This doesn't happen to poets like us too often, so my head is about to fall off with appreciation and anticipation. This very talented art collective from Chicago has chosen to dedicate their annual halloween gallery show to my first book, The Man Suit. The show is called "The Monster Hour," after the book's first poem, and will include sculpture, installation, photography and mixed media which will interpret some of those poems. I'll have some of my poem films from Scary, No Scary playing on a loop on the wall as well. It will all take place in an old Wurlitzer factory in DeKalb, IL. This is amazing because the monster in "The Monster Hour," who consistently tried to kill everyone in the audience, was replaced by a gorilla in people clothes who would come on stage and play the Wurlitzer. He would play a Wurlitzer, and this show is going down in a Wurlitzer factory! Oh, man. I think there is a chance I finally meet this Carlos character--I think he's going to be there. This is exactly the kind of thing he would show up to. I'll be careful. Anyway, this Friday night is opening night. I'll be there to read some poems. You should come. You really should.  

I bought a rubik's cube two weeks ago when I was in Eureka Springs, AR. Conquering the rubik's cube has been something that has been on my mind this past decade, but I've never owned one. I thought it would be easy-ish--I would just get a book, or watch a video, and go for it. But I'm realizing I have to learn all about algorithms. I generally hate algorithms. Regardless, by this time next year, I'll be algorithmic, algorific, algorithmastatic. My color sides will be lined up like the teeth of a impenetrable 6 sided wall. 

The release party went swimmingly. Sara Guest's desserts were a hit (thank you Sara). Is it ok to eat cheesecake while you're giving a reading? Anyway, the book has now been officially released into the world--some are in your attic eating away at your old love letters, some are in your hair. I failed to take any pictures, and for that I am very sorry. The photo above pretty much sums it up. I'm the third from the right--you're the third from the left

 

Hey Portland-heads,

I'm wondering if you'd want to come to a backyard book release party for SCARY, NO SCARY (Black Ocean 2009) this Saturday night. It is going to be a lot of fun. When it is darker, I'll screen some of my poem-films on the wall of the house. There will be a lot of crying. A lot of consoling. 

Date:	Saturday, September 26, 2009
Time:	6:30pm - 9:30pm
Location:	Backyard of Sara & Andrew Guest
Street:	6408 N. Willamette Blvd
City/Town:	Portland, OR

I'm very excited to be teaching an Introduction to Film Studies again at Portland State. This class needs to be about 4 years long. Unfortunately, we only meet 10 times. In case you're interested, here is the list of films we'll screen this term, in order of appearance: 

The Great Train Robbery (Edwin Porter 1903)

Mister Lonely (Harmony Korine 2007)

Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee 1989)

Sweetie (Jane Campion 1989)

King Kong (Merian Cooper 1933)

Masculine, Feminine (Jean Luc Godard 1966)

The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Dreyer 1928)

Aliens 3 (David Fincher 1992)

Blue Velvet (David Lynch 1986)

The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton 1955)

Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo 1966)

Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick 1957)

The Bicycle Thief (Vittoria de Sica 1949)

Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock 1960)

An Andalusian Dog (Luis Bunuel & Salvadore Dali 1929)

Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren 1943)

My Winnepeg (Guy Maddin 2007)

Alice (Jan Svankmajer 1988)

Early David Lynch short films 

Old Joy (Kelly Reichardt 2006)

EKF and I went to Chapman Elementary School here in Portland to see the swifts roost in the chimney. There were millions of them, trying to make a slow tornado into the chimney, but there was this hawk that was trying to steal the show. It kept sitting on the mouth of the chimney and disrupting the swifts' patterns. Then the swifts started dive-bombing the hawk, hurting its wings, and chasing it away, but the hawk kept coming back for more, picking off swifts and killing them. I feel like everyone was mad last week. 

The new issue of Hoboeye, which was guest edited by one of my favorite poets, Michael Earl Craig, features three of my translations of the poems of Andrei Sen-Senkov. 

O Seattle, O Eureka Springs, O Fayetteville

Octopus Books announces 2010 books

After spending quality time with 350 manuscripts, we have chosen to publish the following two titles in the fall of 2010:

 

Where We Think it Should Go by Claire Becker

People are Tiny in Paintings of China by Cynthia Arrieu-King

 

Finalists:

 

Post-Moxie by Julia Story (forthcoming from Sarabande Books)

Jerusalem by Susan Briante

Flag by Noah Eli Gordon (now titled Zeros on the Left forthcoming from Quale Press)

Ghost Machine by Ben Mirov

If Nothing Else by Barbara Maloutas

Kings of the Fucking Sea by Dan Boehl

Our Little Oxygen Concert by Patrick Culliton

The Cold War by Kathleen Ossip

The Next Monsters by Julie Doxsee

Goat in the Snow by Emily Pettit

Everything Here is Ok by Sasha Fletcher

Fastopia! by Alex Phillips

Almost Dorothy by Neil de la Flor (forthcoming from Marsh Hawk Press)

 

The editors have also decided to publish selections from Our Little Oxygen Concert by Patrick Culliton and Goat in the Snow by Emily Pettit as chapbooks. We will again read manuscripts in April of 2010 to find a book to publish in the fall of 2011. So mark your calendars. 

So, if you're in Conway, AR, like I am...

Some Upcoming Readings of Mine

SEATTLE. Tonight. 7pm. Pilot Books w/Sandy Florian.

FAYETTEVILLE: Saturday (9/12). 7 pm. Burning Chair Reading Series. Four Square Fine Arts Gallery w/ Ashley McHugh.

PORTLAND. Saturday (9/26). 7:30 pm. Scary, No Scary Book Release Party. Sara Guest's backyard: 6408 N. Willamette Blvd. BYOB. 

[Chicago - Pending]

PORTLAND. Sunday (10/4). 4pm. Powell's Books on Hawthorne w/Andrew Michael Roberts.

I have two Octopus Books announcement to send your way, but I'm going to give you only one at a time. You'll have to stay tuned for our announcement of the two books we chose from our open April reading to be published in the fall of 2010. 

But for now, I wanted to let you know that our next chapbook is available: CD Wright's 40 Watts. About 12 people spent many days putting these things together by hand. It will only be available through the website, and we won't make any more once these are gone. If you order now, they'll likely ship later next week.

Hand-bound, hand-sewn, letterpressed black ink on grey/mint-green hard covers. 

Limited edition of 200. 

48 pages

$20 (includes shipping)

Purchase through Octopus Books. 

 

As a child, and all through high school, I swam every day of my life. Every day. I was on all the teams, my dad was the swim coach (and still is), and I was pretty good. When I went to college, it all stopped and I started eating at the cafeteria buffet three times a day. Tonight I started again. I found this little pool (pictured above) in my neighborhood. I'll go 3-4 times a week during lap swim. If I keep it up, I'll check in and tell you how I'm doing. Tonight: 14oo yards. 

O Nantucket

I've been a bit nervous about the first reviews of Scary, No Scary for whatever reason. I am worried they would say this is no The Man Suit, and on and on. I'd agree, it is definitely no The Man Suit. I'm glad to see that the first reviewer feels the same way.

O Essex