Song of a Reformed Headhunter

Invited by Charlie Bondhus to the Publishing Triangle Awards Ceremony, I decided to troop along. The evening was held in the auditorium of The New School, where I heard Marie Ponsot read some years ago. The big space was less than half-filled. I thought it a pity, since the event was free and open to the public. Don Weise, with whom I chatted during the reception, suggested that New Yorkers don't value what they can get for nothing. Steven Cordova and Walter Holland, who are in the same writing group as Charlie, came in support too. Sara Farizan made a dramatic entrance just as her win for the Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction was announced. She had been delayed at San Francisco airport for three hours. She received even greater applause when her novel If You Could be Mine won the Ferro-Grumley Award for Lesbian and Gay Fiction. It was the first time in the awards history that one book won in the two categories. I was very happy for Charlie when his book of poems All the Heat W...

Read last night with Charlie Bondhus, Steven Cordova and Walter Holland at the Bureau of General Services--Queer Division . Greg, who works full-time at the Bureau, was lovely to talk to. Al and Paul Rozario-Falcone came, as did Eric Norris. I read "Profiles" and a couple of the ghazals from Seven Studies , "Eve's Fault" from the forthcoming book, and "The old Chinese poets" from The Pillow Book . Eric thought it was the best reading that I had done. I thought so too. I could hear myself relaxed into the music of the lines. mute swan a child's drawing on blue paper

It was a very successful outing for Singapore Poetry at the Rainbow Book Fair yesterday. Sold lots of books and talked to lots of interesting people who stopped by the table. Michael Broder, representing A Midsummer's Night Press, was at the next table. Roxanne Hoffman and her Poets Wear Prada Press was just behind me. Paul Rozario, who was kind enough to help man the table for part of the day, discovered a talent for selling books by chatting people up! We gave out the bookmarks promoting the Singapore Literature Festival in New York in October. I enjoyed reading at the Poetry Salon organized by Nathaniel Siegel. Alex Goh and Christine Chia came for the reading; Sarah Sarai and Charlie Bondhus stayed after theirs. Bryan Borland and Matthew Hittinger came by the table. The only regret was that I was so busy that I could not find the time to look around the fair and say hello to friends. Singapore Poetry with Costa Rican hat (photo by Alex Goh) Reading at the poetry salon...