OnTheCusp

Shameless Self-Promotion

2009-09-06T09:48:00.001-04:00

GANYMEDE #5 ISSUE RELEASED
Our biggest ever--a whopping 344 pages!
Gay men¹s lit/art print quarterly published quarterly in New York
as a paperback book.

Table of contents and readable sample pages:
http://www.ganymedenyc.com/
Purchase (print or download) at
http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=1308479

--EDMUND WHITE on writing gay
--OSCAR WILDE's delicious 1889 dialogue on art, ³The Decay of Lying²
--GLENWAY WESCOTT's rare 1928 story of a little boy going to a ball in drag
--BERGDORF BOYS by Scott Hess: first of four parts serializing a complete
novel, both witty and dark, about gay party boys in New York
--TEN gay poets and EIGHT gay visual artists from around the world
--SUSAN GLASPELL's 1917 story ³A Jury of Her Peers,² now a key text in
feminist lit
--INDIE EYE returns with tips on obscure movies to rent, including the first
gay Bollywood flick!
--The Paris of Our Dreams: the 19th-century transformation of Paris
coincided with the birth of photography, and the rise of archival
photographers who snapped parts of the city either rising or falling. Our
portfolio shows these precious images.

PLUS POETRY by R.J. Gibson, Brian Brown, Matthew Hittinger, Michael Montlack, Ron Curlee, P. Viktor, David Bergman, Sean Patrick Conlon, Robert K. Müller, John Stahle

"Ganymede is gaining momentum and is definitely a journal to watch."
--CHROMA, Britain's top gay lit/art journal

SUBMIT!

2009-07-30T07:36:00.001-04:00

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS (ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT TO ENTER): The 2009 Reginald Shepherd Memorial Poetry Prize. Final judge: Carl Phillips. Deadline: 8/1/09. Prizes include $300, $50, and $25 gift certificates to Powell's Books and publication of winning poems in Knockout. Guidelines: http://www.knockoutlit.org/rsprize.htm

On the Road (almost)

2009-06-30T15:53:00.002-04:00

If all goes well, I'll be hitting the road for Asheville at about 8 am. Cannot wait! I want to shake off all the dust from the work remodel, wear shorts and unsensible shoes, and get over-stimulated.

Last semester was an experience unlike anything for me. Sure, I'd done some times in a residency program, did the TA thing, and hated almost every minute of it. But this! I could work within my own schedule, read poets and books I'd never heard of or thought about and had a great time. There were a few weeks there where I was pulling 40+ hour weeks and trying to do 25 hours of reading and writing for my next packet just seemed like it was too much--but I did it.

Now that I know what to expect from both the residency period and the semester after, I'm excited to see what happens. My poems have gotten just a little stranger this spring, they surprise me with what they want to do and how they want to do it. My biggest challenge now is not finding time to write, or things to write about, but to just simply get the eff out of my own way.

Bad Bad Blogger

2009-06-24T22:45:00.002-04:00

I keep thinking to myself--maybe this week I'll post something. Then I get sucked into work, or new poems, or Facebook and nothing happens. I'm not even really gardening this year--mainly weeding and maintaining what I've got growing already.

BUT--I do have some news. My chapbook won the Robin Becker Contest in the category for poets without a chapbook already. You can read more here. The release date is February 15, 2009. I am careening back and forth between numb and excited. It's been a crazy day and a half since I got word.

Podcasts

2009-02-19T15:14:00.002-05:00

The prosody podcasts that Irene and I recorded in November are up now. I've not had a chance to hear them yet--but I was in the booth while Irene did hers. It's terrific. Mine--god knows. I don't remember a whit of it. You can find them here. Just scroll down the page to the bottom. There's also an episode she did with David Trinidad.

Where I'll Be @ AWP

2009-02-10T16:20:00.000-05:00

Thursday Feb 12

Noon-1:15

International Ballroom South
2nd Floor

R143. Gay Regionalism through the Eyes of Appalachia. (Jackson Tucker, Dorothy Allison, Julia Watts, Jeff Mann, Aaron Smith) Many of America's most celebrated writers are regional writers. For the majority of gay writers, which also includes gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender writers, the urban landscape is the common setting for their work, but what does it mean to be gay and Appalachian? Does being both a gay writer and a regional writer hinder or empower the gay writer? Does it give us the ability to specialize in something specific to our experience, or prevent us from reaching a prospective audience?

1:30-2:45

Waldorf
3rd Floor

R170. New England Review 30th Anniversary Reading. (Keith Lee Morris, Shannon Cain, Brock Clarke, Natasha Trethewey, Carl Phillips, Jennifer Grotz) New England Review's anniversary reading highlights the diversity of talent that has characterized this quarterly for thirty years. Literary magazines are often fleeting enterprises, but New England Review has been publishing new and established writers since 1978. Three poets and three fiction writers who have appeared recently in our pages will read from their work. Come hear some of the voices that have distinguished and sustained this publication through the past three decades.

3:00-415

Continental A
Lobby Level

R176. Poetic Responses to AIDS. (Charles Flowers, Ruben Quesada, Eloise Klein Healy, Rafael Campo, Jack Wiler, Michael Broder) Poetic responses to the AIDS experience began to appear in the mid-1980s. Through the 1990s and today, the dialogue between poetry and AIDS has changed its focus. How has the advent of medication and the treatment of AIDS changed perspectives in the 21st century? What contribution does poetry make in recognizing this disease? This panel will discuss how poetic responses to AIDS are evolving and its impact over the past twenty years.

7:00-9:30 pm OFF-SITE

Lambda Literary Foundation Emerging Writers Reception
Location: Gerber-Hart Library and Archives, 1127 W. Granville (adjacent to the red Line "Granville" stop).
Cost: Free, including drinks and hors d'oeuvres
Websites: www.gerberhart.org & www.lambdaliterary.org
Reception and readings by Lambda Emerging Writers Retreat Fellows Kathie Bergquist, Ching-In Chen, Charles Rice-Gonzales, RJ Gibson, Ely Shipley, Griselda Suarez, Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhran, Cole Krawitz, Anne Laughlin and Ruben Quesada. There will be a free copy of the book, A Field Guide to Gay and Lesbian Chicago, given to the first 100 guests.

Friday Feb. 13

10:30-11:45 am

Williford A
3rd Floor

F130. Who's Yer Daddy? Gay Poets and the Inherited Present. (Jim Elledge, Mark Bibbins, Peter Covino, David Groff, Brian Teare) All gay poets have heterosexual parents, but the identity of their literary forebears isn't as straightforward. Panelists discuss their major influences, chiefly twentieth-century poets but also concepts, schools, and texts—gay and non-gay alike. Part homage, part exposé, this panel tackles complex questions, such as the ability of gay poets to cultivate an aesthetic without knowing about previous gay poets? And is the gay inheritance simply sensual, and if so, is the straight legacy only its opposite?

1:30-2:45 pm

International Ballroom South
2nd Floor

F157. Graywolf Press Anniversary Reading. (Jeffrey Shotts, Jeffery Renard Allen, Eula Biss, Robert Boswell, Katie Ford, D.A. Powell) As a celebration of thirty-five years of publishing from Graywolf Press, this reading event features the recent works of five dazzling writers of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Introduced by Graywolf director Fiona McCrae and senior editor Jeff Shotts.

3:00-4:15 pm

International Ballroom North
2nd Floor

F175. The Academy of American Poets Presents Mary Jo Bang & Frank Bidart. (Tree Swenson, Mary Jo Bang, Frank Bidart) Readings by Mary Jo Bang and Frank Bidart. Introductions by Tree Swenson.

4:30-5:45 pm

Boulevard Room A,B,C
2nd Floor

F188. A Tribute to a Stranger: Thomas James. (Mark Doty, Rigoberto Gonzalez, Tracy K. Smith, Mark Wunderlich) Thomas James's Letters to a Stranger—published shortly before his suicide and long out of print—has become one of the underground classics of contemporary poetry. This reading by four poets, influenced by this dark and moving master, celebrates the reissuing of Letters to a Stranger in a new edition published by Graywolf Press.

7:00pm OFF-SITE

Diode & Anti- Poetry Reading and Reception
Location: Curtiss Hall, 10th floor of the Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60605
Website: http://diodepoetry.com
Cost: Free
Readers: Bob Hicok, Mary Biddinger, Jake Adam York, Paul Guest, Noah Falck, Joshua Ware, Steven Schroeder, G.C. Waldrep, Patrick Lawler, Lee Ann Roripaugh, Brent Goodman, Adam Clay, Matt Guenette and Ada Limon.

8:00PM-11:00PM
Warren Wilson MFA Gathering

Location: 213 W. Institute Place
Cost: $20 donation
Websites: www.polyphonyhs.com & www.dandarrah.com
Gathering for past/present faculty, alums, current students of Warren Wilson College's MFA Program for Writers. Brought to you by Polyphony H.S., a student-run litmag for high school writers. Music by Dan Darrah. Lightly catered.

Saturday Feb. 14

9:00-10:15 am

Continental A
Lobby Level

S104. Art to Art: Ekphrastic Poetry. (Janee J. Baugher, Cole Swensen, John Yau, Peter Cooley, Ann Hurley) Ekphrasis, defined as the verbal representation of visual representation, has played an important role in literature since Homer. Must ekphrastic poems evoke the visual art that inspired them? Is ekphrasis merely a method of overcoming resistance? As a means of escaping the self? Join this panel of writers who live with art to discuss the aesthetic, psychological, theoretical, and cultural dimensions of ekphrasis, as well as the delights and demands of writing ekphrastically.

Noon-1:15pm

Lake Michigan
8th Floor

S144. Bad Poems by Great Poets: Where They Went Awry, What We Can Learn. (Roy Jacobstein, Laura Kasischke, Margaret Rabb, Greg Rappleye, Robert Thomas) Whether our favorite poets are O'Hara or Dickinson, Stevens or Plath, Berryman, Ashbery or Wright, they wrote some poems that are almost parodies of their great poems. We inquire out of an interest in craft, not schadenfreude: how did they write poems so flat, sentimental, boring? Do the bad poems teach us how to read the good? Rather than comparing apples to oranges, we will use these poets as their own control, contrasting to see what makes one of a pair of poems, and only one of them, great.

3:00-4:15 pm

International Ballroom South
2nd Floor

S178. A Celebration of Elizabeth Bishop. (Lloyd Schwartz, Frank Bidart, Joyce Peseroff, David Trinidad, Anne Winters, Suki Kwock Kin) No one wrote more luminous poems than Elizabeth Bishop. Once described by John Ashbery as a writer's writer's writer, Bishop has, since her death, become almost universally regarded as one of the 20th-century's major masters. Six distinguished poets, three of whom were close to Bishop, celebrate her work by reading her poems, lesser-known but remarkable prose, and hilarious, heartbreaking letters from the Library of America's landmark new publication of her collected works.

OCHO #22

2009-02-06T16:11:00.002-05:00

Is up here.

Edited by Miguel Murphy and featuring poems by: Eduardo Corral, Brent Goodman, C. Dale Young, Dustin Brookshire, Charles Jensen, Jeremy Halinen, Steve Fellner, Scott Hightower, Jee Leong Koh, me, and 19 others.

Various Sundries

2009-01-31T21:40:00.003-05:00

Massive reading and homework day. I finished Jane Hirshfield's Ink Dark Moon, the first section of Pound's letters covering 1914-1916, and am working my way through Bidart's In the Western Night. Tomorrow I have to finish reading my Greeks. I need to work in a couple of essays, but so far I feel like I'm on top of things for this packet. This is good, because I've got a little over a week to finish my stuff up and get it sent off.

I'm still writing a lot of poems, a lot of throat clearing but once that stuff's out of the way, the follow-ups are pretty fun. I've reached a point where I don't give a real shit. I'm tossing it all out there. That seems to me the real luxury of graduate study--you read a lot and you write a lot and try everything you possibly can. I can't say that the reading so far has had much impact on what I think aesthetically--but it's opened me up to options and rethinking what my idea of poetry is and might be.

And given that my reading list is a continuum running from Archilochos and Sappho to Bob Hicok, how can I complain?

~*~

Evie has proven herself to be a tough little dog. When I took her out today, someone's three plott hounds were hanging around our yard. She went ballistic and ran all of them off. I kept see-sawing back between being scared for her and amused.

~*~

I got my galleys of OCHO #22. It's a fantastic issue. I sat last night and scrolled through it instead of doing homework. It's a real mix of established and new poets and a diverse survey of current queer poetry. More pimping once I know the issue is available.

Aaaand Another

2009-01-29T17:20:00.001-05:00

And Another

2009-01-29T13:15:00.002-05:00

A Sort of Preview

2009-01-29T01:12:00.002-05:00

Knockout 2

2009-01-23T20:41:00.002-05:00

Knockout 2 is available for order here.

The second issue features:

Nathan Whiting	Michael J. Rosen	Erin M. Bertram
Willis Barnstone	Molli Rocket	Louis Jenkins
Rika Lesser	Joe Wilkins	William Baer
Reginald Shepherd	Blas Falconer	Nance Van Winckel
Tim Nolan	Elizabeth Bradfield	Robert Wrigley
Ruth Williams	Todd Boss	Maya Jewell Zeller
Kristine Ong Muslim	RJ Gibson	Denver Butson
Jessica Moll	Denise Duhamel	Jessica Halliday
Melissa Kwasny Stacey Waite	Kathryn Nuernberger Christopher Howell	Theodore Enslin J. P. Dancing Bear	translations of Luis Cremades Rainer Maria Rilke Elisabeth Rynell Göran Sonnevi

Knockout is donating 5% of our proceeds to The Trevor Project, which operates the only nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for LGBTQ youth. For more information, visit thetrevorproject.org

OOF

2009-01-21T12:35:00.002-05:00

The reintegration back into work has not been good the last couple of days. There are problems all over the place--long-standing problems that caught us by surprise. Soooo I've been fielding phone calls, poring over reports and trying to get a fast mastery of paperwork and operations that I barely knew existed two months ago. I'm mentally exhausted. I hope to god we get this straightened out by the end of the week or I'm going to be crazy.

~*~

The work front crazy dovetails not so nicely into getting my first packet of assignments finished up and ready to be sent to my supervisor by the end of the week. I knew it was going to be tough getting a substantial amount of work done in 9 days when we usually have three weeks--but I thought I had programmed in enough time--but the work thing has blown up. I'll have it done...it's just going to be a long couple of nights.

~*~

I got an acceptance email last night for three poems. Thank god for that. I needed it this week. Not to mention that I've effectively tripled my 2008 acceptance rate already. More deets once it's all finalized.

Snapshot 1

2009-01-15T16:41:00.002-05:00

I'm going to get around to something a little more developed about Warren Wilson (I promise)--but I have a quick like bunny turn around time for my first set of poems/revisions/assignments so I'm going to just hit a few highlights in some short posts:

*Discussing ways of dispatching chickens from this mortal coil with another poet.

*Eleanor Wilner. If you ever have the chance to see her read or lecture or anything--do it. She is fantastic.

*Having someone exclaim "HEY! You're that guy from C. Dale's blog!"

*C. Dale's reading. Really some fantastic poems.

*The post-graduation dance. It's kind of a blast seeing people who spend so much time in their heads be embodied.

Back to Bedlam

2009-01-14T10:43:00.002-05:00

I'm going to try and get in some posts about Warren Wilson--it was an amazing time. Excepting the cold I picked up on Friday.

~*~

Back to work today and I am overwhlemed.

Our long-planned remodeling project is underway, so there's cacophony and debris everywhere. I have to work new employees into the schedule and learn how to do some accounting stuff for the hotel and restaurant while the accountant is in Costa Rica. I feel fuzzy-headed and stupid.

In Which I Through Down w/a Sandwich Technician

2009-01-02T22:10:00.003-05:00

Hello from North Carolina. The drive wasn't bad at all. Woke this morning to a pretty decent snow and had a minor freak out. Luckily it had stopped by 11 and by the time I was on the road at noon it was starting to melt.

All was, however, not perfect. I stopped on the way to grab a sandwich and stretch my legs about halfway. As I was waiting for my order I noticed a sign on the register that said "Ask for Additional Condiments." Soooo I asked for some mustard.

"We ain't got no mustard. But we got may-o-naize. "
"But the sign says condiments."
"We got may-o-naize. You want some may-o-naize?"

For Aaron

2009-01-01T12:56:00.001-05:00

I'm sure he missed this last night... Kathy Grffin & Anderson Cooper on CNN.

2009-01-01T07:59:00.001-05:00

The plan(s) for 2009:

Write more
Submit more packets & poems
Travel more
Go back to the gym...that last 15 lbs ain't gonna melt.

Double 0 9--It's Almost Like Clockwork

2009-01-01T07:42:00.000-05:00

Hinge

2008-12-31T07:36:00.002-05:00

So...we're here now. The last day of aught-eight and not a minute too soon. I've been ridiculously busy this month and have kept reminding myself that all I have to do is push through til today. I'm working today and part of tomorrow then I'm off to my first residency at Warren Wilson. I could drive the whole thing in one day, but I decided to break the trip up just for my own sake.

~*~

If I were a different person, I'd launch off onto something about new beginnings, opportunities blah-de-blah-de-blah...and half-way through I'd want to throttle myself. Let me just take a minute to wish you a lovely evening with friends and loved ones and my best wishes for your coming year.

~*~

[click]

Three Inches is Perfect

2008-12-28T09:49:00.003-05:00

It's 60 degrees today and rainy. Yesterday it was 70. No white christmas at all...not that I'm complaining. For me, the perfect amount of snow is about 3 inches. Just enough to cover the worst dreary bits of ground so that I'm not trapped between muddy ground and dead grasses and sky that's the color of hangover.

~*~

Christmas was really delightful, pressie wise. Aaron, Tommy, Eric, Ashley & I did our gift exchange last Monday night and it was fun. Some of the pressies will be making the pilgrimage to Warren-Wilson with me: the Go-Go, Kill Bill action figure that Aaron got me along with the ceramic bride and decapitated groom he found at Dollar Tree (really, it's fantastic...I was more than delighted); the pop-up of book of Celebrity Meltdowns (thanks shlee!); the collected letters of Bishop and Lowell (which I'm holding off reading while I'm finishing my homework...but god it's just sitting on the table taunting me...) and a plug in heated coffee mug that Santa left for me at Tommy's house.

~*~

This week is going to be a lot of crazy: getting as much work stuff squared away as I can so I can leave without feeling guilty; car service, hair cut, little last minute things to buy that I might need while I'm gone. Last week I was all twitterpated...wishing for more time before going for residency, feeling various free-floating anxieties...but now I'm ready to go. I'm excited.

When Themes Collide: Xmas Tack-O-Rama 2008, Day 12 + IDQotM

2008-12-25T07:46:00.001-05:00

Cyndi Lauper & The Hives, "A Christmas Duel." Big h/t to Eduardo.

X-Mas Tack-O-Rama, Day 11

2008-12-24T08:52:00.001-05:00

William Hung sings Mariah Carey...my dog peed when she heard this...it's just that good. h/t to failblog

X-Mas, Tack-O-Rama 2008, Day 10

2008-12-23T09:11:00.000-05:00

David Bowie & Bing Crosby "Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth"

X-Mas Tack-O-Rama 2008, Day 9

2008-12-22T09:07:00.000-05:00

The Killers, "Big Sled"

X-Mas Tack-O-Rama 2008, Day 8

2008-12-21T09:18:00.001-05:00

Pee Wee's Christmas Special--Intro and Grace Jones' version of "Little Drummer Boy."

X-Mas Tack-O-Rama 2008--Day 7

2008-12-20T09:07:00.000-05:00

Christmas Dance Carol (크리스마스 댄스 캐롤)

X-Mas Tack-O-Rama 2008, Day 6

2008-12-19T09:05:00.000-05:00

Los Del Rio, "Macarena Christmas"

X-Mas Tack-O-Rama 2008, Day 5

2008-12-18T12:16:00.001-05:00

Macy Gray, "Winter Wonderland"

X-Mas Tack-O-Rama: Day 4

2008-12-17T01:00:00.000-05:00

From the Sonny & Cher Christmas Special (1976 I believe)--the only one they did after their divorce. A special so strained and uncomfortable that it's been described as being "like Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe with music. Here's a medley featuring performances by Bernadette Peters, Shields and Yarnell, and Captain Kangaroo, Chastity and Elijah Blue.

X-Mas 2008 Tack-O-Rama Day 3

2008-12-16T00:05:00.002-05:00

Furthering the theme of Holiday Dysfunction, the Ramones "Merry Christmas Baby (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)"

X-Mas 2008 Tack-O-Rama Day 2

2008-12-15T21:12:00.001-05:00

John Denver's execrable "Please Daddy (Don't Get Drunk This Christmas)"

X-Mas Tack-O-Rama 2008 Starts Now

2008-12-14T21:53:00.002-05:00

Last year I did a rundown of my essential off-kilter, whacky, and just plain fun christmas songs. Since it's that time, let's start with Heidi Klum's "Wonderland," a video that just defies description.

Prosody

2008-12-12T21:20:00.002-05:00

My episode of Prosody is (if I remember correctly) broadcasting on WYEP 93.1 FM tomorrow in Pittsburgh. You can listen to the live stream here. The show broadcasts at 6:00 am tomorrow, but then repeats at 7pm next Tuesday. Once the podcast is up I'll post a link to that.

And A Thousand Gay Boys' Heads Exploded

2008-12-11T22:51:00.000-05:00

An IDQotM bonus for Vivica Smith: Cher & Cyndi Lauper "If I Could Turn Back Time"

Please

2008-12-11T21:22:00.000-05:00

This just can't be right....

IDQotM: She Bop (acoustic)

2008-12-11T20:01:00.000-05:00

Sounds of the 70s

2008-12-11T08:41:00.002-05:00

I'm getting ready to tackle a project and thought I'd cast out a wider net to get input. So here's a question for the poetry folk: who do you think are the essential poets of the 1970s?

I've got my personal list, influenced by what I like and have been able to find and read readily--but I know it's only a smattering of what's out there. So I'm just floating this.

IDQotM: $$$ Changes Everything

2008-12-06T22:16:00.002-05:00

This is in a dead heat with "When You Were Mine" as my favorite Cyndi Lauper song.

Sweet Hell

2008-12-05T17:06:00.002-05:00

Eric sent me this. It's my favorite thing right now (besides the Bollywood Thriller clip with transliterated subtitles...yes, Aaron, I'm still watching it.) OH and I should mention NSFW.

More funny videos like the "Cooking by the Book" at Heavy.com

IDQotM: "Change of Heart" Live

2008-12-04T13:00:00.001-05:00

Prezzies

2008-12-04T08:00:00.002-05:00

I got to work yesterday morning and found a gift bag on the office counter with my name on it. Friends of mine had bought me a Warren Wilson hoodie (their son's an alum.) It didn't strike me until later in the day that it was only a month until my first residency...I think I have everything squared away and taken care of in terms of paperwork and all that jazz...now I just have to finish my homework assignment.

It's going to be a crazy month, so I think by the time I'm about to hit the road for North Carolina I'll be more than ready to go. I decided to go ahead and accept a promotion, it's nothing too major, just formalizing some things I've already been doing for the owners. We're still hammering out some details regarding hours, but they're determined to make sure I have time for my course work.

IDQotM: Cyndi Lauper, "Carey"

2008-12-01T23:03:00.001-05:00

GeeGaws, Turkey Skin, & Looking like a Doofus

2008-11-28T15:20:00.003-05:00

I've been on a binge lately, buying things that I find visually interesting...usually I just buy shoes, books, and cds. Over the last few weeks I've just been buying little things that strike me. God knows with winter coming I need something to look at.

~*~

Evie made it through her first Thanksgiving with us. By made it, I mean she managed to eat her weight in stuff she begged. We've discovered that she loves cooked carrots and steamed broccoli. However she's not exactly pleasant company after. Usually I give the cat some turkey skin as a little holiday treat--I finally had to lock the dog in the bathroom so Fletcher could actually get his snack. Shameless. I'll have to be careful or the dog will be obese.

~*~

I got a new cap for winter. I'm sick of wearing ski-caps, so I got a wool Cadet cap. I wore it the other day for the first time to see if I'd like it. As soon as my mom saw it she said "You look like a doofus. Can you return it?"

IDQotM Pink, "So What"

2008-11-28T15:04:00.001-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving--Eat Lots of Pie!

2008-11-26T21:14:00.001-05:00

Because I Wanted to Post Something

2008-11-25T10:33:00.003-05:00

It's been fun seeing other people's responses to Mary Biddinger's pop quiz. So, here's mine.

1. When was the last time you wrote a poem?
About three weeks ago.

2. What was its title?
Ontology: Britney Spears

3. What was one image from the poem (if applicable)?
Sequined panties.

4. Do you currently have a poem percolating in your brain?
Yes. It's in process. It's different.

5. If you answered "yes" to number four, what is one image from that poem?
A cheese and lettuce sandwich on white bread with mayo.

Sub-Atomic Dog

2008-11-23T19:46:00.005-05:00

I'd talked earlier in the year about getting a house-dog. I eventually decided that it'd need to be put on hold indefinitely, what with going to LA for the Lambda Retreat and the if/when of the low-res program. But, a former co-worker called to see if I'd like to take her dog, a three-year-old Pom-Peke mix (soooo butch...but I did want a small dog) because her husband's allergies was making keeping Evie difficult. So I met her, I fell in love, and now I'm a new doggie daddy again.

Surety

2008-11-23T13:55:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was my cousin's memorial service. My mom had to work, so I had to go solo to represent our side of the family. It wasn't as rough emotionally as I thought it would be. But it helped me clarify a few things.

*When I die there are two things I do not want: a bagpipe version of "Amazing Grace" and any version of "His Eye is on the Sparrow." I will accept a bagpipe version of "John, I'm Only Dancing" or "Ashes to Ashes."

*I have fantastic friends and I am luckier than I deserve.

*If you're not on my side, I have no use for you.

How...Festive

2008-11-23T12:32:00.002-05:00

If you want something new for your holiday decor--try this.

They have craft options for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hannukah!

Your period comes every month, but Xmas comes only once a year. So bring
that menstrual joy to this holiday season with these tampon tree decorations.
From a string of tampon lights to a star at the top of the tree, feminine
hygiene has never been so festive!

Well, Damn

2008-11-18T09:12:00.002-05:00

Grace Hartigan has died.

A few fantastic quotes from the obit:

“I didn’t choose painting,” she later told an interviewer. “It chose me. I didn’t have any talent. I just had genius.”

“Pop Art is not painting because painting must have content and emotion,” she said in the 1960’s. On the other hand, she reflected at the time of the Whitney show, “I’d much rather be a pioneer of a movement that I hate than the second generation of a movement that I love.”

“Or perhaps the subject of my art is like the definition of humor — emotional pain remembered in tranquillity.”

“Now as before it is the vulgar and the vital and the possibility of its transformation into the beautiful which continues to challenge and fascinate me.”

Whoa, Nelly

2008-11-09T08:33:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I went up to Pittsburgh with Aaron, Tommy, and Irene. Irene and I were taping episodes of Prosody with Jan Beatty for WYEP in Pittsburgh. It was fun and I didn't drop any of the 7 dirty words...and actually I think a couple of the edits I made on poems are improvements and not momentary dodges.

After that was the bookshopping. We hit four bookstores before we headed back to West-by-God. I don't want to think about how much I've spent on books in the last ten days. Tuesday, Irene and I are going back up to Pittsburgh with Aaron for a reading he's doing--we're planning on hitting two more bookstores that were closed last night. Voracious.

Thank God

2008-11-05T08:24:00.002-05:00

I stayed up until 2 am watching returns. I'm groggy but I'm happy. I kept getting weepy last night and am still tearing up randomly this morning. I am proud this morning, you betcha and also.

Anecdotal

2008-11-04T14:09:00.002-05:00

I have a love-hate relationship with Andrew Sullivan--I find him equally necessary and infuriating. But today, I'm grateful he's around on the net. He's posting emails from his blog readers describing their voting experiences. I can't really keep up with the news today and really it'd probably just make me crazy if it did...but these little reports from folks out voting today are just what I need. You can find them here.

My Mama for Obama

2008-11-04T08:51:00.001-05:00

My mom just called--she voted. Not much of a crowd at our polling place when she went, though the poll workers said there was a crowd waiting before the polls opened. For the first time in her life she voted for a Democratic candidate for president.

2008-11-04T08:12:00.002-05:00

Last night I found out one of my favorite cousins had died. He was about six months younger than I and I always thought of him as a counterpoint. He'd had a lot of problems: addiction issues, rehab stints, jail time, accidents and incidents. He was an unapologetic roughneck but was always very sweet and tender when he dealt with me and my mother. I'm just processing it all right now.

I Need a Program

2008-11-03T11:08:00.001-05:00

There needs to be a 12-step program for those addicted to tracking polls.

I don't know what I'll do with myself come Nov. 5.

For Aaron

2008-10-30T18:22:00.001-04:00

I go above and beyond the call of duty,

NOOOOOOO

2008-10-30T00:01:00.000-04:00

David Tennant quits as Doctor Who

Pardon the geeky angst...but dammit.

2008-10-29T17:34:00.000-04:00

SNOW? NOW?

2008-10-28T07:27:00.000-04:00

Panic! At the Bibliotheque

2008-10-27T15:23:00.002-04:00

I got my first real assignment for Warren Wilson and my book's ordered. This is all becoming shudderingly real.

~*~

I've been trying to write and backlog some poems for the upcoming semester just to stay ahead of things in case I get bogged down. (Right now Ricardo Montalban is an Indian Brave on Bonanza. He is suitably righteous and angry...very Khan-like.) Back in the day I had no problem writing on demand, I synched into it and produced with little procrastination (though some courses were tended to far more gladly). It'll be curious to see how this low-residency system works in terms of process for me.

~*~

Aaron said this to tease me, but he's got a serious point, and I know he's righter than right, so I have it taped up in view as I work at the home computer: "Some people finish poems, RJ."

So Bad, But So Good

2008-10-27T07:42:00.003-04:00

We celebrated Ashley's birthday Saturday. Because she loves pumpkiny stuff, I made her a Pumpkin Cheesecake with Marshmallow-Sour Cream Topping and Gingersnap Crust from a recipe at Epicurious. It was faaaantastic.

I'm not a big cheesecake fan and had never tried to make one before, but this recipe seems almost fool-proof.

The only quibbles I have: if you follow the recipe exactly use a larger springform pan (the recipe calls for a 9", but makes enough filling for at least a 10"); because I followed the recipe and had an enormous amount of filling in the 9" pan, it increased the cooking time by about 45 minutes; if you decide to make this without the topping (and really why would you? sour cream? and marshmallow? come on!) cut the spices unless you really really loooove spicy pumpkin.

Punky

2008-10-26T12:55:00.003-04:00

I was supposed to be up at quarter of 6 this morning so I could do my thing and be at work at 7. Nothing major, just a usual Sunday. Until I went into the kitchen to get my coffee and realized it was actually 7 already. The clock had reset itself prematurely for next week's time change. I called work, then rushed around getting ready. I ended up being about 30 minutes late. So far it's been a normal Sunday, a few straggling check outs, nothing major. About five minutes ago I look down and realize I'm wearing mismatched shoes.

And It's Time, Time, Time

2008-10-26T10:06:00.003-04:00

I kept meaning to hop on and blog a bit here and there for the last month but then I'd just find something else to do...it's not been particularly frantic or anything--I've just not felt like being online much. I've been trying to read a lot (more essays about poetry than poetry itself) and get myself geared up for classes by setting up what'll be my work blocks.

Things of note since late September:

My mom now yells at the television whenever she sees John McCain. She either calls him "nitwit" or "that old asshole." The latter is particularly impressive--it has been reserved solely for my father for the last 15 years. She admits that she understands how I felt during 2004 and the last several years.

I was training a new person last week. She said there was no need to worry about her taking too many breaks or her room service beer count being off since she didn't smoke or drink. I said "Well, that's good, but you have to have some sort of vice." "Oh, I do. Jesus Christ."

Interview Sarah Palin

2008-09-29T11:36:00.002-04:00

Through the magic of the interwebs, you too can interview Caribou Barbie!

Debatable

2008-09-27T09:14:00.005-04:00

The debate last night was just dreary...but I think that's because I watched MSNBC and they kept a pretty consistent split-screen, so my eyes were constantly tracking left to watch John McCain's petulance when he wasn't talking.

Highlights: my mother repeatedly shouting some version of "you old asshole" at the telly. She also perked up when Lehrer asked about Russia, then started going off about Putin rearing into Alaskan air space. She is truly angry at her party.

I might have to get her a helmet for the veep debate. She could do herself a caution.

God.

2008-09-24T17:06:00.001-04:00

From The Smoking Gun:

Cop Hit In Gas Attack
West Virginia DUI arrestee charged with farting in officer's face

Zut Alors!

2008-09-24T12:08:00.002-04:00

The book-keeper and general problem-solver/go-to person is out today with a migraine. I'm myself and her today. I do not like this. Not a whit.

~*~

I'm awfully impressed with Warren Wilson's speed in getting out information, forms and such; especially in regards to answering emails. They're really on the ball. It makes for a lot of reading (and re-reading) and digesting, but I can't say I've ever had such an experience with any other program or school.

~*~

I've been shopping around for a new car; I've hated it because I'm trying to be practical and thrifty at the same time and that just complicates things.

I've always thought about fuel-efficiency first and looked at just compact/subcompact models, but now trying to find something in my price range, that's not going to jack my insurance rates to the sky, that's got good crash test ratings and AWD AND something at least moderately fuel efficient...well...yes...I've been a little obsessive...and I wonder if Brian regrets having that Consumer Reports as much as I've asked him to look up models over the last few months.

As much as I've loved my little Focus, I need to get something with AWD: I ain't tryin the mountains in January with just front-wheel-drive...that's for suckers.

~*~

Poems out in the mail last week, trying to finish up one more packet this weekend.

Transitional

2008-09-18T11:24:00.002-04:00

Usually I'm all ready for the season to shift, for summer to slide into fall and have those few weeks of crisp air and foliage that's almost too perfect. But this year...no. Something resists. I want a few more weeks of summer please. I want to ride out the last few weeks of the lantana and new guinea impatiens being perfect.

~*~

Working on poems this morning, playing with a cento and a piece that I muddled through a Markov generator.

~*~

This friend of the family gave my mother a bushel of tiny white peaches--each one the size of a ping pong ball. They're fantastic: meaty and not too juicy. I'm being drafted to help make preserves later today.

Regular

2008-09-16T14:46:00.002-04:00

This article by George Saunders in the New Yorker is just viiiiiicious. And coffee out my nose funny.

WOOT!

2008-09-15T13:41:00.001-04:00

Ages ago I made this oblique comment on a post about taking a big step. Well--I took it. And it's official. I'll be a student in Warren Wilson's MFA program. I just got the call a little while ago.
Unreal.

Newness

2008-09-14T16:40:00.003-04:00

A new poem. Shan't be here long.

And it wasn't.

Bleg

2008-09-14T12:34:00.001-04:00

Could anyone send me a copy of Peter Gizzi's "Ode: Salute to the New York School."

It would be greeeeeeatly appreciated.

SUBMIT

2008-09-09T11:07:00.002-04:00

qarrtsiluni is calling for submissions for its next issue: Journaling the Apocalypse. More deets here.

Blargh

2008-09-09T11:01:00.005-04:00

Drizzly today and chilly-ish. The sort of day that's perfect for napping and reading and lounging with coffee. I at least have coffee. On the up-side, I get to use a pressure washer later today. My inner butch is singing.

~*~

I've been revising and rethinking old and newer poems like crazy since I got back from LA...well once the jet lag and exhaustion lifted. It's been a much different process...for the first time in years revising has been as pleasurable as writing the first draft of something. Plus I've started a few new drafts.

ZESTY!!!

2008-09-08T13:10:00.002-04:00

Burglar wakes men with spice rub, sausage attack

The victims told deputies they awoke Saturday morning to the stranger applying
spices to one of them and striking the other with an 8-inch sausage.
Burrimond said money allegedly stolen in the burglary was recovered. The
sausage was tossed away by the fleeing suspect and eaten by a dog.

When my boss asked me if I'd heard this I thought she was lying. Sadly, no.

Wordle, yo

2008-09-08T07:31:00.000-04:00

Deviance. Lots and lots of deviance. And texture.

Why I Love My Mother

2008-09-04T10:44:00.002-04:00

Following last night's frightening GOP speeches and this morning's inane cable-news coverage, my mom weighs in Sarah Palin:

"So what, she's had five kids. She's a baby factory. How does that make her fit to be vice-president. I know lots of women who are baby factories--I wouldn't want them anywhere near the White House. And one has Down Syndrome? She chose to have it. Who cares?

"She put the Alaska Governor's plane up on E-Bay? Well whoopty shit."

I should take a moment to point out: my mother is almost 70, methodist, and has never voted for a democratic presidential candidate. Until this year.

I have yet to ask her how she feels about field dressing moose.

Labor Day Win

2008-09-01T16:13:00.001-04:00

Abstinence Edumication works:

"We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our
heart and mean everything to us. Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with
news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever
planned. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to
become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she
knows she has our unconditional love and support."

"Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly
the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and
support of our entire family. We ask the media to respect our daughter and
Levi's privacy as has always been the tradition of children of
candidates."

Amazon Fail

2008-08-31T12:58:00.002-04:00

From my inbox:

We've noticed that customers who have purchased or rated books by D. A. Powell have also purchased Deviance and Social Control in Sport by Kevin Young. For this reason, you might like to know that Deviance and Social Control in Sport will be released on August 31, 2008.

Book Description

The world of sport offers a deep--and often-overlooked--source for the study of deviance and its development and impact on society. Deviance and Social Control in Sport challenges preconceived understandings regarding the relationship of deviance and sport and offers a conceptual framework for future work in a variety of sociological subfields.
Drawing on their cutting-edge research in criminology and deviance in the discipline of sociology, Atkinson and Young provide a textured understanding of sport-related deviance through the application of various approaches to deviance in a sport context. Using extended case studies, the authors examine the subject of deviance through examples that are popular (fan violence, hockey enforcers, effect of the media), understudied (sport-related violence against animals, athletes as on-field victims of violence), or emerging (sport security, drugs and weight control, cybernetic athletes, extreme sports). This engaging presentation allows readers to fully understand the effects of sport deviance in society.

We're Two Today

2008-08-31T12:52:00.001-04:00

Today marks the second anniversary with Brian.

A late thanks for the b-day wishes. It's been looney.

Joyeux anniversaire à moi

2008-08-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

Yup. I'm closer to 40 now than 30.

From the Hills

2008-08-12T12:28:00.002-04:00

To Live and Fly to LA

2008-08-10T18:17:00.001-04:00

Well--I made it. I need to nap. More later.

2008-08-08T18:52:00.001-04:00

HELL JUST FROZE

Kultur Klatsch

2008-08-08T09:33:00.003-04:00

Brian and I spent Wednesday roaming Pittsburgh. We went to the Carnegie Museum and checked out part of the 2008 Life On Mars exhibit and an exhibit in their Works on Paper section collecting abstract art until 1950. We didn't get to see all of the LOM show--it's huge. We're going to try and see more Saturday when we're back.

All of that is just prelude to show you one of the pieces that caught my fancy.

KNOCKOUT

2008-08-07T16:26:00.000-04:00

KNOCKOUT LITERARY MAGAZINE POETRY CONTEST

Knockout, a print literary magazine that publishes a 50-50 mix of workby LGBTQ and straight authors, announces its first poetry contest.Judge: James Bertolino. Winner receives $100 gift certificate toPowell's Books (redeemable online) and publication of their winningpoem. All poems submitted considered for publication in Knockout.Submissions of up to three poems of any length must be received byAugust 31, 2008. $5 entry fee per submission. Multiple submissionsallowed. Simultaneous submissions allowed (with prompt notification ifaccepted elsewhere). For complete guidelines and for more informationabout Knockout, visit www.knockoutlit.org/contest.htm

Things and Things and Things

2008-07-31T16:48:00.002-04:00

The gorgeous and vivacious Aaron Smith has been sighted! Actually he's been sighted a few times--he's settling in and is sharp and funny and makes me laugh like I'm twelve. Really it's duh-lic-ious having him so close at hand again.

~*~

It'll be less than a week until I get to see Brian. We managed to somehow synch up our schedules so I can see him before I leave for LA and the LLF Retreat. The fact that we're able to see one another twice this summer is more than I'd hoped for.

~*~

I'm working on poems like crazy, culling through stuff written earlier this year, trashing most of it. I'm fine with that. It was necessary. I had to write that stuff out to get onto this stuff. And really, I couldn't be more tickled with what's happening.

And It's Time, Time Time...

2008-07-27T14:43:00.002-04:00

I realized last night that I have now acquired over 100 hours of overtime since the beginning of this year. I have worked an extra two-and-a-half weeks.

Portents

2008-07-26T03:34:00.003-04:00

Over the last two weeks I've seen about 8 or 9 people in public sitting with their heads literally in their hands. The youngest was about 6; the oldest, at least 60. I've felt intrusive, prurient seeing them, but I can't help staring. I thought the "head in the hands" posture was something straight out of bad fiction. Were I a different sort of person, I'd try to find meaning in this. Instead I'm looking for a poem.

Purdy

2008-07-16T12:44:00.004-04:00

This is one of the new daylilies I got this year, "Wild Horses". It's vexed me the last few days because it bloomed over the weekend and then stayed shut up tight.

Finally.

2008-07-15T21:39:00.002-04:00

Bravo has finally put up info about this season's Project Runway people. It's about damned time, considering the new season starts tomorrow night.

Just by looking--my favorite so far is Suede. I had that hair. But I went with more of a Tiffany gift box blue. Suede looks like the leader of the Lollipop Guild gone bad.

Steps, Baby & Otherwise

2008-07-13T15:10:00.003-04:00

Last night I had the best sleep I've had in weeks. So deep I dreamed. I think almost every one I know and love made a cameo appearance: Brian, of course, Eric and Tommy and Shlee, Irene, Aaron, my mom--there were others, but I didn't write it down when I woke. I don't remember much beyond glimpsed faces, everyone smiling, there was a lot of shining, well-polished honey stained wood.

~*~

I am determined to get organized. I've bought a bunch of cabinets and bookshelves. I'm shopping for a new desk/hutch combo. I'm tired of stacks. I want an orderly, grown-up kind of space right now.

~*~

All the gladiolus I set out last year are blooming. They're rich: salmons, coral, claret red. They always remind me of my grandfather. They were his favorite flowers.

~*~

I am about to take a very big step.

Abundance

2008-07-09T12:01:00.002-04:00

The daylilies are outdoing themselves. Surprising because I didn't feed them as heavily this year, but they are full, the blooms on some are so heavy they're warping the stems.

I've had an enormous blue hosta in the corner of the shade bed for years--six or seven, at least--and this is the first summer it's bloomed. It's nothing that spectacular but I'm hoping to get some seed and start some new ones.

~*~

The last couple of weeks I've gotten together with a couple of other people and we've workshopped, ate dinner, had some drinks and just enjoyed one another's company. It's been lovely--and I've gotten some serious work done on revising and rethinking some of the poems I wrote earlier this year. It's also been good prep work for Los Angeles. It's been about nine or ten years since I was in a formal workshop and I've been a little worried about having lost the ability to talk about a poem in an intelligent helpful way. I still feel like I need to brush up on terminology but I feel more confident I can talk about a poem in an analytical way.

~*~

The neighbors had a cow escape last week. A bull actually. Summer is here.

Too Much Nature

2008-07-07T12:39:00.003-04:00

Driving to work Friday I hit a crow with my car. I always wonder when I see them in the road picking at carrion if they'll fly away in time. They usually do. It was really kind of ghastly.

Last night driving home I almost hit a deer.

I am almost afraid to leave the house today.

Will F*ck 4 Fuel

2008-07-07T00:11:00.001-04:00

One of the reasons I love Brian so madly is that he finds these little things and shares them with me.

From the Smoking Gun:

A Kentucky woman is facing prostitution charges for allegedly trading sex for gasoline. Angela Eversole, 34, was nabbed last weekend during a police stakeout at a Days Inn...Nowak admitted paying for Eversole's services, in part, with a $100 Speedway gas card. Eversole was hit with a prostitution rap and also charged with doing business without an occupational license.

For a slightly different take, go here.

Time Machine/Amphetamines

2008-07-03T10:03:00.002-04:00

I need one or the other.

If I owe you an email: I'll write you by the weekend.

Keith: Rosser doesn't primarily write sonnets--but she does do some. She works in a number of forms. I'm only part way into Foiled Again so I've not made any strong determination yet. But her second book, Misery Prefigured is definitely worth reading. I'll look and see if I have any existing sonnets that aren't obscene that I can post.

Good God...

2008-06-30T15:06:00.004-04:00

What the hell happened to the month of June?

I'm behind on gardening--well I'm behind on lots of things--I still have about a dozen things in their pots from the nursery waiting to be sunk in the ground. It's pathetic. I swear to god I'm planting them all tomorrow morning.

What's been planted is thriving. The shade/semi-shade bed close to the house is filling in nicely. The dogwood is sending out new leaves (that was touch and go during the heat wave. I was sure I'd lose it.) My favorite find of the year is some sort of Hyssop, "Acapulco"--little bunches of tiny trumpet shaped blooms, a sort of cantaloupe color that changes to pink as the flowers spend. Really lovely. The hummingbirds love it.

Finally got around to reading J. Allyn Rosser's Foiled Again. It makes me want to keep writing sonnets.

Plane tickets bought for LA. Now if I can just get that prescription for Xanax I've always wanted.

2008-06-29T05:50:00.001-04:00

UGH.