Poet and Artist in Seattle
Since last August, I have had the pleasure of writing alongside (and publishing alongside) the re drum group Alex Bleecker, Jeremy Springsteed, and Willie James, as well as good friend Justine Chan. Our efforts on exploring the cadralore form have yielded some output, now available to view in Another New Calligraphy.
Recorded on Friday, April 22, 2022 at Kezira Cafe in Seattle, alongside the Jim O’Halloran Trio (Jim O’Halloran (Flute), Dean Schmidt (Bass), and Ehssan Karimi (Drums)).
I am very pleased to announce my reading of Haibun de la Serna, the latest release from Paul E. Nelson and an incredible addition to his canon (one that, it is astounding to say, has been over a decade in the making).
A couple nights ago I had the pleasure of reading a poem with the Jim O’Halloran Trio at Kezira Cafe in Columbia City, Seattle. The poem, “Return to Rain,” is linked below. Here’s the segment of the set with the reading: And some larger selections of the show. Sadly, the focus was set to auto and was doing some really weird stuff in the low-light room. The sound isn’t perfect either, but better than null!
Continue readingReturn to Rain: A Poetry Reading Set to Jazz
In March 2021, I was gifted a box of The Moon’s Jaw from the author, who had sat on the book for years and was in the process of leaving the Seattle area for parts unknown. A splendid book, I was not told what to do with the truly massive number of copies of a collection of poetry published years ago without a clear audience. I found homes for a few of them thanks to
A post on the current state of poetry in Myanmar has been published in Poetry NW. This follows a brief exchange with Maung Day prior to his ducking into hiding and the cutting off of internet in the country. I’m grateful to Bill Carty for working with me on this piece–to bring light to the struggles and the work within Myanmar, and to continue to foster the connection I developed with the writers I first
I’m excited to have received a copy of the latest Rain Taxi in my mailbox this weekend. The Spring 2021 issue features two book reviews concerning the poetry of the Serbian poet Marija Knežević (Breathing Technique, from Zephyr Press), and the Spanish Agustín Fernández Mallo (Pixel Flesh, Cardboard House Press). You can order a copy from via the Rain Taxi website.
A very large group of poets across Myanmar have collected their voices in a single video embedded below. The link follows the death of K Za Win, and the oppression of many other poet activists and activists generally in the country over the last several months following the military coup. All of this strikes me personally as I met K Za Win back when I visited Myanmar, and had a chance to exchange poetry with
Continue readingA Video Montage from the Protests in Myanmar
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.
Three issues of pandemic poetry are now online via North of Oxford. I have three poems in the first issue. One Two Three
Two of my latest reviews are now in the print edition of Rain Taxi, now available for purchase. Earth by Hannah Brooks-Motl Codex by Joshua Lew McDermott Both are excellent books. Please consider reading them and reading what I wrote about them!
I’m excited to relay that my friend Maung Day’s short prose poems have found a home at the magazine for Asian American Writers’ Workshop’s Transpacific Literary Project. “There are cities in his scabs: Prose poems” can be read in their mystery and mystification here.
On January 31, 2020, Sherwin Bitsui with Elee Kraljii Gardiner read at the Richard Hugo House and I had the pleasure of listening from the front row. Below are the tracks from this event, which included a conversation/Q&A after each poet read. Part 1: Elee Part 2: Sherwin Part 3: Conversation
From the January 17, 2020 event at Seattle Town Hall: A Scribe Called Quess?: Dismantling the Colonial Legacy. Learn more about Quess at his website. Nikkita Oliver performed poetry and interviewed Quess after the talk. The recording (MP3) is 101 minutes:
The 2020 MLA Offsite Reading, which featured mostly poetry, occurred at Town Hall Seattle yesterday. There were many readers, and most of them read for 2 minutes or less. The event was broken into three parts, with three hosts. The recording, which I made happen with my new H6, is below. Audio is minimally edited, as usual, but at least complete. I have listed all of the poets along with the host. The event is
Continue readingPoetry Recording: The 2020 MLA Offsite Reading