Author Description

Masks Are Never Enough. Alien Buddha Press 2019. In May of 2018, Marcel Herms, Alien Buddha, and a gang of poets told us that Masks Are Not Enough. The Abstract artist shared with us 10 paintings, and chose 10 writers to each craft a poem for every piece of art. The results were miraculous, and we knew we had to go back to this concept.Later that year it was made known that Masks Still Aren’t Enough. Marcel shared 10 new paintings, and another gang of poets, some returning from the first book, and some new pens wrote another 100 poetic reactions. Again, the resulting product made for one of Alien Buddha Press’ greatest anthologies. We decided then and there that Masks while not being “enough” at least deserve closure, and we decided to make the series a trilogy.At the beginning of 2019, Marcel Herms took on a bigger role at Alien Buddha Press in an administrative capacity. His list of contributions to the press expanded, as in addition to his work as an illustrator, Herms also began greenlighting and producing ABP books. All the while, we knew that we would soon be returning to Masks for one final showdown.As I write this foreword, 1 year after releasing the first book in this trilogy, I am excited to share what I believe is an ending that serves true justice to both the art and the poetry in its predecessors. Poets Mark Hartenbach, Chani Zwibel, Heath Brougher, LB Sedlacek, Catfish McDaris, Rob Plath, Jeff Weddle, Henry Bladon, Heidi Blakeslee, and Kevin “Wolfman” Martin, with the visual guidance of Marcel Herms, and the busy-work of Alien Buddha Press will now make it clear to you not only why, but also when, where, and how the fuck MASKS ARE NEVER ENOUGH