THE GILDED AGE OF KICKSTARTERS ... AND MORE

Grateful for this review of The Gilded Age of Kickstarters by Neal Leadbeater in the new Otoliths.  You can see it HERE, but here's an excerpt:

The Gilded Age of Kickstarters is a collection of 12 poems inspired by Kickstarter—an American public-benefit corporation based in New York that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creative projects such as films, music, journalism, video games, technology and food-related subjects. Eileen R. Tabios chose projects at random from Kickstarter and wrote poems inspired by their pages. 

The title hints at what is to come. The gilded age is a direct reference to Mark Twain’s novel of the same name which satirized an era of serious social issues that were masked by a thin veneer of gold gilding—a period that was, beneath the surface glitter, seething with corruption. The phrase also carries with it a suggestion of an age of glamour and superficial attraction. An obscure meaning of “to gild something” means “to supply with gold or money.” It also carries the connotation of glossing over something, of giving it a specious appearance. 

... These poems offer thoughtful insights and commentaries on the world in which we live. 

I share that excerpt because it seems ... odd ... to read that in light of the times...

HIRAETH POEMS IN NEW OTOLITHS!

Four months into 2017: 3 books (publishers in 3 different countries), two mini-books, a “pamphlet,” and a gazillion chapbooks courtesy of Locofo.That may be enough for me. Entonces, I pushed back a book from being released this year to a 2018 release. That would be HIRAETH: Tercets From The Last Archipelago.  But here’s two poems from it in the just-released Otoliths helmed by the brilliant Mark Young--you can see "English's Wandering Authenticity" and "Kohl's Stories" at

http://the-otolith.blogspot.com.au/2017/02/eileen-r-tabios.html

I’m in fine company this issue with Karl Kempton, Thomas Fink, Maya D. Mason, John Xero, John M. Bennett, D.J. Huppatz, Daniel de Culla, Seth Copeland, Texas Fontanella, Jim Leftwich, Robert Lee Brewer, Jim Hanson, Olivier Schopfer, William Repass, Steve Dalachinsky, Kyle Hemmings, Craig Cotter, Jon Cone, Dah Helmer, Michael Farrell, Peycho Kanev, Richard J. Fleming, Cecelia Chapman, Jeff Crouch, Jack Galmitz, Philip Byron Oakes, J.J. Campbell, Sanjeev Sethi, Tom Montag, Darren C. Demaree, Hart Broudy, Neil Leadbeater, Volodymyr Bilyk, Stephen C. Middleton, Aidan Semmens, Karen Greenbaum-Maya, Sneha Subramanian Kanta, Bill Wolak, Pete Spence, Clara B. Jones, Andrew Topel, Andrew Taylor & David Spittle, Marietta McGregor, Faleeha Hassan, Diane Keys, Jesse Glass, Kenneth Rexroth, Katrinka Moore, Daniel Y. Harris, osvaldo cibils, Thomas M. Cassidy, Eileen R. Tabios, David Lohrey, Edward Kulemin, Jared Chipkin, Lakey Comess, Baron Geraldo, Shataw Naseri, Logan K. Young, AG Davis, hiromi suzuki, Hugh Tribbey, Anne-Marie Jeanjean, Caleb Puckett, Drew B. David, Jeff Bagato, Márton Koppány, Louise Landes Levi, Jill Chan, Alain Robinet, Raymond Farr, Dennis Andrew Aguinaldo, Willie Smith, Joe Balaz, M A McDonald, Jim McCrary, Sian Vate, Heath Brougher, Owen Bullock, differx, Lynn Strongin, Marcello Diotallevi, Robbie Coburn, Carol Stetser, Chris Brown, Richard James Allen, Grzegorz Wróblewski, Jeff Harrison, David Harrison Horton, Sjoerd van der Weide, Joel Chace, Indigo Perry, Simon Perchik, Richard Kostelanetz, David Baptiste Chirot, Timothy Pilgrim, Nicole Pottier, Natsuko Hirata, Massimo Stirneri, Rebecca Eddy, Josh Smith, major stafford sternwall, John Pursch, Sheikha A., Mercedes Webb-Pullman, Jared Pearce, Keith Nunes, Jake Goetz, Allen Forrest, sean burn, Richard Skelton, Tom Beckett, Shloka Shankar, Seth Howard, Tony Beyer, Sam Langer, Bob Heman, Cherie Hunter Day, Aurélien Leif,  Catherine Fletcher, Johannes S. H. Bjerg, Pragya Vashishtha, Paul Pfleuger, Jr., Pam Brown, & Marilyn Stablein.

GALATEA RESURRECTS--THE APRIL EDITION

It looks like my switch from two issues a year to posting (almost) as soon as reviews are received is working out well.  Do go HERE to see Galatea's latest installment, though I'll cutnpaste below the April Table of Contents for convenience.

Click on title-links to be directed to the review or article

APRIL

daughterrarium by Sheila McMullin
Reviewed by Katie Hibner (4/28)

DONALD TRUMP IN  NORTH KOREA by Jared Schickling
Engaged by Eileen Tabios (4/27)

We Denizens by Jen Coleman
Engaged by Sam Lohmann (4/26)

Harpoon by Michael Cavendish
Reviewed by M. Earl Smith (4/25)

Claiming Breath by Diane Glancy
Engaged by Eileen Tabios (4/24)

THE CRITIC WRITES POEMS: Naomi Buck Palagi
(4/23)

If They Hadn't Worn White Hoods, 8 Million Would Have Shown Up in the Photographs by John Bloomberg-Rissman and Eileen R. Tabios
Reviewed by M. Earl Smith (4/22)

Introduction by Michael Boughn and Kent Johnson to RESIST MUCH / OBEY LITTLE: Inaugural Poems to the Resistance edited by Michael Boughn, John Bradley, Brenda Cárdenas, Lynne DeSilva-Johnson, Kass Fleisher, Roberto Harrison, Kent Johnson, Andrew Levy, Nathaniel Mackey, Rubén Medina, Philip Metres, Nita Noveno, Julie Patton, Margaret Randall, Michael Rothenberg, Chris Stroffolino,
 Anne Waldman, Marjorie Welish, Tyrone Williams
(4/21)

Egghead, or: You Can't Survive on Ideas Alone by Bo Burnham, with drawings by Chance Bone
Reviewed by M. Earl Smith (4/20)

On Poems On by Sandra Liu
Reviewed by Genevieve Kaplan (4/19)

Madison Hatta's Book of Unrelenting Rhymes, or: Madisonnets, Volume 2 by April Lynn James
Reviewed by M. Earl Smith (4/18)

FEATURED POET: Aileen Cassinetto
(4/17)

A Continuum of Force by Francesco Levato
      and
How to Zing the Government by Travis Macdonald
Reviewed by Andrew Rihn (4/12)

Port Light by William Allegrezza
Reviewed by Sheri Reda (4/10)

Stone by Naomi Buck Palagi
Engaged by Eileen Tabios (4/9)

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: An Election Cycle by Andrew and Donora A. Rihn
Reviewed by Steve Klepetar (4/8)

HISTORY NOW by Basil King
Engaged by Eileen Tabios (4/7)

Stubborn by Sheri Reda
Reviewed by Naomi Buck Palagi (4/6) 

If We Were Birds by Janine Harrison

     and

Donald Trump and the Pocket Oracle by Jared Schickling

Reviewed by Steve Klepetar (4/5)

POROUS BORDERS and FOUR PLUS FOUR by David Giannini

and

RICKSHAW CHASM with poems by David Giannini and collages by John Digby

Engaged by Eileen Tabios (4/3)

To Be An Empire is To Burn! by Eileen R. Tabios

     and

Twenty Moments That Changed The World by John C. Goodman

     and

The Prometheus Collage by Mary Kasimor

Reviewed by Freke Räihä (4/2)

I GET POETRY! SO I BUY POETRY! IT'S JUSTICE!

But before I share my recent purchases, perhaps you'll consider purchasing one of mine for a good cause: a poetry fundraiser for Youth Justice Coalition, an L.A.-based nonprofit working against the criminalization of youth of color. Click HERE for the fundraiser and if you scroll down you'll see reference to my book AMNESIA: Somebody's Memoir. I believe there's only one copy left of the ones I donated--if you buy this through the fundraiser, I'm happy to toss in another book or two when the book is sent to you!

**

(Some of the books purchased during the New Orleans Poetry Festival)

Here’s an update on moi Recently Bought Poetry List of books by poets or about poets/poetry.

SUCCUBUS IN MY POCKET by kari edwards

GHAZALS 1-59 AND OTHER POEMS by Sheila E. Murphy and Michelle Greenblatt

STATE OF EXILE, poems by Cristina Peri Rossi, trans. by Marilyn Buck

ELSA by Veronica Wong

ATOMS OF MUSES by Timothy Dyke

TENDER GIRL by Lisa Samuels

BY DIAMOND HEAD by Hank Lazer

VIRGINIA OR THE MUD-FLAP GIRL by Elizabeth Treadwell

PLAYING THE FORM by James Maughn

PROPOSED ADDITIONS by Donovan Kuhio Colleps

SISTA TONGUE by Lisa Linn Kanae

MANHATER by Danielle Pafunda

ENTANGLED BANK by James Sherry

THE EXPERIMENTS [A LEGEND IN PICTURES & WORDS] by Rachel May

LEAVES OF CLASS by Kit Robinson

WHERE’S MY RITSPIK by Lynn Young

LIVING PIDGIN: CONTEMPLATIONS ON PIDGIN CULTURE by Lee A. Tonouchi

OVER HEAR: SIX TYPES OF POETRY EXPERIMENT IN AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND by Lisa Samuels

DISTANT ROAD: SELECTED POEMS OF NGUYEN Duy, Trans. by Kevin Bowen and Nguyen Ba Chung

SAND OPERA by Philip Metres

CLAIMING BREATH by Diance Glancy

PENCIL LETTER by Irina Ratushinskaya

THE HATRED OF POETRY by Ben Lerner

FIELD GUIDE TO AUTOBIOGRAPHY by Melissa Eleftherion

SELF-PORTRAIT IN A CONVEXT MIRROR / HOUSEBOAT DAYS by John Ashbery

RESIST MUCH OBEY LITTLE edited by Michael Boughn Et Al.

THE PROMETHEUS COLLAGE by Mary Kasimor

TWENTY MOMENTS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD by John Goodman

WINTER ON WALL STREET by Eileen R. Tabios

WHAT SHIVERING MONKS COMPREHEND by The MDR Poetry Generator

COMPREHENDING MORTALITY by John Bloomberg-Rissman and Eileen R. Tabios

IMMIGRANT: Hay(na)ku & Other Poems In A New Land by Eileen R. Tabios

MENOPAUSAL HAY(NA)KU FOR P-GRUBBERS edited by Eileen R. Tabios

(Books purchased from a recent discovery, Half-Price Books in Berkeley, CA)

LOOKING BACK AT "MURDER, DEATH AND RESURRECTION"

For the past three years and until recently, my primary project was "Murder, Death and Resurrection” (MDR) which generated nine books/chapbooks and other poems and (exhibited) visual poetry. I have a conversation about it with Thomas Fink at Dichtung Yammer. But here’s an excerpt:

"Having said that, there is an artifice, if not artificiality, in my articulating the project to be one of murder, death and resurrection—these are weighty terms. Part of their weight, for me, is that I was raised a Christian and of course murder, death and resurrection are exactly what happened to Jesus Christ. The reference is weighty, the reference is solemn, the reference is fraught for me and (or because) the reference is deliberately blasphemous. But what was happening here was a deliberately and aggressively radical exhortation at myself to get my act together as regards the future of my poetry. I had felt stalled, and stalled deep. So I had to find a radical solution: murder.”

You can see entire conversation HERE.  Here are images for some of the publications generated by MDR:

The MDR also provided the title poem and theme to my first bilingual edition (English & Romanian), I FORGOT ARS POETICA:

You can see information about all the MDR projects HERE. It'd been "a glorious ride ..."! Thank you, Universe.

BOOKS TO BENEFIT YOUTH JUSTICE!!

I am so pleased to have my book AMNESIA: SOMEBODY’S MEMOIR be part of the second round of the Brew and Forge Book Fair! 100 authors donated signed copies of their books to benefit the Youth Justice Coalition, an LA organization fighting against the criminalization of youth of color. The Book Fair is open between now and May 7th! Gratitude to organizers Franny Choi, Tamiko Beyer, Lo Kwa Mei-en and Kenji Liu! Click on  https://squareup.com/store/brewandforge to see all the wonderful offerings!

I BURNT A BOOK!

nearly singeing off all of my hair!

What I do for art. And I did this for KQED's feature "First 100 Days: Art in the Age of Trump" which you can see HERE viz article entitled "Does it Matter if Trump Doesn't Read Your Protest Poetry?" by Jonathan Curiel.

This "performance art" warranted a rare Selfie, about which I noted on FB:

Next time I'll just walk on a thread between the penthouse suites of two skyscrapers ten miles apart. That'd be easier than it was to burn the chap! ... nearly singed of all of my hair when I finally figured out not to use a match (burn my hand before it'd light up a page) and never mind the candle (I did bring it out, Dan Waber, in good intentions) and finally opted for the most dangerous option: the stove fire. Don't panic, I made sure to wet the nearby sink so I could safely toss it there in case something went askew. And now the dog walker/photographer wants combat pay! (Performance art? I have new respect for those who allow scissors near their naked flesh.)

THE FILIPINO AMERICAN ARTIST DIRECTORY!

Janna Anonuevo Langholz

I'd been advising/supporting the Fil-Am Artist Directory, in part by editing its ekphrastic section--you are invited to participate HERE (and you need not be Filipino). The Directory is the brain-child of artist Janna Anonuevo Langholz and now they're going to have their first exhibit in Washington! It will open May 13 at Was Gallery. All the details are in this lovely Inquirer article by Walter Ang, whose illustrations include another artist  and Directory Advisor Isabela Manalo and me:

Isabela Manalo and Moi

Read all about it HERE! You are invited to know these artists and their works!

WELCOME PALOMA PRESS!

It's always lovely to see the birth of a new literary/arts press, in this case, PALOMA PRESS! I was happy to blurb its first poetry book, BLUE by Wesley St. Jo and Reme-Antonia Grefalda:

Never mind fairy tales! Reality can offer enchantment! As in BLUE’s unique tale of the luminosity in a pair of eyes expanding to blue the world with all the shades and nuance of a color that’s apt for many things literal or metaphorical: sky, sorrow, the ocean, sunlight, a telephone, “some yesterday tune,” and “belonging obviously to you" … 

Elsewhere, I also blurbed this forthcoming poetry collection:

On EGOCENTRICITY: TIME SPIN by Phyllis Ann Shaw: 

Phyllis movingly describes a life in these poems, a life that blossomed through “the growing pain of growing.” As she notes, “things … / cannot remain constant.” With empathy, she meditates over life’s moments and comes to share valuable lessons for the receptive reader. It is apt—and believable—that she ends her collection by sharing, “it has been told / … that things of gold / glitter // but I find / that other things shine.” Phyllis, herself, shines with these poems.

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

BLUE, poems by Wesley St. Jo and Reme-Antonia Grefalda (see above blurb)

EGOCENTRICITY: TIME SPIN, poems by Phyllis Ann Shaw (in manuscript; see above blurb)

CLAIMING BREATH by Diane Glancy (fabulous. LinkedIntoPoetryRecommendation (LPR) #265)

HISTORY NOW, poetry/memoir by Basil King (super and superb)

SELF-PORTRAIT IN A CONVEX MIRROR, poems by John Ashbery (my NaPoMo 2017 project—to disrupt the disruptive Ashbery)

POROUS BORDERS, poems by David Giannini (outstanding, unleavened)

RICKSHAW CHASM, poems by David Giannini and collages by John Digby (wonderful)

FOUR PLUS FOUR, poems by David Giannini (wonderful 2)

BLACKACRE, poems by Monica Youn

THE COLLECTED POEMS OF OCTAVIO PAZ 1957-1987, Edited by Eliot Weinberger

THE GILLES POEM: WINTER 2006 COLLECTION by Sabrina Calle

*  WHERESO, poems by Karen Volkmann

*  IN MEMORY OF AN ANGEL, poems by David Shapiro

*  GATES & FIELDS, poems by Jennifer Firestone

*  ON A CLEAR DAY, poems and lyric essays by Jasmine Dreame Wagner

*  CHRYSANTHEMUM MOON, poems by Gerry Grubbs

*  TRANSOM, poems by Rick Mullin

*  DATA PRIMER, poems by Marthe Reed

*  WEATHERED REPORTS: TRUMP SURROGATE QUOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND, poetry/art collaboration by Amy Bassin and Mark Blickley

*  POST-REEL, poems by Nate Logan

*  DONALD TRUMP AND THE POCKET ORACLE, poems by Jared Schickling

*  DEFYING TRUMPLANDIA, PART II: PITHY PEMINIST POETRY by Melinda Luisa de Jesus

*  POST HOPE, poems by Geneva Chao

*  SO THAT THEY SHALL NOT SAY THIS IS JEZEBEL, poems by Aliki Barnstone

*  POESY FOR THE POTUS … OUT DONALDCITO, poems by Chuck Richardson

*  SANCTUARY, poems by Therese Bachand

*  THE OWL STILL ASKING, poems by Kath Abela Wilson

*  DUMPED THROUGH, poems b Ronald Mars Lintz

*  THE INAUGURAL POEMS by John Bellinger

*  ADIOS, TRUMPLANDIA!, poems by Melinda Luisa de Jesus

*  IMPROVISATIONS AGAINST PROPAGANDA, poetry and vizpo by Jim Leftwich

*  SHATTERED WINDOW ESPIONAGE, poems by Matina L. Stamatakis

*  HOW FASCISM COMES TO AMERICA, poems by Steve Klepetar

*  OF GOOD COUNSEL, poems by Magus Magnus

*  LA POLICE, poems by Bill Lavender

*  WE ALL SAW IT COMING, poems by Bill Yarrow

*  NOVEMBER ODDS, poems by Gary Hardaway

*  THE BEAST TURNS ME INTO A TANTRUMBEAST, poems by Agnes Marton

*  PROSPECTORS, poems by Eric Mohrman

*  IF WE WERE BIRDS, poems by Janine Harrison

*  WE ARE NOT GOING AWAY, poems by Michael Vander Does

* THE MILO CHOIR SINGS WILD BOYS IN TRUMPLANDIA, poems by John Moore Williams

*  OCCUPY THE INAUGURAL, poems by Stephen Russell

*  BURNING TIDE, poems by James Robison

*  A RAGGED TEAR DOWN THE MIDDLE OF OUR FLAG, poems by Ron Czerwien

*  PRISON AND OTHER IDEAS, poems by Andrea Sloan Pink

*  I’M THE PRESIDENT, YOU ARE NOT, poems by Agnes Marton

*  FAHRENHATE, poems by Jackie Oh

*  WITHOUT METAPHORS, poems by Maryam Ala Amjadi

*  AUSTERE LIGHTS, poems by Ali Znaidi

*  GARDENING WITH WALLACE STEVENS, poems by Kathleen S Burgess

*  AT / WITH, poems by Gary Lundy

*  JAMES BROWN’S WIG AND OTHER POEMS by Melinda Luisa de Jesus

* DRIFTWOOD MONSTER: HAIKU FOR TROUBLED TIMES by Kath Abela Wilson

*  THEY WENT TO THE BEACH TO PLAY, poems by Wendy Taylor Carlisle

* INTERSYLLABIC WEFT, poems by Maria Damon, Adeena Karasick, and Alan Sondheim

*  THE ABSENCE OF THE LOVED, poems by Wade Stevenson

*  LITANIES SAID HANDEDLY, poetry, collage and performance by Ralph La Charity

*  THE SACRED QUIVER, haiku by Alysse Aallyn

*  HARPOON, poems by Michael Cavendish

FIELD GUIDE TO AUTOBIOGRAPHY, poems by Melissa Eleftherion

THE TATTERS, poems by Brenda Coultas

BRINK, poems by Shanna Compton

DICTEE, poetry/multi-genre by Theresa Hak Kyung Cha

NOTEBOOK AND SHEAVES, poems by Christopher Mulrooney

DAYS OF UNWITTING, poems by Cal Bedient

THE ROOTS OF A THOUSAND EMBRACES: DIALOGUES by Juan Felipe Herrera

THE RAIN IN PORTUGAL, poems by Billy Collins

BROOKLYN POETS ANTHOLOGY edited by Jason Koo and Joe Pan

[FILIPINO-AMERICAN EKPHRASIS / working title], poems by Joel Abellanosa (in manuscript)

* NEVERTHELESS, #SHEPERSISTED, NO. 3, poems edited by Barbara Jane Reyes

THE MARSH HAWK PRESS REVIEW, Spring 2017, edited by Mary Mackey

CONTEMPORARY LITERARY HORIZON, literary magazine curated by Daniel Dragomirescu

The section Power and/of/in Poetry in THE VOLTA, edited by Evie Shockley

THE HATRED OF POETRY, essay by Ben Lerner (wonderful! LPR #266)

THE POETRY PROJECT NEWSLETTER #251, April/May 2017 edited by Betsy Fagin

SHORT TALKS by Anne Carson

SLOW READING / SLOW SEEING, Cal Conversations monograph for Lyn Hejinian’s research seminar at U.C. Berkeley for exhibition, Berkeley Museum of Art, Jan. 18-April 20, 2017

A RIVER, ONE-WOMAN DEEP: STORIES by Linda Ty-Casper

FICTIONARY: NEW AND AWARD-WINNING STORIES by Jenny Ortuoste

WINES

2003 M. Chapoutier L’Ermite Ermitage

2009 David Duband Nuits-Saint-Georges

2014 Layer Cake Pinot Noir

2005 Fritz Haag Braueberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese

2013 Angela Estate pinot noir Willamette

2001 Ch. La Veille Cure Fronsac

2014 Ebner-Ebenauer Gruner Veltliner Weinviertel

2015 The Forager pinot noir Sonoma Coast

2014 Volunteer cabernet NV

2014 Frogs Leap zinfandel

2010 Domaine de la Janasse Torre d’Argile Cotes du Rhone

Wine Club (4/1)

1995 Blanc es Millenaires champagne

2004 Etienne Sauzet Chevalier Montrachet

2004 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet

2004 Robert Weil Kiedrich Grafenberg Trockenbeerenauslese

1971 Aldo Conterno Granbussia

1993 Robert Groffier Bonnes-Mares

1978 Gaja Sori San Lorenzo

1998 Henschke Hill of Grace

1990 Ch. d’Yquem
1961 Giacomo Conterno Barolo (madeirized)