After long wait, I’m pleased to announce a review of the stellar Ensō by Seattle-based Shin Yu Pai. This writ arrived out of a flash of creative exchanges between Shin Yu and me quite some time ago. It feels like quite a while ago at this point (all Pre-Covid), making this publication feel even more celebratory. Read the review of the unique book here.
My review of Catherine Owen’s extraordinary Riven is now up in North of Oxford.
My latest review revisits the works of Caroline Bergvall by way of her latest book, Alisoun Sings. It’s available in the online edition of Rain Taxi.
All the Useless Things Are Mine, featuring poetry by Thomas Walton and etchings/drawings by Douglas Miller, is an exquisite book, and I’m pleased that my review of it is now up at North of Oxford.
Categories
Enchant
July 17, 2020
Lake Vivienne’s smile is marked by ancient voyeurs, whose minds don’t reflect such chromaticism.
Let us put our eyes to rest amidst wind scream and the hush of bush as it is clarified with memories of recent goat.
I never thought I’d post audio on Bandcamp, but it seems like a great way to share (for free) the audio projects I’ve been working on, and also get proceeds to donate to an organization of my choosing (in this case, the ACLU). For the last four months, under the banner of COVID-19, I’ve been working on an audio project that has finally come to fruition. While it is rough, while it is far from uniform, and while it demonstrates only a naive scope of knowledge of editing audio, shelter/isolation is here. It is a strange artifact, which includes spoken word and noisy, abstract renditions of field recordings from within my apartment. Bandcamp allows free streaming, which is fantastic. If folks are really interested in “owning” the album, that’s an option as well.
All in all, it’s the first step in what I hope will be an ongoing commitment to exploring the depths of audio production, particularly where field recordings and strange aural atsmopheres are concerned.
I invite you to listen to shelter/isolation, and the other “releases,” and let me know if you have any feedback. While I don’t plan on re-releasing this experimental project, I do look forward on refining my skills going forward.
Check out the Bandcamp page here.
The following are the covers for each of the releases, linked to the releases.
I’ve recently reviewed Black Case Volume I & II: Return From Exile by the legendary Joseph Jarman. The review’s in Rain Taxi. Support them by buying a copy of their print edition.
My second review of Kim Vodicka’s poetry, after Psychic Privates, concerns her latest book: The Elvis Machine. Read the review at North of Oxford.
Categories
Little Black Rocks (Photos)
The Playa at the Black Rock Desert, Nevada.
Thanks to Paul Nelson, I participated in the August Poetry Postcard Festival (PoPo) last year, and ended up with a full sequence of poetry, “Bountiful Sound.” A selection of the poems was accepted by Ravenna Press. I’m indebted to Kathryn Rantala for thinking highly of my work, and including it in their Triples Series. #11 features this work by me, as well as Maureen Seaton & Samuel Ace, and Kat Meads.
Support the press by ordering a copy here.
And, of course, consider participating in PoPo this year. Register here.
June 2020, where hearts sink and footsteps spring.
I have reviewed Ten and Story by Jennifer Firestone via North of Oxford. This review, and the others, can be found as links on my Reviews page. You can learn more about Jennifer Firestone at her website.
Amidst pepper-fainted plumes
I felt the beating of drums emerge from chests.
To be there, to be now. To be urgent
through architecture outlined across rain and whispers.
~ position body ~
In asking to prove directly and to form a shield.
I will always blink to a vision of light.
Beating across skeletal relationships.
Bottles of milk. Bottles of baking soda and water.
The lines of scatter and spread
reflect the lines of converge and amass.
Dark clouds pour into those made lighter.
Breathe. The rate is an acceleration.
In a deeply troubled city there is a deeply entrenched situation.
And from it the emergence through cries and fists.
It’s electric the exhalations beyond a single body.
But the single bodies give an image to those single beating hearts.
My review for May is up! Read my review of Paper Bells by Phan Nhiên Hạo here.