In Chicago
Originally uploaded by cherword.
Visit to hometown in December
viernes, febrero 11, 2005
martes, febrero 01, 2005
Winter Poems
Here are some new drafts of Boston winter poems.
THE FIRST GRADE HALLOWEEN PLAY
THE YEAR MY FATHER DIED
On the stroke of May
bats made their way
into children's plays,
and the spelling bee flew
into the wrong word
for a sickness
able to floor you,
at least for 24 hours-but
an inconvenient 24 hours-
heaving into flapping
bat wings of black
construction paper. I chose
no corpulent pumpkin.
No ghost for me.
AT THE MUSEUM
Meeting you here
isn't fancy.
The bathroom here is fancy.
Even the women on plaques
have two kinds of dresses:
an upside-down umbrella,
another choking the midriff.
Our meeting here is akin to
metal chairs in the courtyard,
mugged by snow.
I SHOT DAYLIGHT
Pellet holes in panes of glass,
antennas of cracking.
Daylight could have sought
retribution at nightfall.
Hues relinquished
in pursuit of a gray worm,
and in silence thickly
spackled disease.
I spun around a sapling,
all elbow grease exhausted.
DOODLED NAME-DROPPINGS
Pablo Picasso meets Georgia O'Keefe.
Alfred Steiglitz and he rumble.
Helen Frankenthaler pours a bucket of paint on them.
Louise Bourgeois sculpts her mother
as a gigantic bronze spider,
eyeballs peek out of the grass.
Agnes Wright draws rectangles around the house.
BOOK OF THREE DAYS
1/24/05 6:18:12 PM
Popsicle stick people
drone on, appearing
to lipstick my long face
in light of contusion.
Until catapulted.
Pick up new object.
1/25
No room for cream. No milky space.
*
I heated black until red.
Then singed yellow
until it escaped as char
into the night.
1/26
I have a date with my shovel at three.
A flurry of activity before:
Typing notes
Listening to recorded poem
THE FIRST GRADE HALLOWEEN PLAY
THE YEAR MY FATHER DIED
On the stroke of May
bats made their way
into children's plays,
and the spelling bee flew
into the wrong word
for a sickness
able to floor you,
at least for 24 hours-but
an inconvenient 24 hours-
heaving into flapping
bat wings of black
construction paper. I chose
no corpulent pumpkin.
No ghost for me.
AT THE MUSEUM
Meeting you here
isn't fancy.
The bathroom here is fancy.
Even the women on plaques
have two kinds of dresses:
an upside-down umbrella,
another choking the midriff.
Our meeting here is akin to
metal chairs in the courtyard,
mugged by snow.
I SHOT DAYLIGHT
Pellet holes in panes of glass,
antennas of cracking.
Daylight could have sought
retribution at nightfall.
Hues relinquished
in pursuit of a gray worm,
and in silence thickly
spackled disease.
I spun around a sapling,
all elbow grease exhausted.
DOODLED NAME-DROPPINGS
Pablo Picasso meets Georgia O'Keefe.
Alfred Steiglitz and he rumble.
Helen Frankenthaler pours a bucket of paint on them.
Louise Bourgeois sculpts her mother
as a gigantic bronze spider,
eyeballs peek out of the grass.
Agnes Wright draws rectangles around the house.
BOOK OF THREE DAYS
1/24/05 6:18:12 PM
Popsicle stick people
drone on, appearing
to lipstick my long face
in light of contusion.
Until catapulted.
Pick up new object.
1/25
No room for cream. No milky space.
*
I heated black until red.
Then singed yellow
until it escaped as char
into the night.
1/26
I have a date with my shovel at three.
A flurry of activity before:
Typing notes
Listening to recorded poem
viernes, enero 28, 2005
Call for Papers ---Los Estados Unidos
Here is a forward about a conference. Let me know if you submit. I'm curious.
Thirteenth Annual NYU Columbia University Graduate Conference on Spanish and Portuguese Literatures
This Conference will be held at the King Juan Carlos I Center, New York University, on Friday and Saturday, April 8th and 9th 2005
LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS
Keynote Speakers include:
Julio Ramos, Department of Spanish and Portuguese (UC Berkeley); José Quiroga, Department of Spanish and Portuguese (Emory University); Sylvia Molloy, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Comparative Literature (NYU); Mary Louise Pratt, Department of Spanish and Portuguese (NYU); Ana Maria Dopico, Department of Comparative Literature, Spanish and Portuguese (NYU); and George Yúdice, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Department of Spanish and Portuguese (NYU).
Suggested topics:
Representations of Latin America on the US
North/South: appropriations, looting & influences
Mass Culture / Pop / Globalization
Latin American readings of the US
Politics of the Empire / Colonialisms / Hegemony
Latin American and Iberic Studies inside the American Academia
Borders / Travel writings
Migration / Exile / Diaspora
Bilingualism / Spanglish / Slangs & jergas
Latinos in the US
Races & ethnicities / Gringos & Spiks
Representaciones de Latinoamérica en los Estados Unidos
Norte / Sur: préstamos, contrabando e influencias
Cultura de masas / Pop / Globalización
Lecturas latinoamericanas de los Estados Unidos
Políticas del Imperio / Colonialismos / Hegemonía
La academia norteamericana
Los estudios latinoamericanos e hispánicos en US
Fronteras / Travel writings
Migraciones / Exilio / Diáspora
Latinos in the US
Bilingüismos / Spanglish / Slangs y jergas
Razas y etnias / Gringos y Spiks
Please submit a one-page abstract in English, Spanish or Portuguese, with a separate title, page, stating name, address, e-mail and phone #
Send by e-mail to cgs245@nyu.edu or by mail to:
Los Estados Unidos
Department of Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Literatures
New York University
c/o Claudia Salazar
19 University Place 4th Floor
New York, New York 10003
Deadline: February 12th 2005
Thirteenth Annual NYU Columbia University Graduate Conference on Spanish and Portuguese Literatures
This Conference will be held at the King Juan Carlos I Center, New York University, on Friday and Saturday, April 8th and 9th 2005
LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS
Keynote Speakers include:
Julio Ramos, Department of Spanish and Portuguese (UC Berkeley); José Quiroga, Department of Spanish and Portuguese (Emory University); Sylvia Molloy, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Comparative Literature (NYU); Mary Louise Pratt, Department of Spanish and Portuguese (NYU); Ana Maria Dopico, Department of Comparative Literature, Spanish and Portuguese (NYU); and George Yúdice, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Department of Spanish and Portuguese (NYU).
Suggested topics:
Representations of Latin America on the US
North/South: appropriations, looting & influences
Mass Culture / Pop / Globalization
Latin American readings of the US
Politics of the Empire / Colonialisms / Hegemony
Latin American and Iberic Studies inside the American Academia
Borders / Travel writings
Migration / Exile / Diaspora
Bilingualism / Spanglish / Slangs & jergas
Latinos in the US
Races & ethnicities / Gringos & Spiks
Representaciones de Latinoamérica en los Estados Unidos
Norte / Sur: préstamos, contrabando e influencias
Cultura de masas / Pop / Globalización
Lecturas latinoamericanas de los Estados Unidos
Políticas del Imperio / Colonialismos / Hegemonía
La academia norteamericana
Los estudios latinoamericanos e hispánicos en US
Fronteras / Travel writings
Migraciones / Exilio / Diáspora
Latinos in the US
Bilingüismos / Spanglish / Slangs y jergas
Razas y etnias / Gringos y Spiks
Please submit a one-page abstract in English, Spanish or Portuguese, with a separate title, page, stating name, address, e-mail and phone #
Send by e-mail to cgs245@nyu.edu or by mail to:
Los Estados Unidos
Department of Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Literatures
New York University
c/o Claudia Salazar
19 University Place 4th Floor
New York, New York 10003
Deadline: February 12th 2005
miércoles, enero 19, 2005
Dispatx
Infrequent spurts of blogging. I've been writing more in my paper journal. So archaic. I love it. Maybe I will scan or type to you. The ubiquitous you. I've been working on Spanish to English poetry translations. Now I have all these random words in my head. Words that didn't fit or made me recall other words. I'll tell you later.
Check out this project I've been working on with Ruth Lepson. I am making a book from a poem called Papers by Ruth Lepson and James Carson. It will be posted on Dispatx online journal. Go to http://www.dispatx.com/wip/en/papers/01.html
Check out this project I've been working on with Ruth Lepson. I am making a book from a poem called Papers by Ruth Lepson and James Carson. It will be posted on Dispatx online journal. Go to http://www.dispatx.com/wip/en/papers/01.html
martes, enero 04, 2005
Art Institute
If anyone is going to Chicago, I encourage you to check out this exhibit (Hero, Hawk, and Open Hand: American Indian Art of the Ancient Midwest and South at the Art Institute). http://www.artic.edu/aic/exhibitions/herohawk/overview.html
"The exhibition assembles some 300 masterpieces of stone, ceramic, wood, shell, and copper created between 2000 B.C. and A.D. 1600....[sic]..of the midwestern and southern United States."
As Alex and I walked through the exhibit we noted the similarities to, and deviations from, artifacts of Latin America. During 2000 B.C. the cultures across the entire Americas were even influencing each other. It was amazing to see and consider. The exhibit included a timeline of tribes across the Americas, however, it didn't explore the artistic interplay of these tribes for each peice. We tended to superimpose this look on the entire exhibit. Nonetheless, it is worth a trip.
"The exhibition assembles some 300 masterpieces of stone, ceramic, wood, shell, and copper created between 2000 B.C. and A.D. 1600....[sic]..of the midwestern and southern United States."
As Alex and I walked through the exhibit we noted the similarities to, and deviations from, artifacts of Latin America. During 2000 B.C. the cultures across the entire Americas were even influencing each other. It was amazing to see and consider. The exhibit included a timeline of tribes across the Americas, however, it didn't explore the artistic interplay of these tribes for each peice. We tended to superimpose this look on the entire exhibit. Nonetheless, it is worth a trip.
jueves, diciembre 02, 2004
For a few minutes of fun, try www.googlism.com. Here is a googlism for 'the united states." How strange when products like google become verbs?
the united states is becoming more vulnerable to natural
the united states is still bombing
the united states is disintegrating
the united states is a threat to world
the united states is the world leader in innovation
the united states is problem
the united states is not in prophecy
the united states is a diverse country
the united states is a democracy
the united states is falling
the united states is over 150 years old
the united states is putting the world at risk
the united states is still a british colony
the united states is becoming more vulnerable to natural disasters
the united states is in deep doodoo
the united states is now the only industrialized country in the world that does not use the metric system as its predominant system of measurement
the united states is still bombing iraq
the united states is available
the united states is about to take place
the united states is now included in this conservative block that opposes women’s and children’s rights
the united states is against terrorism
the united states is now our foremost enemy
the united states is a symbol of freedom
the united states is on the continent of north america
the united states is a threat to world peace
the united states is failing in the fight against aids come demand real domestic responses and real global solutions
the united states is rooted in oil
the united states is the world leader in innovation and in the trade of goods and services of knowledge
the united states is doing more harm than good in israel
the united states is one of the best tax havens in the world
the united states is the largest producer of tomatoes in the world
the united states is unfounded
the united states is over
the united states is banning books
the united states is a safe haven for more than 1
the united states is the only country to base its society not on a shared past or culture but on an idea
the united states is becoming more vulnerable to natural
the united states is still bombing
the united states is disintegrating
the united states is a threat to world
the united states is the world leader in innovation
the united states is problem
the united states is not in prophecy
the united states is a diverse country
the united states is a democracy
the united states is falling
the united states is over 150 years old
the united states is putting the world at risk
the united states is still a british colony
the united states is becoming more vulnerable to natural disasters
the united states is in deep doodoo
the united states is now the only industrialized country in the world that does not use the metric system as its predominant system of measurement
the united states is still bombing iraq
the united states is available
the united states is about to take place
the united states is now included in this conservative block that opposes women’s and children’s rights
the united states is against terrorism
the united states is now our foremost enemy
the united states is a symbol of freedom
the united states is on the continent of north america
the united states is a threat to world peace
the united states is failing in the fight against aids come demand real domestic responses and real global solutions
the united states is rooted in oil
the united states is the world leader in innovation and in the trade of goods and services of knowledge
the united states is doing more harm than good in israel
the united states is one of the best tax havens in the world
the united states is the largest producer of tomatoes in the world
the united states is unfounded
the united states is over
the united states is banning books
the united states is a safe haven for more than 1
the united states is the only country to base its society not on a shared past or culture but on an idea
martes, noviembre 23, 2004
Let's try something new. A poem in process that first appeared here. I suddenly love the word gurgle.
The Neighbor's Dog
It is the ending that makes everything worthwhile.
The yellow bamboo leaves spike without question
less diligently. Dishes exonerate. Intentions
do not pile but spread, stave off less compelling ones.
She frequently looks up the difference between
transitive and intransitive verbs.
Metonyms have left her
stranded. Adjectives heap themselves in succession
in light of the coming holidays. Sugar tells stories
when no one's looking. Someone is always looking.
The neighbor walks the neighbor's dog.
She considers what she can throw away, what
she cannot buy, or whether carried from subject to object.
The writer has no need to ask
what makes her so. Logic is such a foe. And in the end
we all cheer for the woman who burns down the town.
No one would be prepared.
The Neighbor's Dog
It is the ending that makes everything worthwhile.
The yellow bamboo leaves spike without question
less diligently. Dishes exonerate. Intentions
do not pile but spread, stave off less compelling ones.
She frequently looks up the difference between
transitive and intransitive verbs.
Metonyms have left her
stranded. Adjectives heap themselves in succession
in light of the coming holidays. Sugar tells stories
when no one's looking. Someone is always looking.
The neighbor walks the neighbor's dog.
She considers what she can throw away, what
she cannot buy, or whether carried from subject to object.
The writer has no need to ask
what makes her so. Logic is such a foe. And in the end
we all cheer for the woman who burns down the town.
No one would be prepared.
pituitary
gatekeeper
sweat
lodger
phenomenal
light
smoother
come take a look
behind the shed
heaven
swears
in 32 lanuages
does it
in succession
without stones
or stick figures
)(
the kitten had twins
shows up wrestling
with mickey
mouse #1 (said it, I gave
in) you brought a
stuffed one
like turkey
stuffing
)(
don't you just want to scream
Happy Holidays
gatekeeper
sweat
lodger
phenomenal
light
smoother
come take a look
behind the shed
heaven
swears
in 32 lanuages
does it
in succession
without stones
or stick figures
)(
the kitten had twins
shows up wrestling
with mickey
mouse #1 (said it, I gave
in) you brought a
stuffed one
like turkey
stuffing
)(
don't you just want to scream
Happy Holidays
sábado, noviembre 20, 2004
Rudimentary
Do I post so my "readership" doesn't stray? Do I post because I am compelled? Do I go postal because I don't post? Would past tense be appropriate? In the shower I consider that I am half the blogger I could be, and possibly on the way to a have-been. Ultimately, I'm amused by such simple worries. I've given musings, but not much more. As I figure out the technicalities of posting poems that would maintain line breaks, maybe this could change. Maybe you won't stray.
It is the ending that makes everything worthwhile. The yellow bamboo leaves spike, without question, less diligently. Cookbooks piled on the monitor-on-its-way- out by way of a trip to the basement are frisky. Dishes exonerate. She frequently looks up the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs. Metonyms have left her stranded. Un-called-for hyphens deserve different homes. Live a little
language. Adjective s heap themselves in succession in light of the coming holidays. In a community imagined in a yellow evening you leave without question to go to work. The writer has no need to ask what makes her so. Relieved of reoccurring migraines, she has only the traces such as vomiting. Intentions do not pile,
but spread. Stave off less compelling ones. She will consider what she can throw away, and what she cannot buy. Logic is another foe. And in the end we all cheer for the woman that burns down the town. No one would be prepared. Sugar tells stories when no one's looking. The neighbor walks the neighbor's dog.
language. Adjective s heap themselves in succession in light of the coming holidays. In a community imagined in a yellow evening you leave without question to go to work. The writer has no need to ask what makes her so. Relieved of reoccurring migraines, she has only the traces such as vomiting. Intentions do not pile,
but spread. Stave off less compelling ones. She will consider what she can throw away, and what she cannot buy. Logic is another foe. And in the end we all cheer for the woman that burns down the town. No one would be prepared. Sugar tells stories when no one's looking. The neighbor walks the neighbor's dog.
lunes, noviembre 08, 2004
Only Mercedes Sosa can make me this happy listening to her album, huhmm, cd "Mercedes Sosa en Argentina," recorded in 1982 at the Buenos Aires Opera Theatre. Inserted in the front of the cd case is my ticket stub from attending her concert in 2002 at the Berklee Performance Center. Gracias a la vida!
I was in the third row with my friend Bhavana who thought that we were getting the tickets at half-price. "Thought" is the operative word.
In case you are more interested: http://www.easybuenosairescity.com/biografias/sosa1.htm
I was in the third row with my friend Bhavana who thought that we were getting the tickets at half-price. "Thought" is the operative word.
In case you are more interested: http://www.easybuenosairescity.com/biografias/sosa1.htm
jueves, octubre 28, 2004
Stem cell said to Iraqi man
you are more evolved,
why don't you live?
Iraqi man said
your President won't let me.
My water is polluted.
My brother has died.
My sister's wedding was bombed.
Stem cell joined up with other powerful stem cells
for a conference on peace treaties but
the President was busy blowing hot air and missiles.
In the end, stem cells broke up with the President
and joined the Red Cross, then the Revolution.
you are more evolved,
why don't you live?
Iraqi man said
your President won't let me.
My water is polluted.
My brother has died.
My sister's wedding was bombed.
Stem cell joined up with other powerful stem cells
for a conference on peace treaties but
the President was busy blowing hot air and missiles.
In the end, stem cells broke up with the President
and joined the Red Cross, then the Revolution.
domingo, octubre 24, 2004
Lantern Parade
Threadbare words cut out of tissue paper
In nothing but plastic glued to foggy lake
Waddling when need be a wink away
From worn-out face holding a lantern
at a parade
celebrations
always slap me
in the back
the futility
of reaching out buries me
alive
Is a state of mind
In nothing but plastic glued to foggy lake
Waddling when need be a wink away
From worn-out face holding a lantern
at a parade
celebrations
always slap me
in the back
the futility
of reaching out buries me
alive
Is a state of mind
jueves, octubre 21, 2004
Malfuncion
I really sucks when an I becomes I hen says I suck I wake up earlier
o wrie wih my missing
I is so cold I hink ha winer comes and I don' wan I
o come and I keep pressing
like 's maer even more in life now I know hey are missing if I were o open any book and coun 's my kiy can' go ouside because I closed he window maybe all 's flew ou window of my scaered hear lifeline is a hold up for space loveliness when you are around I will fill in all your leers if you demand equaliy solidarity just when I get into this spellcheck interferes
o wrie wih my missing
I is so cold I hink ha winer comes and I don' wan I
o come and I keep pressing
like 's maer even more in life now I know hey are missing if I were o open any book and coun 's my kiy can' go ouside because I closed he window maybe all 's flew ou window of my scaered hear lifeline is a hold up for space loveliness when you are around I will fill in all your leers if you demand equaliy solidarity just when I get into this spellcheck interferes
lunes, octubre 18, 2004
marketroid
Just in case you were wondering....
marketroid /mar'k*-troyd/ (Or "marketing slime", "marketeer", "marketingdroid", "marketdroid") A member of a company's marketingdepartment, especially one who promises users that the next version of a product will have features that are not actually scheduled for inclusion, are extremely difficult to implement,and/or are in violation of the laws of physics; and/or one whodescribes existing features (and misfeatures) in ebullient, buzzword-laden adspeak. Derogatory.
marketroid /mar'k*-troyd/ (Or "marketing slime", "marketeer", "marketingdroid", "marketdroid") A member of a company's marketingdepartment, especially one who promises users that the next version of a product will have features that are not actually scheduled for inclusion, are extremely difficult to implement,and/or are in violation of the laws of physics; and/or one whodescribes existing features (and misfeatures) in ebullient, buzzword-laden adspeak. Derogatory.
lunes, octubre 11, 2004
Guerrero Viejo
After finishing an amazing book of oral history and photographs called Guerrero Viejo, I was drawn to write a poem in Spanish. I rarely write original work in Spanish, nor work that sounds so formal, but this is what erupted. Let me finish by saying that this book Guerrero Viejo by Elena Poniatowski (author), and Richard Payne (photographer) poignantly illustrates how the citizens of this town were uprooted when the Mexican and U.S. government constructed the Falcon Dam on the Rio Grande. The town, once under water, is now completely dry. A few people refuse to leave. ( I need to figure out how to create accents within this blogbox. Advice for mac?)
A Dona Julia de Guerrero Viejo
Amor,
no te espero sino estoy en vigila
con mis veinte chivos y un becerro.
Y en la noche no te espero
con una veladora para mis santitos
y otra luz encendida de una bateria de carro.
No necesito un carro,
sino una luz. Nunca voy a salir.
A la mala gente, no tengo miedo
de tirarla en las patas
si se trata de robar La Virgen
en mi iglesia sin muros completos.
Nunca sera vacia.
Amor,
en la casa del doctor del Flores
crecio un arbol inmenso. Se parece
que el hogar ofrecio su techo alto.
Amor, soy la unica que guardo todo.
Y cuando me muera, no se le olvide
que quiera una cruz negra
por todo lo que he sufrido.
A Dona Julia de Guerrero Viejo
Amor,
no te espero sino estoy en vigila
con mis veinte chivos y un becerro.
Y en la noche no te espero
con una veladora para mis santitos
y otra luz encendida de una bateria de carro.
No necesito un carro,
sino una luz. Nunca voy a salir.
A la mala gente, no tengo miedo
de tirarla en las patas
si se trata de robar La Virgen
en mi iglesia sin muros completos.
Nunca sera vacia.
Amor,
en la casa del doctor del Flores
crecio un arbol inmenso. Se parece
que el hogar ofrecio su techo alto.
Amor, soy la unica que guardo todo.
Y cuando me muera, no se le olvide
que quiera una cruz negra
por todo lo que he sufrido.
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