Columbus, IN.  Performance poet Buddy Wakefield appears at YES Cinema on Sunday, September 12 at 7pm. Indiana’s own spoken word group, Reservoir Dogwoods, will be opening Wakefield’s show.

Born in Shreveport, LA, Wakefield now calls Seattle his home.  In 2001 he left his position as the executive assistant at a biomedical firm in Gig Harbor, WA, sold or gave away everything he owned and “set out to live for a living,” touring North American poetry venues.  Since then, he has shared the stage with nearly every notable performance poet in the world.

Local poet Matthew Jackson of Reservoir Dogwoods arranged for Wakefield to appear at YES Cinema which is managed by Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center (LCNFC).  “We’re very fortunate to have this internationally known poet appear in Columbus,” said Jackson.  “I’m also pleased that the Reservoir Dogwoods will have a chance to share the stage with him.”

Buddy Wakefield is one of the nation’s most notable performance poets, known for delivering raw, rounded, high vibration performances of humor and heart.  In 2004 and 2005 he won the Individual World Poetry Slam Championships, a competition where poets recite original work and are judged not only on their poetry, but the manner of deliver and passion behind their words.

Advance tickets for the performance are $10 for adults and $5 for students.  At the door tickets will be $12 for adults and $7 for students.  Tickets can be purchased at YES Cinema.  For additional information, please call LCNFC at 812-379-1630 or visit www.lcnfc.org.

The Columbus Area Arts Council is a public, not-for-profit corporation supported by private donations, the City of Columbus, the State of Indiana through the Indiana Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

For Immediate Release

Date:  7-28-10

Contact Person:  Donna Stouder

Marketing and Public Relations Director

Columbus Area Arts Council

417 Third Street

Columbus, IN  47201

Phone:  812.376.2534

Fax:  812.376-2589

dstouder@artsINcolumbus.org

www.artsINcolumbus.org

The Black Keys – Brothers

The New Pornographers – Together

The Dead Weather – Sea of Cowards

The National – High Violet

Pearl and the Beard - God Bless Your Weary Soul, Amanda Richardson

Band of Horses – Infinite Arms

Spoon – Transference

Every writer works differently. There is no doubt that I’m my own harshest critic. I think being objectively critical of your own writing is a blessing and a curse. It means that there is a little editor, or perhaps an entire workshop, living in my skull telling me what works and what doesn’t work. However, this tiny audience is tough to please, therefore they tend to think everything I write is complete rubbish. This makes the writing, editing and publishing process more laborious but I think the writing is better for it in the end.

Let’s walk through my writing process (perhaps yours is similar!) and let’s do the math. The first step in my writing process is the notebook.

The Notebook

I start out writing all my poems long-hand in a notebook. There is just something about putting pen to paper that makes the writing process real for me. Sure, I’ve written poems on computers but I find that I do too much instantaneous editing and revising.  This means that it takes an eternity to write a poem in this fashion because I’m editing and revising every line before I’ve even written the next one. The notebook gives me the freedom to say, “Just get it down. Don’t revise as you go. You can do that once you type of the poem.” That’s what I do; just let it roll.

To keep a statistical calculation of the writing process, let’s say that I’ve written 10 poems in my notebook. Right now, 100% of these poems could be keepers. By “keepers” I mean poems that eventually make it to the submission process, when I think the poem is ready for the world .

The Word Document

After I’ve accumulated a few weeks worth of writing, I’ll go through the notebook and start typing the poems into a Word document. Who am I kidding? Let’s face it, I usually type up poems every couple of months. During this period, I re-read what I wrote in the notebook and if a poem seems to have some momentum, I will type it out.  This is my least favorite part of the writing process; the transcribing from notebook to laptop. Since this is the case, I try to type out as little as possible. Why type up a poem that is DOA? It’s a waste of time and my fingers get friggin’ tired.

During this process, I usually weed out about half of the poems I’ve written. I’ve gotten pretty good (or the editor in my brain has) at determining which poems have potential and which were just random ideas, or just complete crap.

So, if I start out with 10 poems in my notebook, only 5 actually get typed up. This means that half of the poems I write don’t even make it out of the notebook, or 1 in 2 poems don’t see the light day (or computer screen).

Digital Revision

Once a poem has been transcribed into a Word document, then I’ll take some time with that poem and do some tweaking, revisions, and general meditating. It’s usually at this step in the process that the shape of the poem will begin to form (pun intended). When I write in the notebook, I usually just stick the left margin of the paper. However, now I start experimenting with the space on the page.

While I’m digitally revising a poem I’ll often realize that it shouldn’t have been typed up in the first place. I’ll be frustrated for a moment that my internal editor/workshop didn’t catch this and I wasted time typing it up, but then I move on.

On average, about half of the poems I type up end up in the “Poem Limbo” file. This where poems are regulated when they’ve been typed but are going no further. This file is called “limbo” because these poems are between realms. They aren’t dead but they aren’t necessarily living either. Over the years, this file has grown to immense proportions. There is one Word document that is about 150 pages of “limbo poems.” There are about 4-6 documents in this file on my laptop that are similar size.

This means that of the 10 poems I originally wrote, only 5 were actually typed up for revision. Of these 5 poems, about half of them will be cast into limbo. Since half of 5 is 2.5, let’s say that I’ve been easier on myself than usual, and let’s round up to 3. I’m now down to 3 poems.

Physical Revision

If poem makes it through the digital revision process, I’ll then print it out and put it in a folder for pen-on-paper revision. Keep in mind that only 3 out of 10 poems make it to this stage in the process. As a result, only 33.3% of my poems are actually printed out for revision.

This is probably the longest portion of my writing cycle.During the revision process I’ll work on a poem for a few weeks, few months or even a few years.

Just because a poem makes to this point and receives quite a bit of attention doesn’t mean it’s safe. I’ve hammered away on poems for years only to determine that it’s not working and the poem will never reach it’s potential. Of course, it’s never the poem’s fault, it’s my own. On average, about 1 in 3 poems are discarded during this period.

As I’m revising, I’ll ditch another 1 out of 3 poems, or 30% of these poems are whittled away into limbo. This means that 2 in 10 poems come out as “finished” products that the world may actually see or read.

Let’s review the stats:

• Of the 10 original poems, only 5 will be typed up leaving me with 50%.
• Of these 5 poems, only 3 will make it through the digital revision process leaving me with only 33%
• Of these 3 poems, only 2 poems will make it through the revision process leaving me with 20%
• As a result, only 20% of what I actually write is put out into the world, or 2 in 10 poems

To look at these stats a little differently,

• For every poem that actually makes it into a journal or a book, there are 4 other poems that didn’t make it through the process.
• This means that when I put out a book that is about 60 pages in length, I’ve actually written approximately 240 pages.
• And of these 60 pages of poems, I’ll still feel like 100% of them are not completed even after they’ve been published.

These statistics aren’t exact. I’m a poet, give me a break. The point here is that this stuff doesn’t come easy for me, and for most other poets. If you’re one of those poets that everything you write is golden, good for you. This means that you’re probably extremely prolific and most of your writing isn’t very good. Don’t mean to be harsh, but it’s true.

In summary, the odds are against me. Sure, I could be less stringent and less critical, but then I wouldn’t be continually setting higher standards for myself and my writing. Hopefully, my internal editor won’t get any harder to please because if that’s the case, the stats are gonna get worse, and I’ll eventually finish only about 1 poem a year.

Right now, slow and steady wins the race. Except there is no race. I’m only competing against myself. This means that I’ll always win. And I’ll always lose.

This is a quick note about the book release reading and party coming up this Friday in Bloomington. The event will be held at Boxcar Books. I’ll be reading with Tony Brewer. We’ll have crazy book discounts. Adult beverages. Let the good times roll on.

You can check out the events page for more info.

More to follow…

Tony Brewer and I are embarking on the Bottomless Cheetah Blood Tourette in April. We’ll be reading our way out to Plan B Press (my publisher). Here is the schedule:

TINY ITINERARY
Thurs 1 April
Zanzibar Brews
740 E. Long St.
Columbus, OH
9p

Fri 2 April
The Soundry
316 Dominion Rd.
Vienna, VA
8p

Sat 3 April
Wild Goose Creative
2491 Summit Street
Columbus, OH
7p – $5 cover

Also, the Reservoir Dogwoods are pulling together a string of readings that should rock the state of Indiana to its very limestone foundation.  You can keep up on all of the happenings on the Readings/Events tab of the website.

I have many other projects in the works… but those will be revealed later! Enjoy the new-found sunshine, rain, and blooming.

If you’re interested in the cover art for the book, it was done by Amy Casey. She is awesome! The cover is absolutely gorgeous. You can learn more about Amy at her website here. Amy also provided artwork for the most recent Neko Case album, Middle Cyclone. And this is awesome because Neko Case is amazing. Also, Amy was recently featured on the cover of New American Paintings.

Here are the albums that I’m currently obsessed with:

• Yeasayer - Odd Blood
• Shearwater – The Golden Archipelago
• Florence and the Machine – Lungs
• Jose Gonzalez – In Our Nature
• Califone – All My Friends are Funeral Singers
• Silversun Pickups – Swoon

Or maybe I’m not up to the task because I just don’t get this book. Evidence of this: the reviews have been mostly favorable. For example, here is what Publisher’s Weekly said about the book  (June, 2009):

Brash, confrontational verse and prose have made Alexie the most famous, and the most controversial, Native American writer of his generation. Alexie (First Indian on the Moon), in this first book of poems since 2000, sometimes works in sonnets, rhymed couplets, short quatrains, even villanelles. The results are mixed and occasionally naïve (When I tell my wife about my adolescent rage/ She shrugs, rolls her eyes, and turns the page). More successful are his many experiments with footnotes and interpolated blocks of prose within poems, devices that let Alexie explore his self-consciousness, as he looks back on his childhood on the rez in Washington State, inward to his sex life and his happy marriage, and outward to public events, from the Clinton impeachment to Gonzaga University basketball. Alexie’s self-interruptions also permit flights of comedy, with homages to Richard Pryor and to the porn star Ron Jeremy. The humor, in turn, lets Alexie brace himself for his most serious subjects: his love for his son, the history of his people and the last illness and death of his father, a flawed but durable example of the manliness for which Alexie so often strives.

And Book List had this to say:

Alexie is not an overtly poetic poet. His tone is conversational, his language plain. But his high-beam insights are provoking, and his humor irreverent. It’s exciting to read Alexie in this more concentrated form, liberated from the demands of his spiky fiction, including the shape-shifting tale Flight (2007) and his National Book Award–winning young adult novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (2007). But his storytelling impulse is irrepressible. His poems have a narrative drive; he slips into prose and fringes his poetry with bemusing footnotes. Ironic and audacious, Alexie makes fun of himself, expresses love for his wife, remembers his father, and marvels over his sons. He writes of blood, mirth, anger,  patriotism, pretension, sex, the fruitful collision of cultures, and calcified ideas about what it means to be a Native American, a writer, a man, a human being. Skirmishes with insects and animals illuminate our conflicts over nature, and musings about the toll of creativity inspire poems about F. Scott Fitzgerald and Richard Pryor. A bountiful, keen, and inspiriting collection.

Also, the reader reviews on Amazon average to 5.5 out of 6 stars. Even the casual readers appear to enjoy this collection. I wish Alexie all the best so I’m relieved to see that the book is being well received by the general public. But I am not one of this public.

I am an Alexie-fanatic. His poetry has inspired me for over a decade. I read First Indian On the Moon in 1996 and I’ve been hooked ever since. After that first taste I explored his other collections such One Stick Song and The Summer of Black Widows. I have read each of these books numerous times. Every time I read the poems in these collections I discovered something new, electrifying.

My reasons for returning to Alexie frequently are numerous. I have always found a sense of urgency in his poems. This urgency isn’t constituted of emergency or alarm, but rather the sense that what needs to be said in a certain poem needs to be said now and in the exact fashion in which it’s being said. In parallel to this feeling, Alexie has always felt to me that he is trying to expel demons in his poems, or trying to keep them at bay, or trying to lock them within the confines of the poem so they can’t run ramped any longer.  This is what brings me back to Alexie.

Alexie has also never shied away from difficult topics in his poems. Of course, Alexie is known for being a Native American writer, and rightly so, but it’s his honest depiction of this culture which gives his writing strength. He has written about alcoholism, child abuse, and other stern topics. In First Indian on the Moon he wrote a heartbreaking poem about his sister who died in a house fire. Even when exploring the harshest terrain, Alexie has done so in kindness and love.

This brings me to Face, Alexie’s new collection (of poems and prose). There are poems in this collection that ring true, and remind me why I’m an Alexie-fanatic, such as, “Avian Nights,” “Dangerous Astronomy,” and “The Sum of His Parts.” These poems are pretty damn good. But the ratio of good to not-so-good is quite low despite these exceptions.

The pieces in this collection read like journal entries. The writing strikes me as lazy and over-confident. It feels as if there is nothing at stake in these poems, which makes them difficult to engage with. And maybe this is just my unquenchable desire for drama in poems. What’s wrong with a poem that isn’t dripping with drama? There is nothing wrong with it all; but I just need to feel that the poem is coming from a place that makes sense to me.

Alexie says in the poem “Inappropriate”:  I will disprove the professorial contention/That a serious man is not supposed to be funny. If you’ve ever seen Alexie give a reading, he’s actually a very funny guy. But his humor doesn’t translate well to the page. I can see where Alexie is trying to be funny in this book. It’s painfully obvious in where he thinks the reader should be laughing out loud at his wit and sarcasm. I get it, but I don’t like it. Plain and simple.

Of course, all of this doesn’t mean I’m not down with Alexie any more. Not at all. He’s still one of my favorite poets. But not every writer can please me all the time, and I don’t expect them to. That is, unless you’re Nick Flynn, Bob Hickok or Simone Muench who can do no wrong in my eyes (so far).

Thus far, it seems like most of the reviews/rants I’ve written thus far on Thirsty Ocean lean toward the negative. I promise you, that won’t always be the case. In fact, I’m working my way through a marvelous book right now which I’ll tell you about soon. And I’m going to be exploring an excellent poem that recently appear in Poetry.

Today, we’re announcing the publication of my next chapbook! This spring, Plan B Press will publish Your Casual Survival, my latest batch of poems. The book is going to be beautiful and I’m especially excited about the cover. Right now, I’ll leave you with bated breath in regards to all the details. But trust me, it’s going to be awesome. And on the tail of the publication, there will be readings and events so stay tuned for updates!

Looks like 2010 is off to a good start!