Monday, June 29, 2009

Some Ada Limón in your life

Did you read her interview in the SF Examiner?

If you're in Austin:

Tuesday, June 30 2009
6:00pm

Boog City Presents

d.a. levy lives: celebrating the renegade press

Effing Press (Austin, Texas), featuring readings from

Farrah Field, Ada Limón, Justin Marks, with music from Katie May
Hosted by Effing Press editor Scott Pierce
Curated and with an introduction by Boog City editor David Kirschenbaum

ACA Galleries
529 W. 20th Street, 5th Floor (10th/11th Avenues)
Free, incl. wine & cheese | welcometoboogcity.com |
editor@boogcity.com | 212-842-2664
Subway: C/E to 23rd Street, or 1/9 to 18th Street


Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Happy Birthday, Typewriters!

It's the birthday of the patent of the typewriter.

I might have to pick up some ribbons today, one for each machine. I don't want any one getting jealous of the others.

Meanwhile:

Amy Guth's next big thing is happening. Click, Chicago. The rest of you too, if you want. I gave Ms.Guth a typewriter once. In fact, I might have given you a typewriter once.

And here's a paste from Wave Books. I'd considering hitting this up if the job wasn't sending me to the Midwest on the dates:

Greetings from Seattle. We are writing to you with the news of a
special THREE-DAY POETRY EVENT coming from Wave Books this August. In
association with the Henry Art Gallery at the University of
Washington, Wave Books is organizing and hosting three days of
poetry, August 14th through 16th, featuring film screenings, a book
arts presentation, art exhibitions, local bookstore discounts, and
readings by Wave authors, in both the Henry Auditorium and the James
Turrell Skyspace.

THE WEEKEND IS LIMITED TO 150 TICKETS, so if you are interested in
attending the event, we encourage you to register as soon as you can!
Full information is available on the Wave Books website here:
http://www.wavepoetry.com/catalog/79. Please pass this information on
to those who you think might be interested.

TICKETS GRANT YOU ACCESS TO: READINGS both large and small, by a
featured line-up of Wave authors -- including Joshua Beckman, Noelle
Kocot, Dorothea Lasky, Anthony McCann, Richard Meier, Eileen Myles,
Maggie Nelson, Geoffrey Nutter, Matthew Rohrer, Mary Ruefle, Dara
Wier, Jon Woodward, Matthew Zapruder and Rachel Zucker; SCREENINGS OF
RARE FILMS starring John Ashbery, Robin Blaser, Denise Levertov, Frank
O'Hara, James Schuyler, and others; poetry book DISCOUNTS at
participating local, independent bookstores; a BOOK ARTS PRESENTATION
by Sandra Kroupa, Book Arts and Rare Book Curator; and the Henry Art
Gallery and EXHIBITIONS, including exhibitions of work by Chio
Aoshima, Jasper Johns, Ann Lislegaard; new video from China; and
photographic work by Imogen Cunningham, Nan Goldin, Aleksandr
Rodchenko, and others, from the Henry's permanent collection.

TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE for $100/$75 for students. You can purchase
directly online, or by mailing a check to Wave Books, 1938 Fairview
Avenue East, Suite 201, Seattle, WA 98102. For complete event
details, and to purchase tickets, visit:
http://www.wavepoetry.com/catalog/79

We hope you will join us for this exciting event. If you have any
questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at Wave Books at:
wavepoetryweekend@gmail.com. Thank you very much, and we hope to see
you in August.

Sincerely,
Wave Books

1938 Fairview Avenue East, Suite 201
Seattle, Washington 98102
http://www.wavepoetry.com
http://www.wavepoetry.com/catalog/79
http://www.henryart.org/

Monday, June 22, 2009

Workbench

So, I resolved to have a workbench in the kitchen. Like most things, these lovely pieces of furniture can be found on craigslist.

It fit in the van:


Alas, it did not fit through the front door...until I took the top off. Of course, after that it wouldn't fit through the kitchen door, and it's too old to take apart and put back together functionally.

So, there's a work bench outside my apartment now:


These things happen. I wanted a bench, found one cheap, and got too excited to take proper measurements, regardless of the 25' Stanley tape measures I keep in my kitchen and car.

I equate this to poetry in that it's a matter of intention. If the goal is simply to have something (a bench, a publication) then it is the wrong motivation, and will not work. If the intent is for a higher purpose (to have a functional bench/to create a quality poem that will or will not get published) requires more care and work. Some skills in spacial relations.

Horrible metaphor, I know. But now I have a surface to eat on outside my house...until it gets stolen. Plus there were a grip of craftsman tools in the drawers, and a vice on top, which is worth at least the $25. And the learning experience, as usual, is priceless.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

On a night like this

San Diego happens to have a wonderful Jazz/Blues station, if you ever want to listen.

A friend in the office (a fellow master of the fine art) and I seem to have a joke we bring up over and over about reading each other's work, only the joke is that we say things like "I just wrote this like, 5 minutes ago. I really think you should read it. I know I just wrote it, but it's really good." When we do this, we're being snobs. We're making fun of people who press their work on other people like that all of the time. We're also, hopefully most of the time, getting into our own processes, and trying to look at context.

This evening, I'm about 9 months behind my notebook. That is to say, I'm only reading what I jotted down back last September, and typewriting it. It'll take another few months before those typewritten lines are read again and put into a file into the computer. So, it seems, a single poem takes about a year to get from my head into something that looks like a "poem." I've come to do this partially because I'm in no hurry, but also because I like to forget. That's a different meditation--in this case, I mean I like to forget the context the original stuff in the notebook was written down in. Because I can't remember what was in my conscious mind when I read the words, they are allowed to have their own context, which seems truer than my perceptions at the time they came.

Better poems come from forgetting. As it happens, I have no ownership over any moments or events. And my ability to witness is limited--my mind moment for moment is silly and distracted.

A different co-worker found a few poems online, and asked, "What were you thinking when you wrote this?"

"I don't know."

And how could we know? What do we know while in the process of creating? It seems to be a process of listening, and it takes longer to hear than it does to have a child. Ain't that something?


From Randell Jarrell's uncollected poems:

The Forsaken Girl
(after Eduard Mörike)

Ere the cock has crowed,
The least star dwindled,
I knell here at the hearth
Till the fire has kindled.

The warm light is beautiful,
The flames soar eagerly.
I stare unseeing
Sunk in my misery.

All at once I remember:
The whole night through,
Dear one, wicked one,
I have dreamed of you.

As I remember,
The tears come one by one.
So the day begins--
If only it were done!


[1952]

Friday, June 19, 2009

Casual Friday

Congrats to Bloof. What can't they do?

And a couple of event's I go to if I were in the neighborhoods:

1) Tuesday, June 30 2009
6:00pm

Boog City Presents

d.a. levy lives: celebrating the renegade press

Effing Press (Austin, Texas), featuring readings from

Farrah Field, Ada Limón, Justin Marks, with music from Katie May
Hosted by Effing Press editor Scott Pierce
Curated and with an introduction by Boog City editor David Kirschenbaum

ACA Galleries
529 W. 20th Street, 5th Floor (10th/11th Avenues)
Free, incl. wine & cheese | welcometoboogcity.com |editor@boogcity.com | 212-842-2664
Subway: C/E to 23rd Street, or 1/9 to 18th Street


AND


2) Wednesday, July 8, 2009

6-8PM

Heading Home:

Art Opening & Gallery Reading on UWS

46 W. 90th St. Fl 2

With Jason Schneiderman


AND


3) Tuesday, August 18

7:30-9PM

The Word for Word Series in Bryant Park

Robert Polito & Dana Goodyear & Ada Limón

(hope to see you!)


Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Kazim Ali Interview

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Happy Bloomsday!

Any events in San Diego on this fine Bloomsday?

Monday, June 15, 2009

Slow days

I assume the few of you who read my blog also read the blogs I read--mostly they're off to the right. I could be mistaken.

If I am, here's something from Steve Schroeder--he also happens to be the editor of Anti-. They happen to have a poem just up by Sara Tracey, which I like a whole lot.

Hate-mail makes my stomach hurt, even when directed at someone else. The aggression that goes into sentiments like that in any medium, I can't help but feel, is best avoided. It's what keeps me from writing most reviews--even books I love, where the fault of a collection has nothing to do with the poetry, or the poet, or anything other than a choice by the publisher or some other post-creation entity, perhaps....

Confession: I love Lytton Smith's book, The All-Purpose Magical Tent. It's one of my top 5 favorite books I've read in years. I tried to tell you about it at No Tell. I loved his work when we took it for Ninth Letter a few years back. Terrance Hayes picked it, and I love him for picking it. The only think that I don't like is the Forward by Hayes, and only because it's simply a page and a half long blurb. I mean, I know he liked it, but just wish the forward had something deeper about poetry as a whole that he found in the book; something detailed/profound about how Smith exhibits some core value in poetry in a way that nobody's done since....you know what I mean?

But that's my critique. And it's only my opinion. Hayes is a wonderful poet, and I've enjoyed his work on paper and at a reading. And, again, I love him for holding up Smith's book.

***

Sorry it's been quiet.
I'll try and pick up the pace, keep you more in the loop.




Tuesday, June 9, 2009

A little more

Friday, June 5, 2009

Pub things

New Hobart's up.

Also, word on the street is that 9L is going to be a differently shaped.  I'm looking forward to it!  I do believe you'll be able to sneak up on them at Printers Row in Chicago this very weekend.  If you see Amy Güth walking around, don't be creepy, but say hello.


Tuesday, June 2, 2009

NYer Ada

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