Columbia Celebrates Beat Poetry

I submitted some original poems in hopes of reading at an event for Columbia students and Alumni celebrating "Columbia's Beats" which I think is kind of funny because I think all of the Beat poets who went to Columbia eventually dropped out. But it would be fun to read at such an event.

I read a really chilling bit of magical/post-realism this week. Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingells. Amazing and creepy story of a housewife who has a secret affair with an escaped frogman/monster. Very erotic at times but very clean and straightforward, a quick 125 pages. Some English authority cited the book as one of the 20 Best post-war American novels, although Ingells is basically an ex-pat living in London. The book has the feeling of a really great Twilight Zone episode. I highly recommend.

I had some interesting craft talks this week with Cate Marvin, Timothy Donnelly, and Matthew Zapruder. Tim urged me to submit to LANA TURNER which I really just need to force myself to do. Cate suggested I submit a poem I wrote equating chess strategy with seduction, and Mr. Zapruder seemed very interested to talk about semiotics and linguistics and the challenges of describing the unnamed, but we had little time and I'm going to have to e-mail him later this week. I'm excited because I really like having theory involved dialogues.

Cate also told me that she thought my poems were "hip" and that my use of violence was "like Tarantino", and that my poems "were like they were stepping out of an American Apparel ad." I don't think she intended for any of these to be compliments. But Tarantino is one of the highest grossing "indie" directors, who may not be so indie anymore, but still makes movies on his own terms, and American Apparel advertisements are notoriously provocative and sexy, gender politics aside, the kind of viral exposure American Apparel achieves in advertising is really something worth noting. Still, Cate's ultimate and excellent advice was that I must essentially put more human vulnerability into my work to avoid operating solely in a comfortable, humorous, and worst of all, gimmicky zone. I wrote two pages of long couplets I think she'll be happy to see.

I think it is wise to believe that if your work ever becomes very easy, you are probably not making the best work that you can. It's no secret that amongst great artists and writers the greatest trick is only making it appear easy.