The government screwed me hard this year.
Monthly Archive for April, 2008
I’ve just finished a great book of poetry, Rod Smith’s Deed. I first heard Smith’s work when I was taking a writing workshop with Chris Nealon (another fabulous poet) while I was at Berkeley. Chris brought in a poem, “The Good House,” that blew me away. At the time, it was only available as a chapbook published by Spectacular Books, and I was too broke to buy one when Chris brought in some copies for our class. I’ve been looking for that poem ever since, and googled it recently to see if I could track it down.
The good news: University of Iowa Press had included “The Good House” in a collection published in 2007, Deed. The better news: the rest of the collection is equally wonderful. Smith’s got an incredible range–a linguistic adventurer at heart, he manages to be both hilarious and deadly serious, light-hearted and frank. Technique-wise, he’s admirable to say the least, but he doesn’t rest on his laurels, hovering at the level of cleverness. Underneath the spirit of play in his work runs an undercurrent of political and existential unrest that’s both unnerving and wonderful.
Perhaps a good way to sum this collection up is to say this. After stanzas such as this:
“the good house – it is heavy,
the good house – it exercises
hope in the inhuman, is transformed
by it—
becomes blatant in its strength
& is destroyed, the good
house must be rebuilt
carefully. The good house
is in conflict.” (Deed, 13)
Smith ends the collection as such:
pour le CGT
“We work too hard.
We’re too tired
To fall in love.
Therefore we must
Overthrow the government.” (Deed, 87)
Indeed, Mr. Smith. Indeed.
I work in Santa Monica and teach writing class until late on Mondays, so instead of driving home to Atwater and suffering through an hour and a half of east-west morning traffic on Tuesday mornings, I crash at my aunt’s in Santa Monica every Monday night. Yes, I’m willing to sleep on a mat on the floor instead of in my own bed to avoid traffic, which is pretty much the bane of my existence. Aside from back pain, one of the problems I encounter when camping on the Westside is that I can’t write in someone else’s home. So, last night after work, around 10 pm, I was looking for a quiet place to do some writing and I finally found somewhere that’s great. If you’re in Santa Monica/Venice area and need a place to read, write, or study, The Novel Cafe is good news.
image by Tamar from Postcards from LA.
They keep it nice and quiet—low music in the center room where you order drinks only, and the other customers, fortunately, do the same. It’s right next-door to a bookstore, and the whole place is chock full of books! Everywhere! Shelves of books all around, which is pretty much my weird idea of some kind of heaven. It’s also open late—until 1 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and until midnight on Sundays.
I was actually able to get some good work done on a new long poem I’m working on called prison-house, which, if you were at the Tongue and Groove reading, you heard the first part of. The last time I evacuated my aunt’s in search of solace and went to the bar to write, it turned out to be karaoke night, which was pretty unfortunate, and needless to say, not the best environment for writing. So this is a good, safe, quiet option if you’re looking for somewhere to do your thing and don’t want to suffer through some drunk-ass wailing through his/her interpretation of one of Journey’s popular hits.
I’m hoping to set up a reading here sometime soon, and I’ll keep you posted. Here’s their website, for anyone who’s curious and might want to visit: The Novel Cafe
In case you can’t tell by the ALLCAPS, I’m really excited about the release party for who’s to say what’s home/launch party for my publisher, Writ Large Press!
It’s taking place on Friday, May 2nd, at La Cita bar in downtown LA, from 7-10 p.m. We really couldn’t ask for a better venue. It’s a great bar, and we’ll get to hang out on the patio, where’s there’s an outdoor bar. Did I mention it’s at a bar?
I feel like it’s my wedding day or something. I’m already freaking out about the music, and what I’m going to wear. So, basically, if you don’t attend, you will have ruined my wedding day, and I’ll never forget you didn’t bother to show up. Years later, when you see me on the street and try to shake my hand, I’ll turn away in disdain, shaming you forever.
I’m kidding, of course.
(Am I?)
Writ Large got these really nice postcards printed up for the event. I’m going to figure out how to use the scanner at work, and scan it in so you can see the postcard even if I don’t see you in person. Check back in a bit for it!
It’s gonna be a blast. I’ll read some stuff, and Chiwan and Judy (Writ Large Press) will tell us about their publishing company. There may be some surprise guest performers, even. There’ll be music, and drinking, and social banter, etc. So come!
A big thanks to those who attended the reading!
A week after the reading at Tongue and Groove last Sunday, things have finally settled down enough for me to sit down and reflect on it.
Firstly, I just want to express my appreciation for all the support. It was a great turnout—and it was wonderful to look out in the crowd and see so many familiar faces.
The night as a whole was just amazing. Conrad has really done a bang-up job organizing, promoting, and making Tongue and Groove a fantastic monthly event. It’s a cut above what many of us have come to expect from spoken word in L.A., and the talent I shared the stage with blew me away.
What an entertaining and memorable group. I’ll be laughing about the moment in Josh’s piece where the little Mormon boys in shorts were chasing the energy drink van for a long time, Dana’s short story was a treasure, and I’m still listening to Izzy Cox’s CD.
For me, the reading marked the first step in the long road to getting my book out there. It also marked a personal triumph—overcoming my terrible fear of reading publicly. For the first time, I really felt able to relax into the pieces and to connect to them while on stage. I feel like, finally, I gave them their due.
It helped a lot to feel all the love in the room. So, again, thanks for coming. See you all at the release party!
