30 April 2014

John DeWitt's Visceral Apocrypha






Another Shit Valley edition, this one by John DeWitt. I can't say this material is "new" since it took me so long to read it, but it's certainly "newish." John's living in Paris now, I think, and I'm always interested to see what he's working on...

29 April 2014

Etal Adnan on Joanne Kyger


Etal Adnan has high praise for Joanne Kyger in this BOMB interview with Lisa Robertson. I've somehow never read this tiny Kyger poem "Palace of Night" which ends: "Then you grow up / and get to be post human / in a past that keeps happening / ahead of you." Adnan claims "the poem opened up infinity for me..." which is, of course, a pretty incredible review! The complete text of the interview is available here.

28 April 2014

Christina Chalmers' Work Songs







John Dewitt sent me this one awhile back (from wherever he's currently living abroad!), and I'm only now getting around to it. New Christina Chalmers from the UK. Her first, I think, on new-to-me Shit Valley. It can be had here (along with a Corina Copp number) at the Shit Valley tumblr. I love the oversize format (A4?!)...

25 April 2014

Jackqueline Frost's The Antidote: Second Edition



A second run of Jackqueline Frost's The Antidote is available now. If you missed it the first time, get it while you can. If you're already a convert, convince someone you love to check it out.

Order it directly from Compline here or from SPD here.

24 April 2014

More Frances Kruk







Dwarf Surge is another newish Frances Kruk number through her own YT Communication, part of a larger manuscript she's calling lo-fi frags in progress. Looking forward to seeing more...

23 April 2014

Robert Grenier Portfolio in BOMB







I'm pretty sure these drawings are pretty old, given that Bob was going to make an edition of rhymms with Alastair Johnston's Poltroon (I think) back in the 90's (I think?). Or maybe he's continuing the series? I remember seeing the green boxes for the aborted series at his place in Bolinas, which were designed to "rhymm" (get it?!) with the O Books edition of What I Believe   Transpiration / Transpiring   Minnesota. I'm always excited to see folks promoting Bob's practice; I view him as an unqualified genius...

22 April 2014

Newish Frances Kruk









I've been a huge fan of Frances Kruk's work since reading her beautifully measured chapbook with Punch Press, Down You Go, or NÉGATION de BRUIT: APRÈS DANIELLE COLLOBERT. I was stoked to discover two new Kruk chapbooks in the mail this week, both of which I hope to share here. This is the first in full, "Five Poems in Water" through the Dusie Kollektiv. Enjoy.

20 April 2014

Frost, Brazil, and Kennedy in Conversation with Thom Donovan



Check out this super interesting conversation between Jackqueline Frost, David Brazil, Evan Kennedy, and Thom Donovan up at BOMB. Essential reading.

08 April 2014

New Elderly



New Elderly, this one featuring Katy Bohinc, Matt Longabucco, Geoffrey Olsen, Emily Skillings, Dan Thomas-Glass, and Sue Landers. This mag has already proven super reliably awesome in its short life: I read the last two front to back, which is especially rare for me! And this one looks particularly chock-full of good stuff. After a preliminary skim, I can say I'm especially looking forward to Geoffrey Olsen's material, which I believe he shared when reading for Hearts Desire last summer.  

07 April 2014

New poems by Brett Price


I had the opportunity to meet Brett Price in Seattle during AWP, shortly after working with him on his fantastic contribution to ON, "The New York School: On Naming," which can be had here. As we were chatting, I realized I'd never read any of his poems and asked if he'd share a sheaf. The following PDF represents new work published here and there in small journals: a recent greatest hits, if you will. I'm very pleased I asked to see something as these poems are incredible, and I'm more pleased to have Brett's blessing to share them with you, kind and gentle readers. Take a look and share with friends...

04 April 2014

David James Miller on The Katechon



I feel incredibly lucky to point you, dear reader, to a super smart article at Drunken Boat in which David James Miller places my poem The Katechon in the context of black metal (where it certainly belongs!!).

He writes: "In looking toward a future in which a political (and biblical) katechon has been removed, through a necessary release of chaos, a ‘hope’ of a kind simultaneously arrives, one in which the presence of his poem and the act of its writing posits the possibility of redemption. This would certainly seem to be against all the ideological underpinnings of black metal, but isn’t this what they were really all about: asserting that the present is not enough, that there’s something else available, even if it’s not immediate?"

I was also pleased to see David mention the great St. Louis band Grand Ulena, which, I was suprised to learn, featured his friend Danny McClain on drums. I learned about the band through its bass player, Darin Gray, who played in one of my favorite bands of all time, The Dazzling Killmen (as well as other seminal Skin Graft bands like You Fantastic!, Brise-Glace, and Yona-Kit). Grand Ulena were short-lived and pretty great, and they deserve way more attention; as such, you should check out the YouTube clips when you read David's generous article here.