38th Annual New Year’s Day Marathon Benefit Reading

Sunday, January 1, 2012
3:00 pm
The Poetry Project
at St. Marks Church
10th Street & 2nd Avenue, Manhattan
poetryproject.org
212-674-0910

The 38th Annual New Year’s Day Marathon Benefit will feature over 140 Poets & Performers:

Ace Mcnamara, Alan Licht, Alex Dimitrov, Amy King, Ana Božičević, Anne Tardos, Anne Waldman & Ambrose Bye, Anselm Berrigan, Ariana Reines, Arthur’s Landing, Barry Denny, Basil King, Betsy Fagin, Bill Kushner, Billy Lamont, Bob Hershon, Bob Rosenthal, Brenda Coultas, Brendan Lorber, Brett Price, Bruce Andrews & Sally Silvers, Bryn Kelly, CA Conrad, Charles Bernstein, Christine Elmo, Christopher Stackhouse, Church of Betty, Corina Copp, Corrine Fitzpatrick, Daniel Kent, David Freeman, David Henderson, David Shapiro, David St. Lascaux, Denize Lauture, Dgls. Rothschild, Don Yorty, Donna Brook, Dottie Lasky, Douglas Dunn, Douglas Piccinnini, Drew Gardner, Dustin Williamson, Edgar Oliver, Ed Friedman, Eddie Berrigan, Eileen Myles, Elinor Nauen, Elizabeth Devlin, Elliott Sharp, Emily XYZ, Erica Kaufman, Erica Hunt & Marty Erlich, Erin Morrill, Evan Kennedy, Evelyn Reilly, Filip Marinovich, Foamola, Frank Sherlock, Franklin Bruno, Genya Turovskaya, Gillian McCain, Greg Fuchs, James Marshall, Janet Hamill, Jess Fiorni, Jim Behrle, Joe Elliot, Joe Ranono, John Coletti, John Giorno, John S. Hall, Jonas Mekas, Josef Kaplan, Judah Rubin, Judith Malina, Karen Weiser, Kathleen Miller, Katie Degentesh, Ken Chen, Ken Walker, Kenny Goldsmith, Kimberly Lyons, LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs, Lee Ranaldo, Lenny Kaye, Leopoldine Core, Lonely Christopher, Macgregor Card, Maggie Dubris, Marcella Durand, Mariana Ruiz Firmat, Mark Nowak, Martha King, Matthew Abuelo, Miguel Gutierrez, Mitch Highfill, Monica de la Torre, Nada Gordon, Nathaniel Siegel, Nick Hallett, Nicole Peyrafitte, Pamela Sneed, Patricia Spears Jones, Patti Smith, Paul Mills (Poez), Paul Legault, Penny Arcade, Peter Gizzi, Pierre Joris, Reuben Butchart, Rickey Laurentiis, Robert Ashley Secret Orchestra, Shafer Hall, Simone White, Sinan Antoon, Stephanie Gray, Steve Dalachinsky, Steve Earle, Steven Taylor, Susan Landers, Susie Timmons, Suzanne Vega, Taylor Mead, Ted Dodson, Ted Greenwald, Thurston Moore, Todd Colby, Tom Carey, Tom Savage, Tony Towle, Tracey McTague, Tyler Burba, Wayne Koestenbaum, Will Edmiston, Will Yackulic, Yoshiko Chuma, Youmna Chlala, Yuko Otomo, Yvonne Meier, Nicole Wallace, Arlo Quint and Stacy Szymaszek.

Admission: $20, $15 for students and seniors, and $10 for Poetry Project members.

Helmet of the Wild

Every Helmet of the Wild is made by my hands for a personalized fit.
The outer shell is cornstarch-based to allow for easier concave molding
to fit the skull and accommodate the distinctive flare over the ears.
Surface color pigments (all organic) are mixed into egg tempura:
mint green from soda grass, tan from
winter wheat, faint pink from pomegranate juice.
The helmet is then heated in a clay oven
for approximately all day. Once removed,
the helmet is brittle until leather cables
are epoxied (rice milk and oat gluten)
to interior in latticework pattern.
Tempering is governed by seasons and milled
to a smooth touch. The protective mask is one inch thick tubular
semicircular protuberance made of catgut and twine,
with burlap at its core. Pewter screws with flat twists
affix protective mask to each side securely.
Leather buttons on chinstrap. Antique decal
of skull and crossbones rendered in soda ink on linen
and applied on each side above hand-drilled ear holes.
Gifted to a lucky few.

Three for Wednesday

David Bowie Young Americans Live Dick Cavett Show 1974

Happy Holidays!

Friday Top 10

1) Megan Boyle - Selected Unpublished Blog Posts of a Mexican Panda Express Employee.

2) John Jeremiah Sullivan - Pulphead: Essays.

3) Kevin Killian - Cruel Intentions, from Aedes.

4) Daniel Mark Epstein - The Ballad of Bob Dylan (thanks, Carrie!).

5) Grouper - "Dragging a Dead Deer up a Hill" & "Alien Observer."

6) Selentino - "Rose" Brown 100% Fur Felt Fedora w/ 1.5 inch brim.

7) Jim Krusoe - Girl Factory.

8) Santa Molest (email me and I'll send it to you).

9) Hibino Sushi (thanks, Tara!).

10) Slippers from Muji.

December Poem

A fistful of coffee will get you
to the F train in time for the meltdown
of three babies and their exasperated dads.
Funny how the air of December feels
like the air of June under the East River
I think about you. A mile in any direction
leads me to such great heights once
I'm above ground I feel spiced and surly.
What makes a cab curl around a body
all bright yellow and curried, bundled
against the hyper crawl of these winter days.
I feel better in the sunlight even without
the terms of my endearment, which are written
on slices of paper in the drawer next
to your bed. I would like nothing better
than to unfurl a note the size of a banner
over Union Square, something you could
see on your way to work, a red word on blue vinyl
carried by my breath to your delighted ear.

The Middle East - Blood

Grouper - Alien Observer

Upon a Time (Bedtime Poem)

Let them eat sleep and while
eating they crunch to fulfill lives
to this heart pudding they call muscle grief
frightened by night let them eagle
into it from on high all rosy with mistakes
let them have at it let them eat into it
to move their slender gifts let their
lack of reason anoint us with rawness we creep
upwards in return for favors we kiss
where we can see fantastic places
in each arm we plow into paradise
knowing hello death this capital crime
this seizure of gladness this restraint
this limit to all we all know about
come for us come for all upon a time.

Grapple

Your purple-headed majesty
your milk brain lumpy home stay
your fetid ginger mobility
and all the angels come marching
into a solid structure colliding
with water tombs and expectant
loss lighter and freer than never.

Hugo Largo

This cover by the great band Hugo Largo is simply sublime. Xo

Sunday Outfit

Gadabout oatmeal linen gaucho sweats with red silk
drawstring from Muji, purveyors of the finest in Japanese design.
On the feet: TYR imported vinyl flip-flops.
Organic cotton white v-neck t-shirt from Paris
Mission Looms, makers of the highest thread count
t-shirts in the world. Over the t-shirt: Grey cotton
shawl-collared cardigan with Brazilian rubber
buttons, hardened the old fashioned way: under
sunlight and stars. As for the lid: A classic nautical
writing cap with royal blue and white stripes. Made
from Virginia cotton and hand loomed in Denmark.
I hope to see you outside my window in the courtyard
as I sit at my writing desk!

Saturday Outfit

Butter yellow oxford with hand carved
mahogany buttons, sewn on with reclaimed
North Carolina cone mill thread, spun in small batches.
Maroon Japanese silk tie (anvils and horseshoes print).
Vintage denim vest with navy issue, no-sheen buttons
of brushed virgin aluminum. Borsalino
2 1/2 brimmed bronze fedora with thin
black band, no tucking feather. Black Zimbabwe
cotton chinos, tapered to ankle over brown rancher's
boot with caper-toned heels, bees wax toe
treatment, oiled with mink and silicon.
Flint gray wool socks from Marblehead Looms,
sugar tops and reinforced toes.
Today's scent: cedar and frankincense
with dry down to amber and vanilla.
See you in the park!

Friday Outfit

Cream-colored wool waistcoat with cranberry lapel,
reclaimed whiskey oak cask buttons
and rugged blue canvas rear cinch
with stainless steel clasp and tongue.
1940's era dark indigo chambray work shirt
with collar strap and Fairmont-era wooden buttons
handmade in Paris. Run-off chain stitching at sides,
in caramel and powder blue. Trousers are dark brown
with faint mint pinstripes, tilt pockets (welted at seams
with crimson cotton thread from Senegal). 2-inch cuffs
showing inside scoop tint of chicory and tangerine.
Shoes are handmade and dyed doe skin monk buckles
with organic matte black polish from Medicine Leather,
the London boot shop. Soles are hand crafted solid cork
with raw rubber plugs for durability and beauty.
Up top: Irish wool watchman's cap of rare blue black
hand spun Dublin Spirit Yarn with wisp of raw amber
from Southern India. Sunglasses are handcrafted
from raw tortoise shell plastic with coffee tinted
high-optic lenses and organic blue velvet nose bridge.
Say hello if you see me today!

Thursday Outfit

Pomegranate red flannel jacket
with cross hatch eggshell monogram
depicting pine tree and bluebird
on grey silk patchwork chest pockets.
Peach canvas fedora with ruby band and blue tucking feather.
Trousers: burnt umber Harris Tweed with slash pockets.
Pleats sewn in hand-spooled Alabama gold thread.
Faint cobalt blue pinstripes on rear pockets. Welted crease
in this caviar of wools. The belt: quarter-inch thick
cowhide in natural beige, untreated mode. Antique
buckle from Iowa Salvage, infantry gray pewter.
Valmont eight-eyelet dark brown (artfully scuffed) work boots
(leather sole with rubber additions, stacked heels).
Laces made of artisan bamboo stock batch-dyed
in chocolate brown with blood-red lace cuffs
for fringing prevention. Socks: army green wool dipped
in lanolin oil at manufacturing site with wisp
of lavender for longevity. I hope our eyes meet
during your 7th Avenue stroll!

Wednesday Outfit

Chestnut tinted newsboy cap
with silver stitching accents
worn at rakish angle to one side.
Hydro-patch on shoulder, featuring delicate
cherry blossom scene under tassels.
Blouse in magenta, starched. Some poof
on lower sleeves near mother-of-pearl
and dead stock glass buttons. French cuffs.
One of a kind red line denim collar
with cinch at back (buy one size smaller).
Pantaloons with crisp blue sheen. Stripes
at side, with slanted pockets (liner: opal
canvas, for durability and rub). Blue fade
near crest of heel, so the bubble lifts
over the shoe, giving delicate tumble effect.
Engineer boots in moss green suede with gold
buckle. Made in U.S.A. Heritage gloom.
Scented with post coital sandalwood, extreme.
I'll be looking for you in Union Square!

Drunken Boat - Shit Suit

Tuesday Outfit

Mollusk leather loafers
with twin-oiled wool socks
and sugar pleated trousers
of gingham and heather balsam.
Aligator thunder belt from Tennessee.
Shirt combo of vestiture mule tone
and tan overture. Lily clamps
at sleeves and on buttons. Further
up the collar: starch weed with chrome
clasp engraved with the word LOVE.
As for the hat, a Winston Flowers
mock-brimmed overland lid
with boiled rose felt and clapper
prism pin. I hope I see you on
the F train, delighted.

My Interview with an Astronaut

My interview with an astronaut is now up on The Happy Endings website.
Click the link below to read about what it's really like to be an astronaut in outer space.

Click here.

XO
T

Monday Outfit

Valley lemon lace ups
with a misty coal deep-v tee.
Ginger tinted halo with potash.
Cobalt blue tunic with Spanks
and lime Velcro unit.
Silver waistcoat and plumb
garter with express
star features. A dollop of
musk on wrist and a pink sutured
felt hat. Purple silk band,
marsh and ventricle, some
bent gliding, overland spice
and sliver of kiwi ice cap.
Delightful for all involved!

That Would Have Been Wonderful

Fit into red
the gold of oblivion
perfume in your palm
a crease
smeared with amber
loud jubilates
from a cedar chair
caress the stuff
of dreams from
your shoulders
get with the real
over time
fail

Tweeting

I am now (also) tweeting @KunstvereinNY

XOX
T

Friday Top Ten

1) The band: The Middle East.

2) Heritage Boots, Austin, TX.

3) Oatmeal from Starbucks in the Austin, TX Hilton Hotel lobby.

4) Memories of Mark Pellington.

5) Writing this list on my new iPad (thank you Tara).

6) The novels of Jim Krusoe.

7) Krapp's Last Tape at The Brooklyn Academy of Music.

8) Reading glasses from Mass MoCA.

9) South Congress Avenue.

10) Back in Brooklyn in 36 hours.

Riot Kiss

Carry a migraine on your city hips.
That we may catch wind of the silver
thread over the desert. My grace is
pretty and needless, more or less
just what it is. Like I can build
a charm machine but I never will
because I trust you to do what
it says in the manual which is to
only build stuff you can hold.
Open your arms to the sun while I salute
your steady gait and silken frame.
I bring you things from places
you've never been.
Here's a warm breath
for the spot I love to kiss
when you are still.

The Wooster Group (Kate Valk)

house call - Kate [06.17.11] from The Wooster Group on Vimeo.

Moving to Florida

Holiday Books

It's just the fever doing some clanging.
Light makes a skipping tone
to soothe what manages to ripple
over the sheets of paper.
Try hopping into a cool lard bath
or grinning under wax factors.
All warm and pasty, some
of the particulars are lost
to the momentum of infernal delight.
Trickle into oblivion then
by way of syrups and chalk.
Instead of a winning combination
start wistfully remembering,
get a lot on your mind bending
and then soap, get sudsy, rinse.
That you could wring it out
over and over. That you could
twist everything into a pleasant
muted ball and sleep for days.

The Joy of Weird Friends

Monday Top 10

1) The energy to do things that are totally punk.

2) Tara's lemon ricotta cake.

3) The Trip, a film by Steve Coogan (brilliant).

4) My interview with the writer Jesse Browner for the Happy Endings Reading Series website.

5) Edmond Jabes.

6) Rag & Bone sample sale, ahem.

7) Fugazi on a bike.

8) Mimi Goese at dawn.

9) Raw honey.

10) Austin, Texas: here I come.

Bloom

You can bloom into some new flesh and chrome
being all elegance and sheen. The chief
of the rangy heroes is flat on your back.
Muscle into the meat room, harsh as a prism
off a tin can. Everything you do is special
to the committee that decides such things.
Start lifting heavy objects by bending your knees
(we're just looking out for you).
I don't want anyone to die for a day or two
so we can take in this soft avalanche of days.
I want to be buried by the whole sky.
Do you know what I mean?
Like a time out, where you're kind to everyone
because everyone is fighting
a hard battle. I'm on to you.

Lack

Here to Go

Your function, should you assume disaster
is no longer your function or goal,
is to move through the day in such a way
that you pulverize the mechanisms of your
doubt. If the delight of soothing movement
becomes somehow unbearable
then you might want to reveal yourself
as clownish and irreverent, which is better
for your heart. We will enable you to
move from yard to yard, balloons in hand,
ready for the stillness of the green, which
is all around you right now, anyway.
I would like nothing more than to please
you with a carnival of lights and a cream horn,
followed by some well-considered words whispered
into your ear that you find relaxing
and somehow reassuring in the midst of your
activism. I want to retard the flow of time
just enough to make you feel ageless
and full of wonder. Then I'll lower you
and let you sink into the warm water
glad that you are flesh and here to go.

EARLY PLAYS – I am yours - The Wooster Group

EARLY PLAYS - I am yours [07.08.11] from The Wooster Group on Vimeo.