Ho

I'm frantically trying to get everything done before I leave for Europe tomorrow. A sick child alters one's schedule. I was able to finish Karl Parker's first galley of PERSONATIONSKIN, make the No Tell Motel Pushcart nominations and respond to many No Tell submissions, but not all of them. I have around 60 left and I'll be working on them tonight between laundry and paying bills, but there's no way I'm getting them all done tonight. Sorry, the rest will have to wait until I get back.

If you're waiting for an e-mail from me, that might have to wait too.

On a happier note, we went to dinner at the Lebanese Taverna at the richer's mall. Thought it was a safe bet cause there's no fabulous "deals" to be found there. It was! Not only was there not a crowd, there wasn't even a line for the Santa, not a single child. I hadn't planned on taking Gideon to see Santa today, but the angels work in mysterious ways. So I licked one hand to clean the crusted snot off his face and the other to smooth his hair. This one is pretty nice, although I still prefer 2006.



Goodness, 3 3/4 and he's almost as big as Santa.

Apparently Gideon wants a puppy.

He's not getting a puppy.

No Tell Motel's Pushcart Nominations

"Shrapnel's dotter" by Kirsten Kaschock

"I'm Nothing and Can Therefore Never Be Locked Up or Even Captured Really" by Lynn Behrendt

"Ten Days in Arkansas" by Martha Silano

"The Greenest Body" by Rebecca Loudon

Photos by Gideon . . .

or what we're thankful for around here:

Coconuts and Murky Waters

There's a brand-spanking-new Coconut 14 live on the web, featuring new poems by David Lehman, Snezana Zabic, Denise Duhamel, Nin Andrews, William Minor, Lee Ann Roripaugh, Chad Sweeney, Brigitte Byrd, W.B. Keckler, Shira Dentz, Jared White, Eileen Tabios, Amber Nelson, Sam Pink, Molly Arden, Graeme Bezanson, John Most, Dana Guthrie Martin, Sarah Bartlett, Matt Turner, Lara Glenum, Susana Gardner, Carmen Gimenez Smith, Jackie Clark, Gale Nelson, Stephanie Berger, Rauaun Klassnik, and Jed Rasula!
Pfew--this issue is hot! http://www.coconutpoetry.org.

Plus, sparkly brilliant new book titles from Jen Tynes and Sueyeun Juliette Lee! http://www.coconutpoetry.org/books1

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On November 28th, from 12:01am to 11:59pm, buy any Black Ocean book priced $11.95 or more and get a second title of your choice FREE (offer does not apply to issues of Handsome). Just write in a note on the PayPal order page which title you’d like to receive. And, as always: Free Shipping! Go to http://www.blackocean.org/catalog.html to place your orders.

Support independent publishing and have a very handsome holiday.

Check out #26

Go Laurel!

The Myth of the Simple Machines is the meat in a Richard Howard and Susan Stewart sandwich.

The Past Hour of My Life

My computer is practically on fire

Gideon is burning up

I feel like I'm catching a fever, or maybe experiencing early menopause and am about to die

I worry I caught Gideon's illness

Then I check the thermostat

It's set to 90

Today is the first official sick day from school. I was up most of the night with Gideon, although Chris, yet again, got the honor of being barfed on. Excluding baby spit-up, I've never been barfed on. Both times Gideon barfed, it was on Chris and let me tell you I am more than a bit jealous and hurt by that. I thought kids were supposed to bypass everyone to barf on their mothers? Did I do something wrong? Is he parentally confused? I just don't get it. I think I'm pretty barfable. I'm not taking this rejection so well.

In other news, Gideon and I started our Rebeccamas craft marathon. We're making ornaments and cards. It's difficult to distinguish the ornaments made by Gideon and the ones made by me. Am I implying that my son is artistically gifted? No, no I am not. Glitter is all over the house and will be, probably for many months. All of us are under constant glitter coverage, including Chris and hasn't even participated in the crafting yet.

And now you know what you're getting for Rebeccamas.

Just a reminder, No Tell poets are sharing their nominations for Best Poetry Books 2008 and their Holiday Buying Guides over at No Tells. Recent suggestions by Evie Shockley, Scott Abels, Adam Fieled, Steven Karl, Kim Roberts, Jessy Randall and Donald Illich.

This Week at No Tell

Donald Illich thrusts back from the shore this week at No Tell Motel.

I LOVE this idea

and am jealous I didn't think of it myself.

HTMLGIANT is Secret Santa

I signed up and so should you -- maybe I could be your secret Santa? You never know.

MiPO Sexy Issue

THE SEXY ISSUE: CHECK IT OUT. A NEW TRIUMPH IN VISUAL AND VERBAL BY DIDI MENENDEZ

The new issue is now online.

Please stop by www.mipoesias.com to see it, read it, print it, embed it, gobble it up for Thanksgiving...

A hard copy will be available in a few days from here:

https://www.createspace.com/3360578

Grassroots Marketing Panel - NYC

I'll be participating in this panel at the LWC}NYC tomorrow:

Saturday November 22
GRASSROOTS MARKETING
3:00-4:30 PM
Featuring Allison Amend, Melissa Kirsch, Reb Livingston, and Thisbe Nissen

Reb's Big Day at the Library of Congress

Really nice today. Went down to the Library of Congress for Grace Cavalieri to interview me for "The Poet and the Poem" Radio Series. That's right, I'm going to be on NPR, baby, sometime this Spring. Although the interview will be online in a month. Don't worry, when it's up I'll tell you all about it. The best part is this interview was professionally done, meaning they're gonna edit out all my "ums," meaning I won't sound like I just walked off the set of Hee Haw.

Richard McCann was also interviewed. I'm glad to finally meet him, we have mutual friends and its so embarrassing to have to admit one doesn't know a poet from one's own city. He barely "ummed" at all during his interview, which is good because that gives the producers ample time to focus on mine.

Grace was a truly wonderful, thoughtful interviewer -- it didn't really strike me what a generous opportunity she offered until I walked through the Library of Congress and into the big, clean studio that didn't let off a single whiff of urine. I felt rather fancy. On the monitor I briefly watched a live interview from another studio of well-known television writer and producer (I'm not trying to be coy, I'm just not sure if it's public knowledge yet). He was asked why he joined the Air Force in World War II and his response was "I wanted to drop bombs."

After the interview, I went upstairs to see the Filipina Poets exhibit. Looking at all of Eileen Tabios' thick books (and they didn't even have all of them) made me feel like a poetry slug. I couldn't find any books by one of the poets supposedly featured so I inquired to the librarian about what the fuck racket were they trying to run. They promised me this poet and she's nowhere to be found. Turns out that either her books weren't processed by the library yet or her presses never bothered to send them in because they weren't in the LOC system. It was at that moment I had another one of my many assholey epiphanies. Back in Chicago (come to think of it, the same night I was brutally bruised while sharing a bed with Jill Essbaum), Jill asked if I sent No Tell Books titles to the LOC. I was all hell no, fuck the man, they require too many forms and it's not like anyone is gonna go there to read them anyhow. Get over yourself, missy!

Ahem, I'm going to mend my ways, again, and send the books to the LOC. On the drive home I was dreading all the paperwork, but then remembered, hey I have an intern!

Scott Odom on Cadaver Dogs

It is more beautiful. It is more harrowing. It is a wrench in a man's hard hand and swinging, whistling as it arcs down. It is a flower that floats in the air in front of you in the night at the foot of your bed and the sound of your mother singing in the bath down the hall. It is the monster breathing low and deep in the closet and the doorknob is turning, slowly, slowly...

Read full review here.

That's How We Love Our Babies Around Here

The poetry action is over here -- during November and December, No Tell contributors are nominating the best poetry books of 2008 and recommending poetry books as holiday gifts, among other things.

Today Gideon and I went through the first year of his life on this blog (closest thing I have to a scrapbook). He loved it. Just wait until he can read. He'll be thanking me forever.

He told me my name was Mommy Hart Morrow. He said his little brown teddy bear was his baby and her name was Effie (named after his 2nd cousin). Effie is wrapped in a Steeler's Terrible Towel and sleeping in a plastic Jack-o-lantern hanging from a door knob.

This Week at No Tell

Michelle Detorie has to look like a girl this week at No Tell Motel.

Letter to Sam

Facebook is a strange a thing. Last night it suggested that I might know one of Chris' high school friends despite our not having a single mutual friend or connection in our profiles. The stranger thing is that I do actually know her although we hadn't heard from her in over a decade. Chris wanted me to friend her, but I said no because she's not really my friend, she's his. If she friended me, I would accept, but I'm not going out of my way clicking that "Add as a Friend" button, if you know what I mean. I suggested that he open an account and friend her himself. Chris wants no part of Facebook, he's a LinkedIn kind of guy. Instead we Googled her and discovered that she's a real estate agent in Texas who puts God first, her family second and then her career. Her real estate bio said that when she's not with her family she's curled up with a good book, which I first misread as the good book, which changes the meaning and implied inconsistency with her earlier statement of family second. But like I said, I misread it, possibly projected, no inconsistency, she checks out. During our Googling we also discovered her profile on LinkedIn, so perhaps she and Chris can reconnect after all.

Letter to Sam

A couple weeks ago I dreamed of you again. I didn't mention this because of the election and Halloween. You were in my bed with my poet friend. I thought that was strange but decided better not to judge. We were meeting to go see a movie. I wanted to go to the Tyson's theater, but you two already decided on a Bollywood pic. There was a size 16 footprint on my wall left by a violent man. The footprint was growing. We were late for our movie.

Lots of good stuff over at No Tells.

Will get back to posting regularly here soon. Just booked some international travel for early December. Not as exciting as the not-to-be Dubai trip, but I'm pretty thrilled to be doing any traveling right now. I'm tagging along to Amsterdam and Dublin with Chris (on business). Usually on these trips I go off and do my own thing, which I'll still do, but I'll be sticking a bit closer to the nerd happenings to be included in the biznaz dinners and other perks. Maybe I'll give talk at the conference: Network Security in a Post-Poetical Climate and score a buffet ticket. If anyone in Amsterdam or Dublin knows of any reading opportunities, I'd be happy to oblige (and write this trip off on taxes).

Blasto

The series finale of Captain Blaso is now online.

My cousin Christopher directed (and stars) in it. It's won awards at movie festivals and was officially selected at a bunch of places like the London Independent Film Festival 2008. I have no idea if that's impressive. I'm a poet. It all sounds like Poetry Hall of Fame to me. What I'm interested in is the film (and now web series). It's a good film/web series. You should watch it. Below is the trailer.

Two Big Announcements

Click on the picture of the fire fighter.


and

No Tell is so 2004!

This Week at No Tell

Erin Elizabeth Smith is okay with settling this week at No Tell Motel.

Hugh Behm-Steinberg Reading Schedule

11/12: Avol's Books in Madison, WI, 315 West Gorham St. 7:00 PM

11/14: Imaginary Press Reading Series, Minneapolis, MN, w/ Louise Mathias and David Dodd Lee. At DIAMONDS: 1618 Central Avenue NE. 7:30 PM.

New Scrambler

The November issue of The Scrambler is now online.

featuring: poetry by Nava Fader and Raymond Federman, a story by Shyner Nybok, photos by Barry Zevin and Lafayette Wattles, a movie review of The Visitor by Heather Craig, a book review of Thomas Friedman's Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Kristianne Huntsberger and our monthly Playlist of recommended listening compiled by Melanie Uyeda.

Collin Kelley on Rebecca Loudon's Cadaver Dogs.

Spooky Boyfriend #2

Available here

Featuring work by: Donora Hillard, Becca Sheehan, Nicole Cartwright Denison, Donald Illich, Gena Mowish, Peter Schwartz, Dan Nowak, Connor Tomas O'Brien, Russell Jaffe, Daniel Nester, Juliet Cook, Raffi Robert Kuireghian, Kyle Hemmings, Nicole Steinberg, Scott Abels, Susan Slaviero, Brian Foley, and Sharon Suzuki-Martinez.

Ok, I'm over my pumpkin bread hangover. Back to business.

Looks like I'll be taking Chris and Gideon to their first inauguration. Yay Virginia!

We're celebrating with pumpkin bread.

This morning we went to our parent-teacher conference which consisted mostly of an affirmation that Gideon doesn't eat too much paste. Then we went to vote. We were prepared for a long line, but our line was short, not even 10 minutes. We waited longer to see Gideon's teachers. We waited for an hour to vote four years ago when I was a thousand months pregnant and miserable to stand so long. Maybe we picked a good time (11:15 a.m.).

We had two voting options this year: electronic machines or paper ballots (which were then scanned, by a machine). Chris chose to vote via paper ballot because he works for Google and doesn't trust computers. I voted on the electronic machine because I'm a poet and believe in magic.

We finished up so quickly, we didn't know what to do with ourselves -- lunch at Google didn't start until noon, so Chris got his free cup of coffee at Starbucks and I got my bangs trimmed. Google served an election day strawberry shortcake. It was way too sweet, if you ask me.

It's the night before the election and we have a split household. That's right, Gideon is voting for SpongeBob -- on Wednesday, for that matter. Apparently SpongeBob is for the fire fighters and Obama is bad. Gideon is pretty insistent on that. I can't wait until this is all over and done with so we can be a family again. Passions are high at the Livingston-Morrow abode.

This Week at No Tell

Steven Karl is damn anthems! hands down! hands up! this week at No Tell Motel.

Gargoyle 53 Now Available

Poems by Reb Livingston, Dora Malech, Laurel Snyder, Carly Sachs, Peter Jay Shippy, Kim Roberts and many others


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LOCUSPOINT: Washington, DC, edited by Sandra Beasley

Poems by Derrick Weston Brown, Michael Gushue, Natalie E. Illum, E. Ethelbert Miller, Rod Smith, Maureen Thorson and Rosemary Winslow