Descendental

Coconut 12 is up.

Summer 2008 Classes and Workshops at the University of Arizona Poetry Center.

A review of Aram Saroyan's Complete Minimal Poems. Bill Knott has some choice words about Ron Silliman and his selection of Saroyan for this year's William Carlos Williams Award.

This from the UA Poetry Center:

Videographer Jonathan VanBallenberghe built this YouTube video for the Conceptual Poetry and Its Others Symposium. We are struck by the endless possibilities of the form, and so have decided to create a challenge for you, the audience, to create your own video to answer the question, "What is conceptual poetry?" The only constraint is that somewhere in the video, this text should be included:

"Conceptual Poetry and Its Others. May 29-31, 2008. www.poetrycenter.arizona.edu."

Upload a video to YouTube by May 21 and let us know about it. Top videos will be featured on the Conceptual Poetry webpage (and may be screened at the Symposium keynote address) and the winner will receive a $150 dollar cash prize (or a $200 dollar gift certificate), provided by Book Stop Used Books, Tucson's oldest bookseller.

~

I'm thankful to Brian Henry over at the Verse blog who has listed Verge as one of several other Recent and Recommended books listed for April 26. Now if only I can find more kind souls to review it...

Just a Thought

Looking forward to those "stimulus" checks? Thinking of ways to spend yours? Here's an idea . . . Instead of being bought off, maybe donate the money to organizations tackling the problems--environmental, social, civil--this government has given up on.

New CUE

It's mean, it's green, and it's overdue. It's the new CUE7 and it's ready for purchase, ready to ship, ready to read.

Please, if you support small presses and indie mags, put your money where your mouth is, go here, and drop the $5. I know the writers in this issue want you to read their work, and I know you love poetry, or you wouldn't read this blog. So get a copy. Here. Now.

If you have a blog, please help us spread the word about the new issue.

If you live in Tucson, copies are available at Antigone Books.

Our Lushing Max

A review of the new August Kleinzahler.

Charles Bernstein: "My work Veil has an epigraph from Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil." The minister who veils his face in the story gives this explanation for his veil: "There is an hour to come when all of us shall cast aside our veils. Take it not amiss, beloved friend, if I were this piece of crape till then." Our bodies veil us from transparency (say, assimilation) and the veil acknowledges that: that we can't communicate as if we had no veils or bodies or histories separating us, that whatever communication we can manage must be in terms of our opacities and particularities, our resistances and impermeabilities--call it our mutual translucency to each other. Our language is our veil, but one that too often is invisible. Yet, hiding the veil of language, its wordness, its textures, its obstinate physicality, only makes matters worse. Perhaps such veils will be cast aside in the Messianic moment, that utopian point in which history vanishes. On this side of the veil, which is our life on earth, we live within and among the particulars of a here (hear) and now (words that speak of and to our condition of everydayness.)"

The Village Voice poetry round-up.

Cystic Fibrosis Fact: Cystic fibrosis is the most common life-limiting autosomal recessive disease among people of European heritage. In the United States, approximately 30,000 individuals have CF; most are diagnosed by six months of age. Canada has approximately 3,000 citizens with CF. Approximately 1 in 25 people of European descent and 1 in 22 people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent is a carrier of a cystic fibrosis mutation. Although CF is less common in these groups, approximately 1 in 46 Hispanics, 1 in 65 Africans and 1 in 90 Asians carry at least one abnormal CFTR gene.

An audio interview with and a reading by Matthew Thorburn over at the Library of Congress.

Check It

When we were eager, young undergraduates at UVA, sitting together in Gregory Orr's poetry workshop, who would have guessed we'd each one day publish a book of poems so closely on the heels of one another.

Congratulations to Sandra Beasley who's new book, Theories of Falling is now out from New Issues Press.

There is this ship which has taken my beloved back again

The new (and penultimate) print issue of CUE is drops this week. Check out new prose poems by Karla Kelsey, G.C. Waldrep, Michael Schiavo, Ravi Shankar, Barbara Cully, Stephanie Balzer, Mark Horosky, Ann Fine, Shelly Taylor, Jon Thompson, Harry Mattison, Arianne Zwartjes and an appreciation of Kora in Hell by Stephen Cushman. Order your copy here.

An interview with Mark Yakich.

Another with Marjorie Perloff.

Cystic Fibrosis Fact: In 1938, Dorothy Hansine Andersen published an article titled "Cystic fibrosis of the pancreas and its relation to celiac disease: a clinical and pathological study" in the American Journal of Diseases of Children. In her paper, she described the characteristic cystic fibrosis of the pancreas correlated it with the lung and intestinal disease prominent in CF. She also first hypothesized that CF is a recessive disease and first used pancreatic enzyme replacement to treat affected children.

Listen to a conversation between Elizabeth Willis and Charles Bernstein. Listen to her read her poems here.

An interview with Spoon.

Hurrah How

Linh Dinh's blogging on the body continues to fascinate.

W.S. Merwin talks about “Poetry and the Green World” Thursday, April 17, at 8 p.m. at the Poetry Center. Click here for more information.

Homophonic translations of Paul Celan.

Emerson: "No man can write well who thinks there is any choice of words for him. In writing there is always a right word, and every other than that is wrong."

Kate Greenstreet's new chapbook, This is Why I Hurt You

The golden days of manifesto-ing, from Blast 1 (1914).

Cystic Fibrosis Fact: The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation also compiles lifestyle information about American adults with CF. In 2004, the foundation reported that 91% had graduated high school and 54% had at least some college education. Employment data revealed 12.6% of adults were disabled and 9.9% were unemployed. Marital information showed that 59% of adults were single and 36% were married or living with a partner. In 2004, 191 American women with CF were pregnant.

Stephen Burt on Ashbery.

I'm reading poetry again: Alex Lemon's Hallelujah Blackout, Karen Volkman's Nomina, Brenda Shaugnessy's Human Dark With Sugar. I'm also reading about it: Andrew Joron's The Cry at Zero, Jed Rasula's The American Poetry Wax Museum, William Watkin's In the Process of Poetry: The New York School and the Avant-Garde.

Most hypnotic website ever.

And now the coolest thing ever...

Parlor Press Submissions

It's that time of year. If you have a poetry manuscript, Parlor Press is now reading from April 1 to May 31. Live the dream. Submit.

Free Verse Editions represents a joint venture between Free Verse: A Journal of Contemporary Poetry & Poetics and Parlor Press. The series will publish 3-5 books of poetry per year. We are especially interested in collections that use language to dramatize a singular vision of experience, a mastery of craft, and a willingness to take risks.

• Manuscripts should be between 48 and 150 pages in 12-point type. Manuscripts should be clean and professionally presented. For submission purposes, do not use email or computer disks (if the manuscript is accepted, computer disks and/or email will be necessary).
• Manuscripts should be original, unpublished works. Original translations are welcomed.
• Each manuscript submission should be accompanied by a $20.00 check for the reading fee; the check should be made out to Parlor Press. International submissions are welcome, but the reading fee will need to be made out in US dollars on a bank check, not a personal check.
• The editor of Free Verse Editions reserves the right to accept for publication as many as five manuscripts-or none, if he deems the quality of the submissions insufficient. The editor also reserves the right to solicit manuscripts for the series (needless to say, not all the manuscripts accepted in a given year will be solicited. Free Verse Editions is committed to publishing new voices, as well as being open to more established ones).
• Manuscripts may be accompanied by a very brief cover letter (no more than half a page) introducing the manuscript. Please also cite journals that have published poems in the collection. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, if noted (however the reading fee is not refundable, even if the manuscript is withdrawn). Contact information should include an address, a phone number, and an email address, if possible.
• Manuscripts not accepted for publication will be recycled, so do not send your only copy as it cannot be returned.
• Manuscripts accepted for publication can be revised before publication.

Submission period: April 1 - May 31, annually.

Submit a manuscript of original poetry or translation to:

Jon Thompson, Editor
Free Verse Editions
Department of English
North Carolina State University
Raleigh NC 27695-8105

Note: Please do not call, write or email the editor, or Parlor Press, to inquire about your manuscript during the reading period.

There's an interesting back-and-forth going on over at the Poetry Foundation Blog regarding illness, the body and artistic identity. Linh Dinh is on to something, I think. Reginald Shepherd follows up. More thoughts on this soon.

Slightly Smaller Than the First

REMINDER: POG presents Saturday, April 12, 7pm, @ The Drawing Studio, 33 S. Sixth Avenue poets Lewis Warsh and Paul Klinger. Admission $5, students $3

An interview with Lydia Davis.

The Burning Chair Readings present a Chair Burning Retrospective at East Coast Aliens Friday, April 18th, Doors 7:30 pm, readings from 8-10 pm.

Andrea Baker
Jim Behrle
Brenda Iijima
Dorothea Lasky
Tim Peterson
Thibault Raoult
Craig Morgan Teicher
Dara Wier

w/ music from
Walter Baker
& an after-party featuring
the dreams [of the congregation of details

John Levy has something to say about Jarret Keene's review of Verge. (Scroll to the bottom of the page.)

Cystic Fibrosis Fact: Lung transplantation often becomes necessary for individuals with cystic fibrosis as lung function and exercise tolerance declines. Although single lung transplantation is possible in other diseases, individuals with CF must have both lungs replaced because the remaining lung would contain bacteria that could infect the transplanted lung.

The new MiPOesias is out.

Based Entirely on the Ornamentation

Alternate cover designs for Mark Horosky's forthcoming chapbook. Votes can be registered below in the comments section.

CA Conrad Somatic Poetry Exercise No. 11: "Use blue or purple ink for this please, if you have it. (Purple is best!) You also need a sheet of white, unlined paper. Place the pen (purple ink the best!) and paper on the floor keeping track of your breath. Then breathe deeply three times, and begin rocking wildly, saying out loud as you rock, "OO-WAH" over and over, nine times. On the ninth count of rocking with "OO-WAH" throw yourself onto the floor and QUICKLY and without thinking draw an X then a line from the X, and where that line ends draw another X. Now repeat this procedure of rocking and "OO-WAH" but when you fling yourself at the pen and paper this time start from the X where the first line had stopped, then quickly draw another line, then put an X where that lines stops. Continue repeating until you have nine lines on the page. Now you have a map. Follow your map in whatever location you want, it's your map after all. You can follow it outside by streets and blocks, or in an empty parking lot, or field, or in your bedroom or kitchen. Or have your finger follow the map on the naked body of your lover (this one is my favorite!). But when you come to an X on your map, stop, pause to reflect on this spot where you find yourself. Jot down a few notes. When you have finished your map-following and note-taking you can then squeeze the poem out of the experience. It's there, it's in there."

Reading Whitman religiously.

Cystic Fibrosis Fact: The most consistent aspect of therapy in cystic fibrosis is limiting and treating the lung damage caused by thick mucus and infection with the goal of maintaining quality of life. Intravenous, inhaled, and oral antibiotics are used to treat chronic and acute infections. Mechanical devices and inhalation medications are used to alter and clear the thickened mucus.

Dorothea Lasky's new chapbook, Tourmaline.

Bob Dylan wins a Pulitzer.

Fou.

Sad Aesthetic

by Kevin McFadden

A Country is the things it wants to see.--Robert Pinsky

Once upon a time in America,

those magnificent men in their flying machines

abandon ship

without a trace.

The American president

(dead man walking)

jaws

the great lie

at close range.

The story of us,

the straight story,

the greatest show on earth

written on the wind,

gone with the wind.

True lies,

sex, lies and videotape,

the last picture show,

last action hero

going my way.

Nowhere to run,

ordinary people

speed.

Beautiful girls

die hard.

The usual suspects,

gods and monsters,

witness

the best years of our lives,

the agony and the ecstasy.

I'm dangerous tonight.

I'm dancing as fast as I can.

I'm the girl he wants to kill.

I'm gonna get you, sucka,

I'm no angel—

psycho

analyze this.

The naked city

dances with wolves

another 48 hours,

the wild bunch

up against the wall

now & then,

the sound of music

north by northwest

on the waterfront

after midnight.

Back to the future:

it happened tomorrow,

the birth of a nation.

The bad and the beautiful

affliction,

modern times,

9 to 5

trading places

from here to eternity.

Days of wine and roses,

days of thunder.

When we were kings

(the king and I

say anything)

how green was my valley,

high noon,

the color of money.

Legends of the fall,

the big fall,

body and soul,

all about Eve

raising Cain

(another you)

east of Eden.

The hand that rocks the cradle

breaking away

out of Africa,

coming to America

dazed and confused.

Some like it hot,

all-American murder,

the sting

in the heat of the night,

how the West was won—

blow

for Heaven's sake,

for the love of the game.

It's a wonderful life,

as good as it gets.

Do the right thing,

alien nation—

you can't take it with you.

Fear,

the sixth sense,

basic instinct,

strike up the band—

the empire strikes back.

Come and get it:

the shining

sling blade

armageddon.

Star wars,

sayonara.

Apocalypse now.

Check out the rest of the new Redivider.

Kevin McFadden's new book, Hardscrabble.

It Helps to Think It's a Game

A piece on Frank O'Hara in the New Yorker.

" . . . the dominant paradigm of innovative verse in the United States today, namely the synthesis of Language poetry and the New York School. Within this paradigm, questions of poetic ontology are superseded by those of poetic epistemology: the substance of the word is considered as a social construct having no immediate relation to the substance of the world. Skepticism replaces enthusiasm: and poetic practice, once proclaimed to be a force of nature by the Romantics is (re)socialized as a means to criticize what is rather than to create what is not."--Andrew Jaron from Language As Ghost Condensate

Colin Greenwood of Radiohead talks with Pitchfork.

An interview with Jorie Graham.

Cystic Fibrosis Fact: Infertility affects both men and women. At least 97 percent of men with cystic fibrosis are infertile. These men make normal sperm but are missing the tube (vas deferens). Many men found to have congenital absence of the vas deferns during evaluation for infertility have a mild, previously undiagnosed form of CF. Some women have fertility difficulties due to thickened cervical mucus or malnutrition. In severe cases, malnutrition disrupts ovulation and causes amenorrhea.

Samuel Beckett and poetry.

Do you have old cameras, cell phones, ipods and don't know what to do with them? Under a new pilot program offered by the U.S. Postal Service, you can recycle dead technology by dropping them in the mail. Rest of the article is here. More on the program here.