Recent & recommended: December (partial)

I've been thinking about a way to track my reading here (excluding required reading, research, mags & browsing), and the sidebar list with monthly archives like this on or near the 1st seems like a good idea. Mostly for my own curiosity--I like lists. This is the stuff that's purely for pleasure. We'll see how long I keep it up. (UPDATE: Moved this from 1/1 to 12/31--that way the reading list will show up at the top of each archived month. More convenient that way.)

Poem for the turn of the year

[expired]

Highlights of 2004*

1. Publication of Down Spooky the chapbook (Jan)

2. Publication of "To Jacques Pepin" in Gastronomica (Feb)

3. Making final payment on undergrad student loans (Feb)

4. AWP in Chicago (Mar)

5. 10th actual/2nd wedding anniversary. Being married is fun! (Mar)

6. Writing & publication of Big Confetti + reading & party with Shafer (May)

7. Boston Poetry Massacre/vacation in Maine (Jul-Aug)

8. Writing poems, winning prize & signing contract for Down Spooky the book (Nov)

9. Editing & publication of GAMERS (for which we just sold Italian rights!) (Nov)

10. Birthday dinner at Le Bernardin (Dec)



Bonus: Learning that #2 has been chosen by Paul Muldoon for BAP 2005! (Dec)



RESOLUTION: [To come.]



*In chronological order, and with additions/revisions likely.

Texmas Photos

Last year at this time...

I posted this.



This weekend I will post a highlights of 2004 list. Mebbe enlightening, perhaps entertaining.



And, boy oh boy, I may just have to renew that year-old resolution this time around. We'll see.

Is this thing on?

Have been trying to post, but Blogger ain't working, dudes.

Kicking off the new year with some old school love-type action

Reen & Mark just got engaged! Congrats, y'all!

Texmas 12

1. Thursday AM: Get bumped from oversold outgoing flight, along with at least a dozen other people.

2. Thursday PM: Get on the next flight out, barely. Unlike dozen other people. Luggage is not so lucky. File report. Reach Mom's place at last. Thrill Mom & dogs. Nice tree. Have eggnog. Later: Last-minute shopping in a suprisingly successful two stops.

3. Friday AM: Still no bag. Emergency trip to Target for changes of clothes & basics. Carefully avoid the mall area by plotting intricate back-road routes.

4. Friday AM-PM: Drive to ridiculously crappy hometown of George Strait-tune/Mean Joe Green fame (3-hr drive each way) to see sister's family. Nieces & nephew treat us to a play. The angel Gabriel is played by a three-year-old in a Tinkerbell costume. The Optic Morpher is a major hit. After driving back, FedEx surprises with earlier delivery of olive tree for Mom. 6 ripe olives already! Dog eats 3. Begin 1000-piece Lord of the Rings jigsaw puzzle.

5. Saturday AM: Still no bag = no gifts for rest of family, more recycling of laundry for us. More LoR jigsaw madness.

6. Saturday PM: Turkey & fixins with Mom, sis, sis's boyfriend & hubby. Hubby & Mom butt heads about theology and science politely if somewhat drunkenly. Luggage (intact and bearing gifts!) finally arrived at 10 p.m. delivered by Santa. LoR puzzle beginning to resemble picture on box.

7. Sunday AM-PM: Drove out to see Father Figure & his wife at the ranch (1 hr each way). Greeted by them, plus various exotic deer, antelope, buffalo, emus, one rainbow trout, & one striped bass. Unable to find longhorns despite thorough search via golf cart. Hubby snapped cheapo rod & reel. [Photos to come.] Watched the Cowboys win, barely. Feasted on steaks. Returned to Mom's and LoR puzzle. That thing is a bitch.

8. Monday AM: Unable to pack pillow-top mattress pad or many additions to Pez dispenser collection despite vaccuum-assisted space saver bags. Give up. One last turkey sandwich.

9. Monday PM: Flight delayed. Mom calls from home to say she's finished the damn puzzle.

10. Monday PM later: Flight delayed. Solve two Sunday NYT crosswords. Reluctantly eat airport grub.

11. Monday PM later: Finally. Drink red wine on plane. Consider never doing this again.

12. Pretty much Tuesday AM: Arrive home just seconds before frozen wandering guests who've flown in from Portland, OR and have also been subject to many delays. Eat magic cookies and whip up early morning fritatta from meager groceries on hand.

I took this photo somewhere in West Texas (north of Fredericksburg) in September. Have a safe and happy week or so, whatever you happen to celebrate or not celebrate. Hopefully you'll at least get a few days free from work. See ya when we get back, darlins.

Yeah, that's pretty cold.

It's colder than a witch's tit in a brass brassiere, as my momma would say.



(Heh heh--I spelled that "brazier" at first, which is kinda punny.)

Au(bergine)some!

Our muse responds.

So long, Mercury.

It's been real.

Note to self (birthday edition):

Don't grow up to be a poet.



Do it now.

2005 shall be the year of Edward Gorey

Because Coliseum Books did not have my usual Mexican folk art datebook. So I opted for Gorey's The Blue Aspic.



The pic above is from not from The Blue Aspic The banner says "A Future Unremembered Poet of the Seventeenth Century Accepts a Christmas Cookie from the Great Veiled Bear.



Observation: despite being fairly high-tech in most areas, I still prefer a paper datebook to scribble in.



And I did see Jason at Coliseum. Running into pals in the poetry section is grand.

Dear Josh,

Playing games and writing poems bring me some of the same satisfaction.



This is why I love Harry Mathews & the other mad-hatter Oulipians. And the humor of the New York Schoolers. And taking JD McClatchy's anti-aubergine pronouncement as a challenge.



Never played AD&D, tho. Too social.



Heh heh.

Answering your rhetorical question

Why, yes. I am insane.



It just took me 25 minutes to get from entrance to exit in the gianormous ToysRUs here in Times Square.



While a couple of kids turned on the tears near the exit, I was tempted to start in immediately upon being released by the oversized revolving door.



Purchased: zip.

Hey, yo, listen in.

Adding Spaceship Tumblers, featuring audio recordings of poems by several goodly gentlemen linked at right.

Knitted naughties...

courtesy of Citizen Skein.



Too funny.

Friday Cat Blogging

This is S's desk. But Marvin thinks it's his.

Note to self:

All that burbles

must go plink!

"Life in a Glass House"

by Shelley Jackson appears in this week's Village Voice. It's an abbreviated version of her GAMERS essay. Check it out!



Also, there's a nice new review in the Detroit Metrotimes.

The new Poets & Writers

Well, hell. This issue is downright collectible.



Ascend Mount Sestina with Mr. Nester. His new article is here.



Congrats to the ladies of No Tell Motel for their MagNet mention too!



And...my second-husband-in-waiting Thomas Kelly gets a nod in the Page One New & Noteworthy section too with his third novel! (Empire Rising comes out in February.)

Google to begin scanning every book in sight.

Wow.



Not a good sign for my internet addiction though.

Chapbook party this Friday!

Ugly Duckling Presse invites you to a holiday party like no other:



Friday, December 17 at 8:00 PM

DRINK ME

620 E. 6th Street

Between Avenues B & C



Join us to celebrate the release of UDP's two newest chapbooks:



O NEW YORK by Trey Sager

NOVELTY ACT by Maureen Thorson



Maureen Thorson lives in New York City, where she is a lawyer, when not knitting rather tortured-looking stuffed animals. Her work has appeared in Exquisite Corpse, LIT, canwehaveourballback? and is forthcoming in Good Foot and the tiny.



Trey Sager's poems have been or will be in the Canary, Aufgabe, Fence, Insurance, FO A RM, BlazeVox, Aught, canwehaveourballback, and Fell Swoop. He lives in Brooklyn.



Maureen's chaps are some of my favorites from my stash--plus she makes a mean chocolate-chip muffin. Trey and I used to work together many moons ago on a certain preppyish fashion catalog. Yay for Trey & Maureen! And Ugly Duckling simply rocks. So go, buy chapbooks, and be merry.

Holy 600 pages, Batman!

How would you like, all in one hugenormous volume, poems by Agha Shahid Ali, K.E. Allen, John Allison, Jorge Carrera Andrade, Rae Armantrout, Simon Armitage, John Ashbery, Jan Baeke, Coleman Barks, Benno Barnard, Jeanne Marie Beaumont, Joshua Beckman, John Beer, Josh Bell, Charles Bernstein, Javant Biarujia, Mark Bibbins, Linda Bierds, Judith Bishop, Bruce Bond, Charles Borkhuis, Marianne Boruch, Janet Bowdan, Peter Boyle, Andrea Brady, Lucie Brock-Broido, Lee Ann Brown, Pam Brown, Oni Buchanan, Joanne Burns, John Burnside, Siobhán Campbell, C.S. Carrier, Hayden Carruth, Paul Celan, Maxine Chernoff, Kate Clanchy, Pura Lopez Colome, Shanna Compton, Gillian Conoley, Clark Coolidge, Matthew Cooperman, Joshua Corey, Cynie Cory, Robert Crawford, Keki N. Daruwalla, Jordan Davis, Olena Kalytiak Davis, Cort Day, Sarah Day, Ales Debeljak, Gerardo Deniz, Ray DiPalma, Milan Djordjevic, Joseph Donahue, Timothy Donnelly, Michael Dumanis, Marcella Durand, Russell Edson, Gunter Eich, Elke Erb, Luciano Erba, Clayton Eshleman, Jenny Factor, Paul Farley, Michael Farrell, Gary Fincke, Mark Ford, Graham Foust, David Gascoyne, Amy Gerstler, Melanie Giles, Ray Gonzalez, Noah E. Gordon, Arielle Greenberg, Lavinia Greenlaw, Vona Groarke, Allen Grossman, David H.W. Grubb, Barbara Guest, Judith Hall, Barbara Hamby, Joshua Harmon, J.S. Harry, Kevin Hart, Matthea Harvey, Steve Healey, Michael Heller, Kris Hemensley, W.N. Herbert, Tracey Herd, Bob Hicok, Jessica Hornik, Christine Hume, David Ignatow, Alojz Ihan, Phillipe Jaccottet, Ervin Jahic, Kathleen Jamie, Christopher Janke, Lisa Jarnot, Eugen Jebeleanu, Kimberly Johnson, Peter Johnson, Barbara Jordan, Hedi Kaddour, Joy Katz, S.K. Kelen, Karla Kelsey, Richard Kenney, Venus Khoury-Ghata, Marzanna Bogumila Kielar, John Kinsella, August Kleinzahler, Caroline Knox, Kenneth Koch, John Koethe, Yusef Komunyakaa, Nancy Kuhl, Kevin Larimer, John Latta, Radmila Lazic, Katy Lederer, David Dodd Lee, David Lehman, Alissa Leigh, Ben Lerner, Phillis Levin, Emma Lew, Petter Lindgren, Timothy Liu, Lisa Lubasch, Roddy Lumsden, aonghas macneacail, Paul Maliszewski, Claire Malroux, Malinda Markham, Dionisio D Martinez, Pierre Martory, Ted Mathys, Glyn Maxwell, Susan Maxwell, Medbh McGuckian, Jerry McGuire. Heather McHugh, Paula Meehan, Richard Meier, Jennifer Militello, Matthew Miller, Peter Minter, Edwin Morgan, Paul Muldoon, Judy Nacca, Daniel Nester, Eilean Ni Chuilleanain, Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill, Geoffrey Nutter, Conor O’Callaghan, Julie O’Callaghan, Dennis O’Driscoll, Caitriona O’Reilly, Jena Osman, Ruth Padel, Eric Pankey, Ethan Paquin, Seth Parker, Don Paterson, Ricardo Pau-Llosa, Vera Pavlova, Alexandria Peary, Peg Peoples, Simon Perchik, Teresa Pfeifer, Peter Porter, Kevin Prufer, Carol Quinn, Justin Quinn, Amudha Rajendran, Peter Ramos, Heather Ramsdell, Claudia Rankine, Srikanth Reddy, Peter Redgrove, Donald Revell, Rebecca Reynolds, Peter Richards, Aleksander Ristovic, Ana Ristovic, Yannis Ritsos, Robin Robertson, Matthew Rohrer, Rachel Rose, Peter Rose, Catie Rosemurgy, Carol Rumens, Tessa Rumsey, Gig Ryan, Tracy Ryan, Tomaz Salamun, Mary Jo Salter, Mukta Sambrani, Fiona Sampson, Standard Schaefer, Robyn Schiff, Susan M. Schultz, Leonard Schwartz, Jo Shapcott, Laurie Sheck, Reginald Shepherd, Craig Sherborne, Spencer Short, Eleni Sikelianos, Martha Silano, Charles Simic, Bruce Smith, Iain Crichton Smith, Gustaf Sobin, Laura Solomon, Gary Soto, Peter Steele, Ales Steger, Jesper Svenbro, Cole Swenson, James Tate, Emily Taylor, Jeet Thayil, Tony Tost, John Tranter, Lisa Turner, Lee Upton, Nanos Valaoritis, Karen Volkman, Diane Wald, Steven Waling, Mark Wallace, Chris Wallace-Crabbe, William D. Waltz, Joe Wenderoth, Jason Whitmarsh, Dara Wier, Lucy Wilks, Diane Williams, Terence Winch, CD Wright, Charles Wright, John Yau, David Yezzi, Dean Young, Kevin Young & Ivana Zuzul?



Well then, click on over to the Verse blog for details on how to order their stupendous 20th Anniversary issue! Wowee!

Authors I would not have sex with

Shoot straight with me guys. Does the word otorhinolaryngological turn you on?



I didn't think so. But somebody does.



UPDATE: Link fixed. Sorry 'bout that.

Desktop Poet 1.0 for Mac

Download this cool app and play free for a week!



Here. I wrote you one:



cook this pink

to brown some language



less television next dream

to bare pretty honey



let crush be worship

and want be ought



a dress of chain

a suit of sleep



roses like fernish fiddles

essential fluff

Hanukah Harry sighting!

Supernerdy poet confession relating to Ashbery

Since S is a fiction writer, we often get into the whose-genre-is-better tussle--playfully, of course. But a few years ago, in the heat of the discussion, we each pulled a book off the shelves and let random lines duke it out. Just flip & pick, flip & pick.



Ashbery beat the crap out of just about anything S's team could bring. He changed books a couple of times, even.



The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens consistenly beat Ashbery's The Mooring of Starting Out though, in a poetic head-to-head.



UPDATE: Care for a little rematch, hubby?

Eric, here I come!

Eric Ripert, hunky chef



S just said he's taking me to Le Bernardin for my birthday!



If you have eaten the salmon spread at one of our parties...yeah, that's his.



Will I die of dehydration if I drool from now till Monday 12/20?

Reuse, recycle, reinvent...and how!

Check out Rehabilitated Dishware by Sarah Cihat [click photo]. Very beautiful designs. Punk-goth-pirate tea sets too.

Charlie Orr does it again

Creator of the GAMERS cover, the Karaoke + Poetry = Fun logo, and the infamous D!ck-or-Ball logo, among other things, Charlie Orr now presents the spiky and lethal new logo for Bookninja.



And you can get it on a t-shirt or pair of undies too.

The Aubergine Anthology

I got mine today. Looks great!



Email Josh if ya want one for a mere three bucks.

Editing music

That's two years in a row!

Bless the VLS. For the second time, Soft Skull has two--count 'em--two books on the Top 25!



Go, us! Congrats to David & Derek.

Friday Grinch blogging

Isn't this amazing? He's a story tall--and he's lit from the inside like a beacon of grinchiness! I went out in the drizzle in a bathrobe for this, people.

Sleep well, Jackson Mac Low.

Observations while early for work

Someone on my block thinks pillows are recyclable.



I enjoy the sound of jackhammers, from a distance.



This notebook is almost full.



So this is the morning rush. I'd forgotten.



Sometimes I long to see a genuine Ft. Worth-style cowboy. In faded Wranglers.



You can tell they've been friends for years by the way they laugh together.



I adore naturally curly hair. And redheads.



Men actually love plump thighs.



No seat, no Solitaire.



People can't seem to help themselves.



I always smile at nurses. I like their white stockings.



Tweety Bird has a very long cultural shelf-life.

Writing music

If Willie called, I'd go. Don't be so shocked. My husband would not be at all surprised.

How to reframe

You're striking out.

GAMERS updates

Just a little reminder to peek over at the GAMERS page now and then. A bunch of recent reviews have gone up in the last couple of days, including a launch party report from musical guest Gene Cawley. Plus we'll be adding a reading at Barnes & Noble at Court Street and one at BookPeople in Austin soon! Check it out.



PS: A kind reader pointed out that the off-white text on grey on that page is difficult to read for folks with night blindness. I thank him, and shall fix it ASAP. If anybody else has similar accessibility issues, please let me know. I learn as I go. Thanks!

"American Poet" by P0lo Jeans Co.

Yeah, well, you know, I gotta have a day job. This is from a press release I just read for a line I am about to start writing about.



American Poet. American poet is our most romantic group. Never girly, it strikes the perfect balance between soft woven and knit tops and harder-edged woven bottoms and outerwear. A washed down twill palette of greens and khakis form the groundwork for this group, while a pretty palette of rosewater pink, pale blue, willow green and whitewash sets the mood. Knits and sweaterss are sheer and drapey--perfect for layering under our more structured woven pieces. Our high-count military twill jacket looks equally great with our flowy chiffon dresses, skirts and camis as it does paired with our denim surplus capri. [...continued ad nauseum] American Poet stays true to the juxtaposition of hard and soft.



So, if P0lo Jeans Co. were a poet, which one would it be?

Vancouver, anyone?

Looks like I might actually be able to swing the trip to Canada for AWP in March/April. It's right around our anniversary, as always, but S actually thinks it would be fun. So...are you going?

Color me PURPLE!

That's delicious news. Thanks, Josh!



Reserve yours today. (And I hope J'll put aside at least one for Mr. McClatchy!)



UPDATE: Broken link fixed. Sorry 'bout that!

My weekend in 15*

1. LIT readers--every one a knockout!

2. Fashion report: Sean's wonderous koala bear sportscoat, Katie's boots, Mark's Dragon Slayer tee

3. Jason's gorgeous book--hot off the press!

4. Ada's KPF song

5. Shafer's KPF song

6. Everybody's KPF song...and the poems! Best KPF ever!

7. Writing a poem with [expurgated]

8. Mexican & margaritas

9. Drew's astounding Gravitar sound piece!

10. The best book launch ever (thanks to all!)

11. DANIEL NESTER forever and ever, amen

12. Gene busting out in the blue spot wiff plenty o' reverb

13. Charlie's video game art prints!!!

14. Selling out of books, then taking a cab in high heels: priceless

15. Breakfast tacos



BONUS: Maureen on stage, twice in one day, kicking ass both times



*Idea lifted shamelessly from Katey Nicosia!

Where the cool kids will be today...

At 3:00 it's Frequency's special edition of Karaoke + Poetry = Fun at the Four-Faced Liar! Featuring Samantha Hunt, Christian Hawkey, Shappy, Shafer Hall, Gregory Pardlo, [expurgated], Joshua Beckman, Jennifer L. Knox, Ada Limon, and I heard Sarah Manguso is gonna do some Aerosmith! FREE.



At 9:00, which gives you plenty of time to get those (off-)tunes outta your head and get some dinner, join us at the Bowery Poetry Club for the GAMERS launch! Featuring musical and literary performances by Gene Cawley, Katie Degentesh, Drew Gardner, Shannon Holman, K. Thor Jensen, Luis Jaramillo, Mark Lamoureux, Daniel Nester & Mauren Thorson, plus an exclusive exhibit of video-game themed art by Charles Orr, a gaming trivia contest for signed copies and prizes, Drew's original sound piece re: Gravitar, and arcade-era cover tunes!

Friday cat blogging

This is Marvin. He likes jazz and long naps in the linen closet. He is super swanky.

LIT 9 party reminder!

Please join us tonight at the New School to celebrate the launch of LIT 9, our biggest, juiciest issue to date!



Readings by John Hennessy, Sean McNally, Amy Sickels & Chris Tonelli.

Open beer & wine bar, catered snacks, DJ.

FREE! 7-10 PM



New School University

Wollman Hall*

66 West 12th Street

New York, NY 10011



*Enter the 12th Street building, then cross the lobby and the courtyard to the 11th Street building. Take the elevator to the 5th floor, which will open directly into Wollman Hall.



See you there!

Entertaining corporate email

"Just wanted to let you all know that the Availability Update will be ready this afternoon."

Mercury in retrograde is extra bad if you're a Sagittarius, right?

That sure would explain a lot.



The latest mercurial mischief? The ceiling in my middle floor freelance office leaked all over my desk over the Thanksgiving holiday. Nobody seems to be able to understand the mysterious cause. And for the fourth time, somebody switched out my phone receiver with one that doesn't work.



Thanks, Mercury!

Great mail trumps gloomy weather.

Lovely weather we're having, huh New Yorkers?



I could photograph it and show it to the rest of you--because I just got my replacement camera in the mail!



I wish I'd had it for the GAMERS event last night so I could have documented the stack of books that disappeared in the eager hands of appreciative attendees*--we sold out! Whitney, Roland (who's in from Japan and I finally got to meet) & Nic (who lives here but somehow I'd also never met) were simply amazing, and Felicia hosted with her usual charm. I couldn't have asked for a better launch!



Thanks all!



*Note: "attendee" earlier was a typo! The place was packed. Thanks Flavorpill!