Two readings this week

York University: I read with Matt Shaw and Jacob Scheier for students in the HUMA 2900 creative writing workshop (Vanier Renaissance Room, 9:30am, Monday).

Art Bar Poetry Series: I read with Jay Ruzesky and David Silverberg (Clinton's, Toronto, 8pm, Tuesday) .

plunderasure

a couple of years ago, i joined john barlow's listserv riverspine, and after awhile of lurking felt moved to respond to kemeny babineau's depraved reportpoem about muskovie ducks and father's nuts through an erasure exercise. and so, my first post on riverspine came in response-poem format:

so his or i
"hose my"
but i as i text
as he we now my

we us i
2 us law
know he petit
as we as we
aching he cut rod
woman i land 14

my me or oat
test free i
he ten hit or
or at at o

so i ate as we lean
so i 26
if he
"hose my"

be,
a.raw

today's erasure has me mulling over my treated-text habits. as you can see, i'm obsessed with exposing persona and possession when i erase. i'm also big on repetition, and i love digging out small, oft-used words.

armchair psychology, anyone?

TANGENT #1: i recall browsing poetry shelves in an evil chain bookstore several years ago, and jotting down each instance of a title constructed thusly:

The _____ of _____

why is this such a popular "poetry" title construct?

TANGENT #2: i'll sometimes go through my own texts and highlight if, and, or, the... i was fascinated with the number of times or and of appeared as connective tissue in scientific syntax while i researched LOGYoLOGY. i even bold-faced these words in an index in 2001.

TANGENT #3: thinking about this more and more, i just can't shake my obsession with the minute. wide slumber's fifth segment is chockfull of dissecting and inspecting the wee. the becomes th; and becomes nd. minute under microscope, surfaced, present. in fact a torrent a flutter or frenzy "of 'a' or 'th': th 'of' of 'a' or 'th' of 'or' / a 'th' of th 'th' or th 'of' or th 'a'."

THE POINT OF THE POST: can anyone recommend a solid essay/article/book on the history of treated text? i'm thinking of something that documents/discusses the poetics of ronald johnson's radi os, tom phillips' a humument, erasure exercises, plunderverse, etc. etc. etc. greg touches on a history in his "cartographic manifesto"; anyone have pointers for other texts?

also, who wants to edit the wikipedia entry on erasure poetry?

new lake

UBC Okanagan offers a new arts and environment journal: Lake.

found

noticing them wherever i go, i now see the use
of computer images. text is
supported by images. images are augmented with
undefined. this means
that I am writing about nothing which is

behind Golden Ears sun-drenched the Pacific the Pacific

terrible noises for beautiful people: cobra edition

Last spring, I participated in Misha Glouberman's vocal improv workshop in John Zorn's Cobra. Rose Bianchini offers this short documentary of the 8-week workshop.

vegagerðin æsti mig.

gleðilegt nýtt ár! obsession for the new year: vegagerðin keeps us up-to-date on weather and road conditions.