Well, I certainly hope that the subscribers and contributors to brief 50 - the projects issue are pleased with the results of my editing and Brett Cross's stunning text and cover design. More to the point, I hope they're happy to get, as a special bonus with this fiftieth issue of the magazine, a free copy of Leicester Kyle's Millerton Sequences, which has just been published by Atuanui Press:
It's been quite a while since I've posted here. Apologies for that: blame it on having to compose a new set of lecture notes for my travel writing paper at Massey, which is proving unexpectedly popular in its new distance form.
That's no excuse, of course. I hope I'll be able to do better now things have settled down a bit.
So what exactly is this book, The Millerton Sequences? Well, in a sense it's meant as a culmination of all the work I (and others) have put into the Leicester Kyle website (address below). That site certainly errs on the side of inclusiveness, so I thought it was important to put out a selection of Leicester's shorter poems which would enable readers to appreciate some of the qualities his admirers value most in his work as a whole.
There's an introduction by me, a poem by David Howard - we've tried to make it as attractive a proposition as possible for the casual poetry fan:
You can find out a lot more about the book here, if you're curious. And, yes, some copies are still available for sale from the Atuanui Press website.
And what of brief? Well, again, you can see a complete list of contents on the brief index site. Here's a list of the authors you can encounter in this special anniversary issue (how many literary magazines - especially experimental ones - actually reach a fiftieth issue?)
So anyway, as you can see, I've not been entirely idle during this hiatus in Imaginary Museum posts. I can't promise it'll never happen again, but I certainly will try to come up with some fresh new stuff to interest you once I'm over the hump of the next couple of months. Don't write me off just yet ...
Hi Jack. Thanks for the great work on both books. Good to see another book of Leicester's published. He was a significant force for sure. I must write more on him also as I have read most of his books and many of his poems. He "consulted" me on Koreneho but I was sure even then that he wouldn't take any (or much notice of my ideas on it), I think I "introduced" him to the poetry of Zukofsky and Ashbery. I was interested in the way Z made such a life long projects and his use of etymology etc Leicester read that huge book by Z and the corresp. with Niedecker. I saw your review of Lisa Samuels book. I agree re Ashbery although I feel he was also quite comic, or had / has a comic view of things. The Langos were impressed with his 'Tennis Court Oath'.
ReplyDeleteTed Jenner's review is very interesting and very well researched. Some very interesting things [I liked Lisa's thing (very witty!) and Richard von's but a lot of the other stuff, especially that one that is hand written: very amusing! (By Laura McLauchlan called 'Cow'))in this Brief, although I haven't read it all yet, and I don't want to single people out.
Your cat was a character for sure!! Cat's are characters: they seem to know what one is thinking almost. I used to talk to my cat, and when it died I played Mozart's requiem about three times. I was deeply upset...
But thanks again for the double whammy!