April 22nd, 2009 / 12:48 pm
Author Spotlight & Excerpts

EXCERPT: from Ellen Kennedy’s Sometimes My Heart Pushes My Ribs (#3)


Orange

I wish my life consisted only of
riding my bike with you
down a giant hill that never stopped
while listening to music
with no one else around
in the middle of nothing,
except a few shiny and relaxing lights above in the sky
like stars but a little brighter
and more orange

Buy Sometimes My Heart Pushes My Ribs from Muumuu House.

Ellen Kennedy’s blog.

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46 Comments

  1. Jimmy Chen

      ellen’s poetry reminds me of the zen haiku guys basho, issa, etc. — substance through absence. at times melodramatic, but those zen guys were too with their crickets n’ moon.

  2. Jimmy Chen

      ellen’s poetry reminds me of the zen haiku guys basho, issa, etc. — substance through absence. at times melodramatic, but those zen guys were too with their crickets n’ moon.

  3. mike young

      i think fans of this would also like francesca chabrier’s poetry

      “Cheek Against Soft Pumpkin Fur”

      by Francesca Chabrier

      I am me, but I am a cow.
      You are a river.
      You think I am cute.
      You call me kitten-cow.
      You are a river, but your water
      looks like a hologram,
      and when I look at you,
      I see a fake reflection.
      You tell me I am wearing
      five scarves even though
      I have mittens on.
      I throw a coin at you,
      but you are not a fountain.
      You ask me to meow
      for you, but I won’t.
      I feed you chocolate, and we play that game
      where I write on your leg with my finger.
      You brush my hair for 2 hours
      while I spell things like:
      cheek against soft pumpkin fur, and
      I would come to you on a rubber gull.
      The eyes and the faces become less easy
      to make out in the night,
      but we go on and on.
      Wax ponyfish. Japanese fog.
      I am stupid at stopping.

      ***

      from: http://www.notnostrums.com/chabrier.html

      more: http://sixthfinch.com/mainspring09.html

  4. mike young

      i think fans of this would also like francesca chabrier’s poetry

      “Cheek Against Soft Pumpkin Fur”

      by Francesca Chabrier

      I am me, but I am a cow.
      You are a river.
      You think I am cute.
      You call me kitten-cow.
      You are a river, but your water
      looks like a hologram,
      and when I look at you,
      I see a fake reflection.
      You tell me I am wearing
      five scarves even though
      I have mittens on.
      I throw a coin at you,
      but you are not a fountain.
      You ask me to meow
      for you, but I won’t.
      I feed you chocolate, and we play that game
      where I write on your leg with my finger.
      You brush my hair for 2 hours
      while I spell things like:
      cheek against soft pumpkin fur, and
      I would come to you on a rubber gull.
      The eyes and the faces become less easy
      to make out in the night,
      but we go on and on.
      Wax ponyfish. Japanese fog.
      I am stupid at stopping.

      ***

      from: http://www.notnostrums.com/chabrier.html

      more: http://sixthfinch.com/mainspring09.html

  5. Adam Robinson

      Dear Ellen,

      This lady at work put a box of store-bought cookies at the top of her cube and I grabbed one when I came back from lunch. It was delicious so I felt bad but then went up and got another one. Now I want another one. What should I do?

      Thanks,
      Adam

  6. Adam Robinson

      Dear Ellen,

      This lady at work put a box of store-bought cookies at the top of her cube and I grabbed one when I came back from lunch. It was delicious so I felt bad but then went up and got another one. Now I want another one. What should I do?

      Thanks,
      Adam

  7. HyoJung

      This sounds like some of the stuff I’ve gotten from talented tenth-graders in my creative writing classes. They just don’t have Ellen’s connections. Yesterday’s poem was a lot better. This is, indeed, sophomoric.

  8. HyoJung

      This sounds like some of the stuff I’ve gotten from talented tenth-graders in my creative writing classes. They just don’t have Ellen’s connections. Yesterday’s poem was a lot better. This is, indeed, sophomoric.

  9. Adam Robinson

      I like this poem a lot.

  10. Adam Robinson

      I like this poem a lot.

  11. jereme

      i almost gave up after line 5 but i finished the poem.

      i like it. it is good.

  12. jereme

      i almost gave up after line 5 but i finished the poem.

      i like it. it is good.

  13. jereme

      is there no market for sophomoric?

  14. jereme

      is there no market for sophomoric?

  15. andy.riverbed

      available at the Wayward Council in gainesville.

  16. andy.riverbed

      available at the Wayward Council in gainesville.

  17. KevinS

      How much is Ellen paying you for advertising her book?
      You know there is a new Edson book you could be quoting from instead.

  18. KevinS

      How much is Ellen paying you for advertising her book?
      You know there is a new Edson book you could be quoting from instead.

  19. davidpeak

      I took a class on modern composition once and studied John Cage. When we were talking about 4’33, some kid in the back of the room said, “I could’ve sat at a piano and done nothing. Why aren’t I famous?” And I felt a little more dead inside.

      Let’s not sit here and compare Ellen’s writing to other writing you think “sounds like” hers. Let’s talk about what’s she’s doing/not doing, and why it’s effective/not effective.

  20. davidpeak

      I took a class on modern composition once and studied John Cage. When we were talking about 4’33, some kid in the back of the room said, “I could’ve sat at a piano and done nothing. Why aren’t I famous?” And I felt a little more dead inside.

      Let’s not sit here and compare Ellen’s writing to other writing you think “sounds like” hers. Let’s talk about what’s she’s doing/not doing, and why it’s effective/not effective.

  21. Janey Smith

      I think it’s important that we all try to promote each other’s stuff–even if we don’t like each other’s stuff. Reading things is like listening to CDs. Sometimes a whole CD is great. Sometimes only one song on the CD is great. Sometimes there’s only a few moments on the CD that are cool. Sometimes I don’t like the CD at all but other people do. That’s okay.

      It would be nice if their was a section or a day or something on HTML where people who write who don’t get a lot of attention could get free critical advertising or something.

      Like, it’s okay to promote EK’s book. It’s also okay to promote Adam’s book or Jereme’s book or HyoJung’s book. And if they don’t have books yet that’s okay. HTML could promote their writing–whatever it is.

      You know, a lot of times people forget that writing–and publishing especially–depends a lot on luck. It does matter who you know sometimes. And that’s okay. It would be more fun if everybody knew everybody so then everybody could get published like it would be all this anarchy. But, we are living in that kind of world yet.

      I liked some of the stuff that Justin posted last time from EK’s book. I like ORANGE because it is romantic. And it tries to capture something that is special and wonderful.

      There are all different kinds of writing. I like all of them. I learn something about myself a little bit from al of them. I just wish the politics of publishing and book promotion were MORE INCLUSIVE, MORE ANARCHIC.

  22. Janey Smith

      I think it’s important that we all try to promote each other’s stuff–even if we don’t like each other’s stuff. Reading things is like listening to CDs. Sometimes a whole CD is great. Sometimes only one song on the CD is great. Sometimes there’s only a few moments on the CD that are cool. Sometimes I don’t like the CD at all but other people do. That’s okay.

      It would be nice if their was a section or a day or something on HTML where people who write who don’t get a lot of attention could get free critical advertising or something.

      Like, it’s okay to promote EK’s book. It’s also okay to promote Adam’s book or Jereme’s book or HyoJung’s book. And if they don’t have books yet that’s okay. HTML could promote their writing–whatever it is.

      You know, a lot of times people forget that writing–and publishing especially–depends a lot on luck. It does matter who you know sometimes. And that’s okay. It would be more fun if everybody knew everybody so then everybody could get published like it would be all this anarchy. But, we are living in that kind of world yet.

      I liked some of the stuff that Justin posted last time from EK’s book. I like ORANGE because it is romantic. And it tries to capture something that is special and wonderful.

      There are all different kinds of writing. I like all of them. I learn something about myself a little bit from al of them. I just wish the politics of publishing and book promotion were MORE INCLUSIVE, MORE ANARCHIC.

  23. Janey Smith

      CORRECTION TO LAST LINE PARAGRAPH FOUR: We are NOT living in that kind of world yet.

  24. Janey Smith

      CORRECTION TO LAST LINE PARAGRAPH FOUR: We are NOT living in that kind of world yet.

  25. sam pink

      janey. i interview and link anyone who emails me. email me.

  26. sam pink

      janey. i interview and link anyone who emails me. email me.

  27. jereme

      true friendship is very misunderstood.

  28. jereme

      true friendship is very misunderstood.

  29. andrew

      Edson’s still alive?

  30. andrew

      Edson’s still alive?

  31. Justin Taylor

      I didn’t like how nobody said how that’s a picture of the band THIS BIKE IS A PIPE BOMB. Andy Riverbed- I’m looking at you and your Wayward Council-pushing self.

  32. Justin Taylor

      I didn’t like how nobody said how that’s a picture of the band THIS BIKE IS A PIPE BOMB. Andy Riverbed- I’m looking at you and your Wayward Council-pushing self.

  33. Steven Trull

      I’m a music retard. I thought it was Black Lips.

  34. Steven Trull

      I’m a music retard. I thought it was Black Lips.

  35. KevinS

      Yes–he has a new book out. Not as good as Tunnel or The Tormented Mirror.

  36. KevinS

      Yes–he has a new book out. Not as good as Tunnel or The Tormented Mirror.

  37. Blake Butler

      i fart in Edson’s general direction

  38. Blake Butler

      i fart in Edson’s general direction

  39. Jonny Ross

      well can’t argue with indeed.

  40. Jonny Ross

      well can’t argue with indeed.

  41. andrew

      I genuinely thought he was dead. Wasn’t trying to be snarky.

  42. andrew

      I genuinely thought he was dead. Wasn’t trying to be snarky.

  43. Dan the Music Master

      The poetry is very simple, but it is kind of relaxing. The author sure does like the color orange…

  44. Dan the Music Master

      The poetry is very simple, but it is kind of relaxing. The author sure does like the color orange…

  45. andy.riverbed

      i don’t like hippy-crusty punks

      my version of the wayward is way different that tbiapb

  46. andy.riverbed

      i don’t like hippy-crusty punks

      my version of the wayward is way different that tbiapb