Tuesday, July 27, 2010

one of my goddamn poems published in NYQ #66



One of my poems (The Geometry Of Truth) is in the current issue of New York Quarterly






This issue also has an interesting craft interview with Bruce Weigl.
He admits that his impatience attracted him to poetry. He "liked how you could
cause a huge ruckus and then settle things up in a matter of lines."

He was also asked about the idea that nothing new can be said. "My response
would be so what...what's wrong with saying the old stuff again, hopefully in a way
that contemporizes the old ideas and makes them relevant again in our lives."

Reading that was comforting, because I often feel that its far easier to stumble
onto something "new." I am usually more impressed by instances
where something old is re-imagined or approached in an inventive manner.


There's another craft interview with Steve Cannon, who talks about his tendency to yell
"Read the goddamn poem" whenever poets preface their poems with background info
or explanations at live readings. "I'm a strong believer, if it ain't in the poem,
it ain't happening."


I considered writing in this blog about where my Geometry Of Truth poem came from,
but Cannon's words still echo in my head.


So here is an audio clip of me reading the damn poem at a local coffeehouse:


Saturday, July 17, 2010

Page vs. Virtual Page

There are more internet journals than you can shake browser at. Nowadays, some established print journals (TriQuarterly, for example) are becoming internet publications. So it's almost too easy to get sucked into Page vs. Cyber-Page debates when talking to other poets.



As a reader-

There is nothing like holding printed materials in your hand. The texture of the cover. The smell of the ink. The tactile experience of turning each page. The process lends itself to exploration. So I tend to "discover" poets to add to my list of favorites, more often in the pages of print journals.

On the other hand, the availability of online publications is great when you are looking for a specific poet. When someone catches your eye or piques your curiosity, it's great to have Google point out where you can immediately read more of their work.


As a poet-

I try to take advantage of both worlds. It's nice to know that I've got some poems "out there" in the pages of some print issues that might get read by people I will never meet.

But it's also good to know that if any of those people like one of my poems that they've stumble upon, they can easily find a few more floating around in cyberspace if they consult the Google oracle..



I should try to keep those kind of links updated on this blog, so here are a few to start with:


Three poems in an old issue of Southern Ocean Review

and one in an old issue of Tryst

Friday, July 2, 2010

new is the new old

I used to post on livejournal, whenever I succumbed to fits of narcissism
but it seems to have been taken over by pop-ups and spam,
so I decided to start this new blog for miscellaneous poetry updates.