Tag Charles Wright

* an apologetic annotated anatomy of a reading

José Angel Araguz Leave a comment

This past Tuesday night I had the pleasure of taking part in Pretty Owl Poetry’s Online Reading Series.

The reading/interview was conducted through Google+ and was a blast despite a few technical difficulties. Because of the nature of the interview – specifically the part in which I am given permission to ramble and bumble in my own awkward way – I thought I’d share the link along with some of the highlights of the reading, so folks could navigate through my loquaciousness (as can be noted in the interview, the BIG words only come out in writing).

Follow along with the reading here.

HIGHLIGHTS

 from 3:49 – 10:45 = 3 poems!

Here is the “reading” portion of the reading. The pieces read are “Stream” (published by Pretty Owl Poetry here) as well as “Letter to Rainer Maria Rilke from NYC” (published in the Acentos Review here) and “Naos and the Spirit Picture” (published in a digital chapbook here).

from 11:08 – 14:24 = craft talk!

Here I respond to a question from editor Rose Huber about the piece “Stream” which has gone through several mutations since first being drafted in 2006.

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A little into the following question, I cut out both sound-wise and image-wise. Then I’m promptly replaced by this guy:

* oops *

* oops *

Despite his stern look and sudden goatee, I thank this gentleman for intervening for, because of him, folks are spared from having to deal with my teeth on camera which are HUGE.

*

from 19:19 – 26:33 = blog! reading! astrology!

This stretch includes Kelly Andrews asking me both about the thinking behind this blog as well as reading.

Then, after mentioning the astrological underpinnings of the blog, Gordon Buchan jumps in and I totally geek out about astrology and writers.

Writers astrologically discussed:

– Kafka, Neruda (Cancer)
– Jack Gilbert (Aquarius)
– Rilke (Sagittarius)
– Charles Simic (Taurus)
– Yeats, Garrett Hongo (Gemini)
– Borges, Charles Wright, myself (Virgo)

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from 28:09 – 30:47 = mas craft talk!

Lastly, here Gordon jumps right back in and asks another question about craft which leads me to discuss ideas of lyricism and personal/generative distinctions between prose and poetry.

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Special thanks again to Rose, Kelly, & Gordon for inviting me to participate!

Between this reading and the release of “Naos: an introduction,” it’s been an unexpectedly big week.

Thank you to everyone who made it possible!

*

Happy possibling!

Jose

* a stone’s throw memory with charles wright

José Angel Araguz 2 Comments

This week I’d like to celebrate Charles Wright being named the new U.S. Poet Laureate.

I’ve always suspected him to be an introvert, but his reaction to the news sinches it:

At times self-effacing, Wright shies away from the public eye and was reluctant to take the post. “My wife kept nudging me to do it and also others have said, ‘You know, you should do it.’ And I hadn’t done it before when it was offered to me and I always felt sort of bad about that — that I snuck into the shadows where I am more comfortable,” Wright said to Jeffrey Brown in a phone conversation on Wednesday. “I’m going to try to pull up my socks here and see what happens.” *

The poem below is from Wright’s book, Sestets, and speaks to the feeling of the reserved, quiet kid speaking up in class that the above quote rings with.

* a Roman road, yo *

* a Roman road, yo *

It’s Sweet to be Remembered – Charles Wright

No one’s remembered much longer than a rock

is remembered beside the road

If he’s lucky or

Some tune or harsh word

uttered in childhood or back in the day.

 

Still how nice to imagine some kid someday

picking that rock up and holding it in his hand

Briefly before he chucks it

Deep in the woods in a sunny spot in the tall grass.

***

Happy chucking!

Jose

* Read the rest of the article on the big news here.