Dream Song & Berryman

Twice I have accidentally bought the wrong book. The same wrong book. I was trying to buy a used copy of The Dream Songs online and instead ended up with Dream Song: The Life of John Berryman in my mailbox. The first time, I discarded the biography, passing it along to another reader. The second time, I decided its arrival must mean something, that there was too much determination in this book to let it go again. So I put it on my desk at the top of the pile of books to read ... eventually. It's been there two months, maybe three, and today I finally began reading it. It will be the first biography I read about Berryman. It should be no secret that I instinctively distrust all biographies, but read them nonetheless with a sense of awe and admiration, always wanting to know whether this is a version that ought to be trusted, and wanting it to be so. Thus far, just a few chapters into the book, I instinctively trust Paul Mariani, and am happy to be sitting in my comfy old poetry chair reading the life of Berryman.

Melanie Henderson and the Folks on Langston Way

At the Poesis reading, I had the pleasure of following Melanie Henderson, a D.C.-based poet. Check out her blog -- and a wonderful shot on her site, "The Folks on Langston Way."

Sitting Next to Lord Byron

A photo by Regan Armstrong at my reading at the Pentagon City Border's Books "Poesis" series, 10.21.2009. A really fun night -- a great audience, other wonderful readings, and a night with a few old friends. I admit to feeling very cozy next to Byron and wish I could stay longer. Alas, the book sold out after the reading!

"I Love You, But ..." -- From the Best Letter Ever

From S, age 7:

October 14, 2009

Dear Mommy,

When are you going to get me a prize? I've been wondering for a long time. What time is swimming and soccer? When is A's soccer practice when we are at the park? May I please have your computer soon? I love you a lot but how did Martin Luther King Juner get the whites to free the blacks? If you don't know does Donn or people that work with him? When can I have a playdate with A, M and E? I know that I have a lot of stuff to ask. I bet you know that I have a lot of to ask you also. Can you help me with wrighting my books that I am making at our house?

Love,
S


+ + + +

That just might be my favorite "I love you, but ..." ever.

A Weakness in the English Language

Question: Why doesn't the English language have a word that means "and/or"?

It's such an unattractive phrase, although sometimes one that cannot be deleted nor changed.

Oh, future with "andor" as a word: hurry, hurry.

NYT Review of "The Anthologist"

"Novels about poetry are a dodgy proposition. After all, novelists already have a near monopoly on narrative and discursive fiction — turf once claimed by poetry — and it seems almost impolite for our prose writers, havi ng triumphed so thoroughly over their sister art, to set themselves up as tour guides to poetry’s dwindling estate. And let’s face it, stories involving poets tend to be hokey or, worse, excruciatingly literary ..."

Check out the full review of Nicholson Baker's The Anthologist on NYT, by David Orr

State Street's Official Release

Thanks to Bull City Press, State Street has been released. Woohoo! Listen to a recent interview on WUNC's "The State of Things" with Frank Stasio.