Oct 29, 2006


The subject came up again years later, this time in the context of another poet's response to my poems. She wanted to know why they couldn't be considered to be arbitrary arrangements of unrelated lines. This time I used a scientific analogy in my defense. I stated that like a chaotic system that appears random but that in reality is deterministic, obeying known or knowable laws, a poem might appear to be put together randomly and yet be--let's say--the (verbal) residue of a process that obeys laws, whether or not those laws are known to the poet.

Some Thoughts



Some things that my poetry isn't that nobody would say it is:

Minimalist
Funny
Quotidian
"Accessible"
Pastoral
Vernacular

Some things that my poetry isn't that people have said that it is:

Postmodern
Pretentious
L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry
Gibberish
Flarf

Some things that my poetry is that nobody would say it is:

Basically modernist
Devotional
The result of possession by daemons
Sincere
Simple

Some things that my poetry is that people have said that it is:

Neo-classical
Sometimes influenced by Robert Duncan
Sometimes metaphysical
Sometimes concerned exclusively with surface
Rhetorical
The distress signal of a diseased mind
Angry
Political
Polemic
Synesthetic
Prone to frequent misspellings

Oct 27, 2006

So I came up with the idea that Rachel and I were going to be Modernism and Postmodernism for Halloween. Postmodernism is easy, but nobody seems to agree on what Modernism's costume would be (I said an army hat, a stethescope, a copy of Freud's Interpretation of Dreams would do it, but Rachel disagrees.) So how would *you* dress up as Modernism for Halloween?

Oct 20, 2006

Also, went to see The Grudge 2 yesterday, which was a thoroughly forgettable horror film; except for one line that I found to be *hillarious*:

"I have a friend who's really into Folklore, maybe he can help us."

Not sure why I find that so funny, also funny was the fact that said friend was this dishevelled chain-smoking guy with lots of books (the source of the humor probably being that I am into folklore and was once a chain-smoking guy with lots of books, e.g. I quit smoking but I still have lots of books...)

More importantly, in the previews before the film was the preview for the Ghost Rider film starring Nicholas Cage. Over the summer my friend Jon from grammar school told me they were making a Ghost Rider film starring Nicholas Cage and I said "No way, that has to be some kind of urban myth." But I stand corrected and I CAN'T WAIT!
Rachel is away at an archivists' conference, and obviously I miss her. That said, I used the opportunity this evening to indulge in foods that I wouldn't ordinarily make for the two of us because one of us (e.g. Rachel) would not be interested in it. I made Lapsang Souchong Chicken Breast, Brussels Sprouts with Peppers and Sesame Seeds and Black Rice with Roasted Shallots and Walnuts and 7-UP Poundcake for desert. I guess the theme of the dinner is "stuff that tastes funny that you either love or hate, except for the poundacke which is an apalling brick of cholesterol and, well, soda. Everything was delicious except for the Yellowtail Rielsing (bad call on my part, but the liquor store around the corner didn't have Pacific Rim) which was eerily similar to the 7-UP I made the poundcake with... I would have taken a picture of it, but I couldn't find my camera!

Oct 19, 2006


I received my author's copies of Traceland, by the way and they look beautiful. Logan did a fantastic job with the production. I can't wait to see the other Transmission Press projects he will do in the future.

Also received a copy of Alli Warren's Cousins from Gina Myers' Lame House Press (too lazy for links today, folks) which also looks gorgeous. Folks are really upping the ante for the micropress-produced chapbook. Now all we need to do is to get rich people interested in "collecting" them--just like art. They don't have to give a damn about the poetry (they don't give a damn, really, about the art, either), they just have to want to pay us lots of money for them because they are one (or a hundred) of a kind.

Oct 8, 2006




Logan Ryan Smith's TRANSMISSION PRESS (named after one of my favorite Joy Division songs...dance, dance, dance, dance, dance to the radio) has released my Traceland chapbook. Check it out here. I am excited about the nifty red Punch & Judy cover and also the chaps being put out by a kindred soul. The amazing thing about these micropress-produced chapbooks is the time & energy & love that goes into them. So please send Logan $3.50 for a copy, even if you don't like my poems, so he can keep it going. Additionally, the poems in this chap are some of my favorites; so I am pleased as punch (pun, alas, intended) that they've found their way into this chap.




QuizGalaxy!
'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Oct 4, 2006

Gots to go to class. Nobody better mention *anything* about Lost until tomorrow night, OK?

Oct 2, 2006



Found this while looking for pictures of the event this weekend. Somehow the fact that FLARF is also an acronym for the Florida Rennaisance Faire seems cosmically appropriate, a piece of Flarf in itself, in fact.
Phrase from a dream: "Like the lightning bolt that came down and shat Camelot."

Oct 1, 2006

Had a great time in Pennsylvania, reading with fellow Dusie folks and the Flarf people. Marci Nelligan, Scott Glassman, Boyd Spahr, Myself and Dana Ward read from our chapbooks from the Dusie project (actually, I'm not 100% certain that Dana's was from his Dusie chap, apologies for my poor memory, but I think it was--regardless it was a beautiful reading.) The two "sets" (e.g. Dusie and Flarf) meshed well, Boyd's "Flarf-y" work from the Dusie project providing an interesting link to what followed. An assortment of Dickinson College students were certainly provided with a glimpse into a pretty diverse section of contemporary poetry. Pennsylvania is certainly a lovely state where I'd like to spend more time someday; I don't often relate to land-locked spaces very much but I enjoy Phildelphia and other parts of Pennsylvania. We were having camera troubles, but hopefully someone else has more cogent photographs of the evening.