You have to be ruthless
28/05/2014
You have to be ruthless. Axé.
A thesis on specificity and exceptionalism
24/05/2014
Exceptionalism calls specific what is not. My utterly unpublishable example is Cadjin(e) exceptionalism. “We are the only ones ever shamed for speaking our language.” (Uninformed) “Our experience can only be understood from the inside.” (So it cannot be an object of study, only a subject of storytelling.) “This is a folkway only we have.” (Uninformed) … More A thesis on specificity and exceptionalism
Division Street
23/05/2014
I was looking for an older, American poem about Division Street I read long ago and found this 2008 piece by Helen Mort. You brought me here to break it off one muggy Tuesday. A brewing storm, the pigeons sleek with rain. My black umbrella flexed its wings. Damp-skinned, I made for the crush of … More Division Street
Sweet Home Chicago
22/05/2014
This month I have been in San Francisco and New Orleans. I am in Chicago now, confident, industrial and a really big city, and I will be in Houston next weekend. I am having a spectacular U.S. tour and I had not planned on this. Cincinnatti is next, but that is in June. When I … More Sweet Home Chicago
Dreamy City
19/05/2014
Anytime I go anywhere, I fall in love and want to move there. Last weekend I was in western Marin County, in California. Now I am in New Orleans. You should look at some of these books. I will be in Chicago next, which I like as well — will I fall in love with … More Dreamy City
What the undertakers said
18/05/2014
…upon picking up my mother’s body the other night: One to the other: This is a lot easier. To me: It is a lot easier because it is an old person who has died at home. The last person we picked up was a 17 year old suicide. Axé.
Formatif: la nature
18/05/2014
I am formed by natural scenery. People ask why I am calm and it is because I have in the back of my mind the row of high volcanoes on view behind me, the redwood path down which I am making my way, the ocean rushing up to me with its salt. Academics say you … More Formatif: la nature
Newcomb pottery of New Orleans
17/05/2014
Here in Maringouin I have given up most recreation because it is an obligation and a chore — the available activities are mildly interesting once, but not more, and it is de rigueur to enjoy them, so they are de facto work. I cannot afford to be in New Orleans enough, so I do not get … More Newcomb pottery of New Orleans
Coldhearted 2
16/05/2014
One of the more exhausting aspects of having my mother die is having to explain again and again to people that my father is not moving to Central Time, and justifying that. He likes it where he lives and prefers living in his town over moving to unknown and uncomfortable towns just because his children … More Coldhearted 2
Trilce XXVIII
16/05/2014
He almorzado solo ahora, y no he tenido madre, ni súplica, ni sírvete, ni agua, ni padre que, en el facundo ofertorio de los choclos, pregunte para su tardanza de imagen, por los broches mayores del sonido. Cómo iba yo a almorzar. Cómo me iba a servir de tales platos distantes esas cosas, cuando habráse … More Trilce XXVIII
coldhearted scientist وداد 