13th Friday Redux

Let's crack on with this, shall we? Despite the increasing belatedness.

Friday afternoon:
Readings upon readings. Pitt Poetry Series, featuring Bob Hickok, Denise Duhamel, Alicia Ostriker, and the ubiquitous Virgil Suarez. I admire Bob Hickok's writing very much, but he wasn't quite what I expected (not that I know what I expected). He didn't seem wild about being there, but maybe that's my misperception. He read a piece that included a hawk's skull kept in the freezer (or refrigerator?) that I wish I had shown the sense to write down the title of. Denise Duhamel, with whom I was unfamiliar, was a delight to listen to. Among other things, she read a long abecedarian (sp?), very playful, lots of fun. I kept wanting to say, "Breathe, dear, breathe". Kelli Agodon sat with me, and Amy Nez and her sweetie were there too.

Next up: Academy of American Poets reading, with Mark Doty, Heather McHugh, Toi Derricote, Carol Muske-Dukes, Andrew Hudgins. Well balanced reading, I thought, although a bit fish-heavy in the Toi section (if you were there, you know what I mean), although I did like her final piece. Heather McHugh's work is better read aloud by her than read off the page by me, in my opinion. The wonderful word-play and sonics really shine that way. Carol Muske-Dukes -- sad but good. Mark Doty (the reason I was there) was great. He read a poem with birds in that I was (again) too dumb to write down the title of, and the wonderful "Heaven for Paul". What a sterling reader and raconteur.

Offsite (my gratitude to Jeannine Hall Gailey & her husband, who brought a six-poet van) to the impressive Vancouver Public Library for the final reading: "Cross-Border Pollination - Canadian and American Poets", featuring Rachel Rose, Lorna Crozier, Annie Finch, Peter Pereira, Judith Barrington & Susan Rich. I was there to see Peter, who is always a great reader. I finally got his book, but haven't delved into it yet. Pretty punch-drunk (from words, pathetic as that is) at that point, and also ravenous (two Luna bars don't last all day). Blessings on the heads of the organizers for dishing out munchies; smoked salmon, yet. So my impressions are sketchy. But I was generally impressed, especially by Rachel Rose (who has the most beautiful rose-petal complexion), and Judith Barrington (who is very tall and exudes an air of slightly-intimidating competence, but in a nice way).

Lovely dinner with Seattle-area poets Kelli Agodon, Jeannine Gailey & her husband (who was very good-natured & patient with all the shop-talk), and Michael Dylan Welch, who organizes Poets In The Park at Marymoor in Redmond. We ate at the Hyatt restaurant, which was very nice, on the second floor with lots of windows. Much talk about poetry in general, food, po-gossip, black swans, haiku, emotional baggage, and the smuggling of cuban cigars. I'm sure I'm forgetting lots. It was a wonderful evening.