The Puzzle of the Light

Three new poems on the poetry blog!

Summer is almost over. For me, it is essentially officially over because I hear the screaming man on the field, exhorting his band to play tighter, be stronger.

Still, we have 12 days left in August. It doesn't have to be this way. We could abolish August.

I'm reading The Night of the Gun by David Carr. It's an amazing book. I like it not just because his awful story of addiction is set in the Twin Cities (he grew up in Hopkins!) or because I used to read the guy's writing in the weekly local papers of the pre-internet age. It's also because Carr treats his addiction (to cocaine/crack, alcohol, etc.) as a story deserving of truth, not just candor or theater. So he tackles the story as a reporter - interviewing old acquaintances, digging up court records. And then when it's time to tell the story/truth he's found, he does it with writing that's beautiful, funny, clever, and sad. Mostly funny and sad. Also - the website is great... and a little addicting. He'll be reading in Pasadena tonight.

I'm also reading Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies by Reyner Banham. (You can actually read the book by following that link.) This video should make you want to read it too. Watch all 52 minutes.