tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72016702575154898322024-03-17T21:33:28.224-04:00The Greater Encyclopedia of Universal KnowledgeMatt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.comBlogger318125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-50891823828272446562024-03-11T22:10:00.001-04:002024-03-12T11:19:50.679-04:00Two Poems in Exacting ClamWhat a treat! Inside my mailbox--instead of bills, frivolous flyers, political buffoons soliciting donations for more of the same, more bills, or one very large, ominous, hairy spider--I found the <a href="https://www.exactingclam.com/issues/no-12-spring-2024/" target="_blank">Spring 2024 <i>Exacting Clam</i></a> had arrived. Opening it, I was "clam" happy to find, alongside dozens of other intriguing literary pieces, my poems "Stalin's Fingers" & "3 in the Morning." <div><br /></div><div>Many thanks to the editors & staff of <i>Exacting Clam</i>!<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghkk3fzyNvpf6A9sUo5Dfdkp3ZkVQdORHIXzrM-BPQ3k0obXgZhNwNXKj55ybi0i76HrbfHA5Nb3WqQl91TNMtclxRVxuFhgYc2YhG66viA3pVO0oWW3Jchi3lsTwAVwz5ITaWdZWJlX2Zl4vhY5FOTtmxTymrTZRdQgyTqzG-K_u9w7vVPRYZOjJh6pE/s334/Screenshot%202024-03-11%20174055.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="233" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghkk3fzyNvpf6A9sUo5Dfdkp3ZkVQdORHIXzrM-BPQ3k0obXgZhNwNXKj55ybi0i76HrbfHA5Nb3WqQl91TNMtclxRVxuFhgYc2YhG66viA3pVO0oWW3Jchi3lsTwAVwz5ITaWdZWJlX2Zl4vhY5FOTtmxTymrTZRdQgyTqzG-K_u9w7vVPRYZOjJh6pE/w446-h640/Screenshot%202024-03-11%20174055.png" width="446" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /></div></div>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-20721208385749947182024-03-01T15:10:00.001-05:002024-03-02T16:26:21.633-05:00Catullus 43hello girl whose nose isn't small<br />nor feet beautiful nor eyes dark<br />nor fingers long nor lips wet<br />nor tongue elegant<br />poor girl from formia<br />in your province do they call you beautiful<br />do they compare you to our lesbia<br />o what a stupid & uncultured world you're from<div><br /></div><div><i> --translated by Matt Morris</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>See <a href="https://miscmss.blogspot.com/2023/09/catullus-38.html" target="_blank">Catullus 38 here</a></div><div>See <a href="https://miscmss.blogspot.com/2017/05/catullus-16.html" target="_blank">Catullus 16 here</a> (note: it's risqué!)</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><div>)</div>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-60364371798025634392024-02-23T19:00:00.002-05:002024-02-25T12:00:22.865-05:00Home Planet News 13 <p><a href="https://homeplanetnews.com/" target="_blank">Home Planet News Issue 13</a> features poetry by Joan E. Bauer, Tim Kahl, Donald Mangum, Carolyn Martin, George Moore, John Popielaski, Dan Sicoli, Eva Skrande, George Wallace, A.D. Winans, & Eve Young; short stories by Julie Brandon, Neil Brosnan, Michael Loyd Gray, & David Lerner; not one but two reviews by Lehman Weichselbaum; songs by Don Bertschman, & visual art by Riley A. Vann. </p><p>Many thanks to all our contributors & readers!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsRcFPNmklfoAITD5zOm1aM4AU54oxqaiXMhXoD3jhgolKObjRxio8jutyEIOwR_bk1xQvksbzFYyes_57HlY5uc2-re3HA0R5IqRdJpqLrFqwlv4pZn10cph2XY5eD8IIp3EBVBlwtF_ilk3RZnp3Srem0CugRzYmBFr6j12cb_dS3AdHnH-mplI8E5g/s1329/Screenshot%202024-02-23%20185811.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1329" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsRcFPNmklfoAITD5zOm1aM4AU54oxqaiXMhXoD3jhgolKObjRxio8jutyEIOwR_bk1xQvksbzFYyes_57HlY5uc2-re3HA0R5IqRdJpqLrFqwlv4pZn10cph2XY5eD8IIp3EBVBlwtF_ilk3RZnp3Srem0CugRzYmBFr6j12cb_dS3AdHnH-mplI8E5g/w640-h404/Screenshot%202024-02-23%20185811.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-32810036185527920062024-02-14T17:55:00.000-05:002024-02-14T17:55:43.765-05:00 Imperialism, Exploitation, & the “Border Crisis”While the devasting death toll in Gaza is paramount in most minds--& rightly so--let's not forget the tens of thousands of deaths that sanctions levied against the people of countries by various U.S. administrations have caused. The much-ballyhooed “border crisis” is one result of these criminal policies. It’s quite reasonable to assume most people want to live in the countries they’re from rather than moving to an unknown land to face a plethora of hardships, including resentment, prejudice, & the like, all without a guarantee of finding a better life. However, people who lack food, medicine, shelter, & other life essentials are often forced to take extreme measures in order to survive.<br /><br />If Washington felt a humanitarian need to remedy the so-called flood of immigrants into the U.S., then our so-called representatives would, as a first step, repeal all sanctions against other countries. Obviously, they'd have to reform many other foreign policies, too, such as regime change, free trade, & general forms of interference & exploitation on the part of the U.S. government & corporations. This would seem a no-brainer, but unsurprisingly, none of the solutions that Washington advocates have anything to do with correction of its own bad policies, instead doubling down, seeking additional funding for increased surveillance & militarization—pretty much its go-to solution for everything. <br /><br />Unfortunately, America has tried this very same tactic before with little to show outside the expected & all too common systemic displays of oppressive, repressive abuse of power. It isn’t effective for various reasons. Desperate people will make desperate decisions, regardless of the risks. In some cases, those raising the biggest ruckus over "open borders" may be funding the current “crisis” to provide a cheap labor force. While that’s certainly a motive, the outrage over the situation also provides an opportunity for the ruling class to acquire more power. Although it may sound counterintuitive to say the powers that be want discord, manufacturing crises is a tried & true method of gaining public consent to enact draconian measures, ostensibly, if not ironically, to combat the very problem that they themselves have covertly created. Not only do further surveillance & militarization increase governmental control & power, but the funding of such policies, much like America’s funding of weapons around the globe, is also another money laundering venture, i.e., funneling tax dollars into the corporations that the politicians serve. Who knows? Given the general thinking in Washington, all this heated talk about the border may be a buildup to generate support for an invasion of Mexico. In any event, the vulnerability of the migrant workers' status makes them susceptible to extreme exploitation since they're unlikely to report abuses for fear of deportation or other repression, the very policies that are being touted as the solution to this situation.<br /><br />Slews of American political pundits have loudly weighed in on the government's funding of migrants in the U.S. These pundits proclaim like the champions of justice they pretend to be that it's an outrageous travesty to give financial relief to migrants<i> unless</i> you do the same for needy Americans. (It may seem like semantics or pedantry, but I take exception to "unless." I would argue that American citizens deserve aid regardless of the aid to migrants, that one is not contingent on the other.) However, their arguments, especially among those who hadn't previously raised their voices to call for expanding the social safety net, resonate like xenophobic, nationalistic screeds aimed at "foreigners," as if taking the aid from migrants will benefit poor Americans. This is a variation of the old shell game, blaming one group of victims—many, it should be noted, who have been forced here by the U.S. imperialistic agenda—for the victimization of others. The real solution isn't to retract or reduce, but to expand the benefits for all needy people. It makes one wonder if what some of these pundits want is that neither U.S. citizens nor immigrants receive aid. Rather than haranguing on destitute migrants receiving government assistance, these talking heads, if the goal is genuinely to aid needy U.S. citizens, would be well-advised to laud the aid to migrants while insisting that U.S. citizens receive assistance as well. It should go without saying, but simply put, all people, regardless of nationality, deserve at the very least food, shelter, & healthcare. <br /><br />Politicians & pundits alike, from whatever ideology they identify with, should stop making destitute, desperate people into political pawns & click bait. The solution isn’t hate & violence, but peace, love & sure, why not, understanding,<div><span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-58751127028252229572024-02-01T00:04:00.001-05:002024-02-03T22:00:06.456-05:00Release of Reckoning Ball I’m happy to announce the publication of <i>Reckoning Ball</i>. <br /><br />Here’s a blurb from the back cover: <br /><br /><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><i>Reckoning Ball</i> is the third full-length poetry collection by Matt Morris, <br /><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>whom former U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo has compared to Adrian <br /><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Louis and Charles Bukowski. <i>Rain Tree</i> magazine praised his “irreverent <br /><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>yet intellectual sense of humor” in poems that “know how to sing.” In <br /><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>naming <i>Reckoning Ball</i> a finalist in the Trail to Table reading series, <br /><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>editors at Wandering Aengus Press said, “These are beautiful poems <br /><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>contending with past sorrows and regrets” that “carry a wistful kind <br /><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>of hard-earned wisdom.” <br /><br />This collection is comprised almost entirely of poems that previously appeared in various magazines prior to 2020—including some from the past millennium, so they've stood the test of time. Now, in these dark days, I’ve embarked barefoot, a virtual Johnny Appleseed of poetry, spreading the gospel of truth & beauty across the globe, albeit, in my case, mostly via the internet. If you’d like to contribute to the cause (<i>mi causa su causa</i>), please consider purchasing <i>Reckoning Ball</i> by<a href="https://www.lulu.com/search?page=1&q=reckoning+ball&pageSize=10&adult_audience_rating=00" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> clicking here</a>. It is also available (or soon will be) at the usual booksellers—you know the ones!<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbGsXPwM1ER-_atig1lCtycTtXRLjmRvzqLWFABe-c72SkaSi3WiyHuf7uAsc8UYBJux5FBSYTvAqkz7zKbSLN_gZ-35w8Y9oLGy0-CqFaAJsjFOlusoWVJOvzyu2OYcTD6sk5-e4MMemxK57FpDnqSgNaBHlgl7EWfcGAwrG4RnusYtuSemlm7V_rhgI/s576/01reckoningball.jpg" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="384" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbGsXPwM1ER-_atig1lCtycTtXRLjmRvzqLWFABe-c72SkaSi3WiyHuf7uAsc8UYBJux5FBSYTvAqkz7zKbSLN_gZ-35w8Y9oLGy0-CqFaAJsjFOlusoWVJOvzyu2OYcTD6sk5-e4MMemxK57FpDnqSgNaBHlgl7EWfcGAwrG4RnusYtuSemlm7V_rhgI/w266-h400/01reckoningball.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><div>If you'd like read a couple sample poems, visit <a href="https://halfinchpress.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Half Inch Press</a>. Many thanks!</div>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-70057320774798624822024-01-15T11:07:00.004-05:002024-01-15T11:35:42.202-05:00The Courtship of Winds: "To Make a Poem Work" <p>I'm very pleased to see "To Make a Poem Work" in the latest issue of <i><a href="https://www.thecourtshipofwinds.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Courtship of Winds</a></i>. You can't miss it--it's the first poem, sitting there at the top of the table of contents, a mere click away. Well, I suppose it's even easier to find if you click <a href="https://www.thecourtshipofwinds.org/matt-morris-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>, but you'll miss the cover, the links to other writers & artists, & the magazine experience as a whole. </p><p>Many thanks to William Ray & the good people at <i>The Courtship of Winds</i>!</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWR0rwUccGDieh59PU1uSFgZY5Lwggk0-gbwqpdjXOAVfXJXSg7LXHmS4Y0BVks9NaSIrdGnbdJC7BG_hOLYraHp1QYgncIVT8HAQK7eza-lrbqtFyLGGh-J_JS4hysehiUyk0kSf4y3FHsqzu4W8CRIVULm_h0QIpC7Eg29BMr4a3TDiwY21wnzBitKU/s900/saint-jerome-writing-1605-caravaggio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="900" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWR0rwUccGDieh59PU1uSFgZY5Lwggk0-gbwqpdjXOAVfXJXSg7LXHmS4Y0BVks9NaSIrdGnbdJC7BG_hOLYraHp1QYgncIVT8HAQK7eza-lrbqtFyLGGh-J_JS4hysehiUyk0kSf4y3FHsqzu4W8CRIVULm_h0QIpC7Eg29BMr4a3TDiwY21wnzBitKU/w400-h285/saint-jerome-writing-1605-caravaggio.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caravaggio, <i>St. Jerome Writing</i>, 1605</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-88396000916362181882023-12-13T16:36:00.000-05:002023-12-13T16:36:59.478-05:00ApologiaAll of this was once farmland.<br />I know because when<br />I moved here, everyone said,<div><i>You know, this was once all farms</i>.</div><div>So I don't really </div><div>live on a farm. I know what </div><div><div>I said, but these days,</div><div>it's the burbs. Still, you could start </div><div><div>a garden in the backyard,</div><div>I guess. Nor do I</div><div><div><div><div>have a blind singing goat named <br />Ramses. I'm sorry<br />I laughed when you thought I did.<br />I'd forgotten I said that!<br /><div><br /><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-8864289114048937072023-11-06T12:17:00.000-05:002023-11-06T12:17:55.126-05:00Home Planet News Issue 12<p>Issue 12 is live!</p><p>Previously, in Issue 11, we published poetry only, but in this issue, <i><a href="https://homeplanetnews.com/" target="_blank">Home Planet</a></i> has once again opened its doors to fiction (nay! unscrewed the doors
themselves from their jambs!) with short stories by Donald Mangum, Daniel Sklar,
& Nancy Spiller. Of coure, we continue to showcase a variety of
electrically charged, aesthetically pleasing poetry by Angela Ball, Robert
Beveridge, Cat Dixon, Deborah H. Doolittle, Margaret Gibson, James Harms,
Vanessa Ogle, Ken Poyner, Richard Schiffman, Jennifer Schneider, Beate Sigriddaughter,
Tino Villanueva, Mike Wilson, & Mark Young. Moreover, we’re tickled as Elmo
to present “The Stenographer” by Susan Kaplan, our featured visual artist.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p>Many thanks to all our contributors & readers! Enjoy!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKnLelJEa-FxoO9cmIutqcs0KXKWvkCcqcHDpqptlVY7on6kLB2EDMTxluOh-H27XyBsNc-ZbzYg01JcbMnKtTlcf82Qp2vjVnHh2-S5vhR5VAXmMZJCg_d81QWVZ93jKSyQOQ-BZO0o6fWqc_5Epz32FLEJsmVcsUxkL4aI2K-JNqL9Z3FNb4IuBtm3o/s911/Screenshot%202023-11-05%20001051.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="911" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKnLelJEa-FxoO9cmIutqcs0KXKWvkCcqcHDpqptlVY7on6kLB2EDMTxluOh-H27XyBsNc-ZbzYg01JcbMnKtTlcf82Qp2vjVnHh2-S5vhR5VAXmMZJCg_d81QWVZ93jKSyQOQ-BZO0o6fWqc_5Epz32FLEJsmVcsUxkL4aI2K-JNqL9Z3FNb4IuBtm3o/w400-h384/Screenshot%202023-11-05%20001051.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-53379730821707971042023-10-22T18:45:00.001-04:002023-10-23T02:54:55.409-04:00Standing in the Queue<p>outside the sandwich shop, I’m <br />trying to decide what <br />I want: Italian? Turkey <br />& ham? Cuban? <br /><br /> In the news, <br />the president, out <br />to dinner with foreign dig- <br />nitaries, orders <br />drone strikes on Yemeni towns. <br /><i>How’d that get on the menu? </i><br /><br />A scruffy looking <br />guy about my age wanders <br />up the block, asking <br />everyone for spare change. He <br />says he hasn’t had a bite <br />in days. <br /><br /> To avoid <br />eye contact, I read about <br />the statue being <br />built to honor a beloved <br />actor, recently passed, who’d <br />starred in war movies <br />that grossed grotesque profits <br />for the studio. <br /><br />So much money, yet hungry,<br />homeless people. I guess it’s <br />left to me, lunching <br />between two, now three, part-time <br />jobs, barely eking <br />out a living for myself, <br />to provide for the poor. So, <br />of course, I bite him.</p><p>--------</p><p>First appeared in <i>Bond Street Review</i>, Summer 2018.</p>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-21813123445902215802023-09-28T23:20:00.001-04:002023-10-18T17:08:54.001-04:00Catullus 38*your catullus suffers cornificius<br />hercules surely knows how he labors & he suffers <br />more & more in the passing days & hours<br />yet couldn’t you it wouldn’t take much the bare minimum<br />say something to console him<br />it's maddening so this is what my love comes to<br />say something please a few paltry words<br />miserable as tearful simonides<br /><br /><i><br /></i><div><i>_____________________</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>*Fun fact: In my above translation, </i><i>the omission of punctuation & capitalization replicates the general appearance of manuscripts when Catullus lived. It also coincidentally, if not conveniently, complements my personal poetics.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>________________________________________</div><div><br /></div><div>If you want more Catullus, read my rendition of his saucy <a href="https://miscmss.blogspot.com/2017/05/catullus-16.html" target="_blank">16 here</a>.</div>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-82667849598468516002023-08-15T17:01:00.000-04:002023-08-15T17:01:22.000-04:00Loud Coffee Press Summer Issue: "Beach Blanket Bananas (1966)" <p>I'm delighted to see<a href="https://www.loudcoffeepress.com/lcp-issue-14"> "Beach Blanket Bananas (1966)" in the latest <i>Loud Coffee</i></a>. </p><p>You'll probably recognize at once the mimicry of cheesy sixties beach movies, the likes of which brought Annette & Frankie to fame, but you may not know that back in high school, I used to fancy myself a visual artist. Long drawn--no pun intended, as they say, though it obviously is--to surrealism, I sketched numerous sketches in my--what else?--sketchbook of half-peeled bananas variously posed on beach blankets by the sea. I'd intended to render the scene in a bright array of colors on canvas, a pretty standard course for my teen self, but perhaps sensing the seeming homoeroticism behind the humor, didn't. Anyway, even though I'm not what you'd call a confessional poet, I'll confess I really get a Paul Revere & the Raiders (featuring Mark Lindsay) kind of kick out of giving the poem, albeit unrelated, the title of my unrealized painting.</p><p>Many thanks to Fred & Annie & all the good folks at <i>Loud Coffee Press.</i> Although you can read the entire magazine online, you can, if you wish,<a href="https://www.loudcoffeepress.com/mementoamoreshop" target="_blank"> purchase a hard copy & other merch here</a>. Also, while you're browsing around the <i>Loud Coffee </i>site, maybe you'll want to read <a href="https://www.loudcoffeepress.com/lcp-issue-6" target="_blank">"Where Are You?" </a>in the Spring 2021 issue..</p><p>Again, many thanks!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_HpmQneMhNA1Ar-n9s6_8pbDQD4Vws1fNa4VT0Sij_Nb09b0Wvet-650ZpM94AH7soRNGrFQ2eFfPjMPeLSRmQ44KP9oslencaA6zIk9TQNeXd1dJHXyqD2KhzvWklJGDT0ihVJRBcpHEedrP_WRyC5w98bv0wAEDaonCloKSN2KVGbxkTQnURE9ftPc/s640/loudcoffee_Issue%2014%20Cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="464" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_HpmQneMhNA1Ar-n9s6_8pbDQD4Vws1fNa4VT0Sij_Nb09b0Wvet-650ZpM94AH7soRNGrFQ2eFfPjMPeLSRmQ44KP9oslencaA6zIk9TQNeXd1dJHXyqD2KhzvWklJGDT0ihVJRBcpHEedrP_WRyC5w98bv0wAEDaonCloKSN2KVGbxkTQnURE9ftPc/w472-h640/loudcoffee_Issue%2014%20Cover.png" width="472" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-12537654345119070312023-07-05T12:01:00.002-04:002023-11-06T12:20:42.653-05:00Home Planet News Issue 11 Live!<p>I'm excited to announce the release of <a href="https://homeplanetnews.com/Issue-11-Cover/" target="_blank">Issue 11 of <i>Home Planet News</i></a>. This poetry exclusive issue includes work by Sam Alec, Angela Ball, Ace Boggess, Alan Catlin, Lenny DellaRocca, Livio Farallo, Margaret Gibson, John Grey, Carol Hamilton, James Harms, Leslie Mcilroy, Frederick Pollack, Myra Tejada Rasmussen, & Jon Riccio. It also features the work of visual artist Lou Jones. To all our contributors, we extend a hale & hearty thanks!</p><p>This was my first issue as editor, & admittedly, the learning curve was steep. The daunting endeavor may have proven nigh impossible without the help of John Martino, to whom I extend my deepest thanks for his dedicated & tireless efforts to bring this issue into the full light of computer screens everywhere. Likewise, I once again extend my humble thanks to Frank Murphy for allowing me the opportunity to guide the venerable <i>Home Planet News</i>, now in its 55th year of publication. Here's hoping for many more!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhek9VGkUF7mjL-ai3aht7XAUYLx3vCspCk001-t8oOyuSJrLP-QrKWafKLoTrda3bJb_7EZOrAd_R5JV5aMeoWvZFqchOYkoBNLg6dJQbqeyQPBYa7X4Q8SeP_GatsRvO6m3WX1g1N22ggNW5nIJzKsWzwq4ZCmiUw-Eii2VfISklzkOJoYG8elNcjW58/s1327/HPN%20issue%2011.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="936" data-original-width="1327" height="453" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhek9VGkUF7mjL-ai3aht7XAUYLx3vCspCk001-t8oOyuSJrLP-QrKWafKLoTrda3bJb_7EZOrAd_R5JV5aMeoWvZFqchOYkoBNLg6dJQbqeyQPBYa7X4Q8SeP_GatsRvO6m3WX1g1N22ggNW5nIJzKsWzwq4ZCmiUw-Eii2VfISklzkOJoYG8elNcjW58/w640-h453/HPN%20issue%2011.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><p></p>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-71355537593427352142023-05-31T23:29:00.001-04:002023-06-02T16:09:52.673-04:00Bob Hope and Anita Ekberg in a Blue Buick<div style="text-align: left;"><div>You stuck your hand right down my throat and yanked on my heart strings.</div><div>“Dance,” you said and (zap! pow! zing!) it did, like Howdy Doody,</div><div>Simple-minded and freckled in my youth. I thought of walking</div><div>into the pounding surf of the sea,</div><div>Or else bounding from a window or nearby bridge, if </div><div>That’s what it took for you to find me more interesting, not just another jerk,</div><div>Out to cop a quick feel. No, I wanted it all, your educational background, </div><div>your political views, </div><div>Your opinions on sex and morality, your body next to mine sometimes</div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>when the dawn </span></div><div>Cracked open and the sky was “red” like a book.</div><div><br /></div><div>Years later, I remembered: the slap of reality</div><div>Like putting my foot in the wrong shoe. It hurt. Millions of times</div><div>I wanted to say, “I like you, honest,” but it was already too late. Had you</div><div><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>ascended to heaven? with the loot</span></div><div>As Kenneth Koch wrote in his poem “We Sailed the Indian Ocean for a Dime.”</div><div>Probably not, but once when I was driving to Mississippi</div><div>On a lonely stretch of piney road, I thought I saw you in the clouds (you were one of them)</div><div>Making love to another man. I didn’t mind, not that, nor the stories, nor the rumors,</div><div>Nor the gossip I heard about you, nor the boredom I could expect for several weeks to come.</div><div>I was just happy to see you again, no matter how sordid the circumstances</div><div>of our, uh, specious existence.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">-------</div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p>Originally appeared in <i>G.W. Review</i>, Vol. 3, No. 1 (1982)</o:p></p><br /><p></p>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-41569978166777363932023-04-10T23:37:00.001-04:002023-06-01T19:08:50.381-04:00Home Planet News News<p>Excited to share the following excerpt from a recent <i>HPN</i> announcement:</p><p><i>Matt Morris is the new Chief Editor of </i>Home Planet News<i>. He is the author of several chapbooks and full-length poetry collections. Matt hopes to publish multiple issues of </i>Home Planet<i> during the year. He is currently accepting poetry submissions for Issue 11. </i></p><p><i>All submissions must be sent to: hpnlitmag@yahoo.com.</i></p><p>Many thanks to Frank Murphy, who will remain with the magazine as a consulting editor, for giving me this opportunity!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLdhtwjmVewSRffpU2JrXztHF6Uv-wCySNydv8mXGndOyi0if_7NjMNoVHWTkHjuDDFN_Jx4OwEMttLkSxLk_81tfmsBhm86V-BRo3ZlXZTOJpGoA6edPtwO7LYPAfiu3o28MEPHM5Pvg_C5cqYvpleJA3TzyvFA8QNgL_jcloR1_kClzJxXPuFq3u/s794/hpnlogo1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="794" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLdhtwjmVewSRffpU2JrXztHF6Uv-wCySNydv8mXGndOyi0if_7NjMNoVHWTkHjuDDFN_Jx4OwEMttLkSxLk_81tfmsBhm86V-BRo3ZlXZTOJpGoA6edPtwO7LYPAfiu3o28MEPHM5Pvg_C5cqYvpleJA3TzyvFA8QNgL_jcloR1_kClzJxXPuFq3u/w400-h300/hpnlogo1.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-85679483609405089662023-03-15T20:54:00.001-04:002023-03-15T21:37:07.559-04:004 Poems in Home Planet News<p> I'm happy to have four new poems in<a href="https://homeplanetnews.com/" target="_blank"> <i>Home Planet News </i></a>(Issue 10):<a href="https://homeplanetnews.com/10-poetry-page-61-2/" target="_blank"> "In <i>Sanctuary</i>," "Life on Uranus," "OK But" & "Nobody You Know." </a>Among the many other great pieces in the magazine, I'm pleased to say you can also find<a href="https://homeplanetnews.com/10-poetry-aaatemplate/" target="_blank"> poems by Aaron Morris</a>, who is, in case you're wondering, my son. </p><p>Many thanks to Frank Murphy, who, having served for many years as <i>Home Planet News</i> editor, is stepping down. Here's wishing Frank the best in all his endeavors!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitmN0oyj4mw0thjKkTMmsM-e0Q3tdEe0ZyVV3C2ZUEmiQbmld26MPVR-0-ZzatDuBqR3HY2_bUDBh7WR1gCd1L0W1II3BAj8kxRWAgzHDObqfd_BoWSL5TwHe3JEgwnrfAGW0X6OyJZTcq_ZI4FDI2O8mRI7SEhUp6NcUigOWVHA91RFXnIzwx7vzt/s634/uranus.life%20on%20uranus.2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="474" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitmN0oyj4mw0thjKkTMmsM-e0Q3tdEe0ZyVV3C2ZUEmiQbmld26MPVR-0-ZzatDuBqR3HY2_bUDBh7WR1gCd1L0W1II3BAj8kxRWAgzHDObqfd_BoWSL5TwHe3JEgwnrfAGW0X6OyJZTcq_ZI4FDI2O8mRI7SEhUp6NcUigOWVHA91RFXnIzwx7vzt/w478-h640/uranus.life%20on%20uranus.2.jpg" width="478" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaT5pSYTYik" target="_blank"><br /></a><p><br /></p>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-26318637100605641872023-02-28T01:27:00.000-05:002023-02-28T01:27:21.635-05:00Black Windows Then what? Then another cigarette <br />before I finish another scene from my life <br />as if it were written by Moliere. It’s true— <br />when I’m alone, I pretend to speak French. <br />Isn’t that sad? But everybody else <br /><br />is lying in bed listening to the rain, too. <br />It really is horrible out. The wind <br />would make kitschy sculpture of your <br />umbrella if you were this lonely. <br />And the clouds, wholly cumulonimbi! <br /><br />If worse comes to worst, remember— <br />I’ve given my body to sex, not science. <br />You’ll be advised what to do <br />in event of an actual emergency. For that <br />matter, say the rain stops. Say <br /><br />the echo of wind that thwarted Kublai <br />Khan & sank the Spanish Armada <br />sails off to Madagascar. <br /><br />Then what? Then another cigarette<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>First appeared in <i>Wind Magazine, </i>Vol. 16, No. 56, 1986<i>.</i></div>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-46749362155853186992023-01-24T14:04:00.000-05:002023-01-24T14:04:02.935-05:00Spank the Carp 2022 Anthology <p>The <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSFL63H1?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_TV84HV7QPF4D0XS43P0J" target="_blank"><i>SPANK the CARP 2022</i><i> Anthology</i></a> is available. If you want a reason to buy it, how about it's good & important to support literary ventures. Or maybe you just like the feel of a book in your hands. I know I do. Also, this anthology includes my poem <a href="https://www.spankthecarp.com/issue67_morris.html" target="_blank">"I'm Not Your Ordinary Fish."</a></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmxrJAMSIZn_xnjNsHRXatcH7bXD5vkN16mUDoeNDmHJiSId-tfxbntDSMUjfmfyvRV8JUM7-Vlw2AnXP-eo2oJQbtpGPCCyLH0NlzFGMh92SXEyFwFUCME1IehI2P1R0HV8q6M_DLlcIirwcZ66ss45BrX_1Tn2Js0aNo5FhFdBNW1Snr6xbJOK5-/s1500/stc.22.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmxrJAMSIZn_xnjNsHRXatcH7bXD5vkN16mUDoeNDmHJiSId-tfxbntDSMUjfmfyvRV8JUM7-Vlw2AnXP-eo2oJQbtpGPCCyLH0NlzFGMh92SXEyFwFUCME1IehI2P1R0HV8q6M_DLlcIirwcZ66ss45BrX_1Tn2Js0aNo5FhFdBNW1Snr6xbJOK5-/w426-h640/stc.22.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br />Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-58842731748365393482022-12-10T17:08:00.000-05:002022-12-10T17:08:50.362-05:00If You Follow the Money, They'll Call You a Stalker<p>Democrats often denounce Republicans as fascists because of Trump, & Republicans like to smear Democrats as fascists for engaging in culture wars. </p><p>Who's right? </p><p>Well, I'm sorry to tell you, but it's a trick question. So-called elected representatives from both parties almost unanimously support (to the staggering tune of over $100 billion in less than a year) neo-Nazis in Ukraine, whose bogus bandages & stripy sweaters may hide their swastika tattoos, but never their indelible crimes against humanity. </p><p>If you look past the posturing & partisan branding, it turns out, not really surprisingly, that both Democrats & Republicans are indeed fascists, though not necessarily for the reasons the other party claims. </p><p><br /></p>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-66707575334225005162022-11-20T20:18:00.002-05:002022-11-22T18:19:14.340-05:00Online Poetry Reading <p>Thanks to Nathan Nicolau for hosting & posting a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqNTALkiklU" target="_blank">livestream of poets reading</a> work from recent issues of <i>New Note Poetr</i>y. Included (at around the 1 hour 37 minute mark) is yours truly reading "Martini & Rossi," which appeared in the<a href="https://miscmss.blogspot.com/2022/07/martini-rossi-in-new-note-poetry.html" target="_blank"> summer issue of the magazine</a>. What a cool idea! Here's hoping Nicolau & <i>New Note</i> make more livestreams.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGnF4cwptYDE04KX4pr87hSRzElEDD7W5Pxih0UQHfFIMgMNqwxJ6R6kEb-XSzex2kUcy-OuJZtKpiVEYbo-nJDChOxHGN2pfglpKnBVnBE6yeA7OXHlH_nqQLeFpXE3_AfPzwBToZBNUiak3Hj_tyuIZ__wMD8fXyJpW_9UyIWEeaVI9hfQcNQMjQ/s945/martini%20&%20rossi.3%20warhol%20ads%20not%20cot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="945" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGnF4cwptYDE04KX4pr87hSRzElEDD7W5Pxih0UQHfFIMgMNqwxJ6R6kEb-XSzex2kUcy-OuJZtKpiVEYbo-nJDChOxHGN2pfglpKnBVnBE6yeA7OXHlH_nqQLeFpXE3_AfPzwBToZBNUiak3Hj_tyuIZ__wMD8fXyJpW_9UyIWEeaVI9hfQcNQMjQ/w406-h640/martini%20&%20rossi.3%20warhol%20ads%20not%20cot.jpg" width="406" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-37869945597139821752022-10-08T20:11:00.000-04:002022-10-08T20:11:33.192-04:00Epigram<div>People should be good</div><div>to one another.</div><div>They're not, so fuck 'em.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><p><br /></p></div>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-87133498285321390832022-09-15T22:59:00.000-04:002022-09-15T22:59:06.546-04:00"Outside the Caption" in Juked<p>I'm very pleased to see <a href="http://juked.com/2022/09/matt-morris-outside-the-caption.asp" target="_blank">"Outside the Caption"</a> in this month's <i><a href="http://juked.com/" target="_blank">Juked</a></i>. Many thanks to all!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6Y0_dzT3gHNMdsbnaylQzX6XaJom5-eZv83Nz4CfVo8BekkYsf11EzaxSWItAHLjCjjxmjR9YEwf82KEeaLKrVq5bkAdN7IlkVi21yZpgqJNcMecTfVMU2MkCyavyheIPl4HH4qafM1DsImstWmi983f3ToAxzMenI9tu3-0-LVeIZdHrvvfr8Si/s800/war%20criminals.23.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="800" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6Y0_dzT3gHNMdsbnaylQzX6XaJom5-eZv83Nz4CfVo8BekkYsf11EzaxSWItAHLjCjjxmjR9YEwf82KEeaLKrVq5bkAdN7IlkVi21yZpgqJNcMecTfVMU2MkCyavyheIPl4HH4qafM1DsImstWmi983f3ToAxzMenI9tu3-0-LVeIZdHrvvfr8Si/w400-h224/war%20criminals.23.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-68616394571723721452022-08-01T13:30:00.003-04:002022-08-03T23:20:38.559-04:00Yet Another, Possibly Final, Fistful of Reviews, Part 1<p><span><i>Finnegans Wake</i>, James Joyce. Puns, malaprops, parody, rhyming slang, mock allusions, & the like make up the entire novel--or perhaps pseudo-novel, for it reads like something akin to mimicry, with each element of traditional novels, from plot to syntax, being skewered with great wit & creativity. While I won't deny it's a difficult book--I spent a half year reading it--its basic premise seems to be history is cyclic & static, rendering human existence, with all its struggles & anguish, pointlessly absurd. To that end, Joyce makes such fatalistic pessimism a joy to read. If there's a downside to <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INiY-6tVnxI" target="_blank">Finnegans Wake</a></i>, it's that, afterward, everything else seems tawdry & quaint in comparison. A truly remarkable literary experience!</span></p><p><span>*</span></p><p><span><i>A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake</i>, Joseph Campbell & Harold Morton Robinson. I won't say this guide, one of the first of its kind for <i>Finnegans Wake,</i> isn't helpful, but it's not as useful as it could be. The synopses of chapters is good--although the <i>Finnegans Wake</i> edition I read provides that anyway--but the long sequences of partially paraphrased passages from Joyce, presented without editorial interruption as way of explanation, seem superfluous at best.</span></p><p><i><span>*</span></i></p><p><i><span>Rash</span>ōmon</i>, Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, trans. Jay Rubin. Take note, fellow Kurosawa fans--the movie <i><span>Rash</span>ōmon</i> is less based on the story "<span>Rash</span>ōmon" than on "In the Bamboo Grove," also included in this collection. Akutagawa spins gripping, depressing tales, especially those written, at least semi-autobiographically, just before his suicide. Haruki Murakami's introduction "Akutagawa Ryūnosuke: Downfall of the Chosen," provides enlightening comments & context re: Akutagawa. You might find it interesting, too, that the mini-series<i> Aoi Bungaku</i>, which adapted, albeit loosely, the works of famous modern Japanese writers into anime, features Akutagawa's "The Spider Thread" & "Hell Screen."</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>*</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories, </i>ed. Jay Rubin. Good selection of mostly modern stories, such as Hoshino Tomoyuki's "Pink," Ogawa Yōko's "The Tale of the House of Physics," Genji Keita's "Mr. English," Satō Yūya's "Same As Always," & Haruki Murakami's "UFO in Kushino," among lots of other good stuff. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>*</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Hagakure: The Code of the Samurai; The Manga Edition</i>, Yamamoto Tsunetomo, adapted by Sean Michael Wilson, et al. I read a full translation on which this manga is based several years ago, & as way of compliment, it does a very good job of illustrating (pun intended) the way of the samurai, as counterintuitive as it may sound, by reducing the verbiage & examples from the original text. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>*</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Sixty Stories</i>, Donald Barthelme. Still one of my favorite writers, Barthelme is the Monty Python of the literary world, for his work remains incredibly fresh & funny, even though he wrote it back in the days when Earth was still new to me.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>*</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Noir</i>, Robert Coover. I place this somewhere between parody of & homage to hard-boiled detectives novels--I really need to organize my bookshelves better! As an on & off fan--crazy weather, huh--of the genre, I found Coover's venture into detective novels, told with his usual wit & flair, quite enjoyable.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>*</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>The Grand Hotels (of Joseph Cornell)</i>, Robert Coover. These short imaginative sketches aren't exactly ekphrasis, since none are about any one particular Cornell piece, but are impressions inspired by Cornell's body of work. I'm reminded of Italo Calvino's <i>Invisible Cities. </i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>*</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Cronopios & Famas</i>, Julio Cortázar, trans. Paul Blackburn. It's not clear to me why Cortázar isn't on the tongue of every student of literature. It's hard to think of another collection as creative & imaginative as this collection. It's not classified as such, but to me, it's poetry. The individual pieces remind me stylistically of Russell Edson's <i>The Childhood of the Equestrian</i>. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>*</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>The Government Lake, </i>James Tate. I put off reading this posthumous collection for some time because I knew it would sadden me. The poems collected here aren't as witty or tightly constructed as I've come to expect of Tate--it's as if he'd not fully revised them--but they're still amusing & delightfully weird. Speaking for myself, if not for poetry incarnate, he will be sorely missed.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>*</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>The Big Game</i>, Benjamin Péret, trans. Marilyn Kallet. Some call Péret the most bizarre of the first-gen French surrealists--as in support, James Tate called Péret his favorite--& this big bilingual poetry book certainly gives credence to such a claims. Sadly missing from this delightful collection is one of my all-time favorites, <a href="https://unsansculotte.wordpress.com/2016/10/20/hommage-a-benjamin-peret-louis-xvi-sen-va-a-la-guillotine/" target="_blank">"Louis XVI s'en va á la guillotine,"</a> but there is "A Bird Shit on My Jacket Bastard":</p>Empty-handed and foot raised<br />the good child on two plates<br />was dying to laugh at a lonely<br />horse<br />at the moon<br />at the cops<br />Instead of dying<br />he could have laughed<br />he preferred to pound like a deaf man<br />on the nearest tree<br />The tree meowed<br />T.S.F. T.S.F.<br />The T.S.F. bit him on the right foot<br />and a bear on the left hand<br />Since he was young he didn’t die from it<br />They decorated him<br />made him an ambassador<br />Paul Claudel<div><span> </span></div><div><span><span><i>*</i></span></span></div><div><span><span><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span><span><i>Capital of Pain, </i>Paul Éluard, trans. Mary Anne Caws, et al. </span>Éluard's lyrical & elliptical mostly love poetry demonstrates (as is its right) why he remains one of the most popular & influential of the original surrealists. This bilingual collection includes a thoughty Caws essay on <span> </span>Éluard & his poetics.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><span><i>*</i></span></span></div><div><span><span><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span><span><i>Robert Desnos: Surrealist, Lover, Resistant;</i> <i>The Complete Poems,</i> Robert Desnos, trans. Timothy Adès. It took me nearly a year to read this 500+ page bilingual volume--Desnos wrote many very looooooooong poems--& I applaud </span>Adès for his labor. (He has a very cool <a href="https://www.timothyades.com/" target="_blank">site</a> where he exhibits many of his other translations.) That said, the "rhyming translator" allows his penchant for rhymes at times (see what I did!) to make Desnos a trifle sing-songy, which, even with how little I know, rightly or wrongly, I know his poems don't normally sound like that in French. Still, it's an enormously wonderful book for seemingly unappreciative monoglots like me. One of my favorite poems is "Les Quatres sans cou"("The Four Cut Necks"), of which you can watch a most enjoyable video <a href="https://vimeo.com/groups/309733/videos/145726304" target="_blank">here</a> (translated by Alix Fizet, I believe).</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><i>*</i></span></div><div><span><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span><i>Treatise on Style</i>, Louis Aragon, trans. Alyson Waters. For Aragon, style isn't merely a matter of syntax, word choice, tone, or other rhetorical & technical concerns, but to a much larger degree, it's about attitude. Briefly & bluntly, if you're an ass-kissing lackey, your work is likely to have all the appeal of a "shirt in a urinal," even if you check all the prescribed boxes of what makes literature worthwhile, because twaddle is twaddle, regardless of technique. With remorseless wit, Aragon delivers an outrageous & (at the time) scandalous repudiation of widely held literary theories & personages. </span></div><div><span><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span><i>*</i></span></div><div><span><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span><i>Possessed by Memory</i>, Harold Bloom. At 89, the renowned literary critic contemplates mortality through protracted discussions of biblical tales, replete with lengthy quotations of scripture from the King James version, no less, in hopes of a "capital B Blessing of a more abundant life"--er, afterlife, I guess. Then there's Shakespeare, <a href="https://www.unlikelystories.org/content/the-other-half-excerpt-from-an-unknown-last-act-and-then-your-pet-hamster" target="_blank">Milton</a>, & so on in that manner, including . . . </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><div><span><span><i>*</i></span></span></div><div><span><span><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span><span><i>Idylls of the Kings</i>, Alfred Tennyson. I like Tennyson's ear--not so much his politics. Moreover, </span><span>I don't care for romantic tales of kings & queens & have an especially dim regard for Camelot crap, but what the hell, I read <i>Idylls</i> anyway. </span><span>All in all, but</span><span> in particular Arthur's melodramatic chastising of </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT9EKqXDl68" target="_blank">Guinevere</a><span>, </span><i>Idylls</i><span> falls with a dull thud on didactic grounds. That said, it's hard to fault Tennyson's technical prowess, though I recommend his shorter works instead.</span></span></div></div><div><div><span><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span><i>*</i></span></div><div><span><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span><i>Dear Elizabeth</i>, Sarah Ruhl. I'm not particularly fond of literary dramatizations, but this play based upon the correspondences between Robert Lowell & Elizabeth Bishop makes me want to read <i>Words in Air</i>, so I guess it serves as an introduction. </span></div></div><div><i><span><br /></span></i></div><div><i>*</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Hear Trains</i><span>, Caroline Knox. One of my very favorite poets, Knox dazzles in this collection of intellectual, absurd, playful, often hilarious, often difficult poems. </span><i>The House Party</i><span> remains her best book in my estimation, but this </span><span>is damn good!</span></div><div><span><p class="MsoNormal"><i>*</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>To Drink Boiled Snow, </i>Caroline Knox. On a bit of a Knox binge lately. See above. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>*</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Shock by Shock</i>, Dean Young. Another of my faves still living, Young's become more reflective if not pensive, perhaps given his health issues--he received a heart transplant, if I'm not mistaken--while never losing his reckless bent toward the bizarre & surreal. In short, good stuff!</p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>*</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Ararat</i>,<a href="https://miscmss.blogspot.com/2020/10/chimera.html" target="_blank"> Louise Glück</a>. Several strong poems here, though the book as a whole spends too much time "psychobabblizing" about familial relationships for my behaviorist tastes. Now in pizza flavor!</p></span></div><div><span><i>*</i></span></div><div><span><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span><i>Escape from Freedom</i>, Erich Fromm. It's a fine book, especially for its historical relevance, considering it was written in 1941 with a real time analysis of Nazis, but for what it's worth, apples to oranges as it may be, as a former psychology major, I prefer B.F. Skinner's <i>Beyond Freedom & Dignity</i>. </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><i>*</i></span></div><div><span><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span><i>On Certainty</i>, Ludwig Wittgenstein, trans. Denis Paul & G.E.M. Anscombe. Or is it <i>Uncertainty</i>? Makes ya think, don't it? The point is that what we think we know & what we actually know are quite difficult to know. Let this be a lesson to all you censors & deplatforming zealots. It is through dialogue that we discover truth, not through repression & suppression. Stylistically, this essay is similar to <i>Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus</i>--& who doesn't love the <a href="https://www.thestylistics.org/music" target="_blank">Stylistics</a>?</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><i>*</i></span></div><div><span><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span><i>The Conquest of Happiness</i>, Bertrand Russell. One of my favorite philosophers, Russell has the knack of discussing philosophic topics (see <i>The Problems of Philosophy</i>) in such a way that the general reader can understand. However, in this essay, he sounds an awful lot like Will Durant, with an emphasis on awful. While the main premise that people should do <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyihQtBes1I" target="_blank">whatever makes them happy</a> as long as it doesn't harm others is, though problematic, a good rule of thumb, the overgeneralizations based upon gender & occupations, for instance, are reductive &--as the kids say--cringe. </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><i>*</i></span></div><div><span><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span><i>Ecce Homo</i>, Fredrich Nietzsche, Dover Edition. <i>Hey, Listen to Me!</i> is how I translate the title of Nietzsche's last work, a tirade of a treatise & less funny precursor to Firesign Theatre's <i>Everything You Know Is Wrong</i>. Among the many provocative statements made, Nietzsche dubs love the ultimate act of egotism. Maybe so, but then again, maybe he just wasn't doing it right. Also: Wagner! Wagner! Wagner!</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span><span><i>*</i></span></span></div><div><span><span><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span><span><i>Existentialism and Human Emotions</i>, Jean-Paul Sartre, trans. Bernard Fretchman & Hazel E. Barnes. I discovered, after diving into this volume--comprised of selections from <i>Existentialism</i> & <i>Being & Nothingness</i>--that I had read it before, but had merely forgotten. O, but I'd not forgotten some of the basic quarrels I have with existentialism. For instance, I tend to think free will is illusory, so the notion that we have choices is absurd. I'm also reminded of some of the really inane interpretations of existentialism, e.g., if you're poor, it's because you've chosen to be poor, or if you're sick, you've chosen to be so. </span>I had also forgotten that Sartre, at least for me, provokes more questions than he provides answers. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>*</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2xehSjrzVs" target="_blank">Nausea</a></i><span>, Jean-Paul Sartre, trans. Lloyd Alexander. Personally, I've experienced worse--for instance, the time I was forced to eat a ghastly, sickly, ghost-white Frito chip, resulting in all too titular consequences. Rather than nausea, Sartre seems to be talking about ennui--oh, wait, I get it! I probably like Sartre's philosophical treatises better than I do his forays into the creative arts, I guess, though I've not read enough of either.</span></span></div><div><span><span><br /></span></span></div><div><i>*</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism; The Political Economy of Human Rights </i>(Vol. 1), Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman. From the authors of <i>Manufacturing Consent</i>, before Chomsky became a shill for the DNC, this analysis of further media negligence & complicity in US involvement in creating & supporting fascist regimes abroad in the 1970s sadly could be applied today & it would remain every bit as accurate & damning. </div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><i>*</i></span></div><div><span><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span><i>Propaganda and the Public Mind</i>, Noam Chomsky. In a series of interviews by David Barsasian, Chomsky gives his views on a variety of political issues of the day such as East Timor, the first Gulf War, the bombing of Sudan, etc. I find his statement that Nixon was the last liberal president less controversial than his statement that Marx was a theorist, not a revolutionary, who made only a few scattered statements about socialism. As one who's read both <i>Das Kapital</i> & <i>The Communist Manifesto</i>, I'd have to say that's bullshit. <a href="https://miscmss.blogspot.com/2020/05/two-parties-one-pathology.html" target="_blank">Nixon a liberal?</a> Well, by today's standards, hell, he's practically a commie.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><i>*</i></span></div><div><span><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span><i>The White Album</i><span>, Joan Didion. Maybe it was the time constraint of having to have it completed by Tuesday's 9:30am class, but I didn't much care for </span><i>The Book of Common Prayer</i><span> when I read it as a grad student. Lo & many years later, I wondered, were I to read Didion again, if my opinion would change. Even though several well-written, quasi-thoughty essays appear in this collection, a few too many strike me as a bit--well, to be frank--bourgeois for my tastes. So, yeah, I guess I'm saying I prefer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ArlUSVDQIw&list=PLycVTiaj8OI80AsTGjYJAPi7-i8kTH-Bq" target="_blank">the Beatles</a>' original to Didion's cover.</span></span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><i>*</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>My Discovery of America</i><span>, Vladimir Mayakovsky, trans. Neil Cornwell. Written in 1926, Mayakovsky makes often witty, off-the-cuff observations and analysis of American landscapes & society from a Marxist's point of view, e.g., the treatment of striking clothing workers on the picket line, the sentencing of the rich (Leopold & Loeb, life) versus that of the poor (Sacho & Vanzetti, death), how uncomfortable Pullman cars are, bigotry, America's love of celery, segregation, etc. There's plenty to love about this book, plenty of quotable quotes, many just as applicable today as they were back then, such as, "There isn't a country that spits out as much moralistic, lofty, idealistic, sanctimonious rubbish as the United States does." </span><a href="https://www.tiltedhouse.org/poetry/2021/3/26/three-poems" target="_blank">I heart Mayakavosky.</a></div><div><span><div><br /></div><div><i>*</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>The Good Earth</i>, Pearl S. Buck. What is especially gratifying is that Buck deftly avoids employing stereotypes & all that implies in relating the economic rise of a poor farm family in early 20th century China. This is my second reading of Buck's classic novel. You ought to read it, too.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>*</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter</i>, Carson McCullers. This first novel--a sad story, artfully told--is by far my favorite work by McCullers. While largely a sympathetic portrayal of black America, some of the statements may be, in retrospect, a bit problematic.</div></span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><i>*</i></span></div><div><span><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span><i>From Death to Morning, </i>Thomas Wolfe. I hadn't read Wolfe since tackling <i>Look Homeward, Angel</i> as the only freshman--imagine me, a prodigy!--in Dr. Walther's major American writers class. Remembering the verbose yet poetic passages, I thought it might be rewarding to return to Wolfe. The verbose, poeticized passages are superabundant, but so is baked-in bigotry, however well-intended Wolfe's aim. In that regard, these short stories may not pave the road to hell, but they possibly serve as mile markers. That said, "Only the Dead Know Brooklyn" remains enjoyable, though I gave up reading the book in its entirety.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span><i>*</i></span></div><div><span><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span><i>A Shropshire Lad</i>, A.E. Housman. Primarily acquainted only with the much anthologized "Terrence, This Is Stupid Stuff," I'll admit this collection is not what I expected, what with its many melancholy, melodramatic poems, but in the final analysis, Terrence, he may have a point.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><i>*</i></span></div><div><span><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span><i>Homage to Mistress Bradstreet & Other Poems</i>, John Berryman. I've not returned often to Berryman since my college days. Back then, I was a huge fan & devoured just about everything he wrote--the entirety of his <i>Dream Songs, </i>its follow-up collections, his early poems, & this book, a kind of "greatest hits" that includes three of my favorite poems: "Winter Landscapes," "The Moon and The Night and The Men," & "The Ball Poem." What I like about his poetry is his dark sense of humor, conveyed with playfully disjointed, if not convoluted, syntax. </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><i>*</i></span></div><div><span><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span><i>Sonnets</i>, John Berryman. Only one of these sonnets (which together form a narrative sequence) appeared in print prior to the publication of this volume, published at the height of Berryman's popularity, if "popularity" is a word that one can accurately ascribe to poets. True to form--pun intended--Berryman again demonstrates his signature fragmented syntax & melancholic wit in their early genesis.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><i>*</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Wheeling Motel</i>, Franz Wright. You can listen to Franz Wright, son of James Wright, read many of these plainspoken, ruminating, playful yet melancholic poems on Spotify & other platforms--he sounds a bit like a less gruff Tom Waits--though I enjoy the printed page far more.</div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><i>*</i></span></div><div><span><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span><i>American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin</i>, Terrance Hayes. Throughout this volume--each sonnet in the sequence has the same title as the book itself, & several later sonnets repeat bits from earlier sonnets as a way of giving closure to the whole--Hayes nibbles at the edge of politics but doesn't delve deep or stray far from the acceptable mainstream path, the "Trump is bad" variety of analysis that, albeit true, isn't exactly profound or original. For instance, when eulogizing Amiri Baraka, Hayes focuses on Baraka's most anthologized--& not coincidentally--least controversial, least radical, least political poem. Also, if you listen to Hayes reading this collection, his repeating the title, the same f'ng title, throughout is annoying as popup ads, if truth be told, which it rarely is these days. <i>American Sonnets</i> isn't Hayes's best work--I'd say <i>Hip Logic</i> or <i>Muscular Music</i>--but it's most certainly worth a read.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><i>*</i></span></div><div><span><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span><i>The Poems of Catullus</i>, trans. Daisy Dunn. I have about a half-dozen translations of Catullus on my shelf & have read probably a dozen others elsewhere. The variance in the translations shows a tendency to interpret rather than strictly translate Catullus. Indeed, in the past, most translators felt the need to sanitize Catullus. What makes Dunn's translation fresh is her willingness to indulge in the vulgarities & perversities (by today's standards) that comprise a portion of Catullus's work. I still prefer my reworking of the infamous <a href="https://miscmss.blogspot.com/2017/05/catullus-16.html" target="_blank">XVI</a>, but I really enjoyed Dunn's overall take on Catullus. Kudos!</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><span><i>*</i></span></span></div><div><span><span><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span><span><i>Methods & Theories of Art History</i>, Anne D'Alleva. Since this is intended as a textbook for college courses in art history, I shouldn't be surprised that it reads like one. In sum, it provides a survey of the history of art theories, giving examples of how various isms might be used to analyze art.</span> It's not bad if you're a novice, but at the risk of sounding pompous, it really didn't tell me much that I didn't already know.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><span><i>*</i></span></span></div><div><span><span><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span><span><i>The Real Anthony Fauci</i>, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. I can't say I agree with everything Kennedy says--especially given big tech's ear bent toward censorship--but rather than discuss the validity or invalidity of Kennedy's claims, I'd rather address the subject of censorship: I'm against it. <a href="https://miscmss.blogspot.com/2013/08/night-at-improv-c-1600.html" target="_blank">"Night at the Improv, C. 1600,"</a> which first appeared in <i>Segue</i> (p. 56) about 20 years ago, speaks implicitly to the question of free speech; <a href="https://homeplanetnews.com/?page_id=22659" target="_blank">"Net Neutrality,"</a> which appears in a recent <i>Home Planet News</i>, addresses it more straightforwardly. Undoubtedly, Kennedy has long been considered a controversial figure, yet our flaccid facade of democracy has withstood his unorthodox views thus far without the state crumbling. I</span>f even a quarter of what Kennedy alleges here is true, then build the wall--no, not <i>that</i> one, but the wall to line all the hucksters & plunderers up against when the revolution comes. </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><i>*</i></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span><i>Barabbas, </i>Pär Lagerkvist, trans. Alan Blair. </span>Lagerkvist's purpose in writing this novel, I'd wager, would be to put forth his belief in secular Christianity. Of the three Lagerkvist novels I've read, this would be my least favorite. It's not bad, just a bit plodding. For instance, did we really need the backstory about the crucifixion? Seems like that's pretty much common knowledge. Even so, I wish I could find more Lagerkvist available in English.</div><div><br /></div><div><span><i>*</i></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span><i>Holy Bible</i><span>, various authors. A sprawling epic that stretches from the beginning of time itself to circa 60 A.D., it presents, utilizing the assembled writings of mostly anonymous authors, an uneven collection of tall tales & fables that range from the improbable creation of the world--nay, the universe & beyond--to its destruction & just about everything in between: tyranny, war, slavery, adultery, rape, incest, drunkenness, debauchery, temptation, death, taxes, & so on. While I applaud its ambitious aims, it wallows too often in pedantry, devoting chapter after chapter to the antiquated minutia of religious ritual & uninspired exposition of genealogy so that the flow of narration becomes too irreparably lost for even Jesus H. Christ, Esq., to save. Speaking of Whom, the supposed main character, Mr. Christ, doesn't appear until over halfway through the book, then--spoiler alert--almost immediately dies. Inserted throughout the pages are assorted instances of magic realism--a smooth-as-silk-tongued serpent, incendiary shrubbery that speaks <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWG3npfEoHo" target="_blank">with a voice straight from God</a>, a down-on-his-luck <a href="https://miscmss.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-distant-sea.html" target="_blank">man who lives inside an accommodating fish</a>, a curious woman so cursed that she turns into a saltlick, both good & evil angels & gods, as well as what may appeal to many today, apparent zombies--which some may say makes for compelling storytelling, but ultimately, the over-reaching arc proves far too disjointed & didactic (hell, it's downright preachy) to recommend. </span></span></div><div><span><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span>Anyway, that's what I think.</span></span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><b><span>Enjoy a <a href="https://miscmss.blogspot.com/2020/07/a-few-more-fistfuls-of-book-reviews.html" target="_blank">Fistful </a>from the past!</span></b></div>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-62472712813079753762022-07-11T09:21:00.003-04:002022-07-27T12:02:00.325-04:00"Martini & Rossi" in New Note Poetry<p><br /> Pleased that <a href="https://www.newnotepoetry.com/summer-2022" target="_blank">"Martini & Rossi"</a> appears in the latest issue of <i>New Note Poetry </i>(see page 101). </p><p>Great thanks to all!</p><p><br /></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFDuyHx6n_YOBJ_8gzpWwuoEbvgYswfsb0S2V0J2SXbLMRDYuW8oCZd4Sh2LaoQVVvC7ClTBewXm-rLgnyLRP6XuBXPXXRpjycyG4RkVerlF6FQw0NVWZ9ldDM2HDpN-NqYVbk7mC27dwGhBfQ125Dk5dcBfrekPJeOg6f3UhqGyEQ6e371w_KRWBY/s632/bad%20cop.1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="474" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFDuyHx6n_YOBJ_8gzpWwuoEbvgYswfsb0S2V0J2SXbLMRDYuW8oCZd4Sh2LaoQVVvC7ClTBewXm-rLgnyLRP6XuBXPXXRpjycyG4RkVerlF6FQw0NVWZ9ldDM2HDpN-NqYVbk7mC27dwGhBfQ125Dk5dcBfrekPJeOg6f3UhqGyEQ6e371w_KRWBY/w300-h400/bad%20cop.1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-38111658842525285492022-06-01T12:14:00.000-04:002022-06-01T12:14:21.203-04:00Profile in SPANK the CARP<p>Proudly happy to be profiled in the current issue of <i><a href="https://www.spankthecarp.com/profile_morris69.html" target="_blank">SPANK the CARP</a> </i>after <a href="https://www.spankthecarp.com/issue67_morris.html" target="_blank">"I’m Not Your Ordinary Fish,”</a> which appeared in February, received the most
votes from readers. It's really nice to know others enjoy my work, doubly so, given this is the second time I’ve been profiled in<i> <a href="https://www.spankthecarp.com/profile_morris.html" target="_blank">StC</a></i>.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Many thanks to all!</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As a bonus, here’s a link to a <a href="https://cartridgelit.com/2022/05/31/neoliberalism/">poem</a> by my son in <i>Cartridge Lit</i>.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGuZw0y2I8Ou0WCO5BwUinrOz_D_8yVUD7beFF3_uuRyWFpviBOEaAHppFtUUQZRF0xdZmPXQmnewmsMkE_q1uRbHT69FhS-MRo9jh6Xz6zS9OyQJN0-QqYnoErVaVdLA10YMF433ws2u3GxKxvx529Z0B7CDsx8EeSFZ3Gel09sk1JQUtmoKGFiME/s1001/hitchcock.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1001" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGuZw0y2I8Ou0WCO5BwUinrOz_D_8yVUD7beFF3_uuRyWFpviBOEaAHppFtUUQZRF0xdZmPXQmnewmsMkE_q1uRbHT69FhS-MRo9jh6Xz6zS9OyQJN0-QqYnoErVaVdLA10YMF433ws2u3GxKxvx529Z0B7CDsx8EeSFZ3Gel09sk1JQUtmoKGFiME/w320-h400/hitchcock.1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201670257515489832.post-45753912465304462962022-05-23T13:07:00.004-04:002022-05-23T23:31:12.675-04:00Irony Checklist<p><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">1). Russia’s elections are “rigged,” claims
Dubya, himself appointed president by the Supreme Court in the controversial
2000 election, which voter tallies show he lost.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">2). While intending to condemn Putin for
invading Ukraine, Dubya instead implicates himself as the war criminal he is for
invading Iraq.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic","sans-serif"" style="background: color: #050505; font-size: 11.5pt;">3). The George W. Bush Institute, where <a href="https://rumble.com/v15kqf1-george-bush-accidentally-admits-u.s.-is-worlds-evil-empire.html" target="_blank">the speech </a>was delivered, is a think-tank. (Let that sink in.) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">4). Many Democrats now embrace & defend Dubya,
the once reviled Republican existential evil.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">5). Even with his notorious gaffesta style, Dubya
is arguably more coherent than Biden.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic","sans-serif"" style="background: color: #050505; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic","sans-serif"" style="background: color: #050505; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Matt Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437832015558901185noreply@blogger.com0