Victor D. Infante's Blog, page 197

Odds and Ends ...

Busy as a bee, as I try to wrap things up to go catch Jack McCarthy at New England College. Looking forward. I will gladly drive two hours to see Jack.

Today's the last full day of voting in the "Essential Contemporary American Poets (As Determined by Some Guy's Blog)" poll. Voting has gotten totally wild, and even more scattershot. Consensus? No way, no how. This should be fun to tally tomorrow! Vote while you can!

No column today. Life got in the way. Recs in TWSN for iwrestledabearonce, Chuc...

Ten Years

In about 20 minutes, it'll be my and Lea's tenth wedding anniversary. It's a weird milestone -- one I don't think anyone ever expects to see coming. Hell, our wedding itself was, in a lot of ways, simply a madcap marker on what had already been a whirlwind ride -- our meeting in Portland, Oregon, at the 1996 National Poetry Slam Finals, two cross-country moves, culminating in an impromptu wedding ceremony in the OC Weekly office, officiated by the amazing Dave Wielenga, who against all odds p...

Odds and Ends ...

I've been sort of compulsively flipping through Facebook photos from my 20th high school reunion, which I was unable to attend, what with the vagueries of cross-country travel. I find the photos fascinating. And indeed, I've often found myself flipping through old schoolmates' online photo albums -- the people I adored and admired, the people I didn't much care for, even the ones I didn't really know -- and trying to reconstruct the narrative of their lives in my head.

It's hard to remember so...

Essential American Poets, Round Two!

And here's the point where I develop a certain amount of sympathy for the people at The Guardian who put together their list of Essential English Poets, because it quickly becomes an overwhelming task, and even a random sampling of poetry-literate people produces results which in no way agree with one another.

Such has been the case with my haphazard, unscientific attempt to come up with a list of Essential American Poets. Because you ask any group of poets and poetry fans, and they will tell ...

"Then What's the Point of You?"

Still watching Doctor Who at American speed, so I have little-to-no idea what happens after Cold Blooded.


As I've said elsewhere, the Eleventh Doctor emerged as sort of a blank slate. The Time Lords were locked away again, the M...

Morning thoughts ...

It's a "wish I could teleport" sort of morning, because evidently, all the big stuff is happening today. Congratulations again to my longtime friend Mindy Nettifee on her wedding today! Wishing you and David all the joy in the world. Likewise, much love and regards to my fellow Laguna Beach High School Class of 1990 alumni, who are celebrating our 20th reunion today. Wish I could be there! I'll instead be at the East Coast wedding reception for my dear friends Kristin and Drew, whom I've not ...

Essential Contemporary American Poets?

Much as I love the Guardian, I'm afraid I have to agree with the growing chorus deriding its list of essential English poets as reactionary and uninspired.

But then, I wondered, how would I do a similar list of American poets? For one, I'd be wary about mistaking my personal taste for an absolute. So let me posit an experiment ...

Please post your picks for ten essential CONTEMPORARY -- meaning alive right this second --American  poets. Also, please posit a BRIEF defense of why each poet shoul...

Odds and Ends ...

It's Thursday, so I have stuff to pimp: In "What You're Listening To," I talk hip-hop with J.K. Haze, and in "The Weekend Starts Now," we have recs for The Rectangle Club, the Stompers, Roger Salloom, Walter Beasley, the Worcester music and poetry showcase, Nick Fox and Cha-Cha Connor& Nat Needle. All good stuff!

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It might seem in recent posts that I have it in for minimalist art. And ... well ... maybe that's the truth. Certainly, my subconscious seems to be shouting a bit, doesn't it? I gu...

"Work of Art" and the Minimalist backlash

For whatever reason, I don't tell a lot of stories about my mom in public, but there is one that I love to tell, over and over. One time, we drove out to meet up with her in Pittsburgh, when she was out visiting my grandmother, and we ended up going to the Carnegie Museum of Art. As a confirmed art museum addict, I had been dying for an excuse to go for some time, and it was everything I'd hoped.

However, when we got to the modern art wing, and in particular the minimalist exhibit, we were met...

Odds and Ends ...

Dianne Williamson and I are slightly at odds on the case of 6-year-old Abby Sunderland’s failed attempt to sail alone around the world. Not that there's anything wrong with Dianne's reasoning, save that ... well ... let me put this briefly, as Dianne is a friend and colleague, and already knows full-well I disagree with her on this.

Although I didn't follow Miss Sunderland's efforts terribly closely, in every interview I saw she seemed an intelligent, driven young woman, and one who was well-...