Sept 1 Reading: Mariah's Pick

This is a selection from Michaela Mullin's Tenable Cant.

Family Portrait

We are hungry,

kneeling.

        

With our hands

                 we dig into earth

                                as if chased by oxygen.

Not situated in, but near

         what we wet.

We drink each hand free

of deep-red clay.

You can hear more of Michaela Mullin's poetry on September 1, 7pm at Beaverdale Books. 

September 1 Reading: Poetry Pick with Kelsey

Post Rent Check Blues 

       -1 BR/BA/Clear Cemetery View

One hears sick neighbors make love,

Cough through mildewed plaster walls,

Smells paint fumes, garlic stench,

Thick cigarette smoke drift

Past rock club car alarms,

Ropes pulling graveyard shift

In church bell tongues, as lit screech

Owls cast low hell-bent last calls.

LIVE NUDE bass lines, nocturnal

Dive bar animals,

Crawl neon-drenched blocks,

Claws lift plastic lids to sift

Rank trash, stripped branches scratch 

Mossed rooftops wind chimes riff,

Faint hangnail gods, as weak floor-

Boards creek across dark halls.

Each ambulance breaks, idles

Side streets, vacant parking lots,

Haunts booked next for some

Funeral home carwash. All

Night, police sirens answer fears,

Cold dead-end calls,

Old complaints lodge with land-

Lords: noise, heat, mold, dry rot. 

Still, gas leaks, pipes pour dirt-

Cheap music, till steam's caught

Off-guard, train whistles sleep-

Walk outskirts dump trucks haul

Sad one-act scripts, mix sound-

Tracks buried in plots stalled

As blood clots (cue: throat clear,

Scream, thunder sheet gunshot).

Blinds raised as rent, ghosts, sin-

Taxed angels whose encores play here,

Dead tired, one jokes: at least

Most folks backstage remain

Near quiet. Strangers hack through

Shared walls as air-damp stains

Set, bedsheet curtains beat applause,

Wings fall on prey, sills, deaf ears. 

                                   -Doug Cox


Come hear more of Doug Cox and Michaela Mullin's poetry on September 1, 7pm at Beaverdale Books! 

Sept 1 Reading w/ Michaela Mullin: Staff Favorites--Jennifer's Pick

I had a hard time choosing a favorite from Michaela Mullin's Tenable Cant, but this one's final lines get me every time.

First Love

Dark crawls round the curve

of your hip

where I used to play

giddy-up,

the winds in our hair

like talk into pillows

like practice

like reins through my fingers.

I whinny.

I whoa.




Come check out more of Michaela's poetry on September 1st at 7pm, Beaverdale Books!

Meet the Staff: Intern Kelsey Lepperd

Hi! My name’s Kelsey and I’m starting my second year at Drake University. I’m currently a Writing major with a minor in the Study of Culture and Society. I enjoy writing and reading short fiction, parks, and the Spanish language. I knew that after attending many of last year’s readings, I wanted to become more involved in Des Moines’ literary community; through Drake’s Writing Internship program, I was able to become an intern for YAPRS.  I’ll be honest—I haven’t read a lot of poetry, but I look forward to learning about it first hand from the talented poets in the Fall Series line-up! Although not all poets, some of my favorite authors include Lydia Davis, Anne Sexton, Ernest Hemingway, Theodore Roethke, Jorge Luis Borges, Raymond Carver, Mary Oliver, and Lorrie Moore.  

Meet the Staff: Intern Mariah Marconi

Hello. I am a junior at Drake University where I am working on my BA in Writing and Mathematics.  Along with poetry and number theory, I am also interested in Russian literature and have recently returned from studying Russian language in Moscow.  After attending many of last year’s readings, I was interested in becoming more involved with the series and am now working as an intern through Drake University's Writing Internship program.  I am looking forward to the opportunity to work with a lineup of amazing poets this year as well as Jennifer Perrine and fellow interns, Kelsey and Vlad!  Some of my favorite poets include T.S. Eliot, Anna Akhmatova, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, John Rives, Pablo Neruda, and, most recently, Robert Bly.    

Sept 1 Reading: Staff favorite pieces - Vlad's Pick

This a sample of one of many brilliant poems that can be found in Doug Cox's The Last Decent Jukebox in America.

Air 

          -for George Harrison, (1943-2001)

What can we do but break
These knots of bread together
& thank gods for their crust,
This pale dish of yellow butter?

 

Hold our cups below cold pitchers
& pour whatever liquor we can
Manage--like air it tastes
Of iron, shared memory, blood.

 

But who can stand to talk of mothers
& fathers--our mothers, our
Fathers? Love, a final chord
Lowers over background speakers.

Dull needles crackle at thin air. Tonight,
At least, acknowledge our silence. 

If you want a chance to hear more of Doug's work, please make sure to be at our September 1st reading at Beaverdale Books, 7pm!

Meet the Staff: Intern Vlad Frederick.

Hello! My name is Vlad, and I'm one of YAPRS three college student interns! I am currently a senior at Drake University, majoring in both Biology and English.  I am still conflicted on my future plans, but have narrowed my future plans down to either an MFA program in creative writing, or PT/Med school.  I enjoy both reading and writing fiction and poetry. I've been working with the Series as an intern since this Spring; I was connected to the Series by Drake University's Writing Internship program, but after completing just the Spring Season with YAPRS, I knew that I had found a program that I would be sticking with  for as long as I remain in the Des Moines Area. The chance to chat with and hear the poetry of numerous modern day poets has been an amazing experience for me, one that I feel privileged to have received! Some of my favorite poets, both old and new, include Mary Oliver, Robert Frost, John Donne, Walt Whitman, Joe Hall, Wendy Xu, Kyle McCord, Joe Wilkins, Sean Bishop, and Matt Guinette.

Thank you to Embassy Suites!

Younger American Poets would like to thank Embassy Suites Des Moines on the River, for their generous donation of a free night's stay for our September 1st poets! We would also like to thank their general manager, Mr. Hammerman, for his willingness to hear us out and support the fine arts community in Des Moines. Thank You!

Fundraising Challenge--Now extended to September 1st!

Dear YAPRS Fans:

We're in our final round of fundraising for the Fall 2011 Series, and we've got just a bit more to go! To help meet our goals for the fall, we're offering a special gift--if you contribute $50 or more by September 1st, we'll give you a signed copy of your choice of the books authored by the poets reading this fall. Just donate by one of the methods below, then email us at youngeramericanpoets@gmail.com with the title of your chosen book.

To donate:
1. Send a check payable to Metro Arts, 305 East Court Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50309. Include a note that the donation is for YAPRS.

2. Visit the Metro Arts Alliance Homepage to enter your desired donation amount and to pay by credit card. Donate here! After your payment is successful, please remember to email youngeramericanpoets@gmail.com with the name(s) of all donors you wish to be credited by Metro Arts for your gift, and the amount gifted. Gifts donated without a reply-confirmation will still be processed by Metro Arts, but will not be applied directly to the Younger American Poets Reading Series. Please, help us by letting us know after your donation. 

Fall 2011 Lineup!

YAPRS is pleased to announce our finalized schedule for Fall 2011!

Thursday, September 1
• Doug Cox, Author of The Last Decent Jukebox in America (LS&S Press)
• Michaela Mullin, U Nebraska-Omaha MFA

Thursday, October 6
• Stacey Waite, Author of The Lake Has No Saint (Tupelo Press) & Love Poem to Androgyny (Main Street Rag)
• Susanna Childress, Author of Entering the House of Awe (New Issues) & Jagged with Love (U Wisconsin Press)

Thursday, November 3
• Rebecca Hazelton, Florida State U PhD, U Wisconsin-Madison Poetry Fellow
• Hadara Bar-Nadav, Author of A Glass of Milk to Kiss Goodnight (MARGIE/IntuiT House)

Thursday, December 1
• Alexander Long, Author of Light Here, Light There (C&R Press) & Vigil (New Issues)
• Robyn Schiff, Author of Revolver (U of Iowa Press) & Worth (U of Iowa Press)