Damn, The Weather
Antino Art's city-worn voice navigates the weather of grief, desire, and the digital age with wit and hard-won tenderness. These poems move from bomb cyclones to AI prayers, from election night to a daughter's nightly video calls. Urgent, funny, and quietly devastating, this collection finds sanctuary in the everyday wreckage and insists, against all odds, on flooding the streets with hope. (Sabre Lake Publishing, 2026)
Cover art by Nali Katana Antonio
40 Pages, Paperback
“Antino Art’s Damn, The Weather declares ‘we are all natural disasters’—a pointed assessment of the modern human experience, in which tensions between history and world-building leave us all ‘shivering together’ in a callous, capitalist landscape. But with both playful turns of phrase and clever lyricism, Art offers ‘good news / in the digital dark’: the entire chapbook itself as an extended metaphor, reminding the reader that even the most indifferent weather allows for dazzling moments of sun. Well done!” — Ina Cariño, 2022 Whiting Award winner for poetry and author of Reverse Requiem
“If you didn’t know Antino Art was a magician, Damn, the Weather gives it away with its subtle diversions and exquisite timing. The poems make shelter for feelings that could drown in the telling, but instead nourish in the showing. Each one a conversation deftly wrought, with sleights of punctuation that catch the reader mid-line, like a blade of sunlight on a cloudy day.” — Anna Weaver, host of Tongue & Groove open mic and author of Some Promise
“Arthur’s work finds meaning in the absurdities of life. Fluid. Magical. It will expand not only your mind, but your heart.” — Mark Espinosa, multidisciplinary artist-in-residence at Bailey Contemporary Arts / Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
“With poetry, Arthur is in his bubble. I was literally blown away by his mastery of the free-flowing verse and his ease in controlling the turmoil of his emotions. He can turn a phrase with the best of them!” — Rey Briccio Alesna, author of “Dunay Bayle Sa Tugas” and other poems, Smart Philippines writing award recipient / Cebu City, Philippines
“For more than a decade, I’ve known Antino as a writer who can find soul in the smallest things— rain, silence, grief, humour, and the strange weather of being human. His words don’t just describe a storm; they invite you to stand inside it and feel less alone. Thank you for always being a light to all those around you! Truly excited for this book! — Bella Khaja, Entrepreneur, Founder of Nimble Marketing Consultancy, Writer, Keynote Speaker / Singapore
