Immersive / Intensive

Between December 2013 and July 2014, I re-imagined several collections of contemporary poetry through creative readings practices. I retroactively named the overarching project Immersive / Intensive and, during August 2014, developed a blog that documents the project. Please visit the Immersive / Intensive site to find out more.

Unwanted Invention / Vargtimmen

Furniture Press Books recently released my second and third books of pomes, titled Unwanted Invention / Vargtimmen, as a single, tête-bêche artifact. You will soon be able to purchase the collections at SPD Books and Amazon; until then, you can buy the books at Furniture Press' website. You can also rate or review Unwanted Invention / Vargtimmen at GoodReads.

To read an interview in which I speak with Heather Cox about the books, check out issue 17 of Ghost Ocean.

Another interview re: Unwanted Invention / Vargtimmen appears in the August 2016 issue of The Conversant. It's conducted by the poet Trey Moody.

Read a review of the first half of this double collection at Entropy Magazine.

A review of the chapbook Imaginary Portraits, which is a subsection of Unwanted Invention, appeared on HTML Giant.

A discussion of Unwanted Invention / Vargtimmen in the context of Nu-Audacity at The Millions.

Below is the press release for the collections:

Four years after the release of his debut collection, Joshua Ware delivers his second and third books of poetry in a single, tête-bêche artifact. In Unwanted Invention and Vargtimmen, respectively, Ware charts the luckless lovers' course: from ecstatic origins to inevitable disillusionment. 

Unwanted Invention, the first volume of these companion collections, explores Wallace Stevens' dictum that in poetry "imagination must not detach itself from reality." To this extent, the "you" and "I" of these poems reside in a space both familiar and strange as they travel through cities, cornfields, motel rooms, and mountains. In doing so, they create an ethereal realm in which love poems flourish and, ultimately, dissipate into the "irregular forms" of darkness. 

Legend has it that Vargtimmen, Swedish for the Hour of the Wolf, is the time before dawn in which people sleep the deepest, nightmares are the most vivid, and ghosts are most powerful. Like its namesake, Vargtimmen inhabits this realm, meditating on how loss of love breeds isolation, hysteria, and the "empty stagger of obsession." Imbued with moonlight, these poems invoke lunar motifs in an effort to both document and prevent the speaker's unraveling.

Below are some past and forthcoming readings in promotion of the collections:

16 October 2015 // SP CE Community Center // Lincoln, NE // with Sueyeun Juliette Lee
17 October 2015 // Petshop Gallery // Omaha, NE // with Sueyeun Juliette Lee
23 October 2015 // Mr. Peanut Butter's House // Chicago, IL // with Toby Altman & Laura Goldstein

14 November 2015 // Berl's Book Store // Brooklyn, NY // with Sueyeun Juliette Lee & Brenda Iijima

09 December 2015 // EveryEye Reading Series // Fort Collins, CO // with Tim Earley
10 December 2015 // Bad Blood Readings Series // Portland, OR // with Sueyeun Juliette Lee
12 December 2015 // Margin Shift Reading Series // Seattle, WA // with Sueyeun Juliette Lee
20 December 2015 // Sad Spell Reading Series // Denver, CO // with Katie Jean Shinkle

26 February 2016 // Failure to Identify // Houston, TX // with SJL & Tyler Gobble
27 February 2016 // Everything Is Bigger Series // Austin, TX // with SJL & Abraham Smith

19 March 2016 // The John Oates House Reading Series // San Francisco, CA // with SJL & Nico Peck

09 April 2016 // Lighthouse Writer's Workshop // Denver, CO // with Elisa Gabbert & Oren Silverman
22 April 2016 // CounterPath // Denver, CO // Visible Binary Launch Party
30 April 2016 // A Common Sense Reading Series // Kansas City, MO // with SJL & Serena Chopra

01 May 2016 // Taproom Reading Series // Lawrence, KS // with SJL & Serena Chopra

17 July 2016 // The Borough // Salt Lake City, UT //  with Sara Eliza Johnson & SJL

More 2016 dates will be announced in the near future.

Below are some readings from earlier in the year in preparation for the books' roll out. All these readings included Jeff Alessandrelli and Trey Moody:

12 June 2015 // Meg Ronan's House // Arlington, VA // with Rod Smith & Sueyeun Juliette Lee
13 June 2015 // LitMore Fundraiser // Baltimore, MD // with Kevin Varrone & Nicole Steinberg
15 June 2015 // Molasses Books // Brooklyn, NY // with Amy Lawless & Jackie Clarke

VOUCHED BOOKS

While this website remains online solely for archival purposes, I continue to write reviews and conduct interviews at Vouched Books, an online and real-life organization that promotes small press literature. I began contributing to the Vouched site on 28 March 2013, shortly after this blog went static. You can find a dedicated link to all my Vouched posts here.

Index of Reviews and Interviews

From 12 March 2012 through 11 March 2013, I read books of contemporary poetry, then wrote and posted reviews of them on this site. In some instances, I conducted interviews with authors of these collections. I would like to thank anyone who gifted me a book; without you're help, this project would not have been affordable/possible. And, of course, I would like to thank all the wonderful poets for writing such terrific work and the editors of these presses for publishing them. Below is an alphabetized list of books with links to the original post. 

Alessandrelli, Jeff. Don't Let Me Forget to Feed the Sharks. Portland, OR: Poor Claudia, 2012.
Alessandrelli, Jeff. Erik Satie Watusies His Way Into Sound. Spokane, WA: Ravenna Press Books, 2012.
Altman, Toby. Asides. Baltimore, MD: Furniture Press Books, 2012.
Baus, Eric. Tuned Droves. Lincoln, NE: Octopus Books, 2008.
Beer, John. The Waste Land and Other Poems. Ann Arbor, MI: Canarium Books, 2010.
Biddinger, Mary. O Holy Insurgency. Pittsburgh, PA: BLack Lawrence Press, 2013.
Biddinger, Mary. Saint Monica. Pittsburgh. PA: Black Lawrence Press, 2012.
Bloch, Julia. Letters to Kelly Clarkson. San Franscisco, CA: Sidebrow Books, 2012.
Brainard, Joe. I Remember. New York, NY: Granary Books, 2001.
Brodak, Molly. The Flood. Atlanta, GA: Coconut Books, 2012.
Chávez, John. City of Slow Dissolve. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 2012.
Chopra, Serena. Penumbra. Denver, CO: Flying Guillotine Press, 2012.
Clay, Adam. A Hotel Lobby at the Edge of the World. Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions, 2012.
Cohen, Julia and Mathias Svalina. Route. Brooklyn, NY: Immaculate Disciples Press, 2012.
Cooperman, Matthew. Still: Of the Earth as the Ark Which Does Not Move. Denver, CO: Counterpath Books, 2011.
Copeland, Brooklyn. Siphon, Harbor. Bristol, England (UK): Shearsman Books, 2012.
Courtright, Nick. Punchline. Gold Wake Press, 2012.
Cutter, Weston. Plus or Minus. Salem, MA: Greying Ghost Press, 2012.
Falck, Noah. Snowmen Losing Weight. Midland, PA: Bat Cat Press, 2012.
Fernandez, Robert. We Are Pharaoh. Ann Arbor, MI: Canarium Books, 2011.
Gannon, Megan. The Witch's Index: Spells, Incantations, Poems. Syracuse, NY: Sweet Publications, 2012.
Giampietro, Frank. Begin Anywhere. Farmington, ME: Alice James Books, 2008.
Gridley, Sarah. Green Is The Orator. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2010.
Hall, Joe and Chad Hardy. The Container Store, Vol. 1 and 2. Denver, CO: Springgun Press, 2012.
Hastain, j/j. cadences. Triton Books, 2012.
Jaeger, Tyrone. The Runaway Note. Conway, AR: Toad Suck, 2012.
Karl, Steven and Veronica Wong. Don't Try This On Youe Piano or am i still standing here with my hair down. Atalanta, GA: Lame House Press, 2012.
Klane, Matthew. Isle of Wight / Israel. Iowa City, IA: Self-published, 2011.
Klane, Matthew. Sons and Followers. Iowa City, IA: Self-published, 2009.
Ladewig, Lily. The Silhouettes. Denver, CO: Springgun Press, 2012.
Lasky, Dorothea. Thunderbird. Seattle, WA: Wave Books, 2012.
Lucas, Dave. Weather. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2011.
Magnus, Magus. The Re-Echoes. Baltimore, MD: Furniture Press Books, 2012.
Martin, Camille. Sonnets. Bristol, England (UK): Shearsman Books, 2010.
Metres, Phil. abu ghraib arias. Denver, CO: Flying Guillotine Press, 2012.
Mirov, Ben. Hider Roser. Portland, OR: Octopus Books, 2012.
Moody, Trey. Once Was A Weather. Salem, MA: Greying Ghost Press, 2011.
Moseman, Lori Anderson. All Steel. Albany, NY: Flim Forum Press, 2012.
Myers, Gina. False Spring. TX: Spooky Girlfriend Press, 2012.
Noftle, Kelli Anne. I Was There For Your Solmniloquoy. Richmond, CA: Omnidawn Publishing, 2012.
Pafunda, Danielle. Manhater. Dusie Press Books, 2012.
Peterson, Adam. The Flasher. Denver, CO: Springgun Press, 2012.
Pilch, Jennifer. Profil Perdu: Art School Retrospectives, 1987-1990. Salem, MA: Greying Ghost Press, 2011.
Poe, Deborah. Hélène. Baltimore, MD: Furniture Press Books, 2012.
Olszewska, Daniela. cloudfang::cakedirt. Horse Less Press, 2012.
Orange, Tom. American Dialectics. Oxford, OH: Slack Buddha Press, 2008.
Rexilius, Andrea. Half of What They Carried Flew Away. Denver, CO: Letter Machine Editions, 2012.
Rohrer, Matthew. Rise Up. Seattle, WA: Wave Books, 2008.
Savage, Elizabeth. Grammar. Baltimore, MD: Furniture Press Books, 2012.
Schapira, Kate. How We Saved The City. Ithaca, NY: Stockport Flats, 2012.
Schickling, Jared. The Pink. Buffalo, NY: BlazeVOX, 2012.
Schomburg, Zachary. Fjords, Vol. 1. Boston, MA: Black Ocean, 2012.
Seigel, M. Bartley. This Is What They Say. Louisville, KY: Typecast Publishing, 2012.
Short, Kim Gek Lin. China Cowboy. Grafton, VT: Tarpaulin Sky Press, 2012.
Solomon, Laura. The Hermit. Brooklyn, NY: Ugly Duckling Presse, 2011.
Sturm, Nick. What A Tremendous Time We're Having! Northampton, MA: iO Books, 2012.
Wagner, Catherine. Nervous Device. San Francisco, CA: City Lights Books, 2012.
Ward, Dana. This Can't Be Life. Wasington D.C.: Edge Books, 2012.
Williams, William Carlos. Spring and All. New York, NY: New Directions Publishing, 2011.
Wolfe, Rachael. Sauce. Lincoln, NE: SP CE Books, 2012.
Yau, John. Exhibits. Denver, CO: Letter Machine Editions, 2010.

Toward the beginning of this project, I also wrote several posts not related to poetry. On this site, you can also find reviews of Gus Van Sant's Last Days; the first two albums by Perfume Genius; concerts by Radiohead and Girls; Denver-based establishments Jelly, Great Divide Brewery, and the Clyfford Still Museum; an excerpt from an interview I gave about photography for Open Letters Monthly; and an alphabetical index of poetry reviews I wrote on various blogs before creating this site.

Isle of Wight / Israel

Matthew Klane is a man of many hats: in conjunction with Adam Golaski, he edits Flim Forum Press; and, along with James Belflower, he runs the Yes! Reading Series in Albany, NY.

Klane, though, is more than an editor and promoter of poetry. He is also an accomplished poet who excels at writing minimalist, sound-driven verse. He authored the full-length collections B____ Meditations {1-52} (2008) and Che (2013), both of which Lori Anderson Moseman published on her Stockport Flats imprint.

In addition to his “official” book releases, Klane has self-published several chapbooks, one of which is Isle of Wight / Israel (Self-published, 2011). Originally intended as a gift for his friends when he left Iowa City to move back east to Albany in 2011, Klane produced the chapbook in a limited-run of 100 copies.

The poetry of Isle of Wight / Israel, like most of Klane’s work, is a minimalist writing highly attuned to the sonic aspects of verse and, among other thematic concerns, focuses on the nature of language and poetry. Take, for instance, the poem “The Sonnet”:

-eer

I set a pretty peal

of chimes

        T dillo dee

I’m witty and full

of Rhyme

I’m quick I’m sly I’m wry

I’ll write

my bonny-tippled

riffs ripples

sequences different

non-sequitur

ditties

minnow skittling

tinsels

of Thyme

surprise! surprise!

a dish of filberts

a mince pie

if I strive to fill it more

the Isle of Wight

will burst

“full / of Rhyme,” the poem “The Sonnet,” as with the entirety of the Isle of Wight, does “burst” with Klane’s musical “riffs” and “ripples” in “quick” minimalist verse. Indeed, as the poet writes in the “Indices into the Midst,” he composes the poem’s in this chapbook from:

Sound stringing

splendid meridian

strains

of mingled

finesse

Yes, the poems in Isle of Wight exude a “Sound” predicated upon a certain “finesse” of language that most definitely is a product of a well-tuned ear.

Of course, Klane, it would appear, has a knack for sound because he, in some respects, leaves himself open to the vibrations of the world around him: he is a receptor of sound, transmitting their energies to an audience through poetry. Or, as he writes in “Higher Power”:

I lie in bed

reading

my eyes open

ears open

mouth

O

hear me

The “Higher Power” of the poem’s title, one could argue, is poetry itself and the force of sound that enters into and emanates through/from the body (i.e. the eyes, ears, and mouth) while reading and writing it.

But this collection of poems and their corresponding sounds are not merely art for art’s sake, or sound for sound’s sake, etc. More than anything, Isle of Wight, a self-published chapbook gifted to friends, connects people to one another. No more clearly does Klane highlight the communal intention of this collection (and poetry in general) than in the concluding poem, “Absent-Mind”:

we wind our way

through this

abyss

absent-minded

on a quest

of words absurd

and fertile

strange

that we should meet?

Although the poem ends with the interrogative statement, “strange / that we should meet?” we are already well aware of the answer: no, not so strange at all. In our lives and in this world, poets and writers connect through their “words absurd” as “we wind our way / through this / abyss” in the shared “quest” for poetry.