What I'm Thinking About
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
1. It's a good thing I am in love with this blue & white & green & blue atmosphere-- my area of my planet has a lot of that.
2. Lizard on a screen.
3. A book of autobiographical micro-fictions.
4. People back in Brooklyn.
5. The difference between beauty and kitsch, between happiness and obliviousness.
6. The cost of it all. The literal cost. In shekels.
7. Litany as a means of avoidance.
8. Weirdness & movement.
9. "A genius is the one most like himself." --Thelonious Monk
10. Trayvon. The little boy at the restaurant the other day. The little boys sitting on the neighborhood sign who waved at us, and the security car that slowed down to look at them. Boys and men I've known. My country, my country, my country.
11. Who are my teachers? Who have I taught? Who's in my cohort?
12. All of us.
2. Lizard on a screen.
3. A book of autobiographical micro-fictions.
4. People back in Brooklyn.
5. The difference between beauty and kitsch, between happiness and obliviousness.
6. The cost of it all. The literal cost. In shekels.
7. Litany as a means of avoidance.
8. Weirdness & movement.
9. "A genius is the one most like himself." --Thelonious Monk
10. Trayvon. The little boy at the restaurant the other day. The little boys sitting on the neighborhood sign who waved at us, and the security car that slowed down to look at them. Boys and men I've known. My country, my country, my country.
11. Who are my teachers? Who have I taught? Who's in my cohort?
12. All of us.
Tuesday dance
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
(This guy's dance. In the second half of this Astrud Gilberto video. I am learning it.)
Poetrycrush
Monday, March 26, 2012
The website Poetrycrush has included me in their Hey, what are you reading? feature. My thanks to the editor, J. Hope Stein!
Earth axioms
Thursday, March 22, 2012
1. If something is mysterious, it's probably a ghost or good news.
2. You may discover a picture of yourself dressed in white on your mother's lap, discovering your fingers in the sunlight, revealing that you are part mystical being, part lemur. Yes, it's all true.
3. If you just smile and act pleasant, that's 80% of your job. The other 15% is remembering that your job is more than just smiling and acting pleasant. It could be called something like "to unfold" or "to kick ass." The missing 5% is a secret.
4. You are moving into the unknown at the speed of time.
5. There's all sorts of wildlife around.
More quotes
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Do I look too much like a crone?
--Mom at lunch
What the fuck are people doing in their homes?
--Brother looking at the internet
These leprechauns won't let me by.
How do I get 200 happinesses?
Guess I'll have to buy 'em doves.
Sometimes you just have to try stuff.
--Mom playing computer game
--Mom at lunch
What the fuck are people doing in their homes?
--Brother looking at the internet
These leprechauns won't let me by.
How do I get 200 happinesses?
Guess I'll have to buy 'em doves.
Sometimes you just have to try stuff.
--Mom playing computer game
Some out-of-contexts quotes from my mom
Thursday, March 15, 2012
It's like a friggin' Jenga puzzle.
Who wants to be haunted by a decision you made 25 years ago?
You guys were both experiments. [about me and my brother]
I prefer to eat like a snake.
News
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
1. I'm reading in the Stain of Poetry series in Brooklyn on Friday March 30th, with some lovely people. It will likely be my last reading in NYC for a while (at least a few months?) because I'm going underground to work on a couple projects. So come on out. It would be nice to see you.
2. Don't forget to look at the hawk cam.
3. I'm heading to Florida for a visit with fam. I may post dispatches from there. Stay tuned.
Ten for Friday
Friday, March 09, 2012
1. According to the show "Life after People," ten thousand years after people, wild horses will wander the shoreline of New York City. They will be shorter in stature, though, than their equine forebears.
2. Today I listened to Marc Maron's interview of Maria Bamford from a couple years ago on the WTF podcast. Maria! Bamford!
3. I read Diane Keaton's memoir, and now I want to watch Reds, but you can't stream it, so I might have to watch Baby Boom.
4. This is a look that is now called "ombre."
5. At around the same time Diane Keaton looked like that, I looked like this:
6. Then later in college, I too had ombre hair. But not on purpose. That was just my normal hair.
7. I have updated my cv. Also, I'm also thinking of calling my next book either Vita or News about My Plasma. (A friend's suggestion after hearing this poem.) Or maybe that's two books.
8. There are also one or two projects in the works for this summer. Stay tuned.
9. Meanwhile, I've been taking a lot of pictures of the sky.
10. I am working behind the scenes, weaving together the narrative threads. Spring ahead.
2. Today I listened to Marc Maron's interview of Maria Bamford from a couple years ago on the WTF podcast. Maria! Bamford!
3. I read Diane Keaton's memoir, and now I want to watch Reds, but you can't stream it, so I might have to watch Baby Boom.
4. This is a look that is now called "ombre."
5. At around the same time Diane Keaton looked like that, I looked like this:
6. Then later in college, I too had ombre hair. But not on purpose. That was just my normal hair.
7. I have updated my cv. Also, I'm also thinking of calling my next book either Vita or News about My Plasma. (A friend's suggestion after hearing this poem.) Or maybe that's two books.
8. There are also one or two projects in the works for this summer. Stay tuned.
9. Meanwhile, I've been taking a lot of pictures of the sky.
10. I am working behind the scenes, weaving together the narrative threads. Spring ahead.
March 6th Occasional Poem
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
I'm back from my travels and they're just beginning,
so I'll leave my suitcase on the floor like that. I'm feeling
ripple effects, finally becoming most like myself, this
totally different person. My own sunshine. My own
Clementine. A good witch, with activated
charcoal, memory cells all seeping into my gut
and all around me people are magic for real, making
humans out of their own cells or making me tea
or waking me up all wrapped and baroque in the middle
of a dream to shake my hand goodbye and tell me the weather
outside. Goodbye. Meanwhile the sky is faraway light blue,
a distant smoking father. Meanwhile March pauses, holding
still and making eyes at us. Pretending to be an Olympic
sprinter, waiting on the block. Pretending to be a ballet person
showing up early to put on eyelashes and sew the toe shoes.
A Broadway person, bouncing at the knees like that,
about to do a tune, with all the appropriate gestures.
so I'll leave my suitcase on the floor like that. I'm feeling
ripple effects, finally becoming most like myself, this
totally different person. My own sunshine. My own
Clementine. A good witch, with activated
charcoal, memory cells all seeping into my gut
and all around me people are magic for real, making
humans out of their own cells or making me tea
or waking me up all wrapped and baroque in the middle
of a dream to shake my hand goodbye and tell me the weather
outside. Goodbye. Meanwhile the sky is faraway light blue,
a distant smoking father. Meanwhile March pauses, holding
still and making eyes at us. Pretending to be an Olympic
sprinter, waiting on the block. Pretending to be a ballet person
showing up early to put on eyelashes and sew the toe shoes.
A Broadway person, bouncing at the knees like that,
about to do a tune, with all the appropriate gestures.
Chicago highlights
Sunday, March 04, 2012
Well, I went to the AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) conference, after having avoided it for several years. Here are some of my highlights (many of which were "off-site").
1. Pasta at Francesco's and conversation about movies, art, and Italian pop music.
2. Hearing of Maria's adventures in Malaysia and hearing her poetry. And she had the best t-shirt.
3. Lunch with Tayve and Dorinda. Talk of Staten Island, haunted places in Florida, and their new press-- Trio House!
4. Seeing Joe Pan at the Brooklyn Arts Press table. Their books look great.
5. Resting for a moment at the Ping Pong table (not a literal ping pong table-- the book fair table for the journal Ping Pong), talking to Christine, and admiring their posters.
6. The two older ladies at the reading who were like the judges from the Muppets. They approved of my reading, apparently.
7. Seeing long-lost friends from St. Paul (John!) and Kansas (Kate!).
8. jubilat tote bag.
9. (Free) dinner with friends. Scallops and wine.
10. Seeing Malena's beautiful face.
11. Kind words from J. and M. in the Hilton lobby.
12. Codeine cough syrup, homeopathic cough syrup, decongestants, lozenges, tea.
13. Falling asleep to Marc Maron interviews.
14. Ditching the conference for some off-site quality time on the South Side with poet mama friends, Lauren and Annmarie.
15. Seeing Kari, who I've known since age 15 (or 16?), and how some friends are deeply familiar, despite years apart.
16. Stopping by Dancing Girl Press open house and buying a laurel leaf tiara-headband, instead of more books.
17. How entering the Fine Arts building is like stepping back in time. (That elevator!) That building must be haunted, right?
18. Meeting Facebook friends and being greeted with, "Hey! Facebook friend!"
19. Reading Jen's chapbook on the plane and loving it.
20. My good deed of the conference: Talking nonsense to a fellow AWPer as we descended back into NYC to distract her from a bumpy landing.
21. Oh, my friends. What would I do without you? Really.
1. Pasta at Francesco's and conversation about movies, art, and Italian pop music.
2. Hearing of Maria's adventures in Malaysia and hearing her poetry. And she had the best t-shirt.
3. Lunch with Tayve and Dorinda. Talk of Staten Island, haunted places in Florida, and their new press-- Trio House!
4. Seeing Joe Pan at the Brooklyn Arts Press table. Their books look great.
5. Resting for a moment at the Ping Pong table (not a literal ping pong table-- the book fair table for the journal Ping Pong), talking to Christine, and admiring their posters.
6. The two older ladies at the reading who were like the judges from the Muppets. They approved of my reading, apparently.
7. Seeing long-lost friends from St. Paul (John!) and Kansas (Kate!).
8. jubilat tote bag.
9. (Free) dinner with friends. Scallops and wine.
10. Seeing Malena's beautiful face.
11. Kind words from J. and M. in the Hilton lobby.
12. Codeine cough syrup, homeopathic cough syrup, decongestants, lozenges, tea.
13. Falling asleep to Marc Maron interviews.
14. Ditching the conference for some off-site quality time on the South Side with poet mama friends, Lauren and Annmarie.
15. Seeing Kari, who I've known since age 15 (or 16?), and how some friends are deeply familiar, despite years apart.
16. Stopping by Dancing Girl Press open house and buying a laurel leaf tiara-headband, instead of more books.
17. How entering the Fine Arts building is like stepping back in time. (That elevator!) That building must be haunted, right?
18. Meeting Facebook friends and being greeted with, "Hey! Facebook friend!"
19. Reading Jen's chapbook on the plane and loving it.
20. My good deed of the conference: Talking nonsense to a fellow AWPer as we descended back into NYC to distract her from a bumpy landing.
21. Oh, my friends. What would I do without you? Really.
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