Victor D. Infante's Blog, page 202

Victor and/or Lea read in Providence, Worcester and New Hampshire!

Just when we were getting accustomed to being antisocial hermits, it seems the world has come knocking.

Here's what's coming up for the Deschenes-Infante household:

The Encylopedia Show Providence: BEARS!!!!
Brown University; Salomon 101
Providence, RI
Saturday, May 8, 2010 at 8:00pm
Tickets are only $8; $5 for students

The Encyclopedia Show is coming to New England with its innaugral show about BEARS! Poets, writers, musicians, artists, comedians, and some really nice people from all over th...

!!!YOU MUST SUBMIT!!!

As always, The November 3rd Club has rolling submissions all-year long. The deadline for the next issue is May 15, but I can already feel it being pushed backward, as if by a mystical wind ...

But there are a couple other places in the Nov3rd family looking for submissions, too, and you should give them a look. For example, there's this from our Poetry co-Editor, Ray McNiece:

"Muse Magazine out of Cleveland is looking for poems on the theme of imprisonment for upcoming issue, poems will be pai...

R.I.P. Lynn Redgrave

The Associated Press is reporting that actress Lynn Redgrave has died.

I had the pleasure of seeing Ms. Redgrave perform on stage, once, in the La Jolla Playhouse's production of "The Cherry Orchard." She was a graceful, captivating figure on stage. One of the finest actors I've ever seen live. It's long been a theater experience I've treasured.

Credit Where Credit is Due ....

For the National Poetry Month, The Poetry Foundation has had a wide array of poets guest-blogging on its blog, Harriet. And I mean a wide array: Wanda Coleman, Major Jackson, Jeffrey McDaniel, Amber Tamblyn, Annie Finch, Edwin Torres, Kwame Dawes, Patricia Smith and more. And you know what? It's been the best discourse on poetry I've seen in ages. They've talked about their favorite writers, movements and technique, poetry overseas. They've been funny and poignant and they've traveled an imme...

A Brief Primer on the Transgender Rights Bill

Dianne Williamson hits it out of the park with her column on House Bill 1728, the transgender rights bill, written in part in response to this editorial, which obviously I disagree strongly with. There's so much apocalyptic nonsense being waged at this bill.

No one needs me to go up on my social libertarian high horse and add to the chorus my belief that it's wrong to discriminate against anyone on the basis of race, gender, sexuality and, yes, I include the transgendered in that list. But the...

This constant state of catching up ...

Took today and tomorrow off as vacation days. Sort of a "staycation," I suppose, but having written that word for what may be the first time, I resolve to never do so again. It's kind of hideous, isn't it?

Of course, I had to take the car into the shop for minor things. Some things never change. Did have a nice time afterward having lunch with Lea and Dave K. at a really excellent Salvadoran place downtown, and stopping in at Dr. Gonzo's for what I'm convinced is actually addictive substances...

Apropos of nothing

Because of being caught on microphone calling a voter a bigot -- never mind whether she is or not -- the already horribly unpopular British PM is sinking in the polls. In swing districts -- or whatever they call them in England. I have a minor in British Studies. You'd think I'd know that -- Labour is down to an 18% approval rating.

But, my college minor aside, I have no interest in opining on British politics at this time. No, it's actually the number 18 that's caught my attention here.
 
At it...

True Poetry Confession, Redux

I think, upon reflection, there are dimensions to what I find is missing these days in poetry. For example, I do find whimsy and wackiness, and I adore it. I adore Snack Time at the Dirty Gerund, or Derrick Brown misguidedly trying to crowd surf at a college theater. These are great things, and do everything you'd want whimsy at a poetry reading to do -- to shake the listeners' expectations, surprise them, make them look at the world a little different.

No, that exists in abundance. What I...

Political Science

Elsewhere on the Internet, I read an intelligent and educated person appealing to President Obama to do something about the new immigration law in Arizona. And I agree that the law is horrible, but ... uhm ...

What exactly do you expect the president to do?

I'm afraid people make these sorts of pleas to the presidency about things he can't affect for the same reason they blame him for similarly unrelated things: because, even though we know better, we still believe he's all-powerful and in char...

More true poetry confessions ...

I'm getting a little bored with the "professional poet." The poet who treats the art form like it's merely a job. The poet who doesn't seem to love the art so much as they love the accomplishments.

I have too many conversations about poetry these days which ... well ... never actually touch on poetry. It's all slam scores this, or publishing credit that. It all seems so ... joyless. As though a life as a poet were a matter of checkboxes on a resume.

Not that there's anything wrong with the acco...