April 17 at 7:30 PM at the Bell House in Brooklyn, Eileen Myles read from their new book of poems, a “Working Life.” The place was packed. Eileen read poems that were narrative, often amusing and sometimes surprising too in a comfortable offhand way that can only be done after many years of doing it with an assurance that puts the audience at ease and ready to listen. Eileen said it would be all right if I video-taped the reading and that is what I did. You can hear it all in the Vimeo below.
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The poems in a “Working Life” are made up of very short lines, often with only one word in a line. I haven’t really read poems like this in a while, and I had a good time.
When a word stands alone, it stands out and has a tendency to shout (even if it does so quietly), every line its own statement abstracted by its layout, yet concrete as the story is revealed word by word to the reader not unlike an ancient incantation chanted by a soothsayer in a tradition that goes way back before the printed word.
I typed out three poems from a “Working Life” to give a better idea of the book as a whole. As contemporary as these poems are, I think they’re also very old. Enjoy.
…
The Trip
I shall miss you. Drinking
grass like
that; a creature
drinks
from a stream
its time
& they feel
their own trickle
and warmth
and wonder
what’s that
to know
my own
hug some
how the language
slipping
the moon
drink
twice
once in my throat
and once
in my eyes
it’s a new
year
How about it
is sleep better
than night
is love better
than eternity
are dogs
better than
cats
is coffee
what is coffee
any groaning
machine
better than
any chirping
animal
is a child
better than a
building
is an unseeing
woman
better than not
is heat
better than
ice cold
day
bright day
better
than telling
the truth
is truth
the ugly
thing you
share
is sharing
beautiful
or hurtful
and cruel
does a pen
have words
in any
event
endless
are words
like bullets
tearing flesh
announcing
themselves
what do they
tell do hurtful
words tell
the end of something
the body al
ways cold
the day was
never new
life is a prison
how are you
drinking that
saying that
writing that
the puppets
groan
the heating
clanks
its OPEN
to you
a box or a vista
a plate of cheeeeese
…
Howl
A refrigerator
makes a lot
of sound
so does a bird
people are
always talking
full of love
& pain
we started
a fund
and the dogs
are needing
some money &
I don’t know
how to do
it & I’ll
learn from
one of them
Tom’s blue
shirt & glasses
are perfect.
My teeshirt
is good
my pen
works
I breathe.
…
a “Working Life” is published by Grove Atlantic. You can check it out here:
https://groveatlantic.com/book/a-working-life/
You’ll find out more about Eileen Myles here:
https://eileenmyles.com/
…
Put My House
Put my house
inside the
boat
Can we do
that
put my dog
inside
of your
dog
put these birds
inside of
yours
put my ocean
put your ocean
all over
my mountains
put my mountains
in there
put my dog
in yours
my dog walk
is safe
inside your
dog walk
let me
eat inside
you. Let
me eat
your food
let me eat
your house
put your house
inside my
dog
put your dog
on my
boat
naturalize
put my heart
in yours
put my mouth
on your
mouth
put my hair
in yours
let me breathe
inside you
let me smell
your guts
put your boat
in my eye
let me eat
your friends
put these hours
inside your
hours
eat this bird
cheep
eat my
dog’s
foot
eat the ocean
run to him
o’er the
o-o-cean
run to them
hear these
birds cheap
fly to me
eat my foot
put my house
inside yours
in your
mind think
me fly
this fly
me home
love me
now
forget your phone
eat my heart
run to him
o’er the o-o-cean
tweet tweet
tweet
dog growl
cluck
click
put my house
right in
there. Yeah
that’s me
lookin out
the window
look at
me
bark bark
bark
put your heart
inside
that bark
Eileen Myles
…