poetry/ lit
tightness untethered \/\/ some contradictory instances of a modern idea
“Tight” is a word with some significant ambiguity in modern usage. It can mean drunk, cheap, fit, cool, calm, close, angry, well-rehearsed, cautious, or secretive… For my money, and I’m cheap, “tight” is as rich a word as circulates in modern American English. It has a long and international history of ambiguity bringing it... »
awww shit\/\/orwell just got pwned
When I read 1984 for the first time I remember thinking that the notion of newspeak was supposed to be terrifying. The ultimate capitalization of language: say the same thing faster and with less space. But now that newspeak exists (it’s ttly all about txtng nd sending msgs tht dnt tk up too much... »
the blending heat of compassion
Let me fall into the broken waves of your absence, twisted in the soft wings of your malignant ships.. as they sail in the frozen crystals that cover my eyelashes.. gently crashing. your memory, rusting the endless tunnels of my mouth.. shaping slow breaths into my dead lungs. i’ve been waiting for a taste; the death of your neglect. a wreckage of... »
compassion for animals \/\/ ?
Vladimir Mayakovsky is perhaps best known nowadays in the U.S. for two things: First, he “taught” Frank O’Hara to speak to the sun. The conceit of O’Hara’s great poem “A True Account of Talking to the Sun on Fire Island” is borrowed from Mayakovsky’s “An Extraordinary Adventure Which Befell Vladimir Mayakovsky in a Summer... »
color theory \/\/ and bad writing
Poets care a great deal about color. They’re artists in black and white, but they refer to color. The words for color, the associations they call up in the reader’s mind and their music, have fascinated poets for centuries. Goethe went so far as to write a scientifically-ridiculed theory of color, completely ignoring its... »
commodity fetishism gone right \/\/ consumerism in the age of cyber mud-slinging
“I don’t know the percentage of the internet that’s valid, do you? Jesus, it’s scary.” — Hunter S. Thompson It’s difficult to pin down the spirit of the times when there’s simply so much information and stimulation at our fingertips. The cultural movements that once defined generations have managed to fragment into a dizzying array... »
bad-mouthing women \/\/ a short poetic history
The Saints victory in the La Supair Bowle this past week gave everyone ample opportunity to talk about Kim Kardashian’s big ass. Why, you may wonder? So many questions torture my already fevered brain… If they lost, would her presence on the field have blamed like Jessica Simpson was for Tony Romo’s flameout awhile... »
the first tale from fishmammal state \/\/ be a hater in action
Hello readers, it’s been a while. I’ve mentioned that I’m a student, a professional book nerd. Well, for this piece I want to be more specific (well, kinda). I’m a student and employee (because I’m a TA) at Fishmammal State University (which is NOT FSU, it’s a northern US coastal school). So, because it’s a university, by... »
sh*ttalkers \/\/ a thumbnail poetics
I’ve been thinking lately on the subject of poetry contests, trying to figure out the ancestry of poetry slams (shouts to Bob Holman and his Bowery Poetry Club for many a fine evening), and literary magazine competitions (no one here to really shout out, and would they be listening). I guess I wonder about Tyler’s... »
the reverse is also true
A simple black box theatre. Three stools sit side by side. On them sit three gents, dressed in suits and a waistcoat. They are lit by one light each. Occassionally they stare into the lights as they speak. Alan: Seventeen years ago, I found myself adrift in a dinghy. I, to this day, have... »
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