THE MOST SATISFYING READ

I've experienced so far in 2016 may well be A Picture of Everyone I love Passes Through Me with collages by Lynn Behrendt, text mixed by John Bloomberg-Rissman and remixed by Lynn Behrendt. Almost as soon as I began reading and perusing the book, I began making notes for a review (which I hadn't planned on doing prior to opening the book!).  It's that inspirational! To wit, here's the book and my notes next to my dishwashing liquid -- I had to forgo doing the dishes for the review:

Look for that review in next issue of Galatea Resurrects. Dear Other Reviewers, the deadline is coming up at June 30!

THIS PINAY TRYING TO PUT HER MONEY WHERE HER MOUTH IS...

In this marvelous article about Elda Rotor, a Filipino-American who runs Penguin Classics (yes, did you know that?), there’s this quote by her:

"If you want Filipino writers to be published, you must support their publications. Publishers, marketers, etc. look at comparative titles and their sales. My ability to publish “El Filibusterismo” is connected to the success of “Noli Me Tangere.” The opportunity to publish Jose Garcia Villa is informed by the community who buys Rizal. There is no obligation to read exclusively but there are many reasons to read supportively."

Every so often I’ve found myself in a situation of advocating for Filipino-authored books. But I’ve never really looked at my own buying habits—I have assumed I’ve been supportive but never checked. So I checked and here are my buying results below. I was able to find records for 2015 and 2014 purchases but they’re likely incomplete because they’re focused on poetry or books of other genres but authored by a poet.  But even if I accept my numbers are understated, I discover my results are not as high as I thought: four books to date in 2016, 18 in 2015 and 5 in 2014. This result, though, also shows why I'm a fan of lists—sometimes the actual list reveals something under your nose but which your eyes have not dropped to see...

Dear advocates for Filipino literature (you know who you are), What does your record show?

BOUGHT FILIPIN@-AUTHORED BOOKS:

2016 (so far): 4

AGE OF BLIGHT: STORIES by Kristine Ong Muslim

KALI’S BLADE, poems by Michelle Bautista

VINCIGUERRA, novel by Elaine Castillo (an author directed to me by Elda Rotor through her article)

POETRY IS: JOSE GARCIA VILLA’S PHILOSOPHY OF POETRY Edited by Robert King (I want to purchase this though there seem some logistical difficulty…)

2015: 18* 

HOLLYWOOD STARLET by Ivy Alvarez

BEYOND LUMPIA, PANSIT and SEVEN MANANGS WILD, edited by Evangeline Canonizado Buell

EVERYDAY THINGS by Fidelito C. Cortes

THE BEAUTY OF GHOSTS by Luis Francia

THE DESCARTES HIGHLANDS by Eric Gamalinda

STAGE PRESENCE: CONVERSATIONS WITH FILIPINO AND FILIPINO-AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTISTS edited by Theodore Gonzalves

COLLECTED VERSE by Nick Joaquin

PRIME TIME APPARITIONS by R. Zamora Linmark

#30 COLLANTES STREET by Lisa Suguitan Melnick

LITTLE ANODYNES by Jon Pineda

APOLOGY: a novel by Jon Pineda

TO LOVE AS ASWANG by Barbara Jane Reyes

NOT SO, SEA by Mg Roberts

COOL DON’T LIVE HERE NO MORE: A LETTER TO SAN FRANCISCO by Tony Robles

THE MANGO BRIDE by Marivi Soliven

SPARSE ANATOMIES OF SINGLE ANTECEDENTS by Felino A. Soriano

FLIPS 2015: A FILIPINO AMERICAN ANTHOLOGY (a reprint) edited by Serafin Syquia and Bayani Mariano w/ new introduction by Juanita Tamayo Lott

MONSTRESS by Lysley Tenorio

2014: 5  

AMULET by Jason Bayani

POST SUBJECT: A FABLE by Oliver de la Paz

ODE TO THE HEART SMALLER THAN A PENCIL by Luisa A. Igloria

THE DAY OF SHELLY’S DEATH by Renato Rosaldo

RELIQUARIA by R.A. Villanueva 

* No doubt 2015's result was improved by my having attended the Filipino American International Book Festival. 

"THE NOVELIST'S DIARY"

My New Year's Resolution for 2016 was to write everyday on a long-form novel attempt.  Today  makes it 165 days in a row ... which also explains a Vispo over at h& -- thanks to editor Ian Whistle for the space. Go to link or see it here:

One might say this work's Muse is my sense of humor ...

REVIEWING WILLIAM ALLEGREZZA'S LATEST BOOK!

Matina Stamatakis reveals why my Meritage Press and Catherine Daly's i.e. press were so delighted to publish William Allegrezza's Selected Poems with a review in Hybrids: Book Review. You can see the entire review HERE but here's an excerpt:

As this collection progresses, the experimentation and imagery increases. Letters jump out on the page, emboldened. Words dance atop other words and collide. Yet these words are not just randomly placed. Allegrezza is trained in the amalgamation of sense and poignancy, all the while, holding true to the playfulness of experimentation. 

And you can get William Allegrezza's book over HERE! Enjoy!

ILLUSTRATED FUR HAY(NA)KU

Achilles,
Athena, Ajax--
a fur hay(na)ku

(click on image for a lovely enlargement)

THE HAY(NA)KU CONTINUES!

(CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE)

It’s nearing two decades since we debuted the hay(na)ku, and it’s still special and humbling and a blessing to see the form continue to be useful to poets.  I showcase some from Mark Young’s recent and fabulous collection, lithic typology. Thanks Mark, for elevating my breakfast reading today!

Speaking of publications, here's my latest Relished W(h)ines update of recently imbibed books and wines.  As ever, please note that in the Publications section, if you see an asterisk before the title, that means a review copy is available for Galatea Resurrects!  More info on that HERE.  And there's more of Mark's hay(na)ku if you scroll down to end of the list!

PUBLICATIONS

SELECTED POEMS & POETIC SERIES by Thomas Fink (an enjoyable feat from a poet who deserves to be more widely read. LinkedInPoetry Recommendations (LPR #236)

THE UNFOLLOWING by Lyn Hejinian (excellent and satisfying! LPR #238)

*  ALGARAVIAS / ECHO CHAMBER by Waly Salomao, Trans. by Maryam Monalisa Gharavi (fabulous and witty. LPR #237)

67 MOGUL MINIATURES, poems by Raza Ali Hasan (excellent. LPR #240)

ANY LIE YOU TELL WILL BE THE TRUTH by Stephen Paul Miller (perhaps my favorite of his poetry books. LPR #239)

NEXT TO LAST WORDS, poems by Daniel Hoffman (wise, poignant and pleasurable reading)

DEEP CITY, poems by Megan Kaminski (many wonderfully-wrought moments of enchantment)

PROVIDENCE, poems by Megan Kaminski (such light!)

POLAND / 1931 by Jerome Rothenberg (beautiful edition by Unicorn Press printed by Noel Young on a handmade Japanese paper. Powerful poems and a wonderful production)

WHERE THEY WOULD NEVER BE INVITED, poems by Jesse Nissim (excellent conceptual underpinnings; movingly manifested)

NESTING INSTINCT, poems by Jesse Nissim (so smart! Wonderful read!)

*  TAKE YOUR HAND OUT OF MY POCKET, SHIVA, poems by Leonard Gontarek (several diamond-like poems)

LITHIC TYPOLOGY, poems by Mark Young (as ever, witty and wise)

TEACHING MY MOTHER HOW TO GIVE BIRTH, poems by Warsan Shire

PLAN / K, poetry by Kristi Maxwell

ODDS ARE, poetry by Lary Timewell

KING KONG, poetry by rob mclennan (stellar crafting)

THE ROSE CONCORDANCE, poetry by rob mclennan (lovely)

*  A GAME OF CORRESPONDENCE, poems by Valerie Witte (fabulous)

*  SELECTED POEMS by Keith Waldrop

*  THE MATH OF GIFTS, poems by HeidiLynn Nilsson

*  THE TORTOISE OF HISTORY, poems by Anselm Hollo

*  POMEGRANATE EATER, poems by Amaranth Borsuk

*  THIS NUMBER DOES NOT EXIST, poems by Mangalesh Dabral

*  RECONNAISSANCE: NEW & SELECTED POEMS AND POETIC JOURNALS (2005-2015) by Mark Pawlak

TRISKELION, TIGER MOTH, TANGRAM, THYME, poems by Marcia Arrieta

NIGHT SONGS, poems by Kristina Marie Darling

ON POEMS ON, poems by Sandra Liu

PART, PART EUPHRATES, poems by Arpine Konyalian Grenier

from IDYLLS & RUSHES, poems by Susana Gardner

THE BOOK OF A THOUSAND EYES, poems by Lyn Hejinian

ALMOST PERFECT FORMS, visual poetry by Michael Stewart

THE GREENHOUSE, poems by Lisa Gluskin Stonestreet

THREE POEMS by Max Wickert

THREE POEMS by Ann Goldsmith

TRIBUTE, poems by Stephen Romer

FIVE POINTS, poems by Patrick Reidy

STILLNESS SEQUENCE, poems by Tim McPeck

MTL/BFL/ETE/QUINZE, poems by Paige Melin

I EAT CANNIBALS, poems by Gina Abelkop

DON’T LET’S, poems by Edric “of Great Lakes” Mesmer

*  SPOOL, poems by Matthew Coopermam

*  MIDDLE TIME, poems by Angela Hume

*  OUR ANIMAL, poems by Meredith Stricker

*  THE ORCHARD GREEN AND EVERY COLOR, poems by Zach Savich

*  FLESH OF LEVIATHAN, poems by Chus Pato, Trans. by Erin Moure

*  IN NO MAN’S EAR, poems by Andrew Frisardi

*  A SOUL INSIDE EACH STONE, poems by John Tripoulas

SWEET CURDLE, poems by Cathryn Cofell

KAMIKAZE COMMOTION, poems by Cathryn Cofell

TINY LITTLE CRUSHES, poems by Cathryn Cofell

CITY, poems by Michael Boughn

ALMOST PERFECT FORMS, poems by Michael Stewart

A WINGED HORSE IN A PLANE, poems by Salah FaIk, Trans by Maged Zaher

from IDYLLS AND RUSHES, poems by Susana Gardner

PART, PART EUPHRATES, poems by Arpine Konyalian Grenier

ON POEMS ON by Sandra Liu

THRUSH, poem by Louise Gluck with linocut by Harold L. Cohen in 2015 Holiday Broadside from The Poetry Collection of the University Libraries, University of Buffalo/SUNY.

ONGOINGNESS: THE END OF A DIARY by Sarah Mangold

INVISIBLE OLIGARCHS: RUSSIAN NOTEBOOK JANUARY-JUNE 2006 & AFTER by Bill Berkson

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CENSORED INTERVIEW of CAConrad interviewed by Jasmine Platt

SLEEVE NOTES, essays, reviews and interviews by Neil Leadbeater

YELLOWFIELD #11, APRI 2016, literary and arts journal curated by Edric Mesmer

THE OREGON TRAIL: A NEW AMERICAN JOURNEY, journalism/history by Rinker Buck

LIGHTS OUT: A CYBERATTACK, A NATION UNPREPARED, SURVIVING THE AFTERMATH, journalism by Ted Koppel

MICRO SHELTERS: 59 CREATIVE CABINS, TINY  HOUSES AND OTHER SMALL STRUCTURES by Derek Diedricksen

FOUR STORIES by rob mclennan (pleasurable reading)

SENTINEL, novel by Matthew Dunn

DARK SPIES, novel by Matthew Dunn

COUNTERSPY, novella by Matthew Dunn

THE STOLEN ONES, novel by Owen Laukkanen

THE ART OF WAR, novel by Stephen Coonts

ORPHAN X, novel by Gregg Hurwitz

THE GUILTY, novel by David Baldacci

THE INNOCENT, novel by David Baldacci

THE FIRST ORDER, novel by Jeff Abbott

THE CELLAR, novel by Minette Walters

WINES

2010 Chapoutier Bila-Haut Occultum Lapidem Rhone

2012 Raymond cabernet NV

2013 Pe-squi pinot noir

2014 Truchard chardonnay

2007 Peter Michael “La Cariere” chardonnay

2006 Hundred Acre Kayli Morgan Vineyard

2014 Domaine Huet Clis Du Bourg Sec

Vega Sicilia Reserva Especial1995, 1990, 1991

2002 Romanee-St. Vivant Dominique Laurent Nuits-St.-Georges

2013 Zotovich chardonnay Santa Rita Hills

2012 Farella merlot NV

Vendange chardonnay (poetry reading wine)

2014 MM Chilean Syrah Carmenere (poetry reading wine)

2011 Cru 32 chardonnay

2011 Domaine Carneros pinot noir

2010 Agharta cabernet Sonoma

Schramsberg chardonnay Blanc de Blanc

2004 Colgin Cariad cabernet

2012 Dr Loosen Bierenauslese

2011 Comtes Lafon Merseault-Porusots Clos de la Barre

1996 Ch. Mouton Rothschild

2006 Sierra Cantabria El Bosque

2001 Ch. La Vieille Cure Fronsac

2012 Cercius (Provence)

2009 Tolaini Valdisanti Tenuta S. Viovanni Tuscany

2000 The Malleea by Majella Coonawarra

MORE HAY(NA)KU from Mark Young's lithic typology: