Mid-Week Bits

The galley of After the Poison arrived today from Finishing Line Press along with some cardstock samples for the cover, which I thought was a nice touch. The layout is simple and with no flourishes, which is just how I wanted it. Editor Leah Maines has done a nice job of keeping the longer poems on facing pages, which I really appreciate. I'll be giving it a close read this weekend have it back in the mail by Monday. Although the original release date was July 5, we're definitely looking at early August at this point. Still, good timing for all the gigs I have lined up for late summer and early fall.

Friend and fellow poet Karen Head is teaching at Oxford in the UK for six weeks this summer and is chronicling her time there -- with photos -- at her blog. Check it out and leave some comments.

I'm performing at the Pride reading at Wordsmiths Books (which is becoming my home away from home these days) in Decatur on the Fourth of July. The day kicks off at 1 p.m. and I go on about 7 p.m. Check the postcard above for details and the line-up. 

I've had several back channel emails from people who think I've either been too mean (or not mean enough) to Lucia Perillo over at the Poetry Foundation's Harriet blog. In a nutshell, her poor research, lack of literacy on modern poetry and sweeping generalizations make the post worthless, which is exactly what I called it. She asks why poets are "aligned with the left" politically and then claims there is "not much good poetry written about war." Really? In her response to criticism, she makes another inane comment about blogs being the "province of men" and Hariett blogger Travis Nichols tries to twist my comment into misogyny. I'm sure all the great blogging ladies in my blogroll would take umbrage with that notion, since they are some of best bloggers on the Internet, in my opinion. Funny that Harriet did not post my retort back to Travis calling him on his utter bullshit. So, allow me to say it here...Travis, that's a load of bullshit and you know it. There's so much wrong with Lucia's post beyond the obvious, which other commenters have noted, that trying to defend it is also, sorry to say, worthless. 

Comments

Radish King said…
I take umbrage and I don't even read Harriet. She bores the shit out of me.
xor
Emily A. Benton said…
she must not be reading many current issues of contemporary poetry lit mags, because I find it hard-pressed to pick up one without finding a war poem or two. (thank goodness!)
Anonymous said…
I've had some of my comments deleted too, Collin. They run a tight ship there -- no dissent/questioning too hard.

Too bad; that makes things kind of boring and homogeneous.

If you are going to blog somewhere where the blogging is so important that it requires conference calls, then I would agree that one's posts should be a bit more thought-out.

I'm getting sick of all this PC crap where disagreement or criticism = sexism or racism or homophobia. EEK! I'm an evil conservative for thinking that! :)

That's what I thought when I read Travis' reply. I didn't say it because:

a) It would probably have been deleted.

b) In poetry circles I frequently self-censor my less-than-100% liberal, PC views because I often get a sh*tstorm of criticism. Maybe that is why Lucia feels there is just one giant liberal poetry collective? Other folks do the same? Not sure. I'm pretty liberal but on the libertarian side not the more socialist/collectivist side that most liberal poets are on nowadays.

But it saves me a lot of energy -- I'd rather not be sparring all the time -- actually I would like the be sparring all the time so it is better for me not to go there haha.
Anonymous said…
ps
congrats on getting the proofs and stuff
Maggie May said…
'after the poison' -love that.
Pris said…
I just read the blog. You weren't too mean. Other than that, the blog is so far off base I don't want to waste my time on it.

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