Philosophical Speculation

To take refuge in an image is to take refuge from reality. It’s to avoid or evade confronting what is there to actually be seen and described. If this is so, then the true incendiary would abandon poetry for journalism or the writing of contemporary history. The imagination is free, but man is not.

Orange Spotlight

Ghosts of Breath in today's Orange Spotlight over at What to Wear During an Orange Alert

http://www.orangealert.net/ghostofbreath

New E-Chapbook

Love Surrounds You Like a Posse in Bulletproof Vests -- my e-book from Publishing Genius -- will be out January 5. Happy New Year!

Reversal of Fortunes

OK. I was wrong. j.a. accepted Music for Pieces of Wood. It's been added to the ml press 2010 chapbook series. Thanks, j.a. I'm glad to have been wrong and to now be part of what is a series of cutting-edge works. Now everyone go subscribe to ml press.

One of Those Days

Holiday has been tough on ,y writing. Just taking notes and reading. No formal, prolonged session at the keyboard. Too much company around for that. Of course, in the middle of this three- or four-day layoff, I get a chapbook mss. rejected by Big Table Publishing. Adding insult to injury, I paid a $15 reading fee, too. Not money well spent. I originally sent 8 poems, for which the editor/publisher went crazy. The editor asked me to send more before making a final determination. These tipped the balance to rejection. The editor -- named Robin, so I don't know which pronoun to use, he or she -- said he/she couldn't understand them. Apparently, he/she wanted a traditional narrative resolution to the poems, character-driven scenes, etc. Or else he/she just wanted my $15. Depressing.

I sent out yesterday a series of 10 prose poems to be considered for one of the mini-chapbooks that ml press published. I'm under the general impression that j.a. (who runs the press) doesn't like my work. But I'm also under the impression that the prose poems are good. Nonetheless, I expect another hurtful rejection shortly.

Ethics and Entertainment

I received the proofs today for Ethics & Entertainment. Oh, God. The thought of proofing 300-some pages of academic writing is nearly enough to make me give up the ghost. But it must be done -- and in less than four weeks!

Ghosts of Breath

Pamphlet of poems published today by Bedouin Books --

http://www.bedouinbooks.com/pamphletpoets-2-.html