Category: Update

Three special people in my life have some special happenings worth mentioning…

Nick (NJ) Calder is en route to Chicago right now for the world premiere of his first feature film Fear Eats The Seoul on the BIG screen in the Chicago Fear Film Fest! We are still in the process of submitting it to more festivals and spreading the word.. Amazing how far you can come. We’re also filming a music video next month – more on that soon ;)

Mike Stahl, who consistently churns out killer posts (sorry – blessays, actually) for his DeFaced column on SUGAR -N- THUNDER, is reading at Boundless Tales at Waltz-Astoria next Thurs, April 19th. Can’t wait!

Eric Whiptastic just released his first eBook – TIBBY! Another dream that has come really far. You can check it out and snag it for just 99 cents on Amazon right HERE! It’s funny, strange, and well-written – what’s not to love?

As for me…

MORE! »»

A few quick updates!

Thanks so much to fellow LIC’er Eric for supporting poetry in the area and including my poems and spoken word recordings on his great local music/food/culture blog, Sometime in Long Island City! We met at the John Lennon tribute I sang in at LIC Bar back in December. You can check the post out HERE. Thanks so much also to J for being a doll and recording me reading my work (psst.. his next film is going to be pretty insane.. AND this track of his is stuck in my head almost constantly.. but I digress). I put the recordings up on a shiny new Soundcloud – you can check out the playlist on my site HERE.

Here’s one I wrote some moons ago called ‘disassociative’:

Speaking of poetry recordings – I stumbled upon this great new site called A Poem From Us – you can record a video of yourself reading your favorite poem and upload it! I love the idea and I’m planning on participating as soon as I can figure out which poem to read…

Lastly! I am incredibly excited that my book is nearing completion. It’s a retrospective of my favorite pieces of work from 2000 until now, with a dedication to my beautiful Nana, of course.. I’m aiming to release it around what would have been her 66th birthday next month. It has an amazing cover by a lovely graphic designer I know (who is also an incredible burlesque performer!) and I’m currently going over my printing options.. D.I.Y. ‘TIL I DIE! Can’t wait for everyone to check it out.

More soon!

I am beyond thrilled to be included in this exhibition.. My poem “validation” is featured in the inaugural Queens Poets & Poems Exhibit at Queens Borough Hall for National Poetry Month, April 1st-31st, 2012. The exhibition is curated by the Queens Poet Laureate through 2013, Paolo Javier. Paolo – thank you SO MUCH!

The show is free and open to the public during regular work hours.

Here’s the address:

Office of the President, Borough of Queens
120-55 Queens Boulevard Rm. 223
Kew Gardens, NY 11424
(E, F to Union Turnpike/Kew Gardens stop)

Here’s a list of the participating poets and poems:

Lorraine Schein (Sunnyside), “Dreambox”
Norman Stock (Jackson Heights), “How to Become the Poet Laureate of Queens”
Jill Hoffman (Forest Hills), “10. Demeter”
Arlene Gay Levine (Forest Hills), “The Road”
Franklin Bruno (Jackson Heights), “Occupation”
Mark Lamoureux (Astoria), “Mysterons”
Matthew Hittinger (Astoria), “Golden Circe Sips Her Coffee”
Rigoberto Gonzales (Forest Hills), “Point It Out”
Hassanal Abdullah (Jackson Heights), “My Grave”
Rajiv Mohabir (Woodhaven), “The River-Son’s Betrayal”
Vicky Byron (Richmond Hill), “Sketch Artist”
John Rice (College Point), “Outside the Bar in Sunnyside, Queens”
Audrey Dimola (Long Island City), “Validation”
Maria Terrone (Jackson Heights), “The One Chosen”
Andrés Castro (Kew Gardens), “Ignorance Is Not Bliss In Jordan”
Nicos Alexiou (Astoria), “Astoria”
Kate Donohue (Astoria), “What With the Blue Flames Leaping Obediently From the Lungs of a Gas Stove”
Angelica Harris (Glendale), “Taurus Rising”
HaaJar “Hajee” Johnson (Astoria), “Journey Life”
Kevin Michael Wehle (Flushing), “The Boogeyman’s Accomplices”

I’m going to echo Paolo’s sentiment and repost: “Many thanks to Terri Osborne, Cultural Affairs Coordinator at the Boro Prez Office, for spearheading this new and vital initiative to lend greater visibility to contemporary poetry in Queens.”

Can’t wait to see it!

Read my poem “validation” HERE. The subject is something very close to my heart so I’m even more excited that it was chosen for this exhibition.

NYC view from Gantry Park at twilight, photo by me

Poetry is always something to celebrate ;)

But in the spirit.. I’m doing a haiku a day, every day this month – check them out on my Tumblr!

I’m also so excited to announce that I’ll be hosting the Boundless Tales reading series at Waltz-Astoria for the summer months – more dates & details soon!

Boundless Tales will also be featured at the 2nd annual NYC Poetry Festival this summer, which is going to be AWESOME. Congrats!

Butterfly’s Side by Janielle Beh

At the beginning of this month I was honored to have one of my newest poems, “transfiguration” featured in a wonderful digital poetry mag called Words Dance, curated by a poet – and human being – I greatly admire! Amanda also runs Kind Over Matter which is one of my favorite websites, so thanks SO MUCH to her for including me!

Check it out HERE.

And here’s a brand new one..

rip
open your wound so
the flowers can grow out
from inside of you;
anything beautiful that
could have a chance to be
is getting tangled in stitches
and scars.
– ajd, 2/22/12

Did I also mention that my best friend Nick Calder is raising funds for his debut feature Fear Eats The Seoul on Kickstarter and you still have 7 DAYS to donate?! This kid is the real deal. We’re in the process of submitting the film to festivals around the globe, and the $$ goes directly to that. Check it out!

It doesn’t get any easier – but the love gets stronger.. And stronger.

missing you

it’s the little things
that catch you
off-guard..
walking in to see
your saint jude
and cross candle
on the kitchen table
near a stack
of photos,
the frame i bought you
that played
“you are my sunshine”
the way you always
sang it to me..
and the last
letter i wrote you
on the flowery stationery
you sent me,
in the little purple envelope –
letting you know
that i could never say
goodbye.
your possessions
now here –
without you..
striking the match
to illuminate the
contrast
between our two worlds.
now –
we light your candle
for you
the way you did for us
every morning –
closed your eyes
and held saint jude
to your
beautiful face,
speaking your prayers
in your mind –
which is now the
only precious space
we can still hear you.
call out, forever love,
call out loud,
because we are
all listening..
every day through this
never-ending winter,
and every single day
after that.
– ajd, 1/12/12

I miss you, beautiful Nanny. So, so much.

This just about sums it up.

becoming
with thanks to rilke, neruda, rumi

i am experiencing
the strangest
purity
of spirit –
like staring
into the face of
rilke’s angel,
so terrifying in
its beauty
and absoluteness.
i somehow feel
surged with the
energy
that could
launch me over
a cliff –
and, laughing,
i would descend –
and in
so doing –
float right back.
i feel like
i am in danger of
becoming
detached –
free-wheeling,
“heart broke loose,”
ancient
whirling dervish
spouting the
metaphysical
that is becoming
so much more
real
than the
real.
what is the
actual
danger here?
i am
propelled
by a force
that is
beyond and
within me –
i could lose it
all
but somehow
still
walk on.
perception is
pried loose
from the bonds
we make –
suddenly
there is such
grace
in the wildness.
the order without
order
sharpens
before our eyes..
the step,
sometimes –
it’s that easy
to take.
– ajd, 1/25/12