The Warming Up of The Cossak

Finished my interview with Mary C. Mohr contest winner Kristine Anderson. I really like finding people I can be completely dorky with in terms of talking about prosody and other poetry related junk. In my mind, it would be a much worse place in the world if people like Kristine Anderson weren't in it.

Some interesting things are going on in Evansville. This place is starting to grow on me. Last night I saw pianist Philip Thomson at Wheeler Hall (University of Evansville). He was so outrageously amazing. He performed selections from Beethoven, Liszt and Blumenfeld. Thompson actually recovered long lost compositions by Felix Blumenfeld (like in dark and dusty archives, crazy!) and made it his life's work to play and record them. He was such an interesting looking man. Shawna and I met him in the hallway on the way to the restrooms and now I have an enduring crush.

Tonight, the Philharmonic Orchestra is doing "American Flair", so that should be fun. It is always nice to get dressed up and go to the Victory.

Also, I'm interested in seeing Bill Kristol and Mark Shields on Super Thursday. Oh come on, you want to see them, too- They're on the TV!!! hahahaha

Plugging away at SIR stuff, posters and poems and interviews, Oh My. I'm excited about new design ideas; it is a good thing. Now if it would stop snow/icing us in, I'll be able to get back in to the swing of things and get more work done.

Goings-ons, and a Top Ten list

Lots of things are in the works around here, so keep an ear to the blog. We're plugging away at the RopeWalk Anthology, and even have a cover design all but finalized. Laying out the spring SIR issue, which we're pretty excited about. Some forthcoming interviews with the latest Mary C. Mohr poetry award winnners will appear on www.southernindianareview.org, and I'm currently conducting a Benjamin Percy interview for the blog (should appear in a few weeks or so), in advance of his reading at the RopeWalk Reading Series.

AWP was a flying success, and we have photos (below) to prove it. Gave away lots of free issues and bookmarks and magnetic poetry and subscriptions (if you signed up for the drawing, you might keep an eye on your mailbox--we're a little behind sending notification to the winners).

And in the spirit if one of my favorite living little-known rockstars, Jesse Malin, my top 10 list for the week:

1. "My Brother Eli," by Joseph Epstein, from the 2007 Best American Short Stories anthology.
2. "I Clap for Strangers Now" by Robert Pollard (Coast to Coast Carpet of Love)
3. "The Underdog" by Spoon (Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga)
4. Howl on the Haunted Beat - new album by The Go
5. The Confidence Man by Moby Dick - props for being maybe the strangest novel ever...
6. Listening to music on headphones. Everything is so crisp and clear! I'm hearing lyrics I've never noticed!
7. Google Reader - makes it much easier to obsess over MFA acceptance blogs.
8. Actually, anything at all by Robert Pollard!
9. There Will be Blood by P.T. Anderson.
10. The historic Chelsea Hotel - stayed there during AWP, and it was nuts!

AWP in NYC 2008

The Cossack and the Lady














Melissa and Chris at the table














Where the hell am I? Nice hair, Andy!














I still don't know where I am.














Sushi at Crazy Joe's after two hours in the rain














Matt Guenette, Josh Bell, and Shawna
















Crazy Joe and Sha Sha

AWP, part 1

Our chapbook heroes, Jeffrey Thomson and Matthew Guenette




Everyone manning the table at once. Must be the first day! Ron Mitchell, Nicole Reid, Andy Mullins




Shawna Rodenberg, Mitchell




Andy Mullins and Chris Dickens, at the Chelsea Hotel, 5AMish




Chelsea Hotel, 5AM

Bright lights, Big city.

Our trip to NYC went way too fast. There was much to see inside and outside of the conference. I think it probably unfair to lots of great writers that they had to compete with the rest of the city.

I managed to see a lot of really cool people anyway. Some highlights were: Joyce Carol Oates, Johnathon Saffron Foer, James Tate, and Stephen Dunn. I hope to one day sit on a giant velvet pillow beside Joyce Carol Oates and have her talk about herself while I crochet pot holders for her fans. I think mostly she reminds me that we can't take ourselves too seriously, that that is the mark of the dead or dying artist in all of us, and to have some perspective.

I also went to several panels, including Writing and Motherhood with Jacina Townsend and Joey Flamm-Costello. I have a sixteen month old son so it was nice to hear women speak about finding ways to balance their lives as writers and their lives as mothers.

Shawna (ghost intern) and I spent a night out with Josh Bell (my favorite poem of his here) and Matthew Guenette (check out his blog) going to the Met and eating Sushi. We would have pictures of this but Josh and Matt are both vampires and so their images cannot be captured on film.

Thanks to Ron for keeping us in line. (Seriously, he made us all wear matching outfits and we had to walk everywhere in single file)

I had a great time, an excellent time, and saw many people from my former lives, though I wish I had more time to do everything I wanted to. This would have been contingent on being able to compress time in NY to not affect time in Indiana and also winning the lottery.

Next year, Chicago!