Author Archives: Don Yorty

B.A.S. (Bitter Angel Syndrome) by Ken “Angel” Davis

I always enjoy seeing what Ken Angel Davis is doing in his studio. Recently he has been printing a little book that had originally been a big book. He started this project in the late 90s after he returned from … Continue reading →

David Groff reads from Live in Suspense

29 May ’24

… A few months ago, I heard David Groff read from Live in Suspense, his most recent book, at the Jefferson Market Library. The poems were very visual, and philosophical, a bit like parables, with existence itself as the theme; … Continue reading →

Spiritual Sonnets by Juan Ramón Jiménez

25 May ’24

… SONETOS ESPIRITUALES I AL SONETO CON MI ALMA Como en el ala el infinito vuelocual en la flor está la esencia errante, lo mismo que en la llama el caminante fulgor, y en el azul el solo cielo; …..como … Continue reading →

My Girl, My Girl

21 May ’24

… The song I sing in the video is from Leadbelly. He called it “Black Girl.” I’ve changed some of the lyrics and added the end from another song, “Prettiest Train,” which Odetta sang on her Carnegie Hall record album. … Continue reading →

Russian Novel by Basil King

29 Apr ’24

Basil King sketched forty-three faces with charcoal, and as he sketched them, he began to call them his Russian Novel. When Basil introduced them to me and asked if I would set them to music in a video, I looked … Continue reading →

Scott Hightowers reads from Imperative to Spare

28 Apr ’24

… For a long time I wanted to record Scott Hightower reading from his newest book, Imperative to Spare. I’d heard Scott read elegies written for his partner of forty years, Dr. José Fernandez, who collapsed and died in his … Continue reading →

Molly Peacock reads from A Friend Sails in on a Poem

27 Apr ’24

… It was a treat making it over to Poets House to hear Molly Peacock read from A Friend Sails in on a Poem, a collection of essays and poems about her friendship with fellow poet Phillis Levin. For anyone … Continue reading →

Willa Carroll reads from Demolition Suite

26 Apr ’24

… The titles of the poems in Willa Carroll’s new book, Demolition Suite, begin with the word score. Score is an interesting word. We score when we are playing a game and make some points and that is good: we’ll … Continue reading →

Discovered Frescoes in Pompeii

26 Apr ’24

… Frescoes buried by Vesuvius were recently uncovered in an ancient dining room in Pompeii. For those who don’t subscribe, I have copied and pasted the article below from the Washington Post about this discovery: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/12/new-pompeii-frescoes-paintings/ This photo of … Continue reading →

69

31 Mar ’24

… Happy children hunted for eggs and wentbursting through the bushes. I hurriedlymade love before that unexpectedlystanding up expecting any momentstudents who didn’t come. Morning’s over.The afternoon has found a warm bright sun.Today was many people, now they’re none.It is … Continue reading →

Después de la Mundanza (After the Move): the Art and Adventures of Laurie Price

28 Mar ’24

… In 1979, Laurie Price attended Naropa graduating with a BA in Poetics in 1981. She moved to San Francisco after that and lived there for twelve years. Courtesy of receiving an Alexander Gerbode Foundation grant, she got to go … Continue reading →

Janet Hamill reads from Baby Parade

26 Mar ’24

… Memory comes in fragments. I think of shards of pottery dug up scattered on an ancient floor. Pantoums are an excellent way to evoke memory. Out of the simple repetition of putting it back together, a jar and a … Continue reading →