I was getting early on for my fiction. I had been reading some of the poetry that was getting published in online horror magazines, and had the idea that—even though I knew nothing about poetry at the time—I could do better.
My earliest attempts were pretty bad…but soon enough, with a few years of intense study and practice, I began to get a hold on the craft. My eventual discovery of Clark Ashton Smith cemented my love of poetry, and my desire to write my own.
Poetry has a lot to offer to anyone with the patience to discover it.
For the reader, it offers an escape, a musical atmosphere of enchantment; for the writer, it can be a therapeutic exercise.
The reading and writing of poetry was a much more common pastime long before things like television and the internet ever existed, but this great art-form has not vanished, and can still be enjoyed or practiced by anyone with the strange longing in their heart for something more than the ordinary.
I myself only write in traditional, metered and rhyming verse—which is uncommon in today’s poetry scene. Very early on, I experimented with writing some free verse, and instantly knew it did not suit me. I consider rhyme and meter to be indispensable tools in the poet’s toolbox, tried and true.
The truth is, these days, I basically only write poetry, and that is what I am most known for. My poems usually feature a Gothic or rustic atmosphere, and often blend the macabre with the erotic. They are ornate in style, with a strong emphasis on imagery. I try to write in a very classic style that cannot be pinned down to any particular time period, especially not modern times.
FUN FACT:
Kyle is curiously interested in fungi and mushrooms.
"I have always loved nature, and have an avid interest in all things that grow, especially if they are strange in some way.
I find mushrooms fascinating because of their unusual appearances, ephemeral nature, and the folklore surrounding them."
MAYBE KYLE GOT HIS NICKNAME "THE PUMPKIN KING" BECAUSE OF HIS LOVE FOR PUMPKINS?
"I also have an especial love of pumpkins, partly due to my well-known obsession with Halloween, a holiday that has exploded in popularity in the US.
I grow my own pumpkins every year, among other things, and the season-long process has a strong influence on my poetry.
THREE THINGS I LIKE
SAMHANACH a Scottish goblin that only appears on Halloween.
CUCURBIT the scientific name for pumpkins and other gourds
NEEP an old word for turnip, the first vegetable used for the original jack-o’-lanterns.
HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!
Cinco De Mayo commemorates the Mexican Army's successful defense of the city of Puebla against invading French forces in 1862.
October Ghosts and Autumn Dreams: More Poems for Halloween. JOURNEY ONCE AGAIN TO THE DARKNESS AT SUMMER'S END... In this brilliant follow-up to Past the Glad and Sunlit Season,
K. A. OPPERMAN takes us to an enchanted autumnal land overflowing with candy—sometimes sweet, sometimes cursed by witches.
Jack-o’-lanterns keep watch as we travel through Pumpkin Country, questing for the rich rewards that are to be found in contemplation of October’s pastoral and many-colored tapestry.
These stories told in rhyme, and melancholy hearthside meditations, are sure to rekindle a yearning for the Halloween season in hearts young and old. Open this book, and chase October ghosts through a realm of autumn dreams.
The author has provided an extensive notes section which delves into his inspiration and creative process—and Halloween obsession—plus a brief essay on Halloween symbolism. With an insightful foreword by Adam Bolivar and loaded with atmospheric full-page black and white illustrations by Dan Sauer.
“This is a book to pick up anytime in the year when you need a dose of magic.” —LISA MORTON, author of Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween
“Open this book after dark, listen to the wind rage outside, and read to yourself, to your children, to whoever might be listening in the shadows.” LESLIE PRATT BANNATYNE, author of Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History
“KA Opperman’s October Ghosts & Autumn Dreams: More Poems for Halloween is an enchanting dive into all the beauty that encapsulates the autumnal spirit. From catchy rhythms to recite while carving jack-o-lanterns in ‘Carver’s Rhyme’ to a well-researched look into Appalachian customs in "Appalachian Halloween", every line is beautifully crafted and sure to be appreciated by anyone who is a fan of the spooky season!” —HEATHER MOSER
"K. A. Opperman captures the bittersweet joy of Halloween and the sadness of its passing. Here are poems of childhood and poems of its loss. Captured by a lyricist with a clear, pronounced love for his labor, October Ghosts is Opperman the most at home, spooky, haunted and candle-lit though that home may be. Here is the poet's joy, laid bare and generously shared for readers young and old alike —S. L. EDWARDS author of Whiskey and Other Unusual Ghosts.
“Opperman's poems paint vivid pictures of autumn nights filled with nocturnal wonder. This collection is a heartfelt love letter to the season of dead leaves and glaring jack-o’-lanterns that imbues the reader with magical feelings of Halloweens past.” —CURTIS M. LAWSON, author of Devil’s Night
“This book will cast its spell on your dark Halloween heart!” —MICKIE MUELLER, author of Llewellyn’s Little Book of Halloween.
Mickie Mueller, author of Llewellyn’s Little Book of Halloween shares a peek into October Ghosts and Autumn Dreams: More Poems for Halloween by K.A. Opperman (Jackanapes Press, October, 2021).
Excerpt
Pumpkin Country
The town has faded far behind, A scarecrow marks your entry As down an autumn road you find The fabled Pumpkin Country. It is a land of rolling hills, And farmlands never-ending— Of quiet creeks and watermills, And pathways gently wending. Whichever way you chance to look In that enchanted haven, Are pumpkins placed in every nook, And many a skulking raven. If you a jack-o'-lantern seek, Or pie to fill your pantry, Away, away, you ought to sneak— Away to Pumpkin Country.
KYLE'S FIANCE ASHLEY DIOSES IS ALSO AN ACCOMPLISHED WRITER AS WELL.
In the afterword of Ashley Dioses’s „Diary of a Sorceress” collection Kyle wrote the poem "Sorcerously Entwined” in collaboration.
"Ashley and I wrote that together during our early correspondence.
I would write a few stanzas, then she would write a few, and together, we wove a tale in verse of high sorcery.
Ultimately there were three parts to this saga, each longer than the one before.
One day we may edit them and publish them as a chapbook—we shall see.
We do not collaborate often, but recently, we did collaborate on a poem called "The Ocean Queen."
KA Opperman and Ashley Dioses reading some of their poems for Krallcon 2016!
KYLE AND ASHLEY ATTEND EVENTS WITH OTHER DARK WRITERS
Featuring S.T. Joshi, Jason V. Brock, K.A. Opperman, Ashley Dioses, D.L. Myers and Adam Bolivar.
OH MY GOURD!
Besides being an accomplished writer and a poet, Kyle is also a very talented artist.
He loves to do Halloween and horror-themed pin up girls.
