“Distance is the soul of beauty.”
–Simone Weil
Quote: Simone Weil
“Distance is the soul of beauty.”
–Simone Weil
Month: September 2014
Photos from last weekend’s Racine and Kenosha Authors Book Fair
Sunday paper, book fair and other notes
For those of you following my Sunday search for a copy of the New York Times in a fly over state, I finally found a copy last weekend. And I enjoyed reading it Sunday afternoon and evening. There is something about flipping through the printed pages of the weekend edition of a newspaper that is a luxurious activity.
Other notes of interest:
- Last weekend was the Racine & Kenosha Authors Book Fair. Photos of the event will be posted here later this week.
- The production and editing of the upcoming audio podcast is almost complete. It is running a bit long for this episode. So, I may cut one segment to fit the desired time slot of 20 to 25 minutes. What am I going to do with the extra segment? Suggestions?
- On that note, Nick Demske — who curates the BONK! performance series in Racine — suggested contacting a few of the musicians and singer/songwriters to feature on upcoming audio podcasts. I am very excited to announce that two musicians — who performed at BONK! performances — have provided permission to feature their work on future episodes of the Coffeehouse Junkie audio podcast.
That is all for now, friends!
If you are interested, here are a few things said elsewhere:
[1] I really should not be allowed on social media. It no doubt alters and disrupts neural pathways.
[2] One feature I like about the @Kenosha_News paper is the Off the Shelves section. Kenosha Public Library staff feature authors & books.
[3] According to @WSJ (pg D2), corduroy is back in fashion. Yay! Since @goodwill is where I shop, my wardrobe is finally in style. I haven’t been this excited since the 90s… when grunge rockers brought flannel to the mainstream…
Banned Book Week
Something is missing. If you haven’t already noticed, Banned Book Week 2014 is celebrated September 21 to September 27.
Powell’s Books presented a catalog of banned books to purchase. CNN reported the top 10 books banned in 2013. The Huffington Post features a great infographic on banned books in America.
But one book, banned in 52 countries, is not listed in the Banned Book Week stories. Banned from Banned Book Week?
Autumn bee in a cafe
“There are not enough bees on the planet,” he tells his daughter as he captures a bee in a disposable cup from the coffee shop. He has gray hair and wears camouflage fatigue pants and an white maintenance and management crew t-shirt. He releases the bee outside the cafe and returns to get his coffee and sit with his daughter.
Google reports that it is the first day of autumn. Technically, Google is correct. It is the first day. Though my calendar says the first day of autumn was yesterday. At 10 p.m.
Ever feel like a bee bouncing around the inside of a cafe trying to make sense of this strangely confusing world?
Quote: “Two attributes of a poet…”
“Two attributes of a poet, avidity of the eye and the desire to describe that which he sees.”
–Czeslaw Milosz
Books arrived – just in time for the book fair
Racine & Kenosha Authors Book Fair is tomorrow night and three of my books just arrived from the press.
More information about the book fair is available on the event Facebook page: Racine & Kenosha Authors Book Fair.
This event is free to the public and light refreshments will be available. Here are the poets and writers who will be presenting their books to the public:
- Dave Gourdoux: poetry
- Justin Grimbol: bizarro fiction & poetry (Bonkness)
- Rev. William Grimbol
- Samira Gdisis
- Peg Rousar-Thompson (Left of the Lake)
- Jim Janus: poetry
- Kate Shanahan: YA/juvenile fiction & poetry
- Mark Giese: humor
- Sheree Homer: nonfiction/musical biography
- Cheryl Geroux: nonfiction
- Matthew Mulder: poetry & prose
Also, representatives of Left of the Lake and Straylight Literary Arts Magazine will be in attendance.
The books fair features readings by Marcie Eanes, Dan Nielsen, Jean Preston, Kelsey Hoff, Nick Demske and Kelsey Harris.
Top read posts of the day
Every year around this time (and through to the end of the year), the most read blog post is a list of Christmas poems I compiled. So it did not surprise me that the most read posts of the day included that one. What did amuse me is that only one of the top read posts was written this year. Here is what you are reading today:
- Is commercial radio extinct? (2010)
- Advent Poems (or the 12 days of Christmas poetry) (2012)
- Two reasons why I quit Tumblr (2012)
- The purpose of sketching your ideas (2011)
- [Podcast] When the lights go out (2014)
Thanks for visiting (and reading)! Please be sure to share it.
Support local authors – Racine & Kenosha Authors Book Fair
The Racine & Kenosha Authors Book Fair is this Saturday from 6-9 p.m. Here is a link the event’s Facebook page: Racine & Kenosha Authors Book Fair.
Last night I received the official author list. Here are the poets and writers who will be presenting their books to the public:
- Dave Gourdoux: poetry
- Justin Grimbol: bizarro fiction & poetry (Bonkness)
- Rev. William Grimbol
- Samira Gdisis
- Peg Rousar-Thompson (Left of the Lake)
- Jim Janus: poetry
- Kate Shanahan: YA/juvenile fiction & poetry
- Mark Giese: humor
- Sheree Homer: nonfiction/musical biography
- Cheryl Geroux: nonfiction
- Matthew Mulder: poetry & prose
Also, representatives of Left of the Lake and Straylight Literary Arts Magazine will be in attendance.
The books fair features readings by Marcie Eanes, Dan Nielsen, Jean Preston, Kelsey Hoff, Nick Demske and Kelsey Harris.
This week: Racine & Kenosha Authors Book Fair
The countdown is nearly complete. The Racine & Kenosha Authors Book Fair us this Saturday from 6-9 p.m. Since I am somewhat new to the regional literary scene, I am looking forward to meeting local poets and writers.
Here is a link the event’s Facebook page: Racine & Kenosha Authors Book Fair.
Quote: “Internet addiction appears to be a common disorder…”
The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition contains definitions and diagnostic criteria for every mental disorder you can imagine…. In 2008, the Journal of American Psychiatry argued that “Internet addiction appears to be a common disorder that merits inclusion in DSM-V.” …. The following pathologies run rampant on the ‘Net:
- Generalized Trolling Compulsion.
- Comments Derangement Syndrome.
- Manic Confirmation Bias.
- Fanboy Disorder.
- Delusional Capital Exchange Disorder.
- Narcissistic Market Prognostication Imbalance.
- and more
Link: Beyond Internet addiction: Ars diagnoses your online maladies
Is poetry the language of protest?
This question is like a sliver under my skin. It started after I read an article that made the following statement: “At its root, poetry is the language of protest.”
- Is this statement is true(objective)? Or opinion (subjective)?
- Does poetry function as poetry if it no longer contains an element of protest?
- If poetry is like a kitchen recipe with ingredients and proper baking instructions, what would the recipe look like?
- Do you come to poetry with a desire to protest?
What say you, dear reader?
Racine and Kenosha Authors Book Fair
Rumor has it that I am one of the many authors at this event.
Here are details of the event from the Racine and Kenosha Authors Book Fair Facebook page:
September 20 from 6 to 9 pm, authors from all over Racine and Kenosha will converge at the Racine Arts Council. Six featured poets and authors will give readings (Kenosha Poet Laureate Jean Preston, Kelsey Marie Harris, Dan Nielsen, Nick Demske, Marcie Eanes, and Kelsey Hoff), and many more will be present to sign their books and meet with readers. This event is also the official release of Sad Girl Poems, a chapbook self-published by Kelsey Hoff. Light refreshments will be served.
The Racine and Kenosha area is a thriving arts community, with a surprising number of authors and literary publications in residence. This event will represent the diversity of that community, with up-and-coming writers side by side with well-established ones in multiple genres including poetry, fiction, young adult, and nonfiction. Representatives from Left of the Lake and Straylight Literary Arts Magazine will be present with copies of their publications available.
Quote: “The air itself is one vast library…”
What a strange chaos is this wide atmosphere we breathe! … The air itself is one vast library, on whose pages are for ever written all that man has ever said or woman whispered. There, in their mutable but unerring characters, mixed with the earliest, as well as the latest sighs of mortality, stand for ever recorded, vows unredeemed, promises unfulfilled, perpetuating in the united movements of each particle, the testimony of man’s changeful will.
—Charles Babbage
A library of Babel concealed in the very air we breathe. (via alphacaeli)
Thanks for supporting the e-book – When the lights go out
Thanks to all of you who downloaded a copy of my digital chapbook for When the Lights Go Out!
With your support, the Kindle Edition went from being ranked somewhere around 1.6 million-and-something to breaking into the top 11,000 e-book titles downloaded.
For those who prefer a physical signed souvenir—print copies will debut this month at the Racine & Kenosha Authors Book Fair.
Thanks for your support!
Coffeehouse Junkie 