I was hanging out in the kitchen, fussing over a batch of fresh kale with peanut sauce, when I heard this loud chirping, something akin to when you walk by the bird section of a pet store. It sounded like a whole covey of chatty avian creatures (or however one might refer to a group of passerines), but I was preoccupied with the peanuts, peanut butter, and peanut oil, so I just assumed the birds on the side of the house were extra chirpy this evening.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
A Game of Cat & Bird
I was hanging out in the kitchen, fussing over a batch of fresh kale with peanut sauce, when I heard this loud chirping, something akin to when you walk by the bird section of a pet store. It sounded like a whole covey of chatty avian creatures (or however one might refer to a group of passerines), but I was preoccupied with the peanuts, peanut butter, and peanut oil, so I just assumed the birds on the side of the house were extra chirpy this evening.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
The Life/The Writing Life
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Kelli Russell Agodon's 2010 Release Wins ForeWord Prize
Kelli Russell Agodon's highly acclaimed book, Letters from the Emily Dickinson Room (White Pine Press 2010), just won the Gold in the 2011 ForeWord Prize. Congratulations, Kelli!
Friday, June 24, 2011
One Piece of Advice from Poetic Asides
Robert Lee Brewer is featuring, on his blog Poetic Asides, bits of advice he's received from poets that he's interviewed over the years.
you die without knowing
whether anything you wrote was any good
if you have to be sure don't write
Monday, June 20, 2011
Ren Powell's Mercy: New & Selected Poems
I've been reading and enjoying Ren Powell's, Mercy Island New & Selected Poems. These strange, entrancing and beautiful poems lead us into a world crawling with creatures--cicadas, rhesus monkeys, turtles, baboons, a looming red-eared slider--along with a compelling cast of human characters. These are borderless, luminous creations written by a poet of witness who leads us across continents and states of consciousness with an honesty that is both elusive and accessible. Powell's lens looks straight into the horror of violence and terror, but what she shares with her reader is the resounding reminder that the human spirit is resilient and abiding. These compassionate and truthful poems pull us in and refuse to let us go.
V
I was born again.
Then I was born again.
He said they found me in a crack
in a rock in the Valley of Fire.
Easter morning
I was a red-eared slider
Peace sign
painted on my shell.
I got a new name
driving through Utah,
obeying all the signs:
watching
for the “crazy escaped Indian”
called Falling Rock.
I was Love—loved
like a Susanna, whispered to sleep
by the elder’s soft, blubbering bong.
I was Love, loved
like the naked little angels of the temple
in Salt Lake City where Mamma said
they baptise the dead.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Don't Miss the Filter III Release Party!
Filter Vol. III: HOT OFF THE PRESSES!
The Filter Vol. III Release Party will be: Friday, June 17th, 8p.m.at the Fremont Abbey, 4272 Fremont Ave North, Seattle, WA 98103
An evening of readings from Zachary Schomburg, John Osebold, Stacey Levine, Maged Zaher, Karen Finneyfrock, Ed Skoog, Elizabeth Colen, Elissa Washuta, Susan Rich and Sarah Bartlett . Freshly letterpressed copies of the book will be available for purchase.
Filter Vol. III has arrived. This 3rd issue of the entirely handmade journal is a box of wonder: The cover has a paint-by-numbers theme, and the box structure is letterpress printed by Kate Fernandez of Fernandez and Sons. The book will be filled with brilliant work in individually bound chapbooks of prose and poetry, with art postcards and posters that you can remove and display.
The contributors in Filter III are:
Yusef Komunyakaa, Zachary Schomburg, Stacey Levine, Amanda Manitach, Maged Zaher, Sharon Arnold, Martha Silano, John Osebold, Rebecca Brown, Counsel Langely, Ed Skoog, Karen Finneyfrock, Sean Ennis, Sarah Mangold, Gala Bent, Rachel Contreni Flynn, David Lasky, Elizabeth Colen, Sandra & Ben Doller, Brandon Shimoda, Ben Beres, Brandon Downing, Sarah Kate Moore, Dan Rosenberg, Susan Rich, Susan Denning, Sid Miller, Sarah Bartlett, Shawn Vestal, Marie-Caroline Moir, Lucy Corin, Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer, Jill McDonough, Jessica Goodfellow, Jessica Bonin, Friedrich Kerksieck , Erika Wilder, Elissa Washuta, David Bartone, Chris Dusterhoff, Britt Ashley, Becca Yenser, Anne Gorrick
Tickets for the Filter release party are on sale now through Brown Paper Tickets. Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 at the door, and $5 for students and seniors.
Copies of Filter may be purchased at: tickerfinch.etsy.com
About Filter Literary Journal
Filter is a literary journal made entirely by hand. Each issue contains erasures and other literary art alongside unaltered poetry, fiction and visual art. Filter seeks to represent the work it holds on a visceral level, so that the book is as carefully crafted as the poetry, fiction and art that it contains.
Filter Literary Journal is grateful to 4Culture for their funding and support.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Philly Book Tour, Part II: Museum of Art OR She's Got Everything She Needs
There was no photography allowed at the Mutter Museum, but at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (at least in the Impressionism galleries) the guards didn't seem to mind a snapshot here and there.
Monday, June 6, 2011
A Taste of Summer in Seattle
It lasted two days, but at least it arrived on a Friday and didn't blow out till Sunday mid-day--much, much preferable to a cold, wet weekend leading into a gorgeous Monday morning.