After the epic fail that was Matt Soucy’s lazy, mean-spirited review in Coldfront–a rare blunder for one of the best poetry sites out there–it brings me enormous pleasure to direct your attention to Chris Tonelli’s excellent microreview of sometimes my heart pushes my ribs, newly online at Open Letters Monthly.
Chris Tonelli on Ellen Kennedy, at Open Letters Monthly
May the Force Be With You When You’re Burning in Hell
You’ve just got to check out this gallery of Star Wars religious art, over at io9.
Massive People (13): Johannes Göransson
If I had to make a list of modern forces for the grossvoice, for the kind of language and propagation of a series of imagery and discussion that is continually underfunded or otherwise ignored, Johannes Göransson would being among those crowning the list. An editor and founder of the vital Action Books, as well as its web component Action Yes (both one of my favorite presses and online journals, publishing big voices such as Lara Glenum, Aase Berg, and a high # of books in translation), Johannes is also the author, so far, of three books of new mind and language: Pilot (Fairy Tale Review Press), A New Quarantine Will Take My Place (Apostrophe Books), and Dear Ra (Starcherone Press). This year Black Ocean released his translation of major Swedish poet Aase Berg, With Deer, one of many works in translation Göransson has put together.
Recently I sent a couple of questions Johannes’s way, and he responded in force, as might be expected, about the history of Action, the grotesque, Genet, and !!!!
Matthew Simmons—
Open question. You have probably on your own come up with your 15 living towering literary artists, right? Now make a list of your 15 favorite living literary artists. These list are maybe close. Maybe, though, they are very different. Why? What does this say about what you like and what you recognize as “important?”
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Ken Baumann—
11 of the 20 titles on last week’s NYT Mass-Market Fiction Best Sellers list have death in the title. (via Dan Kennedy)
Music/Writing?
I understand some folks must write in silence, but for others – myself included – musical accompaniment helps lubricate the fingertips.
Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what kinds of stuff? Do you avoid music with lyrics?
How do you use music? Do you use the emotion of the music to help guide (or instigate) the emotion of your work? Do you ride beats?
Although I am constantly (obsessively) hunting for, acquiring, and listening to new/different albums, there are a few go-to favorites I throw on when it’s time to get down with the wordage. Here are just a few of my personal recommendations — I would love to hear from other people about their practices and/or their recommendations:
Glenn Gould – A State of Wonder: The Complete Goldberg Variations (1955 & 1981)
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Who Deserves What?
New York Times best-selling Anteater?
When you think about it, the title of this post really asks two questions. The answers, as near as I can tell, are, respectively, nobody and nothing. But Felicia Sullivan (author of The Sky Isn’t Visible From Here and former everything-in-chief of the venerable & lamented Small Spiral Notebook) isn’t so sure. Over at her blog, she takes on what she calls “the culture of entitlement” within the literary world today. Then, in the comments section, Rachel Fershleiser (of Housing Works, Smith magazine & co-editor of the Six Word Memoir books) raises some questions about the assumptions underlying the arguments of the post. Things get pretty heated pretty quick, between the two of them and a third commenter named Les, who seems more interested in critiquing Rachel’s grammar than listening to what she says. (Felicia, on the other hand, dives in head-first). It’s an interesting back and forth between two smart people (and Les), who actually seem to be talking TO each other at least as often as they’re talking PAST each other, which in internet-thread terms is basically a miracle of loaves and fishes. I am still sorting out my exact thoughts about this debate/discussion, but forget about what I think for a second. WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Adam Robinson—
I finally got another bookshelf and have a place for all my books now. But what do I do with the dozens of MLP chapbooks that I have? I want to take them out of their drawer, but then where will I put them? Does anyone already have a solution? Something like what they got for my One Story collection?