"There is only one difference between a madman and me. The madman thinks he is sane. I know I am mad." ~ Salvador Dali If you're "mad" and you know it then this week's edition of "The Best of Mad Swirl" is gathered up just for YOU!

"Art is for everybody." ~ Keith Haring TO: Everybody FROM: Mad Swirl SUBJECT: The Best of Mad Swirl MESSAGE: This art's for YOU!

Mad Swirl's super-stoked to welcome back featured artist Eric Suhem to the Mad Swirl Mad Gallery with his latest trippy & electric illustrations. Check-out Eric's living & breathing kaleidoscopic canvas madness, as well as our other resident artists, at our Mad Gallery! madswirl.com/gallery/

"We do not write in order to be understood; we write in order to understand." ~ C. Day Lewis If you can appreciate Cecil's sentiments then get a grip on this week's edition of "The Best of Mad Swirl!"

Join us this 1st Wednesday when we’ll be doin’ the open mic voodoo that we do! We start with some musical grooves by Swirve (Chris & Tamitha Curiel, Gerard Bendiks) then Johnny O & MH Clay will set the stage for some open mic madness! This month we are featuring local mad one, Brett “BA” Ardoin!

"While I recognize the necessity for a basis of observed reality… true art lies in a reality that is felt." ~ Odilon Redon If you're really feelin' for some real feels, observe this week's edition of "The Best of Mad Swirl!"

"I have begun to think of life as a series of ripples widening out from an original center." ~ Seamus Heaney If you wanna get an inside-the-eye view of the madness we swirl up every day, ride the ripples made in our weekly splash, "The Best of Mad Swirl!"

"All great artists draw from the same resource: the human heart, which tells us that we are all more alike than we are unalike." ~ Maya Angelou "The Best of Mad Swirl" collects a sampling of the ticks & tocks of our common beating heart. Check out this week's beats & feel what we mean...

New featured artist! Edward Michael Supranowicz returns with dazzling, kaleidoscopic pieces that pulse with neon energy, a life of their own. His work blends trippy symmetry with Rorschach-like forms, inviting viewers to get lost in their shifting, hypnotic patterns. So tell us… what do you see?

Mad Swirl dropped our latest installment of "Inside the Eye!" In this episode we interviewed longtime friend of the Swirl, Dallas Poet & contributor to both our Poetry Forum and Open Mic, Opalina Salas! Give a listen to this free-flowing discussion at Panteon or Spotify! Link to links in this link ↓

"The more I think about it, the more I realize there is nothing more artistic than to love others." Vincent van Gogh We love us the poets, writers, artists & performers who have blessed us with their presence on our stage, page & web all woven inside this week's edition of "The Best of Mad Swirl!"

"When I think of art I think of beauty. Beauty is the mystery of life." ~ Agnes Martin The only mystery in this week's beat-utiful edition of "The Best of Mad Swirl" is why you haven't checked it out yet! What'cha waitin' for?...

Join us the 1st Wednesday of April when we’ll host our open mic at Barbara’s Pavillion We'll get things started with some musical grooves by Swirve, followed by our feature set then on to our open mic This month we're featuring poet, writer & vocalist for Swirve, Tamitha Curiel! Link has all info

“All human beings are also dream beings. Dreaming ties all mankind together.” ~ Jack Kerouac Connect with the dream scenes swirlin' inside this week's edition of "The Best of Mad Swirl!"

"Life is an illusion. I am held together in the nothingness by art." ~ Anselm Kiefer Hold on 'cos this week's edition of "The Best of Mad Swirl" is bound by a whole lotta somethingness!

"The Best of Mad Swirl" (v2024) is available! This collection features 52 poets, 12 short fiction writers, & 4 artists whose works we presented on MadSwirl.com thruout 2024. Our editors reviewed the entire year’s works to ensure this collection is truly the best of Mad Swirl. Get yours NOW!

"Take a walk on the wild side." ~ Lou Reed Find your wild side with a stroll & scroll on thru this week's edition of "The Best of Mad Swirl!"

"acuportel into the occult body revisited" Mitchell Pluto Mad Swirl welcomes Mitchell Pluto back to the gallery with pieces that burst themselves right open with color & chaos. To see all of Mitchell's colorfully chaotic compositions visit our Mad Gallery! madswirl.com/gallery/

OFFICIAL LAUNCH 03.05.25! The Best of Mad Swirl : v2024 features 52 poets, 12 short fiction writers & 4 artists whose works were presented on MadSwirl.com thruout 2024. Our editors reviewed the entire year's published poems, stories & art to ensure this collection is truly "the best of" Mad Swirl

"Creative thinking inspires ideas. Ideas inspire change." ~ Barbara Januszkiewicz Time to face the ch-ch-changes! Hopefully the poetry, prose & art stuffed into this week's edition of the "Best of Swirl" ignites the ideas that deliver the change we need!

"I See You" by featured artist Anne Anthony To see all of Anne's mix of beautiful with a side of uneasy canvases, as well as our other resident artists, visit our Mad Gallery! madswirl.com/gallery/

Join Mad Swirl this 1st Wednesday of March! We'll get things started with some music by Swirve, followed by our feature set & onto open mic madness! This month we will be launching our “Best of Mad Swirl” anthology, highlighting a few local mad ones featured in this collection... more info at link

"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them." ~ Galileo Galilei Discover this week's edition of "The Best of Mad Swirl" You just might get lost while finding truths swirlin' inside!

"Art is the desire of a man to express himself, to record the reactions of his personality to the world he lives in." ~ Amy Lowell This week's edition of "The Best of Mad Swirl" overflows with expressions of life, brought to you by the poets, writers & artists that color our swirlin' world...

This past 1st Wednesday of February Mad Swirl Open Mic did our thing at Barbara’s Pavillion, getting the mic opened for ALL you Mad ones out there! This month we featured poet & writer Harry McNabb! Get the full scoop here: madswirl.com/category/open-mic/ photos: @tylermalone.bsky.social

"Whatever Is Opening to Light" by Bill Wolak To see all of Bill’s swirlingly symmetrical & sensual compositions, as well as our other resident artists, visit our Mad Gallery! madswirl.com/gallery/

"An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose." ~ Langston Hughes Choose to check out this week's choice edition of "The Best of Mad Swirl!"

"The Bewildering Delight of Perfumed Silk" by Bill Wolak Mad Swirl is thrilled as ever to welcome Bill Wolak back this month. To see all of Bill's swirlingly symmetrical & sensually intertwining compositions, as well as our other resident artists, visit our Mad Gallery! madswirl.com/gallery/

"Art is, for me, the process of trying to wake up the soul." ~ Bill Viola Don't snooze... rise & shine with this week's edition of "The Best of Mad Swirl!"

Join us this 1st Wednesday of February when we’ll be doin’ the open mic madness that we do at Barbara’s Pavillion! This month we're featuring the multifaceted, multitalented mad man himself, Harry McNabb! Come one & all & be a part of this collective creative love child we Mad Swirl Open Mic!

"Milk Man Market" ~ Larena Nellies-Ortiz In her photo series ‘L.A. Love Story’, Larena Nellies-Ortiz captures Los Angeles in its most colorful and dynamic form. To see more of Larena’s colorfully dynamic photos inspired by the city of angels, visit our Mad Gallery! madswirl.com/gallery/

"This whole world is wild at heart and weird on top." ~ David Lynch Get a whole dose of wild'n'weird that's beatin' in this week's edition of "The Best of Mad Swirl!"

"L.A Love Story: Street Light" by Larena Nellies-Ortiz In the wake of recent fires that have irreversibly altered parts of Los Angeles, it felt appropriate to feature photos that celebrate and honor the beauty of the city in all her glory... See/read more in our Mad Gallery: madswirl.com/gallery/

"You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." ~ Jack London Break out your proverbial club & go after this week's slammin' edition of "The Best of Mad Swirl"...

"If you want to do anything, do it now, without compromise or concession, because you have only one life." Gao Xingjian Even though this is an abbreviated edition of "The Best of Mad Swirl" it's still filled to the gills with delicious madness! Check it out... you know you wanna do it so do it now!

Checkout Mad Swirl‘s 4TH installment of “Inside the Eye” In this episode: We shared highlights from our Poetry Forum, Short Story library, Gallery and Open Mic, spanning Q4 of 2024. We interviewed Contributing Poet/Writer Ron Riekki! The whole mad swirl of podcasting begins NOW! (links in post)

“The Village” by featured artist Louella Lester To see more of Louella’s warm-fuzzied snowy scenes, as well as our other resident artists, visit Mad Swirl’s Mad Gallery! madswirl.com/gallery/

Here's our holiday edition of "The Best of Mad Swirl" to jingle your bells! Wishing you a joyous holiday season from all of us at Mad Swirl! Stay merrily mad, Johnny O, MH Clay, Tyler Malone, Madelyn Olson P.S. Stay tuned for more merry maker inspiration coming thru new year...

Join Mad Swirl this 1st Wednesday of January (aka 01.01.25) when we’ll be doin’ the open mic voodoo that we do do at our OC home, Barbara’s Pavillion! This month we will be featuring the multifaceted, multitalented mad women herself, CJ Critt! For more information: madswirl.com/category/open-mic

“Taking a Break” by featured artist Louella Lester To see more of Louella’s warm-fuzzied snowy scenes, as well as our other resident artists, visit Mad Swirl’s Mad Gallery! madswirl.com/gallery/

"Breathe-in experience, breathe-out poetry." ~ Muriel Rukeyser Breathe-in this week's "Best of Mad Swirl" and breathe-out a whole heapin' helpin' of this past week's swirlin' madnesses!

"My role in society, or any artist’s or poet’s role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how to feel. Not as a preacher, not as a leader, but as a reflection of us all." ~ John Lennon Reflect upon the reflections reflecting in this week's edition of "The Best of Mad Swirl"

"An artist has to look at the future, to see what we can do better." ~ Marina Abramovic If you're lookin' to see what the future's revolutionary renovations might look like, start with this week's edition of "The Best of Mad Swirl" madswirl.com/blog/2024/12/the-best-of-mad-swirl-11-30-24/

Here's what's swirlin' today in Mad Swirl's Poetry Forum... “Hotel Ars Poetica” by Contributing Poet Paul Hostovsky To read THIS poem & even MORE mad poetry & prose & peruse some swirlin' art too, please visit MadSwirl.com! madswirl.com/poetry/2024/11/hotel-ars-poetica/