R.I.P. J.D. Salinger
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Free For All
The American Supreme Court -- stacked with a majority of neo-cons by the Bush administration -- just moved to recognize corporations as political persons, quashing more than a century of precedent and giving them the right to unlimited campaign donations & political spending.
Now politicians will truly be bought as never before; to paraphrase one wag, some post office box in the Cayman Islands suddenly has vocal chords loud enough to outshout any citizen's coalition.
It's a sad commentary that here in Canada the CBC National treated this breathtaking development as one of its faits divers in the middle of its program.
To read more about this decision and its implications, check out this report and this column on Huff Post.
Obama and others vow to enact legislation to counteract it, but, as this article argues, it will be very hard to do.
Now politicians will truly be bought as never before; to paraphrase one wag, some post office box in the Cayman Islands suddenly has vocal chords loud enough to outshout any citizen's coalition.
It's a sad commentary that here in Canada the CBC National treated this breathtaking development as one of its faits divers in the middle of its program.
To read more about this decision and its implications, check out this report and this column on Huff Post.
Obama and others vow to enact legislation to counteract it, but, as this article argues, it will be very hard to do.
Monday, January 18, 2010
I'm no longer an organization -- but still in business
For the past eight years, my website has been www.briancampbell.org. Well, no more. Due to an administrative glitch, that name went public for a few days and was snatched up and "parked" by another hosting service.
It seems my old host -- Easyhosting.com -- tried to contact me about the domain's renewal through a defunct email address, even though I'm practically certain I changed my email address with them, and it's on the website itself.
At first I was infuriated -- the old URL's on my CD as well as latest book, and all my letterhead and business cards have to be changed.
But Google's so powerful these days, the need for a memorable domain name may just be a thing of the past.
My actual site address has always been
http://pages.videotron.com/campbell/
and the domain name only a pointer. (It was a lot cheaper that way.)
Googling my name, my site comes near the top of the list anyway, and googling "Brian Campbell Poet" I'm definitely up there.
So I'm not even bothering with a domain name. Why pay the fees?
It seems my old host -- Easyhosting.com -- tried to contact me about the domain's renewal through a defunct email address, even though I'm practically certain I changed my email address with them, and it's on the website itself.
At first I was infuriated -- the old URL's on my CD as well as latest book, and all my letterhead and business cards have to be changed.
But Google's so powerful these days, the need for a memorable domain name may just be a thing of the past.
My actual site address has always been
http://pages.videotron.com/campbell/
and the domain name only a pointer. (It was a lot cheaper that way.)
Googling my name, my site comes near the top of the list anyway, and googling "Brian Campbell Poet" I'm definitely up there.
So I'm not even bothering with a domain name. Why pay the fees?
Couldn't agree more...
Says Christian Bok on Lemon Hound in an interview on reviewing:
Academia has conditioned me to prefer descriptive explanation supported by some sort of argument about a book's structure (i.e. "how it is written") and the book's functions (i.e. "why it is written). I dislike reviewers who indulge in a cursory summary of a book, then proceed to offer their
own set of judgemental impressions, based upon a presumed paradigm of shared values between the reviewer and the audience--and alas, most reviews seem to partake of this model of literary critique.
Academia has conditioned me to prefer descriptive explanation supported by some sort of argument about a book's structure (i.e. "how it is written") and the book's functions (i.e. "why it is written). I dislike reviewers who indulge in a cursory summary of a book, then proceed to offer their
own set of judgemental impressions, based upon a presumed paradigm of shared values between the reviewer and the audience--and alas, most reviews seem to partake of this model of literary critique.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Seems this blog is among this site's "30 awesome poetry blogs you're not reading yet". I can think of a number of other blogs at least as deserving -- check my sidebar -- but it's nice to get a pat on the back.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
RIP PK Page
R.I.P.
Star Gazer
The very stars are justified.
The galaxy
italicized.
I have proofread
and proofread
the beautiful script
There are no
errors.
(PK Page)
Star Gazer
The very stars are justified.
The galaxy
italicized.
I have proofread
and proofread
the beautiful script
There are no
errors.
(PK Page)
Monday, January 11, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Books finished in 2009
Happy New Year!
Here are the books I finished in 2009. One of my quirks is that I like to record page numbers. (I don't include filler pages and contents at beginnings.) It's fun to keep a running tally, and compare with previous years. Font sizes vary, and some poetry books have plenty of blank space while others represent a dense read, so all that specificity adds up to only a rough indication -- but it's an indication nevertheless. I don't include articles or single poems from volumes, reviews or the internet.
These numbers tell me this was my least reading year -- at least in terms of print books -- since 2002: 5783 p., 26 complete books, 4 unfinished (but substantially read). I'm not sure why -- the internet? More time listening to podcasts? My own book promotion? My biggest reading year since 1990 was 2007 -- 7,506 p., 33 finished books, 9 unfinished.
I'm sure quite a number of you can top these numbers. I'm not the fastest reader. And yes, there are all those other claims on my time, like work, writing, etc. (ETC.).
FICTION
Anne-Marie MacDonald: Fall On Your Knees Jan. (560)
Christianne Frenette: After the Red Night (trans. S. Fischman) May: 159 p.
Arthur Golden: Memoirs of a Geisha (June): 434 p.
Jack Kerouac: The Subterraneans (July): 112 p.
Orhan Pamuk: Snow (July): 463 p.
Hermann Hesse: Siddhartha (Oct.) 125 p.
Vladimir Nabokov: Lolita (Oct.) 315 p.
Elise Moser: Because I Have Loved and Hidden It (Dec.) 248 p.
Total: 2191 p.
NON-FICTION
Malcolm Gladwell: The Tipping Point 277 p.
Malcolm Gladwell: Blink 288 p.
Edith Hamilton: Mythology May-July: 465 p.
Sherwin B. Nuland: The Art of Aging July: 290 p.
Yves Engler: The Black Book of Canadian Foreign Policy. Sept. 245 p.
Ari L. Goldman: Being Jewish Dec. 31: 257 p.
Total: 1722 p.
POETRY (Whole books)
Shannon Stewart: Penny Dreadful: 70 p.
Barbara Pelman, Borrowed Rooms, 122 p.
Carolyn Marie Souaid, Paper Oranges, 106 p.
Charles Simic, The World Doesn’t End, 74 p.
Laura Sims, Practice, Restraint 99 p.
Robert Creeley: On Earth: Last Poems and an Essay. June: 89 p
Fiona Tinwei Lam: Enter the Chrysanthemum. June/July: 73 p.
Terry Ann Carter: Transplanted. August 8: 74 p.
Lori Cayer: Stealing Mercury. 102 p.
Sina Queyras: Expressway: 95 p.
Jack Gilbert: Transgressions (Selected Poems) 163 p.
Gendun Chopel: In the Forest of Faded Wisdom, ed.. & trans.: Donald S. Lopez Jr. Dec. 95 p.
Total: 1191 p
Poetry in Manuscript
Allen Sutterfield: California (from City of Words, Septile 2) Dec.: 65 p.
POETRY (Partially Read)
Jorie Graham, The Dream of the Unified Field (Selected) 82 p.
Anne Carson: Glass, Irony and God 72 p.
Total: 154 p.
CHAPBOOKS
R.W. Watkins & Robin Tilley: In the Grip of Sirens 20 p.
Raphael Bendahan: By All Accounts (ms.) 25 p
Total: 20 p.
SHORT STORIES
IN MANUSCRIPT:
Jocelyne Dubois: Delinquents 7 p. Spy in Love 5 p. Under Covers 8 p. = 20 p.
PARTIALLY READ:
Ken Wilber: The Spectrum of Consciousness June: 86 p.
Daisaku Ikeda et al: The Wisdom of The Lotus Sutra, Vol. 1 94 p. (unfinished)
Total: 180 p.
Total: p. 5783 p.
Reading per day: 15.84 p. 26 Finished books 2 Chapbooks Unfinished books: 3
Here are the books I finished in 2009. One of my quirks is that I like to record page numbers. (I don't include filler pages and contents at beginnings.) It's fun to keep a running tally, and compare with previous years. Font sizes vary, and some poetry books have plenty of blank space while others represent a dense read, so all that specificity adds up to only a rough indication -- but it's an indication nevertheless. I don't include articles or single poems from volumes, reviews or the internet.
These numbers tell me this was my least reading year -- at least in terms of print books -- since 2002: 5783 p., 26 complete books, 4 unfinished (but substantially read). I'm not sure why -- the internet? More time listening to podcasts? My own book promotion? My biggest reading year since 1990 was 2007 -- 7,506 p., 33 finished books, 9 unfinished.
I'm sure quite a number of you can top these numbers. I'm not the fastest reader. And yes, there are all those other claims on my time, like work, writing, etc. (ETC.).
FICTION
Anne-Marie MacDonald: Fall On Your Knees Jan. (560)
Christianne Frenette: After the Red Night (trans. S. Fischman) May: 159 p.
Arthur Golden: Memoirs of a Geisha (June): 434 p.
Jack Kerouac: The Subterraneans (July): 112 p.
Orhan Pamuk: Snow (July): 463 p.
Hermann Hesse: Siddhartha (Oct.) 125 p.
Vladimir Nabokov: Lolita (Oct.) 315 p.
Elise Moser: Because I Have Loved and Hidden It (Dec.) 248 p.
Total: 2191 p.
NON-FICTION
Malcolm Gladwell: The Tipping Point 277 p.
Malcolm Gladwell: Blink 288 p.
Edith Hamilton: Mythology May-July: 465 p.
Sherwin B. Nuland: The Art of Aging July: 290 p.
Yves Engler: The Black Book of Canadian Foreign Policy. Sept. 245 p.
Ari L. Goldman: Being Jewish Dec. 31: 257 p.
Total: 1722 p.
POETRY (Whole books)
Shannon Stewart: Penny Dreadful: 70 p.
Barbara Pelman, Borrowed Rooms, 122 p.
Carolyn Marie Souaid, Paper Oranges, 106 p.
Charles Simic, The World Doesn’t End, 74 p.
Laura Sims, Practice, Restraint 99 p.
Robert Creeley: On Earth: Last Poems and an Essay. June: 89 p
Fiona Tinwei Lam: Enter the Chrysanthemum. June/July: 73 p.
Terry Ann Carter: Transplanted. August 8: 74 p.
Lori Cayer: Stealing Mercury. 102 p.
Sina Queyras: Expressway: 95 p.
Jack Gilbert: Transgressions (Selected Poems) 163 p.
Gendun Chopel: In the Forest of Faded Wisdom, ed.. & trans.: Donald S. Lopez Jr. Dec. 95 p.
Total: 1191 p
Poetry in Manuscript
Allen Sutterfield: California (from City of Words, Septile 2) Dec.: 65 p.
POETRY (Partially Read)
Jorie Graham, The Dream of the Unified Field (Selected) 82 p.
Anne Carson: Glass, Irony and God 72 p.
Total: 154 p.
CHAPBOOKS
R.W. Watkins & Robin Tilley: In the Grip of Sirens 20 p.
Raphael Bendahan: By All Accounts (ms.) 25 p
Total: 20 p.
SHORT STORIES
IN MANUSCRIPT:
Jocelyne Dubois: Delinquents 7 p. Spy in Love 5 p. Under Covers 8 p. = 20 p.
PARTIALLY READ:
Ken Wilber: The Spectrum of Consciousness June: 86 p.
Daisaku Ikeda et al: The Wisdom of The Lotus Sutra, Vol. 1 94 p. (unfinished)
Total: 180 p.
Total: p. 5783 p.
Reading per day: 15.84 p. 26 Finished books 2 Chapbooks Unfinished books: 3
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