Sunday, August 27, 2006
helluva poetry weekend!
Friday I met Sina Queyras for the first time, as she's just moved here with her girlfriend Danielle. We met at Dirty Frank's where we got to talk to Frank Sherlock a little bit, but I'm always an idiot thinking that's a good time to be taking people to Dirty Frank's to ALSO see Frank Sherlock since he's working. Danielle left early, so I didn't get to talk with her too much. Sina SEE FOR YOURSELF HERE has a blog with good links to her books, interviews, and the anthology of Canadian poets she edited titled Open Field. We talked about poetry for hours, and you too will want to talk with her for hours about poetry as well, trust me! Sina is GREAT! Glad she and Danielle landed here!
Saturday Frank was part of a Katrina benefit at the Bowery Poetry Club, and he tore the stage up as usual. Besides his own work, which included "Refinery Deal Pays Off (Letter to New Orleans for New Year’s Eve)," he also read a series of postcard poems Brett Evans mailed from NOLA to various friends since he and Janine returned to their city with their three dogs. The name of this benefit was AMAZING DISGRACE, and the proceeds went to COMMON GROUND COLLECTIVE.
We couldn't stay to hear Marcella Durand and Ed Sanders at this benefit because we had to jump in a cab with Carol Mirakove and Jen Benka to get ourselves to Brooklyn's Pete's Candy Store, where I read poetry with Shafer Hall, and music by So Lil and I FEEL TRACTOR. Ben Malkin's generous night of putting this show together continued later as we were up all night talking at his apartment, and watching the INCREDIBLE Klaus Nomi documentary (something Frank told me I HAD TO SEE). He's right, you HAVE to see the Nomi! SEE the Nomi! BE ONE with the Nomi! Matt and Nicole were in the other room MISSING OUT on this extraordinary exploration of a truly divine gear shift in art, and magical nonsense that makes perfectly good, sane sense. R.I.P. NOMI!!!!!!!
Oh, and I was upset to find out that one of my favorite drag queens Joey Arias who was a big part of the Nomi experience in NY back in the day (there's LOTS of clips of him/her in the documentary which made me happy) refused to take part in the interviews for the film due to some ego problem or other that seems a ridiculous loss. What on earth could keep Arias out of such an important piece of documentation? Oh brother! Anyway....
Taking the Chinatown Bus home to Philadelphia without any sleep for more than 24 hours is one of the more surreal experiences.
CAConrad
Saturday Frank was part of a Katrina benefit at the Bowery Poetry Club, and he tore the stage up as usual. Besides his own work, which included "Refinery Deal Pays Off (Letter to New Orleans for New Year’s Eve)," he also read a series of postcard poems Brett Evans mailed from NOLA to various friends since he and Janine returned to their city with their three dogs. The name of this benefit was AMAZING DISGRACE, and the proceeds went to COMMON GROUND COLLECTIVE.
We couldn't stay to hear Marcella Durand and Ed Sanders at this benefit because we had to jump in a cab with Carol Mirakove and Jen Benka to get ourselves to Brooklyn's Pete's Candy Store, where I read poetry with Shafer Hall, and music by So Lil and I FEEL TRACTOR. Ben Malkin's generous night of putting this show together continued later as we were up all night talking at his apartment, and watching the INCREDIBLE Klaus Nomi documentary (something Frank told me I HAD TO SEE). He's right, you HAVE to see the Nomi! SEE the Nomi! BE ONE with the Nomi! Matt and Nicole were in the other room MISSING OUT on this extraordinary exploration of a truly divine gear shift in art, and magical nonsense that makes perfectly good, sane sense. R.I.P. NOMI!!!!!!!
Oh, and I was upset to find out that one of my favorite drag queens Joey Arias who was a big part of the Nomi experience in NY back in the day (there's LOTS of clips of him/her in the documentary which made me happy) refused to take part in the interviews for the film due to some ego problem or other that seems a ridiculous loss. What on earth could keep Arias out of such an important piece of documentation? Oh brother! Anyway....
Taking the Chinatown Bus home to Philadelphia without any sleep for more than 24 hours is one of the more surreal experiences.
CAConrad
