Busy day ahead, with lots of stuff to do for work followed by the Junkyard Ghost Show tonight at Brown.

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Noticed that Hayden Carruth, poet, critic, and anthologist (The Voice That Is Great Within Us), died last week at age 89.  Sadness for me; he was a great poet and specifically an excellent political writer — I try to follow his lead in making work that addresses systemic and strategic thinking versus straight issue based poems — and that anthology was the first major introduction I had to the breadth of American Contemporary poetry as of about 1975.  I’ve given away more copies than I can count, and still have the nearly destroyed copy I bought when I was about 16 with all my notes — I have to keep it in a plastic bag. (I have an intact copy too.)  Seriously, if you want an overview of major American poets from the turn of the 20th century to the last quarter of it, you could do worse than pick up this anthology and read it cover to cover — it’s still in print.  Pretty much everyone you’ve heard of is in there, from Eliot, Frost and Pound to the Beats and beyond; did a decent (for the time) job of reaching out for under-known poets, including those of color and women as well as the usual canonical suspects.  First place I ever read Diane Wakoski, as I recall.  Two or three poems from each of them, for the most part.

My three favorite poetry anthologies of all time, while we’re on the subject:

The Voice That is Great Within Us; ed. Hayden Carruth
News Of the Universe: Poems of Twofold Consciousness; ed. Robert Bly (don’t hate, it’s a great book)
From Totems to Hip-Hop; ed. Ishmael Reed

There are of course many, many others I like as well, but these seem to always be close at hand.

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I had something else to say, but now I can’t recall it — was it something about zombies, pop culture, or the latest Jessica Simpson utterance?  Probably not.  If I remember shortly, I’ll post it; otherwise, see you at the show tonight if you’re going.

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Oh, yeah!  Duende just got confirmed for a Worcester show on Nov. 9th at the Asylum.  Put the date aside, gang…