They enter wearing poem-proof vests.Each is armed with a Poetry Magazinetotebag. In close formationthey swarm the free tables for copies of Makeand Stop Smiling. The chorusof pixies falls silent. Smokersare escorted to the loading dock.No more free half-hot dogs with everythingfor you, I’m afraid. We fleewearing nothing but hard hats and suspenders.But still the door won’tclose. Disperse, they say, disperse,like…
Series A: Speaker Project Reading
Series Apresents a special poetry reading in conjunction withJuan Angel Chavez ‘s Speaker Project Thursday, May 31, 7:00 p.m.Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell featuring Tim YuErika MikkaloSarah LangRay BianchiJoel CraigErica Bernheim About the Speaker Project:Chicago based artist Juan Angel Chavez will create a multi-directional, multi-layer sound experience at the Hyde Park Art Center from April 29 to July…
What Makes a Poem Funny?
Originally uploaded by tympan. Lessons learned at an evening of comedic poetry at Myopic: 1. Fixed forms are funny. The more elaborate, the better. 1a. Sestinas are especially funny (McSweeney’s). Septinas are even funnier (Joyelle McSweeney). 2. Repetition is funny. Especially if you repeat the names of2a. Animals (Aaron Belz).2b. Body parts (Gabe Gudding). 3. Anaphora is funny. 4. Lists…
Most Questionable Choice of Reading Material of the Day
A middle-aged man with frayed pant cuffs sitting in a comfortable armchair in a suburban Borders cafe leafing through the most recent issue of Autopistols.
Tim Yu & William Allegrezza @ Myopic Books
MYOPIC POETRY SERIES presents Tim Yu & William Allegrezza Sunday, April 22, 7 pmMyopic Books1564 N. Milwaukee Ave, Wicker Park, Chicago TIM YU won the Vincent Chin Chapbook Prize for his collection Journey to the West, which appears in the Winter 2006 issue of Barrow Street. His work appears in Seven Corners, 2nd Avenue Poetry, Chicago Review, and SHAMPOO, as…
The First Volume of Richardson’s Clarissa, As Automatically Summarized by Microsoft Word
brother’s address. Solmes. father. Solmes. brother. Solmes’s favour.father’s power.Lovelace? sister, if I married him.Lovelace. family. father’s hands.Lovelace.younger sister. man.Solmes.sister.man’s own. sister loves!virtuous man.mother.father.family.that man!family.father?] Solmes? family.If you canfamily.mother. other man’s favour.brother. family. Solmes.man? mother’s. Solmes!] heart, if any man living does. * Lovelace.If it beSolmes.dearest friends! Dear, dearSolmes. IfIf yourheart.mother.father. that man.letter.man.father.letter. If I didbrother.MY DEAR BROTHER,If you please. love?…
Look Out, New York
I’ll be in New York from Thursday to Sunday attending the Association for Asian American Studies conference. While I’m there, I’ll be doing two readings: one on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Lolita for Paolo Javier’s 2nd Avenue Poetry (with Emmy Catedral, Kevin Coval, Thom Donovan, Wanda Phipps, and Sukhdev Sandhu) and another on Sunday at 5 p.m. at Verlaine…
My T-Shirt
I am thinking about the parallels between a T-shirt that says It’s a black thing. You wouldn’t understand and It’s a language thing. Let me explain. There is a whole raft of things to say here about how the label “language poet” might or might not resemble the label “woman poet” or “black poet,” but you’ll just have to wait…