Some of my “summer immersion” students, inspired by the swirly word-galaxies in Cecilia Vicuña’s Instan, grew these gorgeous constructions out of prefixes:
Chiharu Koike
Yoon Jung Kang
Hyun-Jin Kwon
Tae Eun Kim
It’s a little hard to read the last one. Note that it’s composed of words that start with “multi-” lined up in the form of the many boroughs of NYC.
My Grandmother’s Hands
My grandmother’s hands
all covered with sticky goo!
and anteriorly with whitish bristles
My grandmother’s hands —
loose alabaster skin, soft as kid gloves
covered with deep-fried pork strips
My grandmother’s hands
zipping open pale skin
in a metal bowel
She then flies to art, and puts on a Perriwig
valuing herself an unnatural bundle of hairs
all covered with Powder
My grandmother’s hands recognize grapes,
the damp shine of a goat’s new skin
all covered with sharp chips
My grandmother’s hands are canaries
ready to collapse in on themselves
going screaming and weeping over the facts of the universe
her tentacles all covered with ashes and ink
exhaustless and copious, showing forth through dandified forms
the same absence of special purpose as in nature…
My grandmother’s hands are sibilant Persian canaries
pulling an unborn egg
into the light.
Some wisdom from my students:
Art sublimes every bad meaning in the name of art.
Art is nothing but the action of people.
It overwhelms me that all junks turned into germs as if they were suddenly charmed.
When we contact with new works, we have to be prudent.
For making some extra space of heart, we need a vitamin like art.
DANTE & NEMO
The sweet little gargoyles,
licking their paws!
Warm and loving
organic toys.
Kristin Prevallet, ranteuse extraordinaire! has a new blog.
Her description of it:
I’ve been writing a lot of letters to the government lately. But, since the government is busy, I keep on getting form letters (or no letters) in return. So, I decided to set up this blog to chronicle my letters and, hopefully, use it as an incentive to write even more letters. I’m just trying to stay informed, and to voice my opinions to the powers-that-be, rather than to just my friends, who are all on my side anyway.
Gloriously indignant!
I was overly optimistic.
The cough came back — wetter, darker, and more sinister.
So I’m still not blogging.
Getting very frustrated.
Sickness sucks.
FEELING REMARKABLY BETTER! YAY! FINALLY! THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WELL-WISHES AND SUGGESTED REMEDIES.
Still Swooning
Gary is the best nurse I could possibly wish for. He lugged the TV into the bedroom so I could watch DVDs (I watched FIVE movies Friday while he was at work — what else could I do?), picked up scrips and vitamins, cleaned stuff, came with me to the doctor’s yesterday, made Mexican chicken soup according to my exacting (and delicious) instructions, and sponged me off with a cool washcloth when I was just too uncomfortable. I guess nursing comes under the rubric of “to husband”, if you think about it.
So much gratitude…
Sick now for over a week. Coughing. Fever. Headache.
For many days, a rollercoaster fever that would go up to 102.5 then roll down a bit. It’s been more or less normal for a couple of days although at the moment it’s 99 point something.
It seems not to be a bacterial infection, my CBC count is normal, other symptoms and lacks of symptoms and doctor checks tell me it’s not pneumonia.
But still, two days ago, my doctor gave me an antibiotic. After I took it two things happened: 1) My fever went down (but I suspect that is a coincidence), and 2) I started having intense hallucinations and dreams while sleeping or falling to sleep.
Just the worse kinds of frenetic cartoons: four rotating columns composed of coyote heads braiding upwards in groups of three. a giant egghead (resembling an Indonesian mask) with huge bugeyes and mustachios, fire coming out of his ears, something my mind decided was “landfill” pouring out of his mouth. and these images endless. I tried to write some down but couldn’t keep it up as it’s tiring and I’m still weak, having tossed and turned and fretted and sweated so much…
Of course I went online and looked at side effects for “Avelox” and found that yes indeed, such hallucinations are listed as a rare side effect. I’m going to stop taking the antibiotic as there are really no signs that this is a bacterial infection — one doctor assures me it isn’t even bronchitis. But in the meantime, my head is pounding and I’m still hypnogogically & hypnopompically delusional. And I can’t take an Advil because guess what? The doctor didn’t mention it to me, but to do so while on this antibiotic increases the risk of seizures!
Any advice on how best to get the antibiotic out of my system besides the obvious water-drinking? I really have to go to work tomorrow in some state of normality (no, I won’t say “normal*y).
Maybe they should put something on the label about how this drug is not suggested for imaginative types.
How to write a poem that would make someone very sensitive feel like Proust did when he heard or even thought of the Vinteuil Sonata?
How to write a poem that is even as fractionally compelling as the worst song by Najwa Karam?
Otohime 