Poetry by Alex Sheremet
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An ice-cream man holding a cone with a crown on his head, as part of Alex Sheremet's critical analysis of Wallace Stevens's misunderstood poem, "The Emperor of Ice-Cream", as appears in the automachination literary magazine.

ANALYSIS: Misreading Wallace Stevens’ “The Emperor of Ice-Cream”

It is all in the voice—or maybe in its emphasis. Every great poem has its own POV, though the wrong voice will diminish it. After all, good sound is measured by its meaning, and sometimes, a woman’s voice feels best for reciting “masculine” poetry. In Dana Gioia’s grim reading of Wallace Stevens’s “The Emperor of Ice-Cream,” there is nothing left to probe. He is severe where the language is playful, entombing his analysis with guesswork every time he misses a tone. Another reading, from the archconservative Hillsdale College, is uncomfortable to watch, with a trite, melancholy piano that further damages interpretation. By contrast, the poem’s best recital is from a high school student almost twenty years ago. She is energetic, picks up on double (and overt!) meanings, and communicates this knowledge on stage. Her performance works because it does not engage the academic debate—it only speaks the words as written, which appear bigger, broader, and more festive than in the mouths of academics: […]

Art by Alex Sheremet
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Alex Sheremet's 35mm analog photography of the 2026 New York City winter, with a man trying to walk across a muddy, snowy, flooded street in Jamaica Queens, NYC, as seen on the automachination literary magazine. The photo was taken on the Pentax MX camera with Kodak UltraMax 400 ISO film.

SEASONAL GRUNGE: Spring & Winter in NYC on 35mm Film

New York City’s coldest winter in decades thawed into mud, froze again, then gave way to the hottest spring of my lifetime. Given the irreality of both seasons, you will find a mix of urban grunge and analog dreamscapes, mostly in color with a few black-and-white shots.

All photos were taken on the Pentax MX 35mm camera loaded with Kodak UltraMax 400 film.

You may contact me for high-resolution versions of each image. You can also view 100s of more shots from around the world here. […]

Poetry by Don Moss
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Edward Hopper's painting "Rooms by the Sea," which is being turned into a poem by Donald J. Moss, for the automachination literary magazine.

BEFORE HOPPER: Don Moss’s “We See That The Artist…”

Chill night duty: rehouse the coffee plant
And the palm grown from that Florida nub,
Now tall enough to search for its own kind,
Its own shade of green, resourceful, not smug,

Thursday: met Susan at the art college.
While she and M talk, you search the passing
Forms for a school-time self—weren’t you once
One of them, as poorly dressed, classes,

Dissection classes every quarter (or
Was it semesters chopping up those years?),
Aged lectors radiating formaldehyde,
Well past their prime yet clear. coherent. […]

Film by Ezekiel Yu
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A still from Kane Parsons's "Backrooms," depicting Chiwetel Ejiofor in a brightly lit yellow room, as reviewed and analyzed by poet and film critic Ezekiel Yu for the automachination literary magazine.

I Think I Like It In Here: Reviewing Kane Parsons’s “Backrooms” (2026)

Kane Parsons’s “Backrooms” is the first mainstream film that I’m aware of to have been inspired by, of all things, a 4chan post. Chances are you already know about the Backrooms, especially if you’re Gen Z or a millennial or have spent any significant amount of time memeing on the Internet. If you don’t, then it’s a simple enough concept to explain. Imagine a dank, yellow-wallpapered office space, empty of all features save the blank angularity of walls and a vaguely unsettling openness. Now imagine that going on and on, forever.

It’s a weird alternate take on our reality, as if the universal software had glitched and copy-pasted this uncanny liminal space into its own pocket dimension. An anon on the original 4chan post (which featured on one of the site’s forums dedicated to paranormal phenomena), however, explains it more evocatively:

“If you’re not careful and you noclip out of reality in the wrong areas, you’ll end up in the Backrooms, where it’s nothing but the stink of old moist carpet, the madness of mono-yellow, the endless background noise of fluorescent lights at maximum hum-buzz, and approximately six hundred million square miles of randomly segmented empty rooms to be trapped in

“God save you if you hear something wandering around nearby, because it sure as hell has heard you”

—Anonymous, 4chan (May 13, 2019) […]

Art by Alex Sheremet
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A 35mm photo by author and filmmaker Alex Sheremet, taken on the Pentax MX with Kodak Ektacolor Pro 400 film, depicting the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC against a deep blue cloudy sky with an airplane flying away from the scene, as featured on the automachination literary magazine.

ANALOG GRUNGE: Washington DC on 35mm Film

Walking around Washington DC for the first time ever, I was simultaneously impressed that this was the purported center of the world, and disappointed that it was the purported center of the world. All museums are free, the city is walkable, there is urban grunge worth exploring and photographing, yet many sites were closed (reflecting pool, much of the White House lawn, etc.) and there was little sense of that imperial permanence America wishes so badly to project.

But perhaps that is the point. I expected more military presence (especially under the Trump administration, which values this aesthetic even as it systematically loses every war), and its lack was almost gaudy. Monuments, crowds imperturbed, and liberal amenities are preferred over open militarism – which becomes stronger by implication. The lesser-known corners (or even just angles) of Washington, DC are endless, which was obvious even though I only spent a short time there.

All photos were taken on a Pentax MX loaded with Kodak Ektacolor Pro 400. In my quest for a better hit rate, I’ve settled on more expensive film to calm my trigger finger. Total cost was $98 to buy film and develop these photos – or, a bit over $3 per shot, after averaging in discarded shots. That is a trade I will take. […]

Film by Ezekiel Yu
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A still from Curry Barker's "Obsession," depicting a woman in silhouette (Inde Navarrette) standing on her lit patio at night, with Michael Johnston sitting in his car, as reviewed by the poet and film critic Ezekiel Yu for the automachination literary magazine.

Why Don’t You Love Me: Reviewing Curry Barker’s “Obsession” (2025)

The obsession of Curry Barker’s title refers, superficially, to the poor young woman who develops an increasingly unhinged attachment to the protagonist of the film, Bear, after he makes a magic wish that forces her to be “in love” with him. Her name is Nikki, and they are part of a tight-knit circle of friends—involving two others, Sarah and Ian—who work together at a family-run music store.

But the deeper obsession is really Bear’s, which becomes the end-all-be-all of their doomed dynamic, and also that which lies at the heart of all the film’s now notorious moments of horror. Nikki, after all, has her own thoughts and dreams and designs; her own personhood, in a word, and it is that very personhood, that autonomy, that gets in the way of Bear’s idealizations, i.e. his fundamental misunderstanding (willful or not) of who Nikki is, and who he is to her.

You see, Bear likes Nikki (Michael Johnston and Inde Navarette, both relative newcomers). She’s beautiful, artistic, funny, outgoing—the girl of his dreams. Only problem is, Nikki doesn’t seem to like Bear in the same way. She clearly cares for him, and even seems to prize their relationship relative to their other friends—but romantic love? This is decidedly less clear. Much to Ian’s chagrin, Bear commits to confessing his feelings to Nikki at the group’s beloved trivia night; though the death of Bear’s cat from a slip-up involving some old pills puts a damper on the proceedings. […]

Film by Alex Sheremet
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A still from Woody Allen's "Crimes and Misdemeanors," showing a black-and-white Woody Allen appearing nervous, set against Anjelica Huston's lifeless eyes and colorful body, as reviewed and analyzed by the world's leading Woody Allen critic, Alex Sheremet, for automachination literary magazine.

Art of Crime: Analyzing Woody Allen’s “Crimes and Misdemeanors” (1989)

If “Another Woman” is a great film that hasn’t yet received its due, then “Crimes and Misdemeanors” is a widely-praised film whose greatness, while generally acknowledged, is often misunderstood. At its core, the film is not only about a hyper-realistic killer (as opposed to merely a ‘torn,’ freakish, or symbolic one), but also about the winners and losers that surround him, who not only shed light on his import, but on the lives and personalities of millions just like him. In fact, it is one of the film’s seemingly most throwaway lines — “might makes right” — that brings this idea to the fore, even as it obscures some more nuanced moments. To see it in action, one simply needs to look at how the film’s relationships bud and die. Halley rejects Cliff because he’s a loser, and falls for the vapid and loathsome Lester because he’s a success. A stranger humiliates Cliff’s naive, lonely sister merely because he can, and she’s only too willing. Dolores is not only killed, but her utter shallowness is remembered by Judah, even after her death, wherein she confuses musical composers, or waxes poetic on the eyes being “windows to the soul,” despite us knowing that her own eyes were empty, with neither definition nor identity when she was killed. Yet, for all this, it is Judah at the center of it all, and it’s Judah who, far more than being a mere symbol or plaything, is something far more real. He is ‘just another guy’ living at home, raising his kids, going to work, and giving to charity, separated only by the style and the frequency of his rationalizations, while the fact that he is ultimately a “winner,” to use Dan Schneider’s word,[1] affirms the Bible’s oft-ignored dictum: for whoever has, more shall be given, but whoever does not have, even that shall be taken away. This is ‘might’ as it begets might, and riches for the Judah Rosenthals, but even as Judah argues at film’s end, no fairy tales, nor happy endings.

The film begins with a celebration of Judah Rosenthal’s (Martin Landau) philanthropy at an event, whose praise is interspersed with other scenes, such as Judah receiving a letter from his mistress, Dolores, earlier that day, who threatens to reveal all to his family if he doesn’t break off his marriage. Thus, against genre tropes, some of his flaws are already laid out, even as Judah gives his speech, spliced with poetic images of the boy at prayer, quoting his father’s comment, “the eyes of God are on us always.” Judah, now a religious ophthalmologist, wonders if such words could have influenced his choice of profession, a ‘noble’ question which is immediately paired with another scene of Judah confronting Dolores (Anjelica Huston) at her apartment, as he promises to “work something out.” It’s an interesting choice, for even now one gets a realistic look at how most people deal with or otherwise treat religion, as things for comment or even genuine personal growth, only to renege in 99%+ of moments where it ceases to apply. This is a clue to Judah’s later behavior, given the clear “flexibility” (to borrow Schneider’s word again) of his morals now.

Film by Alex Sheremet
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Mariel Hemingway and Woody Allen look at each other as Woody smokes in his 1979 film, "Manhattan", as reviewed and analyzed by the world's leading Woody Allen critic, Alex Sheremet, for the automachination literary magazine.

The Many Illusions of Woody Allen’s “Manhattan” (1979)

Although Woody Allen’s “Manhattan” is one of cinema’s best and most-loved films, it also among the most misunderstood. This is probably because there is such a disconnect between the film’s stunning and romantic imagery, and the way the characters actually behave on-screen. Often, it’s been called a “love letter” to New York, or what’s worse, a “love poem,” but it’s really an excoriation of Isaac Davis (Woody Allen) and the projection of his ideals, which are incongruently set against all that’s beautiful and lush. It is quite an effective device, for it makes the film seem to be about one thing, yet completely undermines the genre tropes that other superficially similar works are so dependent on, even as the black and white cinematography of the great Gordon Willis seems to ‘pretend’ otherwise. Not wasting any time, Woody makes this apparent from the very first shot, in which Isaac is busy at his book. Yes, it’s a ‘romantic’ trope, in the sense that Isaac is a man in love with his city, and trying to write, but is marred by the fact that he simply cannot express one well-articulated thought. At end, he settles on this line: “‘He was as tough and romantic as the city he loved. Behind his black-rimmed glasses was the coiled sexual power of a jungle cat.’ I love this. ‘New York was his town and it always would be.’” This is not exactly good writing, and flies in the face of a later scene where he up and quits his job so he could stop writing crap television, and work on something “serious” and worthwhile instead. Clearly it is not, and despite being one of the most-quoted parts of the film, there is an irony, a futility, here, that most viewers do not catch. The stunning visuals of fireworks are celebratory, but of what? Probably of Isaac’s feelings and ideals, which are repeatedly shown to have little to do with reality, not only of the outside world, but of his internal life, as well, which is as false and self-congratulatory as anything he critiques. This gives Manhattan a special place in cinema, even as, thirty-five years later, it continues to outshine films that, while inspired by Woody’s, are restricted by the genre conventions he absolutely defies. […]