Victor D. Infante's Blog, page 206

Getting Down with Shakes the Bard

Every few years, some academic looking to make a name for him or herself comes along and offers proof of the legendary lost Shakespeare play, "Cardenio." (In the odd numbered years when this isn't happening, some scholar is trying to prove that Shakespeare either was gay or bisexual ("57 academics just punched the air!") or did not write the plays at all (bullshit). Ususally, the wheel of the 37th play's arc comes back to Lewis Theobald's 18th-century play,"Double Falsehood," which is general...

Write Bloody Note

Just a reminder: the open submissions/contest/thingie period for Write Bloody Publishing has started. it's a ridiculously narrow window: March 15 to March 30, so if you're gonna send stuff, do it now.

Find out more information here.

Hmmm ...

So both AWP and NPS are going to be in Boston next year? That's a WHOLE lot of poetry coming to town.

Rest in Peace, Todd Moore

Been hearing the buzz about Todd Moore dying all day. And I'll admit, it's hard right now to face yet another poet dying. Let's face it, it's been a mean season for it, and I think I'm emotionally spent. Still, Moore was a pioneer. He was among the first of us to look at the state of the publishing industry, decide it was all a crock, and go about and do his own thing, instead. He was a maverick, in the non-co-opted sense of the word, and a man who helped make all of this fringe poetry stuff ...

This, That and the Other ...

Yeah. I've totally been slacking off on this blog thing. Didn't even merit a mention in the WoMag story on city bloggers! That might mean it's time to act on my repeated threats to bring back the "Victor Reads Janice Harvey So You Don't Have To" feature. But I try not to do that to myself.

Saturday, I'll be playing the role of Simon Cowell over at the Q, in the 50/50 Singer-Songwriter Competition. If you've got a few songs in hand, come down and play! The other judges are much nicer than I am....

Let the WoMag Editor Position Courting Ritual Begin!

Best of luck to Jim Keogh as he leaves the editor job at Worcester Magazine (and 23 years working for the Landmark.) I became acquainted with Jim when he was writing movie reviews and a film column for the Telegram. He's a good guy and a good newsman, and the industry's poorer for losing him. But I'm certain the PR job or whatever that's waiting for him will value him mightily. (:

Now, the watching game begins to see who the new editor will be over there. Frankly, I'm betting on a Landmark ins...

Literature, aloud and otherwise

Went and saw Tony Brown read at the Poets Asylum Sunday. Now, I've seen Tony read ... well, I've seen Tony read a lot, and what keeps impressing me is his ability to not only consistently create new poetry -- and it was a largely new set -- but his consistency in creating poems that are emotionally grounded and accessible. Accessibility is a loaded phrase, of course -- often, it's a code for "shallow." I don't mean that here. I mean it in its most simple definition: he gives the reader ways i...

Other people's poetry critques ...

I've only had a moment to glance at Alvin Lau's "Where Does Slam Go From Here?" And while it's no secret Alvin and I agree on little, I'm afraid I don't particularly have an issue with much of what he writes, despite the seeming controversy. I do -- and again, at a glance -- feel Alvin looks at slam through too small a frame, but my friend  Matthew John Conley addresses those concerns here better than I'm inclined to, at the moment.
 
More thoughts later, I'm sure -- either here or at length el...

Lost Boy ...

Rest in Peace Corey Haim. We'll always remember you like this ...



Which, admittedly, was probably part of the problem. Still, your movies were a big part of my youth, and it disturbs me that we're the same age. And let's face it, you had some classic moments:

"Look at your reflection in the mirror. You're a creature of the night, Michael. Just like out of a comic book. You're a vampire, Michael. My own brother, a goddam shit-sucking vampire. You wait 'til Mom finds out buddy!" -- Corey Haim as ...

Down the Rabbit Hole

Been a bit behind, but I feel I owe some people my thoughts on "Alice in Wonderland." For the most part, I thought it was ... OK. Which is both unfair and disappointing, as I wanted to love it. And I ENJOYED it, on its own merits, but I wanted something spectacular, and what I got was a well-made action flick.

It's hard, because everything in the film is rather well-done. I love Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, and they were ... Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. And Alan Rickman and S...