Digging: Picking Poems
I spent a couple of hours yesterday afternoon at Main Library, which is usually like hitting the lottery. I am happy to report that, even with the weeding and sending they've been doing to shrink the overall collection, I was able to still find some serious gold. Some things I looked for were gone, some checked-out. I felt like I was at a class reunion for the wrong year; you look into the face of some of the party-goers, thinking you recognize them, only to discover you're wrong.
Wihle they still have tons of indie poet collections, the anthology selection hasn't improved much. I may try to scare up a sponsorship with a local store for some anthologies.
Some highlights include:
- Indian Love Poems
(I'm doing a love poem hour, so I got some stuff like that.)
- Uprock Headspin Scramble and Dive - Patrick Rosal
(It seems like I should know him, but I didn't recognize the name)
- What Matters Most Is How Well You Walk Through The Fire. - Charles Bukowski
(I always do Chuck. He's fun to read, and you need that shot in the arm here and there. He's as close to coffee as I get during this show.)
- How To Undress A Cop - Sarah Cortez
(Don't YOU want to hear some poetry from a prolific Mexican American woman who did a stint in the police academy? I would, and her stuff is pretty darn strong at first glance.)
- New and Old Voices of Wah'Kon-Tah: Contemporary Native American Poetry - Ed. Dodge and McCullough
(It's not just all Sherman Alexie out there. I always do some Native American work, and last year I had a great cat I used a lot of stuff from that a lot of people didn't know.)
- Inferno - Dante Alighieri (trans. Michael Palma)
(Not my favored translation, but okay. I picked it up mostly to remind myself to pick up a more accessible version. Also, have my eye on a wacked out version... This could be a contender for the "hour-long" poem I do each year.)
- Complete Poems - Ernest Hemingway
(Papa's okay.)
- Committed to Breathing - Tony Medina
(Medina's thoughts on Slam and performance poets at large make him a dick to me, but the guy can write...even if he is a little meat-fisted.)
Wihle they still have tons of indie poet collections, the anthology selection hasn't improved much. I may try to scare up a sponsorship with a local store for some anthologies.
Some highlights include:
- Indian Love Poems
(I'm doing a love poem hour, so I got some stuff like that.)
- Uprock Headspin Scramble and Dive - Patrick Rosal
(It seems like I should know him, but I didn't recognize the name)
- What Matters Most Is How Well You Walk Through The Fire. - Charles Bukowski
(I always do Chuck. He's fun to read, and you need that shot in the arm here and there. He's as close to coffee as I get during this show.)
- How To Undress A Cop - Sarah Cortez
(Don't YOU want to hear some poetry from a prolific Mexican American woman who did a stint in the police academy? I would, and her stuff is pretty darn strong at first glance.)
- New and Old Voices of Wah'Kon-Tah: Contemporary Native American Poetry - Ed. Dodge and McCullough
(It's not just all Sherman Alexie out there. I always do some Native American work, and last year I had a great cat I used a lot of stuff from that a lot of people didn't know.)
- Inferno - Dante Alighieri (trans. Michael Palma)
(Not my favored translation, but okay. I picked it up mostly to remind myself to pick up a more accessible version. Also, have my eye on a wacked out version... This could be a contender for the "hour-long" poem I do each year.)
- Complete Poems - Ernest Hemingway
(Papa's okay.)
- Committed to Breathing - Tony Medina
(Medina's thoughts on Slam and performance poets at large make him a dick to me, but the guy can write...even if he is a little meat-fisted.)