SPDLand says, "Hello!" to Poetrylandia

Here I am back at SPD, at the old desk. John (Sakkis) is poeting in Greece right now and I needed the bucks so here I am. I can tell you that all of the SPD employees and cat are as charismatic and attractive as ever. Currently, MSG (Media Services Group)our database system is down (for repairs not of its own doing) so I'm amusing myself here. MSG and I go way back and during my time with SPD has acquired a few nicknames that I'd like to share with you:

Monosodium Glutamate

...that's really the best one. I'll forego the others.

Neil, Alli, Brent, Laura, Andrew, Jesse, Art? Do you have any you'd like to add?

...okay, I like these too: Maliciously Sluggish Gargomel, Malevolent SPAM Gobbler

Ecopoetics Panel

Here's what I like to call a "gang of smart". From left: Andrew Csank, Nick Smith and Laura Elrick


This panel hit harder than really anything during the whole conference weekend. Without going into detail now, I would just say, read Laura's paper Poetry, Ecology and the Reappropriation of Lived Space I was incredibly impressed by Nick and Andrew's presentations and would like to devote some time to a discussion of them. Let's start with Laura's paper and go from there. You can find my own analysis of her paper on my other blog . Boy talk about hogging space and resources. 2 blogs Lindsey? Really.
I have questions about blog growth and the motives behind them which I hope to come back to soon.

Oh! During the Ecopoetics Panel I learned that the internet is not in fact limitless (duh) and at this rate we'll run out of space by 2012. Is that figure correct? Anyone know more about this and care to share?

Journalistic Brilliancé

Andrew Bleeker and his hybrid journalism:Rise of the Lady Hurricanes Basketball in the Shadow of Emily Dickinson. Here's the article's preface to wet your whistle: "The following review consists of sentences lifted in full, yet recombined and out of context, from In These Girls, Hope Is a Muscle by Madeleine Blais. The book documents the inspiring 1992–1993 season played by the Lady Hurricanes, a high-school basketball team in Amherst, Massachusetts. Our intrepid book reviewer loved it for several reasons. This review documents the struggle between amazing real-life achievement and the bizarre verbiage of Madeleine Blais."

Hooray!

I lied

I in fact did not make it to the Aggression conference as the call of life-maintenance called, beckoned and harangued this weekend. Miss Boldt needs a job. So, instead, I recommend you check out these fellow blogs for reports on the conference.

Ms. Laura Moriarty's fine Atonalist Notes
Conference Blog
Mr Andrew Kenower's audio archive A Voice Box

Sorry I missed it, looks to have been quite the event. I'll see you all around PoetryLand soon.

AGGRESSION: A Conference On Contemporary Poetics and Political Antagonism

Eh hem! I interupt my trickling transmissions about the PRESS: Conference to announce that I'm back in the Bay Area and there's another incredible looking conference this weekend.

It is AGGRESSION: A Conference On Contemporary Poetics and Political Antagonism an SPT (Small Press Traffic)event organized by Chris Chen, Cynthia Sailers and Stephanie Young.

I will do my darndest to hit the highlights and report back eventually. More still forthcoming on PRESS as well. Don't worry, my head won't 'splode. Not if I can help it.

Good to be back in the Yeah! Area as Miss Alli Warren calls it.

Press: More photos

Here's Hui Hu again, looking a more loved by the camera this time. In this picture he's about to go to the panel "Mind Parasites"

...that featured

black lights, Fun Foam (tm), caution tape, psychadelic cinema images, and the idea that language exists as a parasite and that we are its hosts. Evergreen can be a wild, wild place.

Press + Press + Press = Success (heh heh) again

Here are a pair of genii, Holly Melgard and Todd Harris. Genii are rarely seen in pairs and even more rarely smiling, so this really is an excellent specimen here. Holly will soon be a PhD student in the Poetics program at Buffalo. This photo was taken on Saturday. On Sunday Holly performed a new piece written for 8 metronomes and a Theramin. Insane! So few can pull off a multi-media reading as intricate as this one and Holly did. I was reminded of Hannah Weiner's performance work with The International Code of Signals. Really, she's one to watch folks. Holly edited Evergreen's literary journal, Slightly West, for two years I believe and bears the honor of being the first to publish many fine young poets. I am a HUGE fan.

During this staged lay-in on the sunny grass we decided that: a) inactivism is the new activism b) binaries are the new multiplicity