Marilyn 100

 to celebrate Marilyn Monroe's centennial Palm Springs is putting on 4 days of events.  the biggest was today -- breaking the world record for number of Marilyn impersonators in one place at one time.

the city sold a packet of wig & dress. rather than get into them & becoming a footnote in the Guinness record books I optd to create my own piece within the gathering near the Marilyn statue to count those dressing up.  so I cleand up with the bar of soap I bought at Quaker Square 50 years ago. I pin'd my Marilyn pandemic mask made by Cesar Julio to a baseball cap. & I gatherd up materials for my piece. 

I had some Marilyn post-its. I brought them & askd people in costume to imprint their lips on a post-it & then sign it. I askd men & women   people I knew & strangers. among them were photographer Stephen Baumbach & dear Marshall Pearcy (Dottie from Les Dames du Soleil). perhaps the most interesting was professional Marilyn impersonator Shelley Michelle. she is an ambassador for Billion Dollar Marilyn Lipstick & was actually wearing it when she kissd the post-it.

I didn't get as many as I'd hoped. it was hot & I was juggling the post-its & the book they were going into & a pen & my phone as well as having a tote hanging from my shoulder. but I did create my own work.

POSTCARD FOM CLEVELAND

somewhere

in a drawer

or family album

there mite be

a postcard

Anna May Wong

wrote

while on a press junket

a postcard

whose stamp

was lickd

by a teenage fan

she enlistd

to help her

a postcard

on which mingles

the DNA

of a movie legend

& a young poet

a postcard

on which they live

together forever

______________________________

for the origin of this poem see my Facebook post for this morning

"A Litter of Lists"

 in Postcard Memoirs I wrote:

"compiling lists began early. I remember writing down lists for Santa but I also recall going thru mailorder catalogs & keeping a mental tabulation of the one thing I wantd on each page. once when I was home from school in bed with a cold I startd a notebook in which I listd my favorite actors & tallied the movies I'd seen them in. eventually I kept lists of nominations for my own film awards.   ..."

so even before writing poems there were lists. a while ago I got the idea to bring some of that activity together. I creatd a manuscript I calld "A Litter of Lists." here were the actual chapbooks of lists but also poems & other musings which include them. all this spanning 55 years of publication. because it's not a normal collection I wonderd if it wd ever see print.

then one day at lunch at Billy Reed's I mentiond it to the publishers of Sibling Rivalry Press. Bryan Borland nearly jumpd from his seat & thrust his hand over our plates of pie saying he'd publish it. we shook hands.

& now the day has come. the press will issue the book next month. here's some of what they say abt it: "Formally inventive and deeply intimate, A Litter of Lists blurs the boundaries between poetry, archive, and memoir—offering a singular exploration of memory, attention, and the art of preserving a life."

it's available for pre-order now.

my newest list

 I've shaken hands

with

Jane Wyman

Chita Rivera

Stanley Crawford 

Margaret Tafoya

Pablita Velarde

Yomo Toro

Haskell Wexler

Richard Farnsworth

Eliseo Rodriquez

Donovan Leitch

Jan-Michael Gambill

Howard Dean

Elmer Schooley

Meinhardt Raabe

Gavin Newsom

Martin Heinrich

Kaye Ballard

Clu Gulager

Scotty Bowers

Trini Lopez

Nancy Pelosi

Bryan Borland 

Robert Garcia

Stephen Fry

but

I've kissd

Ava Gardner's hand

Swimming / pool

 Swimming -- the last of my trio of verse journals -- was written between Memorial Day 1974 & 15 sept of that year.

r.j.s. publishd an edition of "about 235 copies" in 1976. my bibliography states that "about 190 copies" had hand-paintd covers by Mary Ann Begland with another 40 copies lacking the cover.

earlier this month I began work on a book project & needed to consult Swimming. in my search for a copy I discoverd 100 copies of the title page which the publisher gave me.I had totally forgotten abt them.

most of the poems in the book centerd on my use of the swimming pool at my home in Twin Lakes OH. I now live in a condo in Palm Springs CA & swim every morning. I knew I had to bring the me of then together with the me of 52 years later.

so I got out of bed on this my 83rd birthday at 4:44 & did my morning exercises. I squeezd half a homegrown grapefruit. after scrolling thru a surprising amount of online greetings I had a spoon of Hemet honey. then I slippd into my white Armani speedo. I put on my Monterey Bay Inn bathrobe with one of "85 Envelopes" in one pocket & a page from Gildzen at 50 that I used in my piece "Gildzen at 80" in the other. I grabbd the pile of title pages & my Blue Moon towel & walkd to pool #8. I circled the pool with the pages. then I went in for my swim. afterward I gatherd the pages & dried off. then I walkd down the street to El Jefe for my usual saturday breakfast & I gave my server Ricky the first of the pages.

my guys

 from time to time I take an interest in certain men. I hesitate to call it obsession because of the negative connotation of that term. more so fascination.

currently there are 2 who intrigue me. Carlos Alcaraz (even tho I know naught abt tennis nor care to) & Jacob Elordi whose performance as the Creature in the current "Frankenstein" feels destined to become a classic.

they seem to be everywhere on social media & in the press. each in his own way is attractive but there also is an intelligence which charms me. & a dedication to the work.

within 24 hours each sufferd big career losses. I suspect the level of grace both bring to these disappointments will help define their characters. they are both in their 20s & already have tasted celebrity. one presumes their fame will continue to grow. & how they handle it will be part of who they become. I hope I will be able to continue to find them attractive.

Roberta Elzey Berke. (1943-2025)

 

"boulabaise"

we contain a reservoir of data. & sometimes a word will emerge from that & fly onto my lips .  this is from this morning. 

Bankside Ghost Sign

 

welcome home Liam

 

Palm Springs International Film Festival

 here are a couple of photos I took at last nite's awards gala.

in both actresses hold their Chihuly-designd award while hugging their presenter.

                                Amanda Seyfried & Ethan Hawke

                                Kate Hudson & Rob Marshall

Capodanno 2026 Palm Springs

 last nite: dinner at my neighbors. followd by a little poetry reading (at her request) which began with "Capodanno 1984   Venezia." I brought along the mask from Taverna La Fenice.

this morning: out of bed at 4:44. start load of laundry. morning exercises. squeeze half a grapefruit from tree outside bedroom window. check mail (celebrity obits & junk). spoon of Hemet honey. take off Monterey Bay Inn robe. put on white speedo. head to pool to greet the Andrews Sisters but stop'd by rain. return to put on Elyria sweatshirt & rippd jeans. breakfast of cereal in one of Julia's bowls & dark roast in Trevor's naked men mug.

after one of the darkest years in our nation's history I'm ready for a new year to bring justice against the criminals who spread hate in the name of religion & to restore dignity to a country nearly undone by fascism.

ho ho ho

                         Higbee's   Cleveland   1947

                                     Market Market   Palm Springs    2025

obituary for a gay landmark

 I first stayd at Canyon Club in 2013. on a visit the following year I found a black Bike jockstrap there. I'm wearing it now.

I'm wearing it because the gay clothing optional resort a block away from the Poet's Bench is closing. word is that the new owners will refurbish it but also degay it. this follows the shutting down of so many gay places of fable & merriment. soon young gays won't know what clothing optional resorts were. maybe gay bars too. thank you internet.

yes the physical quality of the place was in decline but it has many stories to tell.

my dear friend Bob took a great photo there of 2 naked men walking side by side toward the maze. not so long after a smidgen of his ashes were scatterd in that maze. & a sprig of the shrub above those ashes is now in my piece "box of little bags." when I did my piece "Bob Loves Lucy" I put one of the stamps in a locker one passes to get to the maze.

Canyon Club makes several appearances in Alex in Movieland. & this jockstrap shows up in several poems. one of them I read (with the jock hanging beside me) in Steven Reigns' "Subversive Ink" video in 2020.  I also made a little film of me reading a poem abt the maze while walking in the maze (available on You Tube).

in my last Santa Fe photo shoot JC Gonzo shot me both in & out of the jockstrap. also a circle of cord from the resort now rests in my piece "Billy's Chest."

strangely while writing this I sippd coffee from a random mug. as if it were meant to happen I realizd I unknowingly reachd for a mug I bought at another gay clothing optional resort -- Elysium in Fort Lauderdale. out of curiosity I goggld it & shockingly discoverd that it too recently shutterd.

so as the doors of Canyon Club close I present this as a way of keeping its memory alive for future generations. & tonite I'll slip out of this jockstrap hoping it still has some adventures ahead.

                                                    

                                    still from "Subversive Ink" (2020)

    

                        my favorite of the photos I took at Canyon Club

                         from "Billy's Chest."  see above photo for reference.

                           cover of my coloring book. orange building on the left is Canyon Club.                

Thxgiving

 it's no secret that I enjoy time on the patio chatting with birds & lizards. but today was special. I was sitting in the last of the day's sun when a rabbit poked out of the big bush which birds live in. he stoppd when he saw me. I began to speak quietly & slowly. his ears twitchd but he stayd in place. he didn't engage but finally felt comfortable enuf to sniff around for fallen berries. I tried to be cheerful. he appeard to not really care what I was saying. & finally he skippd by right in front of me.

it felt good to have met a potential new friend.

my Sherwood Anderson sonnet

 

                                                       Toucan (Winter 1968)         

a milestone addition

 near the entrance to Budman Studio is a vessel full of marbles. Jim invites visitors to take one. I see that as an art piece.

of course I was eager to have one. I chose a small one knowing immediately that I'd put it in "box of little bags." that piece began in 2018 when I found a penny in the sauna at my gym. as I baggd & labeld the Budman marble I realizd it's the 100th item in my work.

I love when art overlaps.

letters

 they've always been important to me. & the archivist in me developd at an early age because I saved them.

in my collection at Kent State the first letter in that vast holding was from the children's writer Lois Lenski. she was responding to a fan letter I wrote to her at age 10.

unfortunately a downside of technology is our group abandonment of letter writing. it's all quick e-mails. & yes I'm guilty too. so when I got a real letter yesterday I was thrilld. & its content elevatd my excitement.

I consider my gift of nearly 40 pieces from my art collection to the Allen Museum on the campus of Oberlin College to be one of the good things I've done in life. I will always cherish the memory of my first visits there. my first exposure to real art. to know that from time to time a piece that once adornd my walls is now on view for many makes me feel good.

I hope you don't find it immodest of me to share this letter but I'm feeling rather proud.

over the years

 I've had ideas for books that still rattle in my head but rarely leave that place.

one mite be calld "Witness to History." I envision a group of chapters each focusing on the life of someone who accidentally saw something everyone remembers. & how being a footnote to history effectd the rest of that person's life. the impetus came from Mary Ann Vecchio. she was 14 years old when her image became iconic. she was "the girl in the photo" when she was on the Kent State campus at the moment of the murders.

the second person whose life I wantd to consider was Betty Bersinger. she was the one who discoverd the body of Elizabeth Short. if you know my work you know I've had an enduring fascination with the Black Dahlia case.

just tonite I learnd that Bersinger died 2 years ago at the age of 103. although she gave some interviews during her life she was reportd to have spent periods when she tried to avoid any connection to the famous case.

I know that book will never be written by me but I'd love to read it. & I gladly give the idea to anyone who wishes to do the research.

sorry

 for my absence.

I'm not sure why I've been away from here. I cd blame it on the discomfort I feel living in a country going down the toilet. but I still post regularly on social media. if you really miss me you can check in on FB & IG.

I don't know how to catch up. perhaps a glance back at this past weekend. it was our annual Pride on the Page. a chance to hear & connect with LGBT writers. & there was a poetry reading. I remember when they were such an important part of my life. now less frequent. this reading had a half dozen poets. for me the most powerful was Steven Reigns who did a selection from his new book Outliving Michael.