Bay Area Generations: Poetry at the Clubhouse

I was watching Tom Brady lead a heroic 4th quarter drive against the North Carolina Panthers; one last play with 3 seconds left on the clock. It looked like the Patriots might pull it off, but Brady’s last pass was intercepted in the end zone, and even though there was a yellow flag on the play, referees recalled the penalty to bring the game to an end.
I thought it looked like pass interference, but that’s just me.
I guess it’s appropriate that I’m in a sports mood, because I just found out that I’m reading at the Sports Basement on Bryant Street in SF next Monday, November 25th. I’m especially honored because it’s a partner reading with one of my favorite poets, Norma Cole, who has been an instrumental part of the SF Language Poetry scene, along with Rae Armantrout, Ron Silliman and Susan Gevirtz.
So if you’re in the ‘hood, come and hear Norma’s fantastic chap poem, 14,000 Facts, and my found language poem, “I Have No Title,” which I’m considering renaming “A Pocket Full of Onion.”
We can talk football, or baseball, or onions, or whatever you’re in the mood to talk about. Or we can talk about how Rae Armantrout borrowed my pen at Naropa once.
I’m pretty open.
Bay Area Generations Reading
Sports Basement Clubhouse
1590 Bryant Street @ 16th Street
7:00pm doors open, 7:30pm reading begins
$5:00 suggested donation (no one turned away)
Hope to see you there!
For more info on readers and on Bay Area Generations click here.

Eco-Poetics: Naropa's Summer Writing Program

My book haul from Naropa!

My book haul from Naropa!


The Naropa Summer Writing Program was good for my writing and for my soul–I met many wonderful poets, including Kristin Prevallet, Rae Graber, Georgia Van Gunten, Eric Siegel, CA Conrad, Anne Waldman, and Rae Armantrout.
The week’s theme was Symbiosis: Hellfire, Drought, and Brimstone: A New Eco-Poetics and I want to share some of the highlights from the workshops, panel discussions, and readings:
–“Do the words you write belong to you? Or are you tapping into a larger field of language?” Kristin Prevallet on the influence of William James and stream-of-consciousness on poetry.
–“Memory is not archeology.” Kristin Prevallet
–Poetry as a prophetic tradition–language as music. Paraphrased description of Jerome Rothenberg’s anthology, Shaking the Pumpkin.
–“The way you treat the land is the way you treat yourself.” Orlando White
–The Idle No More movement posits that the land is alive, not a metaphor. Sound is a Being.
–“Ecopoetics is about the environment of the mind as well as the physical environment.” CA Conrad
–“Always treat language like a dangerous toy.” Anselm Hollo
–“Mitochondria make energy for the cells, but have different DNA than the cells–like visiting poets.” Jack Collom
If anyone has Naropa stories to share, I’d love to hear them! I’m already plotting to go next summer. . .