A LOVELY YELLOW FIELD!

Missed some good stuff while I was gone.  Like, thanks (!) to Edric Mesmer and YELLOW FIELD 6 for this review of the relational elations of ORPHANED ALGEBRA:

The gift, we recall, of feminist theoreticism is the paradigm shift. Tabios and hastain place this at the eros of collaboration, and that’s its success: that the recognition of difference might make unlike circumstances empathetic frameworks. Begun through appropriated “word problems” from grammar school math equations, Tabios is able to ask, “What algebraic relationship moved you to bestow on mundane pigeons the halos of peace and other faux debris from trawling old memories of desire-ridden imagination that would come to plummet into ruin?” Transcendent then of equation, the series is able to interrogate “remainders” of information fallen outside the easiness of “whole sets,” or any given. In response, hastain posits xir own questions regarding the crepuscular—O favored of poetic words!—and relational identities: “Patina does relate to positing. Scratches secrets into the underside of blocks or blocs. That stone did hold that child’s expression.” The pairing also invites each poet’s critical reception of xir collaborator, as well as a startling sequence of stances through which hastain permutates “different set[s] of lovers” approaching the limit of Tabios’s partial problematic: What is a[p]parent?

YELLOW FIELD 6 also has 3 poems from my manuscript-in-progress, Reproductions of the Reproductions of the Empty (the more I reference that title, the more I realize I need to change it).  The poems are in great company, and I'm grateful for this particular community's support.

WELCOME BACK, MICHAEL!

Michael just got back from a fruitful internship in Nicaragua volunteering at Clinica Verde's free clinic there started by some local doctors--here he is (third from left) with some of the other interns:

They blog about their experience HERE.  And you can read Michael's Spanish post HERE.  So proud of him! 

TRASH TALKIN' POETRY "FAME" WITH BIG BRO

Moi am back.  Moi was visiting Mom here:

That's my big brother, Fil, on the bridge leading to my Uncle Tony's farm in Santo Tomas, Philippines (gaw-geous country but ick with the humidity and how bugs consistently so love me I once wrote about my "milk-fed veins" in a poem for said bugs).  Love how those recycled tires collate bamboo into a bridge...

We returned yesterday and something funny happened while we were lounging in the airport waiting for our flights.  We were reading the local Manila papers, and, what do you know but my name is in one of the articles in the Philippine Star!  What are the odds that you unexpectedly fly across an ocean and then see your name name-dropped into a local paper!? What was great about that is that I then could point to that article and nota bene Fil just how "world famous" I am -- to which he replied along the lines of That and a subway token gets you on the subway!  (Which, of course, is how I feel about poetry "fame"...)   Here then is Fil with a copy of the paper I forced him to hold for a photograph, with the article he described as "What is that guy talking about...!"

Trash talkin' with big bro: Eileen 1, Fil 0! 

And now to the overflowing IN-Box!

THE EMPTY HAMMOCK

Well, I thought I’d gone and returned here. Instead, I’ve unexpectedly to leave the country (pun intended) for a couple of weeks. So please be aware that, as of Wednesday, I am offline until end of the month. I also will not be able to do mail.

Anyway, Galatea’s got a nice hammock this summer—this, from Nicaragua if memory serves moi right (and what a portent it was to have gotten this a few years back: Michael is now in Nicaragua on an internship serving at a free clinic there). Too bad the hammock’s usually empty. It’d be nice to spend time there but I’m too busy working to ensure … the hammock exists! Well, at least we can admire the image:

And here’s another update of my Recently Relished W(h)ine List below. Needless to say, none of the books were read … within the hammock! And 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. If you want a review copy, email me at GalateaTen@aol.com but I won't be able to respond for a couple of weeks.

SUMMER CITY SLICKER HARVEST
0 plums for the season—that’s right, zero! Because the birds et ‘em all! Sheesh!
5 strawberries
3 sprigs of mint
22 yellow squash
11 eggplant
8 zucchini
3 bell peppers


PUBLICATIONS
* SILVER, poems by Jason McCall (a pleasing debut)

* STELE, poems by Cole Swensen

LAND OF CIRCLE: WRITINGS COLLECTED FROM THE LAND, poetry and prose by Linda M. Hasselstrom

THE ART OF ROY HENRY VICKERS, monograph

NO LIFE FOR A LADY, memoir by Agnes Morley Cleaveland

ALMOST AMERICANS: A QUEST FOR DIGNITY, memoir by Patricia Justiniani McReynolds

SHADOW MOUNTAIN: A MEMOIR OF WOLVES, A WOMAN AND THE WILD by Renee Askins

YELLOWSTONE AUTUMN: A SEASON OF DISCOVERY IN A WONDROUS LAND, memoir by W.D. Wetherell

THE TREE FARM: REPLANTING A LIFE, memoir by Robert Treuer

THE OUTERMOST HOUSE: A YEAR OF LIFE ON THE GREAT BEACH OF CAPE COD, nature/memoir by Henry Besson

AN HOUR BEFORE DAYLIGHT, memoir by Jimmy Carter

OFF THE BEATO PATHO, travel essays by Doreen Woodard

A COUNTRY AFFAIR, novel by Rebecca Shaw

WINTER WHEAT, novel by Mildred Walker

THE ARRAIGNMENT, novel by Steve Martini

THE PANIC ZONE, novel by Rick Mofina

THE RECESSIONISTAS, novel by Alexandra Lebenthal

SCARED TO DEATH, novel by Wendy Corsi Staub


WINES
1997 Greenock Creek 7 Acres shiraz
2009 Trapiche Malbec
___ Inniskillin eiswein British Columbia
200_ Buehler Zinfandel
2009 Elk cove Pinot noir
1996 Graham's port
2010 Penfolds Dawson Creek
Veuve Cliquot champagne

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SPOT ON EARTH

Geez. I've touched down on five continents not knowing the most beautiful spot on earth is in one's backyard!

The most masterful colorist? Bacteria:

Okay. Here's obligatory shot of Old Faithful--you should now know where I went!

No wonder I was happy to toast the occasion with an Elk [Cove] pinot noir (albeit from Oregon), naturally next to to some Moose butter

followed by some 1950 Graham's with, yep, Bison chocolates!

Yes--Yellowstone proved government can work!  HIGHLY RECOMMEND visiting the world's first national park -- I saw herds (herds!) of bison and elk!  Didn't see the wolves I was reading about, but I  knew they saw me ....

HAVE [G]O[N]E, AM HERE...!

LET US SEE EACH OTHER!

Meritage Press invites the public to what promises to be one of the most entertaining, cheerful and yummy book launches in the history of book launches!  To wit, the book launch for BEAUTIFUL EYES!

[Click on image for enlarged details]

SUNDAY DESK SNAPSHOT (7/1/2012)

Here's the fourth of snapshot series posting an image of my working desk every Sunday:

Among the contents of the desk today are

--recent issue of literary journal Aufgabe, edited by E. Tracy Grinnell, Julian T. Brolawski and erica kaufman, which includes a usefully educational section on Salvadoran poetry edited by guest editor Christian Nagler. It was a real treat to read the poems of Salvadoran poets (all new to me and probably to you readers so check them out): Krisma Mancia, Miguel Huezo-Mixco, Luis Alvarenga, Teresa Andrade, Otoniel Guevara, Rafael Menjivar Ochoa, Claudia Herodier and Roque Dalton.

--on the laptop screen with a print-out on the desk is the manuscript of my mother's forthcoming book! Yep, my Mom will come out with her FIRST book at age 82: DAWAC and Other Memoir-Narratives by Beatriz Tilan Tabios. I, no doubt, will be talking more about this in future blog posts but, for now, let me say that this book will include her recollections of her World War II experiences, including hiding from the Japanese army as it invaded the Philippines. Here's a section that talks about when she and her family ran to the forests to hide--it was during those times that, to while away the time, she ended up reading Greek poets for the first time! As this section shows, it's interesting to see the weaving of WWII lived experience with references to older wars:

     Someone came to the forest to let us know that the [Japanese] enemy had not yet come back from the east. The Soriano family would have gone into the forest, too. So we stayed where we were. I had my little book, the Iliad.  I added it to the things in my bag. It was light anyway so it didn’t make a difference even if I had to carry it while we were walking and sometimes running up the hillsides. I started reading it as soon as we sat down in a spot surrounded by low bushes. I was engrossed in the fight between Hector and Achilles. I wanted to know who would win. I was cheering for Hector. My mother told my brothers and me that we could eat some of the brown sugar we had in our bags. My brothers did, but I saved mine in case we would stay there longer.

     All of a sudden we heard gun shots, continuous gun shots. It sounded like many guns were fired at the same time. We all dove into a large hole near us. I was on top of those who reached the hole ahead of me. I heard the men whisper, “Machine guns!” We remained crouched for a long time. When the suspense overcame me, I stood up. I saw a Japanese soldier standing on a high ridge south of us. I dropped back to my crouching position. I didn’t tell the others what I saw, but I was expecting to be pierced by a bayonet any minute.

Good ol' Mom. She pulled it off and deserves to reap the reward: a book!  I am so proud of her.

KUDOS TO HORSE LESS PRESS!

One more update to moi Recently Relished W(h)ine List before I head off the mountain for a couple of weeks.  I'm almost scared to begin including again the section "City Slicker's Harvest."  Said City Slicker would be Moi--aligned with my usual (in)competence at domestic duties, I seem to struggle with harvesting humongous bounties from my garden in Napa Valley, surely one of the most fertile spots on earth.  But, okay, I'll open moiself up to this bit of humiliation so you at least can harvest some amusement.  First, a photo of this summer garden's first bounties!  Aren't they beautiful!

Here then is another update of my Recently Relished W(h)ine List below. As regards books, I've said before that I don’t assign myself poetry publications to review. I just read as widely as I can and what moves me to engage with them end up being the books I review. Well, I just read Daniela Olszewska’s new book, cloudfang :: cakedirt. It’s not a review copy, but something I had bought (yes, I buy poetry!). It ended up being such a satisfying read that it is the second poetry collection I will be reviewing for the next issue of Galatea Resurrects!  Its publisher, Horse Less Press, by the way, is releasing some fine work (including Richard Froude's FABRIC--a poet new to me and whose work I simply find to be magnificent); check out this publisher!

Finally, 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.


CITY SLICKER SUMMER HARVEST
8 yellow squash
6 eggplant
1 zucchini


PUBLICATIONS
BONESHEPHERDS, poems by Patrick Rosal (ay! Ket nagsayaat met daytoy nga Ilocano!)

* CEMETERY CHESS: SELECTED AND NEW POEMS by Sandy McIntosh (Sandy is one of those poets who deserve more attention—I don’t really know of anyone doing the combo of surrealism and humor that he does, and does so deftly. Nor am I biased simply because he has poems here dedicated to my husband and my dogs as well as another poem entitled “Eileen R. Tabios”….read him, Peeps: he’s worth the attention!)

CLOUDFANG :: CAKEDIRT by Daniela Olszewska (see above; deeply satisfying read)

YEAR OF REVERSIBLE LOSS, poems-memoir by Norma Farber (stunning. Makes me now go look into her other poems which I’ve never read)

FABRIC, poems by Richard Froude (wow. a BIG discovery of a profound writer. Brilliant poet)

DECK OF DEEDS, poems by Rodrigo Toscano (smart)

* BLACK BIRDS : BLUE HORSE, poems by Natalie Peeterse

* WORDS ON EDGE, poems by Michael Leong (a consistently intelligent poetic presence)

* FIFTEEN POEMS by Bobbie Louise Hawkins

THE NEIGHBORHOODS OF MY PAST SORROW, poems by Jesse Millner

THE SOFT PLACE, poems by Kate Schapira (lovely)

HERE IS A MINI-PARADE, poems by Kate Schapira and Daniela Olszewska

FROM THE SOFT PLACE/THINGS TO DO IN PERSONFORM, poetry broadside by Kate Schapira and Daniela Olszewska

OUR LADY OF THE RUINS, poems by Traci Brimhall

EVERY DRESS A DECISION, poems by Elizabeth Austen

AUFGABE #11, literary journal edited by E. Tracy Grinnell, Julian T. Brolawski and erica kaufman which includes a usefully educational section on Salvadoran poetry edited by guest editor Christian Nagler

PACK OF TWO: THE INTRICATE BOND BETWEEN PEOPLE AND DOGS by Caroline Knapp

SAN FRANCISCO INTERIORS, text by Diane Dorens Saeks and photography by Alan Weintraub

THE PERFECT COUNTRY COTTAGE, photographic study by Bill Laws

CITY OF THE SUN, novel by David Levien

13 MILLION DOLLAR POP, novel by David Levien

THE ACCIDENT, novel by Linwood Barclay

VENGEANCE, novel by Stuart M. Kaminsky

ALWAYS SAY GOODBYE, novel by Stuart M. Kaminsky


WINES
1998 Fox Creek shiraz cabernet franc McLaren Vale
2000 Isis pinot noir Santa Barbara
1991 Philip Togni cabernet NV
2010 Veedercrest chardonnay Ruhl Vineyard Yountville.
2011 Kathy Fleming sauvignon blanc
2003 Kistler pinot noir
2005 Mount Veeder cabernet