Marcus Silcock

Read an essay by Marjorie Perloff last night called “After language Poetry: Innovation and its Theoretical Discontents.” It’s a really interesting essay. She begins by talking about the semantic history… Read more.

If you live anywhere near North Carolina you gotta check out Ken Rumble’s Desert City Reading Series The upcoming season (keep checking Ken’s blog for details) is going to be… Read more.

John Taggart’s _When the Saints_ is blowing me away. Stunning. Really. I am rolling. Flying. My head’s on fire. Don’t need a pond. I read a few pages and feel… Read more.

I can’t believe summer is almost over. Time to read the books I am gonna teach. Which is gonna be hard since I just picked up a few cool books… Read more.

Night one: characters: a girl named Cami (ex-gilfriend of main character. Lived with main character after he left the Mormon church.) Cami visits the main character and gives him chocolates.… Read more.

There seems to be a difference between death and ceasing to be. I sometimes imagine death, but I cannot imagine ceasing to be. More and more it feels like ceasing… Read more.

Finished the ms (Mouth Harp) yesterday. Feels really good to let it go. The title changed a few times from Never Mind the Beasts to Stigmata:Burger to Mouth Harp. Mouth… Read more.

Loading a lot of music into itunes today. Three days of music so far. Close to a hundred cds left to import. Just finished loading all Sunny Day Real Estate,… Read more.

The headlong mad energy rush of beats and ny school poets really got me head spinning in new directions. Now I am reading Trevor Joyce in a small even pace.… Read more.

My whole system crashed a few days ago. Spent two days trying to save it (purchased the computer on ebay so who knows about previous owner?). The good thing though… Read more.

if you haven’t already, check out Shearsman Books. Especially MTC Cronin: Talking to Neruda’s Questions (it’s a free ebook). Shearsman Books Read more.

I’ve been cutting reworking resequencing to make an interesting first book manuscript. I had 70 pages now it’s down to 59 pages. (all in all I’ve cut about 78 poems… Read more.

I just finished cleaning out the cat litter (it’s a mega cat litter box). Cleaning out the cat litter box is much different than doing the litter. Doing the litter… Read more.

darn what is going on. Camino will not allow me to type text in blogger and Mozilla is underlining my text. I hate IE so I hope this doesn’t mean… Read more.

I feel like I am always catching up. The Yasusada affair is now way past infancy. The twenty letters to The Believer in Typo 3 explore the issues quite well.… Read more.

currently on the eastern shore of maryland reading Doubled Flowering on a hammock. Ah, this feels great. A shower, some sea air, new underwear, good book, and some tea. Yesterday… Read more.

Finally get to visit home. Got two roundtrip tickets in December to Dublin for $674. Dec 16th – Dec 27th. Never flown on Aer Lingus. Hope they have some decent… Read more.

I just watched Cold Mountain (not a very good movie) and Fahrenheit 911. Both movies, combined with some of my experiences growing up in Portadown, caused a little mortality crisis… Read more.

I think it’s about half way through summer break so I better start reading or re-reading the books I am gonna teach. Just decided to use Lisa Jarnot’s Ring of… Read more.

Is it really true that it is good and right to wash your hands for 2 minutes to kill maximum germs/bacteria etc. I consider myself clean, but 2 minutes feels… Read more.

Does anyone dream of old flings? When I feel anxious about my mortality I have a dream about an old fling. It takes place in 1990. I am 16 yrs.… Read more.

Check out Fred Chappell’s review of Tony Tost’s _Invisible Bride_ in News & Observer: <a href="http://www.newsobserver.com/lifestyles/story/1375244p-7498182c.html&quot; >Invisble Bride Review Read more.

I didn’t realize the greatness of OS X and Mozilla. They are both so fast and clean and bright and precise. One happy camper. I wonder how and why the… Read more.

New computer arrived yesterday. Waiting on the monitor today. A nice older G4 tower with 600MB RAM and a 40 Gig hard drive. Apple studio crt monitor coming soon. Almost… Read more.

This has been a week of moving prep. Tomorrow is the big moving day. My normal reading/writing schedule is way off track. So, hopefully monday I will have a new… Read more.

(Dedicated to the dead horse I kicked a few entries back. R.I.P.) You see, my experience of life conflicts with my experiences in life. I want experience as in not… Read more.

The latest issue looks heavenly. Check out the blog: Verse Mag Read more.

Chris Murray (the trek and meme of American poetry) has featured me as texfiles poet of the week. (thank you Chris). Texfiles Read more.

Watched a really good movie last night called The Barbarian Invasions. I am still processing it. Some of the “Barbarian Invasions” in the movie= disease, capitalism, love, lust, terrorism, death… Read more.

Here’s a poem that perhaps illustrates “the school of quietude.” Abalone (by Tony Leuzzi. BOA editions) Lift the mollusk to your ear and you will hear a cello weap the… Read more.

Lisa Jarnot Read more.

wish you were here?: Bloomsday Rejoyce Read more.

Tony is instigating a great conversation on the breakthrough or freedom narrative. In the 20th century it was the narrative of freedom from meter. Now it might be the narrative… Read more.

marcus and tiffany slease I never dress this nice. Tiffany looks sexy as hell. Blogged via Fotola.com. Read more.

When I read poetry that knocks off my socks I have two contradictory reactions: 1) stop writing poetry. Just read it. Die happy 2) Steal as much as possible and… Read more.

lucipo chap Based in North Carolina, The Lucifer Poetics Group is an affiliation of people interested in contemporary poetry with an emphasis on experimental, post-avant, and avant-garde poetics. For more… Read more.

Where to begin? An amazing word dizzy weekend. So many amazing performances. First, the regrets: 1) Our cat Iris was rushed to the emergency room Sunday morning right before the… Read more.

Brian Howe as bookseller At the end of the night, Brian Howe, Will May, and I cashed everyone out. We came out right with paper and pen (no fancy adding… Read more.

Chris Murray Can't wait to sit down with Meme Me Up, Scotty! Fantastic poet. Very gracious and humble. Wonderful to meet the woman behind texfiles. Blogged via Fotola.com. Read more.

Chris Vitiello and Clayton Couch What a pair! Super poets. Blogged via Fotola.com. Read more.

Linh Dinh and Chris Murray Terrific poets both. Blogged via Fotola.com. Read more.

newly engaged Yes. Aren't they a lovely pair! Linh Dinh dedicated his reading to their engagement! Blogged via Fotola.com. Read more.

Standard Schaefer and Chris Vitiello damn these fellas can write. These “new younger poets” really really rock. I mean it. They really rock. They also happen to be nice people.… Read more.

Murat Nemet-Nejat Amazing reader of contemporary Turkish poetry. Get everything he's laid hands, eyes, mind on. Another highlight of the festival Blogged via Fotola.com. Read more.

Mark DuCharme and ken Rumble Mark's reading was one of the highlights of the festival. Some good chatting at the bar about Pound, Chris Stroffolino's essay on lineage etc. if… Read more.

Joe Donahue and Lee Ann Brown Does it get any better? Blogged via Fotola.com. Read more.

Tried hartz flea tick stuff for our cats last night (instead of the usual frontline). Now Iris has the shakes. Gotta take her into the vet in 30min. I guess… Read more.

Tony’s blog makes me want to read Pound in the near future. I like to immerse myself. I am obsessive. But I have to feel a kind of intuition in… Read more.

Nice discussions going on in the blog world. The whole Jeff Clark review is interesting. The idea of a negative review having a postive impact? A bad review or censorship… Read more.

limo party (yeah) Blogged via Fotola.com. Read more.

What a weekend. The whirl keeps on going. Thursday bachelor party. Friday rehersal dinner. Saturday wedding, reception (with open bar and amazing food then a stretched limo ride back to… Read more.

My good friend Hardy gave me his bookstore credit before he left town. Picked up: Armenian Papers: poems 1954-1984 by Harry Matthews The Random House Book of Twentieth Century French… Read more.

It was great to meet Tim Botta and hear some of his poetry. He read a poem about the box Joseph Cornell never made. He also read a Pantoum and… Read more.

Just returned from the eastern shore. Wow. What a time. We canoed to an island and hung out for the day. Lots of toads. A few water moccasins. A wide… Read more.

Telling it Slant (edited by Mark Wallace and Steven Marks) is amazing. I am thrilled by the essay Avant-Garde without Agonism by Daniel Barbiero: The emerging avant-garde as refusing to… Read more.

A new journal put together by some great folks here in Greensboro. Check it out at: Backwards City I am enjoying Burger’s Theory of the Avant-Garde. Only read the foreword… Read more.

Some new music from friends: Wilco A Ghost is Born Velvet Underground Fully Loaded Pixies Come On Pilgrim Mates of State My Solo Project Built to Spill The Normal Years… Read more.

Just returned from the woods. All night party for graduating artists in visual arts. Huge bonfire. Hundreds of people. Sculptures hanging from the trees in the woods. The guy hired… Read more.

Interesting trunk! Overall ranking: a good supplemental trunk for the study of Westward Expansion. In the surfing room a message appears on the screen: a fatal error has occurred please… Read more.

The poems never publish the way I type them (line breaks etc.) Ah well. Only rough ones anyway. Read more.

He is, in all modesty and honesty, “just doing his job”—insuring that what we really think, and what we actually say, is a tight fit. Attention to details. Honesty. Integrity.… Read more.

We were reading toward Bethlehem suffice it to say we were tired elephants so we were reading toward Bethlehem looking for new streaks across the sky. We were reading toward… Read more.

Had a great Lucipo meeting yesterday with Evie Shockley, Tony Tost, and Ken Rumble. The discussions helped me replay with my poem that plays with the Second Coming. I want… Read more.

The Dallas Hockaday position did not work out. They wanted someone to teach two classes and I need full time work. I am excited to stay here in NC for… Read more.

What a whirl after my return from NY. Busy grading. Check out some pics from NY: NY Trip Read more.

long drive, stiff legs. Very enjoyable trip. Tired as. Ate in the meat packing district last night hung out in Chelsea. Great exhibits. Liked the little jumping men on stone… Read more.

wow. i am exhausted. But what a time yesterday. Drank a lot of rounds at McSorleys and got the t-shirt. I am was disappointed in the poetry selection at The… Read more.

took 11 hours to drive from Greensboro, NC to Lambertville, NJ. Long day yesterday. Drank a few pints to sleep. It’s 6:24AM and we are about to hit the road.… Read more.

Tony Tost started a reading series at the open eye cafe where he works. Great crowd last night. Tony and Brian really spread the word. A really really refreshing change… Read more.

Rainy day and a Monday. However, while giving a test on Irish drama I read some Haze by Mark Wallace. I feel much better knowing the issues a little more… Read more.

Ken Rumble rocks. He’s really working it here in NC. What an amazing reading last night. All three poets distinct in delivery. Mark Wallace was very generous, warm, gorgeous in… Read more.

Woke up at 4am today. Choices choices choices. Got a letter requesting a phone interview for a position teaching English at an all-girls school in Dallas, TX called Hockaday. I… Read more.

So the 5 AM writing time continues. I’ve often heard advice to wake up with not fully formed critical apparatus or coffee stimulant and write without censoring. Doesn’t this assume… Read more.

I am very excited about the reading this Saturday in Carborro, NC. Listening to Mark Wallace via Real Audio right now. Excited to hear him live. Just got Complications from… Read more.

<a href="http://fotola.com/berylium/postpran/&quot; >Fotola Read more.

Wish I could have made it to Raleigh on Saturday to hear Aaron and hit the used bookstores. Sounded like a great time. I am wondering about the idea of… Read more.

Deep sea diving with Frank Stanford. At first my ears kept popping and I had to surface a lot for air (not used to holding my breath for so long).… Read more.

What’s going to happen after I finish? Read more.

I’m 116 pages in. Read more.

Holy shit. Read more.

1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 23. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these… Read more.

You know sometimes I get swept up in reactionary rhetoric. Sometimes I don’t do my research and assume way too much. This is the case with my entry on Foetry… Read more.

Had a great time hanging out with Tony Tost and his girlfriend Leigh. We ate on a balcony overlooking the big city of Greensboro and speculated about whether or not… Read more.

Received an interesting email from a guy named Aaron Lundstrom about creature comforts and beautiful narcotics. I’ve been mulling. I am not sure an outright dismisal of popular culture is… Read more.

Just ordered the books I am gonna use for my classes in the fall. For my two sections of English 101: 1) Confronting Capitalism edited by Eddie Yuen, George Katsiaficas,… Read more.

I am going to attempt a theme based English 101 class next fall on counter culture. Include movies that deal with the idea of counter culture and revolution such as… Read more.

Just finished Albert Mobilio’s The Geographics. Rocked my socks. One of the best books I’ve read. Not sure what it is. I can’t put my finger on it yet. I… Read more.

The Kills are rocking me this morning. I’ve been contemplating the idea of information overload (esp. image overload) and poetry either resisting or accelerating the overload. I’ve heard on many… Read more.

Turned 30 yesterday. Got a Nikon coolpix camera. Spent all morning playing with it instead of preparing a lesson plan on Kierkegaard. Got some music. The new Modest Mouse, Dr.… Read more.

Interesting contrast this weekend. My friend’s parent’s came down this weekend and they love Billy Collins. They are both doctors and extremely nice. So first, I went to the beat… Read more.

Found a really cool site called Titanic Operas: poetry and new materialities. check it out at Titanic operas Read more.

Just decided to teach as a full time lecturer for another year. I enjoy teaching. There are plenty of great poets who do not/did not compromise their poetry for “professional”… Read more.

Josh Corey’s notes from the AWP conference are fascinating. The MFA as a gated community. As post-MFA I can see this. However, the “avant guarde” feels like a gated community… Read more.

My friend Dan returned with goodies from AWP: Poker by Tomaz Salamun (ugly ducking press. really well made) Fa(r)ther Down: Songs from the Allegy Trials by Arielle Greenberg (New Michigan… Read more.

Obessions. Yeah obessions. I am redoing my library like I used to redo my hair. I would grow it for a few months then shave it bald. All go then… Read more.

Met a few poets and scholars at the bookshop in Chapel Hill yesterday. In particular a real nice guy named Joe Donahue who teaches at Duke. He told me about… Read more.

Excited to get the new Modest Mouse CD and bootleg. The cd is being released spot dead on my b-day. April 6th 2004. Only heard “float on.” Liked it. Hope… Read more.

In the process of writing maybe brand is in the background somewhere but after a while it seems to me the author is branded. What are blurbs but a brand?… Read more.

I am floored. Moved. Excited. Yes Yes Yes. There goes my head. I am alive. Check out K. Silem Mohammad’s electronic chapbook: <a href="http://www.durationpress.com/bookstore “>Duration Press The only way out… Read more.