Reading Cohorts - Robin Richardson

You are so super close now. You are no more days, now only hours from it. Its gonna blow your hair back. Its going to slap you hard on the ass where it is both painful and pleasurable. It's Mental Marginalia. It's tonight. It's at the West Cafe, 379 Union Ave. It's at 8 PM. It's free. It's got Robin Richardson cohorting with us


Temiscaming
A hornet drums the lamp, red
clay, dead moth, pike smiling
from the skillet. Jin’s what I’m drinking,
I was raised on robbery. Henri taps
a yellowed thumb against the table
off time. His eyes are closed, legs
crossed, he shakes as he brings
the plastic cup of homebrew
to his lips, says he loves Joni Mitchell.

So will you won't you, will you won't you, won't you join us. Cheer

Reading Cohorts - Chris Slaughter

Here we are again ready to passeth all understanding! Keep your hearts and minds multiplied through the knowledge that Mental Marginalia is happening in UNO WEEKO as El Bloombito would say. That's right my perfect brethren of good comfort, we five marginals are offering you benediction next Wednesday's night at the West Cafe for the price of free, so adorn your sacred selves and come join us.

In the meaning whiles, preview Chris Slaughter and let the peace and glory be forever and ever

Reading Cohorts - Christine Kanownik

Heeeeeeeey'all,

Surmise quickly the 11/30/11 happening at West Cafe which shall put some hustle in your bustle and an apocalypse on your hips. Seriously, I expect dancing. Your call if you want it dirty. But we finally finished rigging up the new catalytic salt reactor on the roof this afternoon so the HYPE MACHINE is fully operational, and its already kicking out the buzz. First fist up: Christine Kanownik-

How the West was won.

by CHRISTINE KANOWNIK

Tyra Banks is a cowboy.
She is in the desert.
When she stands on rocks
They become mountains.
And when she descends
They become canyons.
She spits a little when she talks
And the spit becomes rivers.

You can read the rest of this piece at 42Opus

A Great Quote on the Future of Literature

"You know, we've had this amazing oral tradition of poetry for nearly as long as anyone can remember. The entirety of our knowledge has been adapted to this tradition. It contains everything we know and have experienced as a civilization. It is the basis for our law, our commerce, our history, and our art. Now you have these Cuneiformists who want to start recording everything. They want to translate the vast beauty of our language, poetry, and culture into symbols, into children's drawings in the sand and claim this will preserve our way of life. Hell, they claim it will make life easier? How? How could the passion of Iklad Munnur's arguments during the Tell Fara inquiry be translated in physical form? How does one capture the richness of Sonitep's voice? Mark this time. The cuneiformist way is the unraveling of our literature."

-Ensur Ugar, Mesopotamian Oral Translator and grump, 3386 B.C.
(what's amazing about this quote is that it was found via the painstaking research in 2011 by Orslo Bilgant into what he deemed Cyclical Bitching by Old Men About How Much Better the Past Was and How All of Literature Faces Imminent Finality Every 20 Odd Years. Orslo found the varied shards of Ugar's quote by reading between the lines of the frequent posts by old men about how terrible x (book, music, art) culture is today compared to the bygone Halcyon days they knew of from their youth)