29 May 2008
28 May 2008
hay(na)ku 2
Keith
Richards shouldn't
still be alive.
a Colorado University student by the name of Chris Caruso wrote this. as someone 8 months OLDER than Richards I find the poem hilarious.
there are many other provocative poems in The Hay(na)ku Anthology, Vol. II. editd by Jean Vengua & Mark Young it's just been publishd by Meritage Press in the US of A & xPress(ed) in Finland. because a poem of mine enjoys space with work by many poets I admire I rec'd a copy in the mail yesterday from Eileen Tabios inventor of the 3-line form. it'll take me some time to work my way thru this collection. but that will be as pleasant an activity as someone older than a Rolling Stone can imagine.
Eileen informs me that her press is offering a relase special offer. a copy of the book can be had for only $12 if orderd before 31 july 08. since you can't afford gas for that summer trip why not send a check to Meritage Press instead. then you'll not only have something to read as you pretend the backyard is a beach but you'll have a keeper for many summers to come.
Richards shouldn't
still be alive.
a Colorado University student by the name of Chris Caruso wrote this. as someone 8 months OLDER than Richards I find the poem hilarious.
there are many other provocative poems in The Hay(na)ku Anthology, Vol. II. editd by Jean Vengua & Mark Young it's just been publishd by Meritage Press in the US of A & xPress(ed) in Finland. because a poem of mine enjoys space with work by many poets I admire I rec'd a copy in the mail yesterday from Eileen Tabios inventor of the 3-line form. it'll take me some time to work my way thru this collection. but that will be as pleasant an activity as someone older than a Rolling Stone can imagine.
Eileen informs me that her press is offering a relase special offer. a copy of the book can be had for only $12 if orderd before 31 july 08. since you can't afford gas for that summer trip why not send a check to Meritage Press instead. then you'll not only have something to read as you pretend the backyard is a beach but you'll have a keeper for many summers to come.
27 May 2008
26 May 2008
prose rose
I was thinking of thorns when an ant began to nibble my ankle. perhaps that was another message. but I turnd off the machine when politicians saught to massage lube into my ear.
ankle: almost bottom. ear: almost top. asssault on entire body relentless. now my scars have scabs. the whole bloody bouquet wilts.
ankle: almost bottom. ear: almost top. asssault on entire body relentless. now my scars have scabs. the whole bloody bouquet wilts.
25 May 2008
24 May 2008
23 May 2008
22 May 2008
my day
I'm running from a mob carrying "Racists for Hillary" signs. I'm an old fart now & carry a rucksack over my shoulders but I go to the gym & manage to outdistance the beer bellies. I run into a field of cigaret butts but I leave the worn path. soon I discover a carpet of wild flowers. invitation of blue petals summons me to my knees. I unburden the rucksack & spread its contents among the flowers.
where to begin? here is the 2nd haynaku anthology & there a gentle stack of Faux chaps. Jeff Beam undresses on his pages. another naked man -- Tom Beckett -- slides down a question mark. I gather poems to my chest. some incise the flesh but I don't care. sun will cauterize skin already dark with brandings from poets long dead.
my year of losses continues. all I can do is read & write savor mango flavor & image of Sal Mineo in tighty whiteys. I finish my second cup of sumatra & plot the coming hours.
where to begin? here is the 2nd haynaku anthology & there a gentle stack of Faux chaps. Jeff Beam undresses on his pages. another naked man -- Tom Beckett -- slides down a question mark. I gather poems to my chest. some incise the flesh but I don't care. sun will cauterize skin already dark with brandings from poets long dead.
my year of losses continues. all I can do is read & write savor mango flavor & image of Sal Mineo in tighty whiteys. I finish my second cup of sumatra & plot the coming hours.
21 May 2008
beginnings of fandom
my Jimmy Stewart 100th birthday post brought back childhood memories of movie mania.
I was 5 when I saw my first movie star -- Gene Autry -- in person. I went to Cleveland Arena with my cousin Regina & her father. a year later Regina & I collectd Disney images which were printd on bread end labels.
we taped them together in long strings (perhaps in imitation of Aunt Sophie's shortsnorter?). I was probably 10 when I startd writing to movie stars requesting photographs. I suspect the impetus came -- again -- from Regina. here's her Stewart photo which I presume came from the era of the Anthony Mann westerns.
when she outgrew fandom Regina gave me her photo collection. she also gave me a stack of movie magazines. I clippd from some of them for the movie scrapbooks I began to keep in 1953 (see "Sonny's Scrapbooks" in the first issue of Court Green). if I kept them all these years I'd be sitting on a retirement nest egg.
at 12 I began a short correspondence with Joan Crawford & by high school I was interviewing Lila Lee & Vincent Price.
of course it's never stoppd. & now it so informs my writing that it's a part of me.
I was 5 when I saw my first movie star -- Gene Autry -- in person. I went to Cleveland Arena with my cousin Regina & her father. a year later Regina & I collectd Disney images which were printd on bread end labels.
we taped them together in long strings (perhaps in imitation of Aunt Sophie's shortsnorter?). I was probably 10 when I startd writing to movie stars requesting photographs. I suspect the impetus came -- again -- from Regina. here's her Stewart photo which I presume came from the era of the Anthony Mann westerns.
when she outgrew fandom Regina gave me her photo collection. she also gave me a stack of movie magazines. I clippd from some of them for the movie scrapbooks I began to keep in 1953 (see "Sonny's Scrapbooks" in the first issue of Court Green). if I kept them all these years I'd be sitting on a retirement nest egg.
at 12 I began a short correspondence with Joan Crawford & by high school I was interviewing Lila Lee & Vincent Price.
of course it's never stoppd. & now it so informs my writing that it's a part of me.
20 May 2008
James Stewart centennial
despite his appalling politics Stewart was one of Hollywood's legendary leading men. just look at the list of directors with whom he workd in a screen career of 57 years: Capra Cromwell Lubitsch Borzage Cukor Hitchcock Mann Wilder Preminger Ford Aldrich Siegel. & more often than not he appeard in some of the finest films made by these gentlemen.
Stewart was an early favorite of mine. this picture (which hangs in my guest bathroom) probably dates from the mid-50s. & in my papers at Kent there is a 1960 letter from the star.
it's been a while since I've seen the 1980 AFI salute to Stewart but my memory is that at the end of the program I'm visible in the circle of admirers waiting to congratulate the man. the only photo I have of myself even near Stewart is this rather bad one:
yup. I'm the penguin on the right. Stewart is shaking hands with agent John Springer. the event was a dinner honoring Bette Davis at Tavern on the Green in 1989.
19 May 2008
18 May 2008
at Aztec Cafe
my old friend Stan Krippner was in town with his friend Sidian Morning Star Jones. they were presenting a program at a weekend shamanism conference.
17 May 2008
16 May 2008
online
Klaus Thiemann has postd "Outlaw Dreams" on his site. it's the title poem from the little collection Bree brought out.
15 May 2008
14 May 2008
13 May 2008
Daniel's Way
poets rarely get respect. so it's lovely to know that the city of Cleveland renamed West 2nd St 3 years ago. it's now Daniel's Way -- in memory of Daniel Thompson.
Bree sent me the program for another celebration of the late poet. earlier this month Cleveland again did itself proud by unveiling a plaque in Daniel's memory.
Bree sent me the program for another celebration of the late poet. earlier this month Cleveland again did itself proud by unveiling a plaque in Daniel's memory.
12 May 2008
11 May 2008
extending autobiography
one of the glories of You Tube is that it allows us all to become documentarians.
several people are presenting their lives in a series of short videos. my favorite of these artists is Bill Fogle (aka Williepee). he doesn't allow embedding of his work so you'll have to go to seek him out. but that search will be worth the effort. he's had some life. & he continues to have one. & it's fascinating.
several people are presenting their lives in a series of short videos. my favorite of these artists is Bill Fogle (aka Williepee). he doesn't allow embedding of his work so you'll have to go to seek him out. but that search will be worth the effort. he's had some life. & he continues to have one. & it's fascinating.
10 May 2008
growing around me
my laissez-faire attitude toward plants -- both indoor & out -- means that what survives wants to.
but I still have greenness surrounding me which began elsewhere. & looking at such stems & branches brings back vivid memories.
as I type I can see a succulent from the Bodega Bay area where I went in 1994 to see where "The Birds" was shot. in my bedroom there's a plant which Billy cultivatd in Culver City from a starter he brought back from our trip to Catalina. also little plants I snippd from their parents at the Coral Sands in Hollywood & Beach Place in Ocean Beach. & on the sill of my kitchen window cactus from Aunt Mary's yard in Sun City.
when I left Kent I gave my huge nite-blooming cereus to Maggie Anderson but I did bring a piece crosscountry with me & it's in my bathroom (altho looking rather sickly at the moment).
& outside I try to hold onto several plantings from Winckles St. 3 rose of sharons which stay alive but never get as big as Dad's. & trumpet vine which my parents grew from a starter Aunt Sophie brought from Caledonia.
these living quotations from family & friends & travels bring me constant joy & comfort.
but I still have greenness surrounding me which began elsewhere. & looking at such stems & branches brings back vivid memories.
as I type I can see a succulent from the Bodega Bay area where I went in 1994 to see where "The Birds" was shot. in my bedroom there's a plant which Billy cultivatd in Culver City from a starter he brought back from our trip to Catalina. also little plants I snippd from their parents at the Coral Sands in Hollywood & Beach Place in Ocean Beach. & on the sill of my kitchen window cactus from Aunt Mary's yard in Sun City.
when I left Kent I gave my huge nite-blooming cereus to Maggie Anderson but I did bring a piece crosscountry with me & it's in my bathroom (altho looking rather sickly at the moment).
& outside I try to hold onto several plantings from Winckles St. 3 rose of sharons which stay alive but never get as big as Dad's. & trumpet vine which my parents grew from a starter Aunt Sophie brought from Caledonia.
these living quotations from family & friends & travels bring me constant joy & comfort.
09 May 2008
I confess
I watchd "Five" because it was primarily shot in a Frank Lloyd Wright house. & it looks stunning in rich black & white.
the post-apocalyptic film was releasd on my 8th birthday. despite script difficulties & some silly moments it's engaging. its star was William Phipps who appeard for some major directors in a long career which came to a conclusion with the cult fave "Sordid Lives." he may be best known for giving voice to Disney's Prince Charming.
the post-apocalyptic film was releasd on my 8th birthday. despite script difficulties & some silly moments it's engaging. its star was William Phipps who appeard for some major directors in a long career which came to a conclusion with the cult fave "Sordid Lives." he may be best known for giving voice to Disney's Prince Charming.
08 May 2008
thx Ray
once again Ray Craig honors me.
in his recent work Ray reproduces familiar literary covers on which he superimposes his trademark bathing suit figures. the trio of Gildzen at 50 pieces must've been a challenge. the original image is Ira Joel Haber's design for my bookplate. so we have two wildy different artistic styles vying for eye space.
07 May 2008
06 May 2008
05 May 2008
if it's spring
it must be time for the airing of the books.
& as I begin this long & slow process I'm weeding the collection yet again. sending more signd volumes to Kent State.
& as I begin this long & slow process I'm weeding the collection yet again. sending more signd volumes to Kent State.
04 May 2008
03 May 2008
looking at Marsden Hartley's New Mexico work
he began with pastels. they are representational & usually exquisite. then came the oils. he was here for just a bit more than a year. however abt 4 years later while in Berlin he began a series of New Mexico Recollections which are more abstract.
I'm fascinatd by this kind of vision. work -- while visual or in words -- seems to be more detaild when of the moment. but stepping back we fetch from our past what matters.
there is equal value in reportage & memory work. perhaps reporting is more skill & recollecting a deeper art. lookd at side by side provides a sweet journey.
I'm fascinatd by this kind of vision. work -- while visual or in words -- seems to be more detaild when of the moment. but stepping back we fetch from our past what matters.
there is equal value in reportage & memory work. perhaps reporting is more skill & recollecting a deeper art. lookd at side by side provides a sweet journey.
02 May 2008
another memory
as I prepare to return to Palm Springs at month's end I recall my first trip there. by accident I ran into George Montgomery.
he was a major Hollywood hunk in the 40s who later became a tv cowboy. for a while he was married to Dinah Shore. so his Palm Springs roots are deep. he also was a furniture maker. the museum (the backdrop for this photo) was having a retrospective of his work.
he was a major Hollywood hunk in the 40s who later became a tv cowboy. for a while he was married to Dinah Shore. so his Palm Springs roots are deep. he also was a furniture maker. the museum (the backdrop for this photo) was having a retrospective of his work.
01 May 2008
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