With a Deepening Presence Book Launch Party, Saturday, July 16th, & The Trouble with Poets, a Film by Tom Weber, Friday, July 15th

This Saturday, July 16th, at the Irma Freeman Center for Imagination, from 7:30 to 9:30, is the launch of With a Deepening Presence. Books will be available for purchase and signing. Presence will be sold at the special reading price of $8.

Reading will be Kristofer Collins, Christine Starkey, Che Elias, Scott Pyle, Rosaly Roffman, Bart Solarczyk, Bob Ziller and myself. Food and drinks (water, beer) will be provided. 

If you can't make it (or even if can), I'll be reading the night before at the screening of Tom Weber's film, The Trouble with Poets, at Pittsburgh Filmakers (477 Melwood Avenue, Pittsburgh), from 6:30 to 9:30 pm.

The Filmmakers reading will be a general overview of my work. The launch reading will focus on the new book and a raft of all new poems never performed before. So, two nights, two very different readings.

Hope to see you at one or the other, or both.

yanking a radish
taking a tumble ...
little boy

Issa
translated by David G. Lanoue

best,
Don

Spring Equinox Reading: 3/28/13 @ ModernFormations

For those of you within hailing distance, come on out tomorrow (Thursday) night to ModernFormations Gallery when The Friends of Lilliput Review will present a Spring Equinox Reading. 

Featured readers are Robert Isenberg, Renée Alberts, Kris Collins, Angele Ellis, and yours truly.  Admission is $5 or FREE w/ a covered dish (BYOB)

Aside from the dazzling lyrical entertainment, there will be, as a friend noted, FREE SWAP, in this case the just released new issues of Lilliput Review:

  

So, if you can, come on out and help an awesome bunch of rag-tag poets usher in one hell of a reluctant spring. 

Photo by Patrick Doheny

the little crow
slips so cleverly...
spring rain

Issa
translated by David G. Lanoue

best,

Don   

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Some News

I received news this week that Past All Traps has been shortlisted by the Haiku Foundation for the "2011 Touchstone Distinguished Books Award."  Info on the awards may be found here, with links to past winners in all categories.

In addition, Past has made some end of the year reading lists, including one from Joe Hutchison and one from Kris Collins.  I am very grateful, indeed, for all the recognition.

Taking the heart
from Buddha's hand, arranging
it in this vase.

    

a little tiresome
these blooming flowers...
the Buddha sleeps

Issa
translated by David G. Lanoue

best,

Don

PS A signed copy of Past All Traps may be purchased via Paypal along the right side bar or direct from me for $8 postpaid, or an unsigned copy may be had from amazon.com for $10, plus $3.99 shipping.

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Pittsburgh Magazine Review of Past All Traps

Above is a copy of the new review in Pittsburgh Magazine of Past All Traps. You can go directly to a browsable copy of the magazine at this link. Many thanks to Kris Collins for his salient review.

Since I've been keeping busy working on a forthcoming chapbook by Ed Baker, a number of local readings, a couple of reviews, getting ready for the new issues of Lilliput, and a backlog half way back to the beginning of time, I'll leave you today with a few songs by Allen Ginsberg, whose joyful gnomishness, which variously chided, challenged, caressed, and cajoled collective human consciousness, I seem to be missing particularly these days.


William Blake's "The Nurse's Song"



Father Death Blues


Hare Krishna Sung to William Buckley



The looks on Buckley's and Ginsberg's faces tell the entire story - there is a kind of ecstatic, astonished bliss on Big Bill's and a ecstatic, challenging bliss on Allen's - truly beauty personified.


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

#41

   In the folded
   Red lips of the rose
   Please do not place
   Any poem which lacks
   The fragrance of spirit

   Yosano Akiko
   translated by Dennis Maloney

dangling in
the yellow roses
the bull's balls

Issa
translated by David G. Lanoue

best,

Don

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Low Ghost / Six Gallery Joint Reading, Modern Formations, 7-8-11

Photos by small press poet, novelist, essayist, photographer, librarian and impresario Karen Lillis, from the combined Low Ghost / Six Gallery reading on Friday July 3rd. For the curious and those unable to attend ...

Don Wentworth

Kris Collins - Low Ghost Press

Lucy Goubert

Jason Baldringer

Margaret Bashaar

Bob Pajich

Mark Spitzer

Thanks to all, especially featured reader Mark Spitzer (with guest appearance by Bigfoot), Low Ghost Press, Nathan of Six Gallery Press, Jen of ModernFormations (celebrating their 10th anniversary with a fab retrospective), and a enthusiastic attentive crowd.

Morning glory opens
to anything,
even you

                                                                     ~ dw








old pond--
please, you go first
frog jumping

Issa
translated by David G. Lanoue

best,

Don

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An Evening with Mark Spitzer featuring Six Gallery Press & Low Ghost Poets

An Evening with Mark Spitzer featuring 

Six Gallery Press & Low Ghost Poets

Time: Friday, July 8 · 8:00pm - 11:00pm

---

Location:

ModernFormations

4919 Penn Ave.

Pittsburgh, PA

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A Six Gallery Press & Low Ghost Press Presentation!

When: Friday, July 8th
Time: 8pm
Where: ModernFormations Gallery 4919 Penn Ave.
...Cover: $5

Join us for an exclusive local engagement with novelist, poet, and translator Mark Spitzer. Mark Spitzer, novelist, poet, essayist and literary translator, grew up in Minneapolis where he earned his Bachelor's degree at the University of Minnesota in 1990. He then moved to the Rockies, where he earned his Master's in Creative Writing from the University of Colorado. After living on the road for some time, he found himself in Paris, as Writer in Residence for three years at the bohemian bookstore Shakespeare and Company, where he translated French criminals and misanthropes. In 1997 he moved to Louisiana, became Assistant Editor of Andrei Codrescu's legendary lit journal Exquisite Corpse, and earned an MFA from Louisiana State University. After teaching Creative Writing and Lit for five years at Truman State University, he’s now a professor of Writing at the University of Central Arkansas, where he is the Editor of Toad Suck Review (toadsuckreview.org). Mark's novel "Chode" and collection of essays "Riding the Unit: Selected Nonfiction, 1994-2004" were published by Six Gallery Press. More info at http://www.sptzr.net/

Also featuring readings from local luminaries:

Don Wentworth - publisher of Lilliput Review; author of the poetry collection Past All Traps.

Jason Baldinger - co-author of the poetry collection The Whiskey Rebellion.

Margaret Bashaar - author of the poetry collection Barefoot and Listening, published by Tilt Press in 2009. Her second chapbook, Letters from Room 27 of the Grand Midway Hotel, is forthcoming from Blood Pudding Press. She does performance art and acting with the cabaret troupe The TypewriterGirls.

Bob Pajich - has a chapbook of poems called Everyone, Exquisite published and is currently the managing editor and lead news writer for the world's largest magazine dedicated to the game of poker: Card Player. A new collection of poems is forthcoming from Low Ghost Press.

Chris Ammons - Burgh Bon Vivant.

Kristofer Collins - editor and publisher of Low Ghost Press. His most recent collection of poems, Last Call was published by Speed & Briscoe.

The sweet magnolia

bows to all creation —

& you were saying?

to the old woman
doing laundry, the evening
willow bows

Issa
translated by David G. Lanoue

best,

Don

PS  Get 2 free issues    Get 2 more free issues     Lillie poem archive

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

Go to the LitRock web site for a list of all 108 songs

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"A Night at the Bar" - Speed & Briscoe reading 11/11/10

To hear last Thursday nights Speed & Briscoe reading on CMU's WRCT radio station, click here, click regular download, then click the text "Speed and Briscoe Nov 11 2010.mp3."  

The theme of the reading was "A Night at the Bar" and featured the work of Carrie Shaley, Kris Collins, Jason Baldinger, Nikki Allen, Jerome Crooks, Lucy Goubert, Renee Alberts, and Don Wentworth.

Initially, we came up a little short on time, so hang in till the very end, past what seems to be the sign off, for a couple of final poems.

The reading was lots of fun, two standing mikes, a circle of poets, with revolving containers of libations, some strong original voices, all ably orchestrated by Red Bob, engineered by Tina Milo, and generously coordinated by poet and publisher, Jerome Crooks of Speed & Briscoe fame.

best,
Don

Speed and Briscoe on WRCT's A Live Show: 11/11/10

Tomorrow night, we're on the air with our ink sisters and brothers of the Speed and Briscoe persuasion. Tune in on the very air, or, for those out of range, stream it live at http://www.wrct.org/.

Thursday November 11th 2010
(11/11/10--that's BINARY!)
One night only!
Speed and Briscoe takes over CMU radio!
88.3 fm   WRCT
9pm-10pm

featuring:

Don Wentworth
Carrie Shaley
Kris Collins
Jason Baldinger
Nikki Allen
Jerome Crooks
Lucy Goubert
Renee Alberts

conducted by: Red Bob
produced by: Tina Milo



best,
Don (via Renée)