0000000000000(a rebuttal)
I remember – you were in California,
your voice trailed off from a train station payphone
and died with silent desperation, a final plea,
a final fuck-you. You knew I’d hang up
or never answer at all.
Salvia on the beach, a hundred dollar bill
placed carefully beneath a pint glass.
Keep ‘em commin’ barkeep.
In Sarasota I heard a story
about Turtle Island. It was haunted,
men crushing the skulls of the living.
In the foreground children walk to school,
they pause to stare back at the sands of the coast.
Maybe you were in Canada, but I can be certain
that I was on a rock slab cursing the origins of
It’s better to have loved than lost.
Maybe you were in New Orleans,
but I was at home, my body submerged
beneath cold bathwater.
Tracing cursive letters on the side of a frosty beer mug.
(I was trying to remember how she wrote.)
Maybe you were in the Carolinas falling in love
or making a blanket fort with strangers.
I was three miles west of the place I was born
trying to convince myself
that I had loved her adequately.
I planned on leaving, being creative or
reading with my feet buried in sand.
Instead I wrote another sexless poem
about beer and cigarettes, another
damn poem about lost love to file away.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Found Text.
Alright all of you trendy trendsters… here is a lesson on found text for the TEXT MESSAGE GENERATION. Everybody get your phones out and read the last five sent or received texts (this works better when you have multiple messages from multiple people) and then write them out and post them. Chances are the sentences will already be broken and the lines/stanzas will create effortlessly… it becomes sort of a broken narrative of your day.
A Fish Out of Water
Did you wear green?
Would you like a welcome to
Flood City present?
Package in transit sir,
three – five days.
The rats of March nibble
At the face of monkey men.
Goodnight, love you.
A Fish Out of Water
Did you wear green?
Would you like a welcome to
Flood City present?
Package in transit sir,
three – five days.
The rats of March nibble
At the face of monkey men.
Goodnight, love you.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
PREFACE.
David Dodd Lee and IUSB's Thriving Band of Writers
by chad forbregd
Go ahead – press your ear to the door or open it just a crack, peek inside DW 1275 on a Monday or Wednesday night and you'll likely find a small gathering of students sipping away at coffee or a diet soda, fighting sleep deprivation and hunger, with one common question in mind... How the hell do we become writers? Take it all in for a moment – there's Professor David Dodd Lee, the writer, leaning back in his seat, pushing at his glasses or pulling them from his hair. He'll probably be chuckling, or speaking about the abstract, or explaining how the poem was erotic as hell. Who better to guide students in an open discussion on eroticism in a poem or the tone and how it relates to the world (he might ask, what is the emotional response to this? or, how does the poem become a shape of an experience)? Who better than this grizzled (and at times disheveled) veteran of the cold steel pen?
There are several reactions to David Dodd Lee's class room setup and style. Some students find it disorganized – they want Lee to spill every connection from the page to their ear, everything from syntax to voice, and from grammar to style. They want answers. Other students lose themselves in the classroom – they find it to be one of the most creative and invigorating spaces they've experienced. One student, Charmi Keranen, is one of those inspired by the class. "David infuses his students with a passion for writing that doesn't die after the class is over. The writing passion remains and searches for ways to grow and thrive." Indeed, there are others of the same opinion, as an entire writer's community has grown out of Lee's classes, meeting weekly in coffee shops, bars, even in student homes, rooted in the inspiration of their passionate professor.
David Dodd Lee was originally hired to teach only fiction classes, but has expanded to teach Advanced Poetry 303/513, along with courses in other disciplines. Lee describes his education as being "between a degree in Art History and Painting and an MFA in creative writing." Lee has also worked as a park ranger, a fishery technician, and a journalist (with work ranging from art and film reviews, to publishing copy and book descriptions in catalogues). He even worked in several hospitals during the 80s. As the eclectic Lee describes, he often would "take a semester off and write in a park barn." Currently, Lee is the editor of the annual poetry and fiction anthology, Shade, published by Four Way Books. He is also the publisher of Half Moon Bay poetry chapbooks, which include titles by Franz Wright, Hugh Seidman, and Pamela Kircher. Previously he served as Poetry Editor at Third Coast, and Passages North. Despite his varied past, it is obvious just talking to Lee that his true passion is poetry.
When Lee began writing in the 80s he wrote mostly stories. "At some point" Lee describes, he "switched to poetry" and began reading anything he could get his hands on. "Mostly what I did was read book after book after book after book, from Flaubert to Hubert Selby Jr., from Keats to Robert Hauss." Lee found his mentors in books, metoring such poets as Louise Gluck, Charles Wright, Denis Johnson and Mark Halliday, Lee began writing and developed the philosophy that "active reading feeds the beast – the beast being writing." This is his fundamental belief and the way his class is structured, putting emphasis on two key points, always be reading and always be writing.
Now the author of five books (including the forthcoming Automatic Thank-You Kisses to be published by Four Way Books in 2009), Lee's published output is prolific, appearing in everything from the Marlboro Review, Laurel Review, Prairie Schooner, Hayden's Ferry Review, to the Sou'wester, and Controlled Burn, to name just a few. Not to mention, he has three finished poetry manuscripts, a book of short stories, and a novel, Flood sitting on the shelf. He wants to write twenty books in the next five years, and when Lee is not working to make that goal a reality, he enjoys teaching here at I.U.S.B. Why? Lee explains that it's because of the students, who are "life weary and experienced in the hard ways of things, people with jobs, etc. It makes for colorful writing, and there is a lot of passion in the student/teach exchange." Is it safe to say that Lee believes life influences writing? Absolutely. "Your life is the only thing that is wholly yours, as well as the imagination that comes with it. But it's the imagination that's the muscle that must be developed."
In David Dodd Lee's short time here at I.U.S.B. the English Department has seen a huge increase in creative writing students publishing work in literary magazines and online. To name just a few, Charmi Keranen, Talia Reed, and Neil Kelly have all been published within the last year. Student Neil Kelly, in between sips of beer speculates on why: "When I think about David and his influence on the writing program I immediately think Indiana University instead of I.U.S.B. Not to mention that something like five or six of his students have been published. That's probably three or four more than I.U.S.B. has ever had in its existence." As a professor, David Dodd Lee serves as a mentor of the craft, inspiring and energizing students to write. "I tend to share everything that happens in that part of my life (writing/publishing) – whether through direct communication or through the blog" says Lee. It is that sort of openness, and his love of the written word, that makes Lee a constant inspiration to his students, and a man most certainly worth getting to know.
If you are interested in following David Dodd Lee's writing, he hosts several blogs which can be found at:
http://www.seventeenfingeredpoetrybird.blogspot.com/ (personal)
http://molestingtheclover.blogspot.com/ (a blog dedicated to his A190 course.)
by chad forbregd
Go ahead – press your ear to the door or open it just a crack, peek inside DW 1275 on a Monday or Wednesday night and you'll likely find a small gathering of students sipping away at coffee or a diet soda, fighting sleep deprivation and hunger, with one common question in mind... How the hell do we become writers? Take it all in for a moment – there's Professor David Dodd Lee, the writer, leaning back in his seat, pushing at his glasses or pulling them from his hair. He'll probably be chuckling, or speaking about the abstract, or explaining how the poem was erotic as hell. Who better to guide students in an open discussion on eroticism in a poem or the tone and how it relates to the world (he might ask, what is the emotional response to this? or, how does the poem become a shape of an experience)? Who better than this grizzled (and at times disheveled) veteran of the cold steel pen?
There are several reactions to David Dodd Lee's class room setup and style. Some students find it disorganized – they want Lee to spill every connection from the page to their ear, everything from syntax to voice, and from grammar to style. They want answers. Other students lose themselves in the classroom – they find it to be one of the most creative and invigorating spaces they've experienced. One student, Charmi Keranen, is one of those inspired by the class. "David infuses his students with a passion for writing that doesn't die after the class is over. The writing passion remains and searches for ways to grow and thrive." Indeed, there are others of the same opinion, as an entire writer's community has grown out of Lee's classes, meeting weekly in coffee shops, bars, even in student homes, rooted in the inspiration of their passionate professor.
David Dodd Lee was originally hired to teach only fiction classes, but has expanded to teach Advanced Poetry 303/513, along with courses in other disciplines. Lee describes his education as being "between a degree in Art History and Painting and an MFA in creative writing." Lee has also worked as a park ranger, a fishery technician, and a journalist (with work ranging from art and film reviews, to publishing copy and book descriptions in catalogues). He even worked in several hospitals during the 80s. As the eclectic Lee describes, he often would "take a semester off and write in a park barn." Currently, Lee is the editor of the annual poetry and fiction anthology, Shade, published by Four Way Books. He is also the publisher of Half Moon Bay poetry chapbooks, which include titles by Franz Wright, Hugh Seidman, and Pamela Kircher. Previously he served as Poetry Editor at Third Coast, and Passages North. Despite his varied past, it is obvious just talking to Lee that his true passion is poetry.
When Lee began writing in the 80s he wrote mostly stories. "At some point" Lee describes, he "switched to poetry" and began reading anything he could get his hands on. "Mostly what I did was read book after book after book after book, from Flaubert to Hubert Selby Jr., from Keats to Robert Hauss." Lee found his mentors in books, metoring such poets as Louise Gluck, Charles Wright, Denis Johnson and Mark Halliday, Lee began writing and developed the philosophy that "active reading feeds the beast – the beast being writing." This is his fundamental belief and the way his class is structured, putting emphasis on two key points, always be reading and always be writing.
Now the author of five books (including the forthcoming Automatic Thank-You Kisses to be published by Four Way Books in 2009), Lee's published output is prolific, appearing in everything from the Marlboro Review, Laurel Review, Prairie Schooner, Hayden's Ferry Review, to the Sou'wester, and Controlled Burn, to name just a few. Not to mention, he has three finished poetry manuscripts, a book of short stories, and a novel, Flood sitting on the shelf. He wants to write twenty books in the next five years, and when Lee is not working to make that goal a reality, he enjoys teaching here at I.U.S.B. Why? Lee explains that it's because of the students, who are "life weary and experienced in the hard ways of things, people with jobs, etc. It makes for colorful writing, and there is a lot of passion in the student/teach exchange." Is it safe to say that Lee believes life influences writing? Absolutely. "Your life is the only thing that is wholly yours, as well as the imagination that comes with it. But it's the imagination that's the muscle that must be developed."
In David Dodd Lee's short time here at I.U.S.B. the English Department has seen a huge increase in creative writing students publishing work in literary magazines and online. To name just a few, Charmi Keranen, Talia Reed, and Neil Kelly have all been published within the last year. Student Neil Kelly, in between sips of beer speculates on why: "When I think about David and his influence on the writing program I immediately think Indiana University instead of I.U.S.B. Not to mention that something like five or six of his students have been published. That's probably three or four more than I.U.S.B. has ever had in its existence." As a professor, David Dodd Lee serves as a mentor of the craft, inspiring and energizing students to write. "I tend to share everything that happens in that part of my life (writing/publishing) – whether through direct communication or through the blog" says Lee. It is that sort of openness, and his love of the written word, that makes Lee a constant inspiration to his students, and a man most certainly worth getting to know.
If you are interested in following David Dodd Lee's writing, he hosts several blogs which can be found at:
http://www.seventeenfingeredpoetrybird.blogspot.com/ (personal)
http://molestingtheclover.blogspot.com/ (a blog dedicated to his A190 course.)
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