Monday, March 18, 2024

TyouBE

Instead of writing one or  
several poems — which is
what I should be doing —
I sidle into YouTube & into
a sequence of songs that —
effort for output —seems
much more productive,
even though it will end up 

being a private poem. But, 
hey, I’m in there singing
along, even if the only evi-
dence of that is some cryptic
reference in a public poem
written many months later.

Sunday, March 17, 2024

100 Titles From Tom Beckett: #94

Punch Lines Walk Off Set

“That’s a big chicken,” he said to
no one in particular. “I heard
that,” she said, & walked off the
set. “If I’m not back in five min-
utes… just wait longer,”she added
as she passed the director. “You’re 

fucked,” the director said. “To call
you stupid would be an insult to
stupid people! Turn left at Green-
land, & don’t come back. We’re 
finished talking.” & then he left
the set. “Well, nobody’s perfect!” 

said the one who was earlier descri-
bed as a chicken. Which is when the 
remaining cast & crew turned their
backs on him, quit the sound stage
in unison, shouting, like a Greek 
chorus, “Yes! Yes! Fuck you, too!”

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Today the post-
woman brought
me six billets-doux,

five bills of lading,
four biltong sandwiches,
three billowing blouses,

two bilious bandicoots,
& one bilboquet, bowler-
hatted & signed by

René Magritte.

Friday, March 15, 2024

A line from Pete Townsend

We invented all the complexity 
ourselves. We probably have 
trust issues. Remove the obser-
ver. Can we not make them 

randomly float forty yards into 
the air? Migrants do not flee 
persecution just because we get
around. The dance heads in a

different direction. The music has
changed. It is a song everybody 
recognizes. We all sing along. 
It is a very pleasant adjustment.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

100 Titles From Tom Beckett: #20

The Nine Stages of the Decomposition of a Corpse

7.  sansō (the beginnings of dismemberment)


The earlier scavengers have moved away — nothing left for them to easily pick at here — so now those barely visible smaller fauna, no longer fear- ful of the larger birds & animals who would find them just as edible as the corpse, move in to pick at what’s left of the body. Pick it to bits, as if it were an argument they are just about to win. All that holds the skeleton to- gether will soon be gone. The shape still there, posed as if in repose. No sign of life; but the teeth marks that mar the sinews continue to increase.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

wednesday newstrip

South-east Australia to bake in near-record heat while cyclone threat returns to north · as Gaza teeters on the brink of famine, Israeli girls drink water & try to block aid trucks at the border · Tasmanian dumpster divers tell supermarket prices inquiry about 'massive' food waste · Irish referendums: voters reject changes to family & care definition in the constitution · ‘Not good enough’: Australian Federal Minister lashes Meta as losses rise from scams on Facebook · a video of three children with their wrists cabled-tied together was taken in Broome, Western Australia, earlier this week, & sparked national outrage.

Wednesday, March 06, 2024

wednesday newstrip

Out-of-control wildfires scorch Texas Panhandle, prompt shutdown of nuclear weapons facility · T.®ump's claim of being a 'prophet' appears to be a sign of his 'mental disorder' · University of Florida terminating all diversity, equity & inclusion positions · changes around Māori language come into focus as New Zealand government approaches 100-day milestone · thousands defy Kremlin to attend Navalny’s funeral · Haiti violence: gangs free 4,000 inmates in mass jailbreak · new RMIT, CDU study finds cannabis has 'deadly' effect on melanomas in laboratory · proposed class action lawsuit accuses Apple of monopolizing cloud storage for its devices · controversial pro-life society at University of Manchester founded by a male president who 'opposes abortion' shares photo of its first official meeting after the event was met by thousands of protesters · DoNuts T.®ump suffered his first loss in a GOP 2024 primary on Sunday, & he didn't take it very well.

Tuesday, March 05, 2024

Ruby Tuesday

A couple of notices.

Have a chapbook, Melancholy, out from SurVision Books.

(Cover image by Victoria Chernyakhivska)

Available at http://www.survisionmagazine.com/jamestateprizewinners.htm.
Price €7.50 plus postage.

*

At Dichtung Yammer, Thomas Fink has an exchange with me about "A line from Mick Jagger," a poem included in my recent Ley Lines II, out from Sandy Press & available through Amazon.

Mick Jagger seems quite excited about it.


Thursday, February 29, 2024

Don't ask why

because I have no idea, but Ogden Nash is running around in my head this morning.

I think that I shall never see
A billboard lovely as a tree.
Indeed, unless the billboards fall
I'll never see a tree at all.

(&, in passing, I never knew, or perhaps had forgotten, that Joyce Kilmer was a guy.)

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

wednesday newstrip

Kilt-wearing pervert is arrested after going into antique stores & shoving items up his rectum before placing them 'back on the shelf for display' · Victorian man vanishes after receiving about $500,000 in cryptocurrency account error · DoNuts T.®ump wins South Carolina Republican presidential primary beating out the state's former governor Nikki HailMary · Australia is condemned as a 'police state' after Americans notice unusual detail at Taylor Swift's sold-out concert in Sydney · China's new patriotic education law targets its people living overseas, but is law possible to be enforced in Australia? · Ukraine war: Zelensky says 31,000 troops killed since Russia's full-scale invasion · NotJustanyahoo: Cease-fire would only delay Rafah invasion 'somewhat.'

Sunday, February 25, 2024

Now out from Otoliths

Otoliths has just released my un saut de chat.



Mark Young
un saut de chat
b&w
118 pages
ISBN: 978-0-6455483-2-7
$US17.45
Direct URL: https://www.lulu.com/shop/mark-young/un-saut-de-chat/paperback/product-v8k9n2k.html?page=1&pageSize=4

“I’m a couple of years into my ninth decade, & have decided it’s time to tidy a few things up, specifically creating some trope-based collections, rather than collections of recent work.

“Retrospectively, my Ley Lines II that came out in November 2023 from Sandy Press should probably be considered the first collation: a single trope (‘A line from . . .’), a significant number of poems (just under 100), & written over a number of years (2014-2021).

un saut de chat is composed primarily of prose poems, with some found poems & a few ficciones included. There are around 140 pieces in the book, from the past twenty years. I feel, displayed this way, that it gives greater insight into thematic aspects of my work that are not so easy to discern otherwise.

“The next book in this loose grouping will be my entire Magritte poems, all twenty years of them. It will probably come in at around 600 pages, & be ready for printing around the end of the year.”


[Lulu have discounts running during the week. Promo codes for the current week can be found each Monday at the Lulu Press Facebook page.]

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

wednesday newstrip

DoNuts T.®ump must pay $US355 milllion in penalties, barred from NY business for three years, judge rules · key event in Sydney Mardi Gras calendar scrapped over asbestos mulch concerns · fake alligators at Riverview Park in Mesa, AZ., fooling people into calling emergency services · Federal politicians pass motion urging US & UK to allow Julian Assange's return to Australia · Kristen Stewart stripped down for the most recent cover of Rolling Stone last weeek, posing with her hand inside a jockstrap · getting the brush-off: First Nations artists walk away from Brisbane Portrait Prize over AI · jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny dead at 47, region's prison service says · DoNuts T.®ump again threatens to sacrifice NATO allies to Russia.

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

wednesday newstrip

Israeli prime minister rejects Hamas cease-fire offer, vows to fight until 'absolute victory' · Woolworths responds to mud cake outrage after ‘final straw’ for Aussie shoppers · Pink is partnering with PEN America to distribute 2,000 banned books at her shows in South Florida, CNN reports · Taylor Swift has issued a cease & desist to a Florida college student who uses public data & social media to track her private jet · Sydney motorist ordered to surrender 'OCT7TH' personalized number plates · World Surf League spits on greatest ever surfer Carissa Moore after Lexus Pipe Pro exit · Notjustanyahoo tells Israeli army to prepare to evacuate Rafah before invasion to destroy Hamas — but where can 1.5 million Palestinians go?

Friday, February 09, 2024

Today the post-
woman brought
me a fart in a

jar. Damn that
voice recognition
AI software—I'd 

asked for a jam 
tart to go with my
morning coffee.

Wednesday, February 07, 2024

wednesday newstrip

A woman wearing what appears to be leather lingerie has been charged with drink driving following a collision with an e-bike in Sydney’s Moore Park overnight · BidenMyTime called T.®ump the 'sitting President' during January 2024 speech · Lowitja O’Donoghue, celebrated campaigner for Aboriginal Australians, dies aged 91 · Victorian police chief labels protesters who confronted police taking part in a Pride march 'an ugly rabble' · King Charles has reportedly given his blessing to Prince Andrew & Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, to remarry each other · rallies held in support of offshore wind farms as Newcastle, Wollongong residents hopeful of job opportunities · Australian academic Yang Hengjun given suspended death sentence by Chinese court.

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

wednesday newstrip

Australia must consider bringing back conscription as ‘all-out war’ with Russia looms, expert says · NotJustAnyahoo is defiant after UN court ruling, says Israel presses offensive for 'complete victory' · Rip Curl joins Australian swimwear companies in heavy pivot to growing trans market · women over 50 are the new gamers · Pram Minister Anthony Overeasy has been booed by the crowd at the Australian Open tennis men's final · North Korean leader Kim supervises tests of cruise missiles designed to be fired from submarines · activists throw soup at Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa in the Louvre in climate protest.

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Friday, January 26, 2024

Today the post-
woman brought
me Tropical Cy-
clone Kirrily. I
was blown away.

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

wednesday newstrip

Israeli Prime Minister BeenJammin’ NotJustAnyahoo rejects US calls for Palestinian state after Gaza war · Māori leaders & others in New Zealand attend a rare national meeting called by the Māori King due to concerns about the new government’s policies on indigenous rights · ex UK Prom Minister Bore-us Johnson says T.®ump back in White House is ‘what the world needs’ · Microsoft discovers state-backed Russian hackers accessed emails of some senior employees · Palworld, aka ‘Pokémon With Guns,’ is tearing up the steam & twitch charts · Jodie Foster is showing us all how to age naturally.

Friday, January 19, 2024

Today the post-
woman brought
me a leporidae
farm. It had

been beautifully
maintained,
not a hare
out of place.

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

wednesday newstrip

Former New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern ties the knot with Clarke Gayford, as anti-vaxxers picket the wedding · Australian students handed ‘wellbeing shots’ made by subsidiary of British American Tobacco · DoNuts T.®ump returns to court for new E Jean Carroll trial – & it could prove costly · recovering the ‘Aryan worldview’: the Western Australian book publisher under scrutiny over far-right texts · console owners played more Fortnite than GTA V & Call Of Duty combined · “Chicest” is not a proper word, would not even be the best word to suit your intended meaning &, most of all, it's just such an ugly word · UN says Gaza war 'staining humanity' on eve of 100th day as Houthis vow to retaliate against US strike.

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Now Out From Otoliths

Otoliths has just released David Jalajel’s Snapshots from the Ark.



David Jalajel
Snapshots from the Ark
b&w
illustrated
138 pages
ISBN: 978-06455483-1-0
$US17.95
Direct URL: https://www.lulu.com/shop/david-jalajel/snapshots-from-the-ark/paperback/product-655yzjy.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Until midnight this Friday, Lulu have a 10% discount running. Promo code: SNOWDAY10. Promo codes for future weeks can be found each Monday at the Lulu Press Facebook page.

Here is a bestiary with a weird taxonomy of “Dead Ducks”, “Dead Dinos” and “Dead Bugs”, describing the bizarre relationships people have with the animals it catalogues. Partially inspired by player mechanics involving video game animals, the relationships portrayed are exploitative, often abusive and always focus on people’s needs and concerns.

Snapshots from the Ark takes John Shoptaw’s maxim that “[h]uman interests cannot be the be-all and end-all of an ecopoem” and turns it on its head by taking human interests as the “nature” poet’s single-minded concern. Each poem zeroes in on a different way people act as if their interests are all that matter. The animals are opportunities to present unflattering and painful portraits of our worst anthropocentric tendencies.

So are they ecopoems? By holding a mirror way too close to our noses, they show us the ugliness of acting with indifference to the creatures who share the world with us. In this way, the poems raise our awareness about the consequences of our actions. Yet, they do so while being zany and fun, like when people clear-cut a forest using a giant crab that whacks down trees with dinosaurs clasped in its claws.

These poems unsettle us, make us uncomfortable, challenge the way we think, and hopefully inspire us to change the way we behave.

     — Flamur Vehapi, from his review on Otoliths

Blurbs

We live in a post-Ark world. And said world’s a bit (or more) messed up. But why would we think the messed-up world that caused the flood would be different after the floodwaters recede? Humanity is… humanity, nothing more and nothing less. David Jalajel’s Snapshots from the Ark is but a metaphor for that comprehension, except that it contains humour. The poet is wise to understand how one of the most effective weapons against evil is humour, and such is also what makes these poems worthwhile:
It has the dead-eyed stare of someone
who’s seen death and lived to tell the tale —

Plus it’s Scottish. And it grins up at you
like a little boy seeing his first pair of boobs.

     — Eileen R. Tabios

Imagine that David Jalajel were in Noah’s shoes, receiving instructions from the deity to form an ark of “gopherwood” covered “inside and outside with pitch” (Genesis 6:14) in which to place pairs of species. We would soon learn the who’s who of beings to be rescued from the ensuing flood: survivors, sea monsters, dead dinos, dead beasts, dead ducks, dragons, and dead bugs. How fitting that David Jalajel employs couplets mirroring the pairs. Each poem speaks to the reader in conversational tone with clarity, caveats, and hilarity. “Ammonite” begins:
That sucker’s
a total crybaby

Just give it
a good slap—

And from “Pegomastax”:
If you see one of these, aim it at
the nearest national bank and run.

They say the perfect pegomastax
can steal your credit card details.

Snapshots from the Ark is a brilliantly envisioned work encompassing all manner of life lessons from observing each being.

     — Sheila E. Murphy