E-Fishwrapper

Sam Hamill’s latest Poets Against War editorial & more…

At the recent Seattle Bookfest in our new Columbia City neighborhood, Sam Hamill was speaking about the role of the poet and engaged citizen. Sam believes that poets have more responsibility to call out injustice and act against it, especially when perpetrated by our own government in our name. Speaking truth to power is one phrase for it, but Sam carries the weight of a poet/translator/editor who has been engaged in this manner for almost 50 years.

Yet, one attendee yelled from the back RANT, as if active anger is not allowed. As if the clarity brought on by correct use of anger should not be exercised in “nice Seattle.” Sam has another idea in his latest essay, linked here: http://www.poetsagainstthewar.org/

Something quite interesting is happening at Seattle’s historic Sorrento Hotel: “Night School at the Sorrento” is a series of cultural events happening at the Sorrento Hotel that’s the brainchild of chef Michael Hebb, working in collaboration with Sorrento co-owner Barbara Malone. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Sorrento, and Malone wanted to do more than just throw a party. In looking through Sorrento’s archives, she discovered that soon after its 1909 opening, the hotel became Seattle’s answer to the Algonquin, busy with readings and musical events. Why not do something similar in 2009? More here, including info on a very cool event happening tomorrow (Thursday, 11.12.09)

And if you have not heard by now, your ever-faithful Splabman has a new book of poems. That aforementioned Sam Hamill had this to say about the book: Paul Nelson’s epic Slaughter explores the history, mythology and ecology of a place, a meeting-ground for various cultural interchanges, both good and bad, in the tradition of Charles Olson’s Maximus Poems or W.C. Williams’ Paterson, but uniquely his own. It is a pleasure to read—enlightening, serious, funny, and overflowing with life.

—Sam Hamill

Slaughter is the original name of Auburn and was home to that wily Splabman for 17 years, 6 months and 2 days. Details on the book here: http://www.apprenticehouse.com/index.cfm?p=catalog&id=28

Be patient with our new E-Fishwrapper format. We’re an old dog learning a new trick and we won’t pee on the floor in the process.

Ciao,

YWS

About Splabman

Poet & interviewer Paul E Nelson founded SPLAB (Seattle Poetics LAB) & the Cascadia Poetry Festival. Since 1993, SPLAB has produced hundreds of poetry events & 600 hours of interview programming with legendary poets & whole systems activists including Allen Ginsberg, Michael McClure, Joanne Kyger, Robin Blaser, Diane di Prima, Daphne Marlatt, Nate Mackey, George Bowering, Barry McKinnon, José Kozer, Brenda Hillman & many others. Paul’s books include American Prophets (interviews 1994-2012) (2018) American Sentences (2015) A Time Before Slaughter (2009) and Organic in Cascadia: A Sequence of Energies (2013). Co-Editor of Make It True: Poetry From Cascadia (2015), 56 Days of August: Poetry Postcards (2017) and Samthology: A Tribute to Sam Hamill (2019) Make it True meets Medusario (2019), he’s presented poetry/poetics in London, Brussels, Nanaimo, Qinghai & Beijing, China, has had work translated into Spanish, Chinese & Portuguese & writes an American Sentence every day. Awarded a residency at The Lake, from the Morris Graves Foundation in Loleta, CA, he’s published work in Golden Handcuffs Review, Zen Monster, Hambone, and elsewhere. Winner of the 2014 Robin Blaser Award from The Capilano Review, he is engaged in a 20 year bioregional cultural investigation of Cascadia and lives in Rainier Beach, in the Cascadia bioregion’s Cedar River watershed.
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