The Book of Merman

Last summer I saw an exuberant and quirky musical, The Book of Merman. It is a take on The Book of Mormon which I never saw, so I'm sure I didn't get a number of references and gags. But it didn't matter. This was totally fun. Two Mormon are proselytizing door to door. One is very uptight, in a sweet, naive way, and the other is holding in his fabulosity. They knock on the door of "Ethel Merman" and the play is the three of them interacting. It's a musical and the numbers are fantastic. Each is different -- something I hate about some musicals is how one number resembles another so much that it is hard to distinguish them and they blur into each other. The actors were very talented and the show was uplifting in a light but smart way.

Alice Notley at the Poetry Project

Tonight I attended a wonderful reading given by Alice Notley at The Poetry Project. She read new poems from a series soon-to-be-published that were so gorgeous. She does amazing things with voice and character. These poems were in dialogue with each other, but each stood on its own as a kind of soliloquy. Lovely, stunning work, with dark undertones, and crispy edges.

I wanted to go home and read this work myself, but of course it isn't available yet. Instead I purchased a very different volume, Margaret and Dusty, which I just started and so adore.

Alice Notley is an intriguing and complex writer whose previous work I will always want to revisit and whose new work I will always desperately anticipate.

GUTS at Dixon Place

Tonight I enjoyed two really fabulous performers at Dixon Place. Dia Felix has put together what so far is very much a marvelous series, Guts.

I got to see Morgan Bassichis deliver a monologue that started with reflections on the Going Clear documentary (which I just saw the other night) and a lifelong fascination with cults, then Morgan explored an interest in fathers, and ended with an engaging story about losing a friend a friend in the woods. Morgan was incredibly funny and just so great to watch.

Becca Blackwell's monologue centered on her relationship with her vibrator, from when it first entered her life to her present day involvement with it. Her humor is delivered in a polite, unassuming manner, but at the same time it's unapologetically in-your-face.

What made both performances so incredibly great was how amiable and conversational they were. They are just both very charismatic and talented artists.

Peter Bruno and Joe Elliot at The Shed Space

I attended such a marvelous reading tonight at The Shed Space, a lovely, intimate art space in Park Slope.

Peter Bruno read several exquisitely crafted stories from the manuscript, Garibaldi Avenue, that focus on the youthful experiences of Salvatore in New Jersey during the 60s and 70s.  I know it is totally corny to say, but these stories are tender and tough. They are finely detailed vignettes that capture a lost time. For instance the closely observed description of the boy's mother applying heavy makeup -- a suburban mom envisioning herself in her own mirror as a glamorous movie star. There were so many very moving moments in these bittersweet, and beautifully written stories. I can't wait for the opportunity to read the whole thing.

(Also an aside: "house dresses"! Where did they come from and why? And where did they go? -- what a blast from the past!)

The second reader of the evening was the amazing Joe Elliot, a poet I have heard about for years but never had the pleasure of hearing his work. These poems totally rocked. They are wry and funny but also depict a kind of profound awareness of the daily absurdity of life. These poems have an exuberant energy that is uplifting at the same time that they convey heavier and difficult truths. I just ordered two of his poetry books.

Lisa Jarnot at The Poetry Project

I enjoyed such a marvelous and evocative poetry reading tonight. Lisa Jarnot read from an in-progress long poem that is currently in five parts. The sections she read conveyed a thoughtful poetic sensibility, a delightful command of language and imagery, and a sweet and intelligent poet's presence in the world.

The work had a terrific momentum, capturing fragments of observation of the external and internal worlds. I can't say how much I loved the language, the surprising turns of phrases and bursts of humor. I just cannot wait till I have the opportunity to read the whole poem.

Angelo Micah Olin and David Shapiro at Dia

Tonight I went to a fucking amazing poetry reading at Dia Chelsea. Angelo Micah Olin read unbelievably powerful poems. His work is unique and raw and unprecedented in its turns of phrase and shifts of imagery and emotional nuance. He read from earlier works as well as new poems, and it was great to hear those older ones once again and equally wonderful to hear the recent pieces, which I had read on facebook. His delivery added to the complexity and vulnerability and sincerity of the marvelous lines.

David Shapiro is a true talent. He read funny, lovely, understated, and finely crafted poems that were a delight to here. In addition to the magic of his work, was the magic of his presentation. He gracefully introduced and commented on each poem in way that was truly amusing and generous. I felt privileged to be in the company of two such special talents and forces in the poetry world.

Mel Elberg at the Zinc Bar

I had a delightful dollop of light in an otherwise dreary weekend: Mel Elberg reading at the Zinc Bar. Her poems are so dynamic and her voice is so direct and assured. Wonderful lines that come together in powerful moments. Some standouts for me were the earthquake poem, the crystal series, and the love poems. Each had it's own crackling energy and together this strong body of work was really dazzling.

Angela Carr and Cedar Sigo at the Poetry Project

The other night I heard Angela Carr and Cedar Sigo at the Poetry Project. Both readers were so elegant in their delivery, even as their poems were so different. Carr's work was like lovely language chandeliers in a room with a mysterious woman. Sigo read beautiful poems situated in his strong and masterful poetic voice. I can't wait to read his recent collection, Language Arts.

St. Mark's Poetry Project New Year's Day Marathon

I spent yesterday at The St. Mark's Poetry Project enjoying the always dynamic and inspiring new year's day marathon reading.

I volunteered from 4-6, and watched readers and performers till 8:30. Everyone was wonderful. The musical performances were particularly enjoyable. Lee Renaldo played, as did Lenny Kaye with a surprise appearance by Patti Smith.

Fun times. Happy new year!

Sister Spit!

I just saw Sister Spit perform at the SF public library and it was an amazing show!

The first reader was Ali Liebegott who read a terrific poem reflecting on Avedon's photography and the donor's family from her knee surgery.

Cassie J. Sneider read a hilarious and very well-written story about music, her family, and Long Island. I liked it so much I bought a copy of the book for a friend who grew up on Long Island.

Michelle Tea, who hosted, charmingly, read from a recent Jane XO post about trying to get pregnant. Like Sneider's story, this was chatty, smart, very funny, and wonderfully observed.

The afternoon featured a screening of chapter of Tea's Valencia which is being filmed by 21 different filmmakers. To my very pleasant surprise, this chapter (directed by Hilary Goldberg) included footage of my beloved Orange Alley!

A wild, wonderous, hilarious story was also read by Brontez Purnell that had the audience in stitches. Really excellent work.

The afternoon ended with a reading by Dorothy Allison, whose Bastard Out of Carolina broke my heart in the early/mid 90s. She was a powerful, moving reader, and felt honored to be in the audience.

All in all, a fabulous Sunday in San Francisco.

RADAR series at the Luggage Store

On Wednesday night, after a LONG ASS day of work, I went to a reading at the Luggage Store sponsored by RADAR Productions.

It was a great night of queer literature. The prose readings were particularly strong, and my favorites were Alvin Orloff, reading from a novel, Why Are You Smiling? and Laurie Weeks reading from Zipper Mouth. Why Are You Smiling? tells the story of an awkward teenager in the 70s, and the selection he read from included an encounter with a handsome and charming born-again. Zipper Mouth is amazingly written prose exploring neurosis and obsession, and the selection she read included a marvelous rant directed at Judy Davis.

Least Weasel Chapbook Launch

On Saturday night I went to a wonderful reading reception for the launch of 6 new chapbooks by Least Weasel.

The readers were:

Brenda Iijima, who read from Glossematics; Joanna Fuhrman, who read from The Emotive Function; Christopher Funkhouser, who sang his poems from Electro perdix; erica kaufman, who read from the amazing Instant Classic; and Christina Strong, who read from Fifth Plateau. The sixth reader, Jane Rice, couldn't be there, so the publisher read from her book of poems, The Truth About the World.

It was a great evening of interesting, well-crafted poetry. I enjoyed Fuhrman, Iijima, and kaufman's work the most.

Memorial reading for Akilah Oliver

Last night I went to a memorial reading for the dear, wonderful, deeply questioning, and relentlessly beautiful poet Akilah Oliver. It was held at The Poetry Project, and sponsored by belladonna.

A number of poets read their own work in tribute to her or inspired by her, which was very touching. Most read from Akilah's own impressive, incredible body of work -- her explorations of desire, of subjectivity, race, culture... and most piercingly, of loss and grief. Her poems all contain a lucid, brave, and vulnerably honest voice that haunts me and makes me so sad for her passing.

One former member of Akilah's group, The Sacred Naked Nature Girls, performed, nude, riding a bicycle. It was heart wrenching, in part because Laura Meyers was such a talented performer, but also because it invoked a younger Akilah, the Akilah right before I met her in 1996. I remember her talking about The Sacred Naked Nature Girls, and wishing I had had an opportunity to see them. I felt Akilah's presence so sharply and sweetly during this performance.

At the end of the reading there was a screening of her reading her own work. It was so intense -- after two hours of people reading her work, invoking her through her language, to see her physically, in high resolution, and to hear her warm, firm, and living voice. The last line was, I believe, "someone is calling my name" -- and, of course, we all were, and are, and will for a long, long time.

Maddy Owen-Dunow, Carlea Holl-Jensen, and Alex Morris at Barbes

Nelly Reifler put together another great event yesterday evening at Barbes. She is so great at finding talented, interesting, and charismatic writers. It is always a pleasure to be in the audience at Nelly Presents at Barbes.

Yesterday I got to hear three young writers: Maddy Owen-Dunow, who read an evocative short story in the second person; Carlea Holl-Jensen, who read a few pieces including a highly intelligent story written from the perspective of Charlotte Bronte's unborn child; and Alex Morris who read insightful and narrative poems.

Erica Kaufman at The Poetry Project

Last night I heard Erica Kaufman read at The Poetry Project. I am a huge fan of her work, which is always sharp, crisp and complex. She read her long poem "Instant Classic" as well as selections from her book Censory Impulse. Her poems display so much amazing verbal facility, such a pleasure and project in language. Playful, yet intellectually earnest; an exploration of language that is firmly rooted in a human voice, a human perspective and experience, and a human questioning of experience.

Erica Kaufman & Eileen Myles at Red Horse Cafe

What a terrific poetry reading!

I heard Erica Kaufman and Eileen Myles read tonight at the Red Horse Cafe here in Park Slope (I've been in the neighborhood for over a decade and had no clue this place existed...).

Erica read a beautiful and complex long poem "Instant Classic" that just shimmered with evocative, powerful, surprising lines (For instance, "The grand science of dildonics " and "I admit not to be afraid of my semi-object state. My first swimming lessons were from an amputee."

Eileen read some marvelous, poignant-funny poems, and then a chapter from her novel, Inferno. The chapter she read was about getting to know Alice Notley and Ted Berrigan in the 70s. Her voice is at once fresh, familiar and startling.

I enjoyed it so much I bought a copy. And in spite of the fact that I didn't intend to start reading it till after my biography of Hans Christian Andersen (which hasn't even arrived yet), I tore into it when I got home (after tearing into a Vietnamese sandwich) and I'm hooked.

37th Annual New Year's Day Marathon Reading at the The Poetry Project

Yesterday was the Marathon reading at the Poetry Project.

An excellent line-up as always. Loved John S. Hall's poem about facebook, and Erica Kaufman, Todd Colby and CA Conrad read work that really stood out for me as well.

I volunteered this year, worked the reader check-in table from 2-4. Then -- and this is huge -- I read between 4-5. I've never gotten up in front of such a large crowd. I had to take half a Xanax to calm my nerves, but I think I did a good job. (I read my poem, "like blanks in a spiritual system"). The Xanax tired me out, so by 9:30, after Patti Smith read a beautiful poem, I was about to crash and had to leave...

(I always buy poetry books at the Project on new year's. Yesterday I picked up Patti Smith's Auguries of Innocence and kari edwards' Bharat jiva.)

Stacy Szymaszek and Eileen Myles at Dia Chelsea

An awesome reading last night! Stacy Szymaszek and Eileen Myles read at Dia Chelsea.

Stacy read a beautiful and complex prose piece reflecting on the life and work of Hart Crane. The piece had a nuanced emotional texture because the poet interwove her own history. The piece was clearly written by a poet, someone drawn to and living within language. A few days ago her book Hyperglossia arrived, and I can't wait to bite into it this weekend.

Eileen is always a great reader, bringing her personality and charisma to the work in a easy-going way that invites the audience into a conversation with the work. Her poems always contain a mixture of poetic observation and uniquely personal engagement that gives a push and pull to poems. A quality of attention, a gesture or moment of authentic communication -- communication in the sense of communion, artistic, literary and social.

Cedar Sigo at the Poetry Project

Last night I saw Cedar Sigo read at the Poetry Project! He is one of my favorite poets. Like all my favorite poets, he has a uniquely personal voice, an intimate ear and so much thoughtfulness, so much intelligence, so much loveliness in those poems.

He gave a great reading. But, since I bought his book and am going to read it this weekend, I'll write more about his work then.

Sara Powers and Jonathan Dixon at Barbes

Last evening I heard two wonderful prose writers read at Nelly Reifler's series at Barbes.

Sara Powers read from a novel in progress that follows a number of characters from college through the next thirty years of their lives. Her prose is very sharp, insightful, and lovely. The descriptions of college are spot on, unsentimental yet at the same time suffused in a subtle nostalgia.

Jonathan Dixon read from a blog/memoir about his time in culinary school. Again, spot on descriptions. Tight and witty prose. Very funny in fact. He is a very talented writer.

I am very much looking forward to reading these works when they are out.