Over-Awed

Blake Butler has a great post/review on Abe Smith's new book, Hank.

Speaking of Smith his book is published by Action Books, which is in part Johannes Göransson whose book is reviewed here. I bought this book after seeing Johannes read at Earshot maybe a year or so ago & love the book. It's obsessive and looping in a way which I think Apostrophe Books publishes best. Also see Catherine Meng's Tonight's the Night and the soon-to-be-released Jessica Baran’s book, Remains To Be Used which we were lucky enough to publish poems from in the current issue of Sink Review.

Back to Johannes, there's a wonderful essay up on Montevidayo titled,
A New Quarantine Will Take My Place, or, Ambient Violence, or, Bringing it All Back Home read that here.

Then my dears, go back to Coldfront & check out the latest POP, which consist of mini-essays on Radiohead's Kid A.

A Little of This/ A Little of That

Lila & I went to see Asobi Seksu last Wednesday. I have a review and more pics over on GSL.
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Thanks to everyone who came out to the Cakeshop on Saturday for my reading/release party. I have photos here
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Have you read the interview with Claudia Rankine? It's here. How about this one?

& you know about her "play" which takes place on a bus tour of the South Bronx?
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Catherine Meng has poems up at Real Poetik

My the weather's gotten cold

I had a wind-breaker on when I left for work this morning, but now I need a coat. I'm sure the brisk walk from Chinatown to KGB (Lehman/Cummins) will warm/wake me up. Seriously, I went to bed early last night & I'm still tired. I watched some the Lakers vs. Rockets game- not a Lakers' fan & the Rockets didn't bring it.
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Asobi Seksu were fun on Saturday.

I picked up Sueyeun Juliette Lee's book, that gorgeous feeling, on Friday and today Geoffrey Olsen's End Notebook, and Catherine Meng's Dokument arrived in the mail. I also picked up Sonic Youth: Goodbye Twentieth Century today from the library.
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here's a new blog worth bookmarking:

http://notellpoetry.blogspot.com/

Catching the Caught

Strangely I don't know what's going on this week- poetry-wise. Do you? I've gotten so many emails that I can't seem to keep them straight anymore. I'm off work today and tomorrow so I plan on catching up with all that. Hell, I might even write a poem. Maybe that's just crazy talk! I have book reviews to write- which means I have books to read/reread. I have two of the books now & the other three are in the mail.

Did anyone go to the Lit crawl over the weekend? Or any of the zillion readings on Friday?

I watched the debate.

Saturday I walked in the drizzling rain with a friend. Best day I've had in ages. Seriously. One of those days were life seems tangibly beautiful.

Went to the Submercer lounge Saturday night. One of those "you have to know the party-promoter name" deals, then industrial elevator two floors below ground level, dark hallways dimly lit, random lefts at boiler rooms and wine bottles, then, naturally, a right through the red door. It's ALWAYS a red door, isn't it? I'm not a club person, but for a club it seemed pretty chill- like a dirty martini.

Sunday I saw the American String Quartet which was amazing. The crowd was hootin' and hollerin' more raucous than a rock concert. Went to a lovely reception afterwards were I ate my fill of delicious cheeses + walked away with some swiss chocolate.

Then went to a going away party for a friend in Fort Greene.

Continued to pour liquid down my throat and exchanged laughs and yawns with friends.

I saw the Dodos last night. That was a good show, but so damn hot I felt gross afterwards. And here we are. French pressed into Tuesday.

Does anyone know about Petrichord? They have two chapbooks that I want to read. The Catherine Meng one I blogged about last week and now another one by Geoffrey Olsen.

Turn Your Love Into A Light & Let Your Love Shine Through

I ate chaat last night and could eat it again right now except I'm only at the drinking french press part of my day. No classes at LaGuardia today so no work for me-YES!
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I need to get paid 'cause 2 poets I really love have new (chap)books out. Matthew Rohrer's They All Seemed Asleep (Octopus 2008)- check it out here.

& Catherine Meng's Dokument (Petrichord, 2008) here. I was a huge fan of her book, Tonight's the Night and I'm hoping to do a review of it for Coldfront or elsewhere.

Speaking of Cold Front Magazine, they now have a drop menu where you can read bios and see pictures of the reviewers. I don't think I'm on it yet 'cause one of the editors emailed me and told me he'd lost my bio, as well as, two of my reviews for some Dusie chaps. Dutifully I resent all requested thises and thats.
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So in some music-related news, Noah and the Whale are playing a free mini-show tonight at the Sidewalk Cafe- I shall saunter over. Tomorrow an aquaintance of mine is doing this (also free)

Just a reminder-my performance DIASPORA CROSSINGS is this Friday, Sept
19!
Hope you can make it! your friday is all perfectly planned out...
park(ing) then diaspora then cara's dj-night!

Friday September 19, 2008, 7.30pm-9pm
Caffe Vivaldi
32 Jones Street, Manhattan
(Off Bleecker Street, near 7th Avenue)
Tel. 212-691-7538www.caffevivaldi.com

Trains: 1, A, B, C, D, E, F, V

No cover - just tips for musicians
Serves great food (Indian/Italian i think) and drinks!

A squealing jazz saxophone meets thunderous taiko drums meets virtuoso
piano; and the singing cello intertwines with sweet bamboo flute.
Diaspora Crossings brings these unique sounds to birth. Come and enjoy
the passions of traditions, and the festivities created when these
musician-composers from very different backgrounds cross paths.

Featuring musicians from Japan and Poland:

Nobuko Miyazaki - flute & shinobue
Bartosz Smoragiewicz - sax & clarinet
Margo Staniszewska - vocal
Izabela Buchowska - cello
Shogo Samata - piano
Yoko "Laiyo" Nakahashi - taiko drums
For more info visit:www.myspace.com/diasporacrossings

who's this cara you may ask? a friend of mine who goes by dj miss bliss & you can get yer groove on to her here:

the brooklyn street raga association 8 pm
pg six 9 pm
zachary cale &friends10 pm
this frontier needs heroes 11pm

dj miss bliss starts at 7 pm and will play before after and in between sets

dam stuhltrager gallery
corner of hope and marcy
williamsburg

8 pm / $5 admission / $3 beer

myspace.com/bradlauretti
myspace.com/zacharycale
myspace.com/pgsixband
myspace.com/thebrooklynstreetragaassociation
www.djmissbliss.com
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Monday I'll check out My Bloody Valentine at the Roseland!
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Did you know that there's a three day Boog City poetry festival going on? I'm definitely attending the Race panel and Julia Cohen's reading (same place at one pm) but for a complete break-down of the events check out Mathias' blog!