.................................
Dear poet-friends,
It's been a while, huh? A really long while?
See, what happened is that I got busted for posting to my blog during work hours. 42 times in 2009. No joke.
I mean, it's okay. It's clearly against my contract. And while I do love you, dear poetry friends on the internet, those guys at my office buy me dinner everyday and put a roof over my head. You guys might get me a whiskey and a couch once in a while, but it's just not sustainable. I had to take their side. Sorry.
But I've missed you. If anything happened on the internet in the past month and a half, I have no idea. What did you do?
So, yeah, what did I do? It's been a busy month. My T started kindergarten, I got a new car and I rescued a new cat, a darling feral kitten, that I named Marcelle. Well, Michael named it Marcel (among other suggestions), but then it was a girl. My car doesn't have a name. I've never been one to name my vehicles, but maybe I should start? Y'all got any good names for my car?
What else...I went to New York, for Michael's great reading with Mel Nichols at the Project, and was lucky enough to catch the tail end of the Belladonna conference. It was a full weekend out there...got to hang out with a bunch-o peeps and I didn't even take a single picture of poets hanging out with poets. Shame on me. But it was nice to see you all. Anselm, I have your hat, the brown one. You left it at the bar.
And, the Bay Area. There were great readings the weekend that Michael's parents were in town, and then the weekend we were in NYC, and then Kevin's play last weekend, when I was all sick with a gluten reaction, and so this weekend, I'm coming out. Are you? I'd like to see you there. Renee Gladman; Stephanie, Dana, and Alli; and Erika and Michael debut in joining Alli curating the wonderful Carol Mirakove and Bob Gluck Sunday eve.
And, oh yeah, I've got a chapbook. I tried to scan it, but my scanner isn't cooperating. I'll give you one this weekend, and I owe some people stuff in the mail. I'll get it there. I promise. Like I said, it's been busy.
I'm looking forward to seeing you, okay?
Jennifer
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Poets and their clothes.
Okay, okay, I'm jumping on, finding some intriguing things happening in Laura's post today...
For age appropriateness, I've got to hand it to Nada for not giving a fuck about her t-shirt inspired skirt and to Laura (is it okay to say this?) for still rocking the off-the-shoulder T with visible brightly colored bra strap on occassion...yes, it's usually partially hidden by a scarf, it's true. But she rocks it. I think I'm too old for that, but maybe there's an in-between age that it doesn't work on, where Laura can get away with it just as well as or better than a teenager?
Tangential example on the same note: Nicoloff buying his faux-Ray Bans says "I think I'm just old enough to get away with this without looking like a total teenage poser. I was at least alive in the '80s."
I recently bought a pair of vintage lace-up ankle boots on my lunch break at work and called them Alli-boots. I can't believe I just admitted that on the internet. I was almost dissuaded from buying them, for the Alli-ness of them, copying a friend etc. It seemed very uncool. But assured myself that I'd pair them with generally girlier things than Alli would, so it was okay. (Alli, forgive me). And they're comfortable. Really comfortable. And today I'm wearing them with grey tights, a light blue skirt that's not pleated but has all sorts of seams to look like it's pleated, and a really girly ruffly white button up. And a necklace. And two rings. Very foofy/froofy. I am little bit schoolgirl, and this morning Michael called it "affected nerdiness." But it's girly/foofy/froofy affected nerdiness. I don't know. I'm at work, my tattoos are hiding.
I just read "Against Pluralism," where Hal Foster writes, "More and more, art is directed by a cyclical mechanism akin to that which governs fashion, and the result is an ever-stylish neo-pop whose dimension is the popular past. An arriere-avant garde, such art functions in terms of returns and references rather than the utopian and anarchic transgressions of the avant-garde."
So what, if anything, does our clothing say about the art and work we're doing? Does recycled fashion, vintage boots, 80s throwback sunglasses (which Michael preferred to refer to as French New Wave), hint that we're recycling our poetries?
There's been talk (see Erika Staiti's Canessa Reading, where, you should note, she's wearing a Peter Pan-esque fedora and a great tie) asking the Bay Area scene to return to discussions of work instead of, you know, afterparties. Afterparties have appeared a lot. And so now I'm thinking about "why" we don't talk about our work much here right now. Is it easier to say Are you going to the bar? I like that tie. Nice boots. Great necklace! You getting another drink? Is there an afterafterparty? than to ask ourselves if we're recycling our work, as Foster suggests? If our work is worth talking about?
If we talked about our work at the afterparty, what would we wear?
And remember when Brandon Brown wouldn't have been caught dead in a white linen blazer, but instead donned black pants, black button-up, black tie, and red chucks? Every day?
I agree that some levels of costuming are fun, for the few hours of attention that I usually forgo, but I'm also a fan of intentionally over- or under-dressing. Fuck it. Wear a cocktail dress to your reading (okay, I did that at my Canessa reading in April. I had just come from a wedding, but decided not to change), or come in your rattiest. I'm down with that. Or if you're Brandon Brown, rock that three-piece. This does not successfully work for everyone.
Walking down College this morning I saw this sign: SUMMER CLOTHES OUT SALE.
Also, I'm having lunch with Lindsey Boldt today. Maybe I'll report back about what she's wearing.
For age appropriateness, I've got to hand it to Nada for not giving a fuck about her t-shirt inspired skirt and to Laura (is it okay to say this?) for still rocking the off-the-shoulder T with visible brightly colored bra strap on occassion...yes, it's usually partially hidden by a scarf, it's true. But she rocks it. I think I'm too old for that, but maybe there's an in-between age that it doesn't work on, where Laura can get away with it just as well as or better than a teenager?
Tangential example on the same note: Nicoloff buying his faux-Ray Bans says "I think I'm just old enough to get away with this without looking like a total teenage poser. I was at least alive in the '80s."
I recently bought a pair of vintage lace-up ankle boots on my lunch break at work and called them Alli-boots. I can't believe I just admitted that on the internet. I was almost dissuaded from buying them, for the Alli-ness of them, copying a friend etc. It seemed very uncool. But assured myself that I'd pair them with generally girlier things than Alli would, so it was okay. (Alli, forgive me). And they're comfortable. Really comfortable. And today I'm wearing them with grey tights, a light blue skirt that's not pleated but has all sorts of seams to look like it's pleated, and a really girly ruffly white button up. And a necklace. And two rings. Very foofy/froofy. I am little bit schoolgirl, and this morning Michael called it "affected nerdiness." But it's girly/foofy/froofy affected nerdiness. I don't know. I'm at work, my tattoos are hiding.
I just read "Against Pluralism," where Hal Foster writes, "More and more, art is directed by a cyclical mechanism akin to that which governs fashion, and the result is an ever-stylish neo-pop whose dimension is the popular past. An arriere-avant garde, such art functions in terms of returns and references rather than the utopian and anarchic transgressions of the avant-garde."
So what, if anything, does our clothing say about the art and work we're doing? Does recycled fashion, vintage boots, 80s throwback sunglasses (which Michael preferred to refer to as French New Wave), hint that we're recycling our poetries?
There's been talk (see Erika Staiti's Canessa Reading, where, you should note, she's wearing a Peter Pan-esque fedora and a great tie) asking the Bay Area scene to return to discussions of work instead of, you know, afterparties. Afterparties have appeared a lot. And so now I'm thinking about "why" we don't talk about our work much here right now. Is it easier to say Are you going to the bar? I like that tie. Nice boots. Great necklace! You getting another drink? Is there an afterafterparty? than to ask ourselves if we're recycling our work, as Foster suggests? If our work is worth talking about?
If we talked about our work at the afterparty, what would we wear?
And remember when Brandon Brown wouldn't have been caught dead in a white linen blazer, but instead donned black pants, black button-up, black tie, and red chucks? Every day?
I agree that some levels of costuming are fun, for the few hours of attention that I usually forgo, but I'm also a fan of intentionally over- or under-dressing. Fuck it. Wear a cocktail dress to your reading (okay, I did that at my Canessa reading in April. I had just come from a wedding, but decided not to change), or come in your rattiest. I'm down with that. Or if you're Brandon Brown, rock that three-piece. This does not successfully work for everyone.
Walking down College this morning I saw this sign: SUMMER CLOTHES OUT SALE.
Also, I'm having lunch with Lindsey Boldt today. Maybe I'll report back about what she's wearing.
Things I overheard my boss say the morning of Thursday, July 9th.
...........................
1. Crusty brown mayonnaise, how may I help you?
2. With a stun gun on hand, just in case. What are those things called? Stunner, damn-O!
1. Crusty brown mayonnaise, how may I help you?
2. With a stun gun on hand, just in case. What are those things called? Stunner, damn-O!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
July 7
............................
Hey kids. I feel both really old and really young at the same time, don't you?
T started a summer program instead of his old preschool across the street which means I have to get in my car every morning, and I hate that. I drive him ten minutes away, to Bay Farm Island, which you probably don't know but it's a part of Alameda that's between actual Alameda and the Oakland Airport. I hate it. It's the total burbs. Track condos next to track condos next to track houses and a golf course. Awful. And my bus ride is now 40 minutes into the city, which this morning meant 40 minutes next to this guy with a sour expression, weird throat clearing, audible yawns, and major phone fidgeting. I was tempted to quote T and say, "You're a bummer!" but I refrained. I was trying to read Foster's Recodings, but totally failed.
Then I had extra coffee.
Hey kids. I feel both really old and really young at the same time, don't you?
T started a summer program instead of his old preschool across the street which means I have to get in my car every morning, and I hate that. I drive him ten minutes away, to Bay Farm Island, which you probably don't know but it's a part of Alameda that's between actual Alameda and the Oakland Airport. I hate it. It's the total burbs. Track condos next to track condos next to track houses and a golf course. Awful. And my bus ride is now 40 minutes into the city, which this morning meant 40 minutes next to this guy with a sour expression, weird throat clearing, audible yawns, and major phone fidgeting. I was tempted to quote T and say, "You're a bummer!" but I refrained. I was trying to read Foster's Recodings, but totally failed.
Then I had extra coffee.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Please don't:
.....................
clip your fingernails on the transbay
floss extensively in public restrooms
clip your fingernails on the transbay
floss extensively in public restrooms
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
...............................
1. I think I've decided to buy oil pastels to match the palette of today's outfit.
2. Department of Eagles & Grizzly Bear. The Dirty Projectors, old and new.
3. Really into my farmer's market people. Last night: celeriac and caramelized leeks in brown butter, seared chard. Tonight: parsnip and potato puree, spinach with roasted garlic.
4. Reading about Eva Hesse's drawing over the weekend, and her relationship with children and the grid and to line. And so thinking about art making with Taeo, the graph paper in my notebook, pens, yarn, tape, knitting, knotting, impulse, impulse control, hair. Also thinking about Maya Deren's move from poetry to film. And so my relationship to poetry and then to art/knitting/making/bookmaking/painting--the other things I do that inform my creative self in ways that are not poetics. Thinking, in this way, about Morgan Levy's relationships to art and language. And thinking that she might know about other people I should be looking at. I'll ask her.
5. SUN!
1. I think I've decided to buy oil pastels to match the palette of today's outfit.
2. Department of Eagles & Grizzly Bear. The Dirty Projectors, old and new.
3. Really into my farmer's market people. Last night: celeriac and caramelized leeks in brown butter, seared chard. Tonight: parsnip and potato puree, spinach with roasted garlic.
4. Reading about Eva Hesse's drawing over the weekend, and her relationship with children and the grid and to line. And so thinking about art making with Taeo, the graph paper in my notebook, pens, yarn, tape, knitting, knotting, impulse, impulse control, hair. Also thinking about Maya Deren's move from poetry to film. And so my relationship to poetry and then to art/knitting/making/bookmaking/painting--the other things I do that inform my creative self in ways that are not poetics. Thinking, in this way, about Morgan Levy's relationships to art and language. And thinking that she might know about other people I should be looking at. I'll ask her.
5. SUN!
Friday, May 8, 2009
..............................
Taeo and Polly Jean. Photo by David Buuck, through his living room window.
Taeo and Polly Jean. Photo by David Buuck, through his living room window.
Friday, May 1, 2009
This week.
..........................
1. Learning Legalese and dodging lapses in logic.
2. Listening to more rap than any other genre and making my facebook friends pay for it in lyrical updates.
3. Apologizing for unintentional alliteration. (Really, I'm sorry).
3. Sonnets. Berrigan and Mayer. Again and again.
4. Eating like shit.
5. Waving to my new neighbors.
6. An hour later, my new neighbors making out before eating dinner. Finding this incredibly endearing.
7. Physically paying for eating like shit.
1. Learning Legalese and dodging lapses in logic.
2. Listening to more rap than any other genre and making my facebook friends pay for it in lyrical updates.
3. Apologizing for unintentional alliteration. (Really, I'm sorry).
3. Sonnets. Berrigan and Mayer. Again and again.
4. Eating like shit.
5. Waving to my new neighbors.
6. An hour later, my new neighbors making out before eating dinner. Finding this incredibly endearing.
7. Physically paying for eating like shit.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Recently.
.......................................
1. T, fake snoring.
2. T, real snoring.
3. The World at Large.
4. My first gluten-free Fettucine Alfredo, all of it from scratch. Sauce, noodles, everything. It took 3 hours.
5. Apparently I don't slur when white-wine drunk.
6. Watching my new neighbor brush his teeth before bed in the kitchen with his lady. Finding this incredibly endearing.
7. Pockets.
1. T, fake snoring.
2. T, real snoring.
3. The World at Large.
4. My first gluten-free Fettucine Alfredo, all of it from scratch. Sauce, noodles, everything. It took 3 hours.
5. Apparently I don't slur when white-wine drunk.
6. Watching my new neighbor brush his teeth before bed in the kitchen with his lady. Finding this incredibly endearing.
7. Pockets.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
....................................
Favorite graffiti lately:
1. "Howard Tight Fit" on the cement floor of the bus terminal in large, clear caps.
2. A stencil of a little girl's face on the sidewalk on Minna @ 2nd.
3. "Panda Sex" on the top of a building coming out of the Posey Tube, again, in large, clear caps. Huge.
Favorite weekend moments:
1. MN: "Pshshsh, whatever."
2. Staiti, dancing in the backseat: "You gotta what? How long you had that problem?"
3. A-dub's interjection: "So, have you guys tried parsley root?"
Favorite graffiti lately:
1. "Howard Tight Fit" on the cement floor of the bus terminal in large, clear caps.
2. A stencil of a little girl's face on the sidewalk on Minna @ 2nd.
3. "Panda Sex" on the top of a building coming out of the Posey Tube, again, in large, clear caps. Huge.
Favorite weekend moments:
1. MN: "Pshshsh, whatever."
2. Staiti, dancing in the backseat: "You gotta what? How long you had that problem?"
3. A-dub's interjection: "So, have you guys tried parsley root?"
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
DUDE, WHERE'S MY SHIRT?
.............................................
for John Sakkis
nose slide and then 360
big spin, i could bust those
on your celebrity/poet.
pervy text messages over
an ice cream belly, your
piss smells like MSG
and your persimmons smell
like what? good job,
brain. long-arm
a testicle tonsil in a bar fight,
you are too old to like punk rock.
I'll throw garlic bread
at your brother, too. how
do you mix your dry rub?
for John Sakkis
nose slide and then 360
big spin, i could bust those
on your celebrity/poet.
pervy text messages over
an ice cream belly, your
piss smells like MSG
and your persimmons smell
like what? good job,
brain. long-arm
a testicle tonsil in a bar fight,
you are too old to like punk rock.
I'll throw garlic bread
at your brother, too. how
do you mix your dry rub?
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