Beep, Beep

Recently, The Stranger began posting poems as part of a series called "Midnight Bus Poetry," picking up where the possibly-defunct--at least for 2009-- Poetry on the Buses program left off.

One of my poems, "war," a po-jacking of Bukowski was published on the Slog at midnight this morning.

I was hoping for more shit-talking from the typically snark-wrought Slog readers, but it's been pretty tame, considering how much poetry gets shitted on over there. If you're reading this, check out my poem. Whether you love it, hate it or fall somewhere in between, talk a little shit. It'll make me feel better.

Podcasted in Stone

Finally! Almost a year after the reading and in-studio interview, my Jack Straw podcast has been posted. Check it out.

I've listened to the full reading and interview at least a dozen times. And not out of vanity, but out of that little voice inside of writers' heads that says: you fucking suck. We all have that, I think-- even cocky bastards like myself.

To give the podcast some context, it features excerpts from a live reading I did as part of the 2008 Jack Straw Writers Program and an interview with the year's curator Judith Roche, where I was asked about Dana Gioia's essay "Can Poetry Matter?" I've been bitched out by a couple of poets for the small piece of my response featured in the podcast where I give credit to slam poetry for making poetry relevant in mainstream culture and diss metaphor. I fucking love metaphor.

Sherman Alexie says...

... I don't blog enough. When a National Book Award winner calls you on your shit, it means it's time to put up or shut up.

So, in Sherman's honor, I give you the video below, which he introduced me to last night just before "72 Hours," the third installment in Hugo House's Literary Series. Now, it's your turn, Sherman; give me a freaking comment!

Seattle Poetry Chain 7

This week's poet in The Stranger's Seattle Poetry Chain is Susan Parr. Parr was selected by Crystal Curry, last week's poet and shit-storm starter.

Parr is from a long line of Heather McHugh disciples out of the UW-- a list that includes Kary Wayson, Dana Elkun, Rebecca Hoogs and other locals. The poem is good, although contains the usual requirements of any MFA poem; the meter, the slant, the unexpected use of the word fuck.

Parr clearly has a strong grip on rhyme though; twain and groin. Who comes up with that?

This might be the best poem published on the Poetry Chain yet.

Who Will Bash the Artists Now?

In the most recent issue of City Arts-- a glossy monthly that recently hit Seattle but has been covering the arts in Tacoma and elsewhere for some time, new editor in chief Emily White discusses the demise of art criticism in Seattle.

Much of White's piece is based on the experience of Sheila Farr, a former arts critic at the Times, who was essentially forced out of her job and offered a gig working as a regular old reporter. While I do agree with White's belief that the dailies coverage of the arts, at this point, is about as good as a case of rickets, I disagree with the notion that artists will suffer some catastrophic loss by having less critics to review their work (Or as White puts it: When the critics are no longer there to discover art, who will call attention to it?)

Critics or not, art will continue to be created and maybe even more so during these tough economic times, and good art-- and some bad, of course-- will be discovered by other artists, art lovers and the "new critics," bloggers, whom White claims "don't craft or revise their work."

Over at the Slog, Stranger editor Christopher Frizzelle offers his thoughts on White's piece as does art critic Jen Graves, who comes out firing.

The Next Link.... Seattle Poetry Chain 6

The newest link in The Stranger's Poetry Chain is now up. The poet this week is Crystal Curry, another experimental/language poet, but one whose work I have enjoyed in the past. This poem is not so good, smattered with an MFA-ness that is a little too much for me, although I do enjoy these lines here "born in a war widow's lacy black/a real good lay in a fallout". Those long A sounds are nice.

Rather than offer more commentary, you can read my comments--and my call for more diversity in the poetry chosen for the chain--here.

Did you hear the news...?

This week's Seattle Weekly has a story on the rise of the "new language of poetry," Spoken Word. WTF Seattle Weekly? The new language of poetry? What's next? Will you be reporting on the sudden and strange death of Sylvia Plath? I hear it might be suicide.

While the story itself is a few years too late (Spoken word and slam has long since brought the sexy back to poetry.), slamsters Daemond Arrindell and Amber Flame are quoted, and a small mention of "Cheap Wine and Poetry" is included. SW, you got something right there.