genuinely curious & tolerantly mad
· R L · powell [he :: they] is a writer of poetry & prose—albeit one that's poorly committed to exclusive definitions of genre. They're the founding editor of a an independent poetry journal, APROSEXIA LIT, an occasional academic, educator, & champion of all things imaginative, peculiar, & kind. They hold a Specialist B.A. (Hons.) in English, with a minor in Paradigms & Archetypes; their MA is in English Languages & Literatures. In the aftermath of the global pandemic, they parted ways with their doctoral program in the—ABD & in good standing—after determining their creative work held more imperative to them; though their time in doctoral studies did enkindle a passion for teaching. This has led them to the MFA program at the Bennington Writing Seminars. To date, he hasn't felt particularly sad about leaving the PhD program, but remains genuinely proud of the decision to write full time.
· R L · has an unusual talent for thinking & teaching in & around critical theory; maintains a passion for pedagogy; & is known for his unique approaches and critique of art. He's drawn to imaginative explorations of literal or figurative space, along with work derived from dreams. They're an irreverent specialist in American modernism, & knows an awful lot about wine. He also thinks you're doing a magnificent job of being yourself.
the imperative to be heard
·As someone who has written throughout their adult life, · R L · has accumulated their professional experience across in variety of contexts and unusual conditions, and in many different parts of the world. Much of that writing has concentrated in and around the Arts—but turning his primary focus to creative work, full time, is a relatively recent development. And while critical and persuasive modes of writing come easily to them—their first love has always been poetry. This is what led them to pursue their MFA in Literature and Writing at the Bennington Writing Seminars, which is where many of their recent poetry publications began—with more forthcoming.
As a neurodivergent, queer, disabled creative, there are obstacles · R L · has faced throughout his life that have necessitated difficult choices on an ongoing basis. A significant number of concessions relate to how and where he can live his life. Coming to terms with chronic illness has meant accepting that certain barriers and restrictions are matters of fact, and that while disability means that a body and mind are never going to “get better”—there are also ways that those handicaps can be tapped into, and used an agent for change. This is what's led · R L · toward advocacy, and the ongoing fight for better, and more visible representation of the disabled and disability in the Arts. Because, while it's true that incremental gains in general awareness surrounding neurodivergence and non-visible illness have improved in recent years, · R L · still sees how a profound range of the marginalized experience is willfully absented from most cultural discourse. Representation is often disguised under the pretext of acknowledging disability as a site of trauma, along with a desire and need for acceptance. Certainly, the latter are significant parts of being (dis)abled in an thoroughly abled world—but there's more to life than being defined by one's limitations.
This conviction is has led · R L · to found the poetry journal APROSEXIA LIT. He sees it as one way to answer the need for a barrier free online publication, where high quality work that originates outside the norm can find a home, and also be part of a larger conversation within the creative community.
Recent publications :: poetry
“I love this shore that drew your feet
to me; washed your shoulders;
beached your raft of bones.”
◈
“An Odd Couplet :: Re-set the table
to co-opt the entire conversation”
the engine(idling, 8: collage. 2026. digital/print. [forthcoming]
◈
“An Odd Couplet ::
About That Boy and Table,”
the engine(idling, 8: collage, 2026. digital/print. [forthcoming]
◈
“call to our lips
to make pale atoms of our nights,”
the engine(idling, 8: collage, 2026. digital/print. [forthcoming]
◈
“Times when Deepak Chopra’s wisdom
was free,”
Blood+Honey, March, 2026. online. [forthcoming]
◈
“Give me constraints; I will give you a rhino,”
Blood+Honey, March, 2026. online. [forthcoming]
◈
“What's to stop ringing up the day
when goose & god are hopeless,”
Blood+Honey, March, 2026. online. [forthcoming]
◈
“the gauge left to battery a phone call
required to abandon work”
Scavengers Lit Mag, #3, 2026. print. [forthcoming]
◈
“The take-home at the new box-office
now barely covers the cost of admission.”
Effervescent. fifth wheel press. Nov: 2026. digital/print.
◈
from, Ingenious Lies About the Museum.
The Inflectionist Review. Oct: 2025. online.
◈
“consider reducing the journey at large—”
The Argyle. Sept: 2025. online.
◈
“Upon the return from the ATM // ”
junq magazine, 3. Nov: 2024. print.
◈
“always and still, leagues above.”
Impossible Archetype, 16. Aug: 2024. digital.
◈
“Frost”
The Eunoia Review. Dec: 2023. online.
◈
“And the Sea Brags of its Shells.”
Haven Spec, 11. Nov: 2023. digital.
◈
“Are Bright Things to Pray For.”
Impossible Archetype, 14. Aug: 2023. digital.
◈
“Five Characters”
The Rumen. Jul: 2023. online.
◈
“Hurt by 2.”
The Rumen. Jul: 2023. online.
floating epigrams
the extant
· R L · s lifelong passion for speculative fiction and worldbuilding have frequently taken over his life. And, like many of · R L · s projects over the years, his ability to work on them with enough focus to see them realized is a recent development—despite how most of those projects have never strayed far from their thoughts.
A number of years ago, · R L · amalgamated† every half-completed project, bucket-list figment, bit of flotsam and tray of jetsam, along with every cranky entry in their personal catalogue of “I could have done it better,” to create one, enormous canvass. That canvass has become what is commonly referred to as “the extant.”
The extant doesn't exist to re-invent any figurative, or imaginary, wheel. It was created to preserve a backlog of creative energy, countless stories, and a wealth of characters that may otherwise have been lost in some unforeseen future shuffle. As a secondary world's go, the extant owes a debt of inspiration to Michael Ende's Fantastika more easily than Tolkien's Middle Earth; one of gratitude to Discworld, well before Westros; and fascination with Arrakis ahead of Tatooine. It's not a place made up of cut-and-dry boundaries, clearly resolved adversaries, or easily determined conclusions. It's perilous, but also spiked with a healthy amount of cynicism that's accumulated from · R L · s prolonged stint in academia; paired with his irreverent sense of humor. (There are a whole lot of scheming librarians, scattered about the place.) Most importantly, they've finally come to the realization that the extant's stories are never going to write themselves.
Thanks to some of the extant's more relentlessly selfish characters, · R L · s first stop on the map happens to be in the Littorsals—a group of allied statelands near the sea, in a territory known to the wider extant as the Silent Interior. With any luck, · R L · will have the opportunity to share some of these initial goings on in detail—just as soon as he finds someone ready to print a novella that's been sitting finished on their computer for a while now.
If you happen to be one of those mortal souls drawn to fantastick maps, the image below is for you. It shows the part of the Silent Interior where the Littorsals can be found. Sadly, they're not specifically marked out—and there's no context given for the rest—at least, for now.
† In case you're wondering, amalgamate is a great word.
