The Human War has its own IMDB page now.
George Quasha's "Poetry Is"
poetry is [vol. I] from George Quasha on Vimeo.
Ron Silliman posted this video by George Quasha. It's a bit long for me. I can only take about thirty minutes of something like this at a time. If I were editing this piece, I would have cut a bunch of people out of this for the sake of fluidity, such as Mikhail Hororowitz's cheesy lines and Anselm Hollo's rambling, but that's the style, I suppose. The video could also do with a few different backdrops. It looks like Quasha filmed every person with that white brick backdrop. It might have been a good idea to pull out of the extreme close-up once in a while as well. Maybe, show some of these authors walking or doing something besides staring at a camera two inches from their face. In any case, I still enjoy hearing some of these takes on what poetry is because you get a clear sense for where each poet is creating pieces for themselves. I definitely get a clear alarm on whose poems I would like to read based on their approach to a definition. Some worthy people of note for myself thus far are: Elizabeth Clark, Jerome Rothenberg, Alan Davies, and Chris Tysh. I found their takes to be interesting. Of course, so far - and I'm only a quarter of my way through this Titanic - Elizabeth Clark's definition of poetry (7:12) resonates with me most of all.Careerism in Poetry or Anything for that Matter
John Gallaher wrote about careerism in response to an interview with Ed Sanders. I tried to make a post in response, but for some reason Blogger won't let you do long posts, so I've put my whole post below.
Success in anything is working hard. Ed was someone who put himself out there for the sake of an idea. He has followed his heart and it has lead to success. That drive is what makes an artist. If you follow ideas through, then people take notice and want to hear what you have to say. They will even offer money and grants, so such an artist can continue working.
Some people make a choice to do an art over living a particular life of stability. That would take moving to a rural community where the standard of living is low, getting lots of grants, and publishing and doing small talks for money here and there when possible. I wouldn't call that loaded. I would actually call that recognition of wealth in terms other than money.
As far as careerism in poetry, I would say attaining a professor position or going to grad school would be one of many paths to getting recognition and advancing one's career. It actually is a smart path forward, considering that the majority of poetry funding and readership comes from the academic community. Since the academic community holds the keys to money, it is natural for poets to seek positions in such communities to continue refining their craft and obtaining opportunities for publication.
At the same time, it isn't really necessary. Poets could be anything they want and write without the academic community or publication. That is why I think the interest in recognition is what is actually behind a "careerist" mentality. "Look at me! Notice me!! I write poetry!!!"
There is nothing wrong with wanting to be noticed for your work. I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to work in an academic community either. If you are using that as a method to pay your bills, then why not. It could be denoted as "careerist," but who really cares? The choices you make in life are yours and if it's right for you, then why not.
Personally, I think it's possible to do any job and be a poet. I do see how certain circles will offer approval to an individual and allow them to be considered of a certain stature. In earlier days, the way to insure such a "a passing of the torch" would be to send your first book to all the writers whom you respected. Then they would know about you and a dialogue of exchange could begin. Now, with the Internet, we don't need to send first books, but that might be one way to go. It is old fashioned, but rather chivalrous, I think.
As far as breaking into the poetry world, I would say you would be much better off living in a major American city, where readings were happening on a regular basis. Then you would need to go to those readings and shovel out your work for some years. Then you would build a community, and that circle would help you get out in the world. It's the same thing in Hollywood. You hang out. You start acting in various venues. You do that for five years. You form your crew. They get you an agent. Then you do a couple Dominos commercials. Then you work some shit writing gig. Then you keep auditioning and waiting for a more profitable opportunity. Some never make it past the commercial level. Some will get past pilot season and have a show. And some will just get bored with it and move onto other avenues. I don't see poetry or other art forms as any different.
You do the hard work of writing. You polish. You read in the right circles. You do your shit. Then eventually you'll get put onto some press. You'll do that for a couple years. You might do some ghostwriting. You might take a couple gigs as a resident writer somewhere to help pay the heating bill. You rock that for a while, until you decide to do some bigger books. Who knows? Maybe a book on Charles Manson or a nonfiction book that's unrelated to poetry. You get more notoriety. You get a few more grants. You get old. You die.
The getting noticed and all that is not too much in a person's control for authentic popularity. You do your thing. The rest will mend itself. However, I do think that reading and meeting other writers who are established is more a part of the initial game of writing today. You are really only as big as your community. You can build one by yourself, and wait for other communities to join you, but at some point, you'll have to be living in a location that allows you the freedom to do a lot of reading and mingling. If you're living outside a major city, I would say it's possible, but you're going to have to arrange some crazy reading series, start some Internet mag, or do something - a blog is a great way to go - so you can start a dialogue with other writers on the Internet.
I just don't know if you're going to have super stardom as a poet. It's not really the point of poetry. Believe it or not, it's not really the point of acting or other art forms either. That is, if you are genuinely interested in pursuing your art form as a craft. Of course, no one said you can't just rock something to be famous. That's like the big thing with people these days. I heard people want that more than money. That's fascinating to me. Anyway, yes, I would say careerism is alive and well in any art form. In some cases, it's a good idea, depending on your aspirations - but you're not really going to be able to control the outcome.
Success in anything is working hard. Ed was someone who put himself out there for the sake of an idea. He has followed his heart and it has lead to success. That drive is what makes an artist. If you follow ideas through, then people take notice and want to hear what you have to say. They will even offer money and grants, so such an artist can continue working.
Some people make a choice to do an art over living a particular life of stability. That would take moving to a rural community where the standard of living is low, getting lots of grants, and publishing and doing small talks for money here and there when possible. I wouldn't call that loaded. I would actually call that recognition of wealth in terms other than money.
As far as careerism in poetry, I would say attaining a professor position or going to grad school would be one of many paths to getting recognition and advancing one's career. It actually is a smart path forward, considering that the majority of poetry funding and readership comes from the academic community. Since the academic community holds the keys to money, it is natural for poets to seek positions in such communities to continue refining their craft and obtaining opportunities for publication.
At the same time, it isn't really necessary. Poets could be anything they want and write without the academic community or publication. That is why I think the interest in recognition is what is actually behind a "careerist" mentality. "Look at me! Notice me!! I write poetry!!!"
There is nothing wrong with wanting to be noticed for your work. I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to work in an academic community either. If you are using that as a method to pay your bills, then why not. It could be denoted as "careerist," but who really cares? The choices you make in life are yours and if it's right for you, then why not.
Personally, I think it's possible to do any job and be a poet. I do see how certain circles will offer approval to an individual and allow them to be considered of a certain stature. In earlier days, the way to insure such a "a passing of the torch" would be to send your first book to all the writers whom you respected. Then they would know about you and a dialogue of exchange could begin. Now, with the Internet, we don't need to send first books, but that might be one way to go. It is old fashioned, but rather chivalrous, I think.
As far as breaking into the poetry world, I would say you would be much better off living in a major American city, where readings were happening on a regular basis. Then you would need to go to those readings and shovel out your work for some years. Then you would build a community, and that circle would help you get out in the world. It's the same thing in Hollywood. You hang out. You start acting in various venues. You do that for five years. You form your crew. They get you an agent. Then you do a couple Dominos commercials. Then you work some shit writing gig. Then you keep auditioning and waiting for a more profitable opportunity. Some never make it past the commercial level. Some will get past pilot season and have a show. And some will just get bored with it and move onto other avenues. I don't see poetry or other art forms as any different.
You do the hard work of writing. You polish. You read in the right circles. You do your shit. Then eventually you'll get put onto some press. You'll do that for a couple years. You might do some ghostwriting. You might take a couple gigs as a resident writer somewhere to help pay the heating bill. You rock that for a while, until you decide to do some bigger books. Who knows? Maybe a book on Charles Manson or a nonfiction book that's unrelated to poetry. You get more notoriety. You get a few more grants. You get old. You die.
The getting noticed and all that is not too much in a person's control for authentic popularity. You do your thing. The rest will mend itself. However, I do think that reading and meeting other writers who are established is more a part of the initial game of writing today. You are really only as big as your community. You can build one by yourself, and wait for other communities to join you, but at some point, you'll have to be living in a location that allows you the freedom to do a lot of reading and mingling. If you're living outside a major city, I would say it's possible, but you're going to have to arrange some crazy reading series, start some Internet mag, or do something - a blog is a great way to go - so you can start a dialogue with other writers on the Internet.
I just don't know if you're going to have super stardom as a poet. It's not really the point of poetry. Believe it or not, it's not really the point of acting or other art forms either. That is, if you are genuinely interested in pursuing your art form as a craft. Of course, no one said you can't just rock something to be famous. That's like the big thing with people these days. I heard people want that more than money. That's fascinating to me. Anyway, yes, I would say careerism is alive and well in any art form. In some cases, it's a good idea, depending on your aspirations - but you're not really going to be able to control the outcome.
Grapefruit
It is 6:30 a.m. Both Sohee and I woke up to her Korean Internet phone making bird calls.
"Is that a ghost?" I asked.
"It's my phone," she said. "I must have a message or something."
Sohee got up to deal with the chirping ghoul. I walked over to a plate of grapefruit. I was hungry.
"Yup," Sohee nodded, as she fiddled with the buttons on the cellular. "It's out of batteries."
"You want to go to Cheesecake Factory?" I asked her.
"It's 6:30 in the morning."
"I'm hungry."
"I'm hungry too."
Sohee put down the phone. She walked to the fridge, opened it, and then got out her soy milk.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"I am heating up the soy milk."
"For two minutes?"
"It takes a long time to heat up."
I watched the dial counter go down on the microwave. I thought about stopping the microwave, so I could put a plate of leftovers in the microwave for myself, but I felt like that would be breaking some type of microwave etiquette I created in my mind, so I just waited patiently with my plate. I had put a sweet potato on there. I didn't think it needed any heating up. I put an end to my mouth and did a little taste test. It was good. It had been boiled already. I pressed the skin with my tongue, pushing the soft mash onto my tongue.
"Sweet potatoes are good," I told Sohee.
"Can you give that to me?" Sohee asked and half-pointed in my general vicinity.
"The potato?"
"No, the spoon."
"Oh, okay," I said and handed her a teaspoon on the counter. I thought about putting my plate in the microwave when the soy milk was done heating. Then I changed my mind. I figured I would just eat everything cold. I walked to my computer. I put on a little 30 Rock. I ate my grapefruit. I didn't hear the bell for the microwave ding. I just kept peeling slices of the grapefruit. I would bite a little piece off the end and stare at it. I wondered if grapefruit was always this pink.
Working Towards Emancipation
Sohee and I are about to go workout. We are doing this everyday for a while. Sometimes it's just me alone. I head to the YMCA. I watch the Food Network while I run. If I'm lucky, it's a cake off or something. Yesterday was a cake off. I'm not sure what today will be. So far, I've cleaned the house for our realtors. They are trying to rent out our place from March 1st, since we're leaving for Korea.
I'm a bit nervous about going to Korea. I don't want to work necessarily, but I figure it's something to do for the next five months while I wait for decisions from PhD programs in the United States. Most people say it's a good idea. It might be. It definitely makes sense monetarily. Who knows? I might just find something new in Korea.
I am excited about seeing Loren, JIm, and Kayvon. That'll be fun. I have never been to Thailand or Hong Kong. That will be fun. I am also supposed to go to Bali with Sohee. That's been one of my dreams since I listened to Porno for Pyros "Good God's Urge." I really like that album's feel. I also like that my favorite painter lived there. I hope they have a Paul Gauguin museum. I will be there a lot. I'll take pictures too.
As far as the movie front, editing is being done. I'm just waiting patiently. I'll start working on a couple more films in the future. Maybe. I'm still recovering from the first one. We'll see what the next project is in Korea. As of now, the idea is to do a record with the Swingers. I've got Pro Tools, and MBox, and an Rode NT1-A condenser microphone. Hopefully, this is the best album yet. There is even talk of touring with the record. I'd be down for that. A short tour. 12 cities.
Now I'm just letting things set for a moment. I'm packing and shit. All that wonderful moving paraphernalia. Speaking of which, I'm late in getting this storage place. I better hit it.
PK
James Teach Me
My brother sent me this. I'll practice the "old" James Brown. I might just film myself in the next month once I've perfected it.
Violent Kim Chi
Sohee and I went to the Korean market in Denver today. She was very happy. We got lots of kim chi. She also told me she is my biggest blog fan. I told her that was good.
Later, we came back to the house, ate some KFC, and watched Quentin Tarintino's "Inglorious Basterds." That was a good movie. I liked all the violence, so did Sohee. Typically, it makes her squeamish, but she did laugh when the one guy was getting scalped by an American who smiled while doing so.
Now we're going to bed. I wanted to watch "Pulp Ficiton," but Sohee said she's had enough violence for one night.
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