‘Vampire Verses’ by LindaAnn LoSchiavo Delivers Poetry to Sink Your Fangs Into

While I’ve read plenty of vampire novels, I must admit that I haven’t come across much vampiric poetry. Poet LindaAnn LoSchiavo has released a short anthology called Vampire Verses: Poems that’s inspired by these fanged, nocturnal creatures. It includes poetry written in different styles and presents vampires in a variety of interesting scenarios that are fun to delve into. To quote the title page, it’s “your portal to the immortals.” 

The charm of Vampire Verses: Poems lies in how it plays with pop culture references and contemporary life situations. It’s divided into two sections. The first part, titled “The Dead Travel Fast,” contains a series of poems that range from gothic and brooding to modern and humorous. “Oupire,” which the author mentions is the Polish word for “vampire,” delivers a shadowy setting in a forest. In it, a melancholy woman is approached by a mysterious figure who takes her under his wing. On the other hand, “A Vampire Joins the Playboy Club” gives us a vampire who passes for a handsome bachelor, but in reality is on the prowl for his next victim as he lounges among the guests. 

I really enjoyed “An Ideal Lost in Night-Mists.” It’s set up like a story and follows a young adult vampire named Count D and a human woman named Annabelle who start chatting on a dating site. It recounts events backward, revealing how communication between the two blossomed and what led to the circumstances that transpired on November 2nd. 

The second half of the collection is called “Tribute to Bram Stoker” and has a series of poems dedicated to the author that gave us one of the most iconic pieces of vampire fiction. The following poem, “Bram Stoker’s Recipe,” sums up his creative vision in a fun way:

“His peppermill mind
Ground Romanian folklore,
Dished out bloody bites.”  

– “Bram Stoker’s Recipe,” from Vampire Verses: Poems by LindaAnn LoSchiavo

In “Dracula Plans His Hallowe’en Soiree,” I thought it was fantastic how LoSchiavo put the notorious vampire in the role of a party host. In each verse, we see Dracula planning out details for his gathering of the undead. That is one festivity I would love to attend!

Vampire Verses also features illustrations that portray scenes from some of the poems in amusing ways. The anthology is 65-pages long and can easily be enjoyed in a single sitting. I think it’s great for reading aloud with a group of fellow vampire enthusiasts or when you want to do some light spooky reading alone. 

LindaAnn LoSchiavo has done a fangtastic job with this anthology. And this isn’t her first published work. The award-winning writer and poet, who hails from New York, has written essays, chapbooks, and other collections. She’s also working on a vampire serial titled, “Dracula Before Stoker: The Prequel,” which you can check out on Substack.

After reading Vampire Verses: Poems, I wanted to learn more about the poet, and I was fortunate enough to interview her. In the following Q&A, we discuss LoSchiavo’s fascination with vampires, her vampire serial, where she gets inspiration, and more!

---

Q: What sparked your interest in vampires? 

A: During the pandemic, a fellow started Dracula Daily, which became an overnight sensation. Dracula Daily is an email newsletter that dispatches the novel Dracula, in ‘real-time’— as it happens to the characters. It rapidly acquired over 250,000 subscribers and inspired worldwide news coverage.

Though I was not a subscriber, I did become aware of the enormous buzz surrounding Dracula Daily.  Since I had not thought about vampires for awhile, a new curiosity rose from the dead. On my own, I reread Bram Stoker’s classic along with all of the selections gathered in two hefty anthologies edited by Michael Sims and David Skal.

I thought, “What innovations could I bring to this well-worn genre?” There were a few.

One example: I took a Jane Austen-ish approach to Bram Stoker’s nobleman of means. “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” became “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a foreign bachelor, in possession of a drafty castle, must be in want of a wife.”

Second example: opportunities that Bram Stoker overlooked, such as Dracula writing a memoir, Dracula planning a Hallowe’en soiree, and more.

Third example: adding pop culture and technology to the vampire mythos.

The fourth example was telling a vampire’s rite de passage backward.

Taking a closer look at vampire literature, it seemed there was room for a fresh approach. By free-associating about various things—Wes Craven’s Freddy Krueger films, dating apps, The Playboy Club, Instagram influencers, PhotoShop, humble brags, house hunting, happy hour—I asked myself, “What would a vampire do?”  Then I wrote the poems.

Q: How did you come up with the concept for Vampire Verses: Poems?

A: Please see above. Then, to add more visual intrigue to my vampire collection, I hired an illustrator. The book won two awards and has also been nominated for an Elgin Award (voting now in progress).

Q: You’re also working on a serial called “Dracula Before Stoker: The Prequel.” What has the experience been like writing a story that’s centered on Dracula’s diary? What are your plans for this serial?

A: Substack has spurred a serious revival of the serial novel, which inspired me to launch my innovative project on February 28, 2026.  While Stoker’s 1897 classic deliberately omitted the vampire count’s perspective, I leaned into that—sharing his first-hand narration along with that of Countess Voichita of the House of Dracula. Unused to writing a public serial, chapter by chapter with a dedicated timeline, I worked on my episodes well ahead of their release dates, and this was not easy. Moreover, my fictional vampire plotline included real people and real events, such as England’s long-lasting drought in 1893, a complete solar eclipse in April 1893, moon phases, and so on. 

Plans: to get my illustrated novelette published and seeking the right home. I submitted it to a fledgling press and this was their encouraging response: “My goodness, this is terrific! However, it’s a bit too expansive for us at this time. …”

Q: What literary works, poets, or authors inspire you as a writer, and why?

A: Reading Dante, Boccaccio, Chaucer, John Milton, and Tennyson tutored me in the polyphonic technique. From the medieval poem “Gawain and the Green Knight” I learned pacing, sly innuendo, and foreshadowing.  From Verdi’s operas I became aware of how to portray villainy and moral decay. From supernatural plays such as “R.U.R.” by the Czech writer Karel Čapek and “La morte in vacanza” by the Italian dramatist Alberto Casella I discovered the advantages of speculative writing.  And from the tense stage dramas  “A View from the Bridge” by Arthur Miller and “The Subject Was Roses” by Frank D. Gilroy I was given a master class in inciting dread and discomfort via sub-text. 

Q: Any teasers you’d like to share on upcoming projects?

A: Yes!  Forthcoming from Prolific Pulse Press is  “PAST TENSE: Portraits and Poems of Suicides”—a fully illustrated collection. Some poems were inspired by actual suicide notes, which I shaped into erasures, centos, and golden shovels. For those who left no note, I chose a poetic form uniquely suited to who they were in life. For a hacktivist, I used lines of computer code to beckon him back. For a teenage rapper whose lyrics ran in rhyming pairs, I charted his short life in heroic couplets. Not every subject is mourned—poems about criminals hold them accountable. 

As you can see, Jennifer, dark ink follows wherever I go.

Where to Stalk

• BlueSky: @ghostlyverse.bsky.social
• Twitter: @Mae_Westside
• Substack: substack.com/@greenwichvillagepoet / greenwichvillagepoet.substack.com
• YouTube: @LindaAnn Literary