Jennifer K Dick

Lex-ICON: new blog with calls for work on text and image

2012-01-25T17:11:00.000-08:00

Seeking University presentations, authors, visual artists, publishers, curators and MORE for the conference that I am co-organizing which will be hosted at UHA in June of 2012. I know, I took a little bit too long to get out the word, but it is now OUT, so PLEASE do go and visit our blog and respond to our CFP and pass on the info: http://lex-icon21.blogspot.com/ here it is:

Lex-ICON :
treating text as image and image as text

International interdisciplinary conference
7 - 9 June 2012
Université de Haute-Alsace, Mulhouse, France.

Co-organised by Jennifer K Dick (UHA/ILLE), Didier Girard (UHA/Ille), Océane Delleaux (UHA/CREM/Edith), Eric Suchère (École Supérieure d'Art et Design de Saint-Étienne) and Fréderique Toudoire-Surlapierre (UHA/Ille).

Multidisciplinary conference on text and image creation, use and reception in ultra-contemporary literature and visual art (works created in the 21st century).

« The sum of human wisdom is not contained
in any one language, and no single language is
CAPABLE of expressing all forms and degrees
of human comprehension. »
                                                — Ezra Pound

As Pierre Garnier wrote almost 50 years ago, « la nouvelle poésie s’alimente, quant à son origine, dans les langages typiques d’autres arts, en particulier celui des arts plastiques, qui lui permettent d’atteindre la dimension d’objet récusant la “lecture”. » Since then, many movements have given a central place to the use of the word rather than that of any other visual form. As Johanna Drucker wrote, by the beginning of the 1960s « artistic activity […] had dissolved the boundaries between disciplines which had rigidly distinguished high modern visuality from high modern literariness at mid-century […] the experimental innovation had inbred so successfully with other artistic sources […that] current work actually blends visual and verbal elements into what is an increasingly synthetic unity ».

Is it emphatic attention to the physical substance of language that draws authors and visual artists together today? Or are there very different modes of representation and conceptual creation engendering cultural upheavals in artistic and literary practice?

This conference will unite researchers from varied disciplines in order to begin formulating a new criticism for the 21st century’s authors and visual artists who are given to making texts to see as if they were geometric forms, or forms to read, colors and visual sequences whose nature it had once been to reach spectators and their perceptions with an inherent immediacy.

In particular, Lex-ICON will focus on the reception of hybrid works, asking whether language and words are necessary to say or communicate things and ideas or even to think. Can one simply feel thought through the gaze without ever really having the words, the grammar and thus language itself to describe it? Is a process of translation from the visual to linguistic necessary for thought to take place? The fluid nature of articulation emerges at this time when language has taken center stage in visual art and where graphic gestures dominate literary works. The debates which have surrounded the treatment, classification, teaching, economy and reception of such works are not new, but they are increasingly becoming the motifs of ultra-contemporary art and literature. The theories on lexiconographic work have long lived in separate ponds, but the idea is to unify them and seek a common cross-disciplinary discourse.

The goal is therefore to contribute to the development of theoretical reflection regarding the effect produced by the intersemioticity of verbo-visual practices. Discussions and panels will be joined by a series of artistic and literary presentations and performances during and around the conference in the region of Alsace and the city of Mulhouse.

Potential presentation topics include :
-   The use and novelties of visual protocols (typographic plays, scribbling, collages, importation of images, etc.) in ultra-contemporary literature.
-   The borders of the visual form of letters in books and out.
-   The multimediality of the page as a space for redefinition.
-   The stakes and the modality of an image-rhetoric in the context of emerging screen cultures.
-   Textual processes which lead to “unreadable” readings, to illegible texts.
-   Art for art: metafiction within verbo-visual artwork.
-   The genre of the rebus as narrative rediscovery (hommages to Magritte).
-   Emergent modes of lexiconographic reading..
-   The new relationship to languages—perhaps “a corollary to travel and to the planetarization of culture” (Edeline)?
-   The phenomena of simplification of complex thought or of complexification of reading image and text as applied to the creation of lexiconographic works.
-   Identity (and the interrogation of identity) of the author-artist by these verbo-visual creative practices.
-   New narrative forms in lexiconographic work.
-   The Lyricisms of a lexiconographic text or piece of art.

Artists to study ? :
Works created since the year 2000 by lexiconographic artists and authors such as Rosaire Appel, Julien Blaine, Marcel Broodthaers, Sophie Calle, Amélie Dubois, Brendan Fernandes, Kathleen Fraser, Jenny Holzer, Susan Howe, Vannina Maestri, Jacques Sivan, Nico Vassilakis, Lawrence Weiner, or, among those who showed language-based artworks at the Art Basel 2011 expo : Vito Acconci, Kader Attia, Martin Boyce, Tacita Dean, Matias Faldbaklen, Claire Fontaine, Doria Garcia, Ryan Gander, Liam Gillick, Philip Goldbach, Leon Golub, Shilpa Gupta, On Kawara, William Kentridge, Sean Landers, Mark Leckey, Fabian Marti, Sara Morris, Michael Müller, Yoshitomo Nara, Jack Pierson, Jaume Plensa, Richard Prince, Allen Ruppersburg, David Shrigley, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Barthélémy Toguo and others.

Paper proposals (250-300 words) in French or English should be emailed before the 25th of February 2012. They should be sent to both Jennifer K Dick (jennifer-kay.dick@uha.fr or fragment3@yahoo.com) and to Océane Delleaux (oceane.delleaux@wanadoo.fr).

The organizers will confirm the final programme by the 15th of March 2012.

All of the information concerning this conference will be posted on our blog at :
http://lex-icon21.blogspot.com/

Books Received for 40s project mini reviews 2 & 3

2012-01-18T10:06:00.000-08:00

"Wordlick" by Joe Ross (Green Integer N°184: http://www.greeninteger.com/book-digital.cfm?-Joe_Ross_wordlick-&BookID=292)

This new mini-book by Joe Ross published by Green Integer starts with the bang it carries all the way through--a mouth-puzzling soundscape is alive here, from the very start with the first poem's:

"The margin beginning in white helf fold wreck
Visionthinging again ramwording again
Sentences into being tensemaking strange" (p11)

This, Joe Ross' 13th book (is that his lucky or unlucky number? I might say lucky reading this--) is quite linguistically troubling in wonderful, constantly unexpected ways. It does give one a bit of a headache as the mind tries to jostle and jangle with these, as the logical brain tries to force some standard soundsense back onto a writing resisiting such things. But there are these breaths of clarity for the mind in the way these poems touch a tangible world--with an image from a walk, a mention of a place or animal or sky. But this is not the Paris Ross lives in that he explored in his previous book, instead here is a landscape of imagination, filled with the "Crapeating linetoss at sinkerbaited truckhop rodeo" found on page 29 or the "Mossheaded hitting lowfur tuliprise sunset / Slowstraining the unionjack in corporate sponsored naming debt" on page 38.

This is not one place at one time, seen in clarity, but like the nouns, verbs and adjectives rubbing elbows and clicking knees together, it is a mishmash of placetimesepochscountries that makes this book fabulously evocative and like some childhood dreambook, makes the reader imagine in unexplored ways. Yes, as he writes on page 29, this reader is in fact quite "Wowed again by the circusstripe catwalk jest" that is WORDLICK, a poetry book which has come to remind us that poetry is always here because we need inventiveness.

WORDLICK is the "Necessary invention filling lackcapacity gap" of which Ross writes on p 11. A fun book to carry round and listen to and glance in then relook at the world with these sounds, Ross' exciting language, pinging round inside our heads. THANKS JOE!

"The Institution At Her Twilight" by Caroline Crumpacker.

The lovely arrivals in my mailbox of little unexpected books from the Dusie Kollectiv 5 from 2011 has practically stopped. But here is one I am so thrilled to have received--for Crumpacker's poems reawaken in me the pleasure of feeling language move and question. These poems filled with the dailiness of living and reflecting on the past and present are poems with longish lines where gaps come in to interrupt certain lines and make me (the reader) and the author (I presume at least) look at what is taking place in that white--as in poem one:

"The night is 23 years and in that time I feel destroyed but unchanged."

I love the force of this line--and how the gap after "feel" allows me a moment to feel, a moment to see feeling in the space it occupies not as language but as another sense, one that is unlocated in the instant of speaking. The fraction of time also interrogates the distance travelled over 23 years. And then, when the word "destroyed" comes, emerges, is the other side of this white bridge, the gap echoes visually the destruction, the de-construction of the contructed life. Things are not changed--nothing was built, or the building returned again to dust.

Certainly, here I am stretching in many directions and the poems here have a lightness that contrasts which what I am saying, too, a momentum that keeps me reading on so I do not overthink and overfeel one instant in the poem but am carried onward by rythms which are at once natural but also attentive to a kind of hummming that comforts one when one is hurting. A humming that tries to be in tune with an ache and thus alleviate some of the agony of that ache.

These are poems which are trying to assess things--silence, nostalgia, loss, conflict, love, nature, the moment or moments we are in even now as we read or go off to do something else. I enjoy how Crumpacker's work is constantly naming and making conscious not only me but the poems themselves of their reflective process--so that reflection becomes both linguistic and image(imagined). These are poems where, as she writes "sentiment appears luxuriantly articulate." Again, THANK YOU!

To read Caroline Crumpacker's chapbook online, visit the Dusie Kollectiv 5 website: http://www.dusie.org/issue12.html and click on Crumpacker. Or else go directly to her pdf via:
http://www.dusie.org/Crumpacker%20-%20The%20Institution%20at%20her%20Twilight%20-%20Spreads.pdf

Of course, what you are missing is the wonderful cover on the version I received--a nice architectural drawing which echos the layers of the poems themselves--construction, deconstruction, the concrete and the abstract.

IVY is back for 2012!

2012-01-08T18:30:00.000-08:00

We have had a slow season this year, but things are looking very bright for 2012 despite our unfortunate need to push back Alice Notley's event once again. I look forward as I imagine you all do to hearing her read from her great new book and I will let everyone know when that is happening. For now--here is the announcement for this week's fabu IVY WRITERS PARIS gets 2012 underway!

IVY WRITERS PARIS

PRÉSENTE

une lecture bilingue (Bilingual READING) en anglais

et en français avec les écrivains

DYLAN HARRIS (irlandais)

HYAM YARED (libanaise)

Mardi le 10 janvier 2012

à 19h30

AT: Le Next,

17 rue Tiquetonne,

75002 Paris,

Metro Etienne Marcel/ RER Les Halles.

Free/ Entrée libre

BIOS:

Hyam Yared est une poète et romancière née à Beyrouth en 1975. Son premier roman, L’Armoire des ombres (éditions Wespieser), paru en 2006 (Prix France-Liban 2007), abordait le poids des traditions et les faux-semblants de la société libanaise, au-delà de l’apparence trompeuse de la femme libanaise « libérée ». Son deuxième roman Sous la tonnelle paru chez le même éditeur en octobre 2009 (prix Phoenix 2009 et Richelieu de la francophonie 2011) aborde les questions des rapports hommes-femmes dans un pays marqué à vif par la guerre civile, thématiques qui lui sont chères et qu’elle reprend dans ses recueils poétiques Blessures de l’eau (Dar an nahar) et naitre si mourir (L’idée bleue) qui sont une réflexion sur les enjeux du rapport hommes-femmes et l’incidence du refoulé sur la scène sociétale et politique. Son dernier recueil Esthétique de la prédation, présenté au salon du livre de Beyrouth 2011 dans le cadre de l’installation artistique de la plasticienne Amal Saadé, se penche sur la question de la quête des libertés individuelles au sein des révolutions arabes. Son travail romanesque a bénéficié de la Bourse del Duca 2007 décernée par l’Académie française. Sélectionnée par le Hay Festival of littérature dans le cadre de Beirut 39, Hyam Yared fait partie de la nouvelle génération d’auteurs arabes francophones et participe aux chroniques de l’émission La grande Table, sur France Culture. Pour lire quelques extraits de son travail: http://www.agendaculturel.com/Livre_Hyam_Yared_ou_le_courage_detre_multiple
et http://www.culturessud.com/contenu.php?id=73

Dylan Harris was born in blighty, before Sputnik flew. He’s since lived in Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, France and, soon, the Netherlands. He wrote Europe (wurm press, 2008) & antwerp (2009), wrote and photographed the smoke (The Knives, Forks and Spoons Press, 2010) & the forthcoming The Liberation of [Placeholder] (planned 2012), and composed and performed Flock State (Tunecore, 2007). His works have been on and in nthposition, Upstairs at Duroc, Issue Zero, etc. In Dublin, with Kit Fryatt, he coconstructed and coöperated wurm im apfel, wurmfest and wurm press (wurmimapfel.net). In Paris, he constructed and operates corrupt press (corruptpress.net), which has published many Parisian anglophone poets. His website (dylanharris.org) shews much of his output. Or see a sample at http://upstart.ie/blog/?p=1046

Venizia: a few snapshots

2011-11-29T15:46:00.000-08:00

Ornate, ornament, excentric ornamentality: San Marco, pictured at the left, just before sunset. The pink of the streetlamps, the rose of the setting sun's lingering late afternoon light on the Church & adjoining buildings. Already, this luxurious sight seems far. For Doug Stirling & I headed off to Venizia for a long weekend this past weekend, & now what I have left are great photos, better memories & some fabulous souvenirs (in all the sense of that word). For here, I thought I would share a few of my pics from our explorations of the gorgeous island and waters... Perhaps to bring a little ornamentality to your pre-holidays, or invite dreams of future treks to this island of mysteries.

First off, heading out into the night for a Venetian specialty--their local cocktail called a "Spritz" (I found a lovely NYT article about its exportation to elsewhere--read about it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/dining/06spritz.html . As the author explains, the Spritz--which ends up being orange or red--is campari (red) or aperol (orange, and what Doug & I are drinking in the pictures above) + white wine & selzer water. The place we were frequenting also adds some ice, a slice of orange and a large olive on a stick. The olive is peculiar with the sweet, but I dug it. Wish I could stop off for a SPRITZ after work tomorrow!!!!

We rode the boat-bus up and down the Grande Canale from our Hotel near Ferrovia to the Piazza San Marco & many other stops. We also walked it many a time--but the boat was in and of itself a little adventure where we took tons of gorgeous photos of gondoliers...

There is perhaps no tourist-track path in Venizia without its mask shop or mask maker. Of course, most are run of the mill, with their charm for us banal tourists, but there are some spectacular handmade mask shops which I am sure really shine round Carnivale time. For us, it was just a time to admire & consider masks as Christmas gifts...
One of my favorite things was to look into the brightly lit shops after dark. To see regular people & tourists buying breads and cheeses & many other wonderful tasty items. Here are a few shots spying into shops! Of course, this is also because Doug & I were often found giving into our sweet tooth! And who wouldn't? With finely chocolate-layered nougat, pastriies, & many other sweets--from chocolates to almond & amaretto goodies--to tempt us. Here are just a few images of those--note the Christmas cakes are out! And the candied chestnuts, too. In the last of these 3 pics of sweets, see the mini cannoli--this was my favorite! Just a little, not too much! Sunsets are nothing but spectacular when you are by the sea. And to combine sea & the Venetian architcture was like an opera set ondulating between cloud and waves. So, to end, a closing day, then a little moon over Venizia. It is likely there right now. And of course night fog & dark bridges through winding streets as someone else wends their way home to their hotel room--& I return to my work!

Jennifer K Dick’s forthcoming publications & upcoming events

2011-11-22T08:02:00.000-08:00

FORTHCOMING publications & upcoming events!
(pre-orders always welcome by the presses & magazines that support our work!)

POETRY:
I) Book :
Circuits (Corrupt Press, Paris) forthcoming in January/February 2012. http://corruptpress.net/ (you can subscribe to their newsletter & get info on this as it appears, as well as be notified of other books & chapbooks--like Michelle Noteboom's!)

II) DUSIE Kollectiv 5 chapbook Tracery ONLINE:
Tracery, my 2011 chapbook with handmade covers, hand stitched, with color images inside it, is now visible online with the Dusie Kollectiv site: http://www.dusie.org/issue12.html Just click the image and then find my name on the right & click it to view the pdf. SO SO many others to read, tooo--it has been a beautiful experience being part of Dusie's Kollectiv!

III) Art poetry chapbook:
with visual artist and bookmaker Kate Van Houten (Estepa Editions, January 2012). This will be Kate and my second book together, as Retina/Rétine has sold out!

III) Poems in the forthcoming issue of The Denver Quarterly :
“Three poems from Anywhere Apparently” (by Amanda Deutch and Jennifer K Dick), including:
“I Suppose it is a Symphony of Metal, Urban and Maladroit” (AD),
“Nothing more to do but whine” (JKD)
and
“Neither the consort nor king called her Eurydice on the rock pricking up an ear” (JKD).

To subscribe to DQ or order a copy: http://www.denverquarterly.com/
and subscriptions at: http://www.denverquarterly.com/subscriptions.cfm

ARTICLES / CRITICAL WRITINGS (in English & French):
I) Regular column in Tears in the Fence:
Forthcoming later this month in issue 54: Of tradition and experiment VI: A reading of She, A Blueprint by Michelle Naka-Pierce with images by Sue Hammond West (BlazeVOX Books, 2011, isbn 978-1-60964-060-6) in Tears in The Fence, issue N° 54, fall 2011. http://llpp.ms11.net/tears.html for ordering and subscription info. To keep up on all things TITF, join the TITF group on FB at: http://www.facebook.com/groups/2307588990/?ref=ts

Published in issue 53: Of tradition and experiment V: one independent small press, “Futurepoem books”, keeps redefining the reading experience. Published in Tears in The Fence, issue N° 53, spring 2011, issn 0266 5816. The photo at the left is of Hannah Silva from her blog post which reviews this particular issue of TITF. To read her blog post, go to: http://hannahsilva.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/tears-in-the-fence/ To order: contact David Caddy via http://llpp.ms11.net/tears.html

II) For DRUNKEN BOAT
Three book reviews in Drunken Boat issue 15, forthcoming online in Dec 2011 or January 2012: http://www.drunkenboat.com/
1) The Pros and Cons of Against Expression: An Anthology of Conceptual Writing by Craig Dworkin and Kenneth Goldsmith (Northwestern UP, Evanston, IL, 2011, isbn #978-0-8101—2711-1) This is a really really really LONG review!

2) A review of Laura Mullen’s Dark Archive (University of California Press, New California Poetry Series 2011, ISBN 978-0-520-26886-9)

3) A review of Josie Foo and Leah Stein’s A Lily Lilies (Nightboat books, 2011 isbn 978-0-9844598-5-8)

+ I will be posting on Drunken Boat’s site—watch for my “what I am reading” post which goes up Dec 2nd at the latest! http://www.drunkenboat.com/ to read the current post on what Yerra Sugerman is reading!

Forthcoming: joint dialogue in Drunken Boat issue 16 (out in summer 2012):
Jonathan Regier and Jennifer K Dick discuss Ronaldo V. Wilson's POEMS OF THE BLACK OBJECT (Futurepoem Books, 2009)

III) Under Consideration:
French article (acte du colloque) under submission, thus awaiting reply:
La revue de Pierre Albert-Birot : SIC prend l’extrême pointe de l’avant-garde pendant la première guerre mondiale

EVENTS: Upcoming events:
I) DUTCH POETRY FESTIVAL
I will be reading from my work as part of the Dutch Poetry Festival, January 26, 2012 in Utrecht, Holland! Keep your eyes out for more information about this on my blog, but also via the festival sites on:
http://www.gedichtendag.com/
http://www.huisvandepoezie.nl/
http://www.centraalmuseum.nl/

EDITING & ORGANIZING Work:
I) Editorial work:
We are still reading work for VERSAL Magazine 10, and hope that if you have some poetry, prose or artwork seeking publication you will consider us for your work! See: for guidelines and to order a copy of fabulous Versal 9: http://www.wordsinhere.com/versal.html

II) JURY pour une résidance d'écrivain:d'artiste à la KUNSTHALLE:
We are also reading for the residency for a FRENCH writer that will be with la Kunsthalle in Mulhouse and UHA with the SUAC. We seek a writer interested in the intersections between text & image. For further information on how to apply, see: http://kunsthallemulhouse.com/documents/RESIDENCE-UNIVERSITAIRE-Appel-a-candidature.pdf Date limite de candidature: le 12 déc 2012 pour une résidance qui aura lieu en mars et mai 2012!

III) COLLOQUE Station 2 Station:
If you are around Mulhouse or Dijon, décembre 1-2 2011: please join us for our conference STATION to STATION! http://station2stationcolloquenomade.blogspot.com/ for the programme and info on reserving your billet! This is Didier Girard’s baby, but Frederique Tudoire-Surlapierre and I are the co-organizers.

IV) Ecrire l’art continues in 2012 with, next up:
Virginie Poitrasson à la Kunsthalle, Mulhouse du 15 au 19 février 2012
Pour plus, voir la Kunsthalle: http://www.kunsthallemulhouse.fr/

V) Ivy Writers Paris plans on getting back on track with:
A January 2012 event featuring Alice Notley. Keep your eye on our blog for further info: http://ivywritersparis.blogspot.com/
And please join our new Facebook group!: http://www.facebook.com/groups/101898279922603/
To see a little post from our recent IVY Writers Paris reading with VERSAL Magazine & Lars Palm as a guest with Poets-Live series, esp to admire some pics, click this link to the: VERSAL BLOG POST about the event.

La Kunsthalle - Ecrire L'Art

2011-11-03T17:05:00.000-07:00

ECRIRE L'ART: A READING EVENT WITH JERÔME MAUCHE SHARING NEW WORK IN PROGRESS WRITTEN AFTER THE ART SHOW BY BENOÎT MAIRE:

le 6 nov à 15h à la KUNSTHALLE, 16 rue de la fonderie, Mulhouse

I am THRILLED to let you know about the first of 3 short residencies entitled ECRIRE L'ART that I have helped organized this year thanks to, with and at the gorgeous contemporary art space La Kunsthalle of Mulhouse.

We are bringing authors to Mulhouse to write & perform!

The first mini-residency is underway right now, with Jérôme Mauche (pictured above and to the right at tonight's lovely Kunstapéro--visiting the Benoït Maire show and already scribbling some notes).

You are ALL INVITED this SUNDAY to the finale! As the press release announcement explains it:

WRITING ART:
This new series of invitations is part of the Kunsthalle’s project to explore mediation. All season long, it will unite writers and exhibitions.

In the form of four day long “mini-residencies”, a contemporary author will be invited to immerse themselves in the universe of the exhibition being presented by the Kunsthalle and to write after or about the works shown. Dialogues, creations, collaborations, visual and sound poetry, texts and linguistic expressions will allow us to visit, see, conceive of and re-experience the works brought to life in the visiting author’s specific language. The residency will close with a public reading-performance in the exhibition space.

The first author, invited to write after Benoît Maire’s art, will be Jérôme Mauche.

Born in 1965, Jérôme Mauche lives in Paris and teaches at à l’École nationale supérieure des Beaux-arts of Lyon. He is the author of over a dozen books. He also directs the poetry collection Les grands soirs for Les petits matins publishers and organizes the reading series Poésie Plate-forme at the Fondation d'entreprise Ricard in Paris. For more:

RDV: WRITING ART (ECRIRE L’ART)Sunday the 6th of November at 3pm
Reading performance by JérômeMauche
Free entry

AT : La Kunsthalle
Upstairs at the right upon entering La Fonderie
16 rue de la Fonderie

http://www.kunsthallemulhouse.com/

Écrire l’art 2011-2012
Ce nouveau cycle d’invitations inédites s’inscrit dans le projet de recherche de la Kunsthalle autour de la médiation. Il réunit tout au long de la saison des écrivains et des expositions. Sous la forme de « mini-résidences » de quatre jours, un auteur contemporain s’immergera dans l’univers d’une exposition présentée à la Kunsthalle et composera autour des œuvres exposées. Dialogues, créations, collaborations, poésies visuelles et sonores, textes et expressions permettront de visiter, voir, concevoir et revoir les œuvres à travers le langage spécifique de l’écrivain. Une lecture-performance publique sera proposée dans l’espace d’exposition à l’issu de leur résidence.

Le premier écrivain invité à composer autour de l’œuvre de Benoît Maire est Jérôme Mauche.

Né en 1965, Jérôme Mauche vit à Paris et enseigne à l’École nationale supérieure des Beaux-arts de Lyon. Il est l’auteur d’une douzaine de livres. Il dirige la collection Les grands soirs aux éditions Les petits matins et organise un cycle de rencontres Poésie Plate-forme à la Fondation d'entreprise Ricard à Paris.

RDV : ECRIRE L’ART

Dimanche 6 novembre à 15h
Lecture Performance

de Jérôme Mauche
Entrée Libre

AT : La Kunsthalle
Upstairs at the right upon entering La Fonderie

16 rue de la Fonderie

NOTE for your agendas!:

The second invitée for ECRIRE L'ART will be Virginie Poitrasson from the 15-19Feb 2012. She is an author, most recently of Demi Valeurs (published with l'attente) and translator from English into French (most recently she co-translated with Eric Suchère Michael Palmer's First Figure into French as Première figure, chez Corti editions, 2011).

Station to Station: LE PROGRAMME is UP!

2011-10-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

As Didier, Frederique and I move towards the exciting events in early Dec, the Station to Station blog will become more and more dynamic. For now, I have just gotten up a version of our programme for your reading pleasure!

We hope that you will join us in listening to these fabulous speakers and performers! To order your 10e ticket to ride the a/r conference TGV, see the right hand column of the blog where Marine LaFumat's email is noted. She is our UHASNCF billet queen--and she awaits your confirmed reservations!

For all the delectable details: Voici notre blog avec le programme. /: Here is our conference blog with the programme
http://station2stationcolloquenomade.blogspot.com/ Direct link for the programme: Lien direct pour le programme: http://station2stationcolloquenomade.blogspot.com/2011/10/programme-station-to-station-les-1-et-2.html I will begin posting presenters abstracts this weekend, so check back! Merci de partager ce lien avec vos collègues et vos amis! // thank you for sharing this link with friend and colleagues who may be interested in coming to join in on the events and discussions!

40s mini review 1: VIRAL SUITE by Mari-Lou Rowley

2011-09-02T05:18:00.001-07:00

Viral Suite by Mari-Lou Rowley, Anvil Press, Vancouver, 2004

100 pages of cerebral-corporeal poetry are divided here into 5 subsections entitled Boreal Surreal, HomeoPathoLogic, Elucidata, InArticulations and Infiltration/ Transformation. Already in these titles the playful and articulate use of language and Rowley’s attention to capitalization are apparent. Each subsection includes a series of poems which explore in singular formal experiments the intricate interweavings of nature, body, scientific study/naming, life and the proximity of death.

The question of knowing becomes embodied and articulated in naming, delineating, knowledge and sensual contact and coupling with the other or the natural landscape in this book. For example, in Sex in Space Time—part of the Elucidata series where each moderately short lined free verse poem explores or elucidates a principle of physics or biology after which the author comments on the actual scientific property in an explanatory endnote—Einstein’s general theory of relativity is explored/critiqued in a universe of physical couplings. Rowley asks the reader to:

Consider the curve of space

the swell of a breast, the concave

bowl of belly pooling droplets of sweat.

It’s as simple as this, Einstein said

think of gravity as geometry, not

a force to be reckoned with.

A body freely falling […] (p47)

In the end, Rowley concludes:

Sex, gravity, quantum theory

are merely the play of

matter and energy, radiating

waves of photons dancing here and there

..........the pull and swell of bodies

.........in motion. (p48)

As elsewhere, the poem ends in a place where change is still taking place, things are happening, in part because of the rhythmic tidal swell of her language. Most often in this collection things are happening to bodies. Sometimes the body is awaiting its own demise or ravishment, as in these final lines from Cantharsis in the HomeoPathoLogic section: “Spread-eagled on the mossy floor/under a phalanx of trees/she waits” (p 25). Here the “she” is either waiting for the beetle powder she has presumably ingested to cause “pericarditis /death” (p 25) or for the powder’s side-effects, “frenzy, rage,” and her “inflamed genitals” (p24), to lure the man with the “budding pecs, the taunting cupola/ of crotch” (p24) to come couple with her.

In this deftly written book, Rowley’s sensual poems are at times less overtly sexualized and yet the poems are constantly imbibed with the intimacy of physicality in their precision of detail, their tantalizing word choices. As another Canadian poet, Lisa Pasold, would put it, these poems have amazing mouth feel. Reading, especially aloud, we taste Rowley’s delectable and at times complex Latinate vocabulary and these poems seduce us, lure us dangerously close to love or to an awareness that will transform us forever. Consumed in reading, we risk our own consumption by the world which surrounds us and which Rowley’s poems remind us is eternally awaiting to reabsorb us into its elements. For example, in “III” an untitled right and left-justified dense prose poem from the first section of the book Boreal Surreal, Rowley describes the intense attraction to a set of berries in the wild which are “not recommended for eating” as we learn at the end of the poem. Yet, like the poem itself, the narrative “She” “puts them into her mouth and begins to chew.” (p13) The berries are at once appealing and repulsive, absorbing thought—the warning in their bitterness, perhaps an old instinctive alarm signal, is ignored as the “she” of the poem tastes them. But the confrontation with an evident predator causes the surprisingly life-saving reaction of spitting out the berries. As Rowley describes this tasting of the forbidden fruit:

They form a dryish pulp, inhibiting mastication. The fruit absorbs her concentration. She doesn’t hear the other footsteps, contrived, stalking. The bitter fruity odour hypnotic. She feels a low growl emerging from deep below her larynx. Primal guttural vibrations of dorsoventral membrane. She turns to the sound of dead branches snapping. Spews out the bitter pulp. Its dark blood drips from her mouth. (p 13)

Here, one death is averted, and yet another will take place, witnessed by the speaker who will discover/ uncover the body. The “she” who is being saved from the consumption of the poisonous berries by an encounter with a (presumable) bear finds 3 weeks later “his body” “consumed by the forest” (p13). Yet the transformations, life to death, predator to prey, are not so easily delineable in this poem: the “she” transforms from potentially being a person consuming a poisonous plant which can thus consume her by killing her off to being (perhaps) a growling bear who “rears up, fearless” (as Rowley writes a little farther along). Thus the “she” may be in fact an animal confronting another predator—perhaps another bear—as a human is rarely described as “rearing up” so the question of where danger lies and who is in danger are increasingly complexified by these metamorphoses.

The book itself ends with what can be read as a place where global or even universal destruction is underway—or where, alternatively, phoenix-like this destruction will link to a rebirth. The final poem Casual Mythology IV states:

Hey big boy down here we’re

waiting for the long one, bombast, outroar.

Shafts of ion spray in the face.

Cummon. Throw it.

If you’re so pop-god high-energy luminous

let’s see some major cloud-to-ground strokes,

let’s feel those electrons jump,

those discharge papers burn

Zeus-baby,

burn! (p98)

Again, the reader cannot miss the sexily witty sensual(ized) language use, suggesting ejaculation in the “shafts of ion spray in the face” or the taunting but inviting-the-lover closer calls of “big boy” “Zeus baby” “Cummon” “Throw it” and use of “let’s see” and “let’s feel”. There is a dual big bang underway, and Rowley makes us laugh at the fun and funny obviousness of that combo. In fact, the final section of the book is chock full of playful language acknowledging its own popular cultural word spins on old-time Romantic notions of mythological gods, as “pop-god high-energy luminous” or “”Zeus baby” demonstrate.

What is fantastic in this last poem is that it takes Rowley’s ethical and aesthetic explorations of the individual universe, the self as held and contained in a body subject to its own always proximate mortality and frailty potentially on the verge of being returned to an elemental pre/post being state in the molecular and physical universe to a plane where that larger molecular, elemental universe is also subject to its own re-big bang—able to be discharged, recharged, split apart like an atom. Or else we can just read this as a call for lightening, the speaker yelling up to Zeus to send on down one of his big ionizing bolts (which again have the potential to char broil the individual mortal). So perhaps the earth, perhaps the speaker, perhaps the book and poem and thus “discharge papers” will burn here if Zeus responds to the speaker’s taunting. All this awaits to be seen, post or pre book—and therefore the reader again is reading, living caught in “this minute, each moment / a closure / a closed /loop.” (p85) as Rowley states in Nietzsche’s Lullaby where that closed loop is “resilient in / returning” (p85).

I, too, enter into or become that loop, returning to reread the poems of Viral Suite where I explore the interactions and curves and circlings of Rowley’s language, delecting in its sensual-intellectual gymnastics.

Viral Suite by Mari-Lou Rowley, Anvil Press, Vancouver, 2004 ISBN I-895636-58-2 ($16 Canadian or $12 US dollars on their website http://www.anvilpress.com/Books/viral-suite)

DUSIE Kollectiv 5 hits NYC--The Zinc Bar reading, Manhattan

2011-08-05T06:49:00.000-07:00

You say you missed us, last night? How sad for you. But no worries, because poet Deborah Poe was kind enough to supply a series of short films of the Dusiers reading at Zinc. For some, this event was the first in a series taking place over the long Boog City book festival this weekend--so do check into other events to hear those authors and publishers. For me, this was the wonderful single night of reading from both TRACERY from the Dusie Kollectiv 5 and Betwixt (Corrupt Press, Paris, 2011) with Amanda Deutch as Betwixt is part of a book we have been working on together for a little while now. To watch the YOUTUBE videos from the readings last night, here are the links:

Benson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPuNDGA_PCk

Damon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBpNuI5VeuM

Deutch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eac4OTQrGHE

Dick: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yblKFaXYZko

Deutch & Dick: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XGnQ4eCLIY

Klaver: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yga4rUCT9h4

Reed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvvxWweCZeA

Ruby: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsO48vgWLC8

Schaeppi 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOqiHA4I564

Schaeppi 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGMah7udK10

Zompa 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnctpzR4WzM

Zompa 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE5fTP7NSNw

Gardner: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtrkG7Rj35s

‘Almost Dashed Against the Rocks’, and ‘The Big One That Got Away’

2011-07-16T21:48:00.000-07:00

Day eight—A last hurrah: out fishin’ on Upper Goose Lake!

14 July 2011: Dad & I woke a little later & moved a little slower on our last fishing day. One might think it would be the reverse—I certainly did. I’d figured I’d get us out onto the lake early, raring to go, desperate to take in the last hours here. Instead, I was just thrilled to take my time, to be with my dad, chat & go out onto the lake again on another sunny, warm morning with not too much wind.

When we did get into gear, we motored out towards the hump but saw someone was there & decided we’d prefer to enjoy being on our own—what has been most exciting about this week is in fact that it is like we are almost entirely alone out on these lakes & rivers.

We rarely saw other boats anywhere, & so there was a great sense of really being able to get away from the world of humans of getting closer to nature—the lake, the trees, the wonderful array of lakeshores, riverbanks, weedbeds, pines & firs climbing off the water atop sharp-angled hills or drop-off rock shorelines. Along some shores we could see so many layers of plant growth, from lichen & mosses to small brush, little trees then always & everywhere pines/firs shooting into the sky.
As if they were in the same mood as us, it was a quieter fishing day—where we either caught small or largish fish, but nothing in between.
ALMOST DASHED AGAINST THE ROCKS ON OUR LAST DAILY DOUBLE:

One of our last day highlights was our daily double—we often had a few per day in fact—but really our best & most dynamic & dangerous one is the one which netted this duo of fish pictured here (below). We had been tossing about along some shorelines & staying put, we noted, was out of the question, so we decided to cast around some islands for Northern.

We would often pull the boat up one shore of an island then let the forceful winds just rush us along the shore—dad would use the motor only as a means to hold us steadier & too slow the speed at which the winds buffeted us along. As we came up to a rocky point we both had cast out off the same side of the boat—towards shore—when suddenly we both hooked fish, & not tiny fish either.

We both needed the net & someone to perhaps to net the fish as we tried to keep our fish from getting near each other or getting our lines tied up—all this as the boat was being thrust at great speeds towards the rocky shore at this island’s point. In time, with the waves rocking us at a nice clip, half the time standing, half re-sitting down in the boat looking down at our fish, trying not to break our lines & lose them, Dad managed to get his fish close to the boat, hold it there without having his line snap, steer & alter the motor direction so as to push us away from the rocks we were dangerously close to being dashed against. All the while, he managed to not tangle his fish & line up with mine!

Then, adrift at quick speeds because of the waves & wind, we pushed off past the island heading out into open waters (which was safe) & got our fish into the boat. I took this pic above of dad holding them both up—my 23 inch walleye & his 27 inch northern. Both nice fish who had fought well.

An exciting double on many levels. Both fish were too big to be keepers, so again we let them go & they vanished quckly under the water swimming away. I wondered whether they were surprised to find they were so far from their original island, or whether fish even knew these things!

& then the dry spell—well, for us. We coast along casting into other shores of the same island we had been going round. We came to the space where the island completely blocked the wind &, since we weren't having any luck then, we just bobbed contentedly, neither of us really fishing. There we ate our sandwiches & drank our beer & marveled at our surroundings.

As we did not intend to catch more fish to eat on this, our last afternoon fishing, we tried out some new spots to see how that went, then, before heading in, we decided to return to hog hollow where we had been on our fish day out.

It was growing close to our 4pm limit (we needed to get the boat in earlier so it could be emptied & cleaned). Failing to catch much, we decided to go back for a last hurrah along the hump. There, despite a little wind (the winds had died down) we found the same backtrolling boat that had been there it seemed every time we’d passed by these past days.

We anchored just as a series of other boats seemed to be heading for this spot, too. A few newcomers had gotten into camp a day early. Since everyone knew this spot, they were all heading out here for a first fish. It was almost comic—4 boats backtrolling while we hung out anchored most of the time. I kept wondering how none of them ran into each other. I think we were looking at more boats than we had encountered all week! We could all watch others catch fish, & everyone did, but it remained a quieter afternoon than other days we had been there (which in fact explained the presence of so many fishermen in one spot, too).

THE BIG ONE THAT GOT AWAY: Dad caught a last northern (pictured below here) which I thought would be our last fish of the trip when I suddenly hooked one. I said “I’ve got a fish,” with a bit of surprise. “Is it a big one? You need the net?” Dad asked. I felt the fish wiggle & knew it must be small—perhaps not "bait" size, but not worth netting. “No, it’s a small one,” I said with confidence. I felt the fish’s sleight weight on my line as I reeled in, pulled it up feeling its feeble resistence, reeled again. “It’s a little one," I repeated, "it’s tiny, tiiinnny,” I kept saying, a bit giddy with my last cast catch & also just feeling playful about the smallness of the jiggling fish I was about to haul in.
Then all of a sudden I felt like I had a boulder on the other end of my line. I stood up to peer into the water as I pulled & reeled, keeping the line taught, a bit perplexed but carefully luring the fish upward so as to get it into the boat. It was no longer jiggling, but holding hard & solid. I thought perhaps I had just misjudged it. I knew the fish could not be far from the surface by this point, so I looked down into the water, squinting against the sun’s reflective glare. Just before the fish turned & took out drag—not something a tiny fish would do or even be able to do—I saw the head of AN ENORMOUS FISH near my line. “Oh!” I exclaimed changing my tune, “It’s huge! “It’s huuuge!” I was still convinced that I had a walleye, & if that was the case the form I had just seen part of turning & yanking out drag was going to be my whale.

My heart thudded & I thought, “Can I get this in? On my 8 pound line?” After all, I had broken the reel on my 15 lb line the day before, so to get this size of a fish in on this line would mean being very very careful not to engage in any sort of a tug of war with it at all—it would certainly win, snapping the line in a second.

My dad was also now standing & we were both looking towards where my pole had been arched almost into the water when the fish—both of them—came up next to the boat. I had indeed caught a small walleye, something around 12-13 inches, but the largest northern I’d seen this trip was holding onto it for dear life! The northern had my fish horizontally in its mouth &, as he surfaced, ripping at my poor little fish who I had on the hook, I basically could tug on the pole & line & thus pull them both round the front & side of the boat to look at them.

I knew the big northern was not hooked, & it did not even occur to me that dad was going to try & net it like that, so it was already pretty much too late by the time I had heard my dad say “bring it over here! Over this way!”— I realized what he wanted me to try to do, get it to his net, & turned the northern back to pull him towards my dad & then, it seemed, the massive fish saw something—the glint of the net’s metal frame? The dark shadow of one of the net’s ropy loops? Or even dad & I staring amazed down at the unexpected catch in progress? Or me, actually laughing at the ridiculousness of it? & then it was gone—& my little fish practically came flying out of the water into the air as it was released. It had huge teeth marks along its ribcage from where the northern had attacked, & as I unhooked it to let it go, I said “Well, little fish, I think I just saved you from a nasty northern death!” (it would survive—the teeth marks perhaps hurt & would maybe scar if fish scar but certainly it would heal)

Dad & I laughed & dad said “Let’s go home—I think that was a good one to end on” & I agreed. It was the fish that got away—but one we enjoyed even getting to see.
Eric met us at the beach & helped us get the boat up before he headed back to where he was spray-cleaning out other departing party’s boats. We unloaded our 2 tackle boxes, life vests, 4 poles, lake map, minnow bucket, duffle with rain gear & various other weather materials (sun block, bug spray, empty cans, etc) & tiny cooler. Dad then also brought up to the cabin his depth finder & trolling motor. The fishing was over—
As we packed up & prepared for our flight & road trip home, Dad fried up some little fish cakes—again another masterful “easy gourmet” recipe—bread & walleye fillets cubed, egg, spices, fried then eaten with a tartar sauce mixed with a couple drops of tobasco sauce for fun spiciness.

A lovely appetizer before our last dinner—which we ate outside of our cabin on the little picnic table there, accross from the bird-squirrel-chipmunk feeder (thus this pic of one of the baby squirrels--who are getting bigger by the day!). We said our farewells to some of the other campers we had come in with & who were staying on a second week & got in a few photos before another lovely sunset. Mostly packed & the cabin mostly cleaned, we had a last game of rummikub too (& dad won again! Argh!) It was then early to bed—as in the morning, we would have to rise at 4:45 for the long trip home.

Sun, glorious sun--fishing at Bull Moose Camp in Ontario

2011-07-16T20:59:00.000-07:00

Day seven—Fairweather fisher(wo)men on Upper Goose Lake, Ontario!
13 July 2011: Sun, glorious sun greets us as we awake around 8:30. We have a fabulous breakfast then head off to the boat with spirits soaring high—there is little wind, the sky is clear blue and we are optimistic that the fish’ll be bitin’.

By late morning we are in t-shirts and reapplying our spf protection (regardless of which I manage to miss a few spots so have this odd set of “lines” which are literally a few stripes across my chest in front of my neck and a spot behind one arm! Wacky tan!) Our goal is to catch some nice walleye for dinner.

Within only a short while of parking ourselves over “the hump” (where the lake arches up from a depth of around 30 feet to a shallow space of around 12 feet), anchored in dad’s favorite spot, we catch a few 15 and 16 inchers. I insist we throw back any fish that is not 17 to our max 18 size, especially this early in the day, (if we catch them this early, we have to drag them around on a stringer ‘til evening). Another boat from camp comes by the hump to do some backtrolling and we watch each other haul in both walleyes and the occasional northern. Dad and I decide we should be more adventurous and try some other spots, though, so we wave farewell to our neighbors & head off to cast for northern along a few different shorelines. We cast round some large rocks and islands as well. Our Northern trolling paid off in larger walleye, too—in addition to a few that were too large to keep, we took home our limit for the day, 2 each, of a nice size (16.5, 2 at 17 and one at our max 18” size limit) for dad to bake up in this Alsatian recipe I had brought for him from Mulhouse, with Riesling and cream (super yum). We also decided to go back downriver along the beaver dam and to the rapids before heading in. But having little luck there, and feeling like we still wanted some action, we returned to “the hump”. The wind had picked up—which felt great on our skin in the heat, but made it harder to stay anchored. I was fixated on a forest fire we could see billowing up behind one shore (see pic, this is early on—that low lying cloud is actually the fire. It grows later on until we can see sort of pink-red at the base of 3 clouds of smoke, but the first is out by the following morning) On the windy hump, we backtrolled. There, dad again caught a few really good sized fish, and I caught some nice walleye, too. We even had a few doubles--as here with our almost identical 2 walleye! We were excited with our day, and just enjoyed the sun and warmth of the lake, too. But it was time to head in—after all, by the time we got the boat to camp around 7 it was 9 hours after we’d left camp (and our lunches we just had while bobbing around in the boat! So we did not get out of our boat for 9 hours—and were a bit sun-scorched, perhaps a touch dehydrated +sun & windburnt and needed a snack before dinner!) Back at Bull Moose, dad taught me to clean the Walleye. I did my best to not lose any of the meat and yet also to not accidentally take bones with it either. Though my filets looked choppy round their edges, I was proud to be doing a decent job. Certainly my dad—with his experience and his old pathologist skills too—is far better at this, as the pics show. Back in our cabin, we had our baked walleye with salad and wine, which felt very fancy for the North woods—not at all the camping canoeing experience of food from my childhood. Here, the luxury of a full oven! As the sunset fantastically once more over Bull Moose Camp, the sky began to spiral perhaps forewarning us, we thought, of rains to come on our last fishing day…

Here comes the sun again... more fishing & blogging, blogging & fishing

2011-07-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

Day Six: Did somebody say SUN at Bull Moose Camp, Upper Goose Lake, Ontario?

12 July 2011: Chilly-stiff, dad and I wake to see that the lake is still choppy & the skies are grey. We aren't excited about the prospects of getting cold again. So we layer ourselves thickly—

I literally put on heavy fishing pants, lined rain gear pants over them, smartwool socks (thanks mom!), a heavy tank top, a short sleeved then a long sleeved t-shirt, a zip-up hoody sweatshirt, a fleece-flannel zip-up vest, then my rain gear windbreaker. Atop that, as an extra warmer, I strap on my life vest (keeps ya cozy!)

We push off with our packed lunch in the boat and decide to head to the other part of Beren’s river where we will be out of the wind and can fish along Eagle Rapids--a sort of flat, wide, waterfall space.

To get there, we head into what looks to me like a bay at one edge of Upper Goose Lake with no outlet. Dad steers the boat straight towards the back of the bay—closer and closer to what looks like a shoreline. But just as I begin to fear we will ground the motor at the back of the bay along the reeds and weedy lily pad area, there is a place where, when the boat is turned sharply and suddenly, a river reveals itself, with a wide, flat rock along one edge of the river.

We fish round that for a bit and catch some of our smallest fish ever--dad hooks a mini Northern (like that winner fish pic?) & I get many mini Walleye. In fact, I think this little guy gets me the prize for the smallest catch of the day. This little determined critter got my minnow even though my minnow was almost a third his size—notice the hand to fish proportions! I started to call any catches like this “bait”—so, instead of “Oh, I have another fish” I would ease the netting query immediately by saying—oh, I caught some bait again!

As we slowly meander upriver, the sun is chasing away each of the clouds. Within hours we are peeling off layer by layer, down to t-shirts or tank tops and our fishing pants as the wind dies down and the sun begins to toast us. The halcyon days of fishing are here!

After we cast along a rock and down some reedy areas, we troll a bit. Our most fun is as we cast in around a beaver house where Dad catches 2 perch and a northern and I catch a northen and a walleye. We then head farther along Beren’s toward the rapids.

Dad informs me that this is a spot which is usually great in the early spring season for fishing, as the fish come up to spawn and are often all around in this area. He does not sound too optimistic about us catching anything in July. Yet, within only a few minutes of each other we both hook our first fish along the rocks at the bottom of the rapids.

We catch a few more while the boat is nestled near the shore then, hot hot hot, we decide to take our lunch break at a picnic table along Eagle Rapids. After our sandwiches and beer, we cast a little off the upper side of the rapids to no avail (thus this pic of dad casting from the river’s edge back along the curve of water arcing towards the bubbling rapids).

We decide not to pull down the boat and head farther along Beren’s. Instead we admire the thousands of tadpoles pooling in the shallows alongside our boat (pictured here is one with his little legs already forming) then we push off and motor round to try another angle of the rapids.

This time, however, we keep getting hooked up on rocks and are less patient. We decide to throw the towel in & head back out to the lake for a bit to try some other spots.

I learn to drive the boat and motor us along the river, round through Southwest Lake again, then up the other section of Beren’s to Upper Goose Lake. There, our luck awaits us.

Casting, this is when dad gets his nice Northern—see pic. It gives a great fight and is caught on this fun bait—which flips and flops along the surface of the water so that when the fish goes for it you see it—this fish hit the bait three times, finally snatching it hard, pulling it underwater & getting itself hooked. Again—for those concerned about our depleting the lake or killing such fish, don’t worry—this fish swam on back to whatever rock dad had lured him away from after this photo session—the bait hooked nicely in his lip and was easy to get off, and he is too big to keep, evidently (29”).

I, too, catch a northern--but a smaller one (pictured above at the right, laying across my lap as I unhook him). By the time we head in, we have been out boating around and fishing for nearly 8 hours.

We make dinner and hang out chatting on the steps in front of our cabin (as in the pic here of dad on our sort of front stoop--the steps down from the cabin area to the mini beach area where the boats are parked) then take pics of the gorgeous sunset (seen here). A little sunburnt, we tuck in early for a fitful night’s sleep.

As you can see in the last photo below of the main center cabin at Bull Moose Camp, the moon is almost full.

Strap on the RAIN GEAR, it's gonna be a wet one...

2011-07-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

Day Five: From Rain to a Cold front at Bull Moose Camp, Upper Goose Lake, Ontario

11 July 2011: 9am: We wake to misting rain, grey skies and to see small whitecaps rolling in towards the boats and beach—after yesterday's rocky return over the big part of the main lake I am none too excited to get bump-bump-bumped into Shaken Jen Syndrome. So we vow to stick to less wavy areas and decide to head across the lake to a spot just opposite Camp which dad figures will be nicely protected from the full frontal of the winds.

I go and collect 2 dozen fresh minnows for us from the fish house—see the pics here of the tidy fish house with fish cleaning stations with holes for the gunk and unused parts, and then the backroom with the minnow tanks—

the system for getting a good count of the minnows and for getting them from the fish tank net-scoop into the minnow bucket without harming them is quite intelligent, using the shoot).

Armed with fresh minnows, lots of layers of clothing (as my pic shows) and determined to catch a big one, we motor off (the last boat to leave camp today—we were reluctant with the chill and after yesterday’s waves).

Although the waters look rougher, today they are not all that bad, and we get across this smaller section of the lake in little time and find the area dad wants to explore.

We spend an hour or so catching a few fish here and there (note the nice walleye I have here in the photo on the right) —and right about that spot we did have a moment of really just hauling them in—(enough for a nice dinner!)

But after a bit, and not able to hold anchor anyplace in particular as the winds there were still pretty strong, we think the pleasant protection of the river where we had a lot of fun hauling in fish near the opening onto Mamakwash Lake will do us some good. After all, we are a bit chilled and the rains are coming in again.

So we pull up anchor and set sail again (well, um, "sail" with our small motorized fishing boat!)

After a quick pit stop back at Camp, we recross the lake to turn into the protected and protecting confines of the river (not protection from rain, but certainly still waters!--note the difference in these photos from the ones on the lake?)

As it is a nicely rainy, cold & cloudy day--the kind of day "big fish" often like to be out in, we decide to cast and troll for northern. However, try as we might, we just keep catching walleye, and dad also catches a perch (yum).

We stop for our packed lunch—I made us some sandwiches and Dad had grabbed a few beers during our Camp pit stop before we headed into the river—so we are set.

There is a picnic bench up on a rock and at first we cannot figure out where to park the boat to get to the bench, but after dad’s failed suggestion (which would have included some nice bouldering skills) I suggest we go round the point to the back side of the bench rock—and the boat fits nicely there and holds well for our lunch.

As you can see, it does not look like many people have been stopping by this spot—the picnic table has pretty lichen all over it.

Just as we finish, as my photo through one of the firs shows, the rain clouds begin to threaten again. So we tuck our stuff away, zip up our rain gear and hop in the boat to try to get some fish as they are biting under the drizzle.

Again, though we are trying for Northern, we catch more walleye. So we head back in farther along the river to the spot we were the other day to catch more of the same.

It is growing chillier by now, and the rain makes it off and on hard to see (for us glasses wearers!) We decide to return along the river to Upper Goose Lake and head in—after only about 6 hours.

Dad gets the last catch of the day--this nice sized Walleye! (picture)

We are both chilled to the bone, even back inside our cabin (not at all rustic camping, folks, really this is kind of like going on an outdoors trip but "cheating" on the roughing it part, which is of course why I like it so much!) and as the temps drop to 49 overnight we stoke up the fire in the cabin's wood burning stove (somebody had in fact left the stove all prepped with kindling to be lit and saved us some work) and get toasty--playing Rumikub & Cribbage again.

In the end, we tuck in early, & both of us sleep fitfully—dad dreaming of bears (oddly) and I dreaming of someone with a pet leopard and panther who, in my dream, everyone knows will eventually turn on their owner.

New Translations by Jennifer K Dick of Jacques Demarcq's poems at NthPostion

2011-07-12T21:21:00.000-07:00

A few years back I was honored to be invited by Christophe Lamiot Enos to participate in a day-long translation exchange at the maison de la litterature in Paris with numerous authors, such as Virginie Poitrasson, Michel Espitallier, Marilyn Hacker, Michelle Noteboom and Jacques Demarcq.

As you may note, looking at these translations (http://www.nthposition.com/translationofjacques.php), Jacque's exciting work poses a few challenges to the translator, not least of which is does the translator know anything about birds? or has Jen got a clue about the sounds of specific birds?. But also the issue of how certain subtle wordplays happen in Demarcq's poems are both fun, exciting and were devastatingly hard to translate.

So I am thrilled to see a few of the translations that were completed during this workshop appear this month in the translation selection for Nth Position, an online UK magazine that originally Todd Swift was the poetry editor for and who invited Paris-based poet Rufo Quintavalle to edit a few years back.

These translations were selected by Rufo for a special section of translated works. To see the TOC and read other translations (for example, of Translation of four poems by Constantine Cavafyby Curt Hopkins, Translations of four poems by Osip Mandelstam
by Alistair Noon, Translations of four poems by Tzveta Sofronieva by Chantal Wright and also Translations of five poems by Julia Piera by Forrest Gander) click on the links here or go to the Nth Position site at: http://www.nthposition.com/

As concerns my two translations, they can hardly be called by me as they were completed in a workshop situation with the invaluable help of the author, Jacques Demarcq, himself. Jacques is not only bilingual, he is multilingual, and a fabulous translator to and from the English as well as from other languages into French. It was a pleasure to get to rework these translations into their current versions with him, and even more wonderful to finally see them a few years later available to Anglophone readers. These 2 poems are from Demarcq's recent book, Zozios, which came out in French from Nous Press in 2008.

To read the translations of "Nightengale" and "Thufuttlingur", click the poem titles or go directly to: http://www.nthposition.com/translationofjacques.php

The illusory perfect day....

2011-07-10T23:52:00.000-07:00

Day Four: Bull Moose Camp, Upper Goose Lake, Ontario—the illusion of the perfect day
10 July 2011: Sun greets us as we wake around 8:30am. The sky looks delightfully unrainlike, & though our cabin is still cool from the night air, once we step out onto our porch we can tell it is going to be a pleasantly hot day. Summer, sun, smooth lake surfaces &—we hope—fish.

We rub on a bunch of 45spf tanning (or anti-tanning cream as it should really be called!) throw our gear in the boat & are off.

The day, like that Lou Reed song, looks like it is the Perfect Day (click "Lou Reed" or "perfect day" to hear the youtube Perfect Day song in case any of you have forgotten it!) waiting for us to reel in a ton of fish—& on that front it is totally true. But the darker side of Lou Reed’s song awaits us as well. For, after only a little over an hour on a spot out in the middle of the biggest part of the lake (thus most exposed to wind) the wind starts blowing.

Alhough it is really pleasant to feel the wind on our sun-warmed skin, we are having a hard time staying anchored. Deciding therefore to head to more “protected” waters, we go exploring round some of the islands nearby then dad suggests we head off to the farthest reaches of this very very large lake (Upper Goose Lake--click lake name to see bing map!) & try some spots there both trolling a bit.

For the first time, today we catch nothing trolling, but given the wind conditions some of the other guests have also headed down this way & we see 2 guys who are throwing spinners in along shorelines round islands & in only a few minutes they haul in 2 good sized northern—we are quite impressed & dad vows to hook up our rods so we can do some casting into reedy & rocky areas tomorrow. Why not? Looks like fun.

We are drifting along, a little aimless on a few levels, just enjoying the warm day & the beautiful greens of trees & mosses on the shorelines or islands we pass. Dad suggests we go to the farthest shore from camp to a spot he wants to check out.

Not far off, we see 2 of the boats have docked for a shore lunch & have made a small camp fire on a rock while 2 guys are cleaning fish near the shore line.

We again seem to be skipping the usual lunch hour—& again we will discover this is our best fishing time of the day! Because at this point we start fishing along this one shore & though we make some attempts to anchor, with occasional success, it just seems there is no where along this shore we can’t catch fish.

We are pulling so many in, tossing most back out, that we switch from minnows to twisters (sort of fake worms that come in glowy yellow colors & which hook onto our jig hooks) & then again we keep catching fish. As yesterday, we have a few doubles, & some funny ones—like one where dad is helping me net a fish & realizes he has one on his hook which he had just left adrift for a moment.

We continue to try & anchor well, but mostly keep finding the winds (which we are partially protected from here) are kicking us adrift. At one point we stay nicely attached near a rocky short (see the photos below here, we are really almost touching this shore which drops straight out off shore to 9, 10 then 15 feet—& where we caught a lot of fish—including our legal limit of 4 keepers which are nice walleye we cleaned & froze to take home for mom).

We are pleased to have been able to stay stable for so long & dad has made a few jokes about whether the anchor caught a rock—which is not something you want, as with the wind pushing us, if the anchor catches a rock it is hard to impossible to get back up.

In the end, as I do the lugging of the anchor up, it is evident that we have caught something, but something that—with a TON of effort—I am able to move. I feel almost convinced that I am lifting with the anchor a pretty nice sized stone. I haul, using my arms, shoulders, back, but even pulling the rope over my knees & stepping on it so as not to have any slip back letting the anchor drop back down. Finally, we see that I have a tree. Not a branch or a log but an entire tree—it stretches from shore & as I hoist up it crosses under our boat & out the other side. The anchor? One of its prongs is nicely tucked under the entire trunk of this little but still hefty tree.

I try my best to get the tree loose, to unlatch it from the anchor's prong, but am not strong enough. So, dad switches places & manages to hold the tree up with one hand while dropping the anchor back down & thus away from the trunk. I must admit, I had looked at the trunk & was personally not feeling like grabbing ahold of it with my hands! After all, I have seen a TON of leeches swimming round in the water, next to the dock in the sand even—by some cute tadpoles. So, I feared what might be nicely embedded in the long-soaked bark of that slimy submerged tree. Dad? No fear there.

& so, finally we were de-anchored, & turning towards “home” base.

But as we got the engine going & pulled out from this little shoreline & its partial protection from the wind, it was evident that there was now a flaw to our “perfect day”: the wind. If we had been spending today on shore, that wind would have been a delight, keeping us nicely cooler than the hot sun. But knowing we had most of the long (& in parts very very wide) parts of the lake to cross, & straight into the wind, into white caps rolling towards us, it became quite nerve wracking.

As we headed towards camp, the idea was to head straight into most of the big waves (thus not get tossed around or rolled) & to head into them at a certain speed so they could not come over the bow of the boat (thus to hit me where I was sitting) It was a lot of BUMP up BUMP down. As you can barely see in this photo—where the size of the waves is not so evident, because it was a moment when I was not holding on as much & thus could take the picture—dad is getting quite wet from the splashing. Me? Not so wet, just having my body smashing up & down on the crests.

Even now, hours later, my head & body feel the rolling of the lake—very sealike (on a much much smaller scale) All I could think was “Glad I don’t get seasick” & “I hope this boat will not break in two, or crack” Dad wasn’t worried. I think he has seen worse by far. Me? I was also calculating the distances to shores, islands & rocks, thinking—well, it IS a nice day out, so if we do find ourselves swimming…. But no, no swimming had to happen, nor was there really a risk of it.

We pulled back into Bull Moose Camp after our 6 hours out in the boat. Though we thought we would head back out again in a few hours, assuming the wind would die down, we instead decided to call it a day—refilling the line in one of the reels, setting up the spinner/casting rods & baking—dad made us an astounding what he calls “easy gourmet” dinner—of walleye stuffed with stove top stuffing mixed with a can of crab meat. I added a pan of brownies (thanks to the owner of the camp, Shara & Tom, lending me the pan to bake in! They are really wonderfully nice, and their camp is fabulously well organized and tidy and friendly!) to make use of the oven at the same time & dinner & desert were splendid!

After dinner, we played a game of Rummikub at a picnic table outside by the beach in the early evening sun, then gave a few final casts off the dock for a humorous end to our day—our last “double” says dad—when he actually caught a clam! Yes, a clam had closed round his bait & he hauled it out just as I caught a mini sized walleye. I tossed my fish back, & dad let his clam sink back down to the bottom of the lake just as the sun was doing its final setting.

It was still windy & a storm looked like it was brewing someplace farther off in the distance. We went inside before the mosquitoes could swarm us & played cribbidge til around 10. By then, the rain had come & soon went. Insects swarmed the screens & under the path light outside, thousands of them! Thank goodness for excellent screens on this cabin! As I watched the insect frenzy, captivated, I thought how if there were bats around here, they would be feasting! & maybe there are, but I have not seen them.

I have seen—many baby squirrels (as in the one pictured here clinging to the peanut butter lid on this great birdfeeder animal jungle-gym), chipmonks & a groundhog, seagulls, tadpoles, leeches, & some magnificently pretty bird that is white & shaped a lot like a gull but has a black forehead & beak, an eagle, the 4 moose en route here along with the deer then too. This is probably not an area one goes off hiking randomly in, however, as the opportunity to run into many many other wild animals certainly would present itself! Best stick to the waterways!

From Bull Moose to Mamakwash Lake & back

2011-07-10T23:22:00.000-07:00

Day Three: Bull Moose Camp (Upper Goose Lake) & a boat excursion down Beren’s river to Mamakwash Lake, Ontario

9 July 2011: a leisurely waking (9am or so)—rested, we look out at a morning which is off & on spitting rain. It is cooler, too, so we put on slightly heavier gear & after a wonderful breakfast of eggs on English muffins toasted over the stove burner we are off after more fish.

When we get into the boat, the rain has pretty much ceased already. We are ready to go with 2 dozen fresh minnows, our minnow-fishing rods & 2 trolling rods with rappalas.

Dad decides we should stay out of the middle of the lake in the rain, & wants to try out a place on a nearby lake that he has visited when here a few years back with my brother & brother in law (Kevins) & Kevin G’s dad. To get there, we motor off of Upper Goose Lake along Beren’s River into Mamakwash Lake. We spend quite a bit of time trying to find a nice depth for fish, but aren’t having a lot of luck.

We catch an occasional small or medium sized walleye (as evidenced by this picture of dad showing off his nice sized walleye with fin), & I pull out a surprising perch (pretty orange-red stripes along the side, a generally tiny fish but this one was a nicely edible size—& perch can be delicious!) but nothing to write home about.

About to give up & head back for lunch, dad suggests a little spot along the river. There, just back around the first bend off Mamakwash we start hauling them in—as evidenced by our photo of one of our doubles (yes, there were many “I’ve got a fish” “Me, too!” moments)

None of the fish were enormous, but some were pretty good sized (our standards had gone up already after catching so many Walleye over 19, 20 & 22 inches the night before, as well as my whopper 27incher). So, instead of lunch, we hung around that pool for quite a while. Then we decided to troll a bit of the river en route back to our lake.

I caught a pretty nice little sized northern—not too small not to keep & not too big we had to throw him back (see the photo here of my perch—the tiny fish—& northern on the fish cleaning block).

For anyone who fishes, you might be impressed by the cleanliness of the fish house here at Bull Moose camp—it is constantly cleaned & everyone is careful to follow the instructions to help keep the place tidy, easy to use & not smelly (not only to not attract bears or other animals, but also to make us humans want to clean our fish in there!)

We have a very late lunch in the lovely cabin we are staying in here at Bull Moose Camp (see pics here--I am sleeping on the bunk at the right and my dad has the little room at the back right, the bathroom is through the other visible door, and up front is this full kitchen with stove & complete oven). After our lunch of blackened Cajun spiced walleye & northern pike filets with a pre-packaged mix of cajun rice with red beans (yum!), we headed back out onto the lake again.

But as you can see, we were chillier—had wrapped up in our rain gear to keep out the cold wind—which is particularly strongly felt when we go top speed over the lake to head to some destination or other.

We headed back to the “hump” as it is called, & tried our luck, but the wind made fishing a little more difficult in this exposed spot out in the middle of the lake (thus which has no wind protection) & we again were catching mostly smaller fish, meaning nice sized 15 to 18” walleye, but also a few jokers—I seem to be the most skilled at getting the ones that might be mistaken for bait onto my hook!

We returned therefore to Hog haven, which is more out of the wind, & again caught some fish & explored some other areas around there. I snapped a nice picture not far from there of a beaver damn. At one point I saw an enormous bird take wing, coming up out of the trees along the shoreline not too far off. At first I thought it was a hawk, but then I saw it was far too large—it swooped closer & it soon became clear we were seeing a bald eagle, with his wonderous wingspan & white head. & as quickly as he had soared into sight, he soared off over the nearby island & out of sight.

But by then many things were beginning to vanish---for as we looked back towards the main body of the lake which we would need to cross to get back to camp, the land & islands that help map out our route were vanishing into a misty rain, whitening, being erased by the low level clouds & soft layer of precipitation. It was chilly, too, by now. So, as we had had a lot of fun out in the boat for the day, we decided to head back while we could still easily make our way (& in fact the sky & mist lightened by the time we got to camp!)

Day 3 (day 2 of fishing) at Bull Moose Camp was drawing to a close. We cleaned up our boat, pulled it up onto the small beach shore (with the help of Eric again, proving that both dad & I are, well, somewhat whimpier than either of us would like to admit!) & headed inside. Dinner? A small salad & half sandwich—we were still full from our late lunch of Cajun blackened fish. Exhausted, we headed to bed early, looking forward to tomorrow--a day rumored to be bringing sunlight & warmth.

To Bull Moose Camp, Upper Goose Lake, Ontario

2011-07-10T14:54:00.000-07:00

Day Two: “de plane, de plane”—from Red Lake, Ontario to Bull Moose Camp on Upper Goose Lake
8 July 2011: 4:23am. Dad’s alarm goes off a whole 7 minutes early. I debate trying to snooze but am too excited to get out to Bull Moose Camp to fish & too worried about the tiny hydroplane that we will have to take to get there. So I, too, roll out of bed & put on the clothes I had placed on the counter the night before. We brush our teeth, attempt to brush our hair, shove our few overnight possessions back into our bags & are driving down the still-dark road from Balmerton to Red Lake at 4:45am (as planned!)

When we arrive at the plane docks just before 5am—literally docks like one uses for a boat, but with planes floating next to them—we find we are the second group to arrive. We are allotted 150lbs of “luggage” each, & our luggage is loaded onto a massive rolling cart (see pic—yes, all of that is ours!) & it is weighed, then we stand on the outdoor scale & are also weighed. There is one plane for 3 people + pilot (dad thinks it was called a "beaver") plus a second plane for 9 people (dad thinks this one, which dates from around WWII, is called an "otter"). I am told that I will ride with the couple from Missouri on the smaller plane. (“Great” I think—given that in many ways the plane part is the part which worries me most--"a smaller plane, to really feel the air currents around us!".)

As you can see, this is not like flying in a little United or Air France or British Air or KLM mini commuter plane. The seats are a little rusted and the seatbelts are less reassuring since you can feel the breeze coming in through the windows around you! The luggage & equipment is loaded post haste & is in the space strapped in behind us. We belt ourselves into the little seats after climbing up a few steps of a metal ladder to get in (& I am thrilled to not get the "copilot" slot!).

The plane has a bit of dew from the early morning--so how does the windshield get clean? Well, as we coast away from the dock on the water the pilot opens his little window & towel dries half his window—enough to see through!

We have ear protectors to keep the sound out & as the sun is coming up, our little plane is off!

In fact, the windless morning is wonderful—I didn’t even notice when we hit the air! First, we could see Red Lake & passed by what looked like an air strip for a normal airport for small planes. For awhile, there are still some roads cutting through the pines below us & then, farther, what looked like it might be a paper mill.

In little time there were no more roads, homes, human structures. Stretching out as far as the eye could see in every direction were lakes & forests, occasional rivers running jaggedly through the green land, & the sky turning from a rosy red to blue.

I noted the pilot looking around a lot &, as I was taking photos, suddenly there was another plane on our right—I would learn later that the slightly larger plane my father was riding in goes much faster than our little beaver, but it flew parallel with us for a bit—long enough for me to snap these two pictures (cameras are wonderful ways to distract oneself from fear of flying!).

As we flew farther north, there was a sort of misty fog over a lot of the lakes or smaller bodies of water. We had heard there were forest fires in the area, & that an area called Deer Lake had been evacuated (with all of its 400 inhabitants) the day before. But from where I sat no smoke was visible. The earth looked curved & the expanse of unpopulated pockets of lakes & forest was awe-inspiring.

I did my best to take pictures without too much morning glare—some looking down over the back pontoon, others directly out my window which was under the wing, others still through that tiny window back by the freight we’d stacked behind us.

Note that our pilot looks only a few years older than some of my students--but he seemed to know what he was up to, so I felt we were in good hands. And with very little shaking & no bumping at all, we glided along until we took a big curve & then we were heading for water where, with a pretty good splash, we landed.

We coasted to a slow then waited a bit on the water for a bit for the larger plane to finish loading its return passengers.

We then stepped back down that ladder onto the dock at Bull Moose Camp (see their site at: http://bullmoosecamp.com/), & with the help of everyone the plane was unloaded in what felt like an instant. Then the pilot turned back out into the lake & was off.

Dad & I loaded our stuff onto a big, white flatbed wheelbarrow & took it up to cabin 1 where we are staying. We unpacked the food—getting anything that needed to stay cold quickly into our fridge—& then figured out the order of the cabin.

The place can sleep 5-6 in bunk beds, so we certainly are not scrunched. Dad took the little room at the back & I am in the big main room with kitchen attached. The kitchen is well equipped with a stove & oven, double-sided sink, & all the pots, pans, dishes & cutlery for 6. I stacked the food we brought—things to cook with fish, mostly, like some rice & pasta & many sauces, while dad got our fishing equiptment ready—reels on, both rods for trolling & for fishing with minnows (see picture of him getting our lines ready).

After that, & despite our early morning, we were excited to get out fishing, so we got ourselves set up in the boat with our tackle boxes, rods & reels, borrowed a stringer from Eric—the helper who works here & who was kind enough to let us use his stringer—& life vests. We also put a few cold sodas into our mini cooler & brought along our duffle of rain gear just in case. But it was SUNNY—as you can see in our pics—& so we slathered on the 45spf protection & kept our hats on while out on the lake.

We motored on out across the lake to a spot called Hog haven–hog is supposed to imply a big walleye—but all we caught through there were some little fish—like the one I am holding in my hand. It was my first catch of the day & our first catch of the trip--Nice, eh? Don’t worry, I wasn't giving him the squeeze despit what it might look like. I tossed him back quick & he swam off to get caught by some future fisherman or perhaps a big northern pike.

We enjoyed catching the fish along this little island we were fishing by, & not long after we had been there Eric boated by heading to a spot he likes to troll. But we were generally catching little fish, so we decided to shift & boat out to a hump in the middle of the lake—a place where the lake goes from being very deep, dark & cold to only about 13feet deep.

There we began to catch some larger Walleye & then I caught my “Big one”—really a tremendous catch for a walleye! (see photo at the top of this blog entry--that is it, my big walleye!) It is a 27” long walleye & was quite a surprise—both because we caught it on the first day, & also because I caught it without getting too impatient to get it into the boat. On our last trip fishing a few years back (click blog “fishing” to see some of the pics from Fireside Lodge where we were) I caught medium sized fish but often got too anxious with the larger ones & they either snapped the line or I just never managed to hook them well enough. But this time I was patient & took my time & let the fish pull out drag then reeled in when he got a bit tired until we could see him at the surface & netted him.

For anyone reading this who is worried about the big fish—according to Canadian law for here, we are allowed to catch & keep 2 walleye fish per day of a certain size—& that size must be large enough to be worth it, say 15”, but not over 18” which means that it is spawning size. So, I let this massive fish go happily back into the lake after the struggle to get this little photo—& a fish this size really does NOT want to pose for the camera, so I never could get a fun picture with its fin up without getting sporked!

We did, however, catch a descent sized Northern Pike for dinner & 3 other walleye keepers to eat, too. The many other fish we caught we tossed back for future fishermen or predators. After a full day out on the lake, with only a brief time back at camp for lunch sandwiches, we called it a day. Dad cleaned our fish while I cleared out the boat & got things set up for dinner.

Then, we had some fried fish (see pic) with a can of corn we had brought along.

The sun was now just beginning to set, so we had a few casts off the dock & caught a few fish there, too. We also had a nice conversation with some of the other Bull Moose Camp campers, who had had a good day out fishing as well. Before the mosquitoes began to swarm in the dark, we were tucked up tight in our cabin for the night.

To Red Lake, Ontario!

2011-07-08T19:48:00.000-07:00

Day One: Road Trip Iowa City, IA to Red Lake, Ontario
7 July 2011: After getting everything packed, dad & I wake at 6 & set off about 6:30am on our long road trip towards Canada & tomorrow’s plane.

We make pretty good time all morning flying past the green cornfields of Iowa & up into rollier, hilly country in Minnesota. My favorite car spotting moment is a couple in an old bronze cadillac, the interior visibly worn to shreds, the ceiling of the car hanging down into the back seat, enormous red fuzzy dice hanging down off their rear view mirror and 2 white 10 gallon cowboy hats along the back window.

We stop off for breakfast in a spot dad remembers as generally a wasteland & the non-town there has built up a faux rustic casino on one side of the stop next to a big hotel (I guess so that if you decide to linger, gamble & drink at Diamond Dave’s you can then just waddle on over to the hotel for the night) & opposite there is the “red barn” rest stop & tourist info center. I take a few pics (seen here) & we are back on the road.

Generally, we keep going nonstop, eating food that would make a nutritionist cringe (sausage & egg biscuit breakfast, a dairy queen ice cream lunch then a snack of root beer & chips--fer shame, fer shame!).

At around 5:30 pm we pull into International Falls—the American border town—where we get gas at FREEDOM station, with its o too American design (seen here).

We are surrounded by somewhat tacky tourist shops—the antiques place with both the American & Canadian Flag & a few “Indian” moccasin & gift shops which sport "handmade pottery sold here" signs. There are also a few bars, tackle shops and little hotel-motels.

One of my favorite signs is near the Freedom station--a spot called the “Outpost Saloon” with its sculpted wooden sign depicting a native Indian in a canoe. The sign is held up on both sides by faux totem poles. Out front, a few good ol' boys seem to be standing on the Outpost's porch looking downroad. Almost every single vehicle is a pickup, minivan, truck or other sort of 4x4, many with boats hitched to them and piled high with gear--like us.

We drive slowly across the border--over railway lines then a bridge past a paper mill, pausing to answer a few questions about where we are from and going. Then we are in Canada.

I catch sight on the Canadian side of the border—Fort Frances is the name of their border town—of the old Messonic Temple building with its fantastic wall mural. We drive at a crawl through Fort Frances where the town is crawling with tourists & perhaps locals, too, stopping in shops or restaurants. Then we turned onto Ontario route 11 & headed towards the lakes & woods. It is slower going here, as the roads are smaller and the speed limits more limiting. We spot many speed traps & so are careful to abide by the law even though, after Minnesota, it does feel a bit like we are going at a crawl along this first highway.

Along the later routes, 501 I think it was, the road curved & signs everywhere announced “Night Danger” below a picture of a moose who looked like he was about to barrel out into the road. The speed limit on these windier roads seemed more understandable. As we pressed on we found ourselves increasingly alone--only passing of being passed by an occasional truck or mini-van/pick up.

Evening was coming on & we had been driving for over 12 hours. Knowing a short night awaited us, we chose to push on, not stopping for food in Dryden, but when we pulled into the edge of the next town—& pretty much our last option for dinner—it seemed like everything had closed down except for a cute tourist shop with ice cream parlor/café attached to it. We hopped out & rounded the wooden building, swatting at so many mosquitoes I thought I might inhale some! The pictures from outside this shop—of the native statue & behind it totem, & then the taxidermied moose by the coca cola fridge—might make you laugh, but inside they did have lots of genuinely cute items. But we were not there to shop, & they were kind enough to direct us a bit farther down road to some places we had not spotted.

We ended up at Buster’s Barbecue—home of the blue ribbon winning blueberry bbq sauce. We split some slaw, potato salad & a side of chicken bbqed in the traditional sauce (dad also added a bit of the blueberry & habanera sauce to his to give it a kick). We both enjoyed the amusing décor—giant fish lures hanging from the ceiling, fun fishing signs by the bathrooms along with a massive global map where visitors were encouraged to stick little dot stickers on the places they were visiting from. I was certainly not coming from the farthest away—in fact there were many stickers from French cities & a slew from the Alsace/Basel area. The farthest? Perhaps New Zealand. The most unexpected? Some region from Russia & a few Chinese tourists.

We hopped back in the car after our nice dinner & thought we were 90 kms from Red Lake only to realize we still had 176 to go.

But along the way we started to see moose. First, a moose mother & baby who rushed off into the foliage before I got a decent photo. Then there was a big moose who crossed over the road with an awkward gait as we again failed to get a photo, but the last one—pictured here—was enjoying the tall grasses by some telephone poles & power lines (yes, so rural an image!) so much that even when I said “Hey, look here” the moose hardly even deigned to raise its head for long enough for me to get the shot.

This was our last moose sighting of the evening, & we made pretty good time to Red Lake then a little farther to Balmerton & our hotel—as we pulled round the back side of Nature’s Inn a fox caught in our headlights. Healthy & hefty, he led us around the building as he scrambled back into the woods for cover.

Nature's Inn had left our room open—it was an entire apartment, with full kitchen! Dad got the bedroom & I had the main room with a pull out couch, which was certainly comfy enough. After laying out my clothes for the morning, I had a shower, got into bed & fell fast asleep by around 11:30pm, knowing we were going to be up at 4:30am!

Paper on SIC: La revue de Pierre Albert-Birot: Sic prend l'extrême pointe de l'avant-garde pendant la première guerre mondiale

2011-06-15T16:24:00.000-07:00

I wanted to announce here that I will be giving my talk at 17h jeudi le 16 juin 2011 on Pierre Albert-Birot's revue SIC (1916-1919) at the conference "Poétiques scientifiques dans les revues européennes de la modernité des années 1900 à 1940". I am quite honored to be speaking alongside André Bloch and S Romi Mukherjee.

My talk, entitled "La revue de Pierre Albert-Birot : « Sic » prend l’extrême pointe de l’avant-garde pendant la première guerre mondiale" is listed on the conference programme in a shorter form.

If you would like the complete programme, you can get it on a pdf at: http://www.uha.fr/actualites/vie-de-la-recherche/colloque-poetiques-scientifiques-dans-les-revues-europeennes-de-la-modernite-des-annees-1900-a-1940

But here it is also listed below:

Poétiques scientifiques dans

les revues européennes
de la modernité
des années 1900 à 1940
COLLOQUE INTERNATIONAL
CAMPUS DE L’ILLBERG, MULHOUSE
16-18 JUIN 2011
Organisé par l’ILLE (Institut de recherche en langues et littératures européennes, EA 4363)
Coordination : Tania COLLANI et Noëlle CUNY
avec la participation d’INTERMAG et de l’OudM (Ouvroir de la Modernité)

16 juin 2011
9h-11h OUVERTURE
Lieu: Salle du conseil, Maison de l’Université
Alain Brillard, Président de l’université
Peter Schnyder, Directeur de l’ILLE
Tania Collani et Noëlle Cuny. Présentation par les organisateurs
Président de séance : Peter Schnyder, directeur de l’ILLE
Henri Béhar (Centre de recherches sur le surréalisme, Univ. Paris 3).
La Nouvelle Revue Scientifique : les revues surréalistes et la science
Serge Milan (CIRCPLES, Univ. Nice).
La science et l’homme nouveau dans les revues futuristes
Discussion et pause

11h 30-12h 30
Président de séance : Frédérique Toudoire-Surlapierre, directeur adjoint de l’ILLE
Peter Schnyder (ILLE, UHA).
De quelques coquetteries de La Nouvelle Revue française vis-à-vis des avant-gardes
Céline Mansanti (INTERMAG, Univ. Amiens).
Modernisme et physique : les sciences au service d’un projet de refondation culturelle
Discussion et déjeuner - Auberge de l’Illberg

14h 30-16h 30
Lieu : Amphi Schutz, Ensisa Werner, 11 rue Alfred Werner
Président de séance : Peter André Bloch, président de l’APEFS
Ulrike Stroeder (INTERMAG, Univ. Rennes 2).
Les sciences : fondement des idées progressistes dans la revue Documents du progrès
Christophe Ippolito (Centre « Écritures », Univ. Georgia Tech).
Résistance rationaliste et lutte antinazie dans la revue La Pensée en 1939
Christopher Bains (Univ. Texas Tech).
Nouvelles théories de l’Image dans les revues Poetry et Blast
Discussion et pause

17h 00-18h 30
Président de séance : Michel Faure, membre du bureau de l’ILLE
Peter André Bloch (ILLE, UHA).
Les revues d’avant-garde de la Suisse en quête d’identité (1900-1940)
Jennifer K. Dick (ILLE, UHA).
Sic, le canon de Pierre Albert-Birot
S. Romi Mukherjee (IEP Paris/UNESCO).
Inquisitions : détournements politiques de la science et de la poésie

VENDREDI 17 juin 2011
9h-10h 30
Lieu : Salle du conseil, Maison de l’Université
Président de séance : Jennifer K. Dick, ILLE, UHA
Julie Miraucourt (Univ. Bourgogne).
Michel Leiris, l’ethno-poète
Klemens James (Univ. Nouvelle Angleterre).
Entre alchimie et esthétique – la Caput Mortuum dans la revue Documents
Roxana Vicovanu (Univ. Genève).
Le purisme ou les malaises de la modernité : Epstein vs Ozenfant et Le Corbusier
Discussion et pause

11h 00-12h 30
Président de séance : Ion Pop, Université Babes-Bolyai, Cluj-Napoca
Cathy Margaillan (CMMC, Univ. Nice).
L’Italia Futurista (1916-1918) : entre tradition occultiste et modernité
Astrid Starck-Adler (ILLE, UHA).
Apocalypse, choc des mondes dans La Bande, revue yiddish des années 1920
Aleksandra Krasovec (CESAL, Univ. Lyon 3).
Les périodiques des biocosmistes et l’avant-garde russe des années 1920
Discussion et déjeuner - Auberge de l’Illberg

14h 30-16h 30
Lieu : Salle du conseil, Maison de l’Université
Président de séance : Henri Béhar, Centre de recherches sur le surréalisme, Paris 3
Hugues Marchal (Écritures de la modernité, Univ. Paris 3).
Chassés croisés : la poésie dans les revues de sciences au tournant du XXe siècle
Jean-Claude Marceau (EXeCO, Univ. Paris 1).
La psychanalyse au miroir du surréalisme (1924-1933) : reflets et diffractions
Nicolas Surlapierre (ILLE, Musées de Belfort).
Opiacées : Le temps scientifique dans La drogue et Ça ira, deux revues belges
Discussion

17h 00-18h 00
Président de séance : Céline Mansanti, co-fondatrice d’INTERMAG
Sonia de Puineuf (ISHS, Université de Bretagne Occidentale).
Vilém Santholzer et « La beauté des mathématiques et de la machine »
Eleonora di Mauro (OudM, Univ. Turin).
Verhaeren ou les forces tumultueuses d’un religieux de la science

CFP Station to Station: Colloque International et Nomade, UHA Mulhouse 2011

2011-05-02T07:22:00.000-07:00

CFP: STATION to STATION

Didier Girard, Frédérique Toudoire-surlapierre and I would like you to consider submitting papers for our nomadic conference which will be held ON TRAINS next December 2011!

Please consider sending a proposal in ENGLISH, FRENCH, ITALIAN, SPANISH or GERMAN, and help us get the word out about this new CFP and conference blogsite I just put up! See the call below in its French version, and go to the new blogsite for the ENGLISH and other versions http://station2stationcolloquenomade.blogspot.com/ Thanks so so so much--and plase send contributions, pass the word, etc etc

Station to Station:
Colloque international et nomade
- 1, 2 et 3 décembre 2011 –

Colloque organisé par les centres de recherches ILLE, CRESAT (UHA, Mulhouse) et le doctorat international Cultural Studies in Literary Interzones (coord. Bergame, Italie).

Appel à contributions. (version française)
“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.”
Charles Dickens, David Copperfield

Sommes-nous tout à fait nous-mêmes ou tout à fait autres lorsque nous nous installons dans un train ou lorsque nous entrons en gare? Ou ne serait-ce là qu’une sensation factice, produit d’une consommation excessive de mythes romantiques ou modernistes éculés? Ces lieux, espaces relativement réduits et stables, qui existent aussi par leur atemporalité alors qu’ils n’auraient pas de sens sans la vitesse et les trajectoires qui les traversent et qui les portent, ont-ils un pouvoir singulier sur les comportements et les imaginaires individuels ? Un recul épistémologique permettrait sans doute aux philosophes comme aux historiens de positionner – ou de questionner le positionnement – de tels espaces dans la vie urbaine et en termes plus généraux, il s'agit de considérer la valeur de témoignage, de trace urbaine, mais aussi d'étudier le patrimoine immatériel qu'ils aident à constituer.
La gare, le wagon, le train sont-ils architectoniques ?

En nous permettant de perdre un peu de la gravité qui nous plombe, que ce soit dans une réalité high tech virtuelle, dans les chansons de David Bowie ou dans des temps pré-machiniques (le poète Milton ne disait-il pas déjà “The planets in their station list'ning stood.” Paradise Lost , VII, 563 ?), la station, comme le train, invite à la décélération des affects. La gare devient alors un de ces lieux de flux et de transit, de mémoire autant que d’oubli, point de fuite ou point d'entrée dans la ville, lieu de déplacements des individus, des marchandises et des populations, une archive des traces de nos rages passagères.

Phénomènes éminemment européens ( ?) occidentaux ( ?) - le débat reste largement ouvert pour les historiens – la gare et le chemin de fer, s’ils sont si constitutifs de nos cultures comme phénomènes économiques, architecturaux, politiques et esthétiques, invitent aussi à des voyages immobiles ou à l’envers, plutôt qu’à ceux qui nous mènent au bout, à destination, au bout de nos désirs, au bout de la nuit. Nous voudrions tout d’abord dans ce colloque en Humanités consacré à la gare et au wagon, les reconsidérer d’abord pour ce qu’ils sont, des interzones : lieux clos sans l’être vraiment, lieux sans frontière ou aux frontières mouvantes et instables, où la loi et la société interrompent leurs propres règles, où s’établit tout un jeu d’indifférenciations totalement artificiel, parfois obscène par l’intimisme exacerbé qui s’y recrée. La gare peut en effet être un espace de désordre, d'hétérogénéité mais aussi de brassage et de communications.
La gare c’est d’abord, dans la ville, une enclave ; et le wagon, dans nos vies, un fantasme d’annihilation de l’Autre.

Nous invitons nos futurs conférenciers à étudier la gare et le wagon (en littérature, en histoire, dans les arts visuels, et pourquoi pas également en empruntant les rails de la philosophie) comme vecteurs culturels et artistiques de l’obsolescence programmée de l’innovation technologique à l’occasion de l’événement que représente l’arrivée de la ligne TGV à Mulhouse Gare Centrale cet hiver. Pour les historiens, ce sera l'occasion de les considérer dans leur rôle prépondérant dans l'évolution des aménagements urbains

Et afin de joindre l’acte à la parole, ce colloque sera nomade et privilégiera des propositions de performances universitaires. Mis à part quelques interventions qui se feront sous les élégants lambris de la Société Industrielle de Mulhouse (à quelques pas de la Gare) les ateliers, dans leur grande majorité, se dérouleront principalement à bord d’un train. Et il nous faudra emprunter des gares, des stations et des arrêts, sans itinéraire précis, juste une destination incertaine à la recherche de nous-mêmes, pour des allers-retours sans fin.

Mulhouse Terminus, mais personne ne descend !

--Le comité organisateur.

Date limite de dépôt des propositions: 15 juin 2011. : Merci d’adresser vos propositions à Didier Girard (didier.girard [at] uha.fr ou drgeere [at] free.fr) Frédérique Toudoire-Surlapierre (frederique.toudoire [at] uha.fr) et Jennifer K. Dick (jennifer-kay.dick [at] uha.fr) avant le 15 juin 2011. Pour plus: http://station2stationcolloquenomade.blogspot.com/

Pour assister aux débats et réserver votre billet : contacter Jeannine Schneider jeannine.schneider [at] uha.fr + 33 (0)3 89336381.

TRACERY--Dusie Kollectiv 5 by Jennifer K Dick: Alsace poems...

2011-04-30T12:29:00.000-07:00

I have been sewing, collaging covers and gluing transparency papers onto covers this weekend as the first of what will be 200 chapbooks entitled TRACERY for my Dusie's Kollectiv #5 get underway!

100 are for the Kollectiv, and some others will be for sale--for example at my reading in Paris on the 10th of May, 2011 at 19h15 at Carr's Pub & Restaurant, 1 rue Mont-Thabor, M° Tuileries see Poets-Live for more on that event: http://poets-live.com/). In TRACERY, the texts--more shards perhaps than poems--are the first I have written about my new home in Mulhouse--in the Alsace region of France. Here, we have a lot of old industry, but the town was built on wild patterns and bright colors--like the buildings which are themselves a sort of basket of Easter eggs (see here 2 photos from the not-too-far-away village of Riquewihr in Les Vosges moutains that Lisa & I visited together)!

Printing fabric (as seen at the Musée de l'impression sur Etoffes, Mulhouse: http://www.musee-impression.com/gb/musee/default.html) dominated commerce here, as did the fashion of wallpapering.

In fact, one of the nearby villages (Rixheim) still houses one of the most famous, elaborate wallpaper makers in the world--Zuber & Cie. Recently, Lisa Pasold (Canadian author, of novel Rats of Las Vegas, & the poetry collections A Bad Year for Journalists and Weave (both from Frontenac Press, Canada)) visited & we went over to Rixheim and the old Zuber & Cie grounds to see the Musée du Papier Peint: http://www.museepapierpeint.org/. The wallpaper museum is an environment that still feels linked to attentive artisan's work--the museum is human-sized and comfortable to move through, like a private showcasing of the papers. It is hard to believe, in fact, that some of the papers on the walls cost upwards of $30,000 to print, using hundreds of hand-made wood blocks. See the website for some images of this, or the site Articles & Texticles below which features some of the larger mural paper images.

Thus, seeing this work, and helping some friends rip down old paper in their new house in Brunstatt (paper that even coated the ceiling in massive floral designs--quite dizzying! See my use of it on the collaged covers of my chapbooks here--and imagine yourself inside a room of it!) I decided to use that paper as my recycled material in the making of my Dusie Chap. Here, some of the photos show me and my apartment cluttered with papers and materials as I am in the process of the making of the book (note the progression in the corner of my apartment! Good think I have all this Mulhousien space and am no longer crammed in a Paris closet, eh?:)).

And there are a few images also of collage-like poems and the covers of N° 1 and 2. Each of the books will have an individually-made cover collage. Some of the collages will hang out over the 15x15cm book's edges, and others will be cropped to match the regular book size. The cover of the book is a papier calque (a sort of dense tracing paper) on which I printed not only my title and name, but also an image once used to stamp on the back of Wallpaper from the UK sent over to the colonies in the US, at a point in time when the British were trying to levy a paper tax. I found this image on http://www.historicnewengland.org/collections-archives-exhibitions/online-exhibitions/wallpaper/history/1750.htm/?searchterm=wallpaper%20stamp which is Historic New England's fabulously extensive database of wallpaper history and of shards of used and bits of unused wallpaper from homes on the East coast of the United States of America. What's amusing (or at least it is to me) is that I have been teaching a US Civ course where we discussed the stamping and taxing of papers, and then I ended up writing this chapbook.

Places, histories, times, interests collide! Anyway, here are a few sample pages for your delight, with hopes that you might decide to order your own copy (by emailing me) or come and purchase on at the Poets-Live reading, May 10th 2011 in Paris!
Also, for anyone interested--Here are links to some of the cool Wallpaper sites out there in cyberspace (some I discovered during and some that I am only just discovering post-writing this chapbook). For example:

**The UK site for the Wallpaper History Society: http://wallpaperhistorysociety.org.uk/

**Zuber & Cie's fabulous site with many examples of their current, gorgeous "products" such as the image of the rose paper seen on the above sample page from the chapbook: http://www.zuber.fr/ Zuber's site of course names all the major metropolitain areas in the world where they have their showrooms, but its home base, Rixheim, is in small letters at the top of the site's pages! The image on their home page is one of the many "factories" that populated this area, so many of this style at the height of the fabric and paper industrial age.

**Wallpaper at Historic New England: http://www.historicnewengland.org/collections-archives-exhibitions/online-exhibitions/wallpaper

**Roland Piquepaille’s story “Wall to Wall Wallpaper” on his site: Articles & Texticles comparing Wallpaper and Animation techniques: http://www.articlesandtexticles.co.uk/2009/01/10/wall-to-wall-wallpaper/

And, certainly, no blog post about this area would be complete without a little photo of vinyards--so, voilà, from Lisa and my drive down Les Vosges from Riquewihr then over via Kaysersburg to Katzenthal where my current favorite place to purchase wine is--Michèle et Jean-Luc Stoeklé where the daugher of the family now works and is also very nice. But GOOOOD wine, and great prices, too! Worth stopping by!

Betwixt from Corrupt Press: a new chapbook!

2011-04-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

This has been a productive spring--writing, reading, finally getting work into the mail & thus off towards YOU, the world! And now the joy of having two new chapbooks!!!

The first out is BETWIXT (out in May 2011, from Corrupt Press, Paris--see blurbs at bottom of this post).

LAUNCH EVENT:

I am thrilled to be part of the launch for GEORGE VANCE's full-length book A SHORT CIRCUIT (Corrupt, 2011) at the reading where I will also launch BE TWIXT. May 10th 2011 at 19h15, downstairs at Carr's Pub & Restaurant, Paris M° Tuileries. With readings of new works by Greg Santos, George Vance & Jennifer K Dick. See more info below as well as a link to Carr's.

Concerning BETWIXT, the cover image for is by Michele Winkler, an artist currently residing in LA & who I met in Colorado a few years ago when speaking at the Boulder Conference on World Affairs. She & I have been planning to collaborate for awhile now. I am really touched by work she did following the publication of Fluorescence (U of GA Press, 2004). I was really lucky to be able to benefit from some of her current work to use it on the cover pictured here: The cover image is “Mirror Mirror”, a two plate solar etching by Michele Winkler: see a bio at http://www.lessedra.com/artistinfo.php?artistid=306 or visit her site by clicking on her name. Certainly, poems after her works are being worked on--so keep your eyes peeled for future collaborations between us!!!

I would also like to thank Amanda Deutch on this blog. It is she who proposed we develop a series of back & forth poems from which this selection is taken. She was the New York to my Paris, the sometimes Orpheus to my Eurydice, & the othertimes Eurydice to my Orpheus! I look forward to the day when our collaborative collection, including her poems alongside these,finds its way into print! Her energy & our dialogues constantly enriched this work.

As for the new books, both Geroge Vance's book & my new chap are coming out from a brand, spani' new Paris-based anglophone press, CORRUPT PRESS run by UK poet DYLAN HARRIS, (click his name or go to http://dylanharris.org/index.php to see more on Dylan). Their first book was the chapbook pictured at the right--by Nina Karacosta.

Dylan also organizes Poets-Live where George & I will read alongside Greg Santos on MAY 10th 2011 at 19h15, downstairs at CARR's PUB, 1 rue Mont Tabor, M° Tuileries . There is an event to launch Rufo Quintavalle's chapbook June 4th as well, and I hear rumor that another, later June event is getting planned!

Books will be on sale & beer & spring fun will be able to be had. Hope you can make it: see the Poets-Live site for more on that: http://poets-live.com/content/may-10th-jennifer-k-dick-greg-santos-and-george-vance

As for CORRUPT PRESS, they have already put out the abovementioned chapbook by NINA KARACOSTA entitled PREVIOUS VERTIGOS which will be on sale, & in June the new chapbook, DOG, COCK, APE and VIPER--a sneak peek into a soon forthcoming Corrput Press full length book by this local poet & Nth position poetry editor, RUFO QUINTAVALLE, will be launched.

I gather many exciting publication projects are en route from Corrupt Press, and am personally really excited to be part of Dylan's new projects. DO help him keep this up by buying a book for yourself and your friends: all of them will be on sale at the POETS-LIVE event May 10th, the 2 events in June and also soon via the corrupt press website: http://corruptpress.net/ Corrupt press is also new on Facebook--so feel free to go to their FB page and "LIKE" them!: http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#!/pages/Corrupt-Press/193677043997117 They are only up to an overwhelming 24 last count, so check them out and do that liking thing FB has us all into. But Betwixt is only one of the two chaps that I will have with me May 10th in Paris, so come along to also get your hands on TRACERY, my Dusie Kollectiv 5 chapbook. More on that later!

Last (first) words on BETWIXT?

Well, I am pretty excited by the beautiful blurbs I received from poets and editors I admire:

"‘Betwixt’ penetrates deeply beneath and betwixt the narrative of Orpheus and Eurydice. These intermediate and indeterminate spin-offs from the motif are set in a stuttering, probing movement that is ever present in an ongoing gaze that is both backward and forward-looking. The transformative registers and play that Dick draws upon incites the reader through linguistic and sonic verve to question the framework and creases of male and female identity and to see the fragility of pastoral stability and the proximity of loss. Her voice is unerring and unmasking. I love it."

--David Caddy, editor of Tears in the Fence

"“In the ec-, ec- ectoplasm of the echo,” Jennifer K Dick’s new concerto sings vibrato, rocking us boldly into shadowscape of the serpentine underworld of starboard saints the order of Orpheus and Eurydice, those Hansels and Gretels. Lushly and lavishly into the underworld we descend to look and to never look back, to forage forward and toward her lyrical horizon, sinking cock-eared and then tipping into her dreamscapes, begging, “make it double,” please." --Sandy Florian, author of The Tree of No

"In the sinuous descents of Jennifer K Dick’s Betwixt, we are among the debris of doxa not left to lie around an ailing modernist Thames or Rhime, but rather bound up again in the fascicle of a deeper myth-going gauntlet. Eurydice is the by-proxy birth of the lyric, of both its sad and smiling aspects (the marriage ceremony and the broken quest), two divided faces which both promise never to look back. Sex and scalpel, fusion and fissuring, no identity is left unknit in this astonishing revival. So we too may go deeper, into the passages of our choosing: “just follow the tracks in the dark, steady, steadying.”"

--Nicholas Manning, author of Novaless

"In Jennifer K Dick’s wonderful rewinding of “loosely wound” myth, Orpheus and Eurydice are strung out on contemporary anxieties and pulled through the compelling lines of a tensely rhythmic language, an element at once familiar and strange. Description is unsteady, under revision, and flatness and depth make sudden shifts the characters (including reader and writer) negotiate, making forward movement exciting: the stakes are still high, even as we’re reminded the game is lost. Meanwhile the field of the author’s attention is mobile, errant, including the frame or what takes place elsewhere, beyond (around, askew to) a “story.” The subject of this splendid collection is the texture of understanding in its uneasy motion through the “sonorous dark”—in other words, the work of love."

--Laura Mullen, author of Dark Archive & Murmur

"Jennifer K Dick’s Betwixt occurs at intermission—the point at which one act is made historical even as another supplants it. Inside this book, Eurydice and Orpheus wander the streets of Paris (which is also New York), Hades looks strangely like the Metro, and everything pickpockets the attributes of everything else. “Already what’s awaiting is rerouted,” Dick writes, as the tectonics of identity shift, destabilize and reconstitute, ushering forth a postmodern noir that sizzles with cosmopolitan smarts. Just further proof that poetry, like life, brooks no stasis: all is syncopation."
--Chris Pusateri, author of Anon

"Betwixt is a contemporary myth. It’s a “gaze cast,” where the unseenare momentarily seen—within shadow, under the pale light. It’s a diceygame of chance, in which time folds in on itself. Intimacy is heldcaptive and released: “To: think only of her. Not to forget: she is.To: know this.” The impulse to turn leaves us standing still. In awe.Marveling at Jennifer K Dick’s “condensation of meaning.”"

—Michelle Naka Pierce, author of Beloved Integer

Versal Magazine Special Pre-Order Offer!

2011-04-12T04:32:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I work with the wonderful staff on VERSAL MAGAZINE out of Amsterdam. This literary review is jam packed with amazing writing, but is also a fabulous example of lit mag design, with artwork and also excellent layout throughout. An object to delight the eye and mind!! (see our website for lots of info: http://www.wordsinhere.com/)

So, I am writing a little post here to ask that you consider preordering the next issue and thus both supporting the continuation of the review while also getting for yourself a great book of prose, poetry and artwork!!!! What's more, your order gets you TWO copies--the newest issue plus a backissue!

Click here to order your 2 issues!:

http://www.wordsinhere.com/preorder.html

The issue launches at the end of April, so do ORDER NOW to benefit from this fab offer, and to help us with the costs of the future issue.

Also, if anyone is in Amsterdam at the end of April, do attend the newest issue's launch!
Which is LITERARY DEATH MATCH, AMSTERDAM with Opium

http://www.literarydeathmatch.com/upcoming-events/april-28-2011.html

See the website for full info on that! April 28th 2011!!!

Feel free to pass this info on to everyone you know!!!

Also, for those of you who have yet to submit work to Versal, we will be accepting new work next fall! So get your copies now to get an idea of what we are looking for, then send us work next fall!!!!

ARTSEEN (heard): Reims "street" & church art + reading at la comédie de Reims with Anne Kawala

2011-03-21T03:37:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I have posted about an art visit with George Vance--because this year I find myself in Mulhouse & he finds himself newly arrived in Reims. But fate and a beautiful invitation to come and read & facilitate with Anne Kawala the first of her series of workshops at the Comédie de Reims brought George & I back together for another wander. This time not round the streets & galleries of Paris, but round the streets and the famous cathedral of Reims!

But art is found everywhere these days. Increasingly, the "tag"s on walls in Paris and evidently Reims like here in Mulhouse have given way to more sophisticated artistic expression on walls. En route through Paris to Reims, I could not help but notice this collage along Rue Vieille du Temple:

(2 photos below of that collage, made of images of women from 1950's style newspapers)

So, it was a bit of a surprise to run into a very similar--and I wondered, by the same artist--collage style on a wall in Reims by a lovely old garage: The dilapidated shed near the garage and the garage itself sit between the great cathedral and the contemporary, glass box of the Reims médiathèque--which houses free art shows, one which George and I stopped into. Even if it was nothing to write home about, I remain happy to see any institution promoting art & providing spectators free access to a little show! As for "expected" art in Reims, there is the old Notre Dame Cathedrale. :

(photos: view from the street as we approached the cathedral, then the façade reflected on the glassy front of the médiathèque. Third pic: detail of some of the elaborate sculpture work on the outside of the church)But unlike the gazillion other churches I have seen in Europe, this one had a few spectacular surprises for me--First, the Chagall windows. That chagall kind of painting style reproduced in a series of windows at the back of the church stunned and moved me. The particular blue, its depth, was stunning. And when I turned back to look along the whole length of the church, thus with the Chagall windows at my back, this was the sight which greeted me: Then, were the odd archways just inside the main part of the church. They lined all three arches, and the images here are from the middle, or largest doorway. I found these kind of haunting, like a weird set of insectile pockets in some odd hive structure containing figures. The ones I am showing here are still in great shape--likely reworked--but others have softened so it is as if at the based of the arch the figures have melted back into the stones like bodies reclaimed by the earth. Quite fascinating! But Reims also was a great place to see the "Hemingway Café" making me think a bit of Key West, though little here had any real sense of Hemingway, just the hommage is pleasing. I also was put up by la comédie in the Grand Hotel Continental, which had a feeling of Hemingway's time in that it felt personal instead of like so many hotels these days which have such generic rooms and styles. Not here! This hotel was warm, its halls lined with art or posters of art, and its rooms had a comfortable "real" space feeling. If you are looking to stay in Reims, I really do advise this hotel!After George & I had a wander & rewarmed ourselves round a hot chocolate, I headed over to the lovely Comédie de Reims to join Anne Kawala. We had time to rehearse our evening reading of my series of poems Betwixt and the translations into French by Christophe Marchand Kiss. (Photos: Anne and I reading; a view looking back into a sort of salon space in the modern Comédie de Reims theater, a space where people could wait to enter the Studip theater we were in, or the theater bar, or official shows on the main stage)

The group of spectator-writers that attended the reading and workshop, including George--then were invited to complete a series of writing exercises led by Anne. I, too, tried my hand at the work... making a map and 3 texts to accompany it. As the night drew to a close, there were drinks and quiche dinner with the theater crowd and company post their production of an Olivier Cadiot play. It is wonderful to be in/within the energy of a theater group such as that which exists in Reims, where everyone comes together and converses and shares responses about the evening, from admin to interns, from directors to actors to those helping out in the theater bar. The ambiance was so inviting. Though I was only a visitor, I really felt the fabulous energy of creation in the air that evidently invigorates the exciting & daring works being played out on the stage and in the studio of the Comédie de Reims. The dedication on every level to making and bringing to the public theater, writing & the possibility also to enter that community & to create (as with Anne Kawala's workshops) certainly made it hard to leave Reims behind, & return home to Mulhouse...

POETRY and Literature: From Paris to Reims...

2011-03-07T07:35:00.000-08:00

I will be speaking and reading and giving ateliers this week in Paris and Reims. All within the "cadre" of French seminars and ateliers. Hope to see you there!

FIRST: Dans le cadre des deux dernières séances du séminaire "archéologie de la figure de
style" que Christophe Lamiot Enos dirige pour le Collège International de Philosophie à
Paris en 2010-11, qui ont lieu ces 07/03 et 14/03 sur le campus de Jussieu,
métro Jussieu, amphi B45, de 18h30 à 20h30 avec les invités suivants :
Jean-Pierre Klein, Jennifer K. Dick, Michel Deguy et Gérard Bucher. Donc CE SOIR!!!

SECOND: This Weds in REIMS:
http://www.lacomediedereims.fr/
Lecture Performée

Les mercredi 9 mars, 6 avril et 11 mai de 19h30 à 22h à la Comédie.

Anne Kawala, auteur, propose un cycle d’ateliers/performances autour des thématiques de La Terreur du Boomerang – spectacle qui avait été présenté la saison dernière à la Comédie.
Dans La Terreur du Boomerang, il y a Etats-Unis & ceux plutôt désunis, il y a apprentissage & quête, quelques voyages initiatiques, musique pop & polyphonies, vidéo & poésie & théâtre, il y a le charabia de l’amour, ce langage du commun & de l’unique. Lors de chacune de ces rencontres d’écritures, un invité d’Anne Kawala explorera quelques unes de ces dimensions.

9 mars : Jennifer K. Dick , une poète « américaine à Paris » fera une lecture d’un de ses textes en cours, qui réinterroge la figure d’Eurydice – ouvrant vers les questions liées à l’amour, au voyage initiatique, de mythes (de conquête et artistiques) qui entourent les Etats-Unis, vus de la France.

Prochains rendez-vous : 6 avril (David Bichindaritz, musicien), 11 mai (Judith Cahen, cinéaste).

Cet atelier est gratuit et ouvert à tous, dans la limite des places disponibles.
Renseignements et inscriptions indispensables auprès de s.revert@lacomediedereims.fr

RoToR 5 en ligne! RoToR 5 is Up!

2011-01-30T09:56:00.000-08:00

IT IS OUT! Yes, RoToR number 5, the issue I was so nicely asked to select work for! http://corner.as.corner.free.fr/rotor5.html The idea behind RoToR is, one author (I invited Vannina Maestri to start) writes a poem and then an artist (in this case, I invited the collaborative collective trait d-union to make photos) makes 5 art images off that work which will accompany the 5 texts which will be made by 5 authors. On the writing side, that same first text is then usd by a second poet who sees the first poet's work and writes off that, and then a third poet only sees the second author's poem which they write off of, and so on to 5! I invited: Vanina Maestri, Frederic Forte, Virginie Poitrasson, Jacques Sivan, and Susana Sulic! The Combo gives us RoToR, where the writers and the artists discover how the work has come together!!!

Je suis heureuse de vous annoncer la mise en ligne du 5ème numéro de RoToR, une carte blanche à moi, Jennifer K. Dick, (grace à l'invitation d'Anne Kawala!). J'ai invité :
Vanina Maestri > Frédéric Forté > Virginie Poitrasson > Jacques Sivan > Susana Sulic
ainsi que le collectif trait d-union pour la série de photo-montages, L'air autour.
Tout est en ligne ici : http://corner.as.corner.free.fr/rotor5.html.
Bonne lecture!

IVY Writers Paris video by Erin Stranyak for her AUP class

2011-01-03T21:56:00.001-08:00

Michelle Noteboom and I were thrilled, touched and a bit embarrassed to be approached by Erin Stranyak --author of the blog AdHocTravel-- as she was preparing her AUP broadcasting course film for first semester Fall 2010. But more than anything Michelle and I were (and remain) so highly flattered that Erin would think of our reading series for her documentary project FILM.

So, as a sort of return "thanks" I wanted to share here the link to her video and also wanted to post this as a reminder to everyone as we enter a new year (and decade!) to support the small presses that keep poetry alive!-- To help with that, I have included links off names and book titles so that you can easily go to the websites, presses and specific books of the authors mentioned here, for books for yourself or a friend!

Here below are a few stills, and the full video (all 3 and some minutes!) Erin made about Ivy Writers Paris reading series (which will be 6 years old this January: Our next reading is the 18th of January 2011 with Guy Bennett & Philippe Beck!) The video by Erin has been posted up on YOUTUBE at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YySCEoa3kw (or just click IVY VIDEO)

This film was made around the IVY reading from 23 November 2010 (click date to see the original IVY blog invite with full bios on the two featured authors). French author Eric Cassar (seen here and reading in the video from his new book, just out in 2010: INSTANTS POETIQUES) read with American author Eleni Sikelianos, writer of both prose and poetry--most recently the author of BODY CLOCK (Coffee House Press), and previously of THE BOOK OF JON (City Lights Books) and THE CALIFORNIA POEM (Coffee House Press).

What is really fun are to see here are also the tiny tidbit interviews with friends, such as authors Lisa Pasold (from Canada, most recently writer of Rats of Las Vegas--a novel--and previously A bad Year For Journalism (poetry) Lisa was the first ever Ivy Writer reader, almost 6 years ago now!)

Or Bonny Finberg, (click her name to go read her blog!) writer of prose who has some recent work in the Paris journal Upstairs at Duroc--a new issue which will be out this January, 2011.

And Joe Ross, author of over 12 books, most recently STRATA from Dusie Press in Switzerland (see the Dusie Blog, too), and the writer of my personal favorite, Equations = equals (Green Integer Press) Joe read for Ivy when Strata came out, and we hope to hear him again when his next book(s) hit the stands!

Of course, Michelle and I do our best to babble and be ourselves. Interviewed between baby cries as Ansel headed into dreamland, we tried to answer Erin's questions as best we could. Hope everyone enjoys this.

Great job, Erin--thank you for featuring our readers and reading series in your first film project!!!!

40's Postal Project One: Lisa Pasold & Bremner Duthie

2010-12-15T17:08:00.000-08:00

Dec 15th 2010. I return home from invigilating exams. It is snowing again in Mulhouse. My new apartment is warm, though, and hummmms emptily. Far from you, Lisa & Brem, my friends, and your wonderful energy, I sit down in my kitchen and begin to select random words from the London Review of Books. Then I clip out tiny images of insects from a reproduced book cover. I stop to look around the house at all the scraps of other magazines, letters, cards. I find the envelope, such a colorful, bright, flowery envelope, from one of my birthday cards on my desk piled high with stories and papers waiting to be read and graded. I am foregoing such things tonight to make this little something for you.

With the enveloppe and my scattered pile of words, a glue stick and some other scraps I have collected, I transform my little Bristol card for you, hoping that this will bring into your house a little blue bright sky. I label the bird human, I pick words that attract me, not thinking of phrases or syntax. The language is in a sky, floating, just as it will soar your way tomorrow morning.

I have my terrible cheap camera, and in a million and one attempts I end up with a few photos to stick here. I slip the work with the collage(s)--because I ended up making a mini collage on the other side of the Bristol card, too--into an enveloppe adressed to you, in hopes of protecting the little words. I would not want any language to fall off en route, for syllables to be lost on the road, left to their own devices!

It is late now, and I am still thinking of you. I hope that there it is snowing, too. Crystalline, soft snow. Whispering to you as you sleep--for it is very very late now--and I hope you dream of lotus flowers, carmine, of green tropical places seen across and beyond a snowy desert. I hope that this little card, waiting to go out to the mail, in my personal mail outbox, will bring you joy.

Pictured above: Full collage (at top of blog post) then back of collage, detail of back of collage mini collage, and then the collage in its enveloppe in my entryway waiting to be taken outside and sent to Brem & Lisa.

Pictured below: details from 40's Postal Project 1, then another version of the full collage:

The 40's Projects: An explainer...

2010-12-15T16:39:00.000-08:00

For this, my 5th decade, I decide to start the 10 years with one dedicated to 4 (one for each preceding decade of my life thus far) creative/critical word & image projects. Further ideas welcome, but the current projects are as follows:

1) Postal project: make 40 original A5 collages and mail them out to 40 people. Focus: making with words & image, and not holding onto the creation. Time jettisons us forward, despite ourselves. It feels now like perhaps it is accelerating, or that the fire of my 20s is only visible but no longer palpable as I enter this next decade. But that may be only perspective, and hopefully an erroneous one. Play is important. And part of creative play is knowing how nothing is precious and everything is precious. Being in the moment of making is the key here, and then passing that moment to others. So, I will make collages from words and images and mail the originals to one person. They can then do what they want with them. This said, I hope that the recipients will not toss my work in their trash bins! In fact, I hope that in each case the recipients will also mail a collage item back to me, and will also take a picture of the collage in their home that I can add to my posts here. As I go, I will post images of my collages, as here, on the blog. I will print out on A4 paper photos of both sides of these collages and put them up on a wall in my new home. At the end of the year, it should be covered by 80 sheets of A4 images of these cards.

2) The Century Variations (12): write 1 "variation" poem a month on a poem from a different century starting from the 1000's and ending in the 21st century. That is 12 centuries, 12 poems. This project was inspired by listening to Jerome Rothenberg talk about and read from his Variations on poems he wrote himself some decades back. It made me excited to explore time and altered perspectives, and I also wanted to revisit poems from different centuries, perhaps discover new ones while looking for the texts I want to work off of each month. I have not yet decided whether these will be posted to the blog or not... we will see how I feel on that. This project is about history, and being part of, touching, pasts far greater than my own short lived life. Entering into the stream of history's wealth of words and works and passages of poetic development. Critically, I am already worried about how I can possibly select from an entire, rich century one work to work off of, but that, too, will be the wealth of the project for me as a reader.

3) 40 mini reviews. The goal is to do 40 mini reviews on this blog between Dec 5th 2010 and Dec 5th 2011. These reviews will be of poetry books in French or English, Lit magazine issues or may even be close reads or reactions to even a single poem. I want to engage with the work I am reading, but also share here in this ephemeral cyberspace with potential readers of the books and poems I am encountering. Anyone that wants new chapbooks or books read, or magazines read as part of this project, feel free to mail work to me at 24 rue Ste Claire, 68100 Mulhouse, France! I hope to discover new work, to think about transformations--and future(s)!!!

4) 40 aging characters: The goal is to write this year 40 tiny pieces using different "characters" obsessed with age, exploring time, age, aging, agism, youth, midlifeness, generations, perspective on generational change, etc. in fictional or poetic ways. Thus the little texts, which again I will likely post at least half of here, will be Flash fiction / vignettes / prose poems or mini stories. The focus for me is to overobsess about age through these characters, but also to observe and take note of age around me, of time, of the ways it is and is not visible on the bodies of others, and of myself.

The Staircase Hall (from the Leighton House poems, summer 2010)

2010-12-10T09:32:00.000-08:00

"The Staircase Hall": Poem written in Leighton House Museum, London, July 2010 for the art opening / reading. The poem was written for this space, so I overlayed the image with the text. Click on it to make it more legible if you need to.

Tears in The Fence: JUST OUT with my article on John Parker's poetry

2010-11-09T13:35:00.000-08:00

The newest issue of the UK magazine, Tears in The Fence, issue Number 52 (Issn 0266 5816) is OUT!

It includes my newest in a series of articles for them: "Of Tradition & Experiment IV: Women in John Parker’s Vietnam War Poetry: Labellum Danang" by Jennifer K Dick (pp 103-108) which includes a selection of never before published prose poems by John Parker!

The issue also includes a wide variety of poetry by writers such as Anne Blonstein, Shelia E Murphy, Ian Park, Lisa Mansell, Carrie Etter, Glyn Hughes, Peter Hughes, K V Skene, Robert Sheppard, Chris Torrence, Steve Spence, Estill Pollock, Giles Goodland & more!

Prose by Dave Newman, William Gilson, Mick Fitzgerald, Tracey Iceton & more!

Translations of the poet Andrea Zanzotto by Anthony Barnett, and

critical writing:
on Jack Spicer by Ian Brinton,
on Brenda Hillman (a response poem!) by Nathaniel Tarn,
on Michael Haslam by Peter Riley,
on Mary Palmer by Norman Jope,
on Lynette Roberts by Frances Spurrier,
on Steve Spence by Fred Johnston,
and reviews of books such as the anthology "Infinite Difference: Other Poetries by UK Women Poets, (edited by Carrie Etter for Shearsman Books)" reviewed by Mary Michaels

--and finally--

the issue includes a closing commentary from the editor, David Caddy, preceded by an article on Reading and Dementia by Sarah Hopkins!

In short, the issue is packed with delicacies to nibble on by a fire on these cold late fall evenings!

Order yours now: at (for UK/Europe:) David Caddy, 38 Hod View, Stourpaine, Nr Blandford Forum, Dorset DT11 8TN, England. Subscription information : 18 pounds for 3 issues, 30 for 6 (= a 2-year subscription) or purchase a single issue for 7 pounds. For pounds, you can subscribe by sending a check made out to TEARS IN THE FENCE to David Caddy.

For USA subscriptions, you can send a check made out to Deane Laczi, 714 Souith 12th Street, Lafayette, IN 47905 with 20 dollars for 3 issues, or 8 for a single issue.

In France/elsewhere in Europe--send to David in the UK.

For questions, inquiries about payment or submissions, email esp@euphony.net

Jennifer K Dick on video: Poetry readings & an interview

2010-10-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

For those of you who want to hear a bit of whatever, see a bit of whatever--here goes. I must say, I stumble, I fall, I blurrrrrr a bit in some of these, but here are a few videos that seem to be out in the universe, mostly of work that I have been doing and which is only going to start being sent off this fall. Yep, stuff from the Orph/Eury collection-in-process. Hope that you will be forgiving of the stumbling in the readings! Here is the first, of one of the poems: http://vimeo.com/16021016 or try clicking the photo which I think I have linked directly to the video that was so kindly posted by Laura Mullen (click her name to go to her poet's page homesite) The bright of Spoken word is certainly exciting to watch!!! These first two of these are from the VIMEO video site run/hosted by Laura Mullen who filmed these just last week in Paris at David Barnes' Spoken Word (click to go to their blog & participate in future events) up at Cabaret Populaire/Culture Rapide on the high hill above Belleville (103 r Julien Lacroix). Here is the second of these: http://vimeo.com/16089912 and again I think that if you want to click the photo, it should take you directly there:
Also from the same series of poems in process is this the second of the videos from the gorgeous Avol's books bookstore (click their name to go to the store!!!) in Wisconsin from last spring (April) when I was in Madison visiting Sean Standish. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKBuZjX2HPE&feature=related or click the still here for a direct connection to the video (this one has a lot of stumblings in it, and then gets cut off.... but ah well.)

Here is the first vid from Avol's. In this, I am reading a few poems from Fluorescence and from the New Pony anthology that had just come out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OMVJKayjP0&NR=1 or click directly on the photo--it should link you to the Youtube video directly.

Finally, for anyone who has not seen it, this is the Youtube video, thus a shortened version, of the interview with Cole Swensen. It was completed originally in a long version at The Continental Review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0npKJ5gkT0

Mulhouse: arrival & setting up house (sept 1 to now!) Jonathan Regier & JKD road trip!

2010-10-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

One might say that moving is a long, arduous process. One friend told me that on some list of "traumatic things" that we do willingly in life, moving ranked in the top three as a life stressor, alongside breaking up or losing someone. So, losing Paris is what this has been. But also gaining a lot of room to breathe & a perspective on other options here in France outside Paris living. When I received the letter informing me that I had been hired here at Uha (Université de Haute Alsace) it is true that I was of two minds--ecstatic because I wanted the job and it would be in "real" topics--lit and civ--subjects I can really get into and love working on with French students. But of course part of me felt the immediate sting of leaving. I had been living in Paris since 1999, and had also lived there in the mid-1990's. My only forays into living out of Paris while in France were some time spent in Lyon and the 3 months at the residency in La Napoule--where I knew I was only temporarily away from the city, and where the sea lapped up practically against the door (who doesn't love that?!?) So, I thought, Mulhouse. My one visit at that point had been for the audition, where I stayed in a clean, efficient hotel B&B. One of those slot-you-into the space generic places that are cheap & excellent for overnights if on business. It was off of the Porte Jeune shopping mall place (a kind of red eyesore) and underneath the Tour de l'Europe (another eyesore--with evidence about halfway up of a fire in an apartment and yet the apartments around that burnt-out window remain occupied--as in these 3 pictures). My vision was rather drab of the town.

So, I got online and started looking a bit into here--and found a lot of things that made me excited to simply discover another place. There were lovely parts of the town, & many more things to do than it had appeared on my one quick visit (in the rain & for the interview). And so, thrilled about the job, & sure that it would do me good to force myself out of the habits I lived in in Paris, I decided to get a place in Mulhouse and give it a go.

This is where "the pleasures of Mulhouse" really do begin. Because space is scarce in Paris and plentiful in Alsace. There is a lot of greenery in the center of town and when I came to look at places, I found that there were lots of spacious ones near cafés, grocery stores, bars and centers to see movies or go out with friends. In other words, Mulhouse would be a little adventure, though certainly one that is much sleepier than the urban racous riots of Paris. A little less craze... not necessarily bad.

New outlook, despairingly pricy moving costs for movers and I decided "ROAD TRIP". And with the great great help of all my friends: Anne K, Jérôme M, Sylvie and Carole B, Carole P, Patricia, George V, and MORE! I got everything into the rental van from Rent à car and Jonathan Regier & I headed off into the night with out map, mappy itinery and all giggles. We left around 10pm, so the traffic around Paris was quasi-inexistent. We drove & talked & watched our signs. Around 2h30 in the morning, debating whether to rest someplace or keep going for the all-nighter experience, we stopped for treats at a truck stop only to learn--between the truckers playing video games, lounging on massage chairs, or playing games where you shoot things with a plastic gun--that we had missed a turn awhile back and were now in Macon. (photo: me holding up map saying "what!?!?!!! An HOUR south of our route at 2:30am!!!") OOPS! So, more giggles & we decided it was a sign that we should STOP. JR had never had the "pleasure" of seeing an F1--so, since there was one at the next autoroute turnaround (which we had to take to get back on the route going in the opposite direction of where we were!), we stopped in there. A voice through a loudspeaker let our van through the protection gates (always a reassuring feature of F1 and Etap motels when one is trekking around with one's life in a car!) and then autochecked in without seeing a soul anywhere. Dead tired, we tucked ourselves into our very very green and little twin beds--after a few more photos while laughing in our overexhausted state (wise to have stopped!). In the morning (pictured here below) we forced ourselves up early &--unshowered, as that would take too long, though after the physical work of moving the night before & our drive we were getting kinda ripe or at least looking worse for the wear--we caffinated & breakfasted (note that the first pic is pre-coffee, second is after a few cups!) at the F1 countertop then headed back round north of our Macon detour. It was lovely, in fact, to drive in the early morning and to see the countryside as we approached Mulhouse. As we drove into town we had lots of laughs as we spotted the first commerces--and their very Germanic / Alsacian names: as here Le Schweitzer! There are also many lovely, colorful buildings (mine is red, but here are some of the neighboring ones: baby blue and reds, and one of JR in front of a yellow building). It is quite easter-egg cheery, and I am certain that mid-winter, with the grey and snow, it will in fact be so much more cheerful here than in Paris. (Thus I encourage all of you there in Paris to come here for a visit!!!) Everything got tossed into the apartment, boxes all over, so we were ready for a shower. But, alas, the hot water had not yet heated up! We were not ready to be ice cubes so we returned the unharmed van (pics of joy here!) in Dornach (a suburb--but about 25 minutes walk max back to the center of town) and then strolled around in the bright day.Back in the center of town, we continued our explorations through the pedestrian area of Mulhouse, enjoying beers in the sun at the Place de la Réunion, where we visited the inside of the Temple, and then had yet more beers (the driving was over, after all!!!). Over the days following, we also checked out the great Libanais resto on the corner by me (here we are below in photos seated on the little terrasse which is pretty much in the street) and a few other spots. We spotted some of the nearby wall art (car because this is the city with the massive automobile museum--yet to be visited) and halted briefly before some random shops and along curved streets (pictures here below). We also admired the old Synagogue, which I look out on from my windows. (Here is picture of the front of Synagogue, followed by one where my building can be seen on the left and the back of the synagogue is partially visible at the right): My tram stops at Porte Haute which is by a fittingly poet-related bar called Le Bateau Ivre! But moving is a long, slow investment process, where my role is that of the leaking bucket--new insurance, hookup fees, deconnect fees, etc etc. The long, slow road to being able to buy any furniture! Thus the lovely temp "sofa" was the sleeping bag and featherbed that JR had had as a bed.: Come Oct 1st & "payday", Stephanie, Cynthia & I had a trip to Freiburg's Ikea. It was my first ever experience in Ikea. Giant, blue & yellow box that, once inside, felt like it would never end! We picked up a few things & I got furniture ordered for delivery--shelves and couches! Then I waited for another week & a half before the delivery came. It was supposed to include putting together of the big, red couch but the 2 German deliverymen said "No" & then we argued & it was all me being irrational at the explicable / predictable inability to communicate across 3 languages (German, French & English--my version of the last two, & their version of German & English). They kept saying "Not putting togeher. Sign here, & we go". I tried to explain I had gotten the delivery with a "putting the couch together" agreement, but they would not budge. I pleaded saying in my own broken English "Me, just one person" as if that said everything about the entire helplessness of my situation. But they threatened to take it all away again so I signed and sighed and then there I was. And Freiburg's Ikea helpline? Not accessible to me, a non-German speaker. So, suddenly I found I had "furniture" and yet I did not.

I had gigantic cardboard boxes filled with promises of furniture that only someone who had other someones to help them put them together could make emerge out of the cardboard into a lifeform representing couch, shelves, couch. Despair. At this point, a month and a half into the moving process, I just thought "I give up".

But then I put out a distress call to the lecturers who I have been spending time with and was SAVED! Within less than a half hour (now, if that is not a change from Paris!) Tom and then Lauren came by to help. Or rather, I think it was more that I helped Tom--while Lauren built a CD rack all by her lonesome (I have the pride to say I also managed that yesterday--these smallish tasks for those of you who are endowed with the gift of building, well, we who are not endowed with such gifts cherish our little ability to construct the pre-fab shelving! I must say, it is an accomplishment, if only a small one!) Within a few hours, there were the red and white couches and a blue CD rack all working!!! And then, off to Le Mans & then Paris I went for a conference then reading event. So, the other shelves remained stacked in the middle of my room. Until this weekend when Carole B was here on vacation and I put her to work (so kind of me, eh? No, really, she volunteered). Again, in little over an hour we got the 4 larger bookcases up, and then last night after she had headed back to Paris I finished the 2 other CD racks and a smaller bookshelf. Here, you can see the process as it has emerged. The "home" in the making. My own experience of what gets made fun of in that old "Choose Life" speech at the start of Trainspotting. Yep, DIY moments of my middle aged self. Ah well, in some ways I guess I am a conformer. But hey, it is going to make it easier for me to find the books, and now I have great couches to lounge and write on. So, for anyone wanting to see my home: here are a few pics.

Uha / Mulhouse Poetry Club hosted by Yann Kerdiles

2010-10-25T07:33:00.000-07:00

Our wonderful Dean of Studies, Yann Kerdiles (pictured here), in the FLSH building works hard to make everyone remember the value of poetry, not only for poetry itself or to promote any one author, but for its eternal international musicality as it crosses borders and languages.

Thus he organizes, once a month, a lovely evening entitled "POETRY CLUB" where students, teachers, people from the community, friends of friends gather and share work of their own or other poets in numerous languages. I was quite honored to begin my life here as new tenured faculty by being invited to be a guest reader at the Poetry Club in September, where a lovely crow showed up for treats and drinks and an evening of readings including my own. I learned that the most languages ever represented at a Poetry Club event was SEVENTEEN! (I remain agog at that) but the evening I read there were certainly a fair number, from English and French, to Berber, Arabic, Chinese, Esperanto and more! When is the next event? The 10th of NOVEMBER (in the room above the Cybercafé inside the RestoU in case anyone is in Mulhouse and wants to go!) and focused on UKRAINIAN poetry! This month's was featuring a work based on a voyage to POLAND. Here are a few pics from the eve in September, where I was the honorary guest and had the great pleasure of meeting and becoming acquainted with the Mulhouse poetry scene!

Arrival:

Snacks galore! Everyone meets everyone thanks to our kind and dynamic host. So we chat with new acquaintances in a variety of langauges while munching on treats catered by the UHA: After, Yann gives his intro to the evening as we settle down in our places. The crowd is warm and interested it seems in whatever the evening might bring to them...

I was very honored to be part of the evening and read a few of the series of Orph/Eury poems which have been translated by the talented Christophe Marchand-Kiss (French poet residing in Paris). Since he could not be there to read the French, and I did not wish to read and have the work filled with my accent, Noelle Cuny--uha professor of English who I have been delighted to be getting to know week by week as we share office space--was kind enough to come over to the Poetry Club and do a great reading of the French texts off the cuff! It was lots of fun.

Then, my part outta the way, I was so happy to sit back with everyone else and listen to so many languages and poems, some accompanied by music, wafting over us.

The readings included one in esperanto (I have now heard him read twice and feel quite guilty to have not gotten his name yet, but will add it here when I do!!!) :

Then here are some guys who are from the local Berber cultural society who played music behind a reading in Berber by the women pictured just afterwards.

Here again (below) we see Yann, constantly helping everyone adjust the microphones and getting them into the groove! I cannot recall in fact the language of this reader (sorry, the event was in Sept) but I like very much the picture pre-performance of him getting into position.

An evening of all-that-poetry can do would not be complete without a little SLAM! This young man came to share some of his slam work in French and to let everyone know about a new poetry slam scene which is trying to increase its membership and visibility in Mulhouse.

He was not the only French reader, here are a pair of students who did a reading with music: a clarinet for one piece and even, for another, a mouth harp!

... And then, the soirée comes to its close but so many people still want to read and to listen. So, as everyone filters out into the full moon night, one of the readers who is just visiting and so wanted to read some poems in Arabic stands under a lamppost to share a few of the poems before everyone heads home with the music of these languages braiding together in various rhythms in their minds.

A lovely eve--and how funny, now that it is getting chilly out, to think we were wearing sandals and summer dresses (well some of us at least) only a little over a month ago!

Frankfurt Book Fair: The last day...

2010-10-11T17:48:00.000-07:00

drained of most of its authors, booksellers, even perhaps public visitors is the Frankfurt Book Festival on its last day. It is, therefore, a bargain-hunter's wet dream, should that bargain-hunter be seeking to carry more weighty fiction items home with her than she arrived with!!!

My exciting finds include:
from Coffee House Press http://www.coffeehousepress.org/:
Laird Hunt's Ray of the Star,
Aaron Michael Morales' Drowning Tuscon,
&
Karen Tei Yamishita's I Hotel --a 613 page tomb! (click the title not only to be linked to the book at coffee house, but also to read an interview with the author, Yamishita!)

from the Random House and Vintage massive stand, which was selling off all their displays, I got half-off copies of

The Ministry of Special Cases a novel by Nathan Englander,

Unaccustomed Earth stories by Jhumpa Lahiri,

James Baldwin's Go Tell It On The Mountain,

Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood

Summertime by J.M. Coetzee

I also picked up an exciting novel with fun visuals in the margins, linked to the character who is a map-maker: The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen--a book which was shortlisted for the Guardian's First Book Award.

I was also given a Japanese translation into French by the fabulous Japanese Literature Publishing Project (JLPP: http://www.jlpp.go.jp/): Ryûnosuke Akutagawa's Une Vague Inquiétude, by the publisher éditions du Rocher

Lastly, for the everlasting Buffy fan in me, I found Dark Horse comics, as well as their distributor, and between them and Amal's astounding bargaining I ended up with Buffy, Season 8 by Joss Whedon (a comic book series) in its entirety for a great price!

So, how did this little book-purchasing adventure come to be?

Amal--the owner of The Book Corner, Mulhouse's finest English bookshop (http://www.the-book-corner.fr/) which also carries a wide selection of French reads, asked me whether I wanted to go to Frankfurt with her for the festival. We both agreed to get up at an unholy hour on a Sunday to head off around 6am for Frankfurt--approximately a 3 hour drive from here. Before heading out of town in her green car, we stopped off at an open bakery and got rasberry and also cinamon croissants. Then we turned out of town into a dark and misty morning, half-awake and dreaming of the startrek-era teleportation machines we so wish existed! In fact, no, the road trip was half the fun--and half the day, too!!!! We had an excellent time with chattering along nonstop (mostly me, trying to keep me, or both of us, awake!) One of the things en route that I thought funny were the truck stop treats. Yes, if you are feeling a hankering for hotdogs, the pit stops can offer you both pickeled in a jar versions or else the XXL roll option--which is what we Americans call pigs in a blanket!

Once we arrived, we were shuttled over into a dauntingly large open glassed space where we consulted our maps of the many interlinked buildings and floors of buildings (see photo of Amel at the left with her map). We started off where all the American publishers were, which meant that I bought tons of books then came to a point just after lunch where I thought "I can go no further": and confided my treasures to a cloak-room while I perused the rest of the fair as a spectator--not buying anything new, at times because I could not read the many languages the books were written in, at times because the gorgeous antiques books were WAY outta my price range. But the most fabulous thing was to be accidently stumbled across in the antique book tent: The 19th Century Rare Book Shop, from MD. There, in their glass cabinet, sat a gorgeous first edition of Ulysses, with its green cover and its nubby never to be cut open pages, on sale for around 17000e. And on the shelf above this first edition by James Joyce sat another stunning first edition--Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven, in a mini hardbound edition--simply precious!!!!

In fact, as we moved deeper into the heart of the festival, which is in buildings surrounding a sort of square where people sat in lines along a fountain taking in a little fresh air or listening to readings or having a snack, the population seemed to be growing. By mid-afternoon we had reached the German only section, where masses still milled up and down the festival hall allées, buying or consulting books, publishers, e-tools, or meeting with potential agents for their books. Some people--like me--looked ready to crash, others actually napped in corners on couches, and a "militia massage" group was giving out free chair massages (the line was, alas, too long for that). Exhausted and worded out, Amal and I decided it was time to go hit the road of return to France. I collected up my books and we hit the buses then the road, with only one tiny loop-de-loop to get correctly onto the autoroute towards Mulhouse. By 10pm, we were back from our day out, and ready to drop into bed--with a good book!

Radical Poets who Publish questionnaire: please send your answers!

2010-09-22T23:55:00.000-07:00

For my article “Visible Invisibilities : Radical Poets who Publish” for the October conference Poètes et éditeurs : comment diffuser la poésie d'avant-garde ? (1945-2010) in Le Mans, France, I seeking any responses by “avant-garde/experiemental poets” and poet-publishers to a few questions about your writing, publishing and distribution issues and perceptions regarding the distribution and availability of avant-garde poetry (your own and that of others) since 1945. I appreciate any time you may give to me for this short form interview. If you do not have time for all of the questions, feel free to just answer a few!!! THANK YOU! Jennifer K Dick Please send your responses to fragment78 at gmail.com or fragment3 at yahoo.com with “questionnaire response” in the subject heading! If you would prefer to receive this in a word doc, email me for the survey and I will send one by WORD to you! (Vous pouvez répondre à ces questionnaires en anglais ou en français!)

POETS QUESTIONNAIRE
(This set of questions is for non-publishers, if you are both a poet and a small press book publisher see questionnaire 2 below. Thanks!):

Your name : _____________________________
Author of approx. how many book-length works (48+ pages): ________
How many of these books are with small presses? __________________
How many are with major presses, or have been republished with large presses? _________
Are you also the author of artbooks or any collaborative books? ____Yes ____No
Year your first book was published, and name of the press? _________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Is your first book still in print? _________ If so, is that a reprint with another press? _______
Which? ____________________________________________________________________
Have any of your books been translated? ____ Yes ____ No. If Yes, into what languages? _______________________________________________
Have any of your books been awarded major prizes? Which prize(s)?__________________
_________________________________________________________________________

1) If you have the option to have your next book come out with a small press, a major/ mainstream press, an electronic book only press or an art format press, which would you choose and why?

2) What has been the greatest obstacle to the diffusion of the works you have written? (ie: Money? Readership? Marketing? Publicity? Not being taught at University? General disinterest by your press in getting the works into the world? etc )

3) Do you try and promote your books, or are those books primarily distributed among a close circle of friends or by the press? Why/How?

4) Do you feel that the avant-garde is being further marginalized by limited access to mainstream, recognized works, (those found in Borders/Amazon/Barnes & Noble, for example), or are spd and online formats opening visibilities for more non-mainstream authors?

5) The majority of “avant-garde”, experimental/postmodern works are published at small presses. Does this decrease their recognition in national and international prizes? How does this have an effect on you as an author? Can something be done to rectify this, and if so, what might that be?

6) Are you or have you ever been part of a collective? A movement?
If so, which? (and, if pertinent, when?)
If so: Did or does this help you and your work get greater readership, diffusion, distribution? What were the greatest benefits of being part of this collective/movement?

7) Today publishers and authors continue to talk about their fears regarding the “end of the book”, and thus the complete monopolization of electronic formats for books, publishers, etc. Do you have an eBook in print, and if so, what do you perceive as the benefits for your readers and for you of this format? Are there any disadvantages you would note?

8) When we talk about diffusion, publication, etc, we are also often talking about readership. Could you comment on some of the questions or topics here regarding your own reading habits, purchasing of books, the availability of avant-garde works from the past as well as the present: (For example, do you feel that you as a reader read widely? Do you read exclusively contemporary “avant-garde” or more non-traditional works? Do you buy books or do your prefer to read online?

9) Do you financially donate to any small presses or magazines, and if so, what motivates you to select one press over another (the authors it publishes, that it is run by a friend, that is it local, that it distributes well or needs funds for greater visibility…? etc)

10) From your viewpoint, have small press publishing practices created not only domestic webs of contacts in the USA, thus co-publishing opportunities and readership, but even international ones? How has this been experienced by you, (if you have experienced this)?

* + * + * +

POETS WHO ARE ALSO BOOK PUBLISHERS QUESTIONNAIRE:

Your name : _____________________________
Author of approx. how many book-length works (48+ pages): ________
Are you also the author of artbooks or any collaborative books? ____Yes ____No
Year your first book was published, and name of the press? _________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

Is your first book still in print? _________ If so, is that a reprint with another press? _______
Which? ____________________________________________________________________

What press(es) do you run (or ran—if now defunct presses, please include start and end dates):
___________________________________________________________________________
Websites/blogs for your press(es):_________________________________________________

On average, how many full length books of poetry/hybrid work does your press publish per year?
____________ What is your general print run per book? ___________________
What is the average price of a book you publish (or price range of books): ______________

Does your book press have a print magazine as well? ____Yes ____No
An online magazine? ____Yes ____No
A chapbook series or artbook series? ____Yes ____No
Does your press publish translations? If so, what percentage of the book run is translation?

1) What motivated you to decide to create your press, or join your press collective?

2) What is the greatest obstacle to the diffusion of the works you publish that you feel your press faces? (ie: Money? Readership? Marketing? Publicity? Not being taught at University?)

3) Do you try and promote the books you publish, or are those books primarily distributed among a close circle of friends or by the authors themselves?

4) Do you feel that the avant-garde is being further marginalized by limited access to mainstream, recognized works, (those found in Borders/Amazon/Barnes & Noble, for example), or are spd and online formats opening visibilities for more non-mainstream authors ?

5) The majority of “avant-garde”, experimental, postmodern works are still published at small presses. Does this decrease their recognition in national and international prizes? How does this have an effect on you as both author and publisher? Can something be done to rectify this, and if so, what?

6) Are you or have you ever been part of a collective? A movement?
If so, which? (and, if pertinent, when?)
If so: Did or does this help you and your work get greater readership, diffusion, distribution? What were the greatest benefits of being part of this collective/movement?

7) Today publishers and authors continue to talk about their fears regarding the “end of the book”, and thus the complete monopolization of electronic formats for books, publishers, etc. Are you an eBook publisher, and if so, what do you perceive as the benefits for your readers and authors of this format? Are there any disadvantages you would note?

8) As an author: Are any of your books in eBook format? If so, what are the benefits and the disadvantages of this format as you have experienced it?

9) When we talk about diffusion, publication, etc, we are also often talking about readership. Could you comment on some of the questions or topics here regarding your own reading habits, purchasing of books, the availability of avant-garde works from the past as well as the present: (For example, do you feel that you as a reader read widely? Do you read exclusively contemporary “avant-garde” or more non-traditional works? Do you buy books or do your prefer to read online? Do you financially donate to any small presses or magazines, and if so, what motivates you to select one press over another (the authors it publishes, that it is run by a friend, that is it local, etc)

10) From your viewpoint, have small press publishing practices created not only domestic webs of contacts in the USA, thus co-publishing opportunities and readership, but even international ones?

Thanks Ron...

2010-09-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

I must say, being cut off from all things internet and phone here in the land of Alsace is hard. But when I got online today in this little hole-in-the-wall web booth space I was delighted to have received a few messages regarding Ron Silliman's blog posting on Sept 11th of the interview I did with Cole Swensen a few years back about her work. If you have not had the pleasure of all the other fab postings at Silliman's blog of late--Olson reading, etc--go now! And if you have not seen the cole & I vid from The Continental Review (an online poetics video review), it is here too: http://ronsilliman.blogspot.com