ABSURDITY BECOMES HER TASTE CURVE by Mark Sebastian Jordan

It wasn’t the army helmet bra
nor the hat with hummingbird feeders.

It wasn’t the clear bubble-wrap dress
nor the organic eggplant shoes.

It wasn’t even the smartphone earrings
nor the corrugated cardboard corduroys.

It was the elusive slip made of Higgs bosons
that made us all sit up and take notice.

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Mark Sebastian Jordan has been an active presence on the Ohio arts scene for thirty years as an actor, director, playwright, and improv comedian. His Mansfield Trilogy of historical dramas was featured in sell-out performances for a decade at Malabar Farm State Park. As a living history performer, Jordan has portrayed Orson Welles, George Frideric Handel, Dan De Quille, and Clement Vallandigham. He has also been featured in television programs such as Ghost Hunters, Mysteries at the Museum, My Ghost Story, and House of the Unknown, and appeared as an extra in the classic film The Shawshank Redemption.

Jordan is also a poet with numerous publication credits. He was awarded 2nd place in the 2013 Jesse Stuart Memorial Award by the National Association of State Poetry Societies, and has also received awards from the Ohio Poetry Association, the Ohio Arts Council, The Ohio State University, Case Western Reserve University, The Associated Press, The Rupp Foundation, The Ohio Theater Alliance, the Ohio Community Theatre Association, the Ohio Eta Chapter of the Theta Alpha Phi drama honor fraternity, and the Mansfield/Richland County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Jordan has worked as a freelance journalist for publications all over Ohio as well as ones based in New York City and London, England. He currently reviews concerts of the Cleveland Orchestra for Seen & Heard International. His humorous satire 1776 & All That is available from XOXOX Press. Jordan's poetry chapbook The Book of Jobs was published by Pudding House Press, and his next chapbook, Murder Ballads, will be published by Poets Haven Press in 2014.

Mark lives at Malabar Farm State Park in Lucas, where he runs the Hostelling International hostel, which provides affordable accommodations to travelers of all ages, promoting the idea of world peace through culturally diverse travel.