Wednesday, December 24, 2003
Rothenberg, the Poker folks, & a list from TD
To follow Conrad on J. Rothenberg -- Jerry read at Karl Rakosi's recent 100th birthday reading & panel talk Jen Hofer put together two weeks ago at Beyond Baroque in Venice, CA. Rothenberg read an excellent poem -- "The Times Are Never Right." Here is a section, from about halfway through the poem:
The times are never right.
A skin of air is over
everything. The sun
flows like a liquid,
all the universe we see
has never happened.
There is no truth to time
except for birthdays.
In a city under siege
a ceremony
gathers, scattering
the birds.
***
This morning I read a total free-flowing, enjoyable, & intelligent interview Marcella Durand did with Kevin Davies in the latest issue of Daniel Bouchard's the Poker (3), (of which Marcella and Kevin are both contributing editors). Marcella talking of Allen Ginsberg says:
MD: ... One time I went to his apartment and went to the bathroom, and Writing from the New Coast was on the toilet. Obviously, he was sitting there trying to puzzle it out.
KD: "What the heck is this?" I think I did the same with that volume, and I was in it!
MD: I hear you are a Buddhist.
KD: Kind of an anti-Buddhist Buddhist, plus a commie and the commie thing take precedence, but yeah. I practice Zen in the Korean tradition. I did the precepts and everything. I got into it through Alan Davies.
***
"2003" - A list from Tom Devaney:
went to the dry cleaners 22 times
laundry 45 times
took the bus 270 times:
40 Bus 99 times, 21 Bus 121, others 50
biked 277 times
called grandmother 12 times
saw her 5
spoke to brother 2-3 times
read newspaper The Inquirer: 131 times
NYTimes online 302 days
looked at Phila. skyline outside livingroom window 30
typed at desk 300
liked what I wrote 4-5 times
cereal 188, yogurt 202, oatmeal 40, eggs 91
turned on the heat 18 times, the air 12
listen to piano 177 times
classical piano 70, jazz 105
755 cups of tea
(two a day X's 365 + 25 more)
read Paul Krugman 20 times in the Times
wrote on blog 5-6 times
culture jamming, four
Oyster House 4 times
favorite Chinatown restaurant 4 times
favorite coffee and tea House 5 times
other favorite tea house 5 times
(with students reading Sparrow 1 of the 5)
New York City 7 times; seen Dean 5
walked in the rain 52 times
with umbrella 39 times
looked at the falling snow 14 (everytime)
post cards 17 times, letters 44, emails 4,824
LA 1, Paris 1, Baltimore 1, Bucks County 6, Montgomery Co. 7
rented a car 5 times
parking tickets 1, $15
staged puppet shows 1
watered plants (fern, & so-called lipstick plant) 118 times
used calculator 19 times
rocked out to classic rock 50 times
read books ??? 200-300
went to the movies 14 times
rented 27 times
conversations about movies 473
wrapped gifts in tissue paper 24 times
cried 39 times, laughed 1,516 times
laughed and cried 19 times
sang 144, for others 5 times
danced (i.e., shaked my shit) 100
bought fish 39 times
cooked spinach 53 times
* * *
The times are never right.
A skin of air is over
everything. The sun
flows like a liquid,
all the universe we see
has never happened.
There is no truth to time
except for birthdays.
In a city under siege
a ceremony
gathers, scattering
the birds.
***
This morning I read a total free-flowing, enjoyable, & intelligent interview Marcella Durand did with Kevin Davies in the latest issue of Daniel Bouchard's the Poker (3), (of which Marcella and Kevin are both contributing editors). Marcella talking of Allen Ginsberg says:
MD: ... One time I went to his apartment and went to the bathroom, and Writing from the New Coast was on the toilet. Obviously, he was sitting there trying to puzzle it out.
KD: "What the heck is this?" I think I did the same with that volume, and I was in it!
MD: I hear you are a Buddhist.
KD: Kind of an anti-Buddhist Buddhist, plus a commie and the commie thing take precedence, but yeah. I practice Zen in the Korean tradition. I did the precepts and everything. I got into it through Alan Davies.
***
"2003" - A list from Tom Devaney:
went to the dry cleaners 22 times
laundry 45 times
took the bus 270 times:
40 Bus 99 times, 21 Bus 121, others 50
biked 277 times
called grandmother 12 times
saw her 5
spoke to brother 2-3 times
read newspaper The Inquirer: 131 times
NYTimes online 302 days
looked at Phila. skyline outside livingroom window 30
typed at desk 300
liked what I wrote 4-5 times
cereal 188, yogurt 202, oatmeal 40, eggs 91
turned on the heat 18 times, the air 12
listen to piano 177 times
classical piano 70, jazz 105
755 cups of tea
(two a day X's 365 + 25 more)
read Paul Krugman 20 times in the Times
wrote on blog 5-6 times
culture jamming, four
Oyster House 4 times
favorite Chinatown restaurant 4 times
favorite coffee and tea House 5 times
other favorite tea house 5 times
(with students reading Sparrow 1 of the 5)
New York City 7 times; seen Dean 5
walked in the rain 52 times
with umbrella 39 times
looked at the falling snow 14 (everytime)
post cards 17 times, letters 44, emails 4,824
LA 1, Paris 1, Baltimore 1, Bucks County 6, Montgomery Co. 7
rented a car 5 times
parking tickets 1, $15
staged puppet shows 1
watered plants (fern, & so-called lipstick plant) 118 times
used calculator 19 times
rocked out to classic rock 50 times
read books ??? 200-300
went to the movies 14 times
rented 27 times
conversations about movies 473
wrapped gifts in tissue paper 24 times
cried 39 times, laughed 1,516 times
laughed and cried 19 times
sang 144, for others 5 times
danced (i.e., shaked my shit) 100
bought fish 39 times
cooked spinach 53 times
* * *
