I’ve been working on a new erasure poem. Erasure seems to be a very popular technique these days, and I wanted to see how far I could take it. So here’s Z:En, a erasure poem based on Friedrich Nietzsche’s Also sprach Zarathustra: Ein Buch fuer Alle und Keinen.
I wrote a poem in my head while in the shower, but then I forgot it. The memory of the poem’s brief existence is for sale for $5,000. You’re getting a bargain; I forget poems all the time, but I rarely put them up for sale.
Jessica Smith
My favorite thing about Z:En is–the whole book’s a palindrome.
At the beginning of Cocteau’s 1950 film Orpheus, Orpheus goes to the Poets’ Café, frequent site of brawls, where the Princess of Death publishes a book called Nudisme which Orpheus angrily finds is composed entirely of blank pages.
lol….hehehe….you had me going! but what a great idea …make journals! way cheaper with cool colors+
of course, one must scour a manuscript to find its ultimate meaning. shall mssrs. Klane & Golaski simply keep 200+ pages open (see Olson) for you in the next antho, madmoiselle Smith? you know that we would if but asked.
“Z:En” resolves your anxieties about reading, too. I’m sure Ron will be delighted.
looks good for seeing your reading on the 17th. I hope you’ll actually be there, and not just send along an empty dress.
this book changed my life..
@michael – haha!
@saraldutt – i only intend to be sarcastic, but i’m glad you find it delightful.
@ian – I remember another book of “blank verse” (hehe) too but I can’t recall what it was. Of course, Zen probably used different compositional methods than Nudisme…
@dusie – yep, you just have to trick Lulu into publishing blank pages.
@adam – oh, i’ll be there. and i will probably have some “real” poetry (not erased or virtual or forgotten) for you soon.
@kristy – i was debating last night whether i should get blurbs. yours would have been a good one.
I’m speechless
outta sight.
I guess the toenail shavings aren’t working out, huh?
Word verification brought to you by Geof Huth:
oohuu
Well, I guess the kind of people who want to collect parts of my body aren’t going to outright *say* so and pay for it. That would be a little shameless. There’s more in store for those bodyparts, though. Jest you wait.
Are you growing Jessica Smith hommunculi?
Is a hommunculi like a Golem? ‘Cuz that’s totally what I’m going for. A life-sized reproduction of myself made from my dead selves. (And I am this already all the time.)
jessica–real poetry for moi? how happy I will be. we’ve got a pretty good roster of submitters, but space is definately open for you, my dear. –A.
Adam, when’s the deadline?
Jessica–We plan to start reading our submissions in July–so there’s a month where no decisions will be made–why don’t you consider July 1 as deadline #1. If you miss that deadline, let’s try for July 15–a few days after boog–which if you go to, would be a fine place to hand off Flim submissions… Just keep me informed, friend Smith, and I’ll give you all the lee way I can. A.
Perhaps you are thinking of the blank pages in “A-22″