The Loneliness of the Long Distance Blogger: Friends and Moments Like These
Ron Silliman's recent musing about his blog and the possiblity of perhaps retiring it (as reported by Harriet and Bookforum.com: when he listed these links he listed them under the comment "reports of my demise...a wee bit premature, don't you think?") brought some thoughts to this blogger not only about long term blogging, but long term friendship as well. Although It's been ages since I've cornered every person in sight and waxed euphoric about blogging (still feel that way, whatever might be said about Facebook and Twitter) like Ron, as much as I still value this context I don't find as much time to blog as I did, say, back when I started here in 2003. I wrote to Ron immediately, as many others did, to suggest that he continue by employing guest bloggers and volunteers to post the links, for example. The idea of Ron's ending his blog, although I would well understand it (look at how much work he has put into this project for 8 years), made me feel sad, though at this point in my life, seeing the end of various eras has become, also sadly, almost a routine experience. For myself, several years ago I decided I had to go back to reading books a whole lot more often, and for longer periods of time, so gradually I've been reading blogs less (not Ron's, which I've read nearly every day since its inception, as well as wood s lot). This decision had gradually led to my writing much less often in this space, but still, I don't think I would ever seriously consider ending this blog. For one thing, I would lose the opportunity of posting announcements and the occasional reviews I still write. And of course, I could not imagine not posting my Contradicta, although that possibility has been suggested.
Let's just look at some of the events I attended this weekend. Ok, I won't go into details about the movie Jane Eyre. I'll just say I liked it. And yes, I am not afraid of sentimentality, and this movie is rolling in it. Lovely cinematography, good acting, great story. What's not to like? Then we went over to the free night at the Whitney and said goodbye to the Hopper/Realism show (incredible) and checked out Glenn Ligon: brilliantly varied, moving, at times extremely saddening, a must see. That was Friday. When we got home we watched Hurt Locker. Chances are, you already know all about that: a frightening story about an heroic group of US Army bomb specialists working during the Iraq war, including a study of why one specialist compulsively keeps going back for more. Filmed by a woman director!
On Saturday Toni and I responded to an invitation by the artistic collaborative team Ligorano Reese. We had the immense pleasure of a private viewing in their studio of their newly completed piece The Fiber Optic Tapestry: 50 Different Minds. As I was idly crunching some almonds and sipping on a Brooklyn Lager, I was equally idly glancing at a group of nine large metallic cubes pinned to the wall, that consisted of squares of wiggly lines, weavings of constantly shifting symmetrical patterns and colors. Marshall was explaining that these were made out of fiber optic threads woven together and scratched open to expose the colors that were programmed to correspond to information pouring into them moment to moment from the internet. The two streams of information consist of flight patterns from various airports and certain colors as they are mentioned on Twitter. Since I do use Twitter to post my Contradicta (if you don't know about this check out the sidebar to your right) I found this particular stream of great interest. The other stream coming in are flight patterns which also interests me, somewhat negatively I must admit, since I reside under a jet path. But that's another story. As I watched these patterns for a couple of hours, chatting with various friends of Marshall and Nora's as they came by, I became more and more mesmerized and excited. The patterns are beautiful in themselves, but there is another factor I found particularly engaging. It is my belief that our brains process far more information that we are ever able to recognize, "digest" or even directly perceive. As a psychoanalyst and as a writer I have always been fascinated by manifestations of the unconscious. Yet the Ligorano Reese 50 minds fiber optic tapestry transcends this literal notion. Watching it, you have the feeling of a living, breathing, organic being, an artistic android, if you will. As I watched, I had the feeling of being spoken to in colors, forms and patterns, that somewhere, somehow my brain was processing countless bits of information while at the same time eliminating that pesky middleperson, language. Marshall told me that the first buyer of the piece spoke extensively about the musical aspect. I couldn't agree more. The other fascinating factor is how the piece, ten years in the making, encompasses aspects of two earlier careers conducted by the collaborators: Marshall was a poet (in my opinion, still is) and Nora was a textile designer (obviously can't stop). The piece sings of their collaboration as it listens and sings to the world listening and singing to itself.
Sunday found us at 4 o'clock attending yet another great free concert at the Brooklyn Public Library, central branch, which is fortunately steps away from us. Today we listened to soprano Risa Renae Harmon accompanied on the piano by Tyler Wottrich. She sang lieder by Handel, Mahler, Faure, Turina, Rossini, Walton and a medley of songs by George Gershwin. Tyler Wottrich sensitively and with great precision played some Preludes by Debussy (he is a summa cum laude graduate in piano performance and math!). Both performances were excellent and Toni and enjoyed them immensely. There were songs in German, Spanish, Italian, French and English sung in a dramatic, humorous and wonderfully theatrical way by Hartman. We have attended many concerts at the Library this year and this was one of the best. With only a few minutes in between events to stop for the amazing chicken dumpling soup at Excellent Dumplings on Lafayette we hurried to the stunningly beautiful Synagogue for the Arts on White Street to see the third in a series of four performances of the Sanctuary Project. This is the result of a year long collaborative project including two friends of ours Joanna Fuhrman,and David Shapiro. The Sanctuary Project. It was wonderful hearing poems read by two of our friends, and several others, sung by a superb soprano Katherine Dain, and played by an excellent small orchestra including Jonathan Engle (flute), Ben Ringer (clarinet), Arthur Moelier (violin), Jen Herman (viola), Andrea Lee (cello) and Evi Jundt (piano). The composers were: Andre Bregegere, Mohammed Fairouz,Raphael Fusco, Laura Koplewitz and Alex Shapiro. Besides Fuhrman and Shapiro, the other poets were Ron Buchert, Yerra Sugarman and Ryan Vyne. Originally performed at Carnegie Hall on Maech 21, the next and last performance will be on April 21st at the WMP concert hall. I will tell you I enjoyed every moment of this huge 2 hour performance of works by five composers and five poets, and if you love contemporary music and poetry this is a wonderful opportunity to hear it. Special hint: Katherine Dain's superb singing is strong, tuneful, pristine, flawless, inexhaustible.
And, with friends and moments like these, why would I ever stop blogging? And my bet is that Ron Silliman feels the very same way...
Distribution Automatique
Friday, April 8
Monday, April 4
Ego Surfing
My friend the late poet genius Jackson Mac Low used to call googling yourself "ego surfing." Every now and then I still do this to see what bloggers might have linked to on this site. Technorati used to tell me this more easily, but now I have to page through the links to fait accompli on Google.
Thanks to all who have linked here recently! Here is a selection I came across tonight....
* * * *
And One For You Also
I WAS NEVER YOUNG (Summer Brown [Scout]
* * * *
Where Truth Falls Short
Solvitur Ambulando (Marina Bell)
* * * *
Link to Contradicta Quote from Rob Brezsny's Horoscope Blog on blogbabel
“Tutti i tuoi desideri sanno dove andare”, scrive il poeta Nick Piombino, “ma devi dirgli di aprire gli occhi.”
Pisces
* * *
Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology Quote from Contradicta (Scroll to bottom of page to Pisces)
All your feelings
Free Will Astrology Home Page
* * *
open.
regarder of the cries of the world
* * * *
Man Carrying Thing (Wallace Stevens quotes from Subject to Change (in Boundary of Blur [Roof])
Giant Sloth
* * * *
News Relating to and from Pensioners (UK)
Free Fall
My friend the late poet genius Jackson Mac Low used to call googling yourself "ego surfing." Every now and then I still do this to see what bloggers might have linked to on this site. Technorati used to tell me this more easily, but now I have to page through the links to fait accompli on Google.
Thanks to all who have linked here recently! Here is a selection I came across tonight....
* * * *
And One For You Also
I WAS NEVER YOUNG (Summer Brown [Scout]
* * * *
Where Truth Falls Short
Solvitur Ambulando (Marina Bell)
* * * *
Link to Contradicta Quote from Rob Brezsny's Horoscope Blog on blogbabel
“Tutti i tuoi desideri sanno dove andare”, scrive il poeta Nick Piombino, “ma devi dirgli di aprire gli occhi.”
Pisces
* * *
Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology Quote from Contradicta (Scroll to bottom of page to Pisces)
All your feelings
Free Will Astrology Home Page
* * *
open.
regarder of the cries of the world
* * * *
Man Carrying Thing (Wallace Stevens quotes from Subject to Change (in Boundary of Blur [Roof])
Giant Sloth
* * * *
News Relating to and from Pensioners (UK)
Free Fall
Thursday, March 31
Friday, March 25
Contradicta
No matter how well you get things tied up, eventually parts of it, or all, will start to unravel. The trick is not to let yourself unravel.
* * *
The solution to some problems is so obvious and simple one can only suppose it was the injury that caused them that made them so mesmerizing
* * * * *
Five former artistic directors of the Poetry Project chat and recall their experiences: Bernadette Mayer, Ed Friedman, Anne Waldman, Eileen Myles, Ron Padgett: Directors Talk
* * * * *
Argotist Online
E-Books
No matter how well you get things tied up, eventually parts of it, or all, will start to unravel. The trick is not to let yourself unravel.
* * *
The solution to some problems is so obvious and simple one can only suppose it was the injury that caused them that made them so mesmerizing
* * * * *
Five former artistic directors of the Poetry Project chat and recall their experiences: Bernadette Mayer, Ed Friedman, Anne Waldman, Eileen Myles, Ron Padgett: Directors Talk
* * * * *
Argotist Online
E-Books
Thursday, March 24
Happy 92cd Birthday Lawrence Ferlinghetti
A Coney Island of the MInd--Googlebooks
* * * * *
by Lynn Behrendt
Sunday, March 20
* * * * *
"The task is not primarily to "think up" a story, but to penetrate the story, to discard the elements that are merely shell, or husk, and that give apparent form to the story but actually obscure its essence. In other words, the problem to is transcend the givens of a narrative."
Reality Hunger, a Manifesto
David Shields, Vintage Books
February 2011
* * * * *
A Coney Island of the MInd--Googlebooks
* * * * *
by Lynn Behrendt
Sunday, March 20
* * * * *
"The task is not primarily to "think up" a story, but to penetrate the story, to discard the elements that are merely shell, or husk, and that give apparent form to the story but actually obscure its essence. In other words, the problem to is transcend the givens of a narrative."
Reality Hunger, a Manifesto
David Shields, Vintage Books
February 2011
* * * * *
Friday, March 11
Nico Vassilakis, Letters Part 1
* * * *
Two Anti-Bullying Efforts
Stop Bullying.gov
* * * * *
The Official PCCC Wisconsin Recall Campaign
Act Blue
* * * * *
Three Quarks Daily
via wood s lot
* * * *
Two Anti-Bullying Efforts
Stop Bullying.gov
* * * * *
The Official PCCC Wisconsin Recall Campaign
Act Blue
* * * * *
Three Quarks Daily
via wood s lot
Saturday, March 5
Slope Weather
(poet) reporters: Sandra Doller, Lucas Farrell, Lisa Fishman,
Rick Meier, Sara Mumolo, Brandon Shimoda, Jared Stanley)
* * * *
Tom Beckett's sensitive, insightful and moving reviews of Lynn Behrendt's 2 new, beautiful chapbooks from Dusie:
L'AMOUR Fou
* * * *
Books Received
2 Gorgeous chapbooks from Lynn Behrendt
This is the story of Things that Happened (Dusie, 2011)
"Could military strategy, gourmet coffee
and genocide be a story? Is that the story
about the way the world is?
This is not a story about the magical
ray-gun of one rogue investor.
This story is a systematic failure
that we are experiencing.
The American mainstream."
* * *
ACQUIESCENCE (DUSIE, 2011)
"we've got this crippled
notion of time and space
and it wounds me
makes me its slave"
(poet) reporters: Sandra Doller, Lucas Farrell, Lisa Fishman,
Rick Meier, Sara Mumolo, Brandon Shimoda, Jared Stanley)
* * * *
Tom Beckett's sensitive, insightful and moving reviews of Lynn Behrendt's 2 new, beautiful chapbooks from Dusie:
L'AMOUR Fou
* * * *
Books Received
2 Gorgeous chapbooks from Lynn Behrendt
This is the story of Things that Happened (Dusie, 2011)
"Could military strategy, gourmet coffee
and genocide be a story? Is that the story
about the way the world is?
This is not a story about the magical
ray-gun of one rogue investor.
This story is a systematic failure
that we are experiencing.
The American mainstream."
* * *
ACQUIESCENCE (DUSIE, 2011)
"we've got this crippled
notion of time and space
and it wounds me
makes me its slave"
Tuesday, February 22
Books Received
A new book by Elaine Equi is cause for a celebration!
Just out: Click and Clone (Coffee House Press)
"I live in a clock in a corner of the future
beneath its glass gears and weightless weight-
in a room I share with numerous holograms
space being at a premium
and privacy (as we know it) a thing of the past."....
(from 'A Woman Trapped in an Aerosol Mist")
Elaine Equi on Penn Sound
* * * *
Just out by Chris Mason: Hum Who Hiccup (Narrow House)
"Hail, Library,
where homeless men
and women sit,
with the world's words:
you shelter vast
volumes of love.
I will meet you
down in the stacks."
(from Homeric Hums)
Chris Mason on Penn Sound
thanks to Chris and Elaine for sending the books!
A new book by Elaine Equi is cause for a celebration!
Just out: Click and Clone (Coffee House Press)
"I live in a clock in a corner of the future
beneath its glass gears and weightless weight-
in a room I share with numerous holograms
space being at a premium
and privacy (as we know it) a thing of the past."....
(from 'A Woman Trapped in an Aerosol Mist")
Elaine Equi on Penn Sound
* * * *
Just out by Chris Mason: Hum Who Hiccup (Narrow House)
"Hail, Library,
where homeless men
and women sit,
with the world's words:
you shelter vast
volumes of love.
I will meet you
down in the stacks."
(from Homeric Hums)
Chris Mason on Penn Sound
thanks to Chris and Elaine for sending the books!
Tuesday, February 15
Friday, February 11
Today is fait accompli's 8th birthday!
Toni and I felt like rushing out this morning to go watch Christian Marclay's wonderful new movie The Clock again today at the Paula Cooper gallery, which we watched this time for 7 straight hours, and I still didn't feel like leaving, as Marclay's film comprises some of the best time travel I've ever witnessed, a true fait accompli synchronicity!
The Police- Synchronicity
* * * *
The Last Vispo
Toni and I felt like rushing out this morning to go watch Christian Marclay's wonderful new movie The Clock again today at the Paula Cooper gallery, which we watched this time for 7 straight hours, and I still didn't feel like leaving, as Marclay's film comprises some of the best time travel I've ever witnessed, a true fait accompli synchronicity!
The Police- Synchronicity
* * * *
The Last Vispo
Saturday, February 5
Introducing...
Didi Menendez' Portraits of Poets Blog.
PLease check out her portrait of yours truly and many others!
* * * *
Christian Marclay's 24 Hour Movie of Film Clips
Free at the Paula Cooper Gallery
An Interview with Christian Marclay
Christian Marclay has created a unique mode of cinematic time travel. The film consists of 24 hours of film clips from films across the decades. Each clip contains one or more references to the time at the moment of screening. This is a wonderful kind of "fait accompli" overlapping. Just as I blogged from across the decades, using a day in my journals corresponding to the day I was blogging, the Marclay film uses moments of films with explicit references on clocks and watches from across the temporal spectrum of films corresponding to the current moment of time. As might be expected, and occurred with fait accompli, the synchronicities are constant, and fascinating. I loved it! This is a unique don't miss opportunity. I was also delighted to see, as Toni and I left the theater (we came back after dinner) the amazing artist Fred Tomaselli, who showed recently at the Brooklyn Museum, had signed the book just before me.
* * * * *
EOAGH Issue Six Peripheral Writing edited by Tan Linl
Didi Menendez' Portraits of Poets Blog.
PLease check out her portrait of yours truly and many others!
* * * *
Christian Marclay's 24 Hour Movie of Film Clips
Free at the Paula Cooper Gallery
An Interview with Christian Marclay
Christian Marclay has created a unique mode of cinematic time travel. The film consists of 24 hours of film clips from films across the decades. Each clip contains one or more references to the time at the moment of screening. This is a wonderful kind of "fait accompli" overlapping. Just as I blogged from across the decades, using a day in my journals corresponding to the day I was blogging, the Marclay film uses moments of films with explicit references on clocks and watches from across the temporal spectrum of films corresponding to the current moment of time. As might be expected, and occurred with fait accompli, the synchronicities are constant, and fascinating. I loved it! This is a unique don't miss opportunity. I was also delighted to see, as Toni and I left the theater (we came back after dinner) the amazing artist Fred Tomaselli, who showed recently at the Brooklyn Museum, had signed the book just before me.
* * * * *
EOAGH Issue Six Peripheral Writing edited by Tan Linl
Sunday, January 23
The New Book From Argotist Online is
Evelyn Posamentier's Royal Blue Car
* * * * *
SEGUE PRESENTS:
KRISTEN GALLAGHER +
STAN APPS
This Saturday, Feburary 5th
SEGUE READING SERIES
BPC
4 PM
$6
KRISTEN GALLAGHER (born Henry Lawrence Garfield; February 13, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter, stand-up comedian, spoken word artist, writer, publisher, actor, radio DJ, and activist.
STAN APPS is currently a law student at NYU. His newest paper book, The World as Phone Bill, is a collection of essays on contemporary poetry, eternal verities, assorted universals and a particular or three. His newest e-book, This Club Will Have Anyone, is available as a download or randomized website from Gauss PDF. Other books are available from Slack Buddha, Make Now, or Les Figues Press.
* * * * *
Keith is Twittering the Obama SOTU address Olbermann
* * * * *
Nick Piombino and Lisa Robertson at the Poetry Project
Thanks to all who came to my presentation with Toni Simon at the Poetry Project on Wednesday night. If I may say so myself, it was a blast!
Toni and I will be presenting this show again at the Bowery Poetry Club on April 30th, this time on the same bill with Pierre Joris.
* * * * *
Macy Blackman's new album Don't You Just Know It is 16 sides of rockin' jazz/blues excellence. Got a taste for some good blues? Click on a side of Chicken Shack--open 24 hours a day...
* * * * *
Shampoo 38
Evelyn Posamentier's Royal Blue Car
* * * * *
SEGUE PRESENTS:
KRISTEN GALLAGHER +
STAN APPS
This Saturday, Feburary 5th
SEGUE READING SERIES
BPC
4 PM
$6
KRISTEN GALLAGHER (born Henry Lawrence Garfield; February 13, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter, stand-up comedian, spoken word artist, writer, publisher, actor, radio DJ, and activist.
STAN APPS is currently a law student at NYU. His newest paper book, The World as Phone Bill, is a collection of essays on contemporary poetry, eternal verities, assorted universals and a particular or three. His newest e-book, This Club Will Have Anyone, is available as a download or randomized website from Gauss PDF. Other books are available from Slack Buddha, Make Now, or Les Figues Press.
* * * * *
Keith is Twittering the Obama SOTU address Olbermann
* * * * *
Nick Piombino and Lisa Robertson at the Poetry Project
Thanks to all who came to my presentation with Toni Simon at the Poetry Project on Wednesday night. If I may say so myself, it was a blast!
Toni and I will be presenting this show again at the Bowery Poetry Club on April 30th, this time on the same bill with Pierre Joris.
* * * * *
Macy Blackman's new album Don't You Just Know It is 16 sides of rockin' jazz/blues excellence. Got a taste for some good blues? Click on a side of Chicken Shack--open 24 hours a day...
* * * * *
Shampoo 38
Sunday, January 9
I will be reading at the Poetry Project with Lisa Robertson in one week
on Wednesday January 19 at 8pm
Toni Simon will be projecting her drawings based on her collage illustrations from
Contradicta
Nick Piombino (with art by Toni Simon) and Lisa Robertson Wednesday Jan 19 at the Poetry Project
* * * *
Mimi's Visit
Mimi (Gross), Toni and I visited the Brooklyn Museum today. Both Mimi and Toni love African and Egyptian art and Mimi had many very interesting things to tell us about both. There was a discussion about whether to describe the colorful figure and animal paintings on mummies as cartoon-y (Toni) or cartoon-like (Mimi). The word cartonnage (as I was writing this) was discovered to appear in one of Toni's collages in our collaborative book Contradicta. We had also found this word in a caption regarding one of the mummies. At first, when I saw it in the caption about the mummy, I thought the word was "cartoonage." I had hoped this might settle the debate about the cartoon-y word. Then, we all visited the Feminist Pop-art Show.
Mimi told me about two links of hers. One is the link to the foundation (where she is president of the board) concerning her father Chaim Gross' art and art collection. The other is a link to an art-making course she is now teaching in Baltimore.
The Oddness of Parts
Renee and Chaim Gross Foundation
* * * *
This is Visual Poetry by Nico Vassilakis
on Wednesday January 19 at 8pm
Toni Simon will be projecting her drawings based on her collage illustrations from
Contradicta
Nick Piombino (with art by Toni Simon) and Lisa Robertson Wednesday Jan 19 at the Poetry Project
* * * *
Mimi's Visit
Mimi (Gross), Toni and I visited the Brooklyn Museum today. Both Mimi and Toni love African and Egyptian art and Mimi had many very interesting things to tell us about both. There was a discussion about whether to describe the colorful figure and animal paintings on mummies as cartoon-y (Toni) or cartoon-like (Mimi). The word cartonnage (as I was writing this) was discovered to appear in one of Toni's collages in our collaborative book Contradicta. We had also found this word in a caption regarding one of the mummies. At first, when I saw it in the caption about the mummy, I thought the word was "cartoonage." I had hoped this might settle the debate about the cartoon-y word. Then, we all visited the Feminist Pop-art Show.
Mimi told me about two links of hers. One is the link to the foundation (where she is president of the board) concerning her father Chaim Gross' art and art collection. The other is a link to an art-making course she is now teaching in Baltimore.
The Oddness of Parts
Renee and Chaim Gross Foundation
* * * *
This is Visual Poetry by Nico Vassilakis
Tuesday, January 4
Astrological Contradicta (Village Voice January 5 Free Will Astrology)
Pisces
Free Will Astrology (Rob Brezsny)
Thanks to Ernesto-Livon Grosman for alerting me to this link.
Pisces
Free Will Astrology (Rob Brezsny)
Thanks to Ernesto-Livon Grosman for alerting me to this link.
Saturday, January 1
At a Park Slope New Year's Day Party I had the Good Fortune to Meet
Itzik Gottesman, formerly a Professor of Yiddish Literature, now associate editor at the Yiddish Forward, whose blog is called Yiddish Song of the Week
"Oy, fishelekh in vaser, zey iz fil beser.
Bay zey iz nit keyn untersheyd, fin klener biz tsu greser.
Oy, fishelekh in vaser, zey iz fil beser.
Bay zey iz nit keyn untersheyd, fun klener biz tsu greser".
"O the fish in water, they have it much better.
They don‘t make a difference
between the smaller ones and bigger ones".
* * * *
Builder Levy
Builder Levy, who I met tonight, has been photographing in Appalachia for 40 years
* * * *
Contradicta
Usually your feelings know things long before your mind does. So, mostly what your thoughts need to do is to tell you to be patient.
* * *
For some, even an attempt to leave themselves alone might constitute an unprecedented approach to a previously unknown internal territory.
Itzik Gottesman, formerly a Professor of Yiddish Literature, now associate editor at the Yiddish Forward, whose blog is called Yiddish Song of the Week
"Oy, fishelekh in vaser, zey iz fil beser.
Bay zey iz nit keyn untersheyd, fin klener biz tsu greser.
Oy, fishelekh in vaser, zey iz fil beser.
Bay zey iz nit keyn untersheyd, fun klener biz tsu greser".
"O the fish in water, they have it much better.
They don‘t make a difference
between the smaller ones and bigger ones".
* * * *
Builder Levy
Builder Levy, who I met tonight, has been photographing in Appalachia for 40 years
* * * *
Contradicta
Usually your feelings know things long before your mind does. So, mostly what your thoughts need to do is to tell you to be patient.
* * *
For some, even an attempt to leave themselves alone might constitute an unprecedented approach to a previously unknown internal territory.
Sunday, December 26
Sunday, December 19
Eric Ewazen, American composer
I went to a concert this afternoon at the Brooklyn Public Library. Eric Ewazen's String Quintet
(Sinfonia for Strings) was performed by Harumi Rhodes, Adela Pena, Ah LIng Neu and Roberta Cooper. I found a work online by Ewazen whose music is certainly worth learning more about.
Eric Ewazen Down a River of Time and other mp3's
A duet for our time, of
anguish
* * * * *
A Radical Cut in the Texture of Reality
I went to a concert this afternoon at the Brooklyn Public Library. Eric Ewazen's String Quintet
(Sinfonia for Strings) was performed by Harumi Rhodes, Adela Pena, Ah LIng Neu and Roberta Cooper. I found a work online by Ewazen whose music is certainly worth learning more about.
Eric Ewazen Down a River of Time and other mp3's
A duet for our time, of
anguish
* * * * *
A Radical Cut in the Texture of Reality
Friday, December 17
Keepaway Kickstarter
This just in!
Keepaway raised over $10, 000 for their new album, just in time!
* * * * *
This just in!
Keepaway raised over $10, 000 for their new album, just in time!
* * * * *
Thursday, December 16
Contradicta
Even as you live, to live is to remember to live.
* * *
Everything in contemporary culture tends to become a popularity contest. Nothing wrong with this, except that the truth is rarely popular.
* * * * *
Moonshine
This just in from Kimberly Lyons
"Come in and enjoy!
take a break from toil & trial,
all the wear & tear of holiday prep:
LUNAR CHANDELIER PRESS announces
a book signing/reading
BY VYT BAKAITIS
LYNN BEHRENDT
AND JOE ELLIOT
to take place from 2:00 p.m.
this Saturday 18 December 2010
at Unnameable Books: 600 Vanderbilt Ave
(between Dean St & St Marks Ave), in Brooklyn NY
yours, Kimberly Lyons"
646-438-5559
* * * * *
Even as you live, to live is to remember to live.
* * *
Everything in contemporary culture tends to become a popularity contest. Nothing wrong with this, except that the truth is rarely popular.
* * * * *
Moonshine
This just in from Kimberly Lyons
"Come in and enjoy!
take a break from toil & trial,
all the wear & tear of holiday prep:
LUNAR CHANDELIER PRESS announces
a book signing/reading
BY VYT BAKAITIS
LYNN BEHRENDT
AND JOE ELLIOT
to take place from 2:00 p.m.
this Saturday 18 December 2010
at Unnameable Books: 600 Vanderbilt Ave
(between Dean St & St Marks Ave), in Brooklyn NY
yours, Kimberly Lyons"
646-438-5559
* * * * *
Tuesday, November 30
Lunar Chandelier Press
had its debut reading tonight at the Poetry Project. Of the three books presented I am most familiar with Joe Elliot's Homework. When I edited OCHO 21 I had the immense good fortune to choose from a large portion of the as yet unedited manuscript of this book. I can say that my most immediate feeling was sadness at not having chosen to edit a magazine much sooner and I could now see why so many of my poet friends had done exactly that with a good portion of their time over the years. When I was asked to write a blurb for the book I was delighted and honored but soon realized what a daunting task it would be, having already experienced so many waves of emotion about Elliot's powerful work. When I brought the book home tonight and began rereading it I got a glimmer of just how strongly his work had affected me, not only by way of enjoyment and admiration, but viscerally and very personally. The thoughts and feelings I am driving at here are somewhat summarized in the blurb I wrote for Joe's book, available on the Lunar Chandelier website (above), and, in a shortened version, on the back of the book. More of that some other time, hopefully soon.
I have had a couple of days to begin reading Lynn Behrendt's new book and I am impressed and excited about that book as well. My first thought was that my reaction to q quick read of parts of this book reminded me of my reaction to hearing and reading Ted Berrigan's Sonnets, over 40 years ago. This response might have had to do with these lines:
"I am a language vole too.
I got glue
in my vagina"
(from the poem The Ulna Slash Uvula Laid Bare Lingual Age)
I had the same sudden feeling reading this poem two nights ago of a manifesto of an impending poetic movement as when I read Berrigan's sonnets for the first time. And I think, in particular of these lines:
"baffling combustions are everywhere/graying the faces of virgins/ aching to be fucked/we fondle their snatches/and O, I am afraid!/The poem on the page/ will not kneel/for everything comes to it/gratuitously"
Now, I've thought in recent and not so recent years how sexist these lines must sound now, since the "we" obviously refers to men, and therefore hints of a predatory male conspiracy. But reading it then, I don't believe that is how it struck me. Berrigan's Sonnets deftly wove such sexual and sensual longing within a lyrical, complexly rhythmic, linguistic thread of philosophical and literary intellectuality, wit, self-effacement as well as countless other emotions and observations blended with numerous fragments of conscious and unconscious, fantasy experience. I feel the same in Lynn's poem- the poem continues with variations on the original words much the way Berrigan's Sonnets turn lines again and again around and within themselves.
Behrendt's poem continues:
"It's me and thee and analog glee-
lingo vogue
in isotope tetrameters"
and later:
"You're one alluvial egg
you lover of lingo slag
a lovely oval lung"
and later:
"how long , lonely little Anglo?
I'm venial Eve hitting a gog
in a dollar store lounge"
The final reader tonight was Vyt Bakaitis, whose book I have not yet seen, but whose reading evoked countless memories of New York School charisma. His wit, charm and lyricism pulled in the whole room, and by extension, the world outside the room.
The whole evening left my mind virtually swinging from, and with, the Lunar Chandelier.
* * * * *
Debussy plays Debussy- You Tube
had its debut reading tonight at the Poetry Project. Of the three books presented I am most familiar with Joe Elliot's Homework. When I edited OCHO 21 I had the immense good fortune to choose from a large portion of the as yet unedited manuscript of this book. I can say that my most immediate feeling was sadness at not having chosen to edit a magazine much sooner and I could now see why so many of my poet friends had done exactly that with a good portion of their time over the years. When I was asked to write a blurb for the book I was delighted and honored but soon realized what a daunting task it would be, having already experienced so many waves of emotion about Elliot's powerful work. When I brought the book home tonight and began rereading it I got a glimmer of just how strongly his work had affected me, not only by way of enjoyment and admiration, but viscerally and very personally. The thoughts and feelings I am driving at here are somewhat summarized in the blurb I wrote for Joe's book, available on the Lunar Chandelier website (above), and, in a shortened version, on the back of the book. More of that some other time, hopefully soon.
I have had a couple of days to begin reading Lynn Behrendt's new book and I am impressed and excited about that book as well. My first thought was that my reaction to q quick read of parts of this book reminded me of my reaction to hearing and reading Ted Berrigan's Sonnets, over 40 years ago. This response might have had to do with these lines:
"I am a language vole too.
I got glue
in my vagina"
(from the poem The Ulna Slash Uvula Laid Bare Lingual Age)
I had the same sudden feeling reading this poem two nights ago of a manifesto of an impending poetic movement as when I read Berrigan's sonnets for the first time. And I think, in particular of these lines:
"baffling combustions are everywhere/graying the faces of virgins/ aching to be fucked/we fondle their snatches/and O, I am afraid!/The poem on the page/ will not kneel/for everything comes to it/gratuitously"
Now, I've thought in recent and not so recent years how sexist these lines must sound now, since the "we" obviously refers to men, and therefore hints of a predatory male conspiracy. But reading it then, I don't believe that is how it struck me. Berrigan's Sonnets deftly wove such sexual and sensual longing within a lyrical, complexly rhythmic, linguistic thread of philosophical and literary intellectuality, wit, self-effacement as well as countless other emotions and observations blended with numerous fragments of conscious and unconscious, fantasy experience. I feel the same in Lynn's poem- the poem continues with variations on the original words much the way Berrigan's Sonnets turn lines again and again around and within themselves.
Behrendt's poem continues:
"It's me and thee and analog glee-
lingo vogue
in isotope tetrameters"
and later:
"You're one alluvial egg
you lover of lingo slag
a lovely oval lung"
and later:
"how long , lonely little Anglo?
I'm venial Eve hitting a gog
in a dollar store lounge"
The final reader tonight was Vyt Bakaitis, whose book I have not yet seen, but whose reading evoked countless memories of New York School charisma. His wit, charm and lyricism pulled in the whole room, and by extension, the world outside the room.
The whole evening left my mind virtually swinging from, and with, the Lunar Chandelier.
* * * * *
Debussy plays Debussy- You Tube
Sunday, November 28
Keepaway's Latest:
Kompetitor (EP) Free Download!
(To just listen without downloading click on the arrow at the top)
Keepaway: Kompetitor
Kompetitor (EP) Free Download!
(To just listen without downloading click on the arrow at the top)
Keepaway: Kompetitor
Saturday, November 13
Two Aphorisms by Nietzsche
Thoughts: -- Thoughts are the shadows of our sentiments--always however obscurer, emptier, and simpler.
* *
My Dog--I have just given a name to my pain, and call it "a dog,"--it is just as faithful, just as importunate and shameless, just as entertaining , just as wise, as any other dog-- and I can domineer over it, and vent my bad humour on it, as others do with their dogs, servants and wives.
(Joyful Wisdom, 1882)
* * * * *
New Poem by Nico Vassilakis
Diminished Use Value/Disturbed Surface
* * * * *
I'm Reading (with Lisa Robertson) at the Poetry Project
On January 19, 2011
* * * * *
Robert Archambeau Interview on The Argotist Online
* * * *
Ray DiPalma on PennSound
* * * *
David Antin Rethinks Freud
* * * *
Laynie Browne on PennSound
* * * *
Rosemarie Waldrop
reading at KGB Bar, November 22, 7:30 pm
Celebrating her new book DRIVEN TO ABSTRACTION
Thoughts: -- Thoughts are the shadows of our sentiments--always however obscurer, emptier, and simpler.
* *
My Dog--I have just given a name to my pain, and call it "a dog,"--it is just as faithful, just as importunate and shameless, just as entertaining , just as wise, as any other dog-- and I can domineer over it, and vent my bad humour on it, as others do with their dogs, servants and wives.
(Joyful Wisdom, 1882)
* * * * *
New Poem by Nico Vassilakis
Diminished Use Value/Disturbed Surface
* * * * *
I'm Reading (with Lisa Robertson) at the Poetry Project
On January 19, 2011
* * * * *
Robert Archambeau Interview on The Argotist Online
* * * *
Ray DiPalma on PennSound
* * * *
David Antin Rethinks Freud
* * * *
Laynie Browne on PennSound
* * * *
Rosemarie Waldrop
reading at KGB Bar, November 22, 7:30 pm
Celebrating her new book DRIVEN TO ABSTRACTION
Friday, November 5
Keith back on the air this week. 300,000 people signed the petition!"
* * * *
Anchor's Away
Guessing what might happen to Keith: Forbes
* * * *
Bring Back Keith Olbermann Now!
Sign The Petition!
* * * *
Colin Harrison and James Ellroy, two important mystery novelists were interviewed in June of 2009 by Sarah Weinman on her blog Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind. If you enjoy contemporary crime fiction, this is an interview well worth watching.
* * * *
Outrage Misguided by Noam Chomsky
* * * *
The new (free) Ebook from Argotist Online is Tracking Systems by Alan May
* * * *
Anchor's Away
Guessing what might happen to Keith: Forbes
* * * *
Bring Back Keith Olbermann Now!
Sign The Petition!
* * * *
Colin Harrison and James Ellroy, two important mystery novelists were interviewed in June of 2009 by Sarah Weinman on her blog Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind. If you enjoy contemporary crime fiction, this is an interview well worth watching.
* * * *
Outrage Misguided by Noam Chomsky
* * * *
The new (free) Ebook from Argotist Online is Tracking Systems by Alan May
Sunday, October 10
2cd Avenue: The Occult Issue, guest edited by Alan Ramon Clinton
2cd Avenue: Volume 3 Contributors
Toni Simon: Anubis Bastet Sebek Thoth
Toni Simon: Earth After Earth
* * * *
October 31
Otloths issue 19 Southern Spring 2010
* * * *
October 31
The new Ebook from Argotist Online is IMPRESSIVE (BIG) INSTANT (BANG)! by Ivan Arguelles
* * * *
October 31
Poets and Artists December 2010-Edited by Didi Menendez
* * * *
The New E-book from Argotist Online is: Vernon Frazier's Margin- L
* * * *
The new Ebook from Argotist Online is: Jerome Rothenberg's The Jigoku Zoshi Hells, A Book of Variations
* * * *
Argotist Online E books
* * * *
Must Not Sleep- a complete novel online by Michael Brownstein
* * * *
Home Alone
In Real Life
* * * *
10/22
Today is David Bromige's birthday
Scroll down for Wood s lot feature
2cd Avenue: Volume 3 Contributors
Toni Simon: Anubis Bastet Sebek Thoth
Toni Simon: Earth After Earth
* * * *
October 31
Otloths issue 19 Southern Spring 2010
* * * *
October 31
The new Ebook from Argotist Online is IMPRESSIVE (BIG) INSTANT (BANG)! by Ivan Arguelles
* * * *
October 31
Poets and Artists December 2010-Edited by Didi Menendez
* * * *
The New E-book from Argotist Online is: Vernon Frazier's Margin- L
* * * *
The new Ebook from Argotist Online is: Jerome Rothenberg's The Jigoku Zoshi Hells, A Book of Variations
* * * *
Argotist Online E books
* * * *
Must Not Sleep- a complete novel online by Michael Brownstein
* * * *
Home Alone
In Real Life
* * * *
10/22
Today is David Bromige's birthday
Scroll down for Wood s lot feature
Sunday, September 26
Toni Simon reading a selection from her poem Earth After Earth with projected illustrations at the 2cd Avenue vol. 3 Occult issue launch at The Creek and The Cave in Long Island City on Saturday 9/25. Full text with illustrations on the 2cd Avenue Website coming soon! A glimpse of overall editor and event organizer Paulo Javier may be seen at the end of the clip. Paulo Javier announced that Earth after Earth was one of guest editor Alan Clinton's favorites.
* * * * *
Contradicta
A couple in love are like two trapeze artists: jump, flip, free fall, reach out two hands are there. And for life, if you're lucky, like me.
[for Toni Simon]
* * * *
There are ideas whose purpose is to entice the seeker to go in circles; a fruitless search might end by revealing a cruel face behind a mask
* * * * *
found contradicta
[tattoos on the arm of a cashier at MOMA- 10/2/10- quotes from Charles Bukowski]
CREATE DANGEROUSLY
* *
Some people never go crazy- what horrible lives they must lead
* * * * *
Publishing as an Art Form
Poets and Artists November 2010-Dulce Menendez, editor
On the cover is a painting by Denis Peterson and reading his contributing poem for the painting USA Today is Geof Huth (when the site opens you will hear Geof Huth reading his poem)
* * * * *
Sheila Murphy interviews Mark Young
* * * * *
Ned Rorem 5 CD Set- Serebrier Conducts Rorem
Tuesday, October 19 Lincoln Center Barnes and Noble Ned Rorem
* * * * *
Mark Lamoureux Dance Poems (pdf)
* * * * *
Steven Fama on Lamoureux' Dance Poems The Glade
* * * * *
Quixote radio
* * * * *
Tuesday, September 21
you are invited to the launch of
2nd Ave Poetry , vol 3: The Occult
guest edited by alan ramon CLINTON
Saturday, September 25
5-7 pm
FREE
The Creek and The Cave
10-93 Jackson Ave, Long Island City
(on the E, G, & 7 train, B61 bus)
featuring readings & multimedia performances by
mitch HIGHFILL * toni SIMON * hector CANONGE
charles BORKHUIS * priscilla STADLER
brenda COULTAS * jill MAGI * kelly SPIVEY
douglas a. MARTIN * mark LAMOUREAUX
downstairs after-PARTY with live set by dj DESPO
volume 3 also includes work by
kevin KILLIAN * leslie SCALAPINO * dodie BELLAMY
jeremy THOMPSON * rit PREMNATH * caitlin PARKER
tsering wangmo DHOMPA * thom DONOVAN
r. zamora LINMARK * thomas FINK * denise DUHAMEL
filip MARINOVICH * ca CONRAD * frank SHERLOCK
lyn GOERINGER * matt JONES * clayton ESHLEMAN
charles BERNSTEIN * stephanie GRAY * gerrit LANSING
vincent KATZ * rusty MORRISON * laynie BROWN
tim PETERSON * john HARKEY * r.m. ENGELHARDT
emmy CATEDRAL * yago CURA * ernest CONCEPCION
jonny FARROW * alan ramon CLINTON
2nd Ave Poetry , vol 3: The Occult
guest edited by alan ramon CLINTON
Saturday, September 25
5-7 pm
FREE
The Creek and The Cave
10-93 Jackson Ave, Long Island City
(on the E, G, & 7 train, B61 bus)
featuring readings & multimedia performances by
mitch HIGHFILL * toni SIMON * hector CANONGE
charles BORKHUIS * priscilla STADLER
brenda COULTAS * jill MAGI * kelly SPIVEY
douglas a. MARTIN * mark LAMOUREAUX
downstairs after-PARTY with live set by dj DESPO
volume 3 also includes work by
kevin KILLIAN * leslie SCALAPINO * dodie BELLAMY
jeremy THOMPSON * rit PREMNATH * caitlin PARKER
tsering wangmo DHOMPA * thom DONOVAN
r. zamora LINMARK * thomas FINK * denise DUHAMEL
filip MARINOVICH * ca CONRAD * frank SHERLOCK
lyn GOERINGER * matt JONES * clayton ESHLEMAN
charles BERNSTEIN * stephanie GRAY * gerrit LANSING
vincent KATZ * rusty MORRISON * laynie BROWN
tim PETERSON * john HARKEY * r.m. ENGELHARDT
emmy CATEDRAL * yago CURA * ernest CONCEPCION
jonny FARROW * alan ramon CLINTON
Tuesday, September 14
The Unbearable Lightness of Blogging
Around the time Toni and I moved to Park Slope, I wrote a piece about Hazlitt on this blog. That was 4/25-5/2 2004. Someone must have linked to it, and I noticed the link on my site meter. I reread it and thought to repost it.
* * * *
new issue: k a m a t e k a o r a (New Zealand)
* * * *
Anne Tardos, Nine, 40 A flow movie
* * * *
Alan Davies featured in Craig Dworkin's
UBU WEB Anthology of Conceptual Writing
* * * * *
Works Received:
Ray Di Palma: House of Keys (foldout chapbook, art and poetry): Longhouse, Longhouse Poetry
"But at least for the moment unable to think further, though/
with a sense of being a privileged insider whose querulous/
nature was never far from the surface and was always ready/
with a challenging response meant to be heard never more/
than in partial jest..."
* * * * *
Geof Huth: untitled 10 page privately distributed chapbook dated 9 September 2010
"dendritic /excercises towards (no, toward (no, to))
the thought thinking"
Geof Huth's email: geofhuth@gmail.com
Geof Huth's 365 ltrs
Around the time Toni and I moved to Park Slope, I wrote a piece about Hazlitt on this blog. That was 4/25-5/2 2004. Someone must have linked to it, and I noticed the link on my site meter. I reread it and thought to repost it.
* * * *
new issue: k a m a t e k a o r a (New Zealand)
* * * *
Anne Tardos, Nine, 40 A flow movie
* * * *
Alan Davies featured in Craig Dworkin's
UBU WEB Anthology of Conceptual Writing
* * * * *
Works Received:
Ray Di Palma: House of Keys (foldout chapbook, art and poetry): Longhouse, Longhouse Poetry
"But at least for the moment unable to think further, though/
with a sense of being a privileged insider whose querulous/
nature was never far from the surface and was always ready/
with a challenging response meant to be heard never more/
than in partial jest..."
* * * * *
Geof Huth: untitled 10 page privately distributed chapbook dated 9 September 2010
"dendritic /excercises towards (no, toward (no, to))
the thought thinking"
Geof Huth's email: geofhuth@gmail.com
Geof Huth's 365 ltrs
Sunday, September 5
New Nico Vassilakis book from Xexoxial: Starings
* * * * *
Peacock Online Review #1 includes Anselm Berrigan, Joel Lewis, Alice Notley, others
* * * * *
OMG-TMI! NY Times
* * * * *
The New Book from Argotist Online is The Collected Essays of Adam Fieled
* * * * *
esque/oetry/ifesto
Issue 1- (flash- takes a minute to load)
via wood s lot
* * * *
Delirious Hem: A Tribute to Leslie Scalapino: Day 1 of 4
* * * * * *
Robert Reich Op-Ed NY Time September 2, 2010
How to End the Great Recession
* * * * *
Poets and Artists October 2010 Edited by Didi Menendez
* * * *
Text Festival
* * * *
Nico Vassilakis Staring Toward Vispoetics
* * * *
David Arner & George Quasha perform Tuesday (9/7) at White Box, 7:30 PM
David Arner/George Quasha perform Axial Sound Composition at White Box
which involves percussion, piano, proto-language, and urmusic.
Pasha Radetzki will perform at 7:30
Arner & Quasha at 8:30
Location on Broome between Bowery and Christie
329 Broome Street. New York, NY. 10002
Phone: 212-714-2347
* * * * *
Peacock Online Review #1 includes Anselm Berrigan, Joel Lewis, Alice Notley, others
* * * * *
OMG-TMI! NY Times
* * * * *
The New Book from Argotist Online is The Collected Essays of Adam Fieled
* * * * *
esque/oetry/ifesto
Issue 1- (flash- takes a minute to load)
via wood s lot
* * * *
Delirious Hem: A Tribute to Leslie Scalapino: Day 1 of 4
* * * * * *
Robert Reich Op-Ed NY Time September 2, 2010
How to End the Great Recession
* * * * *
Poets and Artists October 2010 Edited by Didi Menendez
* * * *
Text Festival
* * * *
Nico Vassilakis Staring Toward Vispoetics
* * * *
David Arner & George Quasha perform Tuesday (9/7) at White Box, 7:30 PM
David Arner/George Quasha perform Axial Sound Composition at White Box
which involves percussion, piano, proto-language, and urmusic.
Pasha Radetzki will perform at 7:30
Arner & Quasha at 8:30
Location on Broome between Bowery and Christie
329 Broome Street. New York, NY. 10002
Phone: 212-714-2347
Wednesday, September 1
Contradicta
Happiness is an attitude, not an outcome. When things go wrong, straighten out the dent in your attitude, then proceed.
* * * * *
Every minute of every day the gap between love and fame grows wider.
*****************************************************************
"Oh, well." Already you've taken a first step towards forgiveness and philosophy.
* * * * *
You went the right way, you went the wrong way, now you can rest.
Happiness is an attitude, not an outcome. When things go wrong, straighten out the dent in your attitude, then proceed.
* * * * *
Every minute of every day the gap between love and fame grows wider.
*****************************************************************
"Oh, well." Already you've taken a first step towards forgiveness and philosophy.
* * * * *
You went the right way, you went the wrong way, now you can rest.
Monday, August 30
George Quasha and friends perform Axial Compositions at White Box, 8/26
* * * * *
The new e book on Argotist Online is Paradigm of the Tinctures by Alan Halsey and Steve McCaffery
* * * * *
Contradicta Book Titles
A Tragic Honesty- (The Life and Work of Richard Yates) -Blake Bailey
The Truth of Poetry- Michael Hamburger
* * * * *
The new e book on Argotist Online is Paradigm of the Tinctures by Alan Halsey and Steve McCaffery
* * * * *
Contradicta Book Titles
A Tragic Honesty- (The Life and Work of Richard Yates) -Blake Bailey
The Truth of Poetry- Michael Hamburger
Monday, August 23
Jack Gilbert: Poet Without a Career
Jim Finnegan
via Word Pond
* * * *
The Brooklyn Book Festival
* * * *
Argotist Online Interview with Sheila M. Murphy
Jim Finnegan
via Word Pond
* * * *
The Brooklyn Book Festival
* * * *
Argotist Online Interview with Sheila M. Murphy
Friday, August 13
Thanks to James Geary for featuring Contradicta: Aphorisms on
All Aphorisms All The Time
and to Jim Finnegan for the recommendation Uraprache
* * * *
Ten New poems from Ray DiPalma on Jacket 40
* * * *
The new book from Argotist Online is Ric Carfegna Symphony Number 2
* * * *
My Whole Street is a Mosque Mira Schor: A Year of Positive Thinking
* * * *
The latest Mipoesias
All Aphorisms All The Time
and to Jim Finnegan for the recommendation Uraprache
* * * *
Ten New poems from Ray DiPalma on Jacket 40
* * * *
The new book from Argotist Online is Ric Carfegna Symphony Number 2
* * * *
My Whole Street is a Mosque Mira Schor: A Year of Positive Thinking
* * * *
The latest Mipoesias
Tuesday, August 10
Thursday, July 8
Jerome Sala (Expresso Bongo) on The Critic as Artist and Vice-Versa:Thoughts on Oscar Wilde, Wallace Stevens, and Nick Piombino (July 30)
* * * *
Mark Young writes about his father The Victorian Age
* * * *
Les Black "The Listeners" Eurozine
Via wood s lot
* * * *
Otoliths Number Eighteen
* * * *
The latest issue of Poets and Artists edited by Didi Menendez
* * * *
"Wikipedia refers to Sven Birkerts' 1994 study The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in the Electronic Age, and the work of developmental psychologist Maryanne Wolf, who pointed out the loss of "deep reading" capacity. Internet-savvy users, she states, seem to lose the ability to read and enjoy thick novels and comprehensive monographs".
The colonization of real-time and other trends in Web 2.0"
viaWood s lot
* * * *
Looking for Love: Douglas Messerli on Nathanael West's Miss Lonelyhearts Green Integer Blog
* * * *
the new books on The Argotist Online:
The Blast Area by John Tranter
Pesticide Drift by F.A.Nettlebeck
Noise Difficulty Flower by J. D. Nelson
Solzhenitzen Jukebox by Ann Bogle
* * * *
Fragments of a Broken Poetics by Jennifer Moxley
* * * * *
Blogging is Dead: :Long Live the Blog by Joshua Corey
* * * * *
The new book on Argotist Online is A Year of Ordinary Moments by Rich Curtis
* * * * *
New from Otoliths Expanding The Radius by Mary Ellen Derwis, Joe Balaz
* * * * *
New Books from Argotist Online by Chris Stroffolino and Evelyn Posamentier
* * * * *
Norman Fischer interviewed by Hank Lazer on the Argotist Online
* * * * *
Fiber Optic Tapestry by Ligorano Reese- Kickstarter
* * * *
The new book from Argotist Online is
King Amour by Jack Foley
* * * * *
A Celebration in Poetry and Art for Didi Menendez
50/50 Words and Images for Didi Menendez
High Resolution PDF
Low Resolution PDF
* * * * *
The Project for Innovative Poetry
Today, Douglas Messerli posted a listing for me on his PIP blog:
THe Project for Innovative Poetry
* * * * *
--Nico Vassilakis-asemic poetry--"In this episode, the alphabet refuses to be belittled by word logic and takes its revenge by dismantling it".
--from: The Bleed A journal of vital, progressive visual, concrete and experimental poetries
* * * * *
Cpntradicta
While all lives end with death, most novels begin with one.
* * * * *
Everything in the world exists in order to end up looking for a book.
* * * *
Mark Young writes about his father The Victorian Age
* * * *
Les Black "The Listeners" Eurozine
Via wood s lot
* * * *
Otoliths Number Eighteen
* * * *
The latest issue of Poets and Artists edited by Didi Menendez
* * * *
"Wikipedia refers to Sven Birkerts' 1994 study The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in the Electronic Age, and the work of developmental psychologist Maryanne Wolf, who pointed out the loss of "deep reading" capacity. Internet-savvy users, she states, seem to lose the ability to read and enjoy thick novels and comprehensive monographs".
The colonization of real-time and other trends in Web 2.0"
viaWood s lot
* * * *
Looking for Love: Douglas Messerli on Nathanael West's Miss Lonelyhearts Green Integer Blog
* * * *
the new books on The Argotist Online:
The Blast Area by John Tranter
Pesticide Drift by F.A.Nettlebeck
Noise Difficulty Flower by J. D. Nelson
Solzhenitzen Jukebox by Ann Bogle
* * * *
Fragments of a Broken Poetics by Jennifer Moxley
* * * * *
Blogging is Dead: :Long Live the Blog by Joshua Corey
* * * * *
The new book on Argotist Online is A Year of Ordinary Moments by Rich Curtis
* * * * *
New from Otoliths Expanding The Radius by Mary Ellen Derwis, Joe Balaz
* * * * *
New Books from Argotist Online by Chris Stroffolino and Evelyn Posamentier
* * * * *
Norman Fischer interviewed by Hank Lazer on the Argotist Online
* * * * *
Fiber Optic Tapestry by Ligorano Reese- Kickstarter
* * * *
The new book from Argotist Online is
King Amour by Jack Foley
* * * * *
A Celebration in Poetry and Art for Didi Menendez
50/50 Words and Images for Didi Menendez
High Resolution PDF
Low Resolution PDF
* * * * *
The Project for Innovative Poetry
Today, Douglas Messerli posted a listing for me on his PIP blog:
THe Project for Innovative Poetry
* * * * *
--Nico Vassilakis-asemic poetry--"In this episode, the alphabet refuses to be belittled by word logic and takes its revenge by dismantling it".
--from: The Bleed A journal of vital, progressive visual, concrete and experimental poetries
* * * * *
Cpntradicta
While all lives end with death, most novels begin with one.
* * * * *
Everything in the world exists in order to end up looking for a book.
Sunday, July 4
Video: Stop Gambling on Hunger
* * * * *
Amiri Baraka interview-- Argotist Online
* * * * *
Don Share on Ron silliman on W. S. Merwin as Poet Laureate Squandermania
* * * * *
Poets and Artists Summer 2010 (Didi Menendez, ed)
* * * * *
Argotist Online E-Books
The two latest ebooks for Argotist Online are by Alan Sondheim and Jeff Harrison. Here is the entire backlist of free ebooks from publisher Jeffrey Side:Argotist Ebooks
The new ebook from Argotist Ebooks is “Stories Short and Strange” by Bill Drennan.
Description:
“Stories Short and Strange” is the first volume of a unique collection by Bill Drennan. These tales are typically laced with blends of absurdist science fiction, satire, childish cartoonism and black space humour.
Available as a free ebook here:
Stories Short and Strange
* * * * *
The latest issue of Wig edited by Kristen Gallagher and Tim Shaner just arrived. This issue features watercolors by Steve Benson and writing from Laynie Browne, Del Ray Cross, Thom Donovan, Patrick Durgin, William Fuller, Kristen Gallagher, Judith Goldman, Brandon Holmquist, Rodney Koeneke, Richard Kostelanetz, Bill Marsh, Tim Shaner and Carol Szymanski. $10 to Tim Shaner at 130 E. 49th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97405 gets you 95 pages of exciting new art, poetry and commentary.
* * * * *
The latest issue of Provincetown Arr Magazine features a cover, interview with Charles Bernstein and an article/essay about artist Mira Schor
Blog-A Year of Positive Thinking
* * * * *
Amiri Baraka interview-- Argotist Online
* * * * *
Don Share on Ron silliman on W. S. Merwin as Poet Laureate Squandermania
* * * * *
Poets and Artists Summer 2010 (Didi Menendez, ed)
* * * * *
Argotist Online E-Books
The two latest ebooks for Argotist Online are by Alan Sondheim and Jeff Harrison. Here is the entire backlist of free ebooks from publisher Jeffrey Side:Argotist Ebooks
The new ebook from Argotist Ebooks is “Stories Short and Strange” by Bill Drennan.
Description:
“Stories Short and Strange” is the first volume of a unique collection by Bill Drennan. These tales are typically laced with blends of absurdist science fiction, satire, childish cartoonism and black space humour.
Available as a free ebook here:
Stories Short and Strange
* * * * *
The latest issue of Wig edited by Kristen Gallagher and Tim Shaner just arrived. This issue features watercolors by Steve Benson and writing from Laynie Browne, Del Ray Cross, Thom Donovan, Patrick Durgin, William Fuller, Kristen Gallagher, Judith Goldman, Brandon Holmquist, Rodney Koeneke, Richard Kostelanetz, Bill Marsh, Tim Shaner and Carol Szymanski. $10 to Tim Shaner at 130 E. 49th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97405 gets you 95 pages of exciting new art, poetry and commentary.
* * * * *
The latest issue of Provincetown Arr Magazine features a cover, interview with Charles Bernstein and an article/essay about artist Mira Schor
Blog-A Year of Positive Thinking
Thursday, July 1
Ray DiPalma- Obloquium and Committer of Tidings- 7 Poems (Jacket) .
* * * * *
"Mr. E. was a self-made man who grew up in a poor immigrant family. He was a brilliant businessman, though, and for those at Pickwick who showed more than just a passing interest in the industry, he gave of his wisdom freely. ONe of the many pearls he shared with me was that although the best sellers are exciting, they come and go. It's basically a business of one's and two's when it comes to the backlist books that consistently make money for a bookstore over the long haul. More than three decades later, I believe this philosophy still holds true for independent bookstores."
An Alphabetical Life: Living it Up In the World Of Books- Wendy Werris- 2006
An Alphabetical Life- Goodreads listing
* * * * *
"Mr. E. was a self-made man who grew up in a poor immigrant family. He was a brilliant businessman, though, and for those at Pickwick who showed more than just a passing interest in the industry, he gave of his wisdom freely. ONe of the many pearls he shared with me was that although the best sellers are exciting, they come and go. It's basically a business of one's and two's when it comes to the backlist books that consistently make money for a bookstore over the long haul. More than three decades later, I believe this philosophy still holds true for independent bookstores."
An Alphabetical Life: Living it Up In the World Of Books- Wendy Werris- 2006
An Alphabetical Life- Goodreads listing
Wednesday, June 23
I received an email from Ron Silliman telling me that Peter Seaton died last month on May 18, 2010, of an apparent heart attack.
Peter Seaton and I met at City College (CCNY) in 1960 or 1961, when we were freshmen or sophomores. He was born on December 16, 1942. We spent many, many fascinating hours together discussing literature and reading each others writing throughout our college days. Peter's appearance changed little over the years. He had short, close cropped light brown curly hair, which later became gray. He wore glasses, frequently sunglasses or glasses with clear plastic frames through which you could invariably observe twinkling eyes, often a dark brown henley t-shirt and light tan corduroys, and though short in stature he had a distinctive walk, a rolling gait that sometimes reminded me of a sailor. Peter was a terrific marathon one-on-one conversationalist, a mordant, literary wit of the Holden Caulfield variety, an indefatigable reader who loved to endlessly talk and search for books and new ideas. This, combined with the fact that he was among the most private and secretive persons I have ever known, added immeasurably to the quality of mystery that surrounded both his presence and his absence. Other than the fact that he attended boarding school, he spoke little about his early life. One of his first short stories that may have been written for a writing class we took together was of a character obsessed with going out into the city on an inexplicable, lonely search for a certain hard to find poster. Our interests and directions concerning poetry and poetics remained parallel after graduation in 1964, often attending readings together at St Mark’s, reading The World magazine and other poetry magazines and discussing them avidly, through to the establishment of This magazine, and L=A magazine, up to the early 80’s. During the opening and middle years of Language poetry many of Peter Seaton’s long prose poems were published, widely read and influential. Peter and I did some writing collaborations and even some film experiments together in the late 60’s and early 70’s (we were then both big fans of Stan Brakhage) although these may now be lost or hard to locate. I may still have one or two letters or postcards that he wrote to me when I was living for awhile in Italy and Morocco in the late 60’s. It was he that told me that Bernadette Mayer, whose work we both greatly admired, was giving an open workshop at the Poetry Project in 1973. He always encouraged me in my writing and collage productions particularly, explaining to me that he was knowledgeable about this because his mother had once run an art gallery. I am sorry to say that we lost touch with each other in the early 80’s. Peter’s writing and poetry and his penetrating insights into poetry, culture, technology, language and life were of constant interest to me during our many years of close friendship in the 60's and 70's.
* * *
Penn Sound Obit
* * *
Wikipedia page-Peter Seaton
* * *
Peter Seaton Community Facebook Page
* * *
Eclipse Author Index, including three complete books by Peter Seaton Eclipse
* * *
Peter Seaton and I met at City College (CCNY) in 1960 or 1961, when we were freshmen or sophomores. He was born on December 16, 1942. We spent many, many fascinating hours together discussing literature and reading each others writing throughout our college days. Peter's appearance changed little over the years. He had short, close cropped light brown curly hair, which later became gray. He wore glasses, frequently sunglasses or glasses with clear plastic frames through which you could invariably observe twinkling eyes, often a dark brown henley t-shirt and light tan corduroys, and though short in stature he had a distinctive walk, a rolling gait that sometimes reminded me of a sailor. Peter was a terrific marathon one-on-one conversationalist, a mordant, literary wit of the Holden Caulfield variety, an indefatigable reader who loved to endlessly talk and search for books and new ideas. This, combined with the fact that he was among the most private and secretive persons I have ever known, added immeasurably to the quality of mystery that surrounded both his presence and his absence. Other than the fact that he attended boarding school, he spoke little about his early life. One of his first short stories that may have been written for a writing class we took together was of a character obsessed with going out into the city on an inexplicable, lonely search for a certain hard to find poster. Our interests and directions concerning poetry and poetics remained parallel after graduation in 1964, often attending readings together at St Mark’s, reading The World magazine and other poetry magazines and discussing them avidly, through to the establishment of This magazine, and L=A magazine, up to the early 80’s. During the opening and middle years of Language poetry many of Peter Seaton’s long prose poems were published, widely read and influential. Peter and I did some writing collaborations and even some film experiments together in the late 60’s and early 70’s (we were then both big fans of Stan Brakhage) although these may now be lost or hard to locate. I may still have one or two letters or postcards that he wrote to me when I was living for awhile in Italy and Morocco in the late 60’s. It was he that told me that Bernadette Mayer, whose work we both greatly admired, was giving an open workshop at the Poetry Project in 1973. He always encouraged me in my writing and collage productions particularly, explaining to me that he was knowledgeable about this because his mother had once run an art gallery. I am sorry to say that we lost touch with each other in the early 80’s. Peter’s writing and poetry and his penetrating insights into poetry, culture, technology, language and life were of constant interest to me during our many years of close friendship in the 60's and 70's.
* * *
Penn Sound Obit
* * *
Wikipedia page-Peter Seaton
* * *
Peter Seaton Community Facebook Page
* * *
Eclipse Author Index, including three complete books by Peter Seaton Eclipse
* * *
Sunday, June 13
Friend of The Dead
Have you checked out Joanna Fuhrman and Toni Simon's funny, charming and beautiful collaboration Friend of The Dead in Paper Bag Issue 1 yet?
* * * *
Contradicta
There are these split second inklings of eternity all day long, right before you start, when it feels like this time it's never going to end
* * * *
Forget make it new just make it quick.
--- My thanks to Ray DiPalma who has suggested that this aphorism, for a variety of reasons, might offer a highly suspect bit of advice.
* * * *
Shadow Poetics
Juliana Spahr- notes for a talk for rethinking poetics-swoonrocket
* * * *
Seinfeld's anomie:Expresso Bongo (Jerome Sala)
* * * * *
A Renaissance in the Art of the Book 1946-1981-Center for Book Arts- Curated by Kyle Schlesinger
* * * * *
On March 18, 2003, I attended a reading at Cooper Union that included Ann Lauterbach, Anne Waldman, Michael Lally and Robert Creeley, which I wrote about on this blog: March 19, 2003. Regarding Michael Lally's poem ("March 18, 2003"), I wrote: "Michael Lally read a very powerful long poem in that personal homespun style of his, enunciating so many offensive acts and policies of the far right that he made us understand that we have far too lightly critiqued these vicious movements for the past 50 years in this country, while endlessly muttering to ourselves, the audience seemed reluctant, even after 30 minutes, to allow him to step down." This post, by the way, is included in the book fait accompli, published by Factory School in 2007.
Tonight I had the amazingly moving experience of hearing Michael Lally read that poem again, on his new CD "Lost Angels." The album includes 9 other incredibly cool tracks with two excellent jazz combos behind him. The album includes "My Life 2" and "Before you Were Born," and is available from :Monomania Records. If you were not present at that reading back on the night before the initial bombing of Iraq, or even if you were, you should not miss listening to and having this amazing CD.
Have you checked out Joanna Fuhrman and Toni Simon's funny, charming and beautiful collaboration Friend of The Dead in Paper Bag Issue 1 yet?
* * * *
Contradicta
There are these split second inklings of eternity all day long, right before you start, when it feels like this time it's never going to end
* * * *
Forget make it new just make it quick.
--- My thanks to Ray DiPalma who has suggested that this aphorism, for a variety of reasons, might offer a highly suspect bit of advice.
* * * *
Shadow Poetics
Juliana Spahr- notes for a talk for rethinking poetics-swoonrocket
* * * *
Seinfeld's anomie:Expresso Bongo (Jerome Sala)
* * * * *
A Renaissance in the Art of the Book 1946-1981-Center for Book Arts- Curated by Kyle Schlesinger
* * * * *
On March 18, 2003, I attended a reading at Cooper Union that included Ann Lauterbach, Anne Waldman, Michael Lally and Robert Creeley, which I wrote about on this blog: March 19, 2003. Regarding Michael Lally's poem ("March 18, 2003"), I wrote: "Michael Lally read a very powerful long poem in that personal homespun style of his, enunciating so many offensive acts and policies of the far right that he made us understand that we have far too lightly critiqued these vicious movements for the past 50 years in this country, while endlessly muttering to ourselves, the audience seemed reluctant, even after 30 minutes, to allow him to step down." This post, by the way, is included in the book fait accompli, published by Factory School in 2007.
Tonight I had the amazingly moving experience of hearing Michael Lally read that poem again, on his new CD "Lost Angels." The album includes 9 other incredibly cool tracks with two excellent jazz combos behind him. The album includes "My Life 2" and "Before you Were Born," and is available from :Monomania Records. If you were not present at that reading back on the night before the initial bombing of Iraq, or even if you were, you should not miss listening to and having this amazing CD.
Sunday, June 6
Anubis Takes Joanna Fuhrman and Toni Simon on a Guided Tour Through Park Slope
Paper Bag Issue 1
* * * *
OCHO 30
* * * *
RE-ENGLISH-- Daria Fain and Robert Kocik--Governor's Island, June 4, 2010
with Aretha Aoki, Margot Basset, Chung-chen Chang, Stephen Cooper, Levi Gonzalez, Hasuki Homma, Masumi Kishimota, Kora Koimtzi, Athena Kokoronis, Martin Lanz, Mina Nishimura, Peter Sciscioli, Kensaku Shinohara and Samita Sinha.
As part of an ongoing collaborative "research" project conducted by Fain and Kocik that they call The Prosodic Body one of the dancer/singer/workshop member/performance artists recited the following "anonymous 17th century protest poem" titled "Goose":
"The law locks up the man or woman who steals the goose from off the common
but leaves the greater villain loose who steals the common from the goose.
The law demands that we atone when we take things we do not own
but leaves the lords and ladies fine who take things that are yours and mine.
The poor and wretched don't escape if they conspire the law to break;
this must be so but they endure those who conspire to make the law.
The law locks up the man or woman who steals the goose from off the common
and geese will still a common lack till they go and steal it back."
This poem powerfully captures the aims and insights of the "commons" philosophy enacted in the piece and later discussed throughout the film presentation. I was sorry to have missed the earlier panel discussion that included Fred Ho.
The other night Toni and I watched the last of the 5th season of episodes of The Wire.. Although we've been sad to see other tv series end - I noticed this time Toni was particularly perturbed. There were a number of reasons for this, but one of them, I'm sure, was the series' political astuteness along with the excellent acting and narrative power to support the cultural and social points being made, and the stories being told, many of which were based on actual events in recent years in Baltimore..
Like The Wire, but here more in the realm of experimental high art, the Fain/Kocik Re-English has much to offer in the way of social/political critique, the difference being that in this collaboration solutions are being actively sought, and the early seeding of an actual social movement may be observed. The performance went on for about forty-five minutes and there were fourteen performers. Each performer enacted individual movement scenarios, and one by one the performers recited pieces written or collected by Robert Kocik,including the one quoted above. There were sung elements as well, and pre-verbal phonemic utterances that were sometimes said, sometimes chanted and sometimes sung. HIstory, political critique, music, movement, shamanistic chant, and psycho-lexical experimentation and many other elements have been brought together and developed in the Fain/Kocik research mode towards a philosophy they have described as "The commons." The group has been in evolution for over four years, Fain describes the effort as a form of "economic research", ironically referring to the financial struggles of the group as well. It is gratifying to witness the survival of a group that has an aim that combines the political, the social and the artistic.
For me, one of the most exciting moments of the piece was performed by Margot Basset. I can only describe it by saying that she virtually transformed her voice into that of a large, chirping, wailing, whooping, crying bird, in a manner so shamanistically powerful as to bring the energy of the room into another spiritual dimension entirely; this could only have happened in the context of the convincing and moving efforts of the entire troupe, who, it is almost impossible to believe have mostly worked in a piecemeal "commons" fashion employed by the group, as Daria told me later when she and Robert Kocik found me and Toni relaxing on the beautiful Governor's Island lawn as they were leaving after the film and performances. [At that moment Toni and I were in astonished wonder at the synchronicity of our discovering a few minutes earlier that our nephew Michael Burakoff's band Keepaway was then in the process of doing a sound check for their concert later that night at the nearby sound stage at the moment we left after the Re-English piece and the film about the Commons. Put that together with the fact that Governor's Island is my birthplace (my father was an officer stationed there at the beginning of the Second World War), and you've got a series of synchronicities more complex that I can easily process.]
Anyway, In the film shown immediately after Re-English, one goal for the Commons group I feel particularly crucial is the integration of the needs of the individual with that of the group for, up until now, it seems to me all political systems have failed to maximize the potential of these two elements working together on each other's behalf; a goal actually aimed for and often achieved in this choral, soloistic, combinatory, harmonic and planfully anarchic, polycultural, artistic and social theatrical enactment.
Commoning on Governor's Island-Wild Horses of Fire (Thom Donovan)
Thom Donovan on The Phonemic Choir
* * * *
Ron Loses Link List
While Ron reconstructs and builds his next link list, check out his latest one:
Rons Link List
Paper Bag Issue 1
* * * *
OCHO 30
* * * *
RE-ENGLISH-- Daria Fain and Robert Kocik--Governor's Island, June 4, 2010
with Aretha Aoki, Margot Basset, Chung-chen Chang, Stephen Cooper, Levi Gonzalez, Hasuki Homma, Masumi Kishimota, Kora Koimtzi, Athena Kokoronis, Martin Lanz, Mina Nishimura, Peter Sciscioli, Kensaku Shinohara and Samita Sinha.
As part of an ongoing collaborative "research" project conducted by Fain and Kocik that they call The Prosodic Body one of the dancer/singer/workshop member/performance artists recited the following "anonymous 17th century protest poem" titled "Goose":
"The law locks up the man or woman who steals the goose from off the common
but leaves the greater villain loose who steals the common from the goose.
The law demands that we atone when we take things we do not own
but leaves the lords and ladies fine who take things that are yours and mine.
The poor and wretched don't escape if they conspire the law to break;
this must be so but they endure those who conspire to make the law.
The law locks up the man or woman who steals the goose from off the common
and geese will still a common lack till they go and steal it back."
This poem powerfully captures the aims and insights of the "commons" philosophy enacted in the piece and later discussed throughout the film presentation. I was sorry to have missed the earlier panel discussion that included Fred Ho.
The other night Toni and I watched the last of the 5th season of episodes of The Wire.. Although we've been sad to see other tv series end - I noticed this time Toni was particularly perturbed. There were a number of reasons for this, but one of them, I'm sure, was the series' political astuteness along with the excellent acting and narrative power to support the cultural and social points being made, and the stories being told, many of which were based on actual events in recent years in Baltimore..
Like The Wire, but here more in the realm of experimental high art, the Fain/Kocik Re-English has much to offer in the way of social/political critique, the difference being that in this collaboration solutions are being actively sought, and the early seeding of an actual social movement may be observed. The performance went on for about forty-five minutes and there were fourteen performers. Each performer enacted individual movement scenarios, and one by one the performers recited pieces written or collected by Robert Kocik,including the one quoted above. There were sung elements as well, and pre-verbal phonemic utterances that were sometimes said, sometimes chanted and sometimes sung. HIstory, political critique, music, movement, shamanistic chant, and psycho-lexical experimentation and many other elements have been brought together and developed in the Fain/Kocik research mode towards a philosophy they have described as "The commons." The group has been in evolution for over four years, Fain describes the effort as a form of "economic research", ironically referring to the financial struggles of the group as well. It is gratifying to witness the survival of a group that has an aim that combines the political, the social and the artistic.
For me, one of the most exciting moments of the piece was performed by Margot Basset. I can only describe it by saying that she virtually transformed her voice into that of a large, chirping, wailing, whooping, crying bird, in a manner so shamanistically powerful as to bring the energy of the room into another spiritual dimension entirely; this could only have happened in the context of the convincing and moving efforts of the entire troupe, who, it is almost impossible to believe have mostly worked in a piecemeal "commons" fashion employed by the group, as Daria told me later when she and Robert Kocik found me and Toni relaxing on the beautiful Governor's Island lawn as they were leaving after the film and performances. [At that moment Toni and I were in astonished wonder at the synchronicity of our discovering a few minutes earlier that our nephew Michael Burakoff's band Keepaway was then in the process of doing a sound check for their concert later that night at the nearby sound stage at the moment we left after the Re-English piece and the film about the Commons. Put that together with the fact that Governor's Island is my birthplace (my father was an officer stationed there at the beginning of the Second World War), and you've got a series of synchronicities more complex that I can easily process.]
Anyway, In the film shown immediately after Re-English, one goal for the Commons group I feel particularly crucial is the integration of the needs of the individual with that of the group for, up until now, it seems to me all political systems have failed to maximize the potential of these two elements working together on each other's behalf; a goal actually aimed for and often achieved in this choral, soloistic, combinatory, harmonic and planfully anarchic, polycultural, artistic and social theatrical enactment.
Commoning on Governor's Island-Wild Horses of Fire (Thom Donovan)
Thom Donovan on The Phonemic Choir
* * * *
Ron Loses Link List
While Ron reconstructs and builds his next link list, check out his latest one:
Rons Link List
David Markson, r.i.p.
"Farewell and be kind."
The last line of This Is Not A Novel (2001)
Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind
"Farewell and be kind."
The last line of This Is Not A Novel (2001)
Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind
Friday, June 4
Jay Sanders interviews Charles Bernstein in Bomb
* * * *
A selection from Ron Silliman's Revelator in Poetry Poetry Foundation
* * * *
Once again: Don Share's selection from Contradicta on Squandermania
* * * *
Poets and Artists July 2010
* * * *
* * * *
A selection from Ron Silliman's Revelator in Poetry Poetry Foundation
* * * *
Once again: Don Share's selection from Contradicta on Squandermania
* * * *
Poets and Artists July 2010
* * * *
Tuesday, June 1
R. I. P. Peter Orlovsky; La Times
R, I. P. Louise Bourgeois Silliman's blog Wall Street Journal
MIra Schor- A Year of Positive Thinking
* * *
Leslie Scalapino links, Silliman's Blog
* * *
Alan Davies on why poets should write negative reviews, and how I tried to discourage him from doing so. Alan writes: "I have a friend (Nick Piombino) who has more than once advised me to not write a book review unless I have good things to say about the book. Nick himself doesn’t write book reviews / which might be an indication of how many books of poetry he’s found to be worth reviewing (?!)".
I can imagine that I gave Alan this advice, I don't remember doing so, but if I did it was possibly as long as 30 years ago! I am quite sure I wouldn't have given this advice to Alan within the last 20; I think in the past 20 I would know better than to try to deprive him of his peppery critical zest!
Alan also makes the point that I haven't reviewed anyone of late. Actually, I have posted quite a few poetry reading reviews of late on this blog, but I do want to take this occasion to mention that I edited in 2007 and 2009 two issues of OCHO, published and produced by Didi Menendez. OCHO 14, by the way includes a hefty portion of the work of, well, Alan Davies and OCHO 21 includes the work of 14 other poets whose work I obviously admire. Silliman says of Davies work in OCHO 14:" Davies, on the other hand, offers a wide range of works, including some (textually) discrete poems, a long critical work that organizes itself as an a review of Anne Waldman’s Outrider, then a series of excerpts from a longer text – it seems too limiting to call it a poem – entitled This is Thinking. Davies hasn’t been publishing a lot in recent years & to see this much work at once, this much first-rate work, is completely bracing. He hasn’t lost a step & is every bit as uncompromising as ever. This actually can make Davies a difficult read at times, but it never is complexity just for the sake of showing off. He continues to be the Diogenes of the New York langpo scene. At the same time, Davies always comes across as sweet, vulnerable, friendly, somebody you’d love to know. I’d say that Davies’ contribution is worth the price of the issue alone, but I’d say that of well about Gordon, Vassilakis, Mesmer & several other of the contributors." Not a negative review, but, I'm sure most readers will agree, interesting, at least.
OCHO 14 was also reviewed by Nick Manning in Jacket 35
But I will admit to being a subscriber of the following aphorism of Henry James:
"Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind". Like most others, I can only claim this as an ideal. Certainly not as a political position, but when it comes to poet friends, well, yes.
Still, the article gives me much to think about.
* * * * *
Contradicta
The way to know people is to care about them. The way to care about them is to forget most of what you know about them.
* * *
If you are looking to get paid as a writer just remember that silence is golden- not your silence, their silence.
R, I. P. Louise Bourgeois Silliman's blog Wall Street Journal
MIra Schor- A Year of Positive Thinking
* * *
Leslie Scalapino links, Silliman's Blog
* * *
Alan Davies on why poets should write negative reviews, and how I tried to discourage him from doing so. Alan writes: "I have a friend (Nick Piombino) who has more than once advised me to not write a book review unless I have good things to say about the book. Nick himself doesn’t write book reviews / which might be an indication of how many books of poetry he’s found to be worth reviewing (?!)".
I can imagine that I gave Alan this advice, I don't remember doing so, but if I did it was possibly as long as 30 years ago! I am quite sure I wouldn't have given this advice to Alan within the last 20; I think in the past 20 I would know better than to try to deprive him of his peppery critical zest!
Alan also makes the point that I haven't reviewed anyone of late. Actually, I have posted quite a few poetry reading reviews of late on this blog, but I do want to take this occasion to mention that I edited in 2007 and 2009 two issues of OCHO, published and produced by Didi Menendez. OCHO 14, by the way includes a hefty portion of the work of, well, Alan Davies and OCHO 21 includes the work of 14 other poets whose work I obviously admire. Silliman says of Davies work in OCHO 14:" Davies, on the other hand, offers a wide range of works, including some (textually) discrete poems, a long critical work that organizes itself as an a review of Anne Waldman’s Outrider, then a series of excerpts from a longer text – it seems too limiting to call it a poem – entitled This is Thinking. Davies hasn’t been publishing a lot in recent years & to see this much work at once, this much first-rate work, is completely bracing. He hasn’t lost a step & is every bit as uncompromising as ever. This actually can make Davies a difficult read at times, but it never is complexity just for the sake of showing off. He continues to be the Diogenes of the New York langpo scene. At the same time, Davies always comes across as sweet, vulnerable, friendly, somebody you’d love to know. I’d say that Davies’ contribution is worth the price of the issue alone, but I’d say that of well about Gordon, Vassilakis, Mesmer & several other of the contributors." Not a negative review, but, I'm sure most readers will agree, interesting, at least.
OCHO 14 was also reviewed by Nick Manning in Jacket 35
But I will admit to being a subscriber of the following aphorism of Henry James:
"Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind". Like most others, I can only claim this as an ideal. Certainly not as a political position, but when it comes to poet friends, well, yes.
Still, the article gives me much to think about.
* * * * *
Contradicta
The way to know people is to care about them. The way to care about them is to forget most of what you know about them.
* * *
If you are looking to get paid as a writer just remember that silence is golden- not your silence, their silence.
Saturday, May 29
Tuesday, May 25
Blogging and Narcissism Once Again
Oh, Deja Vu: On Social Media and Narcissism [Redux]--Butterfly Hunt--Ernesto Priego
Oh, Deja Vu: On Social Media and Narcissism [Redux]--Butterfly Hunt--Ernesto Priego
Wednesday, April 21
Ron Silliman review of Contradicta- Silliman's Blog
* * * * *
5/19/10 NY Times: Arakawa, Whose Art Tried to Halt Aging, Dies at 73
* * * * *
Contradicta offered as help by a reader to a blogger in a comment stream
* * * * *
Don Share's selection of Contradicta, "unforgettably illustrated by Toni Simon", posted
on Squandermania 5/21/10
* * * * *
Mira Schor on the new Godard movie
* * * * *
Boog City 63 ed. David Kirschenbaum
* * * *
Ray DiPalma and Michael Lally at The Poetry Project Wednesday May 12
---Just a quick note to say that both poets gave first rate performances on this occasion. As it happens, these two readers are superb actors as well as being brilliantly accomplished poets at the top of their form. Each read a few published works, but focussed on unpublished manuscripts. Ray's recent poems were each stunning in their manifestations of surprise and inventiveness.In one poem Ray repeats a line a number of times, each time with a specific and unique ambience, offering, for example, the comic, reflective and ambiguous facets of each line, as if you might be turning a jewel around in the light. Ray DiPalma's mode of reading is acutely and precisely dramatic. Each poem was not only elegantly read in his carefully modulated and pleasant bass voice, but profoundly elucidated by his intricately nuanced internal interpretations as well. Hovering within and around each poem I detected a discrete dramatic persona. This is all the more amazing when you realize that Ray DiPalma's work also emanates on the printed page the penetrating eye of a great visual artist. Thus the multiple layering of Ray DiPalma's work, I would guess can only be completely experienced in eventually reading the work on the page and hearing him read it as well. How many poets can you think of are equally blessed with talents in the visual, verbal and dramatic dimensions? In this way, perhaps, Ray DiPalma is unique among his contemporaries.
Ray's was a hard act to follow. But Michael Lally was up the the task. His abilities as an actor are well known, but in this context, no doubt inspired by Ray's amazing performance, Michael was in incredibly top form tonight. After reading from a few published poems, Michael wove a mesmerizing autobiographical commentary into a selection of newer manuscripts. Michael's minutely described perceptions of his recent experiences before, during and after brain surgery for me, as I told him later, rose to the descriptive wonders of Oliver Sacks. For us, Michael made his struggles with learning how to read and write again, in tiny, gradual steps, fascinating, inspiring; in point of fact, poetic. I think also, for some reason of Christopher Knowles and Adrian Piper. After the operation Michael was unable, as he explained, to blend individual perceptions together. For that reason, trying to watch Jon Stewart and follow his subtle ironies Michael found, for the first time, strangely impossible. (After a decade of watching Stewart's bits, I am starting to feel the same way without having had brain surgery). Another example was that Michael could not be with someone and watch t.v. at the same time. Individual sounds would also be heard by his brain in a way that demanded equal attention, thus making it difficult for him to meld them together into a whole perception. He gave an example by noticing the sound of someone's water bottle very quietly popping in the audience. Michael also wondered whether the simplistic comprehension abilities of right wingers might owe something to a similar tendency toward concretization and the inability to form insights. He had us all laughing at this one. As Michael Lally wove his monologue around readings of some spare, but moving poems written before and after his operation, we were offered an unusual opportunity to glimpse the inner workings of his uniquely moving, and personally revealing creative process. I remember a poem in which he tells a young woman how much he is enjoying being in a comfortable bed after having slept in some pretty grungy ones. The woman said to him, perhaps this is why you are not more successful, you are so easily satisfied! Has Michael Lally gained enlightenment, he wonders aloud at the end of the reading? He hopes so, while we know so.
As they has been able to do for decades, on this occasion Michael Lally and Ray DiPalma, by means of their poet/actor magic alchemy, renewed our love for life's ambivalent mixture of tragedy and triumph, pain and laughter.
Jerome Sala on Michael Lally's reading [Expresso Bongo]
Lally's Alley- ML on his reading with Ray DiPalma
Lalley's Alley- 6 Months Since Brain Surgery
* * * *
Contradicta
Expect the best; people tend to give you what you expect, rather than what you want.
* * *
All your longings know where to go, but you have to tell them when to open their eyes.
* * * * *
Life ia a Time of Contraction
Drunken Boat
* * * *
Mother's Day
This was posted on Mother's Day on Wood s lot
Once again, Mark Woods gets it!
* * * * *
Otoliths Issue 17
* * * *
Poets and Artists May 2010 Poets and Artists
* * * *
Gregory Vincent St Thomasino reviews our book party for Contradicta at the Zinc on Sunday e ratio
* * * *
I'm still very proud of my interview with GVST on The Argotist Online
* * * *
Gregory Vincent St Thomasino's work was included in OCHO 21 OCHO 21
* * * *
Jerome Sala's new blog-- Expresso Bongo
* * * *
Mira Schor's new blog-- A Year of Positve Thinking
Reading Carla Harryman --ed. Laura HInton-- How 2 Silliman's Blog
* * * * *
5/19/10 NY Times: Arakawa, Whose Art Tried to Halt Aging, Dies at 73
* * * * *
Contradicta offered as help by a reader to a blogger in a comment stream
* * * * *
Don Share's selection of Contradicta, "unforgettably illustrated by Toni Simon", posted
on Squandermania 5/21/10
* * * * *
Mira Schor on the new Godard movie
* * * * *
Boog City 63 ed. David Kirschenbaum
* * * *
Ray DiPalma and Michael Lally at The Poetry Project Wednesday May 12
---Just a quick note to say that both poets gave first rate performances on this occasion. As it happens, these two readers are superb actors as well as being brilliantly accomplished poets at the top of their form. Each read a few published works, but focussed on unpublished manuscripts. Ray's recent poems were each stunning in their manifestations of surprise and inventiveness.In one poem Ray repeats a line a number of times, each time with a specific and unique ambience, offering, for example, the comic, reflective and ambiguous facets of each line, as if you might be turning a jewel around in the light. Ray DiPalma's mode of reading is acutely and precisely dramatic. Each poem was not only elegantly read in his carefully modulated and pleasant bass voice, but profoundly elucidated by his intricately nuanced internal interpretations as well. Hovering within and around each poem I detected a discrete dramatic persona. This is all the more amazing when you realize that Ray DiPalma's work also emanates on the printed page the penetrating eye of a great visual artist. Thus the multiple layering of Ray DiPalma's work, I would guess can only be completely experienced in eventually reading the work on the page and hearing him read it as well. How many poets can you think of are equally blessed with talents in the visual, verbal and dramatic dimensions? In this way, perhaps, Ray DiPalma is unique among his contemporaries.
Ray's was a hard act to follow. But Michael Lally was up the the task. His abilities as an actor are well known, but in this context, no doubt inspired by Ray's amazing performance, Michael was in incredibly top form tonight. After reading from a few published poems, Michael wove a mesmerizing autobiographical commentary into a selection of newer manuscripts. Michael's minutely described perceptions of his recent experiences before, during and after brain surgery for me, as I told him later, rose to the descriptive wonders of Oliver Sacks. For us, Michael made his struggles with learning how to read and write again, in tiny, gradual steps, fascinating, inspiring; in point of fact, poetic. I think also, for some reason of Christopher Knowles and Adrian Piper. After the operation Michael was unable, as he explained, to blend individual perceptions together. For that reason, trying to watch Jon Stewart and follow his subtle ironies Michael found, for the first time, strangely impossible. (After a decade of watching Stewart's bits, I am starting to feel the same way without having had brain surgery). Another example was that Michael could not be with someone and watch t.v. at the same time. Individual sounds would also be heard by his brain in a way that demanded equal attention, thus making it difficult for him to meld them together into a whole perception. He gave an example by noticing the sound of someone's water bottle very quietly popping in the audience. Michael also wondered whether the simplistic comprehension abilities of right wingers might owe something to a similar tendency toward concretization and the inability to form insights. He had us all laughing at this one. As Michael Lally wove his monologue around readings of some spare, but moving poems written before and after his operation, we were offered an unusual opportunity to glimpse the inner workings of his uniquely moving, and personally revealing creative process. I remember a poem in which he tells a young woman how much he is enjoying being in a comfortable bed after having slept in some pretty grungy ones. The woman said to him, perhaps this is why you are not more successful, you are so easily satisfied! Has Michael Lally gained enlightenment, he wonders aloud at the end of the reading? He hopes so, while we know so.
As they has been able to do for decades, on this occasion Michael Lally and Ray DiPalma, by means of their poet/actor magic alchemy, renewed our love for life's ambivalent mixture of tragedy and triumph, pain and laughter.
Jerome Sala on Michael Lally's reading [Expresso Bongo]
Lally's Alley- ML on his reading with Ray DiPalma
Lalley's Alley- 6 Months Since Brain Surgery
* * * *
Contradicta
Expect the best; people tend to give you what you expect, rather than what you want.
* * *
All your longings know where to go, but you have to tell them when to open their eyes.
* * * * *
Life ia a Time of Contraction
Drunken Boat
* * * *
Mother's Day
This was posted on Mother's Day on Wood s lot
Once again, Mark Woods gets it!
* * * * *
Otoliths Issue 17
* * * *
Poets and Artists May 2010 Poets and Artists
* * * *
Gregory Vincent St Thomasino reviews our book party for Contradicta at the Zinc on Sunday e ratio
* * * *
I'm still very proud of my interview with GVST on The Argotist Online
* * * *
Gregory Vincent St Thomasino's work was included in OCHO 21 OCHO 21
* * * *
Jerome Sala's new blog-- Expresso Bongo
* * * *
Mira Schor's new blog-- A Year of Positve Thinking
Reading Carla Harryman --ed. Laura HInton-- How 2 Silliman's Blog
Saturday, April 10
Book Launch & Signing
Sunday April 25, 2010
6:30pm
Zinc Bar
82 W. 3rd St, New York, NY
Contradicta: Aphorisms
by Nick Piombino
with illustrations by Toni Simon
Green Integer
and
If Not Metamorphic
Brenda Iijima
Ahsahta Press
Music and projection by Pattern Diver (aka Mike Burakoff) of the band Keepaway
Pitchfork magazine's "Best Music 2009"
Contradicta available from SPD
http://www.spdbooks.org/Search/Default.aspx?SearchTerm=Contradicta
St. Marks Bookshop (NYC)
Unnameable Books (Brooklyn)
* * * * *
Ron Silliman Jacket Feature
* * * * *
THE THING at WHITE SLAB presents VIRAL VENTURE: a digital movie by
Joseph Nechvatal. Tuesday, April 27, 2010 @ 8:30 pm and 10:00 pm. Free.
White Slab Palace is located at 77 Delancey Street (Southeast corner
of Allen and Delancey) Transit: F to Delancey St.; J/M/Z to Essex St.
The Viral Venture projection consists of imagery of Nechvatal’s most
recent artificial-life computer virus attacking his digital images.
The score is by Rhys Chatham, recorded at the Sacré-Coeur Basilica in
Paris using 400 electric guitars.
* * * *
Tony Torn's iBatross
* * * * *
Composer Franz Kamin died 4/11/10
"The stranger may appear in any locale...may dance with some...make secret pacts with others....may walk among the dead....or abandon himself to the flames of madness....the stranger is all-pervasive...he will come to carry you away..." (Behavioral Drift XV, "News", performed May 25, 2007)
Franz Kamin, Wikipedia
* * * * *
Ursprache
it's all poem
* * * * *
from Jack Kimball's Pantaloons
Friday, April 09, 2010
For the first time a round of Faux books, due earlier this year, will be late but not too late. Michael Gottlieb’s, for instance, Memoir and Essay arrives in a couple of weeks
* * * * *
Bob Perelman feature on Jacket
Bob
* * * * *
Rae Armantrout Wins The Pulitzer Prize
* * * * *
All The Whisky in Heaven-Bernstein's Selected reviewd in the NY Times Book REview
* * * * *
this just in: from Nico Vassilakis
on April 16th thru 18th in Bellingham, WA
PHRASINGS: Words and Dance
among other poets
the Bellingham Repertory Dance Company
will be interpreting my sound poem VOWELIST
(you can see/hear a snippet of the poem performed by John Olson & myself - VOWELIST
for more info:
calendar
staring poetics:
staring poetics
* * * *
Hannah Weiner's Romeo and Juliet in Semaphore
Kenning Editions
Sunday April 25, 2010
6:30pm
Zinc Bar
82 W. 3rd St, New York, NY
Contradicta: Aphorisms
by Nick Piombino
with illustrations by Toni Simon
Green Integer
and
If Not Metamorphic
Brenda Iijima
Ahsahta Press
Music and projection by Pattern Diver (aka Mike Burakoff) of the band Keepaway
Pitchfork magazine's "Best Music 2009"
Contradicta available from SPD
http://www.spdbooks.org/Search/Default.aspx?SearchTerm=Contradicta
St. Marks Bookshop (NYC)
Unnameable Books (Brooklyn)
* * * * *
Ron Silliman Jacket Feature
* * * * *
THE THING at WHITE SLAB presents VIRAL VENTURE: a digital movie by
Joseph Nechvatal. Tuesday, April 27, 2010 @ 8:30 pm and 10:00 pm. Free.
White Slab Palace is located at 77 Delancey Street (Southeast corner
of Allen and Delancey) Transit: F to Delancey St.; J/M/Z to Essex St.
The Viral Venture projection consists of imagery of Nechvatal’s most
recent artificial-life computer virus attacking his digital images.
The score is by Rhys Chatham, recorded at the Sacré-Coeur Basilica in
Paris using 400 electric guitars.
* * * *
Tony Torn's iBatross
* * * * *
Composer Franz Kamin died 4/11/10
"The stranger may appear in any locale...may dance with some...make secret pacts with others....may walk among the dead....or abandon himself to the flames of madness....the stranger is all-pervasive...he will come to carry you away..." (Behavioral Drift XV, "News", performed May 25, 2007)
Franz Kamin, Wikipedia
* * * * *
Ursprache
it's all poem
* * * * *
from Jack Kimball's Pantaloons
Friday, April 09, 2010
For the first time a round of Faux books, due earlier this year, will be late but not too late. Michael Gottlieb’s, for instance, Memoir and Essay arrives in a couple of weeks
* * * * *
Bob Perelman feature on Jacket
Bob
* * * * *
Rae Armantrout Wins The Pulitzer Prize
* * * * *
All The Whisky in Heaven-Bernstein's Selected reviewd in the NY Times Book REview
* * * * *
this just in: from Nico Vassilakis
on April 16th thru 18th in Bellingham, WA
PHRASINGS: Words and Dance
among other poets
the Bellingham Repertory Dance Company
will be interpreting my sound poem VOWELIST
(you can see/hear a snippet of the poem performed by John Olson & myself - VOWELIST
for more info:
calendar
staring poetics:
staring poetics
* * * *
Hannah Weiner's Romeo and Juliet in Semaphore
Kenning Editions
Sunday, March 28
Saturday, March 13
Stacy Doris and Katie Degentesh at the Bowery Poetry Club, Saturday March 13, 2010
The "Segue Series", sponsored by the Segue Foundation which includes Roof Books, goes back to 1977 at the Ear Inn, making it just 33 years old. Can you believe that Nada Gordon and Gary Sullivan have been curating it for two months every year for 10 years now? Anyway (which was the name of the restaurant a few of us went out to tonight after the reading) Gary and Nada have every reason to be proud, for tonight's offering was totally memorable.
At one point early in her reading, Stacy called for a martini which was soon supplied by publisher James Sherry. Someone shouted out, "now that's a publisher!" Instant applause and well, I had to put my hands together to agree. The mood of elegance was instantly set, but Stacy did not really need this particular detail to supply it. Later, Stacy mentioned that she had promised herself to learn German by the age of 40. Of course she should learn German: she is our poetry Marlene Dietrich , no doubt about that. Stacy could have sat there sipping her drink as the whole show, it wouldn't matter. At this point, we all had an instant lesson in what hipness is, could or should be. Stacy misses New York, and New York completely misses her. By the way, she also read some terrific work. First, a manifesto (strangely, and perhaps one day famously, refused by MOMA), then a guide to psychic nutrition (evidently one of her many talents), but also what she described, jokingly, I think, as a translation of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit. There's the German again, but we should say, the European again, for, as we know, France is Stacy's second home, in which language some of her work has been written and published, Greece perhaps her third, San Francisco being her current place of teaching work and family life. The third work, for me, the "Hegelian" one, actually pleasurably reminded me of Bernadette Mayer's masterpiece Studying Hunger. Stacy Doris' "Phenomenology" is just that, taking you tellingly, and secretly inside everyday thought and feeling, but within a rhythmic style of literary syncopation that gently walks the listener/reader through internal experience in a vivid novelistic, cinematic way, reminiscent for me of Antonioni's early trilogy, that included L'Aventura. Stacy Doris as Monica Vitti? Easily, very easily, says I. As Stacy Doris writes in her (2000) book Conference: ""What the movie taught me: Time's an enchantment. Refusal never stops, and memory's its opposite. Memory whisks us away, sweeps us off and beyond. The art of living in time where there is none is memory."
Speaking of Monica Vitti (if some of my readers are too young for that reference) I don't know who to suggest for the next reader Katie Degentesh. Toni suggested Pris in Blade Runner (played by Daryl Hannah in 1982). Oh, where are the film makers in the poetry scene? You missed your big chance tonight, or maybe not. Abigail Child, as far as I know is still in Rome, working on her project for her Prix de Rome. Henry Hills filmed the poetry scene back in the 70's with a film called (Money). Did you ever see Alan Davies, James Sherry and Diane Ward in that one? Well, tonight's offering by these two poets reminded everyone who luckily forced themselves through a movie-sized rain storm (Ann Tardos described it to me as passionate) to see and hear these two show us what the word charisma rmeans. (At dinner, later on, James Sherry pointed out what fine performers Nada Gordon and Gary Sullivan have become on the BPC stage as emcees.)
Katie Degentesh's latest book was called The Anger Scale, a flarf work that combines googling with material taken from a psychology test by the same name ("I feel as if I am being plotted against/and the only real way out of it for me/would be pregnancy"; "I feel there is no other alternative than to/pretend to despise you, yet long for your touch."). However she does it, Katie D is a poetry magician, an alchemist who is able to turn the detritus of everyday life into poetry gold. She explained, after reading a few works from the Anger Scale book, that her current work employs a survey using the question "What do you like about sex?" Katie Degentesh's Sex in the City is not very much like the tv series, which this blogger loved, by the way. KD's answers included a boy that is transformed into an owl or a bat, and a girl who likes sex because she likes to get presents, and someone else who liked sex to keep warm; Katie Degentesh's recent poems are small treasures of metamorphosis; part surrealist, part flarf, but also something all its own that challenges whatever we thought poetry could be and be about, a crucial factor that other flarf poets keep reminding us of. Didn't a poet say, "What does not change/ Is the will to change"? This is what the poetry avant-guard, at its best, has shocked and surprised us with in the past. Real change is possible, and very welcome. As the Segue Series has shown us once again, tonight, at the BPC, and, in this instance, with much charm, elegance and style.
* * * * *
Tomorrow: My Garden Pets Emilie Clark at Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Stenhardt Conservatory Garden Opening Reception: Sunday, March 14, 1-3pm.
Show continues through Monday May 31
"Artist Emilie Clark's exhibition at Brooklyn Botanic Garden was inspired by the 19th century natural scientist Mary Treat, an expert on carnivorous plants and the relationships between plants and insects. Based on the artist's research on Treat in BBG's Rare Book Room and her observations in the Garden, this conceptually-based installation includes paintings, works on paper, archival letters, and plant samples, as well as a mapping of Treat's correspondence with such liminaries as Charles Darwin and Asa Gray, who admired and cited her work."
* * * * *
Rick Snyder's Escape from Combray
The "Segue Series", sponsored by the Segue Foundation which includes Roof Books, goes back to 1977 at the Ear Inn, making it just 33 years old. Can you believe that Nada Gordon and Gary Sullivan have been curating it for two months every year for 10 years now? Anyway (which was the name of the restaurant a few of us went out to tonight after the reading) Gary and Nada have every reason to be proud, for tonight's offering was totally memorable.
At one point early in her reading, Stacy called for a martini which was soon supplied by publisher James Sherry. Someone shouted out, "now that's a publisher!" Instant applause and well, I had to put my hands together to agree. The mood of elegance was instantly set, but Stacy did not really need this particular detail to supply it. Later, Stacy mentioned that she had promised herself to learn German by the age of 40. Of course she should learn German: she is our poetry Marlene Dietrich , no doubt about that. Stacy could have sat there sipping her drink as the whole show, it wouldn't matter. At this point, we all had an instant lesson in what hipness is, could or should be. Stacy misses New York, and New York completely misses her. By the way, she also read some terrific work. First, a manifesto (strangely, and perhaps one day famously, refused by MOMA), then a guide to psychic nutrition (evidently one of her many talents), but also what she described, jokingly, I think, as a translation of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit. There's the German again, but we should say, the European again, for, as we know, France is Stacy's second home, in which language some of her work has been written and published, Greece perhaps her third, San Francisco being her current place of teaching work and family life. The third work, for me, the "Hegelian" one, actually pleasurably reminded me of Bernadette Mayer's masterpiece Studying Hunger. Stacy Doris' "Phenomenology" is just that, taking you tellingly, and secretly inside everyday thought and feeling, but within a rhythmic style of literary syncopation that gently walks the listener/reader through internal experience in a vivid novelistic, cinematic way, reminiscent for me of Antonioni's early trilogy, that included L'Aventura. Stacy Doris as Monica Vitti? Easily, very easily, says I. As Stacy Doris writes in her (2000) book Conference: ""What the movie taught me: Time's an enchantment. Refusal never stops, and memory's its opposite. Memory whisks us away, sweeps us off and beyond. The art of living in time where there is none is memory."
Speaking of Monica Vitti (if some of my readers are too young for that reference) I don't know who to suggest for the next reader Katie Degentesh. Toni suggested Pris in Blade Runner (played by Daryl Hannah in 1982). Oh, where are the film makers in the poetry scene? You missed your big chance tonight, or maybe not. Abigail Child, as far as I know is still in Rome, working on her project for her Prix de Rome. Henry Hills filmed the poetry scene back in the 70's with a film called (Money). Did you ever see Alan Davies, James Sherry and Diane Ward in that one? Well, tonight's offering by these two poets reminded everyone who luckily forced themselves through a movie-sized rain storm (Ann Tardos described it to me as passionate) to see and hear these two show us what the word charisma rmeans. (At dinner, later on, James Sherry pointed out what fine performers Nada Gordon and Gary Sullivan have become on the BPC stage as emcees.)
Katie Degentesh's latest book was called The Anger Scale, a flarf work that combines googling with material taken from a psychology test by the same name ("I feel as if I am being plotted against/and the only real way out of it for me/would be pregnancy"; "I feel there is no other alternative than to/pretend to despise you, yet long for your touch."). However she does it, Katie D is a poetry magician, an alchemist who is able to turn the detritus of everyday life into poetry gold. She explained, after reading a few works from the Anger Scale book, that her current work employs a survey using the question "What do you like about sex?" Katie Degentesh's Sex in the City is not very much like the tv series, which this blogger loved, by the way. KD's answers included a boy that is transformed into an owl or a bat, and a girl who likes sex because she likes to get presents, and someone else who liked sex to keep warm; Katie Degentesh's recent poems are small treasures of metamorphosis; part surrealist, part flarf, but also something all its own that challenges whatever we thought poetry could be and be about, a crucial factor that other flarf poets keep reminding us of. Didn't a poet say, "What does not change/ Is the will to change"? This is what the poetry avant-guard, at its best, has shocked and surprised us with in the past. Real change is possible, and very welcome. As the Segue Series has shown us once again, tonight, at the BPC, and, in this instance, with much charm, elegance and style.
* * * * *
Tomorrow: My Garden Pets Emilie Clark at Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Stenhardt Conservatory Garden Opening Reception: Sunday, March 14, 1-3pm.
Show continues through Monday May 31
"Artist Emilie Clark's exhibition at Brooklyn Botanic Garden was inspired by the 19th century natural scientist Mary Treat, an expert on carnivorous plants and the relationships between plants and insects. Based on the artist's research on Treat in BBG's Rare Book Room and her observations in the Garden, this conceptually-based installation includes paintings, works on paper, archival letters, and plant samples, as well as a mapping of Treat's correspondence with such liminaries as Charles Darwin and Asa Gray, who admired and cited her work."
* * * * *
Rick Snyder's Escape from Combray
Monday, March 8
COMMON GROUND ART GALLERY
in conjunction with
RAMPIKE Magazine
Very Proudly Present
T H E L A S T V I S P O
: selections from the upcoming anthology
edited by Crag Hill and Nico Vassilakis
(This selection compiled by Volker Nix)
Opening reception: Saturday, March 13th, 2010, Windsor, Ontario
Exhibition runs until April 10th, 2010
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Way back in 2008, American writers Crag Hill and Nico Vassilakis put out a world wide call for submissions for an upcoming anthology of visual poetry. Slowly, in the two intervening years, a 300 page book of such work has been brought together which covers the decade between 1998 and 2008, and features well over 125 different seasoned and emerging writer/artists from around the world. Cut to March of 2010; while these intrepid editors are busily shopping this gargantuan (and very colourful) manuscript around to an array of would-be publishers, Common Ground Art Gallery of Windsor Ontario has jumped at the opportunity to be the first gallery in Canada to exhibit a sneak peak at what these editors are hoping to see published sometime later this year.
Haven't the foggiest notion as to what The Last Vispo is? Should you find yourself in the area, there's no quicker way to answer that question for yourself by attending the reception we are holding in honour of the many artists, writers and editors who have all profoundly contributed to the curious phenomenon of visual poetry; a veritable black sheep on the landscape of our language arts. So come on down to Common Ground the evening of Saturday March 13th beginning at 7 pm and see for yourself what all the fuss is about.
The following artists from The Last Vispo have works currently on display in the gallery:
mIEKAL AND (U.S.A.), Hartmut Andryczuk (Germany), Petra Backonja (U.S.A.), Michael Basinski (U.S.A.), Guy R. Beining (U.S.A.), Marc Bell & Jason McLean (Canada), John M. Bennett (U.S.A.), Carla Bertola (Italy), Jaap Blonk (Holland), Chrisitan Bok (Canada), Daniel f. Bradley (Canada), Nancy Burr (U.S.A.), Mike Cannell (England), David Baptiste Chirot (U.S.A.), Jo Cook (Canada), Judith Copithorne (Canada), Klaus Peter Dencker (Germany), Brian Dettmer (U.S.A.), Fabio Doctorovich (Argentina), Maria Damon (U.S.A.), Amanda Earl (Canada), Shayne Ehman (Canada), Greg Evason (Canada), Oded Ezer (Israel), Luc Firens (Belgium), Angela Genusa (U.S.A.), Jesse Glass (Japan), Robert Grenier (U.S.A.), Bob Grumman (U.S.A.), Scott Helmes (U.S.A.), Geof Huth (U.S.A.), Serkan Isin (Turkey), Michael Jacobson (U.S.A.), Karl Jirgens (Canada), Alex Jorgensen (U.S.A.), Chris Joseph (England), Joe Keppler (U.S.A.), Dirk Krecker (Germany), Edward Kuleman (Russia), Jim Leftwich (U.S.A.), Troy Lloyd (U.S.A.), Carlos M. Luis (U.S.A.), Jeurgen O. Olbrich (Germany), Sonja Ahlers (Canada), Donato Mancini (Canada), Cy Machina (Canada), Keiichi Nakamura (Japan), Marko Niemi (Finland), Rea Nikonova (Russia), Christopher Olsen (Canada), Clemente Padin (Uruguay), Michael Peters (U.S.A.), Nick Piombino (U.S.A.), Ross Priddle (Canada), e.g. vajda (U.S.A.), Marilyn Rosenberg (U.S.A.), Jenny Sampirisi (Canada), Suzan Sari (Turkey), Serge Segay (Russia), Douglas Spangle (U.S.A.), Litsa Spathi (Greece), Pete Spence (Australia), Matina Stamatakis (U.S.A.), Miroljub Todorovic (Serbia), Cecil Touchon (U.S.A.), Aysegul Tozeren (Turkey), Stephen Vincent (U.S.A.), Reid Wood (U.S.A.) and James Yeary (U.S.A.). -- ENOUGH ! ENOUGH !
But wait, that's not all !
Karl Jirgens, editor of Rampike Magazine (since 1979!) and former Head of the English Department at the University of Windsor currently on sabbatical, (and ALSO one of two local Windsorites whose work will be featured in this upcoming anthology), had the fortuitous good fortune to choose this exact time to bring out his latest issue of RAMPIKE Magazine; an issue coincidentally devoted entirely to the musings of visual poetry, at that! So, in conjunction with this special exhibition featuring selections from The Last Vispo, Karl has very generously offered to bring a stack of the newly minted visual poetry issue of RAMPIKE to the reception to be given away free to all interested parties who attend this reception. So if you don't know what Vispo is, this exhibition of selections from The Last Vispo coupled with the latest issue of Rampike Magazine will certainly go a long way in furnishing a very concrete example for your edification, amusement and enjoyment !
Furthermore, (if poetry is not your thing and you're more easily given over to pursuits of the boogie woogie kind) local artist/musican KERO, featured on the cover of this issue of RAMPIKE, will provide his unique post-electronic musical stylings at some point during the course of the evening.
This, as with all Common Ground events, is FREE and OPEN to the public.
COMMON GROUND
3277 Sandwich St.
Windsor, Ontario
N9C 1A9
CANADA
519-252-6380
common@mnsi.net
* * * * *
Sven Birkerts on Reading in a Digital Age in The Amercan Scholar
* * * * *
Stacy Doris at Poet's House March 13
* * * * *
Stacy Doris and Katie Degentesh will read at the Bowery Poetry Club on Saturday, March 13 at 4pm
* * * * *
In Your Speakers: Keepaway EP
* * * * *
Nico Vassilakis Notes on Staring Word/for Word issue 15
in conjunction with
RAMPIKE Magazine
Very Proudly Present
T H E L A S T V I S P O
: selections from the upcoming anthology
edited by Crag Hill and Nico Vassilakis
(This selection compiled by Volker Nix)
Opening reception: Saturday, March 13th, 2010, Windsor, Ontario
Exhibition runs until April 10th, 2010
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Way back in 2008, American writers Crag Hill and Nico Vassilakis put out a world wide call for submissions for an upcoming anthology of visual poetry. Slowly, in the two intervening years, a 300 page book of such work has been brought together which covers the decade between 1998 and 2008, and features well over 125 different seasoned and emerging writer/artists from around the world. Cut to March of 2010; while these intrepid editors are busily shopping this gargantuan (and very colourful) manuscript around to an array of would-be publishers, Common Ground Art Gallery of Windsor Ontario has jumped at the opportunity to be the first gallery in Canada to exhibit a sneak peak at what these editors are hoping to see published sometime later this year.
Haven't the foggiest notion as to what The Last Vispo is? Should you find yourself in the area, there's no quicker way to answer that question for yourself by attending the reception we are holding in honour of the many artists, writers and editors who have all profoundly contributed to the curious phenomenon of visual poetry; a veritable black sheep on the landscape of our language arts. So come on down to Common Ground the evening of Saturday March 13th beginning at 7 pm and see for yourself what all the fuss is about.
The following artists from The Last Vispo have works currently on display in the gallery:
mIEKAL AND (U.S.A.), Hartmut Andryczuk (Germany), Petra Backonja (U.S.A.), Michael Basinski (U.S.A.), Guy R. Beining (U.S.A.), Marc Bell & Jason McLean (Canada), John M. Bennett (U.S.A.), Carla Bertola (Italy), Jaap Blonk (Holland), Chrisitan Bok (Canada), Daniel f. Bradley (Canada), Nancy Burr (U.S.A.), Mike Cannell (England), David Baptiste Chirot (U.S.A.), Jo Cook (Canada), Judith Copithorne (Canada), Klaus Peter Dencker (Germany), Brian Dettmer (U.S.A.), Fabio Doctorovich (Argentina), Maria Damon (U.S.A.), Amanda Earl (Canada), Shayne Ehman (Canada), Greg Evason (Canada), Oded Ezer (Israel), Luc Firens (Belgium), Angela Genusa (U.S.A.), Jesse Glass (Japan), Robert Grenier (U.S.A.), Bob Grumman (U.S.A.), Scott Helmes (U.S.A.), Geof Huth (U.S.A.), Serkan Isin (Turkey), Michael Jacobson (U.S.A.), Karl Jirgens (Canada), Alex Jorgensen (U.S.A.), Chris Joseph (England), Joe Keppler (U.S.A.), Dirk Krecker (Germany), Edward Kuleman (Russia), Jim Leftwich (U.S.A.), Troy Lloyd (U.S.A.), Carlos M. Luis (U.S.A.), Jeurgen O. Olbrich (Germany), Sonja Ahlers (Canada), Donato Mancini (Canada), Cy Machina (Canada), Keiichi Nakamura (Japan), Marko Niemi (Finland), Rea Nikonova (Russia), Christopher Olsen (Canada), Clemente Padin (Uruguay), Michael Peters (U.S.A.), Nick Piombino (U.S.A.), Ross Priddle (Canada), e.g. vajda (U.S.A.), Marilyn Rosenberg (U.S.A.), Jenny Sampirisi (Canada), Suzan Sari (Turkey), Serge Segay (Russia), Douglas Spangle (U.S.A.), Litsa Spathi (Greece), Pete Spence (Australia), Matina Stamatakis (U.S.A.), Miroljub Todorovic (Serbia), Cecil Touchon (U.S.A.), Aysegul Tozeren (Turkey), Stephen Vincent (U.S.A.), Reid Wood (U.S.A.) and James Yeary (U.S.A.). -- ENOUGH ! ENOUGH !
But wait, that's not all !
Karl Jirgens, editor of Rampike Magazine (since 1979!) and former Head of the English Department at the University of Windsor currently on sabbatical, (and ALSO one of two local Windsorites whose work will be featured in this upcoming anthology), had the fortuitous good fortune to choose this exact time to bring out his latest issue of RAMPIKE Magazine; an issue coincidentally devoted entirely to the musings of visual poetry, at that! So, in conjunction with this special exhibition featuring selections from The Last Vispo, Karl has very generously offered to bring a stack of the newly minted visual poetry issue of RAMPIKE to the reception to be given away free to all interested parties who attend this reception. So if you don't know what Vispo is, this exhibition of selections from The Last Vispo coupled with the latest issue of Rampike Magazine will certainly go a long way in furnishing a very concrete example for your edification, amusement and enjoyment !
Furthermore, (if poetry is not your thing and you're more easily given over to pursuits of the boogie woogie kind) local artist/musican KERO, featured on the cover of this issue of RAMPIKE, will provide his unique post-electronic musical stylings at some point during the course of the evening.
This, as with all Common Ground events, is FREE and OPEN to the public.
COMMON GROUND
3277 Sandwich St.
Windsor, Ontario
N9C 1A9
CANADA
519-252-6380
common@mnsi.net
* * * * *
Sven Birkerts on Reading in a Digital Age in The Amercan Scholar
* * * * *
Stacy Doris at Poet's House March 13
* * * * *
Stacy Doris and Katie Degentesh will read at the Bowery Poetry Club on Saturday, March 13 at 4pm
* * * * *
In Your Speakers: Keepaway EP
* * * * *
Nico Vassilakis Notes on Staring Word/for Word issue 15
Tuesday, March 2
Contradicta Aphorisms is now available from SPD
* * * * *
The Health and Illness Anthology
* * * * *
Mark Young's Genji Monogatari
"The Paulownia Court"
Most physical quantities- mass,
length, energy- map out her
book: objects of perfect beauty
& symmetry. Or can be
made so. There are dolls
of various kinds. Talk of the
varieties of women. Thumbnail
functions. The photograph & its
usefulness. The caption &
its reliability. Struggle & combat
occur again & again. The function
of poetry is painfully reached."
"The Paulownia Court" appeared as "Genji Mongatari IV" in
OCHO 14
* * * * *
From Publisher's Weekly:
All the Whiskey in Heaven: Selected Poems Charles Bernstein. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $26 (298p) ISBN 978-0-374-10344-6
This gathering of 30 years worth of work by the prominent L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poet and essayist offers a rigorous critique of the art of poetry itself, which means, among other things, a thorough investigation of language and the mind. Varied voices and genres are at play, from a colloquial letter of complaint to the manager of a Manhattan subway station to a fragmentary meditation on the forces that underlie the formation of knowledge. Bernstein's attention to the uncertainty surrounding the self as it purports to exist in poetry—“its virtual (or ventriloquized)/ anonymity—opens fresh pathways toward thinking through Rimbaud's dictum that “I is another.” In addition to philosophical depth—which somehow even lurks beneath statements like “There is nothing/ in this poem/ that is in any/ way difficult/ to understand”—a razor-sharp wit ties the book together: “You can't/ watch ice sports with the lights on!” These exhilarating, challenging poems raise countless essential questions about the form and function of poetry. (Mar.)
* * * * *
Music Vagabond keepaway intervew
* * * * *
The Health and Illness Anthology
* * * * *
Mark Young's Genji Monogatari
"The Paulownia Court"
Most physical quantities- mass,
length, energy- map out her
book: objects of perfect beauty
& symmetry. Or can be
made so. There are dolls
of various kinds. Talk of the
varieties of women. Thumbnail
functions. The photograph & its
usefulness. The caption &
its reliability. Struggle & combat
occur again & again. The function
of poetry is painfully reached."
"The Paulownia Court" appeared as "Genji Mongatari IV" in
OCHO 14
* * * * *
From Publisher's Weekly:
All the Whiskey in Heaven: Selected Poems Charles Bernstein. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $26 (298p) ISBN 978-0-374-10344-6
This gathering of 30 years worth of work by the prominent L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poet and essayist offers a rigorous critique of the art of poetry itself, which means, among other things, a thorough investigation of language and the mind. Varied voices and genres are at play, from a colloquial letter of complaint to the manager of a Manhattan subway station to a fragmentary meditation on the forces that underlie the formation of knowledge. Bernstein's attention to the uncertainty surrounding the self as it purports to exist in poetry—“its virtual (or ventriloquized)/ anonymity—opens fresh pathways toward thinking through Rimbaud's dictum that “I is another.” In addition to philosophical depth—which somehow even lurks beneath statements like “There is nothing/ in this poem/ that is in any/ way difficult/ to understand”—a razor-sharp wit ties the book together: “You can't/ watch ice sports with the lights on!” These exhilarating, challenging poems raise countless essential questions about the form and function of poetry. (Mar.)
* * * * *
Music Vagabond keepaway intervew
Wednesday, February 17
Contradicta
Events are brief; thought is long.
* * *
Extremes partake of emptiness.
* * *
Keepaway performs in Brooklyn, Sunday February 19
L magazine
Our December 2009 blog post on Mike Burakoff, song writer, artist and keepaway band member
* * * * *
Kimberly Lyons on Peep/Show
* * * * *
OCHO 29
* * * * *
March/April 2010 Poets and Artists Online
* * * * *
Jacket 39: Stan Apps interview with James Sherry
* * * * *:
Jacket 39: Manuel Brito on Ron Silliman
* * * * *
Mei-Mei Bersenbrugge and Anne Waldman read at KGB, Monday, February 17
Events are brief; thought is long.
* * *
Extremes partake of emptiness.
* * *
Keepaway performs in Brooklyn, Sunday February 19
L magazine
Our December 2009 blog post on Mike Burakoff, song writer, artist and keepaway band member
* * * * *
Kimberly Lyons on Peep/Show
* * * * *
OCHO 29
* * * * *
March/April 2010 Poets and Artists Online
* * * * *
Jacket 39: Stan Apps interview with James Sherry
* * * * *:
Jacket 39: Manuel Brito on Ron Silliman
* * * * *
Mei-Mei Bersenbrugge and Anne Waldman read at KGB, Monday, February 17
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