RE: Thanks, Crag.

From Crag Hills blog:

http://scorecard.typepad.com/


February 09, 2010
Continuing Availability: Jim McCrary's All That
This collection of chapbooks, McCrary’s first full-length book, spans over twenty years of the author’s efforts. Channeling William Carlos Williams, Ed Dorn, Robert Grenier, Joanne Kyger and others on and within the airwaves, McCrary has created a body of poems that snips and snaps, chuckles and guffaws, tugs and strokes, kisses and bites.

Steve Tills puts it this way: “Jim has devoted his spirit and heart to pursuits decidedly antithetical to self-aggrandizement. Quietly, he has followed a most courageous lineage of others also both gentle and careful in their approach to telling the truth and making it uniquely compelling. You’ll sometimes recognize that lineage when you take up All That. You’ll frequently marvel at the quiet, substantive authenticity McCrary has achieved in the sometimes lonesome but always deeply communal turns his truly individuated, unequivocally human poeming has taken.”

Or as K. Silem Mohammad puts it: “Out of the wild Kansas plains comes a howling wind, and in that wind is a howling wolf, and in that wolf is a howling lamb, and in that lamb is a Russian doll with another Russion doll inside it, and inside that one another one, and inside that one a plastic pill bottle because one of the dolls got broken, and in that bottle one last Russian doll, and in that last doll another howling wind–and here we go all over again. Somewhere in there, probably around the first wind and the wolf, is the poetry of Jim McCrary, which is really really really really good.”

All That
Including interview excerpt with Tom Beckett
171 pp.
ISBN-13: 978-0-9798478-0-6
CONTACT AND ORDERING INFORMATION:
ManyPenny Press
1111 E. Fifth St.
Moscow,ID
83843
$15.95 + $3 postage
Make checks payable to Crag Hill

Bookstores should contact Crag Hill at cahill@wsu.edu to arrange for discounts.

If you would like to order on-line,
go to: http://www.lulu.com/content/4363355

RE: What a great photo!

Silliman has a great photo (http://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/) of Marilyn Monroe and Carl Sandburg sharing a cig (joint) and a whiskey back in the day. Both seem to be in great spirit of joy together. Beautiful each one.

Imagine a pic of say, oh Nada Gordan and Billy Collins sharing a doobie and vodka, laughing hysterically in corner of Zinc bar. Or the late great kari edwards and Ted Koozer canoodling with 44oz's of O'Duels's and a line of coke?

Other couples come to mind?

RE: Ken Irby Reading at KU

The Intent On. And Ken standing at a podium before a large window with grey snow spitting Kansas afternoon heading to dusk read. Not all the 672 pages from this collection of his work...but most of an hour. From poem written in 1962 and until a poem writ in 2006, if memory serves. It wasa pleasure, a reminder of Ken's talent, wit, thoughtfulness and the awareness of a man who I am pleased to know, if at slight distance. Ken remembers and writes it down. Oh...there are a lot of folks gonna write a lot more about this book...fine by me. The other day I heard it read by Ken for most of an hour. There is something in that. For sure. A winter gift.

RE: Is it me?

Been spending a good bit of time online lately....checking blogs, following links, hitting publishers and journals and other stuff in the poetics universe. Now I am left with the overwhelming impression that re-acting and reacting and acting and over re acting to each others productions (in the widest definition)is the most common pastime in the poetics universe. Do folks really give a fuck, give a rats ass, give a crap that much about what the 'other' is or is not doing. To spell it out for a change: What the Fuck? I am really unable to make up my mind if these folks that are in dialogue over this and that are taking themselves seriously.

Nothing original in this: I know what I like. That is what matters. I can recognize it. I can recognise not it and turn away.

Blah blah blah.

Maybe something in this. When I came up it took time and cost money to find and purchace and get ahold of and follow what everyone was doing across the space. You had to track someone down and send them $ and hope something came back. Or find a store or a friend. Seems like one didn't waste time or money on something one had problems with. Heard Bly once and never again spent time or money on THAT!

Blah blah blah.

RE: Ken Irby Reading new Collected

Ken Irby's new book The Intent On (collected 1962-2006) is out and he, Ken, will be reading it from 4-5:30pm on Feb 4th at the Union Bookstore on Campus. If you see this you should go.

Following Ken's signing and reading, George Kimball and George Forman will be talking in the whatever building that is just north of union. Check a KU schedule somewhere.

Unless of course the union catches fire.

RE: Thinking about these ladies today

Sue and I were in Laos a year ago and this photo taken late January at Wat Phu southern part of country That's me on far right looking like a ghost. A 5th century ruins of temples on high hill overlooking Mekong Valley. It was a long walk up and it was hot. These and other women were selling flowers, incense and other 'gifts' to honor what was still going on at this place. It was an amazing spot to sit a spell and these ladies showed no offence from my joining them for a bit of a rest. Fat old white guy who was not chewing beetle like any aware person would be and they were. I guess just a moment ago reading some of the poetry blogs I click thru every day...reading the doomer/gloomer stuff from a couple folks.....all that....(bury your gold friends) seems so, well, off the track I guess. Maybe since I am turning 69 this year, I can somehow relate to these women (not really, I know that)

only, and I mean that, only that we have all lived a long time and know damn well what lies ahead and that future cannot be made worse by minute fluxuations in financials. We are going to move along to something/somewhere else. Period. So....now, here today in the what, 15th day the temp hasnt gone above freezing ...I recall and I stare at this photo and recall being on top of some world so unknown to me that all I could do was not think about it and just look down over the old stone, the valley, the river below...I could do what these ladies were doing...but for sure not keep up with them.

Well that is what travel is...not being here. No more.

RE: Note to P. Smith

Hi Patti,

Geez I tried to stay up to watch the documentary on PBS last night and lasted pretty far into it. But, alas, not till the end. Almost. But not all of it. Was great though came on too late at nite. Forgive me. It wasnt desire that sent me to bed. Couldnt stay awake. That simple.

McCrary