From March 22-24 I will be a visiting writer at Dine' College in Tsalie, Arizona.Not only am I excited about working closely with young Native writers, but it gives me the chance to hangout (eat) in the southwest. I will be blogging the trip.
After my stint at Dine College I will be heading up to Santa Fe, NM with Orlando White (Dine College faculty) to a reading at the Institute of American Indian Arts by one of my favorite fictioneers Brian Evenson.
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Fellow IAIA Alums dg nanouk okpik and Cathy Rexford are included in this dazzling anthology.
"THE NONHUMAN WORLD doesn’t speak our language. At least not here, not now. Thus poetry can be an act of translation, and reading poetry an act of immersion. In every poem, language—and the world—is further illuminated. We’re taught how to listen, how to see. In Effigies, four voices emerge to shatter our perceptions about the world. Cathy Tagnak Rexford, dg nanouk okpik, Brandy Nalani McDougall, and Mahealani Perez-Wendt bring us alchemical dispatches from the far reaches of America: Hawaii and Alaska."
To you can jump to Orion's webpage and read Eva Saulitis' entire review by clicking here.
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Dark Thirty will have a small write up in the January / February Edition of Poets and Writers. Fellow IAIA Alumni and poet Orlando White's debut Collection Bone Light is also featured. You can jump to the list of the debut poets P&W has featured over the last five years here.]]>
interview I did with Alice Jennings on Marfa Public Radio.The interview was conducted during my Lannan Residency Fellowship.
I say "sort of" a million times which may have been the result of nervousness, but I think the poems are read well.
Let me know what you think! You can jump to the interview by clicking the photo or you can jump to the file Here.
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So my final week in Marfa has come upon me. Next I am off to Santa Fe, NM for a few days, and then back to the cold northeast.
I have gotten a chance to meet good people, friends I no doubt will be in contact with for the rest of my life. A humble “thank you” to all those who made my time in Marfa such a wonderful experience.
-Cecilia Thompson, Marfa’s town historian took Maureen Nelson (another Lannan Writer in Residence) and myself on a historical tour of Presidio County. The tour was a little long, hours long, but well worth the time spent.
-The Chinati Foundation Open House Weekend. I also got a personal tour of the Chinati by Marfa Book Co. owner Tim Johnson. Jump to pictures here.
-Chinati Artist in Residence Alex Schweder’s Art Installation.
-Meeting artists David Leigh and Ben Meisner.
-Meeting fellow Lannan Writers Cynthia Carr, Maureen Nelson, and W.S. DiPiero.
-Bon Iver concert at the Marfa Ballroom. Not exactly my style of music, but the Ballroom is a one of a kind venue.
-Musical Performance by Composer P.K. Waddle at the Marfa Book Co.
-Getting a late night email from fellow poet Matthew Dickman, who will be in Marfa as a Lannan Resident in January.
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Cochineal: A restaurant owned and operated by two relocated New Yorkers (pictures of the food I had there are located on my flickr page). It’s hard to imagine how the two owners ended up here in Marfa, but as I heard it, the story consists of them driving from NYC to Florida, then, making an abrupt right turn toward the state of Texas.
Padre’s: A local bar that is known for their flame-kissed hamburgers, gumbo, and stiff drinks. Padre’s is on facebook, in fact, David Beebe, the general manager, consistently posts status updates as to who is performing and what food will be served at Padre’s on any given night. The building offers a few different atmospheres ranging from barroom stage, sports bar, and outdoor lounge.
Food Shark: A catering truck that offers some of the best Mediterranean street food I have eaten. The following video offers a better description than I could:
So usually the Lannan Writers in Residence are asked to do a live radio interview for the Marfa NPR Station KTRS 93.5 the Friday before they give a reading at the Marfa Book Company. Alice Jennings hosted the interview asking a range of questions about my background, poetic form and technique, and my opinions of Texas. Jennings style as the interviewer relaxed my nerves and helped me focus on the most important part of the interview, reading the poems. Thanks to all of you who tuned in!
The Marfa Book Co. hosts a great reading. With about 40-50 people in attendance the owner Tim Johnson introduced my poems. The reading lasted about 30 minutes, and a few questions followed about my work, and about my background.
Following the reading the Lannan Foundation hosted a reception organized by Douglas Humble. The Food Shark provided a wonderful spread of food for the guests which consisted of: sweet potato pancakes with apple slaw, achiote pork pastries, green chile cornbread, Mediterranean ceviche, assorted cheeses, farmstand greens with garlic, red chile, and walnuts, and finally brown sugar ice cream sandwiches. There were plenty of guests offering earnest appreciation for my poems.
]]>The trailer below is from the film that was screened this evening. Kind of funny,
people laughed, though there was something terribly disturbing about the film,
so when I laughed I did so with caution.
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I arrived in Marfa on September 5th, in the afternoon, it was partly cloudy, 80's, and as you can imagine the air in west Texas was dry. I was greated by Douglas Humble who takes care of the Lannan Residents. As we drove into town, small as it is, the Marfa Lights Festival was underway. Doug had said that the Lights Festival is also a time for family reunions so there was a mix of tourist and local folk ambling about. Doug drove me through town and I saw that the local market, (there is only one) The Pueblo Market was roasting fresh New Mexican green chiles, (I purchased a bag when I went food shopping). As we arrived at the Lannan House 1 I noticed the house resembled a residence that you might see in Santa Fe, NM.
So I settled in and the next day went for a walk around town with the Lights Festival still going strong. I made my rounds to the Marfa Book Co., where I met owner Tim Johnson who kindly gave my his mobile number and invited me out for a drink later in the week. Tim gave me directions to the "frama" coffee house, which, oddly enough, was connected to the Laundromat called "Tumbleweed Laundry". After my cup of joe I strolled to the festival and sought out some street food from one of the venders (my tribute to Anthony Bourdain) and purchased a nice beef brisket burrito with Pico De Gallo and cabbage all wrapped nicely in a homemade tortilla. It was delicious and the Pico made for a nice spicy crunch.
I took some photos during my walk you can jump to them here, or click the rail road image above.
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So I just found out that the Lannan Foundation has arranged for me to read at the Marfa Book Co. on September 19th. 30 minutes to read, 30 minutes Q&A, after which there is a catered reception (nice). I think the Mangled Creekbed serial will fit nicely to that landscape. Maybe some older poems, maybe some new.
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