Literary Round: No BS Version

Over at Brevity Barrie Jean Borich discusses The Craft of Writing Queer.

Randall Horton reviews Remica Bingham’s What We Ask of Flesh over at The Offending Adam.

I'm not sure how I feel about this list of Top 10 Hottest Poets of the 19th Century via The Writing Source. Despite that it's "meant to be fun," it still feels disrespectful. Thoughts?

There's a new issue of Rose & Thorn available, including work by the lovely Mary Stone Dockery.

Kelli Russell Agondon provides a nice list of gifts for the world-lovers in your life.

BBC News reports on Chinese writers living in a culture that censors their work and imprisons them for writing it.

Matthew Bostick doesn't freak out about e-publishing. Good for him. We might consider the same.

Karen Lillis is collecting various writers' list of favorite small/indie press books from 2012. Here's the first installment. I plan to send mine noms soon.

Cheryl Strayed shares this dynamite quote from Adrienne Rich:

"We may feel bitterly how little our poems can do in the face of seemingly out-of-control technological power and seemingly limitless corporate greed, yet it has always been true that poetry can break isolation, show us to ourselves when we are outlawed or made invisible, remind us of beauty where no beauty seems possible, remind us of kinship where all is represented as separation."  -Adrienne Rich

Funny little poetry nugget.

And finally, the Poetry Foundation gathered a list of Hanukkah poems.

A Colorful Cornucopia of Delicious Literary Autumn Squash!

I broke the ice last night and dove back into blogging after a hiatus for a couple of weeks. Maybe it was less than that, but I was writing every other day for a while there and then I started feeling guilty and so I just jumped in, jackknife-style, and now I'm covered with bloggy goosebumps and ready to share with you an autumn harvest of literary wonders!

First, in case we aren't Facebook friends, you might not have heard my happy news. My poem "Widowing" one the 2011 Crab Creek Review Poetry Contest. The contest judge of Dorianne Laux, who had some amazingly generous thoughts about the poem. It's a big huge giant honor to be selected and I'm seriously still flying high from the news.

I also attempt being a formalist poet over at Whistling Fire. Check out my poem "The Ordination of Woman" that the published last week.

In online literary news, a bunch of journals have released their latest issues including Toad, Boxcar, PANK, and Sweet. I plan to sit down with all of these issues and read read read this weekend. I love them all. I'm a particularly big fan of Rachel Bunting and Mary Biddinger, both who are featured in Toad. Also, Adanna Literary Journal, a lovely new feminist print journal, has featured the work of some of their latest contributors online. Check out Carol Berg and Mary Stone Dockery, two upcoming Weave contributors.

I just got my copy of Gregory Sherl's Heavy Petting. Super excited to read it. I've flipped through it and caught a few pages, but I've been super busy with starting new jobs this week. I'll be honest, I don't read a ton of male poets. It's taken me a while to find people I like, and sometimes I find myself being uber-critical, and I have to step back and try to take in the experience and perspective of another. Sherl's poetry, often about relationships and sex, is open, funny and honest. It's quirky, which seems to be "the thing" in the hip-poet world at the moment, but not so quirky that it misses the emotional boat ride. These poems resonate. Some are also pretty sexy. I like sexy poems. Also, can I just say, nice job YesYes Books! Your design and print work is simple, yet stunning. Check out the review of Heavy Petting at Read This Awesome Book.

Let's see, what else?

Read this interview over at Poets & Writers with John Murillo, where he discusses voice and reading your poetry.

In the intersections of technology and all things literary we find two great bits of news. One, the Poetry Foundation has an app for your smart phone. Pretty sweet to be able to pull up any poem you want, whenever. Also, for you Kindle users out there, you can now check out books from certain libraries that use a service called OverDrive. I haven't tried it yet, but if you do, please let me know how it works. I think this has the potential to be HUGE.

Pittsburgh, I miss you. I miss autumn and pumpkins and the gorgeous hillsides ablaze with color. The last reading I attended in Pittsburgh was City of Asylum's 2011 Cave Canem reading. It was fantastic and featured readings from poets Toi Derricotte, Cornelius Eady, Natasha Trethewey, and special guest Amiri Baraka. If you missed it, never fear. I've posted the video of Amiri Baraka's reading at the end of the post. You can also read an interview with Baraka in the latest issue of Sampsonia Way. While his poetry often sparks controversy, I think that is one of things I see less of in the world of poetry these days. Let's all go write some poems that piss people off this week, okay?

Oh boy, there is still more literary deliciousness!

Issue 06 of Weave was reviewed by NewPages. Says reviewer Hazel Foster, "this issue offers an accessible mix of prose and poetry." I agree! Also, "Weave is a great example of how an independent print magazine can succeed. Subscribe, submit, find a comfortable place to devour and enjoy." Thanks so much. Oh yes, subscribe or purchase by tonight and you can get half off anything you buy. Just use the code "BICOASTAL" at checkout.

On an unrelated note, everyone in California is wearing these shoes. I want them too now. They look super comfortable. I'm going to Nordstroms tomorrow to try on a pair I think. I need some comfy walking shoes. Also not literary, but still fun, are these comics about bisexuality. Definitely relatable.

My last morsel of lit news comes from the United States Postal Service. Thanks for putting more poets on stamps. I can't wait to get my hands on these! Send me a postcard with one of these and I'll love you forever and ever.

Happy reading everyone.

Pride

I'm sure you've heard by now that Prop 8, the ballot proposition in California that defined marriage as an institution made only for a man and a woman, has been overturned. Gay couples can now get married, just like straight couples in this state, along with four others, plus our nation's capital. Living in California this summer, just feet away from the Castro, with all its history, and now being present here during the overturning of Prop 8, has given me some hope. Hope that human's can learn from their own history, weigh progress against tradition, factor in the ideas of the old and young, put aside personal beliefs, and just let people be themselves. I don't think I'll be able to process my entire experience in this state until I'm back in my home state. But for now, I'm just proud to be here.

BEATIFIC: Kaleidoscope Reading Series

Last night I attended the Kaleidoscope Reading Series, curated by Michelle Wallace. Of the readings I have attended so far, this one felt the most familiar to me. Perhaps it was the dim, red lighting or the small, cozy living room atmosphere of the Kaleidoscope Free Speech Zone. It could have been youthfulness of the audience and the readers, who are on similar career paths as myself: current MFA students or recent graduates, educators, publishing in familiar journals. It also seemed that everyone there knew one another. I noticed that about all of the readings actually. There is definitely a community here, but it seems that they run in smaller packs, which is similar to Pittsburgh. Lots of readings, but it's too soon to tell how much crossover there is between reading series. There were definitely fewer people at this reading that compared to the RADAR Reading, but also Diane di Prima put a lot of people in the audience, so I can't fault Kaleidoscope.

There was something else that felt more familiar about this reading. I keep sensing it was the intimate space, the cheep beer, the funky young audience. But I suspect it was the writing. It resonated more with me than any other reading I've been to so far. I'll try to be brief with my reviews of specific readers, since there were five in total. Kudos to Michelle (who welcomed me when I awkwardly walked in at the last minute) to planning a short intermission. Too man readings I've attended (in any city) run on too long without a break.

The readers themselves were all young, in their late 20's or 30's and they read a mixture of fiction, poetry and memoir. First up was Michael Zhai who read some nonfiction that were pulled from his experiences going to on a high school field trips to visit a Pilgrim village in his home state of Massachusetts. Zhai's prose was well written enough, but I was more captivated by his poetry. His verse was musical and had more surreal striking imagery, which made up for the fact that he was kind of a low-key reader. Sometimes I wish people would practice reading and be a little more compelling, like they actually like their own work.

Next up was Elissa Perry, who read an excerpt from her novel. I find it difficult to be dropped into the middle of a larger plot line, but Perry pulled it off with her understated confidence and warm cadence in her voice. Her writing detailed a gathering of young lesbians and included a rather sensual scene that managed to be sexy, but not pornographic. I think she was probably the best in terms of reading ability and presence. I was also left wanting to read more of her novel, which is probably what she's going for.

The next reader was Richard D'Elia, a quieter man who's poetry had no titles. He was all business when he read, very efficient, pausing long enough between pieces to make up for the fact that his pieces were untitled. While some of his work was compelling, I felt like I needed to have more time with it. I always feel this way, especially about lyrical poetry. If it doesn't have a narrative or a long extended metaphor, it's difficult to really get a poem the first time you hear it. His work incorporated a lot of earthy imagery, one in particular was about the body and merging with the natural environment, something I rarely hear coming from a man's work. But perhaps I'm stereotyping.

After a short intermission, Scott Duncan entertained us with some nonfiction that he claims to not have written himself. He is apparently working on a re-imagining of Helen Hunt Jackson's Ramona. Instead of reading an excerpt, he chose instead to read synopses the various remakes of the story in film, documentary and even pornography.  In short, it was very funny. I'm probably not the best person to comment on it simply because I had never heard of Jackson's classic novel until Duncan read this piece. It is clearly a part of the culture in California though, and part of the Mexican culture specifically in Southern California. Good reader, relaxed, entertaining. It's rare to have sustained humor at a reading and I appreciated it.

The final reader was Maiana Minahal who read both poetry and a selection from her new memoir. I did find the subject matter of the memoir compelling, mostly because it details the events leading up to the sudden death of Minahal's father six years ago. As the story progressed, it seemed to point toward her father drowning while the two were swimming in the ocean together in Hawaii. However, she stopped short of the actual death, so we're left wanting more. A good tactic on her part. Minahal admitted to never writing nonfiction before and that this was a work in progress. I felt the excerpt lacked the emotional tension that I longed for earlier in the section. She spent a lot of time setting the scene and describing minuscule events and it wasn't until the end that we got to feel what she was feeling. I wanted more of that earlier in the piece. I think her nonfiction could benefit from her poetic sensibilities, which are clearly her strong suit. Her poetry was my favorite poetry of the evening in both the ambition of the text and the reader's particular voice. Minahal read from her book Legend Sondayo, which is primarily a retelling of a Filipino folktale. She stated during the reading that she both modernize and made the stories queer to reflect her specific voice and the story's impact on her as a young person. Minahal's strong reading voice was as it's most deliberate when reading from this collection. I never wanted her to stop. I also bought a copy of her book. You can too.

I tried to find links to blogs or websites for all of these writers, but when doing Google searches, all of their names, save for Minahal's, came up with random links to strange websites.  I'm surprised by this fact. In Pittsburgh, almost everyone I know has a blog or a website or a project with their name attached to it. Your name is your product as a writer, IMO, and you need to have a web presence. Perhaps I just run with that crowd though. It seems all of these writers are doing well for themselves despite their lack of web presence. If I was going to be in San Francisco for another month, I would definitely go out to this reading again. Nice job, Kaleidoscope.

Note: I did find Elissa Perry on Twitter. Yeah, I'm following her now. Cuz I'm a big writer-geek fan-girl.

Dear Lady Gaga

I consume a lot of popular culture. I enjoy watching television. I read Harry Potter. I go to movies a lot and I listen to pop music. I also consume a lot of subculture but I enjoy keeping up with the latest in the mainstream. For a while I worked in offices and I found my experiences there more tolerable if I could chat with coworkers about American Idol when I needed a break. It also keeps me from taking myself too seriously. Plus, I have a subscription to Bitch so I'm consuming and then deconstructing.

There is a lot about pop music that is disappointing today. Much of what I hear on the radio is over-produced hip-pop that has been autotuned and has pilfered all the good music that has come before it. For example, singer Jason Derulo's use of a Imogene Heap song in his hit "Whatcha Say" is criminal to me. The best part of his song is her haunting harmonies and lyrics. There is very little that is original to me in popular music. I make a giant exception though, for my lady, Lady Gaga.

I originally heard "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga probably a year ago and I was mostly unimpressed. It did stand out among the landscape of other music being played on the radio; she has a distinct sound, yet it's difficult to tell how good her vocals are on the radio. Everyone can be made to sound like a decent enough singer to get a pop hit. It was some time before I really began to seek out more information on Gaga. In fact, the song "Love Game" and her inspirational lyrics about 'disco sticks' really made me sit up and take notice, if for nothing else but to satisfy my desire to read up on the various lives of celebrities (yeah, I'll admit it: I read People Magazine). But to my surprise, it seemed that Lady Gaga had some real depth to her. While still a rather young artist, she has been performing in NYC's underground music scene for years and has been anything but an overnight success.

There is so much to love about her. She is openly bisexual and a huge supporter of gay rights as well as women's rights. I was disappointed to hear she denied calling herself a feminist in an interview, stating that 'she loves men' (because apparently those things are mutually exclusive). However, I think that was said shortly after all the rumors about her gender identity surfaced, so I forgave her (frankly, it's no one's business what her gender is). Her persona is something that fascinates me to no end. Mostly because I feel like it's not a persona that someone constructed for her, but rather one that is a part of who she is as a real person, who is also a performer. She has said she does not consider herself a celebrity and sings about the perils of fame in her song "Paparazzi". Her performance at the VMA's this September showed her bleeding to death on stage while she sang. She is not afraid to be ugly, even gruesome, in a public space. And her live vocals were strong, haunting and so memorable.

Her latest album entitled The Fame Monster was just released and I am stunned by her latest video for "Bad Romance" - I can't even describe how creeptastic and surreal the costumes and message is. She clearly has a lot going on that she needs to express. And she can articulate what she is expressing. In an interview with MTV Veejay Sway, Gaga responded to his questions thoughtfully, even though it was painfully obvious he was not really that interested in her in-depth explanations of what each song was about. He laughed a number of times when she would discuss something very serious like her fears addiction to sex, bad relationships and alcoholism. Yet, she did not waiver. Gaga spoke her mind and her emotions so intelligently, not just for a pop star, but as a human being. She even mentioned Sylvia Plath in this interview on MTV. I wanted to kiss her!

Lady Gaga mentions a lot that she didn't fit in when she was in high school and she openly calls herself a freak. I hear this a lot from celebrities who want to invoke the "geek-chic" trend that is occuring in popular culture right now. However, I really believe that Ms. Gaga was and is a freak in the best possible sense. She is making really fascinating performance art through her videos and she is singing about though-provoking concepts that are usually missing from pop culture altogether. I cannot say enough good things about this woman. In fact, I'm working on a poem about her and I hope I have a decent draft to read at the TypewriterGirls show on December 4th. She deserves some poetry.

Here is her latest video that's disgusting and fantastic.