Author Archives: John Biscello

About John Biscello

Originally from Brooklyn, NY, writer, poet, performer, and playwright, John Biscello, has lived in the high-desert grunge-wonderland of Taos, New Mexico since 2001. He is the author of four novels, Broken Land, a Brooklyn Tale, Raking the Dust, Nocturne Variations, and No Man’s Brooklyn; a collection of stories, Freeze Tag, two poetry collections, Arclight and Moonglow on Mercy Street; and a fable, The Jackdaw and the Doll, illustrated by Izumi Yokoyama. He also adapted classic fables, which were paired with the vintage illustrations of artist, Paul Bransom, for the collection: Once Upon a Time, Classic Fables Reimagined. His produced, full-length plays include: LOBSTERS ON ICE, ADAGIO FOR STRAYS, THE BEST MEDICINE, ZEITGEIST, U.S.A., and WEREWOLVES DON’T WALTZ.

Bag o’ Rags Resurrected

Posted on February 13, 2020 by John Biscello

On the next-to-last day of our campaign, we are proud to present an exclusive musical introduction to Adam Swanson playing the 1912 tune, “Bag o’ Rags” (composed by W.C. McKanlass), which was the theme song of the Keystone Kops. Troy … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, Cinema, photography, Press, Prose, Publications, Uncategorized, Video | Tagged adam swanson, Bag o Rags, ballad of the cuckoos, Cinema, durango, indie film, John Biscello, Keystone Kops, ragtime piano, sheet music, troy paff, vintage | Leave a comment

The Dance

Posted on February 11, 2020 by John Biscello

Our actors, Clint Murphy and Rita O’ Connell, received choice tutelage from choreographer, dancer and director of the Academy of Performing Arts, Miss Amber Vasquez. If you are someone who is interested in and engaged by process, and watching moving … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, photography, Press, Prose, Uncategorized, Video | Tagged academy of performing arts, ballad of the cuckoos, choreography, Cinema, dance practice, indie film, John Biscello, rehearsal, slow dancing | Leave a comment

Way Out West

Posted on February 11, 2020 by John Biscello

We are thrilled to announce that Adam Swanson, one of the world’s foremost vintage performers of American popular music, including ragtime and early jazz, will be contributing his musical talents to our film, Ballad of the Cuckoos. Adam, who is … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, Cinema, photography, Press, Prose, Uncategorized | Tagged adam swanson, ballad of the cuckoos, Cinema, diamond belle saloon, durango, indie filmmaking, John Biscello, ragtime, ragtime to riches, strater hotel, troy paff | Leave a comment

Cuckoos in Toyland

Posted on February 2, 2020 by John Biscello

When you’ve grown up, my dears, And are as old as I, You’ll often ponder on the years That roll so swiftly by, my dears, That roll so swiftly by. And all the many lands You will have journeyed through … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Cinema, photography, Press, Prose, Uncategorized, Video | Tagged ballad of the cuckoos, childhood's land, film, island of misfit toys, John Biscello, laurel and hardy, scavenger hunt, toyland, toys | Leave a comment

Love Is

Posted on January 30, 2020 by John Biscello

I miss you already, the sun-kissed daisy whispered to the migrant flake of snow, which clung like a hopeful bead to the daisy’s delicate petal before dying a lover’s death and melting.

Posted in Poetry, Uncategorized | Tagged flowerbeds, it's a love thing, John Biscello, Poetry, seasons, snowflake's fancy, spring kisses winter | Leave a comment

This Side of Burlesque

Posted on January 30, 2020 by John Biscello

And then came the day when he realized he was free, always had been to enjoy the abstracted stage-play of his thoughts and their formations, something of an idiot’s delight, same as the scabbed-glass opera of the world without, its … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Uncategorized | Tagged an idiot's tale, dream-stateliness, foolproof living, fun fun fun, John Biscello, poem, psychic burlesque, self and other | Leave a comment

The Jackdaw and The Doll

Posted on January 29, 2020 by John Biscello

A work in progress street scene from “The Jackdaw and the Doll,” a fable I wrote inspired by a story about Franz Kafka. The book is being illustrated by Izumi Yokoyama, as her artistry interprets and realizes a world of … Continue reading →

Posted in Artwork, Prose, Uncategorized | Tagged children's book, fable, franz kafka, izumi yokoyama, John Biscello, mood piece, prague, Prose, storytelling | Leave a comment

Welcome to the Dollhouse

Posted on January 27, 2020 by John Biscello

Ballad of the Cuckoos is offering an intimate sneak-peek into “the room” in which our protagonists find themselves trapped. This small-scale model of the “Cuckoos Nest,” was created by my daughter, Sierra-Lindsey Biscello, who has been buiding custom-made dollhouses from … Continue reading →

Posted in Artwork, Cinema, photography, Press, Prose, Publications, Uncategorized, Video | Tagged ballad of the cuckoos, Cinema, custom made, indie film, interior design, John Biscello, New Mexico, welcome to the dollhouse, world in minature | Leave a comment

Fool’s Play

Posted on January 27, 2020 by John Biscello

To marvel dumbly, and trespass, with a sense of the infinite backlighting a wink– this, the way of the Fool, or sacred is as sacred does, when trusting the air in its holy relationship to plunge.

Posted in Poetry, Uncategorized | Tagged fool, in air we trust, John Biscello, poem, sacred clowning, taking the leap, the plunge, the reign of naivete | Leave a comment

The Earthling Chronicles

Posted on January 26, 2020 by John Biscello

The Martians, in their conscious longevity, stamped our passports and immigration documents long before our legacy of amnesia broke and we came to realize that everything, including our sense of planetary privilege, has been a sham, a lost man’s desperate … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Uncategorized | Tagged guest pass revoked, home is where the heart is, John Biscello, martians r us, Poetry, war of no worlds | Leave a comment