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The Poetry Project Newsletter Editor: Paul Foster Johnson Design: Lewis Rawlings Distribution: Small Press Distribution, 1341 Seventh Street, Berkeley, CA 94710 The Poetry Project, Ltd. Staff Artistic Director: Stacy Szymaszek Program Coordinator: Arlo Quint Program Assistant: Nicole Wallace Monday Night Coordinator: Simone White Monday Night Talk Series Coordinator: Corrine Fitzpatrick Wednesday Night Coordinator: Stacy Szymaszek Friday Night Coordinator: Matt Longabucco Sound Technician: David Vogen Videographer: Andrea Cruz Bookkeeper: Lezlie Hall Archivist: Will Edmiston Box Office: Aria Boutet, Courtney Frederick, Gabriella Mattis Interns/Volunteers: Mel Elberg, Phoebe Lifton, Jasmine An, Davy Knittle, Olivia Grayson, Catherine Vail, Kate Nichols, Jim Behrle, Douglas Rothschild Volunteer Development Committee Members: Stephanie Gray, Susan Landers Board of Directors: Gillian McCain (President), John S. Hall (Vice-President), Jonathan Morrill (Treasurer), Jo Ann Wasserman (Secretary), Carol Overby, Camille Rankine, Kimberly Lyons, Todd Colby, Ted Greenwald, Erica Hunt, Elinor Nauen, Evelyn Reilly and Edwin Torres Friends Committee: Brooke Alexander, Dianne Benson, Will Creeley, Raymond Foye, Michael Friedman, Steve Hamilton, Bob Holman, Viki Hudspith, Siri Hustvedt, Yvonne Jacquette, Patricia Spears Jones, Eileen Myles, Greg Masters, Ron Padgett, Paul Slovak, Michel de Konkoly Thege, Anne Waldman, Hal Willner, John Yau Funders: The Poetry Project’s programs and publications are made possible, in part, with public funds from The National Endowment for the Arts. The Poetry Project’s programming is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The Poetry Project’s programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. The Poetry Project’s programs are also made possible with funds from the Axe-Houghton Foundation; Committee on Poetry; Dr. Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman Foundation, Inc.; Foundation for Contemporary Arts; Jerome Foundation; Leaves of Grass Fund; Leslie Scalapino – O Books Fund; LitTAP; New York Community Trust; Poets & Writers, Inc.; Poets for the Planet Fund; Anonymous Foundations; Harold and Angela Appel; Russell Banks; Martin Beeler; Bill Berkson and Constance Lewallen; David Berrigan and Sarah Locke; Mei Mei Berssenbrugge and Richard Tuttle; Rosemary Carroll; Steven Clay; Todd Colby; Jordan Davis; Peggy DeCoursey; Don DeLillo and Barbara Bennet; Rackstraw Downes; Ruth Eisenberg; Ann Evans; Stephen Facey; Raymond Foye; Ted Greenwald and Joan McClusky; Mimi Gross; Phil Hartman; Anselm Hollo and Jane Dalrymple-Hollo; Ada and Alex Katz; Florence Kindel; Doris Kornish; Susan Landers and Natasha Dwyer, Katy Lederer; John Lewin; Kimberly Lyons and Vyt Bakaitis; Gillian McCain and Jim Marshall; Mark McCain; Thurston Moore; Jonathan Morrill and Jennifer Firestone; Elinor Nauen and Johnny Stanton; Hank O’Neal and Shelley Shier; Ron and Pat Padgett; Evelyn Reilly; Simon Schuchat; Kiki Smith; Sylvie and June Weiser Berrigan; The Estate of Kenneth Koch; members of The Poetry Project; and other individual contributors. Editors Emeriti: Ron Padgett 1972–1973 / Bill MacKay 1973–1975 / Ted Greenwald 1975–1977 / Frances LeFevre 1977–1978 / Vicki Hudspith 1978–1980 / Greg Masters 1980–1983 / Lorna Smedman 1983–1984 / Tim Dlugos 1984–1985 / James Ruggia 1985–1986 / Jessica Hagedorn 1986–1987 / Tony Towle 1987–1990 / Jerome Sala 1990–1991 / Lynn Crawford 1991–1992 / Jordan Davis 1992–1994 / Gillian McCain 1994–1995 / Mitch Highfill 1995–1996 / Lisa Jarnot 1996–1998 / Brenda Coultas & Eleni Sikelianos 1998–1999 / Katy Lederer 1999–2000 / Ange Mlinko 2000–2002 / Nada Gordon & Gary Sullivan 2002–2003 / Marcella Durand 2003–2005 / Brendan Lorber 2005–2007 / John Coletti 2007–2009 / Corina Copp 2009–2011 The Poetry Project Newsletter is published four times a year and mailed free of charge to members of and contributors to The Poetry Project. Subscriptions are available for $25/year domestic, $45/year international. Checks should be made payable to The Poetry Project, St. Mark’s Church, 131 East 10TH Street, New York, NY 10003. The views and opinions expressed in the Newsletter are those of the individual authors and, while everyone in their right mind might be like, of course, duh!, they are not necessarily those of The Poetry Project itself. For more information call (212) 674-0910, or e-mail [email protected]. ST. MARKS CHURCH Copyright © 2012 The Poetry Project IN-THE-BOWERY All rights revert to authors upon publication. 131 EAST 10TH STREET NEW YORK, NY 10003 Contents Letters and Announcements ...................................................................................................................4 Where Glaciers Meet the Sea: Rodrigo Toscano in Conversation with Cecilia Vicuña ..................6 Luxurious Time by Mel Nichols ...............................................................................................................10 The Helens of Sparta, New Jersey by Nathaniel Otting .....................................................................14 In Memoriam: Jayne Cortez by Rashidah Ismaili ...............................................................................18 Events at The Poetry Project ..................................................................................................................22 Book Reviews ...........................................................................................................................................25 Astrological Advice from Dorothea Lasky ...........................................................................................31 Cover and Interior Art (Pages 3 and 21) by Elisabeth Kley From the Director From the Program Coordinator “Once you’ve said something, you can’t unsay it / Once you Dear Readers of The Poetry Project Newsletter, hello! It was a haven’t said anything, it remains unsaid / and anything you cold, stormy (Sandy, Athena, Nemo) winter in New York but can’t say, well, it’s unsayable / All right now that we got that spring is here and it feels so good. The ecstatic, spring-loving out of the way / we need some particulars / but where did I put James Schuyler is on my mind: “The corms come by mail, are them, where are my particulars?” I’m tempted to just include planted, / Then do their thing: to live! To live!” Makes me want the rest of page 5 of Anselm Hollo’s Guests of Space, but that to commandeer a police van and drive around the East Village was a cigar catalogue he got in the mail. Today is President’s blasting Hymn to Life over the megaphone. It would be a shame Day, no mail. I just turned pages and pages of particulars over to spend the season in jail though so I’ll try to restrain myself. to Paul for the event calendar. It looks great. And on June 6 Not easy when you’re high on Vitamin B (Nature’s Prozac) and we’ll have a tribute reading for Anselm Hollo. poetry. Readings here lately have been inspiring: Amiri Baraka, Thomas Sayers Ellis, Andrew Dieck, Christine Kanownik, Other particulars: Our Spring Benefit this year—EPIC NOW: Nicole Wallace, Brett Price, Magdalena Zurawski, Allison Cobb, EPIC POETRY FOR EPIC TIMES—will be held May 10–11. We Wolfman Librarian, etc., etc. And there are great new books commissioned nine artists to interpret nine epics (classic, arriving in the world daily: new Clark Coolidge, new Collected modern, original) over two nights. Things will get started in the Poems of Joseph Ceravolo, new Rachel Levitsky, everything Sanctuary shortly after 8PM each night and will be followed by from Camilo Roldán’s new Diez Press, along with many oth- receptions in the Parish Hall. Beer has been lovingly donated ers. In keeping with the spirit of the times, this year’s Spring by Brooklyn Brewery. As with the New Year’s Marathon, all Benefit at The Poetry Project will take epic works (both old and proceeds from EPIC NOW will go toward keeping the Project super-Gilgamesh-old) and make them new too. Check out the a vital venue for poets. It worked so well last year, we’re once calendar in this very Newsletter for a description of what’s sure again going to sell tickets in advance via Brown Paper Tickets. to be a great couple of days in May. And if you’d like to help out If you want the most up-to-date information about this and at the fundraiser, send me an email at [email protected]. I other events, the best way to get it is to sign up for our weekly hope to see you here soon. email blast from our website at http://www.poetryproject.org/. –Arlo Quint Frankly, I’m excited about everything you’ll see when you be- hold the schedule of events somewhere near the middle of this Newsletter. I’ve been wanting to delve into David Rattray’s work for some time; now I am, you know, for the job. There are a lot of events to host and people to see before we take our summer hiatus. However, this is the last Newsletter letter I’ll be writing until the fall. I want to thank everyone who attended an event, became a member, made a donation, volunteered, wiped my tears with their shirts or gave me a high five. If you haven’t done any of these things yet, it’s not too late! –Stacy Szymaszek 4 The Poetry Project Newsletter ANNOUNCEMENTS ERRATUM The photograph of Clark Coolidge that appeared in the February/March issue of The Poetry Project Newsletter (#224) was taken by Gerard Malanga. From the Editor FOUNDATION FOR CONTEMPORARY ARTS