Adam Robinson
http://www.publishinggenius.com
Adam Robinson lives in Baltimore, where he operates Publishing Genius Press. His book of poems, Adam Robison and other poems, will be published by Narrow House Books this year.
Adam Robinson—
Thanks, Ken, for posting about Matt Bell’s live writing sessions. The first paragraph of his story, one that never made it off the ground, has been posted at Everyday Genius, where there is also a schedule and a link to the MeetingWords site where it’s all going to happen. Tune in today at noon and again at five to see how Matt Bell writes a story, letter by letter.
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Some Books I Loved Recently and Hope to Write About Soon
I got laid off! It’s awesome (seriously, it’s kind of good news). I have to work till the end of the year and then: the future!
Since I’m feeling so positive, I want to list some books I read recently and loved. My mom would call this “a lick and a promise,” which, now that I think about it, is kind of gross. Can someone tell me what is a lick and a promise? Mom would say it when she only wanted me to do a fast job of cleaning up the living room with the intention of doing a better job later, as I intend to do with these book thoughts about Killing Kanoko, When You Say One Thing But Mean Your Mother, Ten Walks/Two Talks, Poetry! Poetry! Poetry!, The Irrationalist, and O Fallen Angel, below the fold. READ MORE >
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May 12th, 2010 / 12:45 pm
May 12th, 2010 / 12:45 pm
The Whole Thing About Poetry
At the Juniper Festival a few weeks ago there was a panel about The Future of Poetry. The panelists were Evie Shockley, Cathy Park Hong, Heather Christle and Rebecca Wolfe. It was good, cutting edge, perhaps too polite but definitely the sort of thing that is supposed to happen at panels.
Rebecca Wolff said poetry doesn’t matter and it sucks that poets, who are smart and engaged people, are wasting their lives on something cloistered and anonymous (my words) when they should become civil servants, business people, people who can make a difference. Essentially, the world is missing the poet’s perspective in areas where they are needed.
I could be paraphrasing this in an unacceptable way, just so you know. But that was the gist. READ MORE >
Light Boxes Giveaway
To enter to win the original PG version of Light Boxes, together with the new Penguin version, buy a book from an independent press and forward the receipt to lightboxescontest at gmail dot com. If you buy a book from an indie press at a brick and mortar store, scan the receipt or take a good photo of it and email that. Your name will be entered once for every book you buy. Then I will conduct a fair drawing. ENTRIES ARE DUE BY MIDNIGHT MAY 24th. Penguin will officially release their version on May 25, and I’ll do the drawing then.
Adam Robinson—
At We Who Are About to Die, Daniel Nester has compiled 13 lessons about doing a book (writing, promoting, etc). Really worthwhile stuff, from the funny “Don’t read more than 15 minutes [at a reading]. Any longer than that is a hostage situation.” to a point that I needed to hear at this exact moment: “Remember the times you were writing the book and had rushes of joy from putting words and sentences together. “
Adam Robinson—
It was my own mother, incidentally, whom I can scarcely recall ever seeing with a book in her hand, who told me one day when I was reading The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World that she had read that book years ago herself–in the toilet. I was flabbergasted. Not that she had admitted to reading in the toilet, but it should have been that book, of all books, which she read there.
That’s Henry Miller, in his fantastic nonfic, The Books in My Life.
Shome Dasgupta has a similar thing going on over at his blog, The Laughing Yeti. A bunch of people talking about their reading habits, including Mike Young, Roxane Gay, Stephen Eliot (oh, and me).
Paul Killebrew: Explain Yourself!
[Long-time readers might recall that I started a game show right here at HTMLGIANT in which I post a link to a great piece of new writing and demand of the author: EXPLAIN YOURSELF! (applause) Well, so, sorry, it’s been a while. What are you going to do, tax me?]
Anyway, this time I challenge Paul Killebrew, whose new book from Canarium, Flowers, is whoa holy, to comment before this post scrolls off the page. Is this poem, from Gulf Coast, a story? (Readers, it begins:
“I think he’s basically a person,”
said the young waiter to the older one.
Are you clipping from Hemingway or Orwell here? What was the poem’s starting point? Paul Killebrew, EXPLAIN YOURSELF! (applause)