New Belleville Newsletter August 31th on Monday for once even though not two weeks ago I called this newsletter: Doing Thursday on Friday.

Guess I’m just irregular. That’s my nature, stick me with a schedule, and I screw it up. It’s been almost two weeks since I’ve published something here, and it’s definitely not that I have nothing to say, it’s just because I’ve been so darn busy.

For one, school is back in session. Nope, I’m not in school, though I’d like to be. It’s that  my day-job is directly tied to the university life. I manage a liquor / wine / beer store just a few blocks from the University of Texas campus, and boy oh boy, nobody told the kids we’re in a freaking recession! And like me, they like their beer! And thank goodness, because that means that for the time being, I have a job! Thank you kids!

We’re also right smack in the middle of fundraising at KOOP 91.7 radio. Monday morning, this morning, I answered pledge phones, stuffed envelopes with t-shirts, coffee mugs, and other gifts, and took a trip to the post office. Loved it! Every time I go to the radio station, I have a blast. What I love about volunteering / interning at KOOP 91.7 is that I’m taking part in something that is so cool: A community radio by volunteers for the whole community about the community we represent playing the most eclectic collection of music in Central Texas, interviewing local politicians, normal folks, writers, musicians, health experts, among so many others who are members of the community, and doing it both in English and in Spanish. And no commercials. It’s a great place, and I feel so lucky to be part of it!

For the last few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure to intern on the show Writing on the Air with Dillon Mckinsey, Lee K. Davis & Dr. Dora Robinson. Again, and I think I’ve said this a couple of time, I’ve been having a blast! Last week, I got to meet the 2010 Poet Laureate of Texas! Karla K. Morton is a great lady, a true Texan, and a very talented poet who writes not just for the sake of writing, but to say something, to make a difference, and to make people’s lives better by being honest and heartfelt talking about some very difficult subjects. She writes poems in a way we can understand. In her upcoming book, she talks about her experience with cancer. She talks about the experience candidly, never falling in easy cliches and pathos. She talks about herself and her body in a way that makes us all think about our human condition. And yes — here is my cliche — she makes us both laugh and cry, she’s not afraid of any emotion, and they’re all real. Her book is coming out very soon, and she will be touring Texas all of next year, reading from her work, and talking about poetry to students throughout Texas. Karla, if you’re reading this, it was an honor meeting you.

Writing on the Air is on every Wednesday from 6 to 7 pm Texas time. You can listen to it live on the radio if you’re in Austin, Texas, or you can go on KOOP 91.7 and stream it live. For the time being, we are not archiving our shows. We’re working on fixing that, and soon you will also be able to listen to us whenever you want.

If you listen to KOOP 91.7 radio, if you think community radio is important, if you believe in diversity, eclectic music, and again, diversity, diversity, and more diversity, then go on the website www.koop.org, or call us at the radio during your favorite show at  512-472-5667, and make a donation. Everything helps, no matter how small.

This coming Wednesday on Sept. 2, Lee K. Davis will be hosting Writing on the Air, and his guest will be Daniel Whittington. Daniel is a gifted singer and performer. You can check him out here for more information. Daniel will bring a guitar and perform in studio during the membership drive. 

Thanks! Have a great day, love life, be happy, and smile at your neighbor!

Francois Pointeau

PS: Don’t forget about New Belleville Press books: Beer Songs for the Lonely, by F.K. Needles, and Neurotica by Elva Maxine Beach. You can purchase them at one or more of these wonderful retailers: Alibris.com & Authorsbookshop.com & Book People & Oat Willies & Sonny’s Vintage, those last three in Austin, TX & Left Bank Books, in St. Louis, MO.

Doing Thursday on Friday, New Belleville Newsletter August 13th, 2009

Slow week here in my world. Car keeps breaking down. And always in the worst possible place. This last time was on the Upper Deck of I35, where, to the utmost frustration of every other driver on that monstrosity they call a road, my car slowed down to a mere 50 miles an hour … nerve-wracking, I tell you! And that’s the big excitement for the week! However, thanks to the multi-talented Robin Blackburn – she came up with what sounds like a very plausible diagnosis – maybe I can have a working box on wheels soon.

For those of you who do not know, NBP is publishing a collection of poems by Robin to be out hopefully sooner than later. So, Robin, on top of being a pretty darn good poet, and a kick-ass editor, she’s also car savvy. (When my car decided to go kapoot once again, I was heading down to San Marcos to reconvene with Robin about her collection of poems. We rescheduled, and I’ll let you know more soon, and maybe even post one of her poems before then.)

In other news, Dillon McKinsey hosted Writing on the Air last night on KOOP 91.7 radio, Austin, Texas! Lee K. Davis was unfortunately out because of day-job reasons – those darn day-jobs! don’t they just get in the way of our lives over and over and over again? What’s one to do? When one has bills to pay, bankers on one’s back like spider monkeys, food to buy, and the price of a gallon of gasoline constantly on the upward rise??? Dr. Dora Robinson was present as well – if you’re reading this, Dora, I think you should talk more about what you’re doing writing wise, maybe even read us some experts of your own stuff. Dillon brought a pre-recorded cd on New American Literatures, which brought up several interesting points. There was one poem in particular, Incident by Countee Cullen that I liked, and that I thought was rather poignant in its simplicity.

Then on to listen to the Dalton Gang do a reading! Free beer and organic tea by the great folks from Cafe Caffeine, great venue thanks to Book People, and great bunch of writers thanks to Dalton Publishing. Here’s some brief comments on some of the writers and their work. There were plenty of other talented writers. You’ll just have to show up to one of their readings if you want to know more.

Robert Stikmanz read a section from his book Sleeper Awakes. Rob is very soft spoken, and the whole room had to really quiet down so that we could all hear him, which gave his words an even more enchanting feel to them. Having read the book, I think the section he picked was perfect. It comes from the very beginning of the book, and thus gave just enough away to spark interest in the story. It gave us enough of Rob’s universe to let us understand how different that particular place is. “The Hidden Land of Nod” is close by, just a smidgen out of our awareness periphery. Maybe, just maybe if we opened our eyes and our hearts a slight bit more, we could see a whole other universe right under our noses … Thanks, Rob! For a great reading.

Gary Kent, quite possibly the extreme opposite of Robert Stikmanz, at least in the soft spoken department, ended the reading with guffaw and hilarity like only he can. He shared with us a wonderful story from his book, Shadows and Light, Journeys With Outlaws In Revolutionary Hollywood, that would inspire any wannabe stuntman to join the film world head first, either that or quite literally scare the living [dog] shit out of them into a more sane profession, like accounting or something. Sorry, you’ll have to purchase the book and read it to get that scatological reference. Gary, good stuff! I want more!!!

Micheal Gilmore read from his book, Restless Astronomy (link is a PDF file). He ended his section with a not so nice poem to / about a certain loud-mouthed cigar-smoking extreme-right-wing radio show host – whose name I cannot mention here, so as not to desecrate my humble little blog – that everyone present thought quite funny, myself included. This was a “poop joke” genre poem. Really, all writers present were grown men and one grown woman, and still, everybody enjoyed a good poop joke. I say we never outgrow poop jokes. We just learn to appreciate that the whole world doesn’t revolve around poop jokes. As in, poop jokes aren’t the end-all be-all, that there are other subjects to breach, to speak about, to write about, and even to joke about … however, that writing poop jokes is not just for middle-schoolers! It can be for poets of well toned craftsmanship such as Michael Gilmore. Thanks you Michael! Great poetry as usual.

Headlining the reading was Richard Williams, reading a section from his new book Woman in the Tower, and also from his poetry collection, the secret book of god. No poop jokes here. This was all seriousness and soul searching. A man drives down a road, sees a tower. Then it’s not there anymore. He returns the next day, it is there once more. Inside the tower is a woman who tells him stories, parables and fairy tales. And this is the structure of Ric’s novel. I think Dalton Publishing says it best: “Woman in the Tower: Stories for the Wounded Child is a novel of fables told to a man in the throes of a life crisis. In a series of increasingly strange and challenging encounters he explores the mysteries of his own soul and that of the world and all its inhabitants.” (read full quote  here.) Ric introduced his reading by talking about classic fairy tales and folklore literature, and how it’s not always kind & nice. He explained that he was trying with this book, to recreate those classic tales, such as one would read in the Brothers Grimm. That’s exciting to me. When I was a kid, I would often get chided for reading books that weren’t considered serious enough, and that I should read more mature books. I have always loved fairy tales, and still do. I do not like nor appreciate what I call the disneyfication of fairy tales. I think it does a great disservice to all, and to folklore in particular. The fact that Ric is trying to create new fables, serious ones in the classic style, is in this day and age, rather brave. We too often, and unfortunately think of fables in the disneyfied sense, losing everything that fables are suppose to do. Ric, thanks you!

And of course, don’t forget to check out New Belleville Press books, Beer Songs for the Lonely, by F.K. Needles, and Neurotica by Elva Maxine Beach. You can purchase them at one or more of these wonderful retailers: Alibris.com & Authorsbookshop.com & Book People & Oat Willies & Sonny’s Vintage, those last three in Austin, TX & Left Bank Books, in St. Louis, MO.

That’s it for today! Have a beautiful and lovely day! Enjoy your life, eat some good food, and smile at your neighbor!

Francois Pointeau

PS: And Ric, thanks for the bit about Zeno’s paradox. Enjoyed that!

PSS: I figured out this newsletter’s official name: Doing Thursday on a Friday. Why? Because it looks like I am having problems getting this out on Thursdays consistently. And even when I do, I’m still changing stuff on Friday. And changing the publishing date to Fridays, would mean I wouldn’t get it out till Saturday. By that time, the week’s pretty much over, and we might as well start a new one. And I am definitely not a Beginning of the Week type of guy … what’s there to talk about? Last week? Last week’s already done and spoken for. The week to come? What can one know about that? Really? I need to stick to somewhere in the middle with a penchant for the  end. Thursdays are perfect.

Thursday 6 August Newsletter

Well, it’s been one of those weeks. I’m one day late on this newsletter — and I’ll ad all the hyperlinks later today, I just want to get this out — It’s like doing Thursday on a Friday, it doesn’t quite fit. I’ve got a short story that’s coming along slowly but surely, so I’m happy about that. I did spill some beverage on my keyboard once again. The three Arrow keys and the right-handed Shift key are not working. Being that this is not the first time, I am now an expert, and am impatiently waiting for my brand new keyboard to arrive in the mail sooner than later.

The trip to St. Louis was unfortunately canceled – like I said, one of those weeks – Maxine is recovering from knee surgery. The good news is that she’s doing great, she’s off the crutches and is not even using a stick to walk. Up and down the stairs, is still a bit of a problem I hear. Elva Maxine Beach will be in tip-top form for her reading in Madison, Wisconsin on October 1st. Go say hello to Maxine on her facebook page or her website! I’m meeting with friends tonight, who happen to be driving to St. Louis this weekend, and they’ll be taking two boxes of books to Maxine. Thank You Wendy & Terry!

And I also missed “Writing on the Air” this last Wednesday! Dillon & Lee, I had to be at my day job, but I did tune in. Great show! Tune in next week on 91.7 between 6 and 7pm every Wednesday. This reminds me that KOOP is about to launch it’s biggest fundraiser of the year, so if you’re a listener, then don’t forget to donate! KOOP is also looking for gifts to give to it’s donors, such as cd’s et cetera. So if you’re a band and you want to get your music out, this is a good way to do it. You give a few of your cd’s to KOOP, and they donate them and talk about them, keep mentioning your name, live on radio! How cool is that?

On my bed-stand this week:

1) The Last Good Kiss, by James Crumley didn’t last much more than one day for me to completely devour! True pulp noir hardboil stuff. If that’s your game, then Crumley’s book will entertain you to no end. (I went to Half Price Books yesterday and bought two novels, the only two they had, by Crumley: The Final Country, and The Mexican Tree Duck, winner 1994 Dashiell Hammett Award.) Of course, being that I’m slightly obsessive, I am now going to have to read EVERY SINGLE book ever written by Crumley. This is one of the main reasons I never have any freaking money. You say: get a library card, dummy! Somehow, libraries and librarians have never done it for me. They give me the creeps. And all those books, it’s too overwhelming. When I’m in a library, the only thing I can think of is: How the hell am I ever going to read all those damn books! Plus, I always feel that the librarians are looking at me and judging me somehow, like they’re all a bunch of little church ladies, and they know damn well what I’m thinking about and yes, I will burn in hell forever – I grew up in a small West Texas town where every single book I wanted to read had been banished from said library, or so it seemed – I know all this is completely ridiculous. Knowledge of one’s personality disorders is a good thing, I guess … however, knowledge is not all it’s cracked up to be, if you don’t do anything about it. Maybe … just maybe if libraries had a beer counter, I’d frequent them more often.

2) Gosdhome, by Robert Sheckley … no disappointments there either. Satire. Kitsch. Good Cheese. SF that’s not a Space Opera, and that fits within the genre about as good as Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. does, or Jonathan Swift. I don’t know if it makes sense, but it has that 1950’s feel to it, yet he wrote it towards the end of his life in the 90’s. Some poor loser calls up some minor gods to get him out of a bad business deal he signed up on … and all hell breaks loose! Another one of those authors that I need to read ENTIRELY.

3) Vurt, by Jeff Noon, has been sitting on my desk for a couple of weeks now, and has finally made its way to my bed-stand. John, my roommate, gave me this book a few weeks ago, and said that I absolutely needed to read this book. My friend Dave told me the same thing a few months ago … so I guess that I shall plunge into Vurt this week … though it’s going to be hard to pull me away from Sheckley and Crumley. It looks like I’m into authors who’s name end in LEY these days.

That’s it for this week! Short and Sweet!

Be Happy, Love Life, Have a good cup of Java!

Peace,

Francois Pointeau

PS: And of course, don’t forget to check out New Belleville Press books, Beer Songs for the Lonely, by F.K. Needles, and Neurotica by Elva Maxine Beach. You can purchase them at one or more of these wonderful retailers: Alibris.com & Authorsbookshop.com & Book People & Oat Willies & Sonny’s Vintage, those last three in Austin, TX & Left Bank Books, in St. Louis, MO.