Odd Words April 6, 2011
Posted by Mark Folse in books, New Orleans, NOLA, Odd Words, Poetry, Toulouse Street.trackback
you can’t you can never be sure
you die without knowing
whether anything you wrote was any good
if you have to be sure don’t write
– W.S. Merwin, “Berryman”
Another Wednesday without a thought in my head worth putting down here, so go read Blake’s dark-night-of-the-writer’s-block piece on HTMLGiant.
I’m going to post a poll about the future of Odd Words and Toulouse Street in general. The idea that floated through my head as I was drifting off to sleep last night is to expand into interviews with local authors, editors, booksellers, poets, etc., and to possibly add reviews of local-interest books. Let me know what you think.
I’m halfway through my stack of books from the past weeks so of course while I was out in the cultural tundra of suburban Metairie last night on errands I went and bought Roberto Belaño’s 2666 because, really: isn’t sleep sort of a waste of time?
§ The 17 Poets! page on Facebook offers the following inducement to attend Thursday, April 7 at 8 p.m: “Poet Sunday Angleton will wow us with lyrical circus acrobatics and hypothetical epithet origami.” Why would you not want to go see this?
§ Also on April 7, author Jason Berry will give a dramatic reading of his recently published play Earl Long in Purgatory at Octavia Books at 6 p.m. I’m going to seriously have to consider how to do a two-fer Thursday night.
§ Also on Thursday night (damn), poet and comedian Chris Champagne will do a one night performance of his show Race Track Tales , at CORRECTION 8 p.m. at The Steak Knife Restaurant on Harrison Avenue in Lakeview.
§ The Ebony Center at 4215 Magazine Street hosts a weekly spoken-word, music and open-mic event. Tickets $7 general admission, $5 students. 11 p.m. Friday.
§ On noon on Saturday, Andre Perry signs, discusses and reads from The Garden Path: The Miseducation of a City. Noon. signs, discusses and reads from his UNO Press book on New Orleans education The Garden Path: The Miseducation of a City.
§ The Latter Library will host a Memoir Writing Workshop with Linda Yasnyi and David O’Donaghue sponsored by The New Orleans Lyceum on Saturday at 2 p.m. (I’ll be at FQF or I think I would definitely do this).
§ Also on Saturday, Poet Gian “G-Persepect” Smith and Alphonse “Bobby” Smith host Pass It On, a weekly spoken-word and music event at the George & Leah McKenna Museum of African American Art, 2003 Carondelet St. Admission $6. 9 p.m
§ On Sunday, April 10 APRIL 10 – Lafayette poet Toby Daspit reads from his work followed by an open mike at the Maple Street Bar, 3-ish. This event was forced inside by a private party last Sunday, and with the jukebox off Thaddeus Conti actually had half the visible bar crowd paying attention. Given Thaddeus work is so far from accessible you have to follow blazes cut into barstools to reach it, you have to think the problem with poetry is poets. If you want an audience, make it loud with a band and do it in the front of the bar.
§ The Fair Grinds no longer hosts a poetry reading on Sunday afternoons (contrary to the badly updated listings in the local newspapers), but there is a small poetry discussion circle that meets most Sundays at 7 p.m. there, organized by Malcolm Willison and Delia Nakayama. If you drop by, bring copies of a poem you would like the others to read and discuss, or a favorite book.
§ Also on Sunday, the Craige Cultural Center on 1800 Newton in Algiers hosts UniVERSES, a weekly spoken-word, music and open-mic event. Tickets $5. 8 p.m. Sunday.
§ Author of the novel-cum-movie Water for Elephants will discuss her novel Ape House at Octavia Books Monday at 6 pm.
§ Author Barb Johnson will be at the Columns Hotel for the 1718 Reading Series. It’s FREE, but if you donate $10 toward an AROHO Fellowship, she wll put your name in whatever story she reads. $50, and she’ll read in the accent of your choosing. April 12, 7 pm. I have confirmed that she can do Boris and Natasha. Chose the LAM Fellowship if you choose to give. I can’t afford fifty but really: you could spend $10 at Popeyes. OK, I could spend $10 at Popeyes and I show it. You gonna eat that wing?
I haven’t posted my disclaimer in a while. This isn’t a comprehensive listing of events in New Orleans. Such a beast doesn’t yet exist, but it could if you find this and take a moment to email me about your upcoming events. Generally, I post things I think I might like to attend (but may amend that per the note above about expanding this aspect of the blog). If I’m there, I’m the old fart in a young man’s hat. Say hello Email: markfolse AT rocketmail DOT com.
or at these independent New Orleans bookstores:
What a fantastic idea. That would be a wonderful asset to our community.
Like the quote.
I’m an out-of-towner (in fact out of the country and continent) but all those ideas seem interesting.
mark – have you ever searched out john berryman on youtube? there is some really good stuff there of him being interviewed – around 1970 – shortly before he died. just thought i would point that out. have great day.