Gertrude Stein and I

January 6, 2009 at 6:28 pm | Posted in blogging, links, podcast, poetry, writing | 11 Comments
Tags: contemporary poetry, Gertrude Stein, Paul Squires, Wordsalad

I was on the radio in the USA again thanks to Paul A. Baker at Wordsalad. (In my opinion one of best resources for contemporary poetry on the internet.) You should listen to the whole show, it’s fabulous but if you’re pushed for time you can hear my contribution in podcast here, The Writer As Libertine. (To read the poem you will have to invest actual real money in a copy of The Puzzle Box. Perhaps I should submit it to a journal somewhere so people can read it for free?)

Last time as you may recall I shared the bill with Ezra Pound. This time, among others, I was proud to be included on the program alongside Gertrude Stein. This made me particularly happy because Gertie (to her mates) was not only famous as a pioneer of modernist poetry but also for the wonderful company she kept. She was painted here by her friend Pablo Picasso. She was friends with Matisse, Apollinaire, Thornton Wilder and Hemingway amongst others. And that is why the internet, where links dissolve time and space, is a wonderful place to be a poet. Such fabulous company.

Thanks, Paul A. Baker.

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let’s have a dinner party! gertie, you, me, wordsalad paul, ezra, picasso– such fun! and let’s have it in san francisco on a clear winter day and drink local biodynamic sparklers with dungeness crab and sourdough bread and oysters on a white table cloth on ocean beach!

who wants to join us? shall we do it on my birthday?

Comment by art predator— January 6, 2009 #
Congrats! Wordsalad is awesome. Checking it out now.

Comment by cocoyea— January 7, 2009 #
hey, congratulations! The internet is a fabulous place indeed, and the dissolution of time and place is definitely a beautiful feature that it has; here’re three cheers to you!
🙂

Comment by Sumedh Prasad— January 7, 2009 #
A listener doesn’t even have to understand the English language to appreciate the music of your poems.

Comment by The Querulous Squirrel— January 7, 2009 #
Oh yay, happy for you!
I think that you have a superb mastery over delivery, the tone you set, bravo!
I love Gertrude Stein, I think she was one of the first American poets to really begin experimenting with the language and consciousness. But of course even though we Americans like to to take pride in her,I personally think she really was more European than American due to her upbringing.

Comment by harmonie22— January 7, 2009 #
Quite right too. Poems often take on a different form and context when read aloud, which can be challenging for the writer and listener who are accustomed to one form over the other. You do it well.

Comment by Narnie— January 7, 2009 #
Lovely tone. Lovely delivery. Bravo!

Comment by Selma— January 8, 2009 #
Well, how could I *not* buy The Puzzle Box after that? Purchased. 🙂

Comment by poeticgrin— January 8, 2009 #
That’s awesome Paul :)!! Congrats!!

Comment by Mental Mist— January 10, 2009 #
This is still the highlight of my fictional career so far.

Comment by Paul— March 22, 2009 #
[…] is something special about seeing photographs of “The Puzzle Box” in places I’ve never been. It is as though I was travelling on the back of that Giant Pink […]

Pingback by Giant Pink Snail « gingatao— July 8, 2009 #