Tuesday, April 30, 2013

THE INTERNATIONAL FEAST THAT IS OTOLITHS!

OTOLITHS, edited by Mark Young, is fresh. And FRESH reading it is! It's certainly enervating my still pre-java morning!

As Mark says in his Announcement:

When I started Otoliths seven years ago, I wondered if it would grow, if it would survive. That wondering is now far behind me, & even a cursory glance at the lineup ... indicates how wide-ranging the journal has become in literary & artistic endeavor & scope, how truly international it now is.

Given this issue's company, I'm honored and humbled that it also includes a haybun folio I curated -- which is also part of "my" manuscript-in-progress that is exploring the expanse of the self (authorial and otherwise): 147 MILLION ORPHANS: A HAYBUN. This unique (if I say so moiself) folio can be accessed HERE, and features the contributions of Eileen R. Tabios, Tom Beckett, j/j hastain, John Bloomberg-Rissman, Aileen Ibardaloza, Thomas Fink, Sheila E. Murphy, Michael Caylo-Baradi, Jean Vengua, William Allegrezza, & Patrick James Dunagan & Ava Koohbor. My deep gratitude to the participating poets who allowed their wonderfully complicated minds to expand the expanse of Moi who would attempt to address such a HUGE complicated topic as all of the orphans in the universe.

But do GO HERE for the entire issue, which features the lovely texts and art of the following: Mark Cunningham, Susan Lewis, Aditya Bahl, Jal Nicholl, Andrew Topel, Pete Spence & Andrew Topel, Julian Jason Haladyn, Ed Baker, John Ryan, Francesco Aprile, Unconventional Press, Kyle Hemmings, Philip Byron Oakes, Marco Giovenale, Sheila E. Murphy & John M. Bennett, Jim Leftwich & John M. Bennett, Thomas M. Cassidy & John M. Bennett, John M. Bennett, John W. Sexton, Louie Crew, Sy Roth, Jack Galmitz, Anthony J. Langford, Mark Melnicove, Yoko Danno, Pam Brown, Eleanor Leonne Bennett, A. J. Huffman, John Veira, Maria Zajkowski, Camille Martin, Wayne Mason, Bobbi Lurie, Darren C. Demaree, Michael Stutz, James Mc Laughlin, Howie Good, Reed Altemus, Tammy Ho Lai-Ming, Johannes S. H. Bjerg, Vernon Frazer, Jeremy Freedman, John Pursch, dan raphael, Sheila e. Black & Caleb Puckett, Ricky Garni, Jack Collum & Mark DuCharme, Kathryn Yuen, Tim Wright, Mark Reep, Gary Barwin, Taylor Reid, harry k stammer, Marcia Arrieta, Anna Ryan-Punch, Katrinka Moore, Neil Ellman, Sally Ann McIntyre, Jeff Harrison, Joe Balaz, Boyd Spahr, Tony Beyer, Jim Davis, Chris Brown, Sam Moginie, Lakey Comess, Alberto Vitacchio, Jorge Lucio de Campos translated by Diana Magallón & Gregory Vincent St. Thomasino, Rebecca Rom-Frank, Craig Cotter, Javant Biarujia, Carla Bertola, Iain Britton, Anne Elvey, Bob Heman, Donna Fleischer, J. D. Nelson, sean burn, Spencer Selby, Charles Freeland & Rosaire Appel, Paul Dickey, Michael D Goscinski, Kathup Tsering, Miro Bilbrough, Chris Holdaway, Samuel Carey, Paul Pfleuger, Jr., Michael Brandonisio, Willie Smith, Mercedes Webb-Pullman, Bogdan Puslenghea, Andrew Pascoe, Scott Metz, Marty Hiatt, Eric Schmaltz, Sam Langer, & bruno neiva.

As Mark encourages, "Enjoy. Be amazed. Be delighted. Be entertained."

And THANK YOU, Mark!






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Sunday, April 28, 2013

THE GLORIOUS VARIETIES OF MOI MIDDLE NAME

Now, unlike with that country song, moi hubby did promise me a rose garden!  So, we mostly leave the mountain to rest in its natural glory.  But the hubby did carve out a rose garden whose blooms I can bring into the house.  And, with spring sprung the roses have bloomed!  Here's what I brung to the kitchen:



Here's where they came from:








You most definitely should click on the images to enlarge.  As for Moi?  I'm delving deep into the closet for more vases!







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Saturday, April 27, 2013

THE GOLDEN EGG

A tad wiped, writing-wise, from the week.  I'm up to 23 chapters in a memoir about my mother's last six years, which is to say, our new life together when she moved in with me after being widowed.  Intense -- such that I ended up as well spinning out a 3,000-plus short story from the experience.  In fact, I just sent that short story out as a submission yesterday.  It's the first short story I've written in months, actually, years.

Synchronistically, my post this week at SitWithMoi is on MY VERY FIRST BOOK!  Yes, a historic occasion (hah) ... and it's a book in which my mother played such a key role since I wrote it when I was about two years old.  If you want to see my FIRST BOOK, check it out HERE.  Literary criticism welcome for my newbie writing efforts (heh).

Okay, back to the memoir.  As you might glean from the title, it takes a toll to write -- but the poet does what the poet must do.  It's working title is

SELF-LOATHING AND THE GOLDEN EGG: A Mourning Diary

The sub-title was inspired by the title of Roland Barthes' book that he scratched out after his mother died--its title is MOURNING DIARY.  This Slate review has an excerpt that indicates why I'm empathetic with this book (even though I'm only on Page 2 as I write this -- but, the fragments from page 1 and page 2 are so harrowing I have to pause.  It's so unusual for me -- reading so ... slowly):

It is eminently Barthesian that Mourning Diary isn't a book one reads in a traditional sense but rather a questioning space one enters, imagining what happens in the interstices. Barthes espoused the idea of what he called a "readerly" rather than a "writerly" literature, in which the reader must actively interpret the text, rather than passively follow an explicit explanation or narrative. His mode was one of interrogation more than explication; grief works in a similar way.

Onward....into this questioning space.





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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

ON COMMUNITY BOOKSHELVES!

So I've written here before, though not recently, on the "e-community bookshelf" I run viz blog for poetry books.  This project was inspired by the real-life community bookshelves at two local coffeehouses--in all three, one can "take a book, leave a book" or trade books. 

Well, I am pleased to report that moi modest poetry distribution effort was noticed by an editor at New HydePark Illustrated in New York.  You can CLICK HERE for the article or read further below as I replicate the article to "file" it into moi blog.  What they couldn't use after asking for it are photos of the non-virtual community bookshelf that inspired Moi -- so I post it here for your viewing pleasure.  Here's a community bookshelf at Calistoga Roastery--note how it's ensconsed among various coffeepots and other coffee-related accouterments:




If you take a close look at the right side of the second shelf of books, you'll see that I seeded two poetry books in there: my Reproductions of the Empty Flagpole and Mark Young's selected poems, PELICAN DREAMING. Here's a close-up of the sign that encourages book trading:




Anyway, things like this generate positive energy -- a good antidote to news of bookstore closings, drop of readership of print books, etc.  Meanwhile, if you wish, you may want to click on MOI COMMUNITY BOOKSHELF if you haven't looked at its offerings lately--we might have a trade to do, too!  And now, here's the New Hyde News Illustrated article in its entirety--thanks to author Rich Forestano:

New Hyde Park residents install community bookshelf at train station


Newspapers and magazines are available at many Long Island Rail Road train stations. But in New Hyde Park, there is something additional for commuters – a bookshelf, thanks to residents Katina Grigoraskos and Carmin Perrone.

Grigoraskos and Perrone installed a New Hyde Park Community Bookshelf at the New Hyde Park train station. The two joined forces with the LIRR and “jazzed the station up a bit,” getting donations from Hillside Public Library.

The idea came to fruition when Perrone was getting rid of her bookshelf and the two thought to put it to good use. Grigoraskos and Perrone reached out to the train station manager Jennifer Uihlein.

Friends, neighbors and the two women donated books. Books can be dropped off anytime during open hours.

“You can take a book and leave a book,” Perrone said. Grigoraskos said the plan is based on the “honor system,” meaning it’s up to the person to return the book. The station refinished the bookshelf and installed it.

Perrone is a speech therapist at Lyons Community School in Brooklyn and Grigoraskos teaches English to Japanese students at Be Fluent NYC in Manhattan.

“I’m a commuter and I was at the [New Hyde Park] station one morning and I saw where the schedules were,” Mayor Robert Lofaro said. “They were moved to the counter and there was a children’s bookcase there and it said ‘New Hyde Park Community Bookshelf.’ I was curious about it.”

The women sent an email to the village asking for help. Lofaro answered.

“I thought it was a great addition to the station,” said Lofaro. “Those are the elements that make a building personal. I was so delighted to hear from [Grigoraskos and Perrone]. I was curious where these [books] came from and I thank them for their efforts. Those types of community elements make a big difference.”

Hillside Library Director Nylah Schneider said the library was all for donating to a cause for literature. The library donated 25 books to the bookshelf.

“They’re doing a wonderful service to the community,” Schneider said. “We were happy to donate these books so more people could take advantage of reading.”

The women found community bookshelves are popular on the West Coast.

Eileen Tabios, Meritage Press publisher in California, takes a different angle on community bookshelves, running an e-bookshelf online, focusing on poetry books.

Tabios frequents two coffee shops in St. Helena and Calistoga, CA. Two community bookshelves grace their counters in Napa Valley.

"They allocate a part of their space,” she said. “There seems to be a lot of turnover. It’s successful. The e-bookshelf that I do focuses on poetry, which is a smaller niche. Quite often what I do, I don’t mind sharing. I see one or two copies of books I publish at the coffee shop and the next thing I know, they’re gone.”

The Calistoga Roastery sports a full bookshelf, with multiple books for the taking. Tabios thinks community bookshelves are a quick way to come across books you may not read. The convenience of it is what draws people to them.

“You’re not going out of your way to buy books. You’re at a coffee shop and hey, it happens to be there. It’s free and it helps in today’s economy. I do it online. I’ll get emails from people asking ‘hey, do you have a copy of this.’”

The ultimate end game of this initiative for Grigoraskos and Perrone is to have bookshelves in all LIRR train stations.

“We would love to see [the bookshelves] in all stations if possible,” Perrone said. “To get more books…get more involved,” said Grigoraskos.


I am happy to represent the West Coast!   I'm just such a librarian at heart ....    



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Sunday, April 21, 2013

HAPPILY, I CHEATED!

I cheated: I had a teeny sip of my husband's glass of 2006 Saxum Booker Vineyard.  It's so rich (16.7% alcohol content vs normal 12-13% in most wine bottles) it felt like a full sip.  It was GRRRRRRR....EAT!  And now, back to the whole wheat and nuts ...

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

PUBLICATIONS
* UNREST, poems by Simone White (fabulous! WOULD SOMEONE PUBLISH A FIRST BOOK by this poet? If I understand her bio correctly, she’s released chaps but not a full-length book to date. Based on UNREST, it’s more than time to see a more full-blown poetry collection from her)

* THE EGG MISTRESS, poems by Jessica Poli (satisfying and delightful. A young poet—and she’s one to follow)

80 BEETLES, poems by Mark Cunningham (fabulous with their unique exuberances!)

* TWERK, poems by Latasha N. Nevada Diggs (sheeeeesh: and now I’ma gonna have to eat my future unagi with less innocence…!)

* YOU ARE EVERYTHING YOU ARE NOT, poems by John High (nicely done)

DOMINA UN/BLUED, poems by Ruth Ellen Kocher (nicely done as well, with interesting technique of building the collection upon “the ruins of two previous manuscripts”)

* THE YEAR OF THE ROOSTER by Noah Eli Gordon (nicely provocative)

HAIKU by Colin Will (fabulous! click on link!)

I’M NOBODY! WHO ARE YOU?, poem by Emily Dickinson (fabulous! click on link!)

FLORULA LUDOVICIANA, poems by Marthe Reed (fabulous! click on link!)

* CLOUD VS. CLOUD, poems by Ethan Paquin

* FORTY-ONE JANE DOE'S., poems by Carrie Olivia Adams

* MUSSOORIE-MONTAGUE MISCELLANY, poems by Christopher Sawyer-Laucanno

ARSENIC LOBSTER: Poetry Journal 2012, Issues 26, 27 & 28, Editor Susan Yountz (an excellent achievement! I enjoyed EVERY SINGLE POEM! That’s a first in terms of reading through a literary journal because, usually, you like some you don’t like some. Here, I like ALL!)

DOWN THE UP ESCALATOR: HOW THE 99% LIVE IN THE GREAT RECESSION, journalism/economics by Barbara Garson

GIVE SMART: PHILANTHROPY THAT GETS RESULTS, study by Thomas J. Tierney and Joel L. Fleishman

CHAIRMANIA: FANTASTIC MINIATURES by George M. Beylerian

RIZZOLI & ISLES: LAST TO DIE, novel by Tess Gerritsen

EVERYWHERE THAT MARY WENT, novel by Lisa Scottoline

THE LAST MAN, novel by Vince Flynn



WINES
2006 Saxum Booker Vineyard



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Thursday, April 18, 2013

AMUSEMENT DU JOUR

Was just interviewed by a journalist who came across me viz my internet presence.  Had to explain that my name is not actually "Moi."

His initial email actually began with "Dear Moi,."

That Moi -- ever hijacking identity ...


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Wednesday, April 17, 2013

BOOKSTORE STORY

Visited a bookstore today and it seemed under construction.  But, actually, they were just splitting their space in half to save costs -- the other half will be leased to some kitchenware store.  This bookstore is part of a chain, and I just remembered that one of their bookstores 2 cities away did the same thing: moved to a new space about half the size of the former.  I guess that's part of their strategy.  Good luck to their strategy -- it's better than the alternative.

At today's bookstore, I did notice that with the reduction of square footage they eliminated what had been an already infinitesimal amount of shelf space dedicated to poetry books.   Why am I not distressed over this discovery?  Because -- and most chain bookstores are afflicted by this same disease -- their poetry selections showed a distinct lack of what great poetry requires: imagination. 

There's a thought -- if people say folks don't buy poetry, maybe they should reconsider the poetry being pitched. 

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LINKEDIn vs. FACEBOOK

I just joined LinkedIn.

Big news for Moi the Luddite ... who will keep desperately--and lovingly--clinging to Blogger since she's used to Blogger!  But I decided to join LinkedIn because I'm mindful of mi hijo graduating from high school and moving on to college in two years.  At that point, I can widen my horizons beyond his high school even as I sincerely LOVE being a  socccer mom ... maybe even get a real job (hah).  Hence, LinkedIn!

But this gives me a reason, too, to meditate on LinkedIn vs. Facebook.  I much prefer the former.  I consider the latter too often to be the battleground of knuckleheads.  I appreciate the professionalism of LinkedIn, even as that comes with the territory of being profession-based.

And so I am amused when I see Peeps behave on LinkedIn without understanding it's not Facebook.  For example, several of my LinkedIn connections are poets.  Now, poets often have dayjobs that have nothing to do with poetry and those poets may have connections that relate to their dayjobs.  Say, a poet who, uh, trains hamsters for a living.  Then I start getting Linked-In requests-to-be-connected from professionals in the hamster-training industry.  Peeps: Heart those hamsters but I got nothing to do with your hamster-training profession.  Entonces, why do you want to link to me?

I had a theory -- checked it out, and theory is true.  My LinkedIn profile is rarely read.  These Peeps just want to be connected.  (Obviously, they grew up on Facebook....forgive the snark).  What this shows is the deep capacity for the human being to be pathetic, as facilitated by social media.  Can we please strive for balance?

Meanwhile, if anyone has a job for Moi, well ...

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Tuesday, April 16, 2013

CONSTRAINT-BASED WRITING

And of course SitWithMoi--with its focus on miniature chairs and books--is just another form of constraint-based writing.  I like moi LATEST POST which veers across the wonderful Dusie project of Susana Gardner, the marvelous 80 Beetles by Mark Cunningham (which had been an unplanned addition), and of course Marthe Reed's latest chap, Florula Ludoviciana

That's what the best of constraint-based writing offers: a universe in a grain of sand.


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Saturday, April 13, 2013

MY ROMANCE -- GET IT WHILE YOU CAN!

I belatedly learn from its beloved publisher, Giraffe Books, that MY ROMANCE is now out of print.  The one place where you can still get it, ironically, is a venue that's not been a major selling source: Amazon.com.  Anyway, MY ROMANCE is an (even for Moi) unusual book -- sorta experimentally melds poetry and art criticism with the personal (if I remember correctly, haha, since I wrote it over a decade ago and sometimes I read what I wrote years back and think, What was I on?  Anyway...).  Check it out at Amazon if you wish ...


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Thursday, April 11, 2013

THE EXPANSE OF A POEM (AND BOOK)

A poem, book, or any work of art can be a doorway into something unexpected.  In the case of my latest post at SitWithMoi, Emily Dickinson's I'M NOBODY! WHO ARE YOU? allowed me to reflect on my relationship with Mom ... specifically how a book helped her feel so much better about her life.  Just in time, too, as she died within two months of the book-induced revelation. 

That story is HERE.  That story is yet another reason why I. LOVE. BOOKS.


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LIKE, SCHMLIKE!

I often turn a jaundiced eye towards social media's various accoutrements -- it's just part of Big Brother, this brother making money offa you, ain't it, viz market intelligence?  Nonetheless, one can also turn certain features around...

Entonces.  When Bino Realuyo wrote his HuffPost article on Fil-Am Writers, I emailed some folks asking them to hit the "Like" button on it.  To show there is interest in Fil-Am lit.  As I speculated on the email, if some publishing folks see that such an article would generate a bunch of Likes, it may make it easier for the next Fil-Am writer pitching a manuscript.  At the time I sent out the email, Bino's article had about 300 Likes.

I woke up this morning to see that the article has over 1,300 Likes.  Very good.  Apparently, yesterday when the article was released, HuffPost first buried it.  Then, as the Likes kept increasing, HuffPost moved the article at one point to be the lead article in their "Books" section with a new headline about the emergence of Fil-Am Literature.  Very Good.

But is 1,300 Likes good enough?  I don't know -- I don't usually pay attention to such things.  So, for a good read, why don't you go on over to this NECESSARY ARTICLE (say Hi to moi handsome dawg Achilles) and then

HIT THE LIKE BUTTON!

cheers!

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Wednesday, April 10, 2013

THE NEW MOON?

Reading through all these (contemporary) poems.  Has anyone else noticed how many poets are writing on the weather?  Is this the new moon?

Anyway, you poets need to read each other more. 

Jest sayin' ...


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ACHILLES AND MOI OCCUPY HUFFINGTON POST!

I guess my heading should be "FIL-AM POETS OCCUPY HUFF POST" but Achilles of course is really the sub-text as to why I participated in this wonderful LOVE LETTER by poet-novelist Bino A. Realuyo (actually, you should read this -- go to link!).  I am always interested in featuring Achilles' handsome snout in as many venues as possible -- he is a most handsome dawg!  Scroll down the link to see us ... or see us here, too:




Seriously, you don't need to be Flip to be interested in Bino's article.  Just be interested in poetry.


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Tuesday, April 09, 2013

MOI IS SICK

Well, we all knew that about Moi. But then she turned the matter into a mini-book! Well, but of course!

I know I'm behind on my write-ups, but you are still and always invited to "Books on Chairs"!  Forthcoming write-ups soon on Marthe Reed (with a nod to Mark Cunningham), Emily Dickinson (yeah: her!), among others.  Join them and us!


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Saturday, April 06, 2013

YOUR SMILE IS IMMORTAL

I was in Southern California where we placed Mom's ashes into the grave site she shares with Dad. 




Afterwards, we proceeded to my childhood church where the wonderful congregation offered lunch and then held a memorial celebrating Mom's life. 


I love that smiling photo of Mom.  As my niece Treva said, Mom always had a smile for everyone.  Thanks to UMC for the loving day -- a wonderful cap to Mom's transition home.  It truly was lovely to hear everyone's memories of Mom.  Your testimonies affirmed how Mom was such a good gold egg.

Agyamanac unay.  Nagsayaat ti am amin nga imbaga yo.   Agyaman kami amin nga familia ni Mama.  Agyaman kami kadacayo. Dios ti agngina...



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Wednesday, April 03, 2013

"...SWIMMING TOWARD YOU / THROUGH / THE PAST"

Was it deliberate, if unconscious, on my part to wait deliberately until this week to read Kathleen Jesme’s poetry collection meditating/witnessing her mother’s dying?

Tomorrow I leave for Southern California to join my family in burying my mother’s ashes into the same gravesite where my father was buried.

My mother is ashes...?

Perhaps, when they sit the urn on Dad’s corpse, Dad will quip, “Mama! You’ve lost weight!”

Anyway, I did wait until this week to read MERIDIAN by Kathleen Jesme. Which is also to say, perhaps I’ve placed the harshest (?) critical eye one can place on this poetry collection. Because surely, if the poems are effective, they cannot fail to speak to me … this week?

Well, speak they did. Actually, sing they did. And so, kudos to Jesme, for achieving what I cannot (yet) do – creating art from this type of life. This type, being the process of dying:

Fetal horses

gallop in the womb



I am swimming toward you

through



the past

which clings to me

and holds me

back and up

--“MERIDIAN,” Kathleen Jesme
 
Here’s one more update of my Recently Relished W(h)ine List below before my trip. As ever, please note that in the Publications section, if you see an asterisk before the title, that means a review copy is available for Galatea Resurrects! More info on that HERE.


PUBLICATIONS
MERIDIAN, poems by Kathleen Jesme (language up to its material: the dying of a mother. Searing, as it should be …)

LOST BOOKS, poems by Adrienne J. Odasso (this poet is new to me and I am blessed to discover her. These poems are fine and delicate – they’re a marvel to read)

* BRUSHSTROKES AND GLANCES, poems by Djelloul Marbrook (sagacious ekphrasis)

BASEBALL CANTO, poem by Lawrence Ferlinghetti in the exhibition announcement of “OUT OF THE PARK: The Art of Baseball,” April 4-May 25 at George Krevsky Gallery in San Francisco (more exhibition announcements should utilize poems—this is particularly well-done, and a fine poem to boot!)

PRIOR, poems by James Berger (a meaty first collection that charmed me into writing a review for the next issue of Galatea Resurrects)

SHADES OF BROWN, poems/poetry/poetics by Angel eFe Sandoval (moving)

BETWEEN TWO HOUSES, poems by Ed Baker (a whole lotta charm!)

REALISM, poems by Tom Mandel

* USO: I'LL BE SEEING YOU, poems by Kim Rosenfield

* TINY GOLD DRESS, poems by John Godfrey

* RADIO AT NIGHT: RECENT & SELECTED WORK, poems by Laurie Price

OTHERWORLDLY, poem by Karyne de Contreras (fabulous! go to link!)

BLUE BLEU BLU, visual poetry by Alice Brody (fabulous! go to link!)

TO THE EDITOR WHOSE NAME WILL APPEAR ON MY NEXT REJECTION LETTER, by G. Murray Thomas (fabulous! go to link!)

THE TRUTH, by Ted Joans (fabulous! go to link!)

PICASSO, illustrated essay by David Hockney (the 1990 Hanuman Books presentation. SitWithMoi gave me a reason recently to read it again, and it is just magnificent! Go to link!)

SAFE IN HEAVEN DEAD, selected interview excerpts of Jack Kerouac curated by Michael White (Hanuman Books No. 42. I always find inspiration in Kerouac. Fabulous! Go to link!)

HOUSE ORGAN, No. 82 Spring 2013, literary zine edited by Kenneth Warren

CHAIRMANIA: FANTASTIC MINIATURES by George M. Beylerian

MAN AT WORK, art monograph on/by Cesar Galicia

MODERN COUNTRY: REINTERPRETING A CLASSIC STYLE, interior design by Nancy E Ingram and M.J. Van Deventer with photography by Jenifer Jordan (excellent doctor’s office waiting room reading)

THREAT VECTOR, novel by Tom Clancy with Mark Greaney

SPENCERVILLE, novel by Nelson DeMille

THE LION’S GAME, novel by Nelson DeMille

WILD FIRE, novel by Nelson DeMille

THE THIRD BULLET, novel by Stephen Hunter

THE LINE BETWEEN HERE AND GONE, novel by Andrea Kane

DOWN THE DARKEST ROAD, novel by Tami Hoag

SLEEP NO MORE, novel by Iris Johansen

THE RED BOOK, novel by Deborah Copaken Cogan


WINES
2010 Argiano Rosso Toscano (good thing this Super Tuscan was so yummy as I have to be off alcohol now for the next three months as part of a medical check-up. Groan…)


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TWO NEW POEMS FOR YOUR GRAZIN' GAZIN'

Cerise Press is featuring two poems from a manuscript-in-progress in its latest issue:


(Ethos


and


(To Be Seen by Iamos, Calchas and Teiresias


(Yes, dears -- the lack of a close parenthesis in the titles is deliberate.  Kinda to symbolize open-endedness, youse see...?

Anyway, thanks to the Cerise Press editors: I'm delighted to be part of the current issue from one of what the Library Journals calls "Best of Magazines."



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Tuesday, April 02, 2013

DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR GALATEA RESURRECTS!

Please do note that the deadline has been extended for next issue of Galatea Resurrects.  The new deadline is April 28, 2013.  Click HERE for more information ... and to check out all those lovely review copies available for your engagements!


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MUNIFICENT AMOUNT OF MUNIFICENT MINI-BOOKS!

Well, Woooot! SitWithMoi has reached a milestone of sorts -- it's received so many mini-books (thank you, Peeps!) that it's had to create a second summary post for the growing library of "Books on Chairs"!

So, for your reading and viewing pleasure, the ongoing Summary, as of April 1, 2013, is HERE. (This link includes list of mini-books I've received but not yet had the pleasure of "shelving" on chairs and blogging about such ... but you can check this link to see if I've received your mini-book(s) in case you sent one/some.)

And the archived Summary(from the project's inception on Jan. 12, 2013 to March 31, 2013 is HERE (surely one of the most beautiful posts out there on Blogger).

SitWithMoi would not have been possible with your involvement. Please continue to consider yourself INVITED to participate in "Books on Chairs"!

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Monday, April 01, 2013

"...RACINESS AND FREEDOM AND HUMOR OF JAZZ..."

One of the many things I like about Jack Kerouac is shown HERE.  I love how one can travel in the universe just sitting on a tiny chair.  Here's an excerpt from Jack now safely in Heaven:

You simply give the reader the actual workings of your mind during the writing itself: you confess your thoughts about events in your own unchangeable way...did you ever hear a guy telling a long wild tale to a bunch of men in a bar and all are listening and smiling, did you ever hear that guy stop to revise himself, go back to a previous sentence to improve it, to defray its rhythmic thought and impact...he's passed over it like a part of the river flows over a rock once and for all and never returns and can never flow any other way in time? Incidentally, as for my bug against periods, that was for the prose in October in the Railroad Earth, very experimental, intended to clack along all the way like a steam engine pulling a 100-car freight with a talky caboose at the end, that was my way at the time and it still can be done if th ethining during the swift writing is confessional and pure and all excited with the life of it. And be sure of this, I spent my entire youth rehashing, speculating and deleting and got so I was writing one sentence a day and the sentence had no FEELING. Goddamn it, FEELING is what I like in art, not CRAFTINESS and the hiding of feelings."



What about jazz and bop as influences?
Yes, jazz and bop, in the sense of a, say, a tenor man drawing a breath and blowing a phrase on his saxophone, till he runs out of breath, and when he does, his sentence, his statement's been made...that's how I therefore separate my sentences, as breath separations of the mind...I formulated the theory of breath as measure, in prose and verse, never mind what Olson, Charles Olson says, I formulated that theory in 1953 at the request of Burroughs and Ginsberg. Then there's the raciness and freedom and humor of jazz instead of all that dreary analysis.

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