SEEDING ENCOURAGEMENT

A few months ago Dan Waber asked me to participate in a project revolving around Encouragement. The manifestations were these bits of paper that one can hand out to others; said teeny papers contained encouraging messages -- here's one I wrote for the project:

That you will receive lies
does not mean you are not loved.

And here's a photo for these Bits of Encouragement.



I like the form conceived by Dan, an aficionado of minimalist poetry -- the tiny paper slips are like seeds. And seeds can grow to be quite ... BIG, pointing natch to the potential of encouragement!

I LOVE MARSH HAWK PRESS

for many reasons but one reason is that it actually gives Author Advances (!) for poetry books! Crazy, yah? This is, after all, poetry and an indie press ... and not cash from, say, contest fees!

Anyway, thanks to New York State Literary Publishers Capacity Fund for a grant that will help finance said Author Advance for moi Spring 2012 book. I promise it is WELL SPENT!

THE SALTED HEART

Happy to be working on the production of my next book, a collaboration with j/j hastain entitled

        the relational elations            of ORPHANED ALGEBRA

forthcoming this Spring from Marsh Hawk Press. It's got, among other things, an interesting cover image per below -- this is j/j hastain's photograph taken of some of j/j's shrine objects. As j/j puts it, "The organ was a real turkey heart that I kept with me in a hand made 'coffin' in my jeans pocket for a year while it deteriorated. I kept it in salt to keep it from smelling." I don't know about you but, to act like a teen as I'm parenting one, That is soooooo coooool!



j/j adds, "The reason I chose to work with a turkey heart was because in researching it I knew it was an animal heart that when deteriorated would approximate what a human heart looks like in deterioration. The heart came from a ritual removal of it in my own home." Again, such a cooool poetics underpinning! Em-bodied poetics!

And here are some advanced words for this deteriorating heart...:

Eileen R. Tabios’s ORPHANED ALGEBRA performs numerations of loss, want, abandonment, the conditions of the invisible. Riffing on middle school math story problems, Tabios works a mathematics of disorder, the unordering of poverty, these “stories” a corrective to the “ascetic’s illusion of ecstasy, a measurement made possible by its condition precedent: a suffering so unmitigated it hollows the non-survivors from children to earthworms.” j/j hastain’s “visceral echoes” of Tabios, “gestures” both textual and visual, sound “an activism of hollowing out,” whose hollows form a new space of assiduity. In “stance”—instance—hastain “grapple[s] with ethics of place and space. Was a country the host body of a child found homeless in it?” Who and where are we, and what role has language in any of this? Against abuse, against hunger, against erasure, Tabios and hastain challenge silence’s dissonant ignorance. The poets sharpen language and intention, “Creating a permanent, rather than temporary implantable. An anti-obviate hutch or hearth.” A challenge, a new “home,” a pleasure, this collection puts us in the midst.
— Marthe Reed


Categories are not abstractions, they are bodies. Family is one such embodied category, gender another. What happens to bodies when they don't fit the categories assigned them, when they lack families, when they criss-cross gender or genre lines? How can one calculate such changes, compose equations to explain these trans-categorical shifts? Our very pronouns are at stake, as are nations, blood-ties, definitions to words like “dad” and “belonging.” As j/j hastain writes, “There is a new lineage that we are trying to make more apparent.” Eileen R. Tabios and hastain are trans-parents to a fresh embodiment of words and bodies, and to what they mean when they come together as books and persons. Their writing counts the change(s) in unexpected vocabularies.
—Susan M. Schultz

My 19th print poetry book--have come a long way from those toddler days of folding a page in four, slashing crayola on the pages, and calling the result a "book"! A long way, but 'twas all ... ordained.

MORE POETS ON THE GREAT RECESSION

Here's Ed Go at Occupy Wall Street:



Which is to say, some interesting stuff being posted on at POETS ON THE GREAT RECESSION. Check 'em out!

As ever, I welcome more poets' thoughts on the Great Recession...


'

BLOOD DAZZLED!

Blogging another update to my Recently Relished W(h)ine List below. In the Publications section, note that if you see an asterisk before the title, that means a review copy is available for Galatea Resurrects)! More info on that HERE.


PUBLICATIONS
* BLOOD DAZZLER, poems by Patricia Smith (Magnificent. With this book, I am made a fan of Patricia Smith—finally, I get all the accolades I keep hearing about her…and I am happy to get it!)

REBIRTH OF WONDER: POEMS OF THE COMMON LIFE by David M. Johnson (first book of poetry read in 2012)

HYPERGLOSSIA, poems by Stacy Szymaszek

SELECTED POEMS by Harvey Shapiro

A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE GREAT RECESSION, journalism by Arthur Delaney (the first book I read on my new Kindle. And it shows the dark side of e-publishing. This book generated from Delaney's prior columns on The Huffington Post, and it shows. There was little attempt to make the collection more weighty for purpose of book publishing. In my non-humble opinion, there should be some additional value-added to the project being converted into a book. For example, ahem, to see how e-posts (e.g. blog posts) could be converted to what should be a higher content threshold of a book, do feel free to check out my own effort HERE.)

THE ORCHARD, memoir by Adele Crockett Robertson

ANNEVILLE: A MEMOIR OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION by Thomas G. Robinson

LETTERS OF A WOMAN HOMESTEADER by Elinore Pruitt Stewart

THE GREATEST GENERATION CREATED BY THE GREAT DEPRESSION, memoir by Cap'n Dee

ADOPTING AN ABANDONED FARM, memoir by Kate Sanborn (a book I read cause it was a Kindle freebie. And, there ya go with Kindle freebies – many are free because they’re usually useless pap. I deleted this one from my Kindle after reading it hoping to no avail it’d get better)

GROWING A FARMER: HOW I LEARNED TO LIVE OFF THE LAND, memoir by Kurt Timmermeister

THE NOT SO BIG HOUSE, lifestyle by Sarah Susanka with Kira Obolensky

HOPE FOR HEALING: A PARENT’S GUIDE TO TRAUMA AND ATTACHMENT, “by” the Association for Treatment and Training in the Attachment of Children

JOURNEY IN THE GREAT DEPRESSION, novel by John Lifflander

NO PLACE ELSE, novel by Floyd Wesley Brosman

SWEET IMPRESSIONS, novel by Nora Roberts

A LAWMAN’S CHRISTMAS, novel by Linda Lael Miller


WINES
2006 Saxum James Berry Vineyards
2009 Robert Foley charbono NV
2002 Integrity shiraz
1997 Philip Togni

New Year’s Eve wines:
2003 Bert Simon Serrig Herrenburg Riesling Auslese
1970 Ch. Palmer
1991 Graham’s port

CRANKIN'!

You know: I like how my poetry career is going. By which I mean, I just sit on a mountain and blather at the e-world and continue my turbulent (but perfumed, please!) descent to poetic obscurity by eventually being known as that cheerful crank who writes poems no one can, uh, pin down let alone remember ... I like that, really, because I believe in poetry's evaporation, I mean, evanescence.

Well, that's also to say I'ma kinda sitting here bedazzled by something that just happened ... this unexpected offer, this true honor really ... can't share details yet ... but I think it'll also result in something like a 600-book order for one of my books (a book of my own choosing, but which I haven't chosen yet). I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around it (heck: for some of my books, it takes years to sell 6 books! Then there's this 600 - plus?!). So I'ma just gonna head over to the wine cellar because, whether towards obscurity or not, as a friend's gifted refrigerator magnet proclaims, while



Jest sayin'...






!

BY THE WAY

Remember all that hoo-haa I caused about getting a record 108 new poetry reviews for the current issue of Galatea Resurrects? Well, cleaning up moi messy e-desk, I realized I forgot to include two reviews. So I actually had received

110 NEW POETRY REVIEWS!!!!

Ooops. Well, I'll be sure to include those two reviews in the next issue. But jest so you know, Moi is even better than she blathers she is....!

Yadda ...

KINDLE MOI (#3)

Getting great stuff for both of the POETS ON ____ Series: On the Great Recession as well as On Adoption! Whilst I format them -- and do keep them coming! -- I also trawl through for freebie books for moi Kindle, and here's my latest Kindle additions:

ARMY LETTERS FROM AN OFFICER'S WIFE, 1871-1888 by Frances Marie Antoinette Mack Roe

STATION LIFE IN NEW ZEALAND by Lady (Mary Anne) Barker

THE BONTOC IGOROT by Albert Ernest Jenks


TRUE VERSION OF THE PHILIPPINE REVOLUTION by Emilio Aguinaldo

HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS by Antonio de Morga, Emma Helen Blair, James Alexander Robertson

FOUND IN THE PHILIPPINES: THE STORY OF A WOMAN'S LETTERS by Charles King

THE COUNTRY DOCTOR by Honorè De Balzac

ADOPTING AN ABANDONED FARM by Kate Sanborn

OUR FARM OF FOUR ACRES AND THE MONEY WE MADE BY IT by Miss Coulton

A LADY'S LIFE ON A FARM IN MANITOBA by M. G. C. (Mary Georgina Caroline) Hall

TEN THOUSAND MILES WITH A DOG SLED: A NARRATIVE OF WINTER TRAVEL IN INTERIOR ALASKA
by Hudson Stuck

THE TRAIL OF A SOURDOUGH LIFE IN ALASKA by May Kellogg Sullivan

A WOMAN WHO WENT TO ALASKA by May Kellogg Sullivan

LINCOLN LETTERS by Abraham Lincoln

Yep, there be trend lines. Use this as well to judge Moi. For Moi is what I read.

THE POETS ARE ON....!

[Please Forward]

POETS ON ____ Announcement:

Happy New Year! We're pleased to provide the following updates to the POETS ON ____ Series below:


POETS ON THE GREAT RECESSION

Lawren Bale December 2011
("How have we come to a juncture in history where a few bond traders can systematically bankrupt whole nations?")

Mary Krane Derr December 2011
("I morbidly wonder how I will lug around my laptop and journals and protect them from the snow and rain if I ever become homeless.")

Michael Helsem December 2011
("...something i had not been used to seeing: ... an air of brokenness.")

Marie Marshall December 2011
("The recession has driven me (back) into the arms of Emma Goldman and Durruti, back to Revolutionary Barcelona in 1936, back to the political works of Bakunin, but also to the words of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, and even those of Thomas Jefferson,...")


POETS ON ADOPTION

Jeffrey Thomas Leong November 2011
(father was adopted; adopted a baby girl from China)

Duduzile Mabaso December 2011
(in South Africa, was adopted as a baby)

We are still open to participations from other poets who wish to share about their experiences and effect on their poetry. The Participation Call for POETS ON THE GREAT RECESSION is at http://poetsonrecession.blogspot.com/2011/10/call-for-participation.html, and for POETS ON ADOPTION at http://poetsonadoption.blogspot.com/2011/03/call-for-participation.html. Please spread the word.

Thanks for engaging,

Eileen Tabios
Curator, POETS ON ____ Series
Contact Info: GalateaTen@aol.com

NON-COTERIE POETRY READING (2011)

In 2011, I read at least 268 poetry books/collections, nine poetry or poetry-related anthologies, 17 poetry/literary journals and 26 other books/publications created by poets. The Blog's capacity as Filing Cabinet allows Moi to list them all below. For just the poetry books/collections statistic, my 2011 reading reflects a 27% reduction from 2010 when I read 365 such books. But it’s a deceptive reduction as my 2010 reading included reading books for a national poetry contest that I judged. In 2009, I read 184 books/collections so the 2011 number shows that I continue to up my poetry readings!

I’ll raise again some concepts I noted when I blogged my first annual poetry reading list, which was for 2009, to wit:

The list is not a portrayal of the type of poetry I favor. In reading poems partly as a practitioner, I just want to know what's out there. I've found that POV to be more elucidating than trying to read through some defined aesthetic gate. The process is not just more educational but also makes for the fabulous moments of welcome discoveries—in 2011, these would include Uruguayan poet Marosa Di Giorgio (as translated by Jeannine Marie Pitas), Elizabeth Kirschner, Moroccan poet Abdellatif Laabi (as translated by Nancy Hadfield and Gordon Hadfield), Sarah Riggs, Ariana Reines (though I prefer COEUR DE LION to her more recent MERCURY), Kathrin Schaeppi, and German poet Uljana Wolf (as translated by Monika Zobel).

Interestingly as I’m not a big fan of anthologies, one of my favorite reads of the year was VISITING DR. WILLIAMS: POEMS INSPIRED BY THE LIFE AND WORK OF WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS Co-Edited by Sheila Coghill & Thom Tammaro. This anthology is part of a series of homage-anthologies put out by University of Iowa and, when done well, really provokes deep, engaged and appreciative readings.

My list does reveal certain personal tendencies—I prefer to read a body of work rather than a single poem or two by a poet. This means I don't really go out of my way to read many anthologies or journals. I prefer to read poetry collections.

My ethical desire is to read every poem, which means a lot of times, I randomly grab from a huge TO-READ pile (which includes but is not limited to THIS and THIS). I also end up reading a few books for unique reasons--like if my local library stocks a new poetry book, I check it out in order to prove there's demand for poetry...and then inevitably read it before I return it.

Did I like every book I read on this list? Nope, but that's irrelevant. Even the most banal poem has a place in this wonderland-landscape of Poetry. All poems are welcome to Moi. And contrary to would-be pundits' proclamations, THERE ARE NEVER ENOUGH POEMS.

Here then is the poetic Relished W(h)ine List for 2011, complete with some brief notes on them to the extent I was moved to comment at the time I read them—Moi is also what she reads:

POETRY BOOKS/COLLECTIONS (268):
THREE COLUMN TABLE, poems by Harold Abramowitz (nicely imaginative. like the lengthily sinuous lines and use of M-dashes)

UNCENSORED SONGS A SAM ABRAMS TRIBUTE, poems, recollections and homages edited by John Roche

CHINESE NOTEBOOK, poems by Demosthenes Agrafiotis, Trans. by John Sakkis and Angelos Sakkis

A THIRST THAT'S PARTLY MINE, poems by Liz Ahl

"NEITHER WIT NOR GOLD" (FROM THEN), poems by Ammiel Alcalay

WHAT THE RAVEN SAID, poems by Robert Alexander

DENSITIES, APPARITIONS, poems by William Allegrezza (Fabulously ravaged poems ravage the reader right back. I feel like I left behind pieces of a broken heart in its pages once I closed the book—so powerful it was!)

ISHMAEL AMONG THE BUSHES, poems by William Allegrezza

HOMECOMING: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS by Julia Alvarez (a reprint of her first book; what makes it effective, too, is the Afterword where the mature writer casts her eye at the young writer who first wrote the book—moving)

OPEN CLOSED OPEN, poems by Yehuda Amichai

YES WE ARE STILL DANCING, collaboration between a poet and two painters by Susan Amstater, Connie Dillman and Jacquelyn Stroud Spier

PUNISH HONEY, poems by Karen Leona Anderson

MICROGRAMS, poems by Jorge Carrera Andrade

INFO RATION, poems by Stan Apps (powerful and timely)

A WORLDLY COUNTRY, poems by John Ashbery (ah, so many things one can say about John Ashbery. For now, let me just note that scale matters and the prolonged tonal consistency in his poems signify something important, though not sure exactly what ... except that it's also impressive)

INTO THE SNOW: SELECTED POEMS OF GENNADI AYGI, trans. Sarah Valentine

STONE GIRL E-PIC, poems, visual poetry and art by Ed Baker (interesting introduction by Conrad Didiodato, fabulous production by Leafe Press, and admirable work by the old man hisself)

THE TRIALS OF EDGAR POE AND OTHER POEMS by Ned Balbo

WAIFS AND STRAYS, poems by Micah Ballard (fabulous!)

DOG EAR, poetry/visual art by Erica Baum (fabulous)

PETALS, EMBLEMS, poems by Lynn Behrendt (contains those pleasantly unexpected ooomphs. Like, this beginning to the poem "Afterword": "wheel of / unconstruable / beginning. // spoke // ..." Love that purrfect first stanza's imagery, even as I relish the pun of wheel-spoke vs past-tense-speak)

LOVELY, RASPBERRY, poems by Aaron Belz (a lotta fun, e.g. that friends-with-benefits poem "my chiquita"—at least, how I read it)

PINKO, poems by Jen Benka

MADE IN LIVERPOOL, poems by Jim Bennett (wonderfully resonant!)

THE URGE TO BELIEVE IS STRONGER THAN BELIEF ITSELF, poems by Erin M. Bertram

IMMEDIATE EMPIRE, poems by Raymond L. Bianchi and visual art by Waltraud Haas (moving)

LITTLE RICHARD THE SECOND, poems by Gregg Biglieri

THE DIVINE SALT, poems by Peter Blair

BLOOD HONEY, poems by Chana Bloch (wonderful!)

WAR ON A LUNCHBREAK, poems by Ana Bozicevic

IN THE COMMON DREAM OF GEORGE OPPEN, poems by Joseph Bradshaw

JUNE, poems by Daniel Brenner

UTOPIA MINUS, poems by Susan Briante (powerful yet finely-wrought. impressive and, more importantly, moving)

GOWANUS ATROPOLIS, poems by Julian T. Brolaski

908-1078, poems by Brandon Brown

EITHER WAY I'M CELEBRATING, poems & comics by Sommer Browning

THE COLOR OF DUSK, poems by Robin Caton

THE MORNING NEWS IS EXCITING, poems by Don Mee Choi

BEAUPORT, poems by Kate Colby

THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE, poems by Kate Colby

FROM : EAR SAY, poems by Barbara Cole

MARS, poems by Norma Cole

OSTINATO VAMPS, poems by Wanda Coleman

A HISTORY OF SMALL LIFE ON A WINDY PLANET, poems by Martha Collins

THIRTEEN DESIGNER VAGINAS, poems by Juliet Cook

STILL, poems by Matthew Cooperman

THE WHALEN POEM by William Corbett

ENGLISH FRAGMENTS: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SOUL, poems by Martin Corless-Smith

INFERRED FROM. TWO IDENTICAL DISTANCES., poems by Ray Craig

UPON NOSTALGIA, poems by Caroline Crumpacker

SPEAKING OFF CENTRE by James Cummin

TO DELITE AND INSTRUCT, poems by Catherine Daly (at times romantic but always fun and intelligent—I wish the peep who took Galatea Resurrects' review copy –you know who you are! –would return the review copy if he's not going to review it: it deserves to be reviewed!)

VAUXHALL, poems by Catherine Daly

"from SALT", poetry bookmark by Alison Hawthorne Deming

NICK DEMSKE, poems by Nick Demske

BLACK SEEDS ON A WHITE DISH, poems by Shira Dentz

RETROSPECTIVE FORECASTS, poems by K.M. Dersley

THE HISTORY OF VIOLETS, poems by Marosa Di Giorgio (I am ECSTATIC to have found the poems by this Uruguayan poet—thanks to Ugly Duckling Presse for publishing and Jeannine Marie Pitas for translating—it's a wonderful collection!)

SELVAGE: FOR COUNTRY, poems by Tsering Wangmo Dhompa (consistently a welcome read)

PAPER PAVILION, poems by Jennifer Kwon Dobb

THE FIELD IS LETHAL, poems by Suzanne Doppelt, Translated by Cole Swensen

RESIN, poems by Geri Doran

SONATA MULATTICA, poems and a play by Rita Dove

ENJOY HOT OR ICED: POEMS IN CONVERSATION AND A CONVERSATION by Denise Duhamel & Amy Lemmon

THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO THINK THAT PAINTERS SHOULDN'T TALK: A GUSTON BOOK, poems by Patrick James Dunagan (fabulously weightless)

DRAFT 43: GAP, poems by Rachel Blau DuPlessis

GO THIS WAY QUICKLY, poetry card by kari edwards (robust, nifty and just plain kewl)

THE FOUR QUARTETS, poems by T.S. Eliot

OPULENCE, poems by Stephen Ellis

excerpts from the scores of PERMEABLE STRUCTURES: A PERFORMANCE ESSAY IN STEREO by Laura Elrick

CLICK AND CLONE, poems by Elaine Equi (witty as ever)

TWO HATS APPEAR WHEN APPLAUDED: AN IMPROVISATION by Raymond Farr

THOU SAND, poems by Michael Farrell

WHAT IS POETRY, poems by Lawrence Ferlinghetti and images by Frederico Amat (the collaboration with painter Amat as well as wonderful book design elevates this project)

FLOWER CART, poems by Lisa Fishman

STYLING SANPAKU, visual poetry by Vernon Frazer (much fun!)

THE GRIEF PERFORMANCE, poems by Emily Kendal Frey

FROM IDYLLS & RUSHES, poems by Susana Gardner

KINGDOM ANIMALIA, poems by Aracelis Girmay

RAIN, O'ER ME, short short by Rachael Goetzke

LOVE IN A TIME OF PARANOIA by Howie Good (Tis so lovely it's the latest recipient of blather, I mean, blurbie from Moi. To wit:

As with positing—that is, poem-ing—that "a crumpled napkin / was all Degas needed / to do a sky," Howie Good only needed to be attentive to his world to create the many, varied universes possible through poems. That is, from the smallest of details he creates the deepest implications, and does so with a pleasing finesse.

ACOUSTIC EXPERIENCE, poems by Noah Eli Gordon

THE SOURCE, book-length poem by Noah Eli Gordon (interesting. results from poet's process of reading page 26 of nearly 10,000 books in the Denver Public Library)

THE ERRANCY, poems by Jorie Graham (hm...)

MY KAFKA CENTURY, poems by Arielle Greenberg

THE LAST 4 THINGS, poems by Kate Greenstreet (inexplicably brilliant)

GEOMETRIES by Guillevic and “Englished” by Richard Sieburth

ONE PETAL ROW, poems by Jaimie Gusman

FIELD WORK: NOTES, SONGS, POEMS 1997-2010 by David Hadbawnik (great premise, great job!)

PIGAFETTA IS MY WIFE, poems by Joe Hall

HOW WE BECAME HUMAN: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS 1975-2001 by Joy Harjo (very satisfying, primarily for that narrative arc as well as how individual poems, despite being personal, don't get narcisstic)

THE HANDS OF STRANGERS: POEMS FROM THE NURSING HOME by Janice N. Harrington

THE MIDDLE by Carla Harryman

SENTENCES, poems by Charles O. Hartman and Hugh Kenner

HALF LIVES: PETRARCHAN POEMS BY RICHARD JACKSON

A WOMB-SHAPED WORMHOLE, poems by j/j hastain
Spent some time recently with several publications by j/j hastain (see below) -- intriguing stuff: j/j unzips the zipper that would be a seam between life and words, and revolutionizes the lyric by doing so. Relatedly, here's moi blurb (unedited) for one of j/j/'s books, a womb-shaped wormhole:

This is one beginning for a world attempting to make itself in advance of its articulation. But it can be articulated by scents, which is to say, traces ... like musk, patchouli, mustard, "split truffles," or even attar of long-dead altars and imagined memories. In this beginning lie the orgasms of fractals, revealing how fractions require flesh as condition precedent to existence--for who we may not at first recognize is nonetheless not that different from you and me.

WE IN MY TRANS, poems by j/j/ hastain

ASYMPTOTIC LOVER//THERMODYNAMIC VENTS, poems by j/j/ hastain

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MY GENDER, poems by j/j hastain

COCKBURN, poems by j/j hastain

OUR BODIES, poems by j/j hastain

PRURIENT ANARCHIC OMNIBUS, poems by j/j hastain

RESTITUTIONS FOR A NEWER BOUNTIFUL VERB, poems by j/j hastain

THE ULTERIOR EDEN, poems by j/j hastain

IT IS WORTH CONSIDERING, poem mini-book by j/j hastain

COCKBURN, poems by j/j hastain

THUS &, poems by Derek Henderson (deft with pleasing surprises)

AMERICAN INCIDENT, poems by Brian Henry

THE SACRED RIVER OF CONSCIOUSNESS by Tom Hibbard (warranted moi blurb:

Empire so often come to this: "potholes imitating frozen potholes." The poems in Tom Hibbard's The Sacred River of Consciousness reflect on various crimes by humanity by simply reporting them. That Hibbard's language is poetic rather than journalistic does not mask the realities being referenced -- how "At times life does unfold / as though civilization were garbage." The suffering disenfranchised, the suffering environment, the corrupted governments, the dysfunctional relationships -- how did compassion evaporate? That question is but one of many begot by these poems. For the poems also ask "at what time does the candle make crimes unredeemable." The answer could be: upon the lighting of the candle or consciousness of those events, hence the import of Hibbard's poems. If these poems facilitate the consciousness where the New York Times et al has failed, the river may yet turn sacred again. For the sake of the world, open yourself up to these poems.

PRACTICAL WATER, poems by Brenda Hillman (magnificent, ravishing, smart, utterly fabulous—to understate the matter)

THE VAST PRACTICAL ENGINE, poem by Eric Hoffman (a wonderful achievement!)

NEGRO LEAGUE BASEBALL, poems by Harmony Holiday

ARCTIC POEMS by Vicente Huidobro, Trans. by Nathan Hoks (some gorgeous lines. a real beauty, this one)

HEALING HEART, poems by Gloria T. Hull

SHOT, poems by Christine Hume

RADIATOR, poems by NF Huth (not sure why but I responded to this with affection)

KILLING KANOKO: SELECTED POEMS by Hiromi Ito, trans Jeffrey Angles (a lot to admire; makes me wish I know Japanese so I can enjoy it in the original)

THE FEELING IS ACTUAL, poems, plays and visuals/collages by Paolo Javier

NOTATIONAL, poems by Jane Joritz-Nakagawa

PORTRAIT OF COLON DASH PARENTHESIS, poems by Jeffrey Jullich

YOUR OWN OX-HEAD MASK AS PROOF, poems by George Kalamaras

AAAALICE, poems by Jennifer Karmin

A BEAUTIFUL NAME FOR A GIRL, poems by Kirsten Kaschock

CLAIMS OF HOME: POEMS 1984-2010 by David M. Katz

FABULAE, poems by Joy Katz

from INSTANT CLASSIC, poems by erica kaufman

THE ADOPTION PAPERS, poems by Jackie Kay

ITERATION NETS, poems by Karla Kelsey

A NIGHT WITHOUT ARMOR, poems by Jewel Kilcher (Too bad the publisher HarperCollins didn't provide a good poetry editor -- not necessarily talking about individual poems so much as the structure of the collection)

NOTES FROM THE DIVIDED COUNTRY, poems by Suji Kwock Kim

THE WAY WE LIVE, poems by Burt Kimmelman (warm, moving, pleasing, authentic—poetry from a mature, deservedly self-confident poet)

I WANT TO MAKE YOU SAFE, poems by Amy King

MY LIFE AS A DOLL, poems by Elizabeth Kirschner (the most searing poetic read I've experienced in recent memory)

LIGATURE STRAIN, poems by Kim Koga

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN DRIVEWAY, poems by Jennifer L. Knox

SPENT: SELECTED POEMS by Jose Kozer, translated by Mark Weiss

THE SWEETNESS OF HERBERT, poems by Stuart Krimko

FRAGMENTS OF A FORGOTTEN GENESIS, poems by Abdellatif Laabi, Trans. by Nancy Hadfield and Gordon Hadfield (magnificent)

THE BOOK OF OCEAN, poems by Maryrose Larkin

THE NAME OF THIS INTERSECTION IS FROST, poems by Maryrose Larkin

KITCHEN TIDBITS, poems by Amanda Laughtland (charming)

from NOTHING TO SAY, poetry by Ann Lauterbach

X (ANGEL CITY), chap-length poem by Joseph Lease

TESTIFY, poems by Joseph Lease

KEROTAKIS, poems by Janice Lee

CONTENT, photography/visual poetry by Jon Leon

THE DARKENED TEMPLE, poems by Mari L’Esperance

SEVEN CONTROLLED VOCABULARIES AND OBITUARY 2004 THE JOY OF COOKING, poetry by Tan Lin (unexpectedly light on its feet. Which, for this type of project, is also to say, brilliant.)

YOU ARE A LITTLE BIT HAPPIER THAN I AM, poems by Tao Lin

ALWAYS MESSING WITH THEM BOYS, poems by Jessica Helen Lopez

WAITING FOR SWEET BETTY, poems by Clarence Major (I was a tad disappointed in this because I couldn't help comparing it to Kathrin Schaeppi's SONJA SEKKULA... (see below), a book I happened to read at about the same time, which took ekphrasis so much further)

NOVALESS (ELEMENTS TOWARDS A METAPHYSICS), poems by Nicholas Manning (a rare, unique pleasure that seduces both heart and mind, entonces, as well an admirable balance. Check out its, pun intended, harmonies!)

HOMO SENTIMENTALIS: A GUIDE IN VERSE TO MODERN EMOTIONAL INTIMACY by Nicholas Manning (see above. read in manuscript)

AND IF YOU DON'T GO CRAZY I'LL MEET YOU HERE TOMORROW, poems by Filip Marinovich

GORGEOUS CHAOS: NEW + SELECTED POEMS 1965-2001 by Jack Marshall

AREAS OF FOG, poems by Joseph Massey (ravishing)

THE NEW TOURISM, poems by Harry Mathews

THE ARAKAKI PERMUTATIONS, poems by James Maughn

RE-, poems by Kristi Maxwell

ETHICS OF SLEEP, poems by Bernadette Mayer

THE UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE: STORIES by rob mclennan (fabulous!)

HAZMAT, poems by J.D. McClatchy

ES VERDAD, poems with photos by jim mccrary (GAW-GEOUS GAW-GEOUS!)

PO DOOM, poems by jim mccrary (like that "hay(na)ku interlude"! you crank and crankster!)

NO GRAVE CAN HOLD MY BODY DOWN, poems by Aaron McCollough

WHATEVER SHINES, poems by Kathleen McGookey

EYESHOT, poems by Heather McHugh

ENTREPOT, poems by Mark McMorris

THE GOD OF INDETERMINACY, poems by Sandra McPherson

BEAT THING, poems by David Meltzer

BRILLIANT WATER, poems by Christopher Merrill

THE COLLECTED POEMS OF THOMAS MERTON

VERTIGO SEEKS AFFINITIES, poems by Sharon Mesmer

THERE'S ONLY ONE GOD AND YOU'RE NOT IT, poems by Stephen Paul Miller (is that a great title or what!)

THE NEIGHBORHOODS OF MY PAST SORROW, poems by Jesse Millner

SO LATE, SO SOON: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS by Carol Moldaw (lush, gorgeous, fabulous)

IN THE PRESENCE OF THE SUN: STORIES AND POEMS, 1961-1991 by N. Scott Momaday

YOU AND THREE OTHERS ARE APPROACHING A LAKE, poems by Anna Moschovakis

DEAR LIA, "prose event" by Eileen Myles

THE SPIRITUAL LIFE OF REPLICANTS, poems by Murat Nemet-Nejat (so wise)

PARROT ON A MOTORCYCLE: ON POETIC CRAFT, poems by Vitezslav Nezval, trans. by Jennifer Rogers

TRANSFER, poems by Naomi Shihab Nye

SARD, poems by Philip Byron Oakes

HOLD TIGHT: THE TRUCK DARLING POEMS by Jeni Olin

EXPEDITIONS by Pamela Jean de Oliveira-Smith (don't know (of) this poet; can't remember how I got this book. but really like it)

A TOAST IN THE HOUSE OF FRIENDS, poems by Akilah Oliver (couldn’t help but notice the energy that reared up with the first page and just boomed on each succeeding page until the end – it wrote itself and the poet is to be admired for ego not getting in the way)

THIRST, poems by Mary Oliver (Book could have used some slight editing to enhance what is a lovely lyrical archetypal gentle power within these poems. By “editing”, I mean that some poems should have been deleted as they weren’t as powerful as others.)

IN THE LAND, poems by Bea Opengart (so well-wrought and deeply-felt. a lovely resonant result)

PIER, poems by Janine Oshiro

THE NETWORK, poems by Jena Osman

HOW LONG, poems by Ron Padgett

HOW TO BE PERFECT, poems by Ron Padgett

IATROGENIC: THEIR TESTIMONIES, poems by Danielle Pafunda

THE PEOPLE THEY BROUGHT ME: POEMS IN THE ADOPTION COMMUNITY by Penny Callan Partridge (what a lovely premise -- presenting poems as well as people the the poet met as a result of those poems. Separate from the adoption issue, gads I wish I'd thought of that concept first!)

SHE, A BLUEPRINT, "text" by Michelle Naka Pierce and images by Sue Hammond West (interesting concept--and fresh take on ye olde body as basis for POV --summarized by a quote from Bhanu Kapil: "In the process of carving out a territory,...we also carve out something like a body for ourselves. So this dual operation of territory and body is produced simultaneously.")

THE COLOSSUS AND OTHER POEMS by Sylvia Plath

ABSURD GOOD NEWS, poems by Julien Poirier

EL GOLPE CHILENO, poems and art by Julien Poirier

IN THE MONEY MACHINE, poems by Minnie Bruce Pratt (admirable political lyricism)

CORPORATE GEESE by Christopher William Purdom

SAILCLOTH CHILD, poems by Christopher William Purdom

PRESENT TENSE, poems by Anna Rabinowitz

RUINS, poems and photographs by Margaret Randall

FAULTY MOTHERING, poems by Elaine Randell

THE HOT GARMENT OF LOVE IS INSECURE, poems by Elizabeth Reddin

COEUR DE LION, poems by Ariana Reines (very engaging)

MERCURY, poems by Ariana Reines

BLUE COLLAR POET, poems by G. Emil Reutter (wonderful, often humorous)

TO BE HUMAN IS TO BE A CONVERSATION, poems by Andrea Rexilius (lovely)

YELLOW / YELLOW, poems by Margaret Rhee

TIME’S POWER: POEMS 1985-1988 by Adrienne Rich

THE WILL TO CHANGE: POEMS 1968-1970 by Adrienne Rich

HELSINKI, poems by Peter Richards

60 TEXTOS, poems by Sarah Riggs (enchanting)

RUMOR, poems by Elizabeth Robinson

A, poems, photographs, visual poetry and more by Sophie Robinson (movingly evocative)

LIKE THE RAINS COME: SELECTED POEMS (1987-2006) by Mercedes Roffe, trans. by Janet Greenberg

NO FACE: SELECTED & NEW POEMS by Judith Roitman

THE STRESS OF MEANING, poem by Judith Roitman

WHITE BOOTS: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS OF THE WEST by William Pitt Root

ELEVATORS, poems by Rena Rosenwasser (elevates connoisseurship wonderfully!)

DEAR FAILURES, poems by Trey Sager (amusing)

SMALL SKY: A COLLECTION OF WRITINGS, poems and prose by Janice Sapigao

THE FLESH IS LIKE A KIND OF MUPPET CAPER, poems by Alex Savage

UNABLE TO FULLY CALIFORNIA, poems by Larry Sawyer (hm)

HOW PHENOMENA APPEAR TO UNFOLD, poems and essays by Leslie Scalapino

SONJA SEKULA GRACE IN A COW'S EYE: A MEMOIR: , poems by Kathrin Schaeppi (outstanding: it's often interesting how poetry, presumably (or presumed by many to be) a minimalist art can be so bombastic. Which is to say, gentleness is something I rarely see in poetry collections. Well, that difficult-to-pull-off-quality-in-poetry exists in my latest discovery and recommendation: Sonja Sekula: Grace in a cow's EYE : a memoir:, the debut full-length poetry collection by Kathrin Schaeppi. Such gentleness elevates this project, too, beyond the usual ekphrastic endeavor as ekphasis is often a balancing act between the nature of the art work and the subjectivity of the author. I'm not surprised, either, to see that its publisher is Black Radish Books -- relatively new but already clearly important space! Anyway, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book. In fact, I'm off now to re-read Kathrin Schaeppi's earlier work viz a chap from the beloved Dusie -- any work that makes you further explore the artist's other endeavors is something to recomment.

THE BOUNTY: FOUR ADDRESSES, poems by Kate Schapira

TELEMACHIAD, poems by Michael Scharf

MEMORY CARDS: ASHBERY SERIES by Susan M. Schultz (read in manuscript. Fabulous! Await the whole series coming out from Dusie--it'll be a great read!)

STARTLING, poems by Andrea Selch (nicely done!)

ACROSS STONES OF BAD DREAMS, poems by Zvi A. Sesling

UNION, poems by Don Share

O BON, poems by Brandon Shimoda

PHOTOGRAPH OF A NUDE, poems by Gary Silva (I’d seen Gary Silva around while he was doing Poet Laureate duty for Napa Valley, e,g. hosting a poetry reading at the local library. I finally got a chance to read his poems through 2 chapbooks including the one listed below, and was pleasantly rewarded!)

CERAMICS: LAUREATE POEMS by Gary Silva (wonderful “occasional poems”)

HANK, poems by Abraham Smith

CAN WE TALK HERE, poems by Carmen Gimenes Smith

STUPID BIRDS by Logan Ryan Smith (poems have, among many other wondrous things, huge charisma!)

PASSAGE THROUGH INDIA: AN EXPANDED AND ILLUSTRATED EDITION by Gary Snyder

FROM HERE, poems by Zoe Skoulding with images by Simonetta Moro

STOP PRETENDING: WHAT HAPPENED WHEN MY BIG SISTER WENT CRAZY, poems by Sonya Sones

YINGELISHI: SINOPHONIC ENGLISH POIETRY AND POETICS by Jonathan Stalling (found it quite enchanting!)

AN ATLAS OF LOST CAUSES by Marjorie Stein

AND I WOULD OPEN, poems by Jill Stengel

WAIT, poems by Alison Stine (gothic in an admirably yellow vs black way--which is to say, admirably unexpected)

DARK ADAPT, poems by Brian Strang (just gorgeous: its darkness fails flawlessly to overwhelm its beauty)

MAO’S PEARS, poems by Kenny Tanemura

UXUDO, poems by Anne Tardos

CONTENT by Marina Temkina and Michel Gerard (vizpo, I suppose, as it relies on a narrative based on a succession of photographs)

THE CORYBANTES, book-length poem by Tod Thilleman

PRIVADO, poems by Daniel Tiffany

THE NEW POETICS, concept-poetry by Matthew Timmons (well done!)

RED WALLS, poems by James Tolan (gorgeously hard-fought and honed into gold)

ERRANCITIES, poems by Quincy Troupe

THE LONG BIRTH, poems by Jan Vanstavern

FAULKNER'S ROSARY, poems by Sarah Vap

BEFOREHAND, visual poetry by Cecilia Vicuna

IRRESPONSIBILITY, poems by Chris Vitiello

VICTORY, poetry/film text/conceptual et by Clarice Waldman

ETYM(BI)OLOGY, poems by Liz Waldner

A MAP PREDETERMINED AND CHANCE, poems by Laura Wetherington (hm)

ADVENTURES OF PI, poems by Tyrone Williams

ALIENS: AN ISLAND, poems by Uljana Wolf, trans. by Monika Zobel (resonant concept and poems)

THE ECLIPSES, poems by David Woo

GUTTER CATHOLIC LOVE SONG, poem by Joseph Wood

MORE FROM SERIES MAGRITTE, poems by Mark Young (always a delight to read his poems)

GEOGRAPHIES, poems by Mark Young (Enjoyable and GEOGRAPHIES shows him, too, to be a master of the deadpan. Though, interestingly, my favorite or one of my favorites is the rare exception to his deadpanness, this hay(na)ku:
Le Pont Mirabeau

His
translations of
Apollinaire reek of

formaldehyde when it's
absinthe we're
after.

PETALS OF ZERO PETALS OF ONE, poems by Andrew Zawacki

POEMS FROM REDRESS, poems by Hannah Zeavin


ANTHOLOGIES (9):

THE BEST AMERICAN POETRY 2007, Guest Editor Heather McHugh

THE GRAPE CRIES OUT! AN ANTHOLOGY OF WINE POEMS edited by David Alvarez (read it in manuscript. it's brilliant and fabulous -- and not just coz Moi is in it (really); it's a very fresh take on a somewhat traveled subject)

CHAPTER & VERSE: POEMS OF JEWISH IDENTITY by Dan Bellm, Rose Black, Chana Bloch, Rafaella Del Bourgo, Margaret Kaufman, Jacqueline Kudler, Melanie Maier, Murray Silverstein, Susan Terris and Sim Warkov (the most effective project of "identity poems and poetics" that I've recently read—well done!)

PP/FF: AN ANTHOLOGY (of prose poetry &/or flash fiction), Ed. Peter Conners

19 NEW AMERICAN POETS OF THE GOLDEN GATE, Edited by Philip Dow (disappointed that Jack Gilbert had to result to bashing another poet to make his points in his intro to his own poems. took more than a bottle to get that sour taste out)

THE GIFT OF TONGUES: TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF POETRY FROM COPPER CANYON PRESS, poetry anthology edited by Sam Hamill

THE WORKING POET: 75 WRITING EXERCISES AND A POETRY ANTHOLOGY, edited by Scott Minar (useful, which is what an anthology of this type should be)

THE AUTUMN HOUSE ANTHOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN POETRY, edited by Michael Simms

VISITING DR. WILLIAMS: POEMS INSPIRED BY THE LIFE AND WORK OF WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS Co-Edited by Sheila Coghill & Thom Tammaro (unexpectedly enjoyable)


POETRY-RELATED JOURNALS (17):

AUFGABE journal edited by E. Tracy Grinnell, Paul Foster Johnson and Julian T. Brolaski

THE ASIAN AMERICAN LITERARY REVIEW, Winter/Spring 2011, eds.Gerald Maa and Lawrence-Minh Bui Davis (I always enjoy Eric Gamalinda's writings and he's got a short story in this issue that's just hilarious!)

BLUE&YELLOWDOG, FALL 2011 ISSUE 6, literary journal edited by Raymond Farr (adored those poems by Mark DuCharme!)

ECCOLINGUISTICS, literary zine edited by Jared Schickling (valuable and admirable reading; read three issues this year)

ESQUE, literary journal co-edited by Amy King and Anna Bozicevich

HOUSE ORGAN No. 77, Winter 2012, Editor Kenneth Warren (as usual, STELLAR!)
HOUSE ORGAN, No. 74, Spring 2011, literary zine edited by Kenneth Warren (I so admire the commitment in this project)
HOUSE ORGAN, No. 75 Summer 2011, Edited by Kenneth Warren (just chockful of PERFECT POEMS!)

MUNYORI Literary Journal, Ed. Emmanuel Sigauke (enjoyed this read!)

SENTENCE: A JOURNAL OF PROSE POETICS No. 8, edited by Brian Clements

THE SPIRIT OF THE SAINTS / EL ESPIRITU DE LOS SANTOS, St. Helena High School Literary Arts Journal 2010, co-eds Susan Swan and Sophia Cahua

TALISMAN: A JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY POETRY AND POETICS, FALL 1988 / THE ALICE NOTLEY ISSUE, edited by Ed Foster

TEENY TINY #13 poetry zine, Editor Amanda Laughtland (has a huge heart way bigger than the zine's less-than-palm-sized physical expanse)

VERSE. Vol. 27, No. 1, literary journal co-edited by Brian Henry and Andrew Zawacki

YELLOWFIELD, literary/arts journal cum provocation "collated" by Edric Mesmer


OTHER FORMS CREATED BY OR INVOLVING POETS/POETRY (26):

WORDS IN REVERSE, a "piece for a string ensemble" by Laurie Anderson (works as prose poetry to me -- and fabulous! Thanks McCrary!)

BODY OF WORDS: PERFORMANCE TEXTS, "prose event" by Alexamdra Beller, Lauren Nicole Nixon, Rosamond S. King, Sally Silvers

FOR THE ORDINARY ARTIST: SHORT REVIEWS, OCCASIONAL PIECES & MORE by Bill Berkson (art criticism enlighted by the highest rigor: a loving feeling)

OUTSIDE VOICES: AN EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE by Jake Berry and Jeffrey Side

THE DANGEROUS ISLANDS, novel by Seamas Cain (Moi blurbed, to wit:

Words tell the story, yes. But the words, one senses in Seamas Cain's The Dangerous Islands, were not just authored but also precipitated by immediately preceding words or phrases. This is to say, the energy flowing through this novel is so powerful it sometimes dances away from a narrative thread(s). The result is an author going beyond the limits of self, and a story that is not just "pleasure [but] is a violent pleasure."

GODDESS OF TURNIPS, handmade art/poetry mini-book by Daniel de Culla (muchas gracias, senor en Espana. es muy bonita!)

THE THIRDEST WORLD, fiction and essays by Gina Apostol, Eric Gamalinda, and Lara Stapleton

100 SCENES, a novel as asemic poetry by Tim Gaze (brilliant!)

THE LATE GREAT ALLEN GINSBERG: A PHOTO BIOGRAPHY by Christopher Felver with Euology by Lawrence Ferlinghetti & "In Memory of Allen" by David Shapiro

MEMOIR AND ESSAY by Michael Gottlieb (enthralling page-turner that also made me happy that I'm not reliant on coterie for my poetry)

[A CROONED COCOON...], poetry collage by j/j hastain

(A POEM-ESSAY, OR PRECURSON: NOTES: FOR A NOVEL: BAN EN BANLIEUES), "prose event" by Bhanu Kapil

I LOVE A BROAD MARGIN TO MY LIFE, autobiography in verse by Maxine Hong Kingston

JOAN MIRO--"MAY 1968", poetry broadside by Mark Lamoreaux

PRESENTS FOR CHRISTMAS, poemized holiday greeting card (Cy Gist Press Holiday Card 2012, limited edition 100) by Mark Lamoreaux

THE LUNG OF THE POET, poetry broadside by Michael Leong (brilliantly fresh!)

THE UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE: STORIES by rob mclennan (I know rob mostly through his very excellent blog but, wow, this dude writes glorious, magnificent stuff! At least he does so in his The Uncertainty Principle: stories)

LOOKING UP HARRYETTE MULLEN: INTERVIEWS ON SLEEPING WITH THE DICTIONARY AND OTHER WORKS by Barbara Henning (every poet should have their "Barbara Henning"!)

MAGNIFICAT FOR THE NEW YEAR, poetry broadside by Sheila E. Murphy (magnificent!)

TOWARD THE YEAR TWENTY-TWELVE, poetry broadside by Sheila E. Murphy (wonderful!)

A MEGAPHONE: INDEX OF NAMES, PRIZES, JOURNALS, PRESSES, CONFERENCES, ANTHOLOGIES, BLOGS, AND DISCUSSION LISTS co-edited by Juliana Spahr and Stephanie Young (exhausting!)

LONG LIFE: ESSAYS AND OTHER WRITINGS by Mary Oliver

UNTITLED #5, "prose event" by Vanessa Place

THE ALTERNATIVE SOCIETY: ESSAYS FROM THE OTHER WORLD by Kenneth Rexroth

UNDER ALBANY, memoir by Ron Silliman (as pleasurable at 2nd read as it was in the 1st read!)

CARLOS VILLA AND THE INTEGRITY OF SPACES, Edited by Theodore S. Gonzalves (long-overdue art monograph with essays and other contributions by Margo Machida, Mark Johnson, Moira Roth, and David Goldberg w/ poems by Bill Berkson)