Victor D. Infante's Blog, page 176

Celebrate Independence Day with "Radius"

Our month-long hiatus is over, and Radius: Poetry From the Center to the Edge is back! Starting us off is Tony Brown, talking about both Clarence Clemons and the power of poetry in performance with "Breath, Memory, and Passages."

Good to be back. It's like we never left ...

Communications Breakdown

Phone working! Still at the same number! Set-up craziness commences!

So I'm in the process of transferring my number from my chintzy prepaid T-Mobile cellphone to the awesome new Android. This is taking longer than expected, and the net result is that I don't really have the use of either phone until later today, at the soonest. Blech.

If you're trying to reach me, please use the land line, or just shoot me an email. On the other hand, it appears I get to spend the better part of the holiday weekend being hard to reach, so maybe there's a perk to all this ...

New Hampshire ... New Hampshire ...

Have been a little edgy all day. Have no idea why, especially on the heels of a great past few days. Maybe it's because the last few days have been so good. Maybe I relaxed just enough for repressed anxiety to come to the surface, like in that prison where they had to discontinue yoga lessons because it was helping everyone release negative emotion ... which expressed it self as negative emotion does. In prison. No, really. This was a real thing.

Anyway, there's been a lot of driving too and from New Hampshire, lately. Saturday we went up to see Jack McCarthy read at New England College. He's been a very good fit teaching in that MFA program, a bit of the odd duck among fairly traditional page poets, but it's clear upon visiting how, from his first reading there last year to his one on Saturday, the students and faculty have come to adore him the way the rest of us do. And his reading didn't disappoint: he eschewed most of his radio hits for shorter poems in his new book, Almost a Remembrance , which is a collection of shorter poems which he brazenly admits are a bald effort to get read on Prairie Home Companion. Awesome. It was a lovely reading, at turns surprising and charming. Standing ovation? Oh, yes.

Monday, Heather Macpherson accompanied Lea and myself back to NEC for the latest Knocking at the Door reading, where we read alongside Janet Barry and Ivy Page. The reading was a joint publication party for the lit journal TygerBurning , so there were readings by Carol Frost, Jenn Monroe and Ilya Kaminsky, among others. Fun night. Spent some time at dinner listening to Richard Frost talk about the gazillion poets he knew, back in the day, and talked a bit after the reading with Worcester Review editor Rodger Martin. Good night, nice to see a lot of unexpected people.

Lots of work still waiting for me. Back to Radius soon, now that our staffing issues are sorted, and had some fun with today's Pop Culture Notebook.  The Neko Case and Nick Cave rendition of "She's Not There" may be my favorite recording of the year so far. I keep listening to it, over and over. All in all, all good. Hopefully the seemingly aimless stress is just something being worked out of my system, now that I'm in a place where I can deal with it. Who knows? Long as it goes away, I'm good, cause right now I have things to do.

Pop Culture Notebook

Saw Neil Gaiman last night in New Hampshire. Scribbled a couple paragraphs for Pop Culture Notebook. Photo by a girl Lea and I met while outside smoking, waiting for Dave to bring the car around. Which just goes to prove you should always talk to strangers. Been having some fun with the Notebook, lately. Finding its voice. Recent subjects have included the Beatles, Amy Winehouse and My Silent Bravery, and the Evil Streaks and Clarence Clemons. Always looking for local subjects ...

The column's been a bit ... well ... columny, lately. This week's is on how we remember great musicians, and is sort of a companion piece to Craig's Clemons tribute. I'm hoping to revert to the regular format again, soon -- interviewing local musicians about what they're listening to. The columny columns (usually) appear when I'm pressed for time. They're actually harder to write, but they take less prep time. I don't have to go chasing musicians. Still, chasing musicians is its purpose, and while I absolutely love just letting go and writing about music, I'm feeling a need to bring it back local again. It sort of goes in waves ...

There was other stuff, I'm sure, but I'm really tired right now. More soon ...

Demented and Sad, but Social

Tomorrow: Neil Gaiman in New Hampshire. Saturday? Jack McCarthy in New Hampshire.

Monday, Knocking at the Door and TygerBurning joint release party. In New Hampshire!

Knocking at the Door New Hampshire release party
8 p.m. Monday, June 27
New England College Simon Center (In The Pub)
98 Bridge Street
Henniker, NH
Free!

Hope to see you there!

My Day in Poetry, Etc. ...

Bloody roller coaster of a day. Here's the bullet points:

Got my copy of Chiron Review , which has my poems "Letter to Louis, Ten Years Later," "Toxic Waltz" and "On the Outside," as well as great work by G. Murray Thomas, Harry E. Northup, Antler, Tim Perez and others. Ecstatic to be in the issue, but heartbroken to learn its the last one. I'm going to miss it. Editor Michael Hathaway was always one of the gutsiest, most interesting editors out there. I've enjoyed Chiron Review for years, and feel blessed that he let me be a part of it a couple times.

I also have three love(ish) poems up on my friend Jane Cassady's blog,  The Serotonin Factory . All older stuff: "When I say “I Love You” I Mean …" appeared in the anthology The Last American Valentine; "An American Love Song" appeared in my book, City of Insomnia, and "Play One More For My Radio Sweetheart" appeared in both. (and both books, of course, are available from Write Bloody Publishing.)

Was sorry to hear Jack McCarthy canceled his reading Sunday at the Poets' asylum, but am glad that he's still set to read later in the month at New England College. (I was actually already planning to go to both. Will be reading at NEC a bit myself soon, too, at another publication party for Lea and Lisa's Knocking at the Door anthology.  Details on that, soon, but here's a fun fact ... it'll be the first time I've ever read poetry at the American campus of my alma mater. Feels like it should be some sort of occasion, doesn't it? Celebrate by buying Lea's book, available at the reading or, again, through Write Bloody.

Working hard on the next wave of Radius. If you're interested in applying for the poetry acquisitions editor or reviews editor job, or are interested in being a contributor or just submitting, go read this post, and don't dally. Already have some interesting applications, so this might not take as long as I feared ...

Pop Culture Notebook still going along, Mondays through Fridays, on Telegram.com. Today's installment: J. Fatima Martins on Nina Fletcher, Weird Al on Lady Gaga, and everyone on the new "Harry Potter" trailer!

Drive-By!

Obviously, I've seen a massive reduction in my free time lately. Taking steps to address that. Hope to be out and about a bit more soon.

Lots of good stuff coming up on Radius, but as I said earlier, I'm taking a few weeks off to get organized. It's been a tough lesson, but I find it difficult to grow a periodical and maintain quality at the same time. Taking a breath can be useful. Need to remember that. Also learning (again, alas) that I can't do everything by myself. Learning, learning, learning ...

Having a blast with Pop Culture Notebook, and hope Worcester readers are, too.

Deviated from the format for my music column this week, and offered a few songs I;m excited about this season, including the Beastie Boys with Santigold, John Doe and Jill Sobule, Morrisey, Skeletons and X Japan. 

Craig's review of Lady Gaga has been our most-read story all day on Telegram.com. Go figure.

That's all. back to work!

Reposted From "Radius"

Dear Radius readers,

First off, thanks for sticking with us through the first phase of our launch. The past few months have been a whirlwind for us, but we have to say it’s been worth it. We knew, when we started this, that “Radius’ couldn’t just be another online poetry journal, that its mission and vision had to be distinct and unique, and I think it’s pretty safe to say we’ve done that. Now, it’s time for us to take it further. And to do that, we need your help.

We’re going to take a few weeks off to put together the next wave of Radius content — poems and prose that illuminate the process of writing poetry, and how it lives in the world. To that end, we’re looking to fill a few positions:

Poetry Acquisitions Editor: We’re seeking one or two poetry editors to help curate the poems we publish. If you’re the sort of person who just wants to read slush piles, this is NOT the job for you. We’re looking for someone who’s hands on and willing to seek out new work by established writers and promising newcomers. Trust us, this one’s a lot of work. But we think it’s worth it.

Reviews Editor: We’re seeking one editor to help design and coordinate our approach to reviewing recently published poetry. Must be organized, self-starting and have a wide knowledge of what’s being published. Also, must be open to the idea that great writing emerges from chapbooks and small presses as easily as it does from academic presses and major publishing houses. Will write reviews and oversee reviews written by guest and regular contributors.

Contributing Writers: We’re looking to add a handful of regular contributors to write about poetry in all its aspects, and to respond to trends, themes in issues in today’s poetry world. Must be willing to write at least once a month. We honestly have no idea how many contributors we’re looking for, here. We’ll take as many as we think bring something we need to the table.

Submissions: Our regular submissions remain open while we’re retooling. As always, we’re particularly interested in political poetry, invented forms and elegies for poets, as well as strong critical writing. Please visit our Submissions Guidelines for more information.

As always, Radius is committed to diversity. We fully believe poetry journals work best when wildly divergent view points are brought together, and would like to see diversity in the writers that comprise both our staff and the writing we publish and critique. The bad news, though, is that we don’t pay anything. Zip. Nada. But if we haven’t scared you off, yet, and you’re still interested, drop us an email at admin@radiuslit.org telling us briefly who you are, why you’re interested in working with us and what you bring to the table. (If you’re interested in being a regular contributor, please attach a couple writing samples.)

And that’s the deal. So far, Radius has been an amazing wild ride, and it looks like it’s going to be even wilder and more amazing from here. Want to come along for the ride?

Sincerely,

Victor D. Infante
Editor-In-Chief
Radius: Poetry From the Center to the Edge
http://www.radiuslit.org/

Working for the Weekend

Had a lovely cookout with Lea, Val, Lloyd, Sarah and Dave. Gorgeous day for it, and LOTS of food. Nice to chill out and hang with people. Heading shortly to go see "X-Men: First Class." Will be taping "Doctor Who," and may well watch it when we get home. Mostly taking it easy today, because I've been fried. Trying to catch up with myself a bit, as work has been a bit on the demanding side, lately, and I feel like I'm constantly playing catch-up with myself. Taking a few days off Radius, even though I have things in hand ready to go. It's probably good to pause once in a while and let readers catch up. It'll be back, though. Oh, boy. Will it ever. On the other hand, Pop Culture Notebook has been moving right along.

Have lots of books I need to catch up on, too. Just got G. Murray Thomas' My Kidney Has Arrived (Tebot Bach) in the mail today, and while I've poked at them, I haven't yet spent any quality time with Paul Suntup's Sunset at the Temple of Olives, Buddy Wakefield's Gentleman Practice or David Perez's Love in a Time of Robot Apocalypse (all Write Bloody). So much fabulous poetry, so little time in a day. Will catch up, soon.

Evidently, the Power's Out ...

Haven't spoken to Lea, yet. I only know the power's out from the grad students upstairs, who let me know on Facebook. As I understand it, the construction on our street hit something, and the power will be out until 11 p.m. Blech. Anyone know if "So You Think You Can Dance" is on Charter On Demand? Tonight's the night the local girl auditions, and I wanted to catch that.

***

Usual bits and pieces around. My "American Idol" Autopsy is up on Telegram.com today.  Pop Culture Notebook is kicking along. Radius has been slow the past few days, as I've been swamped, but there are great bits up there, including a "Next Files" from G. Murray Thomas and the late Larry Schulz; our signature feature with Brendan Constantine, Steve Ramirez and Samuel Rees;  and a poem by Asad Zaidi, transalted from Hindi by Bharatbhooshan Tiwari. As always, more soon. As soon as I find five more minutes ...