Joining the recently departed Chris Toll and Pope Croke is poet Anselm Hollo, who served some time in Baltimore three decades ago. I had the pleasure of working in Second Story Books, Baltimore, back in 1984 when he walked in with Andrei Codrescu. He checked out our local press section was and his gaze fell upon a tape I made with John Berndt called "Readings From Nether Lips". "Nether Lips", he said with amusement in his thick accent, "nether lips".
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FORTUNE 500......PLUS ONE
For Brother Anselm
Enumerated by calendar (them
Sustained by pills (me
2013's Hot New Diet Secrets (bedsprings
Maverick is his name (Sputnik
For all your caffeinated needs (hoist
Please stay in control of your person (amour or less
& so on (fiasco
& so forth (après bowling
"Let's see some ID here..." (swollen foot
Lapdog or laptop (the actual body
By the speed with which (viral
Are we equal to the sequel? (crowbar, flying
If nothing else (translate
Let us be definite (forever on the Page
by Joel Dailey
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Joel Dailey is the editor of Fell Swoop Press and author of Surprised By French Fries on Ugly Duckling Press.
Showing posts with label Joel Dailey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joel Dailey. Show all posts
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
LAST CHANCE TO WIN A CHEVY MALIBU for Chris Toll by Joel Dailey
(Fell Swoop publisher and poet Joel Dailey wearing the NASA manufactured glasses that enable him to see up to five feet in front of him and two to three feet behind)
LAST CHANCE TO WIN A CHEVY MALIBU for Chris Toll
Urbane urban or simply 'ur'
77% of Americans live paycheck to Johnny Paycheck
Who placed the log in logic?
The form's the thing ask Bob Zimmerman
Even in recession-cursed Europe chauffeurs hesitate
Top notch hillbillies populating Norway freeze
Why is taut in tautology?
The torque is possible impossible
The official spokesperson for motion activated endtables
My string bikini skedaddle frontloader
My cloistered grief
Here's to your definitive thumbnail 24 hour coverage,
wandering Brother Man
Thursday, October 11, 2012
"Life On Earth", Commander Chris Toll's Beautiful Last Testament Has Arrived
This morning was brightened considerably in a heartachingly sad way when the postal carrier pulled out a priority box from New Orleans containing 30 copies of the new and tragically final beautiful testament of poet and astral traveler Chris Toll.
The cover is seltzer for the eyes, one of Toll’s most colorful, and contains a bright jack-in-the-box, which was fitting since the books seemed to literally jump out of their container, eager to be devoured by the world.
Instantly diving into it, I was struck again by how in touch Chris was with the painful aspects of life on Earth, yet so cosmically hopeful and tender. Here is the first poem:
Download Universal Anguish
for Joel Dailey
The sun sings
while it makes its rounds.
Why isn’t lunch in melancholy?
God is an atheist.
The moon and stars render tender judgments.
A woman stands across the street
from a liquor store.
Her red sweater is stained,
and there are holes in the knees of her black jeans.
She aims her XM25
at the locked door of the liquor store.
If a constellation were different,
lonely would be lovely.
Jennifer the Christ plugs in her purple guitar and says,
“Where two or more electrons gather in my name,
there I am too.”
The baby dinosaurs scrabble from their nest
as a flying saucer lands.
The circular hatch oscillates open.
A rabbi steps out.
His right hand holds a cutlass
and his left hand holds a raygun.
——————————————————
“Dear Universe, thank you for the kindness of the way and the beauty of the pilgrims.” (Chris, from the copyright page.)
Thursday, September 20, 2012
The Problem of How To Live by Joel Dailey
Even as I type these words, damp half-chewed gummy bears blocking some of the keys, my vibrant ascot tied a little too tightly by my Japanese man servant robot, Joel Dailey, editor of Fell Swoop Press, is hosting our very own Baltimore's Special Angel Chris Toll in Dailey's hometown of New Orleans.
Joel is putting out books by Chris and myself, mine being Mattress In An Alley, Raft Upon The Sea, Chris's being, I think - I'm paraphrasing - "I'm a Little Tart, a Fiery Little Tart, I Will Hump Upon Your Leg and Chase After Golfballs, Yes Thank You Please".
While Joel is distracted running a reading at some New Orleans hot spot with Father Toll wowing the boozy N'awlens crowd, I will run this gem of a poem by him. It will be in Shattered Wig #29, which is beginning to stir like the Baltimore Orioles after decades of slumber.
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THE PROBLEM OF HOW TO LIVE
for Clark Coolidge
Caught a ride on a passing halibut
an ever-present IT Team jogging in place, "hut, hut, hut ...."
Drowsy on the non-drowsy
The ultimate status update
Yellow parasol sustains a straw hat or golden sponge cake with creamy filling
Often mistaken for Sir Osbert Cribbage, infamous cave ejectee
A strident personality (speed bumps)
Riichly lyrical in nature
Conversant yet slightly out of tune
Fact is this here fingerblaster springs leaks
Here's the Complete Dickhead Forecast
Emanating from a testosterone based lifeform (free brochure)
Rapid fire beverage burps
Single out the Destination Oriented
The shift has focused the focus has shifted
Saturday, September 17, 2011
WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE IF YOU WERE IN SPACE for David Franks
WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE IF YOU WERE IN SPACE
for David Franks
The social fabric covering the furniture is tearing at the
corners
Differently, indifferently
Down at the inconvenient store the visually attractive (bubble
butts) form a conga line
Footloose or footless there's Footlong
Help me I'm crestfallen & I can't get it up
Never live it downtown
Can't keep it uptown
Can't live with it can't live without it
I left my mini-obsessions hyperventilating in the minivan
The edges of Acceptability are closing in
Closing of all exits but one
Who's robo-signing for tomorrow's Mozzarella Chunk?
All this infrastructure generated to pacify the animal within
Indispensable or indefensible
A burglary happens every 18.3 seconds here in the Land of the
Break In
I'm trying to break out
-Joel Dailey
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JD's most recent publication is SURPRISED BY FRENCH FRIES, available from Ugly Duckling Presse. He lives in New Orleans.
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