January 24, 2008

All I can say, East Bay poet folk, is I hope that you caught Logan Ryan Smith at Pegasus. Because if you didn't, then there was no excuse for missing Kevin Killian in a West Oakland apartment tonight.

Kevin reading his letter to the editors of Apex of M that he sent them but they didn't publish should be mandatory reading for anyone considering editing a journal, agreeing to be a contributing editor to a journal, or--much more condemningly--on the advisory board of a journal. Or for that matter participating in any human endeavor. Scrutiny I think was the moral of the story and acting on it, rather than going with an easy, comfortable complacency. . . the piece possibly had anti-capitalistic implications that I think I might have missed (I'd need to read it in print).

In light of Prosody Castle's new bent, Killian read personal (neo-confessional?) material, focusing on HIV/AIDS and how it affected him and his friends in the 80s til now. Well crafted, heart-felt (is that a dirty word for a self-professed avant?) & moving.

I was glad I caught this.