Justin, Etc.'s Self Portrait of the Poet Suicided by the MFA Degree

Come celebrate the release of Justin, Etc.'s first full-length book of poetry, published by the Gorilla Press. Hear Justin perform from the book, pick up your very own copy, and then party with us and the author to the wonderful tunes provided by DJ C@L.

When: April 24 @ 7pm
Where: The Make-Out Room
Along with friends: Stephen Rosenshein, Carolyn Ho, Anhvu Buchanan, Susan Calvillo, DW Lichtenberg, and Joe Burgess

About the book:
At first glance, the wary reader may label Justin, Etc. a hoarder of words, but in truth he is a collector of rare antiques, lost oddities, and never-before-released vinyls. His poetry seamlessly blends the things that were with the things that are, forming musical narratives that span the pop culture of decades as well as our modern concerns. This may sound like some vast ground to cover, but Justin, Etc. is a cufflinks and sneakers kind of man. He pulls it off. The best way to enjoy Justin's work is to let it intimidate you, then to embrace it. By the end of this book, you'll find you've started collecting too.

"Thank You For Failing!" Exhibition at the Asian Resource Center, Oakland, CA

The process of art-making can often be fraught with mishaps, miscues, and mistakes—not all of which end well. We label the outcomes of these ill-fated endeavors "failures," with the awareness that these bumps in the road are an integral part of the creative process. This exhibition is an homage to artists who aren’t afraid to take risks and display them publicly.

Location: Asian Resource Center Gallery
                 310 8th St, Oakland, CA
Exhibition Dates: March 17—May 9
Artists Reception: May 8

Four poems from my Dual Duel collection will be displayed at the exhibition among other epic artistic failures, both big and small. Please feel welcome to drop by and check it out!

The Inverse Translation Project: top picks for 2013

Translation #4: Inverse by Boris Zakic

When a new year comes, we greet it by looking back. Everyone is posting their top picks for favorite books, best movies, and edgy music from 2013. Because everyone has different lists, these picks become the harsh reminder that I missed out on so much in 2013! But, of course the more I look back, the more I’ll miss out on what’s right in front of me. It’s time to look on to 2014.

I subscribe to many literary review email updates, one of which is Boston Review. Their new year header read “Poetry Matters: the 20 Top Poems of 2013” which you can read here. Okay, so it’s not an entirely accurate headline because they actually are posting the “most-read” poems on their website as opposed to giving it a vote. But either way there are some gems in here.

Even I get caught up looking back. But I’ve decided to also take these poems forward into 2014. I’m going to do what’s called an “inverse translation” on ten of these poems. This is an English-to-English rendering, where I write the opposite word, phrase, or sentiment of a poem to create something entirely different. I’m not doing this because I think I can improve upon these original poems. I do it to honor these poems. I rewrite poems because it means I get to work intimately with the work, which helps me better understand the authors’ intent, and also gives me the space to create something new. I invite anyone who wants to join in the fun to inverse translate these original poems, mistranslate my poems, or even pick your own top 5 and mistranslate those. I’d love to see how others interpret or purposely misinterpret them.

Check out the inverse translations of Boston Review’s Top 20 right here.

"Excerpts from my Grocery List" Now Available from Beard of Bees!

Photo attributed to Meagan Donegan

I'm happy to announce that my chapbook Excerpts from my Grocery List is now available for download at Beard of Bees! Beard of Bees is an independent, free press. They have published chapbooks by Rae Armantrout, Paul Hoover, and Keith and Rosemarie Waldrop. I am excited to have my chapbook published alongside them.

You can download my book at http://beardofbees.com/pubs/Excerpts_From_My_Grocery_List.pdf

Makers Market - December 5

What: a miniature holiday fair with hand-crafted gifts, live music, and DIY stations
When: Thursday, December 5
Time: 12pm to 8pm
Where: Cesar Chavez Center, 3rd Floor Art Gallery at San Francisco State University
Free to Enter!

Get into the holiday spirit at the Makers Market. We'll have live music, literary readings, libations, tasty treats, and art stations for you to make your own DIY gifts. 

Art Workstations include: Button making, mini-book binding, hand-made gift wrap and cards, snow globes, and felt java jackets. Don't forget to stop by the free photo booth. Art workstations are open throughout the event.
 
I will be selling ornaments, pendants, collages, and Excerpts from my Grocery List. Come by to say hello!

My Chapbook forthcoming from Beard of Bees Press!

I'm happy to announce that my chapbook "Excerpts From My Grocery List" will be coming out mid-December e-book style from Beard of Bees Press! Below are a few sneak previews in the form of my collage poems. Check back soon for details on when and where the downloads will be available.

Nancy Graves' "Perfect Syntax of Stone and Air" w/Excerpts

 

Joan Mitchell's untitled oil on canvas w/Excerpts

Milton Glaser's "Dylan Poster" w/Excerpts

in its plum age

here's a poem for this warm foggy day:

in its plum age

let the bamboo

adore a door

oh, to live in delay

of decomposition

let it, at most

come to fear

the compress

of brother branches

as other stalks

pass on, eat aerie

also dawdle, lei tepee

as the lizard’s

tail withers

away with the sawdust

*

let the dust delay

a stalk is a door

is the door a liar

let it bamboozle

the atmosphere

the compass saw a way

despite what we are

so, so of blood

come, press plumage

into a composition

a tale retold

branches, lives on

in the withered

the other, its after

APAture '13 Comix & Zines Expo @ the Cartoon Art Museum

Image courtesy of Eddie H. Ahn/EHA Comics

Kearny Street Workshop proudly presents:

APATURE 2013
A Window into the Art of Emerging Asian Pacific American Artists

Comix & Zines Expo

Get into the D-I-Y spirit and check out a full lineup of artist tables, workshops, screenings and a ton of interactive fun. Local artists will have illustrations, comics, zines, and cartoons on display and for sale. I will be selling Excerpts from my Grocery List as well as other poems and pendants all repurposed from abandoned books, office supplies, and art.


Date: Saturday, October 19, 2013
Time: 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Venue: Cartoon Art Museum
Address: 655 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105

Programs:

• Department of Illegal Superheroes - a live art performance
• Film Screenings - Watch non-stop animated shorts playing throughout the day!
• Comic Jam - Grab a pencil and bust out a comic book page or two with your fellow fair attendees!
• Make a Sketchbook - Make your own sketchbook using basic bookbinding and Gocco printmaking techniques.
• Two Panels - D-I-Y Publishing and Asian American Women Comic Book Creators
• Featured Artist - Eddie H. Ahn

$5 presale/$7 at the door
Purchase tickets here: www.kearnystreet.org
For more information: www.kearnystreet.org
For the complete festival schedule: http://on.fb.me/16npFcF

Alley Cat Books - Poetry Reading

What: Voz sin Tinta Reading Series + Open Mic Who: Susan Calvillo, Aurelia Cortez Peyron, Raul Ruiz, Katie Dalla, and Farah Amezcua Where: Alley Cat Books When: Thursday, October 10, 2013. 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Curators: Marguerite Munoz & Jose Hector Cadena Sponsored by San Francisco Poet Laureate Alejandro Murguia and Alley Cat Books.

I dedicate this poem to all the writers wading through guidelines, editors' expectations, and rejection letters this hopeful summer.

Submission Guidelines

September theme: On The Couch

            for a proposal to send to potential publishers

We accept anything: poetry, napkin doodles, instructions for assembling killer robots, a photograph of the poem you wrote with a sharpie marker on top of graffiti sprayed on a ripped up advertisement, poems which are heartfelt, but not sappy, work that goes beyond celebration and observation to suggest new ways to think and write about birds, work that makes us look at ourselves in a new way & work that challenges (or, you know, confirms in some subversive way) the stereotypes that paint our generation as lazy or stupid or narcissistic or victims of the times.

We will never accept “cookie cutter” writers (you know who you are).

Helpful hints from the poetry editor:

Be image oriented (show don't tell).
Don’t have heavy end-stop rhymes.
Have a clever use of language (i.e. slant & internal rhymes, alliteration & assonance).

The weirder the better.

Things that are funny make us laugh.

We're looking for dramatic monologues, or characters talking to God.

No fan fiction, no erotica, no work that is cliché or unoriginal

Submissions containing sex, violence, or profanity simply for the sake of “shock value”, will surely be rejected

Feel free to send submissions, but you will likely not receive a response until (gulp)… December? Send up to 3 poems at a time. Submitting more than 8 tends to conceal the merits of individual poems. No epics, PLEASE!!

1^st prize: $100 & an Osprey backpack, 2^nd prize: gift certificate for a pair of La Sportiva Mountain running shoes. All prizewinners will receive a prize certificate suitable for framing.

Include a cover letter with brief bio & statement describing your connection to Nebraska.  Bios should be professionally written, not comical or irreverent.

Only Southern poets (born, living, spent time in prison, or otherwise dallied somewhere south of the Mason-Dixon) will be considered or the material needs to be plainly set in or derived from the South.

If your poem has non-standard grammar/styling, please note it in your cover letter so that it doesn’t affect our decision. Line length may be edited to fit chapbook publication format, 3-line haiku need not to conform to strict syllable count. The poet should also know, fairly clearly, what is or is not good work and send only that.

We reserve the right to print or not print any & all submissions.

You will probably not get paid, except in our eternal gratitude.

To submit now click here.