Books Read 2023

1. High Magic- Frater U.D.

2. New American Writing #25

3. The Householders- Tara Mcdowell

4. Macular Hole- Catherine Wagner

5. The Dark Half- Stephen King

6. Lost And Found: The CUNY Poetics Document Initiative Series 3, Spring 2012: 

Langston Hughes, Nancy Conard And Louise Thompson: Poetry, Politics and Friendship In The Spanish Civil War

Lorine Niedecker: Homemade Poems

John Wieners And Charles Olson: Selected Correspondence (Parts I and II)

Diane Di Prima: Charles Olson Memorial Lecture

Edward Dorn: The Olson Memorial Lectures

Michael Rumaker: Selected Letters

Joane Kyger: Letters To And From 

7. The Mummy Or Ramses The Damned- Anne Rice

8. How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation Of A Jewish Preacher From Galilee- Bart D. Ehrman 

9. The Life And Times Of Steve Orth- Steve Orth

10. Night Shift- Stephen King

11. The Complete Eightball: Issues 1-18- Daniel Clowes

12. Genesis- NRSV

13. Exodus- NRSV

14. Leviticus- NRSV

15. Numbers- NRSV

16. Deuteronomy- NRSV

17. Joshua- NRSV

18. Judges- NRSV

19. Ruth- NRSV

20. 1 Samuel- NRSV

21. 2 Samuel- NRSV

22. 1 Kings- NRSV

23. 2 Kings- NRSV

24. Vita Nuova- Dante, translated by Mark Musa

25. Five Fingers Review #22

26. Justine- Lawrence Durrell

27. 777 And Other Qabalistic Writings Of Aleister Crowley- Aleister Crowley

28. My New Job- Catherine Wager

29. Chronicles I- NRSV

30. Profiles Of The Future- Arthur C. Clarke

31. Chronicles II- NRSV

32. The Focus Of Life: The Mutterings OF Aaos- Austin Osman Spare

33. Ezra- NRSV

34. Writers Who Love Too Much: New Narrative 1977-1997- edited by Dodie Bellamy, Kevin Killian

35. Nehemiah- NRSV

36. Prime Chaos: Adventures In Chaos Magic- Phil Hine

37. Alph- Charles Eric Maine

38. The Invention Of Glass- Emmanuel Hocquard, translated Cole Swenson, Rod Smith

39. The Poetry Of Jack Spicer- Daniel Katz

40. The Tiny #2

41. Intersections: The Sycamore Hill Anthology- edited John Kessel, Mark L. Van Name, Richard Butner

42. Rant- Chuck Palahniuk

43. O One/ An Anthology- edited Leslie Scalapino

44. Man Vs. Sky- Corey Zeller

45. Get The Money: Collected Prose (1961-1983)- Ted Berrigan

46. Esther- NRSV

47. Job- NRSV

48. Revelation: St John Of The Divine's Prophecies For The Apocalypse And Beyond- Peter Lorbe

49. The Fountains Of Paradise- Arthur C. Clarke

50. American Cosmic: UFOs, Religions, Technology- D.W. Pasulka

51. Area Sneaks #1

52. New Weathers: Poetics From The Naropa Archives- edited Anne Waldman, Emma Gomis

53. Credences #1

54. Monica- Daniel Clowes

55. Introducing The Orthodox Church: Its Faith and Life- Anthony M. Coniaris

56. Psalms- NRSV

Tom Raworth

[this, what, reminiscence? originally appeared on Kent Johnson and Michael Boughn's Dispatches blog, published early 2017. I'm not 100% sure but I believe it was taken down shortly after being posted, I never found out why, if indeed it was]

Februray 23rd, 2004 was a Monday, a strange day for a reading, a strange night rather, on that night Tom  Raworth and Kelly Holt read at Brandon Brown’s apartment in the Tenderloin in San Francisco.  

I know that Tom was in town for another reading, a proper reading, I know that I attended that reading;  I think it was in Berkeley, perhaps it was a Holloway reading? Perhaps Jennifer Scappettone was  organizing? That feels right but can’t say for certain, what I can say for certain is that I took this photo of  Tom Raworth and Jean Day at that reading on February 19, 2004, (this photo cracks me up, I hadn’t  introduced myself to either of these people yet, I knew of them, through their books, they were  celebrities to me, I’m the paparazzi, I probably walked up, startled them out of their conversation,  blinded them with a flash photo, pivoted on my heels and bee-lined for the free wine table).

And here’s another photo from that same reading, I spot Leslie Scalapino, Lyn Hejinian, Duncan  Mcnaughton (?), Simone Fattal , Chris Stroffolino, Kate Pringle (?), who else? 

I’m adlibbing a bit here but I suspect Brandon Brown (full of complimentary wine) approached Tom and  invited him to read at his apartment, spur of the moment, I don’t think Brandon knew Tom before that  night, later on in the car on the way back to SF I remember Brandon going “holy shit, Tom Raworth is  going to read at my apartment…” and me going “holy shit…” 

Night of the reading at Brandon’s apartment, Tenderloin, San Francisco, I remember Brandon being  nervous that no one would show up, it was a last minute reading and Tom had just read. I remember Brandon being relieved when the first person arrived at the apartment, Kevin Killian.

It was an intimate reading for sure, but it didn’t feel  small to me. Here’s a photo of partial audience, I spot (from bottom L to R)  

Kevin Killian, Larry Kearney, Elise Ficarra, Megan Pruitt and Tom reading 

I remember being struck by how fast Tom read, I would learn later that he was infamous for this reading  style, it blew me away that night, casual but intense, hard to understand at times but pleasurable all the  same. I liked his approach; different than anything I had experienced up to that point. It was obvious Tom hadn’t planned a reading, he was skipping around his book (I think a Collected) frenetically, randomly, stopping to read a poem at the back then flipping to the front to read another.  

Kelly Holt also read that night, she read from her just released Tolling Elves pamphlet/ chapbook Syntax  For J.C., and now that I think about it, was that the connection? Thomas Evans, who published Tolling  Elves, was still in England back then, perhaps Kelly knew Tom Raworth through Thomas Evans? Did Tom Raworth recommend to Brandon Brown that he read with Kelly Holt? I don’t know, it was a good pairing though, I do remember that. (Kelly was the first  poet I was friends with who was around my age who had something published, her Tolling Elves “book” was actually a pamphlet, but to me it was a book, I remember asking Kelly  before the reading about her “publisher” Thomas Evans, I remember Kelly laughing at the idea of Thomas being “her publisher,” I remember being a little embarrassed).  

Here is a photo of Kelly reading from her “book”

And here are a couple photos of Tom reading 

After the reading Larry Kearney and Tom Raworth, old buds (notice the framed W.B. Yeats photo on the  wall next to the magnetic dart board)  

Brandon Brown and Tom after the reading 

And one more photo with Kelly, Tom, Larry and Kevin chatting in Brandon’s room after the reading

  

It was a great reading, intimate and warm; Tom reading among friends old and new.