There seems to be a great deal of young to mid-career writers online discouraging each other from engaging in self-promotion. This is a serious mistake–a deleterious form of group-think equatable to self-sabotage. Most successful writers will tell you, from experience, that you must FIGHT for the recognition of your artwork. Rare is a spotlight …
I believe I just discovered the meaning behind Mike Tyson’s answer to a question I posed to him last night at the New York Public Library, where he was interviewed by Paul Holdengraber. The answer is a little overwhelming, truthfully. Through tears & self-effacing comments, he spoke about many things, but spent a good deal …
Photo Ric Camacho. Williamsburg changes, that is the constant. One group moves on top of the next, expands. The L train is a sardine can. They built highrise condos near the waterside, a perfect view of Manhattan. Then they built another highrise to block that highrise, pressing right up on the water. Get yours. Get …
Let me say something about contemporary poetry. It believes itself progressive. That is, when we write, as poets, we think of ourselves as creating something new in the world, that our thoughts & feelings & word choices are not replications of the past, though they are built of things from the past, the way a …
Last year, up through November, more active-duty soldiers killed themselves than were killed in battle: 177 to 176, respectively. One of the great difficulties of war is the post-service operation of reintegrating soldiers. Most return home to families that can’t fully grasp what they been through. The loneliness & the horrors of war stay …
For the past month I’ve been collaborating with choreographer Stephanie Sleeper on a piece that infuses modern dance with contemporary poetry. The work is entitled Green, and we will be performing the piece (yes, I am in it) on Friday & Saturday, October 26 & 27th, at the Triskelion Arts Center, located at 118 N. …
A few months ago, Hrag Vartanian, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Hyperallergic, approached me about serving as Poetry Editor of the online arts magazine/blog. Today marks my editorial debut, & I couldn’t be more thrilled. The inaugural poem is by Joanna Fuhrman, entitled “Poem for My 39th Birthday.” One of the great things about Hyperallergic is …
(photo by Hilary McHone) Two weeks ago, on Friday, March 23rd, Wendy and I were coming home from a poetry reading and dinner when we witnessed a tragic event on the L train. Two men, Joshua Basin, 20, and Ryan Beauchamp, 33, got into a fight at the Bedford stop and fell onto the subway …
So Lizzie Simon from the Wall Street Journal interviewed me about BAP (click to see), which was a strangely stress-free experience. I met her at El Beit cafe and she told me how beautiful our books were and we talked and she scribbled down notes and I made her laugh a few times and when …
Wall Street Journal Interviews Joe Pan and Brooklyn Arts Press Read More »
(Joe Pan, Heather Morgan, Michael X Rose: setting up for the Fountain, 2012.) Last Thursday evening I helped Michael X. Rose set up his wall at the Fountain Art Fair. It took about 5 hours, and we were dealt our fair share of those happy mishaps that somehow make the effort more worthwhile, such as: …
The other day I received a nice email from Allen, who is security services & systems engineer, and also a poetry reader, regarding how well he liked the look of one of our poetry books. The email exchange kept up for a while, and in the end I felt like I had remarked upon …
(Above, left to right: Christopher Hennessy, Wendy Millar, Matt Shears, Lauren Russell) I now realize that there’s no way to write about AWP without name-dropping, so let it rain! We took Brooklyn Arts Press to the AWP (Association of Writers & Writing Programs) Conference for the first time this year. It was held in …
AWP – The Food, the BAP, & the Ugly (Duckling Presse) Read More »
I’m just going to get this post out of the way. A Ride on the L, Disturbed by Blood on the Tracks http://eastvillage.thelocal.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/a-ride-on-the-l-disturbed-by-blood-on-the-tracks Before you ask: Slasher title not my own. The history: About six weeks ago I was at the Charleston again for Tuesday night trivia with Cook. I’d made my debut at the Bowery Poetry …
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