STORMY MONDAYS and MORE!

Recently delighted to provide a blurb for Skip Fox's forthcoming book. The image above is of his last--and recommended--book, SHEER INDEFINITE. I read his forthcoming STORMY MONDAYS in manuscript. Here's my blurb (first draft; unedited to show no mediation between me and text):

Skip Fox’s STORMY MONDAYS reveals a pensiveness borne of long and deep experience. Fortunately, what also is revealed is infinite desire for. For love. For life. For humor. For awe. For blasphemy. For wit (never forget wit). For your existence, Reader. And Skip Fox gets your attention with poems that do many things including enchant—“…enters through pores of music. Moment complete. Universals goosing each particular”—as well as memoir-prose that recalls things you, too, want to remember—“What was it like to have found it (poetry, open and fresh, incarnation pointing forward and back) as it came over the first years of the world’s horizon, when you could still search out Kerouac, say, and give him a blow-job if he wanted (purely out of respect).” There are gems here: it’s Skip Fox’s Monday. Push through and get into the smoke. Whatever happened before Monday, Monday also means a beginning. Read to feel the future lives offered by these fascinating word-doors.

Speaking of publications, here's my latest Relished W(h)ines update of recently imbibed books and wines.  As ever, please note that in the Publications section, if you see an asterisk before the title, that means a review copy is available for Galatea Resurrects!  More info on that HERE. 

PUBLICATIONS

STORMY MONDAYS, poetry/multi-genre by Skip Fox (in manuscript. Wonderful. See above blurb)

NOT WRITTEN WORDS by Xi Xi, poems trans. by Jennifer Feeley (What a feat! Marvelous voice. Just Awesome! LinkedIn Poetry Recommendation (LPR) #250) 

TOP 40, poems by Brandon Brown (fabulous verve and wit. LPR #246)

THE SONG OF THE DEAD by Pierre Reverdy, poems translated by Dan Bellm (had me vibrating on my seat the poems are so goooood! LPR#248)

NIGHT SKY WITH EXIT WOUNDS, poems by Ocean Vuong (wonderful: perhaps the most polished first poetry book I’ve read in the past ten years or so. LPR #247)

ABANDONED ANGEL: NEW POEMS by Burt Kimmelman (light articulated. LPR #249)

THE FEVER ALMANAC, poems by Kristy Bowen (ravished and ravishing)

ROUGE, poems by KIMBERLY LYONS (worthwhile reading, if only for the stellar poem “Inhabited Nothingness Chair”)

OR, THE AMBIGUITIES, poems by Karen Weiser (fabulous, even pleasurable)

THE RAPTURE OF EDDY DAEMON (A Posthuman Homage to Shake-Speares Sonnets), poems by Daniel Y. Harris (impressive and fresh—met its ambition to pay homage to Shakespeare’s sonnets)

THE TORNADO IS THE WORLD, poems by Catherine Pierce (meticulously wrought; enlivens the disaster poem)

WRITTEN IN THE DARK: FIVE POETS IN THE SIEGE OF LENINGRAD by Gennady Gor, Dmitry Maksimov, Sergey Rudakov, Vladimir Sterligov and Pavel Zaltsman, edited by Polina Barskova with translations by Anand Dibble, Ben Felker-Quinn, Ainsley Morse, Eugene Ostashevsky, Rebekah Smith, Charles Swank, Jason Wagner and Matvei Yankelevich

ALPHABET NOIR, poems and poetry by Nico Vassilakis

NOT WRITTEN WORDS by Xi Xi, trans. by Jennifer Feeley

AMNESIA OF THE MOVEMENT OF CLOUDS & OF RED AND BLACK VERSE, poems by Maria Attanasio, trans. Carla Billitteri

COMING TO JAKARTA: A POEM ABOUT TERROR by Peter Dale Scott

*  THE ROU OF ALCH, poems by Pablo Katchadjian, trans. by Victoria Coccaro and Rebekah Smith

*  PACIFIC STANDARD TIME, poems by Kevin Opstedal

*  WANDERING HONG KONG WITH SPIRITS, poems by Liu Waitong, trans. by Enoch Yee-lok Tam, Desmond Sham, Audrey Heijns, Chan Lai-kuan and Cao Shuying

*  BREACH OF TRUST/ ABUSO DE CONFIANZA, poems by Angel Escobar, trans. by Kristin Dykstra

*  BRAZILIAN IS NOT A RACE, poems by Wendy Trevino

*  THE RATIO OF REASON TO MAGIC: NEW & SELECTED POEMS by Norman Finkelstein (much intelligence)

*  SOME WORLDS FOR DR. VOGT, poems by Matvei Yankelevich

*  SAVED TWILIGHT: SELECTED POEMS by Julio Cortazar, Trans. by Stephen Kessler

*  RED FLASH ON A BLACK FIELD, poems by Joseph Donahue

*  AIR ON THE AIR: SELECTED POEMS OF JUAN SANCHEZ PELAEZ, translated by Guillermo Parra

*  PRELUDE TO A BRUISE, poems by Saeed Jones

*  A SERIES OF UN/NATURAL/DISASTERS, poems by Cheena Marie Lo

*  FIELD GUIDE TO THE END OF THE WORLD, poems by Jeannine Hall Gailey (review copy available as .pdf)

BEAUPORT, poetry by Kate Colby

ALL THINGS LOSE THOUSSANDS OF TIMES, poems by Angela Penaredondo

PLATO’S CLOSET, poems by Lawrence Giffin

FRANKLINSTEIN, poems by Susan Landers

*  SEED IN SNOW by Knuts Skujenieks, trans. by Bitite Vinklers

*  BLINDSIGHT, poems by Greg Hewett

*  PLUCKING THE STINGER, poems by Stephanie Rogers

*  STILL LIFE WITH FLIES, poems by Eduardo Chirino, trans. by G.J. Racz

*  A TALE OF MAGICIANS WHO PUFFED UP MONEY THAT LOST ITS PUFF, poetry by Kaia Sand

*  OF BEINGS ALONE, poems by Lissa Wolsak

*  A STRANGE INSOMNIA, poems by Christina Cook

*  FLESHGRAPHS, poems by Brynne Rebele-Henry

*  AFTERLIVES, poems by Micah Ballard

* HERMETIC CITIES & OTHERS, poems by Derek Fenner

*  EQUILIBRIUM, poems by Tiana Clark

*  FLOUNDERS, poetry by Shira Dentz

SHEER INDEFINITE: SELECTED POEMS 1991-2011 by Skip Fox

MINIMA ST., poems by Joseph Massey

NOAH’S BOAT, poems by CB Follett

THE THINKING EYE, poems by Jennifer Atkinson

ASCENSION: POETRY OF A VILLAGE TAOIST by Rene Navarro (in manuscript)

POETRY IS: JOSE GARCIA VILLA’S PHILOSOPHY OF POETRY edited by Robert L King

SHAKESPEARE: THE INVENTION OF THE HUMAN, study by Harold Bloom

POSITIVE MAGNETS, Issue 1, poetry zine featuring Jamie Felton, Jeff Miller, Kevin Opstedal, Edmund Berrigan, Stephen Ellis, Jess Mynes, Stacey Szymaszek and Hoa Nguyen

THE ASIAN AMERICAN LITERARY REVIEW, Spring 2016, edited by Lawrence-Minh Bhui Davis and Gerald Maa

THE ENIGMATIST, Vol. 11, 2016, poetry journal edited by Mike and Joyce Gullickson

TRICKSTERS & COSMOPOLITANS: CROSS-CULTURAL COLLABORATIONS IN ASIAN AMERICAN LITERARY PUBLICATIONS, race & ethnic study by Rei Magosaki

THE VIOLET HOUR: GREAT WRITERS AT THE END, study by Katie Roiphe

AMERICA 1933: THE GREAT DEPREESSION, LORENA HICKOCK, ELEANOR ROOSEVELT, AND THE SHAPING OF THE NEW DEAL, history by Michael Golay

THE DOG MERCHANTS: INSIDE THE BIG BUSINESS OF BREEDERS, PET STORES AND RESCUERS, journalism by Kim Kavin

THREE CUPS OF DECEIT, journalism by Jon Krakauer

THE  NOVEL OF JUSTICE: SELECTED ESSAYS 1968-1994 by N.V.M. Gonzalez

WHAT WE DO: ESSAYS FOR POETS by Michael Gottlieb

DEAD LETTER, novel by Jocelyn Saidenberg

THE GRAY MAN, novel by Mark Greaney

BACK BLAST, novel by Mark Greaney

LIBERTY’S LAST STAND, novel by Stephen Coonts

WINES

2013 Sequoia Grove cabernet NV

2009 Selvapiana Vigneto Bucerchiale Chianti Rufina

2007 J. Schram North Coast

1999 J. Schramm Late Disgorged Brut, North Coast, 50^th Anniversary Edition

2012 J. Davies “Jamie” cabernet Diamond Mountain, NV

2011 Cremant Demi-Sec North Coast

2009 Artadi

2014 Eric Bordelet “Poire Granit”

1999 Corison cabernet

Delamotte Brut champagne

2011 Comte Lafon Clos de la Barre Meursault

Domaine Carneros Brut Rose

2015 Frog’s Leap “La Grenouille Rougante” Valdiguie

2013 Matthiasson cabernet NV

2015 Elio Perrone “Bigaro” Moscato, Bruchetto Piedmont

2014 Henri Boillot Puligny Montrachet Clos de la Roche

2009 Sierra Cantabria La Nieta

2007 Ch. Paradis Terre des Anges Provence

2013 Zakin Family Estate cabernet NV

2011 Bastide Miraflors Sarl Lafage

2014 Cayuse pear cider

Champagne Delamotte MV

2010 St. Clair Brown zinfandel NV

2007 Cayuse syrah En Chamberlin Vineyards, Walla Walla Valley

2014 Leroy Maison Loire

1995 The Malcolm Barossa Valley

PROOFING ROMANIAN

Living in indigenous time means I'm global. So I was up past midnight proofing the pages sent from Romania for my first bilingual edition, I FORGOT ARS POETICA / AM UITAT ARTA POETICĂ. I'm very pleased with the job they're doing--here's my front cover. Design was their decision and they put a grave on it. Perfectly fine with me--I try not to challenge how others read my poems. I'll also share the back cover where they chose to highlight from and old (and lovely) review by the generous Anny Ballardini. Very grateful to the translators from the Univ. of Bucharest -- I shall cherish you always Roxana Doncu, Teodor Panait, Elena Ţăpean, Gabriela Apetrei, and Iulia Andreea Anghel. Good morning and I'm off to bed!

THE GILDED AGE OF KICKSTARTERS!

With much gratitude to Kristy Bowen and her dancing girl press & studio, my first chapbook for 2016 has just been released! I hope you check it out HERE! Here's a brief description:

The Gilded Age of Kickstarters presents a dozen poems inspired by 12 Kickstarter fundraising pages chosen at random. The covered fundraising projects are varied, ranging over gluten-free bakers, a scientist's documentary, a peace plan by zombies, art and children's books, eyebrow wax strips, French boot designers, a dance company, a game of plastic bones, a banjo pick, a Sri Lankan cuisine cookbook and a vegetal cyborg. They all attest to our shared zeitgeist!

(Naturally, I borrowed that zeitgeist reference from you, John!)

I'LL BE UP IN LIGHTS!

... well, not "I" but an excerpt from my forthcoming book-length poem, THE OPPOSITE OF CLAUSTROPHOBIA: Prime's Anti-Autobiography due to be my second book released in the U.K., thanks to Knives, Forks and Spoons Press. Here's the excerpt that will be up in lights as part of the Blackppool Illuminations Festival 2016:

How very exciting! My thanks to Alec Newman for including my poem. My poetry does love to travel!

And thank you Arts Council of England!

SUPPORT CA+T WITH SOME AMNESIA!

Would you like an advance, signed copy of my book AMNESIA: Somebody's Memoir? You can get it through an online fundraiser for a fabulous organization, the Center for Art and Thought. GO HERE for the fundraising link (scroll down about mid-page). And if you alert me that you've donated/ordered, I will send you another of my forthcoming books for free!

I'm delighted to support the Center for Art and Thought. Here's info about them:

The Center for Art and Thought (CA+T) is a web-based arts and education 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. From our award-winning web platform, we take the Philippines and Filipinos as a point of departure for thinking about culture globally. The Philippines, where global processes like colonialism, migration, and globalization come together, is an ideal starting point for understanding pressing contemporary global issues, from labor migration to environmental crises. CA+T’s virtual platform presents creative and scholarly works exploring these questions through four cornerstone programs: 1) Curated Exhibitions, 2) Commissioned Works, 3) a DIALOGUES series of moderated, thematically-driven conversations, and 4) a one-of-a-kind Artist-in-Residence Virtual Residency program.

HALO-HALO IS FRESH!

And not just because halo-halo is a refreshing dessert!  I've just released the third issue of THE HALO-HALO REVIEW's Mangozine! Click on link for refreshing takes on Filipin@ literature!  The issue includes--and I'm grateful for--reviews of

THE CONNOISSEUR OF ALLEYS reviewed by Leny M. Strobel; go HERE for review but here's an excerpt

Imagine a string of over a thousand lines offering Beauty and Poet whispering: Do not Forget. 

I accept this gift. Here, the Poet’s elision of her authorial voice (I forgot) offers me, as a reader, the gift of renewing my second sight—where its gifts often hide in alleys sidelined by socially-condoned consensual reality shaped by what we are now willing to admit as the failure of the modern narrative.

THE CHAINED HAY(NA)KU PROJECT reviewed by Chris Mansel; go HERE for review but here's an excerpt:

The first section of the book is a twenty-four-page poem composed by those that curated the book, Ivy Alvarez, John Bloomberg-Rissman, Ernesto Priego & Eileen Tabios. The title of the poem is “Four Skin Confessions” it is separated into six different sections and written in three lines each time. It begins, “The/ body judges/ better than the / mind.” In some way this could describe the entire book. We are all products of or environment. It all seeps in. Towards the very back of the book there is a thirty-one-page conversation between the writers of this poem on the construction of the piece and it by far the biggest reason you should buy this book. It is quite a fortunate thing to be able to eavesdrop on a collaboration such as this.

VERSES TYPHOON YOLANDA reviewed by Mary Kasimor; go HERE for review but here's an excerpt:

VERSES TYPHOON YOLANDA is about a tragedy and how it affects the human spirit. It is about gathering up the pieces and mourning death and other losses. The poets whose work are included in this book have many styles. There are “professional” writers and poets and then there are those poets who are writing their poems from their hearts. Nonetheless, all the poems are emotional responses to loss through major disaster and in the end, how people deal with this loss—whether through their strong belief in religion or in the human relationships that keep people bonded and strong. This is a collection of poetry worth reading because of the heartfelt sadness. I have not ever read a collection of poetry quite like this—devoted to the topic of a natural disaster.

I also offer an online reprint of my Introduction to the Poetry Section of SCREAMING MONKEYS, an important anthology on Asian American images put out in 2003 by Coffee House Press.

There are many more valuable topics -- hope you peruse, read and enjoy Mangozine #3 from THE HALO-HALO REVIEW!

CHICKENS AND TERMITES

are among those deconstructed in my new essay about poetry marketing (and more, of course).  Thanks to Mark Young for publishing "When Poetry, Aided by Chickens, Took Revenge Against the Termites" in the latest issue of Otoliths.  You can go HERE for the essay, but here's a photo-teaser of a dog grieving 30 copies of THE THORN ROSARY thrown out with the basura over in Santo Tomas (the essays explains why):

Here's the Table of Contents for the new Otoliths which contains, as ever, a multiplicity of joys!