I is to Vorticism (Part 1)

New Michigan Press is printing my chapbook at the end of December, or sometime around then. For the past few months Ander Monson has been designing it. Ander is a great book designer. He took my ideas and made them much better than I could have imagined. I'm really excited about the finished book.

Also, my friend Taylor Fox did the painting for the cover. He has a website, here. Most of his paintings are for sale. I own three of them: the two shown here (please click on the images to get a better look) and the one that's going to be the cover of I is to Vorticism (I will post that one later). Both of these paintings are from my old apartment at 20th and Valencia in San Francisco. The top one is of me and my friends, Brian and Evan in 2004. Taylor lived in the apartment at that time, too.

If you would like to review my chapbook on your blog or website or high school newspaper contact me at benmirov@hotmail.com. I will be happy to send you a signed copy free of charge as soon as they are available.

New Poems

My girlfriend found these in an antique shop. They are cue cards for young readers. I think they were meant to be slipped into some kind of machine that only allowed the viewer to see one line at a time. But when you read them from top to bottom, they make rad poems.



Was not understood...

was not understood
will pay quarterly
descend the stairs
beneath the ocean
in good condition
tall and slender
was their mascot
lost his empire
a boating party
will not endure
big spruce tree
reveal his name
a fine musician
did not inquire
took his advice
down the aisle
use a pronoun
a new handbag
do not disturb





Studied their culture...

studied their culture
under new management
down the banister
right hand section
all by themselves
nevertheless he came
was a lieutenant
two proper nouns
glaze the ham
wealth and honor
watched the surf
gave the plurals
doubt his story
knew all nouns
a fine workman
too much slang
alter his suit
on a pinnacle
not a quitter
he will refer.

Mark Bibbins

I did an interview with Mark Bibbins for BOMBlog, mostly about his new book. And some other assorted topics. You can read it HERE.

Thanks, Mark and Lena Valencia

Juked

I am a "runner-up" in the Juked poetry contest. I like Juked a heap. I think they are a classy journal. They've been around since 1999. You can see the other people who won or were finalists by going here.

Thank you, Dora Malech and Juked Folks

New Issue...

#12

Things Have Happened in the Recent Past...

1.) H_NGM_N published a e-book of mine called Collected Ghost in its 9th issue. You can read it, here (scroll down to the bottom after you read the other wonderful stuff). I used the cover and title of another chapbook I made in 2005, but the poems are all new.

2.) Crisipin Best nominated me for a Best of the Web thing that Dzanc Books does. He nominated a thing I wrote for his project called For Every Year. You can read the piece, here.

3.) Justin Taylor posted one of my poems from the recent issue of Saltgrass on HTML Giant (a website I admire and fear). You can read the article, which is about good journals, here.

4.) I got my computer back from the shop.

Thanks Nate Pritts, Crispin Best, and Justin Taylor

New Review...

I wrote a review for the Brooklyn Rail on Ann Lauterbach's new book Or to Begin Again. You can read it HERE. I would like to say that my review is truncated and that Ann's book deserves a much longer/ more incisive review. This book was wonderfully complex and obviously written by one of the finest poets writing today and warrants many more pages of thoughtful criticism than I was able to afford it.

Thanks, John Reed.

The best thing I've written lately I didn

Saltgrass 4

The new issue of Saltgrass is HERE. Saltgrass is a sleeping giant amongst literary magazines. It has a low-key, thoughtful production value (about 5.5" by 8.5", perfect bound, about 60 pages in length). It always contains work that feels contemporary and vital. I feel proud to be in this issue along with:

Laura Solomon, G.C. Waldrep, Cecily Iddings, Anne Boyer, Ish Klein, Claire Hero, Hugh Merwin, Jason Bredle, Karla Kelsey, Lisa Ciccarello, Danielle Pafunda, Brett Price, Genya Turovskaya, Maureen Thorson, Ron Rash

Thanks, Julia Cohen and Abigail Holstein

FOU

I have a poem in the new issue of FOU, which looks rad and is full of people whose poems I love to read.


Thanks Cate Peebles, David Sewell and Brad Soucy

I Have a Reading

I have a reading. I am excited to read with my friends, Sam Starkweather and Paige Taggart. Sam and Paige have poems published in tons of places. You can read some poems by Sam, HERE. And you can read some poems by Paige, HERE.

Also, we are reading at the Sycamore a classy bar with a flower shop out front and a nice intimate reading room downstairs. It will be great.

Thanks Jessica Dessner for having me at your reading series.

ok,
Ben