Arthur Sze Reading in Santa Fe

Not any breaking news. Just wanted to let the Bigfans know about a reading I attended this weekend. Arthur Sze (pronounced “Z”) read from his eighth and newest collection of poems Quipu. Quipu were the knots used by pre-literate Incans to record information. Apparently these knots were tied to a main cord and related the info in their number and color. The image of quipu as well as their inherent metaphorical potency as tactile language struck me as very cool (how’s that for a sophisticated response?). What I found in Sze’s poems (he read only from this collection) was an insistence on extreme detail and repetition that made me think of a repeating number of knots on a cord. I recommend this collection and look forward to checking out his previous books. -Malka

hi

Hello, Blog!

This is Becky. I am back in MN after a brief visit to the central coast of Calif. As I was driving to visit my mom near San Luis Obispo, there were a bunch of migrating (I'm assuming) monarch butterflies flying directly at my windshild. In memoriam I'd like to post the lovely poem below, which comes from Douglas Florian's _Insectlopedia_ (I am rediscovering how fun children's poetry can be):

The Monarch Butterfly

He is a monarch.
He is a king.
He flies great migrations.
Past nations he wings.
He is a monarch.
He is a prince.
When blackbirds attack him,
From poison they wince.
He is a monarch.
He is a duke.
Swallows that swallow him
Frequently puke.

Spring Reading

Dearest Bigfan Blog Readers,
Please visit www.Leafpress.ca to read a new poem by yours truly. It's being featured as the "Monday Poem" for this week (4/25/05) and will be in their "Monday's Archive" after that.
I am currently reading School of Art by Mark Doty. Before that I enjoyed Wedding Day by Dana Levin, who is a local to Santa Fe. I am waiting with great anticipation for the release of the paperback of the new Czeslaw Milosz, Second Space, translated by Robert Haas and due out in Sept. I'm also waiting for James Tate's newest to come to paperback (so I can maybe afford it) Return to the City of White Donkeys--what a great title!
A week or so ago, I got to see Campbell McGrath read at the Lannan reading series. His newest book is called Pax Atomica. His stuff is quite witty and heavily laden with popular culture references. He's doing a self & society type thing that I think he believes will help bring the masses back to poetry.
Anyway, on a less evolved reading level, I am also currently enjoying the last in the Philip Pulman series, His Dark Materials: The Amber Spyglass. I really don't think these books were written for children.
Well, I'm off to frolic in a rainy Sunday afternoon!