NEW PUBLICATIONS AND RECORDINGS

NEW PUBLICATIONS

Although I'm not quite on the roll I wrote about in my last post, I've had a number of pieces published online in recent weeks.

DITCH has just published a batch of my newest poems. You can read them at:

http://www.ditchpoetry.com/vernonfrazer.htm

I just discovered DITCH in the course of looking for places to submit my work, but I recommend it highly to readers who like cutting-edge material. DITCH has also published Kane X. Faucher, Camille Martin, Rob McClennan, Gary Barwin, Mark Young and Matina L. Stamatakis, all poets worthy of serious consideration. As a Canadian magazine, DITCH advances and enhances the rich body of Canadian experimental poetry, from which I've learned a lot, and includes an international cast of writers, as well.

Although I'm sad to learn that JACK MAGAZINE'S long run has come to an end, I'm pleased that Mary Sands Woodbury has included my work in its final issue:

http://www.jackmagazine.com/jack/?cat=36

The magazine has also published one of my personal favorites among my short fiction, “The Post-Creativist Corpus of Astu Abalar:”

http://www.jackmagazine.com/issue5/teapartyvfrazer.html

Although JACK MAGAZINE emphasized Beat writing, it also published a number of literary explorers, among them Sheila Murphy and mIEKAL aND. I'd like to thank Mary Sands Woodbury and her former co-editor, Michael Rothenberg, for their support of my work.

SEX QUEEN OF THE BERLIN TURNPIKE

A few weeks ago, I posted one of my older pieces, Sex Queen of the Berlin Turnpike, to YouTube. It's one of the first poems I ever put to music. I wrote it in 1984, as I recall, then recorded it in 1986 with a pre-recorded bass line on a cassette titled Haight Street, 1985 and again in 1987 for my 1988 LP,

Sex Queen of the Berlin Turnpike. On YouTube it's referred to as one of “Vernon Frazer's Greatest Hits,” a tongue-in-cheek reference to my sales that I hope isn't too obscure. I'm told it became a kind of underground classic among the jazz DJs at some of the northeast's college radio stations, most notably WWUH-FM (University of Hartford) and WHUS-FM (University of Connecticut), where Chris Sampson keeps it alive on his Gravity and Chaos show. The jazz DJs on these stations know their music very well, so I'm pleased that they supported it the way they did.

As an LP, Sex Queen of the Berlin Turnpike suffered from the record stores switching to selling CDs. At the time it was being pressed, the record stores were selling vinyl. During the five weeks it took to press the album, most record stores stopped selling vinyl and sold CDs instead. Although I got good---if not always perceptive--- reviews, the change in format limited what I could do with the work.

Here's the YouTube version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAmpdRiSIsk

If you'd like to listen to the full ensemble version, go to

http://www.vernonfrazer.net/music/TheSexQueenoftheBerlinTurnpike.mp3

The jazz aficionados among you might recognize the musicians. At the time, Thomas Chapin, Mario Pavone, Joe Fonda and Brian Johnson were respected but not well-known. Thomas Chapin, one of my closest friends, died of leukemia in 1998. Had he survived and been healthy enough to make the headliner gigs booked at venues such as the Monterrey Jazz Festival that year, he would be considered a star today. Nevertheless, he left an outstanding legacy of recordings. For more information on his work, visit his memorial web site at

www.thomaschapin.com.

Mario Pavone, the bassist in Thomas's acclaimed trio, has continued to create fresh improvised music. His angular compositions are unique and compelling, and his bass playing drives his sidemen to play at their best.

Joe Fonda gained recognition for his collaborations with Anthony Braxton, but was always a compelling bassist. Whenever he soloed, he'd display some advanced technique that I'd ask about. With his “just plain folks” approach, he'd downplay it. Over the years, he's produced a body of provocative works with musicians such as Braxton, Mark Whitecage, David Douglas and his longtime collaborator, Michael Jefry Stevens.

Brian Johnson ranks as the most brilliant percussionist I've ever played with. In the 1990s he performed with Loren Mozzacane and tours Europe with Oboist Joseph Celli. Since he lives in Burlington, Vermont, he doesn't always get the work and recognition a musician of his caliber deserves. He was the mainstay of the Vernon Frazer Poetry Band from 1988 to 1990, when he moved to Burlington. He came down from Vermont to play with the band when he could, and performed with me on my first engagement at the Knitting Factory in 1991. Like Thomas Chapin, who played with me on most of my New York gigs, I never told him what to play; he and Thomas always came up with something far better than anything I could suggest. You can hear more of Brian's percussion work on “Demon Dance” at

http://www.vernonfrazer.net/music/DemonDance.mp3

Eventually, I plan to reissue my poetry-music records on CD Baby. If anybody would like me to burn copies of the three recordings on my web site, please email me at vfrazer@bellsouth.net. At this time, I'm giving them away.

WRITER ON A ROLL

The number of poems published since I resumed submitting material on a regular basis has surprised me very pleasantly. Every writer goes through stretches in which publishers accept their work readily or reject it equally readily. At the moment, I seem to be on a roll. I hope it continues.

Anny Ballardini curates the Poets Corner of the multi-lingual magazine, FIERALINGUE. Her selection of poets includes a veritable thumbnail directory of cutting edge poets along the Beat-Language Poetry-Visual Poetry continuum. The link for the Poet’s Corner is:

http://www.fieralingue.it/modules.php?name=Content

My own poetry is at:

http://www.fieralingue.it/modules.php?name=Content&pa=list_pages_categories&cid=373

Felino A Soriano, editor of Counterexample Poetics, has accepted a batch of my poems. You can read them at:

http://www.counterexamplepoetics.com/2010/06/vernon-frazer.html.

But you’ll also find a number of other interesting poets on the site, including some who might not be familiar to you. Check them out.

Scott Bentley’s LETTERBOX Magazine is a publication I just discovered. I gather that Bentley compiles the best material he can find and publishes it in a box format. Bookstores such as Moe’s Books and Pegasus Books in Berkley, Bookshop West Portal in San Francisco and St. Mark’s Books in Manhattan carry the boxed magazine. The publication of the latest issue of LETTERBOX probably will probably mark the first time my work has appeared in any form in any of these bookstores.

FOFFOF, a blog of asemic writing, has just posted my texto-visual piece, “Textural War at Play,” at

http://foffoffof.blogspot.com/2010/06/vernon-frazer-textural-war-at-play.html.

Although I don’t consider my work asemic per se, I do incorporate non-textual elements into my work, and am pleased to see that editor Satu Kaikkonen sees the relation between my work and the non-textual pieces he publishes.

While talking about the asemic, I should mention Michael Jacobson’s blog, The New Post-Literate: a Gallery of Asemic Writing. He publishes many of the same writers who appear in FOFFOF, and has published two of my poems, “Ode to a Cryptic Blood Mantra,” at

http://thenewpostliterate.blogspot.com/2010/05/ode-to-cryptic-blood-mantra-by-vernon.html

and “Oracle Glyph Messaging” at:

http://thenewpostliterate.blogspot.com/2010/05/oracle-glyph-messaging-from-vernon.html

I’m very pleased to see venues such as these emerging to publish more radical work. Aside from my personal time constraints, the closing of many magazines that had published my work in the past led me to restrict my submissions to calls for work posted on the various writers lists I subscribe to. Literary magazines are not unlike alternative performance venues. Each struggles to present the best possible and stay afloat economically. After a period of time, the drains on energy and personal finances cause the venues to close. Eventually, as I’ve learned the cycle goes, new ones take their place. It’s taken a few years for these publications to emerge, but I’m very pleased to have them available once again.

CATCHING UP ON CATCHING UP AND A NEW VIDEO

For some time, I’ve wanted to update this blog. But I’ve been too busy clearing up a two-year backlog of old projects, learning the software necessary to create new ones and sending out poems that have been sitting in my folders for months and, in some cases, years.

In the few weeks since I’ve returned to submitting work, I’ve had a number of poems accepted, but none have been published yet. When they appear in print, I’ll post the the news here. If I post the news prematurely, I might find myself counting eggs as chickens.

The most important piece of recent work that exists outside the pending file is the following:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZmBlA2WiY4

It’s my basspo rendition of the opening pages of IMPROVISATIONS. In addition to advancing my knowledge of the software involved in making videos, it’s also given at least one colleague an insight into the way the lines of my multi-voiced texts interact. Interested readers can find the discussions in the May archives of the Buffalo Poetics List or on the WRYTING list.

Ever since I heard Ted Enslin read in Willimantic, Connecticut twenty-five years ago, I’ve maintained that hearing a poet’s voice gives readers a key to understanding the work. Even the recitation of a shy or uncomfortable performer renders the rhythm and sense of a work more accessible. For several decades, I’ve thought the best rendering of my work would involve a recitation, a screen portraying the text and a band. Although I’ve retired from performing in public, YouTube has provided me a venue that allows me to present my work in a way that will entertain others and, as I’ve discovered, help guide them to a greater understanding of my work.

Panels from IMPROVISATIONS (Series B)

Shortly after completing IMPROVISATIONS in 2005, I realized that a number of pages in the last part of the book would look good in color and explored the possibilities in three series. Big Bridge published Series A as part of its feature on IMPROVISATIONS in its 2006 issue.

Several weeks ago, Andrew Topel’s avantacular press announced that it was seeking collections to visual poetry to publish as ebooks. I submitted Series B and avantacular press accepted it for publication:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/29099825/Panels-From-Improvisations-Series-b

I’m pleased that avantacular press has chosen to publish my work. Again, I find myself in the company of many astonishing visual poets, including Andrew Topel, himself.

I discovered Topel’s work about two years ago, when it appeared with mine in an issue of Otoliths, Mark Young’s excellent magazine of cutting-edge literature. Topel’s use of text and image and text as image seemed to parallel mine. When I joined Spidertangle, I received greater exposure to his work and gained a greater appreciation of its breadth, depth and brilliance. His grasp of visual possibilities seems endless. In browsing his blog just now, I discovered some fascinating textual work, in addition to the visual. He’s also designed his own line of clothing. Frankly, my attempt to describe his work doesn’t come close to encompassing it. Topel seems to be a living torrent of creative energy continually finding new, brilliant and original ideas to make tangible through his expression. Instead of trying to grasp the scope of his work, I suggest you experience it at:

http://avantacular-press.blogspot.com/

LIE /ISLE

is a relatively new magazine I’m glad to see. Over the past few years, a number of my customary publishing venues have closed their doors, but until recently very few new ones have surfaced. Recently, however, LIE/ISLE (HTTP://LIESISLE.COM ) came to my attention. My poem, “The Hungry on Strike” appears in the latest issue:

http://liesisle.com/ISSUE03/thehungryonstrike.html

LIE/ISLE publishes a number of writers whose names I’ve never encountered, but whose work in a variety of media deserves attention. And I'm very pleased with the way LIE/ISLE presented my work.

NEW WORKS

In response to the lack of publishing venues available for visual poetry, John Moore Williams and Avantexte Press have started The Bleed, an online journal. Recently, they published my poem, “Anchor What” at

http://avantexte.com/thebleed/2010/03/anchor-what-by-vernon-frazer/

The Bleed also features visual poetry by Andrew Topel, Marton Kappany, Peter Ciccariello and Rosaire Appel. I’m pleased to find myself published in such good company.

“Fading Melody,” my latest basspo piece, has just uploaded to Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQxVzWE8PFU

Surprise Along the Random Axis

Life has its share of surprises and sometimes they're pleasant. Some even make your day.

Yesterday, Gabriel Ricard, assistant editor of Unlikely 2.0 (www.unlikelystories.org), surprised me--- and made my day---with a review of my latest publication, RANDOM AXIS.

I conceived RANDOM AXIS as a sort of literary samizdat. I hand-printed and assembled 66 copies of the book, each with a different sequence of pages. It violated a number of conventions of the publishing business. Since I didn't assign a separate ISBN to each copy, most book distributors and sellers won't consider ordering it. In effect, RANDOM AXIS exists outside the business of selling books. Its random pagination represents my personal effort to destabilize text, as well.

I sent Gabriel Ricard a complimentary copy because I appreciated his deeply perceptive review of EMBLEMATIC MOON (http://www.unlikelystories.org/ricard0909.shtml). I didn't ask him to review RANDOM AXIS or expect him to. So yesterday's unsolicited review dropped into my lap as the kind of surprise that can make a writer's day. Here's the link to the review:

http://unlikelystories.org/blog/content/?p=227

I want to thank Gabriel for writing the review and for his deep (and flattering) insight into my work.

And for making my day.

FRAZER PLAYS FRAZER PLAYING LAZARUS

From 1985 to 1994, I concentrated on fusing poetry with improvised music. I performed throughout New England and in New York as a solo poet-bassist, as a duo with saxophonist Thomas Chapin and led a poetry band. When the demands of performing affected my health, I stopped and concentrated on writing, stepping out about once a year to make a guest appearance with Chapin or Richard McGhee, the saxophonist in my poetry band.

Performing with music affected my writing. Several years after I stopped performing regularly, my poetry began to incorporate multiple voices resembling the instrumental lines that weaved around me during my recitations.

Technological developments have given me the means to return to performing in a way that doesn’t tax my body and presents my work in a format accessible to the part of the general public that listens to poetry with jazz or other musical idioms. The link below will show you my first “live” performance since 2002, when I shared a bill with John Sinclair at the University of Connecticut:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOzR1qE5eBI

I hope you enjoy it. I plan to do more of them.