Neidenburg Church
People and buildings
seek carnal knowledge.[six word caption courtesy of Bri Hand, http://sixwordglory.tumblr.com/ ]
Last night I had a dream that I was in the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina. They were inviting people up on the stage to perform songs for the crowds and I decided that I would go for it. I got up on stage and performed Joe Cocker’s version of “With a Little Help From My Friends,” (like, Joe Cocker’s voice came out of my mouth) and performed with such duende, if you will, that I spit and drooled so much I had to remove my sweater to keep wiping my face. It was truly one of the greatest moments of my dream-life. Now, have fun getting this fucking song out of your head!
It was 2 a.m. and I was sitting in the Cell Phone Lot at the airport waiting to pick my mother up, listening to XM Radio and first that sad Adele song I don’t know the name of came on and then Wilson Phillips and I’m all, “life maaaaan,” and then that Bruno Mars Girl You’re Amazing song…and just, come on. In the words of Laura, “‘Its 2 am and Bruno Mars is On’ is like the name of a movie that’s just people sobbing in airports.” Truth.
Last weekend’s Dirty Water reading at Lorem Ipsum was A Blast. Got to hear some of my favorite Boston poets read and pick up a nice thick stack of new stuff (also, Mitch just got the new Black Ocean books in and…too many books to read!) Mike Young read for Redivider, and was damningly good, plus there was audience participation. Here’s a poem he read that’s published in Glitter Pony.
You Must Motherfucking Change Your Life, by Mike Young.
First half of my poetry reading at Write on the Dot featuring a yoda quote within the first minute.
But context and historicity cannot be discarded in any thoughtful engagement with the contemporary global world. It rings close to a colonialist fantasy to imagine that the advent of the Internet turns all language and imagery into Western writers’ “fodder.” Don’t we want to be done with blindly consuming the cultures of others?
I’d argue that the digital age demands greater accountability of a writer, because we have instant information about the disparity in lived experiences around the globe (and in our own communities). If anything, this historical moment delivers an awareness of our vital interdependence.
-Abe Louise Young on The Voices of Hurricane Katrina, Part I: What are the ethics of poetic appropriation?
At first glance, the idea of “catering to poetry” may seem like a hard sell. After all, “no one reads poetry anymore,” and the truth is no one ever really did. Poetry books will remain a paltry portion of the market for a long time, but the people who read poetry will continue to spend hours browsing the aisles of their local bookstore…
-Janaka Stucky on Surviving in the Age of Amazon
2011
The year in which I: lived in Texas, got a matching tattoo with my sister, drove across the country, got a cool job + a cool house, etc., etc. NOT TOO BAD.
