Author Archive
Friday, March 12th, 2010
“The Night Before” by Michael Salcman
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Michael Salcman
THE NIGHT BEFORE
The ex-husbands were the worst; not one showed up
to discuss whether a wife’s head should be shaved
the night before or asleep on the table.
Ex-girlfriends and wives were better, always there
to stake out their territory and proclaim undying devotion.
A patient’s room the night before was like a [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Audio, Poems by Tim
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
First Book Interview with Michelle Bitting
FIRST BOOK INTERVIEW WITH MICHELLE BITTING
by
Timothy Green
Note: The following interview was conducted by
email through January and February of 2009.
GREEN: Let’s start with you. Was there a moment you realized that poetry was something you’d pursue seriously? That you’d actually be a poet with a book? My own first book just kind of gradually materialized, [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Conversations by Tim
Thursday, February 18th, 2010
“Dreamboys” by L. Lamar Wilson
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L. Lamar Wilson
DREAMBOYS
My nephew waltzes beside his father,
The man who was the boy who made Faggot!
A reason not to flinch. His neck a merry-
Go-round, our boy rears back, waves
His pointer in my face, jabs his other fist
Into his hip & wails: Watch yo’ mouth!
Watch yo’ mouth, Miss Effie White! [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Audio, Poems, Tributes by Tim
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
“Self Dialogue Reading Etheridge Knight” by Marcus Wicker
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Marcus Wicker
SELF DIALOGUE READING ETHERIDGE KNIGHT
Where’s your voice at, Marcus?
Really. When you die, will they find a notebook filled with one long poem
Tucked beneath a fluffy little pillow? Will it start: Eh yo, fuck the sonnet.
Fuck everything you’ve ever written that don’t sound like a chain gang
Clanking shackles against [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Audio, Poems, Tributes by Tim
Saturday, February 13th, 2010
“Hero” by Ian Williams
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Ian Williams
HERO
The hero wins
because that’s what heroes do when you spend
the money to buy the DVD of a movie you already
know [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Audio, Poems, Tributes by Tim
Friday, January 29th, 2010
“The Famous Outlaw” by David James
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David James
THE FAMOUS OUTLAW
He rides into town on a retarded horse, falling off five times before reaching the saloon. His horse has a tendency to trip over its own hooves, like steps or bowling balls. The cowboy wears a helmet to safeguard against personal head injuries.
Unknowingly, he ties himself [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Audio, Poems by Tim
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010
“Motown Crown” by Patricia Smith
Patricia Smith
MOTOWN CROWN
The Temps, all swerve and pivot, conjured schemes
that had us skipping school, made us forget
how mamas schooled us hard against the threat
of five-part harmony and sharkskin seams.
We spent our schooldays balanced on the beams
of moon we wished upon, the needled jetblack
45s that spun and hadn’t yet
become the dizzy spinning of our dreams.
Sugar Pie, [...]
4 Comments » - Posted in Awards, Poems, Tributes by Tim
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
The Only Surviving Recording of Virginia Woolf’s Voice” by Alison Townsend
Alison Townsend
THE ONLY SURVIVING RECORDING
OF VIRGINIA WOOLF’S VOICE
I’m not expecting to hear her speak, stopped as I am
at a red light in Stoughton, Wisconsin, on the daily, desperate
dash home from work, my fractured spine throbbing
as if it housed my heart not my nerves, this snippet
on NPR as unexpected as recent November warm weather.
But here she [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Awards, Poems by Tim
Sunday, January 3rd, 2010
“Crow-Magnon” by Howard Price
Howard Price
CROW-MAGNON
Everybody’s dying this week,
and for no good reason, that is, no money in it,
and suddenly second opinions are like men wearing
tiaras and women at the gym 4 days a week building huge
arms so they can both look better in a dress. For sure,
third and fourth opinions at a minimum now, since it occurs
to us [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Awards, Poems by Tim
Friday, January 1st, 2010
“To the Young Man Who Cried Out ‘What Were You Thinking?’ When I Backed into His Car” by Lynne Knight
Lynne Knight
TO THE YOUNG MAN WHO CRIED OUT “WHAT WERE YOU
THINKING?” WHEN I BACKED INTO HIS CAR
I was thinking No. No, oh no. Not one more thing.
I was thinking my mother, who sat rigid
in the passenger seat crying, How terrible!
as if we had hit a child not your front bumper,
would drive me mad, and then [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Awards, Poems by Tim
Saturday, December 19th, 2009
“Ars Poetica” by Grace Ocasio
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Grace Ocasio
ARS POETICA
They laughed when I asked
for pancetta,
those grocery store clerks.
I don’t care.
It’s better to be chic
than to lie
in some bland corner
of a room,
wilting and frumpy.
What do I care
for the woman
who never dares to wear
a houndstooth jacket?
It’s up to us to set
the speed of our lives.
Audrey, for instance,
could dazzle
simply [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Audio, Poems, Tributes by Tim
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
“Elevator” by Andrew Kozma
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Andrew Kozma
ELEVATOR
Similarly, when the writer Leonid Plyushch was confined to a
psychiatric hospital, and his wife asked what symptoms in her
husband required treatment, the attending physician replied:
“His views and convictions.”
—J. M. Coetzee, Giving Offense
They are taking you somewhere you don’t want to go.
[...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Audio, Poems by Tim
Monday, December 14th, 2009
“What the Dead Tell Us About Charon, Ferryman of the Dead” by Brett Ortler
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Brett Ortler
WHAT THE DEAD TELL US ABOUT CHARON,
THE FERRYMAN OF THE DEAD
Charon is in a hurry, if you can imagine it,
revving the engine of his outboard motor with one hand
and pulling passengers in with the other,
the boat leaning towards water and righting itself
as each steps in and is guided [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Audio, Poems by Tim
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
“Home Visit: Jenny” by Jennifer Perrine
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Jennifer Perrine
HOME VISIT: JENNY
When I arrived, she had been alone
with the body for three weeks: her mother
a puddle on the bathroom floor, water
still running in the sink. Jenny found
bologna and old yogurt in the kitchen
trash, socked it away in the fridge to eat
a slice and a spoonful a day. [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Audio, Poems by Tim
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
“Speculative” by Willie James King
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Willie James King
SPECULATIVE
So, this is the New South
where whites attend Parks’
funeral in multitudes, yet
send their own children to
separate schools. She died
in poverty, which means,
she was poor in cents
but rich in spirit. So don’t
tell me about change, or
how hard they are trying
while racism reeks havoc
still, like AIDS, diabetes
that kill; there’s [...]
