Thought Cuisine

To celebrate 50 years of Burning Deck Press

Thanksgiving 2011
Guest of Honor : Keith Waldrop and Rosmarie Waldrop

A Menu Poem

Thought Cuisine To celebrate 50 years of Burning Deck Press by Geoffrey Gatza Copyright 2011 Published by BlazeVOX [books] All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without the publishers written permission, except for brief quotations in reviews. Printed in the United States of America Book design by Geoffrey Gatza First Edition BlazeVOX [books] 76 Inwood Place Buffalo, NY 14209 Editor@blazevox.org

p ublisher of weird little books

BlazeVOX [ ebooks ]
blazevox.org
2 4 6 8 0 9 7 5 3 1

A Thanksgiving Dinner
Welcome: A small toast in honor of Keith and Rosmarie Trockenbeerenauslese with a sprig of Tarragon Literally, a selected harvest of dried berries, Trockenbeerenauslese is a sweet German wine that very sweet and tastes like honey. In the glass will be placed a sprig of tarragon for a twist in the taste. We will raise a glass to toast our dear friends. Hurray! Appetizers Fleischpflanzl Bavarian meat balls lightly topped with gravy and served with parsley string potatoes Leberkse Roasted Bavarian meatloaf topped with a fried egg and served with crispy potatoes Soup Rindergulasch Slow-cooked cubes of beef set in a paprika-spiced soup Pfannkuchensuppe Beef broth with slices of unsweetened Bavaria pancakes. Salad A Warm Autumn Medley Roast Quince, Beets, Tomatoes and crispy thyme mushrooms on a bed of curried potatoes

Dinner Jagerschnitzel a la Black Forest Veal Schnitzel with Spaetzle and Wild mushrooms sauted in white wine, then flamed with brandy Mnchner Sauerbraten A marinated, roasted beef boiled in a rich beef sauce decorated with a gastric of reduced vinegar and sugar Side Dishes Blaukraut -Red cabbage cooked with apple. Bratkartoffeln - Roasted potatoes with onion and caraway Reiberdatschi - Bavarian potato pancakes with applesauce Desserts Apfelstrudel Traditional Bavarian apple strudel served with vanilla ice cream Heisse Liebe Vanilla ice cream with hot raspberries and topped with whipped cream Pfannkuchen Fresh-baked thin pancakes filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with chocolate sauce and whipped cream Schwarzwlder Kirschtorte Black Forest Gateau is made with chocolate cake, whipped cream, sour cherries and Kirsch

Table of Contents
Thanksgiving Introduction ............................................................................ 6 Poetry, Poems, Bios & More ......................................................................... 10 Burning Deck at 50 .................................................................................... 16 Colonel Warburton's Madness ..................................................................... 17 Autumn Medley ......................................................................................... 22 Wilson, the notorious canary-trainer ............................................................ 24 Pumpkin Pie .............................................................................................. 26 Pomme Frite .............................................................................................. 27 Hybrids of the Kitchen ................................................................................ 29
Som e thoughts on Arom atics ............................................................................... 29 Som e recipes of O ils, Vinaigrettes, Syrups and Spices ............................................ 33

Or how I was kicked out of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery for carrying an umbrella ............... 39

Earnestly Being Important:

Whatever happened to Topsy Jane? .............................................................. 52 The most repellent man of my acquaintance is a philanthropist ........................ 54

Thanksgiving Introduction
Hurray! Its Thanksgiving once again, another November, another year gone by, and another time to feast with dear friends. This is the tenth Thanksgiving Menu-Poem and we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of Burning Deck Press by toasting the wonderful Keith and Rosmarie Waldrop. The contributions of all three entities: Burning Deck Press, Rosmarie Waldrop and Keith Waldrop on the world of poetry are many and too numerous to mention here but provided in the next section is a full biography with works, awards and links to many forums of discussions on their work. There is also a nice exhibition on Burning Deck Press at the John Hay library, even if it is now ten years old. So make like an egg and beat it on over there and make a day of it! Hurray! Burning Deck was set up 50 years ago as a home for experimental but it was not rooted in the academic, or a thing for scholars, but rather, something else. A balance of ideas was formed and a place for books that holds the traditional along side the highly experimental. A place for ideas to be worked out in poem and prose and considers itself free to open up the fragilities of being human in our errors and our successes. In the fifty years of Burning Deck, we find deep reality in a body of works that are special, insightful and purposeful. I have done my best to emulate what I imagine they did here at BlazeVOX. It is the chilled orange colorings of November that brings out the gratitude one can feel and share at a gathering of friends and family. It is a time of comforting and inward thankfulness that can be conveyed, together, among friends over a Thanksgiving table. It was this kind of welcoming I received in Providence earlier this year at the tribute reading held for Michael Gizzi. Michael was a kind friend and supporter. His passing was a horrible moment and his tribute would be a welcome moment. It was a joyful and somber thing to spend a moment with his friends, colleagues and family. The reading

was a kind, warm gathering on a very cold night. There were poems and music that managed to overcome those murky feelings that are summoned up at the thought of your missing friend. An it was in this spirit we moved, like penguins in the frozen Providence night to the warmth of the Waldrops home, a house that appears to be made up entirely of books. It was wonderful, like a visit to the home one always imagines the living arrangements of the lifelong literati might look like. A beautiful welcoming sense of the possible seems to reside with them. In their kind manner and indefinable, ageless sense of cool one cannot help but think how grand is life! This was not the first time I had envisioned myself living a modern romantic life as the Waldrops do. I had met both Keith and Rosmarie before in Buffalo. I was one of those nameless faces that swerve past them with wide-eyed gleams in awe of what they have accomplish as individuals, as artists, as poets, as translators and as publishers. Keith Waldrop was born in Kansas; and as he so politely puts it, he doesnt want to die in Kansas. He has been away for over fifty years and so we will not mention it any further. He now lives in Providence, an aptly named place for beloved poets to live. For me, the poems of Keith Waldrop may be the most beautiful expressions of humanity I have read that was created in my lifetime. In the experimental it is often hard to find oneself overwhelmed with emotion, to well up over some passing phrasing, that if expressed in another form might not provoke a similar response. Take Pound for example, I find myself enthralled by his words and essays, but never feel moved to tears. But Keiths work manages to find that spark of humanity in his gathering and shaping. Poems that are collages of other works, words, used as building blocks and shaped, not cut and paste projects; Keith carves out poetry in all of its ponderous beauty from the word that make up our collective memory. What are we but an amalgam the books we have read? I think a lot of the charm in his work comes from the smooth timber of his spoken voice. He speaks in warm tones that can deliver the most wonderful aspects of life, but can also pinpoint a chill right in the center of your being with a simple inflection. I would like to think we have might have worked together in an imaginary will of the cutting edge, however I may be mistaken. No one will correct me, so I will keep this memory, false or otherwise, tightly held to my heart.

This meal is not a traditional American Thanksgiving fare, but rather it is set in German cuisine, specifically dishes from the region where Rosmarie Waldrop was born, Kitzingen am Main. This is also where Keith and Rosmarie met, in Kitzingen, at her piano recital on Christmas 1954. There is a lovely story about the founding of Kitzingen am Main, which Rosmarie Waldrop uses in her work of fiction titled The Hanky Of Pippin's Daughter (Station Hill Press of Barrytown.) Kitzingen was founded when the Countess of Schwanberg, the daughter of Pippen the Short lost her jeweled scarf while standing on the ramparts of her castle. The castle was located high above the fertile section of the Main River Valley where Kitzingen now lies. The Countess promised to build a cloister on the spot where the scarf was found. When a shepherd named Kitz found the scarf, she kept her word and built a cloister that she called Kitzingen. Like the unnamed creator of Kitzingen, Rosmarie Waldrop is also a transcendent creator. We as poets and writers cannot understand ourselves with any special insight. However, the impenetrable walls of understanding that one cannot pass through seem strangely close within her work. With her use of the question within a poem, Rosmarie Waldrop can bring in an element that is not readily there. As Claude Levi Strauss points out, the scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, she is one who asks the right questions. Her poems ask questions and the reader is left with their own answers. And that response provokes a great many feelings within the reader or listener. A movement or transience or transformation of our frailties speak to our halfanimal, half-mindful, gendered self. Things that compliment and enrich a knowing of ones own inner being. We are left asking what is beyond our own body. And since we are moving beyond our own being for this meal, our dinner is to be held in Kitzingen, specifically at the crooked tower, the city's main landmark. The tower is built during the 13th century has a distinctive crooked

roof, that unfortunately leans. Another town story claims that the tower was built during a drought season, and workers used wine instead of water to make the mortar. This quick-fix solution would not allow the mortar to set properly and thus causing the top of the tower to lean. And if we can be anywhere in our imagination to hold this feast, why not here, in a leaning crooked tower for Burning Deck So Hurray! It has been my very great pleasure to create this menu poem and I hope you enjoy!

Rockets, Geoffrey :-)

Poetry, Poems, Bios & More

Keith Waldrop
Keith Waldrop is author of numerous collections of poetry and is the translator of The Selected Poems of Edmond Jabes, as well as works by Claude Royet-Journoud, Anne-Marie Albiach and Jean Grosjean. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and DAAD (Berlin). His titles include HEGEL'S FAMILY, THE OPPOSITE OF LETTING THE MIND WANDER: SELECTED POEMS AND A FEW SONGS, SHIPWRECK IN HAVEN: TRANSCENDENTAL STUDIES, The Balustrade, Light While There is Light, THE LOCALITY PRINCIPLE, ANALOGIES OF ESCAPE and HAUNT. He has twice been nominated for the National Book Award: for his first book of poetry, A Windmill Near Calvary (University of Michigan, 1968); and his most recent, Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy (University of California Press, 2009), which won. With his wife Rosmarie Waldrop he co-edits Burning Deck Press. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and teaches at Brown University. Keith Waldrop- Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More www.poets.org/kwald/ Keith Waldrop - The National Book Foundation www.nationalbook.org/nba2009_p_waldrop.html Keith Waldrop : The Poetry Foundation www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/keith-waldrop Keith Waldrop : Pennsound audio recordings of Keith Reading his work http://writing.upenn.edu/pennsound/x/Waldrop-K.html Rosmarie Waldrop Rosmarie Waldrop was born in Kitzingen am Main, Germany, on August 24, 1935. At the age of ten, she spent half a year acting with a traveling theater. She has studied at Wuerzburg, Freiburg, Aix-Marseille and Michigan Universities, earning her Ph.D. in 1966. She has lived in the United States since 1958. Waldrop began publishing her poetry in English in the late 1960s and since 1968 has been co-editor and publisher of Burning Deck Press with her husband, the poet and translator Keith Waldrop. The pair met in 1954 while he was stationed in Kitzingen after the Second World War. She is now the author of more than three dozen books of poetry, fiction, and criticism, most

recently her trilogy Curves to the Apple: The Reproduction of Profiles, Lawn of Excluded Middle, Reluctant Gravities (New Directions, 2006), and a collection of essays, Dissonance (University of Alabama Press, 2005). Her other poetry titles include Splitting Image (2006), Blindsight (2004), Love, Like Pronouns (2003), Well Well Reality (1998, with Keith Waldrop), Reluctant Gravities (1999), Split Infinites (1998), Another Language: Selected Poems (1997), A Key Into the Language of America (1994), Lawn of the Excluded Middle (1993), Peculiar Motions (1990), Shorter American Memory (1988), The Reproduction of Profiles (1987), Streets Enough to Welcome Snow (1986), Differences for Four Hands (1984), Nothing Has Changed (1981), When They Have Senses (1980), The Road Is Everywhere or Stop This Body (1978), and The Aggressive Ways of the Casual Stranger (1972). In the early 1970s, she spent a year in Paris, where she met several leading avant garde French poets, including Claude Royet-Journoud, Anne-Marie Albiach, and Edmond Jabes. These writers not only influenced Waldrop's work greatly, but worked with her as she became one of the main translators of their work into English, with Burning Deck acting as a major vehicle in introducing their work to an English-language readership. She has since translated more than twenty books, including works by Paul Celan, Elke Erb, Joseph Guglielmi, Emmanuel Hocquard, Friederike Mayroecker, Jacques Roubaud, and Alain Veinstein. She received the Harold Morton Landon Translation Award for her 1993 rendering of The Book of Margins by Edmond Jabes. About her work, the poet Diane Wakoski has said, "Rosmarie Waldrop writes the poetry of everyday life and asks her reader to look beyond it, not by dazzling you with spectacular images or fancy metaphors but by simply quietly invoking you to look, listen, reflect." Waldrop's honors include the Rhode Island Governor's Arts Award, the PEN/Book-of-the-Month-Club Citation for Translation, a Translation Center Award, and Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts in Poetry and Translation. She has taught at Wesleyan University and, as occasional visitor, at Tufts and Brown. She currently lives in Providence, Rhode Island. Rosmarie Waldrop- Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More www.poets.org/rwald Rosmarie Waldrop : The Poetry Foundation www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/rosmarie-waldrop Rosmarie Waldrop http://writing.upenn.edu/pennsound/x/Waldrop.php Rosmarie and Keith Waldrop: Kelly Writers House Reading and New Close Listening Programs Marjorie Perloff Rosmarie Waldrop's Auto-Graphs http://marjorieperloff.com/articles/waldrop-auto-graphs/

Burning Deck Press

http://www.burningdeck.com/ 71 Elmgrove Ave. Providence, RI 02906 The John Hay Library Archive of Burning Deck Press http://library.brown.edu/collatoz/info.php?id=39
Burning Deck is the small press operated by Keith and Rosmarie Waldrop. Since 1961 it has published limited editions of the works of contemporary poets and fiction writers. The archive of Burning Deck consists of financial records, correspondence with contributors, galleys, typescripts, and art work representing forty years of literary publication. The Library also holds a complete collection of Burning Deck imprints, mostly in the Harris Collection. Format(s): Books, Serials, Pamphlets, Graphics, Letters, Documents Library: John Hay Contact(s): Rosemary_Cullen@brown.edu Access to the collection: Online Catalog (JOSIAH): Individual records for most printed materials available on JOSIAH Other Online Access: Exhibit: 40 Years of Burning Deck Press Forty Years of Burning Deck Press 1961 - 2001 an exhibit of materials from the Burning Deck Archive and the Harris Collection of American Poetry and Plays Brown University Library

Thought Cuisine
To celebrate 50 years of Burning Deck Press

Welcome:
A small toast in honor of Keith and Rosmarie Trockenbeerenauslese with a sprig of Tarragon Literally, a selected harvest of dried berries, Trockenbeerenauslese is a sweet German wine that very sweet and tastes like honey. In the glass will be placed a sprig of tarragon for a twist in the taste. We will raise a glass to toast our dear friends. Hurray!

Burning Deck at 50
It is not a gift, but a drifting thing a lost object on the seas. Together found, floating; life is a blazing fire The fires within ourselves, empty spaces inside of our bodies. Life is a blazing fire; we feed that fire With love, with birth, with wishes as We breathe; take food into our mouth as a vegetable sacrifice to stoke, resound as a form of worship, a form of joy, a clicking clock. But, what is time in the face of death? All books are the perfect sage of nirvana; inside of our bodies, life is a blazing fire.

Colonel Warburton's Madness

light burst forth from the empty house! Holmes conquered death and was risen to new life. Just as he died a physical death loving obedience to the Father's will mysteries rave. The most peculiar personal opportunities arise after I turn off the back-lit mirror. yes? The dates are all off you just dont understand that Watson is supposed to be the flawed interpreter of Holmes. A walk of half a mile or so across a wind-swept heath acting as his chronicler told from the ceiling of 221B watching events happen before our eyes is not as fun as and performs his only selfish deed we might as well just live for ourselves because the grave is truly our final resting place. The Scriptures teach that salvation comes through death; we too can live again. The reality of the resurrection is what prompted St. Augustine to declare, We are to be pitied more than all men... In other respects Holmes is a completely original creation based on his relationship with a manic roommate.

Appetizers
Fleischpflanzl Bavarian meat balls lightly topped with gravy and served with parsley string potatoes Leberkse Roasted Bavarian meatloaf topped with a fried egg and served with crispy potatoes

Thought Cuisine:
Food translations of Robert Musils Man Without Qualities

a. We have established that respectable people are deeply attracted to cuisine, though of course only in their imagination. We might add that gourmets, to hear them talk, would almost without exception like to be regarded as respectable people. So we might arrive at a definition: Cuisine is the concentrated form, within sinners, of everything other people work off in little irregularities, in their imagination and in innumerable petty everyday acts and attitudes of spite and viciousness. We could also say: Cuisine is in the air and simply seeks the path of least resistance, which leads them to certain individuals. We could even say that while they are the acts of individuals who are incapable of behaving morally, in the main they're the condensed expression of some kind of general human maladjustment where the distinction between good and evil is concerned. This is what has imbued us from our youth with the critical spirit our contemporaries have never been able to get beyond!

[page 1041]

b. Most of us may not believe in the story of a Devil to whom one can sell one's soul, but those who must know something about the soul (considering that as clergymen, historians, and artists they draw a good income from it) all testify that the soul has been destroyed by cooking and that cooking is the source of an evil intelligence that while making man the lord of the earth has also made him the slave of his kitchens. The inner drought, the dreadful blend of acuity in matters of detail and indifference toward the whole, man's monstrous abandonment in a desert of details, his restlessness, malice, unsurpassed callousness, money-grubbing, coldness, and violence, all so characteristic of our times, are by these accounts solely the consequence of damage done to the soul by keen logical thinking! Even back when Brillat-Savarin first turned to food for philosophy there were already those who predicted the collapse of European civilization because no human faith, no love, no simplicity, no goodness, dwelt any longer in man. These people had all, typically, been poor restaurateurs as young people and at school. This later put them in a position to prove that cuisine, the mother of natural science and grandmother of the culinary arts, was also the primordial mother of the spirit that eventually gave rise to poison soup and liquor. The only people who actually lived in ignorance of these dangers were the chefs themselves and their disciples the scientists, whose souls were as unaffected by all this as if they were racing cyclists pedaling away for dear life, blind to everything in the world except the black wheel of the rider in front of them. But one thing, on the other hand, could safely be said about Brillat-Savarin: he loved to eat because of the many kinds of people who could not endure it. He was in love with food not so much on sustaining life as one would on human grounds. He saw that in all the problems that come within its orbit, a chef thinks differently from the one who is eating. If we translate "haute cuisine" into "view of life," "meal" into "attempt," and "meat" into "action," then there would be no notable chef or gourmand whose life's work, in courage and revolutionary impact, did not far outmatch the greatest deeds of history. The man has not yet been born who could say to his followers: "You may steal, kill, fornicate - our teaching is so strong that it will transform the cesspool of your sins into clear, sparkling champagne." But in cuisine every few years something new develops in error and suddenly revolutionizes the field, or that some dim and disdained idea becomes the ruler of a new realm of thought. Such events are not merely upheavals but lead us upward like a Jacob's ladder. The life of a gourmet is as strong and carefree and glorious as a fairy tale. And BrillatSavarin felt: People simply don't realize it, they have no idea how much thinking can be done already; if they could be taught to think a new way, they would change their lives.

[pages 36-37]

Salad A Warm Autumn Medley of Roast Quince, Beets, Tomatoes and crispy thyme mushrooms on a

bed of curried potatoes

Autumn Medley
Roasted Red Quince 4 Quince 2 Cup Vanilla Sugar 1 Cup water 1 Teaspoon cloves 4 Cardamom pods 1 cinnamon stick 1 Tablespoon lemon juice 2 Apples Peel and quarter a ripe green quince. Using a paring knife, carefully remove the seeds and stem. Quinces are a very firm fruit, so please take care not to slip with the knife. Do not throw away the peelings as we will use them in the next step. In a saucepan combine the sugar, water, spices and lemon and bring to a boil. Add in the quince quarters and return to a boil. Turn off and let the fruit and syrup cool down. Place the quince quarters with the liquid in a buttered baking dish. Peel and grate the apple with a box grater and place the grated apple on top of quince halves. By doing this, the apple will protect the quince in the hot over and will not dry out and discolor. Place the baking dish in a 275F oven for forty minutes.

Roast Beets There are many ways to cook a beet, but roasting is very simple, not messy and the end result is delicious. Simply take the red or yellow beet and give it a good wash. Trim off the root end, leaving the skin on, place in a large bowl. Toss with garlic oil, salt, black pepper and nutmeg and place on a baking sheet. Place into a 425-degree oven and roast until they are soft on the inside. To test this is the same as testing a baked potato by piercing the beet with a fork and if it is soft inside, it is done. Be sure that the larger beets are cooked all the way through, if they are not itll be a colorful mess, as the raw beet will turn black and taste awful. So be sure your beets are cooked all the way through. When done, let them cool on their sheet pan. Peel the beets with a paring knife and cut into large slices or a large cubes.

Crispy Thyme Mushrooms Mushrooms are very easy to cook, but often, if not cooked properly they can be mushy, soft and can ruin a fine meal. To cook them properly, you need a saut pan with a good amount of olive oil set at high heat. When the oil begins to smoke, add in your sliced or whole mushrooms. Let them sit so they can caramelize, there are a lot of sugars in mushrooms, and if you let them, they will get crispy. Some mushrooms absorb oil while cooking so be sure to have enough oil so they cook and not simply burn in the pan. Add fresh chopped thyme, salt, black pepper and nutmeg. Toss the mushroom a bit so all sides cook evenly. When done, place on a sheet pan lined with paper towels. When they cool, they will release the oil they took in while cooking. Let this pool on the pan with the brown mushroom juices and save for a later use. This is really great tasting oil now and will be great for the vinaigrette or for use in a couscous. When the mushrooms cool, set until ready to use. Roast Tomatoes Preheat an oven to 250 degrees. Place roasting rack on top of a sheet pan. Take your tomatoes, remove the stem end and slice in half. Set the tomato halves, skin side down, on the rack. Brush with garlic oil, or plain olive oil and season with salt, black pepper and fresh thyme. Place the tomatoes in the oven and roast slowly for four hours. When done remove from the oven and set aside for use. Curried Potato Take two pounds of red potatoes and give them a good wash. Place in a pot and cover with salted water. Boil the potatoes until they are soft. To test this, pierce the potato with a fork and if it is soft inside, it is done. Drain the potatoes and let cool down for at least two hours. When the potatoes are cool, leave the skin on and cut them into small pieces. Heat a saut pan and place in three or four ounces of butter and while it is melting add in two tablespoons of madras curry powder and two teaspoons of garam masala. Let the spices cook in the butter and when they are toasted add in the potatoes. Let the potatoes cool in the spices and butter until golden and crispy. Add in two cups of fresh or frozen peas and let them slowly cook together and remove from heat. Let this cool on a baking sheet. Add in one cup of caramelized onions. Toss this mix together and add fresh chopped mint, coriander, salt, black pepper and nutmeg. Cover this dish fresh squeezed lemon juice and one cup of ginger syrup, add more if desired.

To finish the dish, place each of the above items, in their own colorful section of a larger serving plate, in other words, do not toss together. Drizzle with Ginger Syrup and fresh ground black pepper.

Wilson, the notorious canary-trainer

One chair lying on its back in the centre. We are an grotesque people an ugly face twisted like a lost soul in torment described by Holmes as the Napoleon of Crime T. S. Eliot would later use the same phrase though he is largely forgotten, His name lives on because of Sherlock Holmes. And you know that must piss him off Perhaps the scent is not so cold but that two old hounds like Watson and myself may get a sniff of it. In this early stage I want you to realize these geographical features test-tubes and retorts. In the corners stood carboys of acid in wicker baskets. as mutes or audience to this act he took cocaine a picture of the 'Sea Unicorn' and that ghastly benediction Away from my Grandmothers eyes As she greeted passing guests at his funeral. Like a switch of papers out of a scene in The Second Stain for a stream of dark-coloured liquid had trickled out from it.

Soup
Rindergulasch Slow-cooked cubes of beef set in a paprika-spiced soup Pfannkuchensuppe Beef broth with slices of unsweetened Bavaria pancakes.

Pumpkin Pie
I entered into a pumpkin pie contest a few years ago. I lost because of politics and aesthetics. My pie was a conceptual pumpkin pie; it had a crust made up of honey gingered pumpkin slices cut into the shape of the word pumpkin. Over and over again the word pumpkin went into every bite and in every mouthful was a reversal of thought and speech. The word itself inhaled with whipped cream rather than spoken on the cold October air. There was little support for the pie and I lost the contest. It did not taste like thanksgiving; an old woman jeered at me. What is wrong with you, an old man said holding onto a young girl who was crying relentlessly. I never entered another contest and plan to eat my pies in my own home. In my own private pumpkin patch with my own pumpkins and my pumpkin blog and a bowl of pumpkin seeds and I will eat to my fill. There is no other message to believe in, nothing other than my pumpkins and my pumpkins shall prevail if only in my own imaginary nation deep within my super-secret illusionland of Pumpkinvillia. There I shall dwell for hours alone with my cats and a blanket, indulging in my reverse words and idea. This is my pie, not yours. This is my pumpkin, I shall not want.

Pomme Frite
Twenty-seven years ago he had a May to June romance with the local Ronald McDonald. The delightful incompetence of young love, unveiled cartoons and hand rolled cigarettes failed him, and now that he can remember, cartoons have always been deceivers. He has never quite found love exerted in a quarter pounder with cheese sandwich with that same soft ice cream vigor. It was the way the make-up caught the red drips of ketchup and the marigold tendrils of yellow mustard that made him jump up from that dimensionless space of educator to lover. How an apple is so very sweet, the light rounds his paste colored eyes, the red lips, a beacon of grease beckoning, visit his newly remodeled playground. He ate a hundred thousand times at store #1749 in empty paper cup hopes that he might, one day, return and treat him one more time to a happy meal. Cold attestations of corn syrup, open tubs of sliced green pickles, and the ever-grand golden cow formed into milkshakes and cell phones that tweet out the intendance of assignations. Back then one could only call out to the fields of long grass, or scream to the blond brick walls for the never emergent grown ups. A dusty man arrives to close up with his silver mop and an instinctive white bucket.

Dinner
Jagerschnitzel a la Black Forest Veal Schnitzel with Spaetzle and Wild mushrooms sauted in white wine, then flamed with brandy Mnchner Sauerbraten A marinated, roasted beef boiled in a rich beef sauce decorated with a sour gastric of reduced vinegar

Hybrids of the Kitchen

Some thoughts on Aromatics

Onions
Onions are simply wonderful. They provide the richest flavor and is the base for your dish. The onion can be used in many ways to provide a wide variety of tastes. There are many kinds of onions available at the market from the spicy Spanish onions to the very sweet Maui onions. Depending on the dish and your personal tastes will be the deciding factors on which onion you will use. Here is a basic run through on the onions used in these recipes. Roast Onions This deceptively simple dish may be the best way to cook onions. It is easy and the slow coking process makes the onions develop a real roundness in flavor. To roast an onion simply cut it lengthways in half. Leave the skin and the root ends on; really. This will protect the onion while it cooks. Place the onion halves in a large bowl and drizzle on olive oil and season with salt, pepper and fresh ground nutmeg. Place the flat side of the onion on a non-stick baking sheet, or tinfoil-lined pan and roast in a 450-degree oven for a half hour. When done remove from the over and let cool down. When cool, remove the skin from the onion and with a paring knife remove the root ends of the onion and discard. Chop the onions into large and reserve for use in whatever dish they are called Grilled Red Onions Peel the skin off of the onion and discard. Cut one inch thick slices of the red onion lengthwise and place them onto a sheet pan. Brush with olive oil season with salt, white pepper, brown sugar and fresh ground nutmeg. Let them sit for ten minutes before placing the slices onto a very hot, clean grill. Let them cook on the one side until nice grill marks appear, then flip to the other side. Place them back onto the sheet pan. The onions are not done yet, but will require ten or fifteen minutes of extra cooking time in the oven. Brush with honey and roast in a 450-degree oven until they are fully cooked. Remove from oven and let them cool done. Pull apart the rings of the red onions and reserve for use in whatever dish they are called.

Caramelized Onions It is best to use a sweet onion for caramelized onions as it is the sugars that are cooking to form the dark color. Use Maui sweet onions or Georgia Vidalia onions for best results and flavor. To begin, peel the skin off of three sweet onions and discard. Cut onions in half and remove the stem. Slice in long strips from top to bottom of the onion. Place in a bowl until ready for the stove. Heat a saut pan with clarified butter and when hot, add in the onions. Toss them in the butter and then let them sit in the heat without moving them very much. This will ensure that they begin to caramelize. Stir them around after a few minutes. When they are almost finished, add in a dash of Worcestershire sauce, one-tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, onetablespoon of honey and one-tablespoon of Dijon mustard. Season the dish with salt, pepper and fresh ground nutmeg. Let this mixture cook down. Remove from the heat and let cool down and refrigerate until ready to use. Chianti Onions This dish consists of sweet onions braised in Chianti wine. They are sauted first then red wine is added and reduced to a thick syrup. They will become bright red, soaking in the wine and its entire grand flavor. It is best to use a sweet onion for Chianti onions, as it is the sugars that are cooking to form the dark color. Use Maui sweet onions or Georgia Vidalia onions for best results and flavor. To begin, peel the skin off of three sweet onions and discard. Cut onions in half and remove the stem. Slice in long strips from top to bottom of the onion. Place in a bowl until ready for the stove. Heat a saut pan with olive oil and when hot, add in the onions. Toss them in the butter and then let them sit in the heat without moving them very much. This will ensure that they begin to caramelize. Stir them around after a few minutes. When they are almost finished, add in three cups of chianti wine. Season the dish with salt, pepper and fresh ground nutmeg. Let this mixture cook down. Remove from the heat and let cool down and refrigerate until ready to use. Balsamic Onions This dish is similar to Chianti onions only one uses balsamic vinegar rather than wine. This will be a very dark color, almost black, as the vinegar. There is honey added to make a sweet and sour flavor that is hard to resist. As above, is best to use a sweet onion for caramelized onions as it is the sugars that are cooking to form the dark color. Use Maui sweet onions or Georgia Vidalia onions for best results and flavor. To begin, peel the skin off of three sweet onions and discard. Cut onions in half and remove the stem. Slice in long strips from top to bottom of the onion. Place in a bowl until ready for the stove. Heat a saut pan with clarified butter and when hot, add in the onions. Toss them in the butter and then let them sit in the heat without moving them very much. This will ensure that they begin to caramelize. Stir them around after a few minutes. When they are almost finished, add in a two cups of balsamic vinegar, cup of basswood honey, or other flavorful honey at hand, and one-tablespoon of Dijon mustard. Season the dish with salt, pepper and fresh ground nutmeg. Let this mixture cook down. Remove from the heat and let cool down and refrigerate until ready to use.

Sauted or Sweated Onions It is best to use a Spanish onions for sauted onions as they are more savory and produce a strong onion flavor that does well in this short and fast cooking. These onions have a warmth or a kind of directness to them so they are cooked on high heat for a short period of time until they just turn translucent. To begin, peel the skin off of three Spanish onions and discard. Cut onions in half and remove the stem. Slice in long strips from top to bottom of the onion. Place in a bowl until ready for the stove. Heat a saut pan with grape seed oil and when hot, add in the onions. Move them around a lot and when translucent, season with salt, black pepper and fresh ground nutmeg. Remove from the heat and let cool down and refrigerate until ready to use. Scallions Prepare the scallion for cooking: Cut off the brushy root ends of the scallions and give them a good washing. Cut off the top inch of the scallions. Peel the skin off of the scallion with a paper towel and discard. Sliced Scallions Using a sharp chefs knife so as to not bruise the scallions; cut them lengthwise in very thin slices; be sure to use both the white and green parts, as both are delicious. Chopped Scallions Using a sharp chefs knife so as to not bruise the scallions; cut them lengthwise in very thin slices; be sure to use both the white and green parts. Gather the scallions and continue to chop them until they are chopped very fine. Grilled Scallions Take the whole scallion and brush with olive oil; season with salt, black pepper. Place the scallions onto a very hot, clean grill. Let them cook on the one side until nice grill marks appear, then flip to the other side. Place them back onto the sheet pan and let them cool down and reserve for use in whatever dish they are called.

Chives Chives are long, thin and just beautiful. In most cases you will want to use the chive raw, so be sure to wash them and dry them with care. Using a sharp chefs knife cut the chives to the size desired, either small chopped pieces or inch long sticks. You can also use them as a wonderful garnish as is. The lithe green will make any buffet dish stand out.

Pan Roasted Chipolini Onions Chipolini onions are small onions similar to pearl onions, but these are more flat and squat than pearl onions. They are very sweet and match well with honey and balsamic vinegars. To peel the onions, heat them in a hot oven for a few minutes, this will make the skin blister a bit and the steam will loosen the skin. This makes for easy work. Take a paring knife and carefully remove the stem. To pan roast the chipolini onions, heat a saut pan with clarified butter and when hot, add in the onions. Toss them in the butter and then let them sit in the heat without moving them very much. This will ensure that they begin to caramelize. Stir them around after a few minutes. When they are almost finished, add in some balsamic vinegar, honey and season with salt, pepper and fresh ground nutmeg. Let this mixture cook down until syrupy. Remove from the heat and let cool down and refrigerate until ready to use. Leeks Leeks have a very sophisticated onion flavor and set the entire tone of anything one can pair with it. They are grown in sandy areas and must be given an extra good washing before serving or risk getting grit into your dinner. There is a trick to washing leeks, and trick lies in the fact that leeks float. To begin with, take your leeks and trim off the tops and bottom roots. Slice the whole leek into half lengthwise. Flip the leek half onto the flat side and cut half moon slices that are a half-inch wide. Place a pot of sated water on the stove and get it ready to blanch the leeks. But while it heating to a boil, take the leeks and place them in a deep bowl and cover with cold water. Let them soak for a good while and poke them to remove any sand that may still remain. The sand will sink tot the bottom of the bowl while the leeks, now clean float on the top of the water. Carefully pull the clean leeks into another bowl making sure not to disturb the sand in the bottom of the water. Take the clean leeks to the boiling salted water. Place them in and give a good stir to make sure they all are covered. Let them cook for two minutes and drain into a colander and quickly place them into ice water to stop the cooking process and cool them down rapidly. This will give you a bright green color to the leeks. Drain from the ice water and be sure to squeeze out all of the water. Place them on a paper towel to further dry them out. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Pan Roast Fennel Fennel is one of my favorite aromatic vegetables. The fresh snap of the licorice and the light delicate leaves of the herblike tops make for one of the most versatile of flavorings. This dish uses the fennel, cut in strips and then lightly caramelized. Take the fennel and remove the stalks from the top. Set aside and cut off the fluffy herb top and chop finely. Save for later use in a different dish when called for. Return to the fennel and cut it in quarters. The root is large in the fennel so carefully remove it with a diagonal cut. Cut the fennel into strips and set in a bowl. To pan roast the fennel, heat a saut pan with clarified butter and when hot, add in the onions. Toss them in the butter and then let them sit in the heat without moving them very much. This will ensure that they begin to caramelize. Stir them around after a few minutes. When they are almost finished, add in 1 Tablespoon of sugar and season with salt, pepper and fresh ground nutmeg. Let this mixture cook down until the sugars caramelize and a slight syrup has developed. Remove from the heat and let cool down and refrigerate until ready to use.

Some recipes of Oils, Vinaigrettes, Syrups and Spices

Garlic Oil Cut two whole bunches of garlic in half lengthwise, leaving the skin on. Heat up 2 cups of good olive oil to 175 degrees and place the garlic into the warm oil. Take off the heat and cover the pot with plastic wrap. Let the oil sit over night for the best flavor. Strain the oil but reserve the garlic and refrigerate until ready to use. Keep the garlic and separate the cloves from the skin; throw away the skin and use the cloves, as you would roast garlic. Rosemary Oil Heat up 2 cups of good olive oil to 175 degrees and place a bunch of fresh rosemary into the warm oil. Take off the heat and cover the pot with plastic wrap. Let the oil sit over night for the best flavor. Strain the oil and refrigerate until ready to use. Basil Oil Take 2 cups of good olive oil and put it in a blender or food processor with 1 cup of fresh basil leaves with the stems removed. Pulse until soothe. Add salt and pepper and lemon zest and let sit overnight in a refrigerator. Do not strain the oil as the basil will add color but also great flavor to your dish.

Parsley Pesto 1 cup good olive oil 1 Cup Flat Italian Parsley with the stems removed Cup toasted walnuts Cup good grated Romano cheese Put all ingredients into a blender or food processor and pulse until soothe. Add salt and pepper and lemon zest and let sit overnight in a refrigerator. Ginger Syrup 1 cups of sugar 2 Ounces ginger cup white wine Do not peel the ginger, but roughly cut into 1-inch pieces. Cut smaller if you prefer a hotter ginger flavor. Put into a saucepan and mix with the sugar and white wine and bring to a boil. Cook for a half an hour on low heat until it becomes a nice syrup. Strain out the ginger and let the syrup cool. Refrigerate until ready to use. Vanilla Syrup 1 Cup Sugar 1 Cup Water Teaspoon Salt Juice of one lemon one vanilla bean Combine the sugar, water, salt, lemon and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and let simmer for fifteen minutes. Take out the vanilla bean and set aside; you can place this bean in your sugar container to make a nice vanilla sugar. Garlic Basil Oil 1 Cup Garlic Oil 1 Cup Basil Oil Mix both oils together and let rest before serving so flavors can mingle.

Balsamic Vinaigrette 1 Cup Garlic Oil Cup Balsamic Vinegar 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard 1 Tablespoon Roast Garlic 1 Teaspoon Geoffrey Grill Spice 1 Teaspoon Basswood Honey Whisk together all ingredients until an emulsion is formed. Refrigerate until ready to use. Parsley Vinaigrette 1 Cup Lemon Vinagrette Cup Parsley Pesto Mix the pesto and the vinagrette together and let rest before serving so flavors can mingle. basil syrup 1 Cup Sugar 1 Cup Water Teaspoon Salt Juice of one lemon 1 Cup Basil 1 Teaspoon Whole Peppercorns Combine the sugar, water, salt and lemon in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and let simmer for fifteen minutes. Cool down the syrup and pulse in a food processor with the basil and peppercorns. Let sit overnight. Lemon Vinaigrette 1 cup good olive oil Cup lemon juice 1 Tablespoon Lemon zest 1 Teaspoon Geoffrey Grill Spice Whisk together all ingredients until an emulsion is formed. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette 1 cup good olive oil Cup lemon juice Cup Roasted Garlic 1 Tablespoon Lemon zest 1 Teaspoon Geoffrey Grill Spice Whisk together all ingredients until an emulsion is formed. Refrigerate until ready to use. Mustard Vinaigrette 1 Cup Garlic Oil Cup White Wine Vinegar Cup Dijon Mustard or 1 Tablespoon grain mustard 1 Tablespoon Roast Garlic 1 Teaspoon Geoffrey Grill Spice Whisk together all ingredients until an emulsion is formed. Refrigerate until ready to use. Tagine Spices 1 Tablespoon turmeric 1 Tablespoon ground coriander 1 Tablespoon ground ginger 1 Tablespoon ground cumin 1 Tablespoon black pepper 1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 Teaspoon dried Lavender Place all spices into a small mixing bowl and store in an airtight tin until needed.

Savory Cinnamon Spice 2 Tablespoon paprika 1 Tablespoon granulated garlic 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon 2 Tablespoon chili powder 2 Tablespoon ground coriander 1 Tablespoon black pepper 2 Tablespoon ground cumin Tablespoon Cayenne Pepper 1 Tablespoon salt 1 Tablespoon brown sugar 1 Tablespoon Place all spices into a small mixing bowl and store in an airtight tin until needed. Geoffreys Grill Spice 2 Tablespoon Hungarian paprika 2 Tablespoon dark chili powder 1 Tablespoon ground cumin 1 Tablespoon ground coriander 1 Tablespoon salt 1 Tablespoon black pepper 1 Tablespoon English dry mustard

Place all spices into a small mixing bowl and store in an airtight tin until needed.

Side Dishes
Blaukraut -Red cabbage cooked with apple. Bratkartoffeln - Roasted potatoes with onion and caraway Reiberdatschi - Bavarian potato pancakes with applesauce

Earnestly Being Important:

Or how I was kicked out of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery for carrying an umbrella

It is unlucky To carry an umbrella In the museum

There is a taste in my mouth and it's no taste at all

part one - an epistolary poem
She's so swishy in her satin and tat In her frock coat and bipperty-bopperty hat Oh God, I could do better than that

David Bowie, Queen Bitch

I am writing to tell you about an unpleasant incident that happened at the Albright-Knox last week Thursday about 3PM. It had threatened rain that day And for my walk over I carried an umbrella. I had been enjoying my visit and after an hour, in front of the art piece the title escapes me just now, the skin tone portraits of the board of directors, I was asked to leave the gallery By a security guard Simply for carrying an umbrella. In disbelief, I left without incident. I felt hurt, embarrassed, and humiliated by this heavy-handed tactic and I believe this might have been handled differently. I have been going to the Albright Knox all on my life I have always found the joys of inspiration within your walls, I am afraid that this incident will forever tarnish this shine. I have dedicated my life to art and to treat a fellow artist in this shabby a fashion is unworthy of your gallery. I am a poet and the executive at BlazeVOX, a small poetry press located in Buffalo I say this as I was at the gallery to look at artwork from one of our authors, Michael Basinski, whose new book is currently in production. I mention these items as it locates me in a favorable way towards art and art galleries and that I had a genuine reason to be in the gallery. I am not a hooligan nor am I unkind towards rules that bar one from carrying outdoor items inside.

I was never told when I entered and paid for my ticket, conversed with front desk attendant; the gift shop staff about a bow tie, walked past several AK employees and other less agile security guards, that I might get thrown out of the art gallery for carrying my umbrella. I saw no signs that said one would be removed from the premises for such an infraction. Furthermore, I do believe that instead of being ejected, one might have pointed to a place like a coat rack where one might be able to leave outdoor items. I am sure that this is not too much to ask, as weather in Buffalo does tend to happen. And since there was no form of appeal to this unilateral decision I was left to walk home with hurt feelings, which will manifest in my decisions when it comes to making future donations. In the end I am left feeling rather hurt by all of this. I wanted to convey this to you and hope that you might be able to find a way to ensure better customer service for art patrons, especially ones who live so close to the gallery. If this is how you will treat me and I support the arts and your gallery, I am left wondering how this would come off to someone who marginally likes art and came to the gallery for a yearly day trip. We both know that customer service is key to a successful enterprise and why I am taking time to inform you of my unpleasant day.

Alright I know

Why didn't I say, why didn't I say, no, no, no

part two oh god, I could do better than that

My out-of-focus image is reflecting back to me in the glass of an open, empty, vestibule. The self appears ghostly a figure entering the building, when in fact, it is leaving. A mirror image of old fashioned irony, acting oppositely, the reverse of what one expects to be doing at that moment. The person one thinks, imagines that they are, might be, the courageous mental avatar swimming in thought fluids of artistic possibilities and permutations that await them inside this beautiful gallery, enters. Instead you are leaving. Formally asked to leave by security for carrying an umbrella. It's all so very surreal, it's outdated by at least ninety years. Finally, the artwork is no longer the provocateur against Those who seek to secure our surrounding from ourselves. The poet again is an enemy, expelled in a comedy of manners. I have always lived more boldly than I should, given my resources. I am more fond of my life than anyone else around me, however, In my insignificance I sat on the steps of the gallery and looked out on the reflecting pond, contemplating the compartments of good governance and evenhanded uses of power and how they are prized above the arts, above literature, above personal propriety, above a paying customer. How I long for basic customer services in the arts world, a swipe of normal consumerisms where a patron is a customer and owns

the buying power that a ticket should provide. An art gallery could contain a public space of observations on being, lived out demonstrations the greater abilities, energies and emotions of all humankind in one structure that was for and by the community. And in almost every occasion it is. Instantly I am five years old again and unimpressed by the Warhol soup cans. To me it represented a poorly conceived lunch; and besides, I was a beef and barley kind of child and the painting depicted tomato, This reminded me of my grandmother but we never ate tomato soup Together. In this shadow memory I feel an awful shame well over. I remember being frightened by the evil walking flower sculpture, And to this day, still, I wish I could walk into the Marvelous Sauce. I remember sliding along infinity in short socks in the mirror-room. Hidden away, yet in full view of all magnificence reflected outwards. Over and over and over the hollow chair and mirrored stick table Sits suspending in the ice green-tinged glassed silver presence. A perpetual now encasing trapped excited light in neverworlds In a system that appears able to perceive itself into existence. Art that can surround ones being in totality and isolate, remove The surroundings of the lower-than-life everydayness, in a box Segregated, side by side with and within the pulsing emptiness Hand that dangles the far away laughter carrot of art; That shadow hiding within the object setting this piece Apart from a cotton candy carnivals amusement tent. This is the modern pleasure experience, the immersion In totality, within the piece, set alone, with others As a shared solitary experience floating, as a victim Of deprivation to reach out toward the thousand

Images of your cubed reflection, reaching out for Understanding of why we are here, in this moment. I could see things I didnt want you to be able to see. What did you think of when you saw my flawed face? You can see my embarrassments over and over again As much as I want to change the man in this cage I hold my hands over my belly, in hopes you will not notice how much change my body has endured. You look no younger yourself, your cragged body appears As I appear to you, damaged, gilded, crowned in failure. In the memory, the mind moves moments to suit the needs of the memory. At once I am younger than I care to remember the next it is five years ago. Waiting to meet John Ashbery and hear him read his poems in the galleries auditorium. I spilled a glass of red wine down the front of my red shirt And went outside to feel less awkward and damp than I did. In those solitary moments, I smelled the floral late summer air And felt happy about art and poetry. The artists and scholars And their endlessly searching questions of when will my time Arrive as did your success time? Can you tell me when will art embrace me as I have cherished art in my ever vacant years. But, In the outside, gold junebugs danced around the tin porch lamp. An opening, a wooden screendoor screeching broke the moment.

To my horror out came John and David on their way to prepare for the upcoming reading.

I was daydreaming in a wine stained shirt I quickly blathered something wonderful to him about how great he was and how his art had moved me, my mind to distant whatnots and all the while he smile with me. Graciously he allowed that moment to occur He waited patiently for me to wind down Then politely he moved on towards the gallery. To meet ones hero is always an odd moment, not necessarily pleasant, it's always uncomfortable. You want to express in one pushing breath the wondrous things that happened in your brain that their work managed to generate. You do not immediately realize that you were alone when this happened. They were not with you on your journey through their poem, as the movie actor Cannot see you watching them, feel your emotion with you, as magic is immune to it's magician. Uncontrollable moments surge Instantly, not always readily remembered in their exacting Sequences, which causes one to stand stiff, a diffused statue A naked ambition moth, opening to the flame that inspired It to fly into the sparks stirred up from broken kindles in fallen forests. These moments last for an infinite amount of time Like the line we stood in to meet Julie Mehretu She gave a lecture on her process and successes. She was so very cool, American and aptly situated in the now of her charismatic creations. Inspiring,

Occupying the space in a comfortable leather jacket. It was such a great moment; I wanted to keep her Bring her home as one might keep a beloved family cat. But unfortunately, I am told artists cannot be collected as easily as their wall dcor. And now, we are publishing a book of poems by her cousin Timothy who chose the painting Excerpt (Suprematist Evasion) for the book cover. Radiating pinks jut from central points where a squiggle city once stood. Reds, yellows and blues dot the evolution of circular trail patterns around a map-like canvas. It is all very exciting and gilds Timothys poetry rather well. The recolinear lines Dart about the field, but all comes home to rest in the snowfields of murdered fathers at Elsinore. And there was that time I was on acid with friends We walked the hallways as only young friends can Together our minds melted inwards towards the walls. Another time we annoyed the docents by critiquing, in our finest art speak and just learned terminology the plaster workmen remodeling the first floor. We commented on the industrial nature of the new space, The unfinished walls with plaster dust-encrusted circular saws Opened like the post-modern setting that it engulfed. A snakelike line ran towards a red phone on the floor. There was a stepladder that led upwards to nowhere. This was all folly, a nothing at all, a random funny thought

merging todays art through minds raised on classical depictions of bearded men glowering at frightened women trying to break through to be edgy and against the systems we so dearly enjoy so very much. The world was once so reductible, a closed system where art could demonstrate to the world the entirety of the known existence, even if it meant reality could be marred by the artists talent. As a straight line in the sand cannot be a division in the sand, It is merely the mind recalling a similarity to a representation of a moved medium upon which the active brain can dream. Now things are everywhere arent they, the mind can directly Be misdirected, even by a phone on the floor of an art gallery. Red can mean just about anything to anyone, art evermore means Nothing initially substantial as our lives frequently contain less and less truly meaningful moments, as pencil markings on walls. Which brings up the time Maxine Chernoff and Paul Hoover Came to read from their work. Ethan could not host them so I gladly showed them a fine time at the Albright-Knox. We had a glorious visit and I learning a great deal from both of them, important life lessons that escape me just now, but It was the only time I have eaten at the gallerys restaurant. We laughed over the almost incident with the security guard who had come over to us to make sure that we did know That yes, the diagonally spaced pencil lines were in fact art. Our eyes were very close to the wall, and I said, its alright,

these people are accomplished artists, poets and editors, so I am sure if anything, smudges we can make right again. I pulled a mechanical pencil from my vest with a wicked smile. She gasped so severely I feared she would faint from shock. Ultimately she did not and after a smoothing out her ruffled Feathers we were allowed to continue on to other exhibits. She admired our creativity and knew that a building like this Would attract free thinking artistic types that might get close To the artwork and in her gentle way let us make our own way. These memories swing past my mind like the blue wooden poles that once stood on the far side of this gallery. They have been sent on now, but I found determination in their upright striking blue standing, wavering as would bamboo in a meditative yoga gleaming on in the cold evening; dying here would be redundant.

All things under the Poetry Umbrella

Desserts Apfelstrudel Traditional Bavarian apple strudel served with vanilla ice cream Heisse Liebe Vanilla ice cream with hot raspberries and topped with whipped cream Pfannkuchen Fresh-baked thin pancakes filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with chocolate sauce and whipped cream Schwarzwlder Kirschtorte Black Forest Gateau is made with chocolate cake, whipped cream, sour cherries and Kirsch

Whatever happened to Topsy Jane?

Securing her self-esteem at the probable personal cost of continued confinement She wanders the halls of her tobacco stained home thinking of her father and stumbles as she gasps for breath from the punch of prominence as a struggle, a dance in overalls it's not exactly a punishment but rather a table of tools and a black leather apron the man smoking the pipe says that the broken young woman will surprise us all She looks in the black and white mirror and dreams of the moon shining on the moor She lights a match in a quick flick of loneliness and soon the candle warms her Through the trees she can see drops of rain on the cold branches A man is running. He is burning money. They are on a train The woman asks if they are married. Her pearl necklace is a fake On the seashore they talk out the myth of their expendable youth as the minutes of fun wane back into the waters headed for nowhere There is sawgrass and stones, wet sand and wires His eyes are kind as he speaks of past crimes How can she not kiss him As they walk away from the beach he is tired, empty, wordless She however is cartwheeling under the cyclical secret life of words and film The policeman on the corner sees the boys running away from their fame and future The light of the moon comes directly from the sun, stolen and hidden in a lockbox Let go suddenly, a bursting balloon, a marching band oomph crying lets play ball An old lady wearing a fur hat and herringbone checked wool coat plays the tuba Excitements abound in numbered black-striped shirts She sadly asks why he is always running away from her A whip handle forces sides As she fades into the gasmask of anonymity

Topsy Jane
Actress http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0417429/ Trivia: Always on the verge of major stardom she was supposed star in A Kind of Loving but became pregnant. She then suffered a nervous breakdown in 1963, forcing her to pull out of her starring role as Liz in Billy Liar, which was given to then unknown actress Julia Christie and doesn't appear to have acted since. In a reply to someone who wrote to the London Daily Mail in 2002 Asking what happened to Topsy Jane:
DAILY MAIL (London) June 14, 2002 SECTION: Pg. 62 HEADLINE: A Topsy-turvy talent; ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS ABOUT five years ago I popped into a cafe in Liskeard, Cornwall, after busking with my guitar, and an older lady by the name of Topsy struck up a conversation with me about music. She went on to tell me that she was an actress who had appeared in The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner, and that she was to have played Billy Liar's screen girlfriend Liz until she became ill. Sadly, people tended not to believe her, and were less than impressed - a typically English cynicism. However, I did some research and discovered that Topsy Jane was originally offered the role. I haven't seen her since, but she was known to frequent the taverns of St Cleer, Cornwall, still not in the best of health. The contrast between her destiny and Julie Christie's is poignant.

The most repellent man of my acquaintance is a philanthropist

You are too bound by forms and the Valetudinarian Saint George! How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible but all things seem much different than they truly are and that there is no hope for any of us. But the story does not end there. The villain comes along with two vanilla folders. One had a sheave from Twain and the other held emptiness the pheasant preserves death has been defeated

Happy Thanksgiving

Geoffrey Gatza is the editor and Publisher of BlazeVOX, which presents innovative fictions and wide ranging fields of contemporary poetry. The fundamental mission of BlazeVOX is to disseminate poetry, through print and digital media, both within academic spheres and to society at large. Gatza has received an award from the Fund for Poetry and is the author many books of poetry. Secrets of my Prison House is his latest title. Kenmore: Poem Unlimited and Not So Fast Robespierre (Menendez Publishing). His writings for childrens include HouseCat Kung Fu: Strange Poems for Wild Children (Meritage Press), A Rocket Full of Pie and A Book of Fables are loved around the world. He is also the author of the yearly Thanksgiving Menu-Poem series, a book length poetic tribute for prominent poets, which is now in it's tenth year. He is a CIA trained chef, a former Marine, a lifelong Sherlockian and an avid philatelist and lives in Buffalo, NY with his girlfriend and two cats. http://www.geoffreygatza.com/ http://www.blazevox.org