Sunday, April 29, 2012

Lenore Kandel: Reading/Book Launch



A major new publication, The Collected Poems of Lenore Kandel from North Atlantic Books is just out.  For those of you within striking distance of San Francisco and The Beat Museum, this is an event to check out.

I'll be posting a review of this book sometime soon - stay tuned.




Rebirth

   Whom shall I with tender touch destroy
   and then what nicety of fate
   waits for my quiet step
   as like a mindless mouse I walk the lotus wheel
   wearing desire as a phoenix chain
   this time again
Lenore Kandel
from The Collected Poems of Lenore Kandel





the snail-Buddha
curls up
to sleep
  Issa
   translated by David G. Lanoue






best,
Don

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Thursday, April 26, 2012

Diane di Prima: Compassion


Photo by Bob Wilson


Bob Arnold of Longhouse has passed along the information that Diane di Prima is in dire need of help with medical bills.  Here is information from Michael McClure:

Diane is suffering with several painful and even life-threatening illnesses, including removal of all teeth, arthritis from her earlier back operation, extreme problems with glaucoma and a needed operation; but that’s just the top of the list. Despite all, she is in unexpectedly fine spirits. If you know of any way to help her, she would appreciate it and I would also.

This post from The Poetry Foundation gives more information.   A webpage has been set up on Giving Forward to make donations for Diane.  I've dug deep to help out; Diane has been so incredibly generous with her work in tiny Lilliput Review.  We all know how badly the healthcare system is broken and how well the profession of poetry pays.  As of this writing, in a short amount of time, over $15,000 has been raised of the projected goal of $20,000.  Even as a few bucks is a big help.

If you can help, please do.  Thanks for taking the time.




got in & now it's not so easy
to get out, huh, Bee?
Same for you as for me.
     Diane di Prima
     (from Seminary Poems)






best,
Don



for the poor
there's not a spring
without blossoms!
   Issa  
   translated by David G. Lanoue






best,
Don

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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Chen-ou Liu & Susan Diridoni: Wednesday Haiku, Week 64

Photo by Wildfeuer




baby teeth
in her satin-lined box
winter twilight
Chen-ou Liu




Wire Tailed Swallows by John Gould & Harry C. Richter







their designs in the sky the heart these swallows
                  Susan Diridoni







Photo by Goce Mitevski






scarecrows at dusk
darkening...
human faces
     Issa  
     translated by David G. Lanoue






best,
Don

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Sunday, April 22, 2012

Letters of Note: Norman Maclean



I stumbled across the letter below by Norman Maclean, as well as the one pictured above, on the wonderful Letters of Note blog.  As an editor (as well as poet), I can directly relate to the pain of rejection because it is the stuff I deal in everyday, like it or not.  I believe an editor, especially with poetry, should be as supportive as she can be.  Reading what happened to Mr. Maclean and his, in my estimation, "measured response," brought the pure, heartfelt joy only a certain type of non-violent revenge may bring.

Yes, fellow poets and writers, this one's for you:

Dear Mr. Elliott:

I have discovered that I have been writing you under false pretenses, although stealing from myself more than from you. I have stolen from myself the opportunity of seeing the dream of every rejected author come true.

The dream of every rejected author must be to see, like sugar plums dancing in his head, please-can't-we-see-your-next-manuscript letters standing in piles on his desk, all coming from publishing companies that rejected his previous manuscript, especially from the more pompous of the fatted cows grazing contentedly in the publishing field. I am sure that, under the influence of those dreams, some of the finest fuck-you prose in the English language has been composed but, alas, never published. And to think that the rare moment in history came to me when I could in actuality have written the prose masterpiece for all rejected authors – and I didn't even see that history had swung wide its doors to me.

You must have known that Alfred A. Knopf turned down my first collection of stories after playing games with it, or at least the game of cat's-paw, now rolling it over and saying they were going to publish it and then rolling it on its back when the president of the company announced it wouldn't sell. So I can't understand how you could ask if I'd submit my second manuscript to Alfred A. Knopf, unless you don't know my race of people. And I can't understand how it didn't register on me – 'Alfred A. Knopf' is clear enough on your stationery.

But, although I let the big moment elude me, it has given rise to little pleasures. For instance, whenever I receive a statement of the sales of 'A River Runs Through It' from the University of Chicago Press, I see that someone has written across the bottom of it, 'Hurrah for Alfred A. Knopf.' However, having let the great moment slip by unrecognized and unadorned, I can now only weakly say this: if the situation ever arose when Alfred A. Knopf was the only publishing house remaining in the world and I was the sole remaining author, that would mark the end of the world of books.

Very sincerely,

Norman Maclean

Of course, the first, rejected book was A River Runs Through It, a hugely popular collection of Maclean's work published by the University of Chicago and later made into a popular motion picture. 

Another fine form of revenge of a similar ilk is E. E. Cummings' famed rejection dedication to his aptly titled volume, No Thanks

(Source: Francis Burr, via Al Pinetree; Image: Norman Maclean in 1970 by Leslie Strauss Travis, via.)




don't go geese!
everywhere it's a floating world
of sorrow
     Issa
     translated by David G. Lanoue







And David's alternate translation, in, as he says, more contemporary language:






don't go, geese!
the world sucks
everywhere

     Issa    
     translated by David G. Lanoue






best,
Don

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Thursday, April 19, 2012

Haiku Video Art Project: Pass It On


On this past Tuesday, April 17th, the Haiku Foundation announced a fundraising campaign to help launch a new Video Archive project. The basic idea behind the project, as explained to me by Eve Luckring, a formidable haiku poet and video photographer, is to create an archive of interviews with haiku poets, along with videos of the poets reading their work. The fundraising aspect is for audio equipment and, I imagine, to pay for the time of those involved in the creation, coordination, and general assembly of the project (Note: Turns out I imagined incorrectly - Eve lets us know in a comment below that all the money is going for the equipment, with just a small amount for travel). Eve mentioned she would like to begin with the elder statespersons in the haiku field to make sure to preserve some 'living' record of their work and who they are.

It seems like a most laudable project, so I agreed to pass the word.  I'd love to be able to dip into a video archive and see and hear renowned poets perform their work and share their thoughts and feelings. Though haiku has a long tradition in the East, in English it barely spans 125 years. We have lost some of the 1st and 2nd generation poets to the possibility of such a project; to record those still living is the kind of 'ambition' I admire in a project of this sort.  In addition to poets, translators and scholars would also be part of this ambitious recorded archive.

It is easy to imagine how a burgeoning poet, student, or seeker might be caught up in the spirit of haiku, the Way of haiku, via the recorded word and image.

The project launched at IndieGoGo on April 17th, as mentioned above. Since, as they say a picture is worth a thousand clichés (or, in this case, a series of pictures), here's a little something from Eve:







As stated by Jim Kacian in the brief video above, the idea is a simple one: let's preserve the voices and history of first generation haiku poets who are still with us, and then others as time goes on.  For more information, click through and see for yourself if this is something worth supporting.

It seems to me that a project of this type is a step toward wisdom culture that is of so much importance in the world.  The idea is elegant in it's simplicity:

Pass it on.




my province--
even the smoke
an ancient thing  
     Issa 
     translated by David G. Lanoue






best,
Don



Send a single haiku for the Wednesday Haiku feature. Here's how.

Go to the LitRock web site for a list of all 129 songs

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Annie Brodrick & Kala Ramesh: Wednesday Haiku, Week 63

Photo by Skert



as it is above
nature of acquiescence
so it is below
     
     Annie Brodrick





 Photo by Mary K. Baird






holding the note
the way a cuckoo does . . .
first light

     Kala Ramesh






Artwork by Koryūsai Isoda





gobble up
my dawn dream...
cuckoo!
     Issa
     translated by David G. Lanoue






best,
Don



Send a single haiku for the Wednesday Haiku feature. Here's how.

Go to the LitRock web site for a list of all 129 songs

Monday, April 16, 2012

Tom Clark: Some Good Wishes



Much beloved poet and friend to many via his wonderful blog and work, Tom Clark, is really going through a rough patch after being hit by a car a few weeks back.  Tom is at home but still faces a mighty uphill climb, not the least challenging of which is the health care system.  He is in pain and has a long way to go.

Let's all who know him send him our best (and maybe even if you don't know him - a little compassion goes a long way). A note of well wishing in the comment section of his blog Beyond the Pale might be just the ticket.

I've had a couple of Tom's books on hand for awhile here, meaning to do a post or posts on them both.  One is a wonderful chapbook of translations, TRANS/VERSIONS, the other is an excellent full length book of poems, The New World.

The translations/renderings are fine, measured, insightful poems, from the likes of Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Mallarmé, Reverdy, Vallejo, and Brecht.  A small volume that packs a decided wallop, Tom's is a refreshing, universal take on these masters, not at all pinned to a time or place, unless you call either the human experience.
 

 Photo by Juliet Clark


Since he is ill-disposed, I haven't had a chance to ask if it would be ok to reprint a poem or two, so you'll just have to take my word: both The New World and TRANS/VERSIONS are joys to hold and behold.  I can't think of a better way to lift a poet's spirits than to buy a book or two of work.  Visit Libellum Books at this or the two links above, or pick them up from SPD: Small Press Distribution.

So, how's about we give our friend a lift; a kind word or two, a couple of wrinkled bucks (tip of the hat, Ed), and maybe he'll have a little something to smile about?

Tom, we are all thinking about you.  Wishing you a steady, strong recovery.  And best to Angelica.

Cheers,
Don


P.S:  I've just heard from Angelica - Tom was sleeping before heading back still again to the doctor later today - that Tom had just approved the proofs of a new collection, Distance, before the accident and it is now ready for sale.

I'm jazzed and I am heading over to amazon to buy a copy now (there is an exception to every rule - my no amazon in this case goes out the window). It is published by BlazeVOX and here is the link:

Distance.

So, if you are missing Tom's voice right now, as so many of us are, here's your chance.



waiting and waiting
for sunset...
the willow tree
     Issa
     translated by David G. Lanoue






best,
Don



Send a single haiku for the Wednesday Haiku feature. Here's how.

Go to the LitRock web site for a list of all 129 songs

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Two Films & a Trailer for a Sunday Afternoon: Jung, diPrima, & Ginsberg


Three noteworthy celluloid adventures for a rainy afternoon. The Jung hits a tad of a lull a little ways in and picks up steam. Allen is Allen, a joy to listen to and behold and I can't wait to see the film on Diane di Prima.

Enjoy.


Jung on Film, via Nancy Davenport






 


Via Ron Silliman, Allen Ginberg Interview








Diane di Prima: The Poetry Deal trailer, sent along by Susan Diridoni

------------------------------------------




a long day--
the eel catcher writes pictures
on the water
     Issa
     translated by David G. Lanoue






best,
Don



Send a single haiku for the Wednesday Haiku feature. Here's how.

Go to the LitRock web site for a list of all 129 songs

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Russell Libby: Each Day



It's no secret that I'm a big fan of the work of Russell Libby, so it is always interesting to get one of his chapbooks in the mail. The most recent to come my way is Each Day (and I have to confess, I've had it awhile, but that just built up the suspense) and I thought I'd share a handful of poems from the collection with you today.  Here's a little ku I just love ...


School of herring
rippling
the ripples


When your poem has six words and one of them is repeated, you are probably committing an act of bravery, foolishness, or poetical magic - it seems to me obvious which one this is.

Russell is a man of the moment and there are many fine moments in this collection.  These moments are even more poignant and precise in light of the fact that the poet has confronted serious illness and held his ground.  The next poem, which concludes the collection, touches on this:


In the Night
  Oh, that not-quite-crack
  as a rib flexes,
  and maybe breaks,
  in the night.
  Do I get another X-ray
  that tells me
  what my body
  already knows,
  or just use each breath
  as a reminder of the beauty
  of the day?


This seems something of a rhetorical question coming at the conclusion of a volume which is a string of a beautiful moments beheld and passed on but it most certainly is not.   It is the poet confronting the world, and so the question must be asked again and again, revealing a deliberate, measured approach, the only sane way to proceed in a world of doubt and wonder.

These poems are contemplative, at times so quiet as seeming to lack insistence.  This, however, is a matter of tone and not message; what seems not insistent is, in fact, persistent. Reading the collection through a second time, a whole vista which I missed initially was manifest.  Though made up of so many individual parts, the collection is held together by the poet's persona, steady, observant, and in love, really, with all that he encounters.

Although I know it isn't true, I feel as if there are birds on every page and that gives me great joy.  The feeling might best be described as if birds were flying throughout Each Day, skipping from here, alighting there, moving about as it were within the book, of their own accord, a continual presence in a singularly beautiful world (and book).

I'll finish this post with the introductory poem, which perfectly describes the little volume itself, the experience of it for the poet and, as such, for the reader, too:


Early Morning
  Sun just over trees.
  My shadow, forty-three paces long,
     precedes me down the hill.
  Plenty of space to think
     between here and there.


So, I lied; here's one more, another excellent little haiku, for a little balance to this post:


Three dragonflies
resting
other end of hammock 


Each Day is available for $4 postpaid from: Russell Libby, Three Sisters Farm, 53 Weston Rd, Mount Vernon, ME 04352.  Treat yourself, straight from the author, the way it should be.


------------------------------


With a little tip of the hat in two directions, the following Issa haiku reminds me of one of my favorite poetry blogs of all, Red Dragonfly, from that blog takes its name:




have you come
to save us haiku poets?
red dragonfly
     Issa
     translated by David G. Lanoue






best,
Don



Send a single haiku for the Wednesday Haiku feature. Here's how.

Go to the LitRock web site for a list of all 129 songs

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Marg Beverland & Michael Newell: Wednesday Haiku, Week 62

Photo by Carolyne Rohrig





deeper

     deeper

           into the stream

                  shadow of a swallow
             Marg Beverland





Photo by Bella Domanie







children's voices filtered
through steady rain
the past always with me
Michael L. Newell










spring rain--
a child gives a dance lesson
to the cat
     Issa
     translated by David G. Lanoue






best,
Don



Send a single haiku for the Wednesday Haiku feature. Here's how.

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Sunday, April 8, 2012

Bob Arnold: Forever

Cover of Bob Arnold's Forever

 

Two little beauties from Bob Arnold's new tiny little booklet, Forever.  The handmade paper cover, delightful photos, illustrations and fine poems comprise a production any small press maven might envy (and collector might covet). I don't see it mounted up on the Longhouse website  (oh, here it is)yet, so if you are interested, drop Bob a line at <poetry at sover dot net>, substituting @ for at, and . for dot.




The First Step To Independence
Breaking worse
what you try
to fix







Tobacco Road
what a corny
film

and how
I can't

forget the
old fella's

sadness
                                                       Bob Arnold









my eternal youth ornament--
just three cents
of emperor's pine
     Issa
     translated by David G. Lanoue






best,
Don



Send a single haiku for the Wednesday Haiku feature. Here's how.

Go to the LitRock web site for a list of all 129 songs

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Michael O'Brien and Eve Luckring: Wednesday Haiku, Week 61

Photo by Gordon Parks
Climbing mast to spot mackerel school, Gloucester, MA, June 1943





dusk -
coated in sand
the mackerel’s last thrust
 Michael O'Brien





 Photo by mimicry






salamanders lost to sun on the lips of a dream
                         Eve Luckring





-----------------------------

An interlude: the Gloucester fishermen conjure up Maximus himself, with a few under his belt and a thing or two to praise:





 And because sometimes the salamader does, indeed, dream:





 -----

Finally, because it is an unusual week, moon on the rise, Issa has taken some time off and Master Bashō steps in:




Octopus traps - 
summer’s moonspun dreams, 
soon ended
Bashō



best,
Don




Send a single haiku for the Wednesday Haiku feature. Here's how.

Go to the LitRock web site for a list of all 129 songs