The Largest Bird Ever To Fly

-------------------------Are we who we were once and then never again? - Jonathan Johnson


We agreed the condors were beautiful

You are who you are in the desert

Rocky cliffs and rubble

Hours of preening

A disaster of claws

There's a lot more to this

They're going to begin digging in our back yard

When they uncover the altar I'll be out

Walking the dogs

Our daughter will feign forgetfulness

Against my returning

You will leave

A jar of water on the edge of dawn

Passages North

It's here! Two copies in my mailbox! The 2010 Passages North has arrived! With works by:

Jennifer Lynn Alessi, Paul Scot August, John Azrak, Priscilla Becker, Shelley Berg, Monica Berlin, B.J. Best, Mary Biddinger, Malachi Black, Hadley Boyd, Jamie Brunton, Claudia Burbank, Kim Chinquee, Katie Cortese, Jim Daniels, Jordan Davis, Katrina Denza, Owen Duffy, Mary Beth Ferda, Gary Fincke, Naoko Fujimoto, Christine Garren, Laura Gibson, Aaron Gilbreath, Mariela Griffor, Becky Hagenston, Michael Hemery, Bob Hicok, Daniel John, Jonathan Johnson, Charmi Keranen, Hailey Leithauser, Tim Lockridge, Sara Maclay, Pamela McClure, Jane Mead, Travis Mossotti, Mark Neely, Randon Billings Noble, John Poch, Maia Rauschenberg, Nicholas Reading, James Schiffer, Austin Segrest, Hilary Selznick, Agnieszka Stachura, Jennifer K. Sweeney, Connie Voisine, Joseph P. Wood.

Guess what I'm doing tonight.

Fujimoto, Schomburg, Octopus & Watts

One thing leads to another. Last year I picked up Scary, No Scary by Zachary Schomburg. Good stuff. It's making the rounds among my writerly friends. I believe Naoko has it now. She's writing some intriguing poems. Check her out.

Schomburg himself is making the rounds. He'll be in Chicago on April 29th, after he stops by South Bend on April 28th. I'm sure it will be worth turning out for. For complete details and other locations, consult his blog, where you will find many interesting things, including:

Octopus Books, where you can plop down $56 and receive a two-year subscription to everything they publish 2009-2010. When I opened my mail box a couple of weeks ago I found a host of books, with C.D. Wright's 40 Watts on the top of the heap. I have an up and down relationship with Wright's work, but this chap is excellent. I now own No. 121 of 200 copies printed. Here's a taste, if you're curious:

Light Bulb Poem

at 4 o'clock I am at the door
with a bare hand of snow
laughing shamelessly
I undo my shirt
we'll pick up at the next chapter
my beloved are the words
of the rambler
if not the words the substance
the snow smeared across my front
warm to the touch
though we remain separated
as if by a chair
and I unwilling to read ahead

Poetry Marathon at Artpost

A few of the folks from IUSB, Nancy Botkin, Clayton Michaels, Jennie Stockdale, and yours truly, will be reading during the Poetry Marathon at Artpost.

Our group begins at six o'clock, if you'd like to check us out, 216 W. Madison Street, South Bend, IN.