posted by Reen |
A nice night, all in all. Got Lauren Bender's forthcoming tinyside bound after work, and then at the reading by Doug Lang and Tom Raworth. Laughed like hell at Doug's piece on "What to Do in D.C." -- "Be miserable. Be miserable. Be miserable." It probably could have applied equally well to any city, but it was still funny. Tom's reading led to a lot of scribbling in my notebook, such that it is hard for me to issue any more cogent report.
Got to walk Flash (Rod and Mel's bassett hound -- what bassett hound yet is incapable of fostering immediate human good will, I do not know. They have been formed, by their own design and by thousands of years of human genetic interference, into a Platonic form of the interesting and engaging. Ungainly, squat, soft, and friendly. The people who came up with Hello Kitty could do no better).
Later at the bar, talked tomatoes with Tom Raworth, ate all of Buck Downs' guacamole, and permitted 2 beers to allow me to become a bit more expansive/boisterious than was wise. I hope all took it in good humor and stead (After all, if you are a poet and offended by the tipsy, you seriously need to look into a new line of work, like being a Baptist preacher or something, yo).
The cab that took me home experienced a D.C. miracle: Green lights from 24th Street to 13th. I don't think I've ever taken such a long clear stretch in my time here. It was like a movie.
Anyway. Midnight now. To bed. Sleep is a great idea, and all my bones are hot. See you tomorrow!
posted by Reen |
Woke up angry, became irrational in the shower, where I pretended the wall was someone I dislike, and proceeded to make pointed comments regarding their weight, hygiene, and personal ambition. I am at my most devastating when conditioning my hair.
Hopefully tonight's reading will restore my faith in humanity. At the very least, I managed to jot some things down last night before going to bed. I miss writing. I think some new Drunken Sailor poems may be in the offing. Oh, drunken sailor, you are the thing I write about when I am too tired/screwed up/angry/stupid to write about anything else.
Also, People of the World! My Necklace Can Beat Up Your Necklace!
posted by Reen |
Sarah Manguso's Finally, Tinyside 23, has sold out. You can get 21-23 over at Big Game Books.
Feeling depressed today. I think it's just one of those things. Snow and cold make me sorrowful. Work is kind of boring, and it's hard to concentrate. And then, when I get home, there are 10,000 Tinyside things to do! I should have all my decisions on the recent subs by Sunday, and I'm working through preparation for Tinysides 26-30. The covers are printed, cut, scored, and folded, the guts are all printed, and two of them are folded, cut, refolded, and ready for binding.
Tomorrow: Doug Lang and Tom Raworth! 8 p.m. at Bridge Street Books (2814 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC)
posted by Reen |
posted by Reen |
Below is the tank, all cleaned up and with its new denizens, Sandra, Ruth, Potter and the Buddha.
Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg are both media-shy.
posted by Reen |
D.C. is the only burg in America, I'll warrant, where political opinions are regularly the subject of subway advertisements. (Also: attack helicopters. Never saw an ad for attack helicopters on the NYC subway, but then, the NYC subway doesn't stop at the Pentagon).
Anyhoo, the D.C. metro has this week been buried in a crazy confluence of anti-abortion ads. ("Myth: Abortion is legal only for the first three months of pregnancy. Fact: it is legal at any time for virtually any reason"). Yeah, if you're rich enough to afford to travel to the only abortion clinic left in your damn state, wait five days because of mandatory waiting periods and/or because, given that there is only one clinic in the state, there's kind of a backup, and then wade through a pile of sign-waving, screaming kookoobirds to get to the damn doctor -- then yes, I suppose it is legal for "virtually" any reason. Only, have they tested that? Have they sent people in to say they would like a third trimester abortion because the baby is a moon man? I mean, "virtually" any reason? Any reason? Shut up, stupid sign!
Now is the time for all good men to procure a Sharpie and indulge in a little citizen "rebranding" of the aforesaid advertisements, methinks.
In other news, I have procured two new goldfish, Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. They also hate the signs on the subway. They are joined by a large snail who shall be known as "The Late Justice Potter Stewart," after the Supreme Court justice who famously said that he knew pornography when he saw it, except that he didn't, because he was BLIND. The Late Justice Potter Stewart reserves judgment on the signs on the subway -- his dissenting opinion in Griswold v. Connecticut (the case legalizing birth control, and paving the way for Roe v. Wade by determining that there was just some shit the government had no business dealing with) was that outlawing birth control was really really stupid, but not unconstitutional. Thus, he falls into the camp of people who know injustice "when they see it," but would prefer to sit back and clean their robes (and/or a fish tank with their tongues).
posted by Reen |
