F E A T U R E D  A R T I S T :  D A V I D - B A P T I S T E  C H I R O T

NECESSITY IS THE MOTHERFUCKER OF INVENTION
thoughts on the delete button, by David-Baptiste Chirot

THE NEW EXTREME EXPERIMENTAL AMERICAN POETRY
a gallery featuring the visual works of poet, artist, and human rights activist David-Baptiste Chirot

FINDING THE ROOOT
an interview conducted by Jared Schickling with David-Baptiste Chirot
that will make you remember and forget and remember

 

R E V I E W S  &  C O M M E N T A R Y

THE UNBEARABLE TIGHTNESS OF JEANS: THE 'SCENE' AS SOCIOLINGUISTIC CONSTRUCT
an investigation by Raul Clement into what makes the Portland music scene so indie-pendent

ON THE STREET OF CROCODILES
an interview with Ralph Nader's extremely well-read 2008 vice presidential candidate, Matt Gonzalez,
conducted by Okla Elliott

SOME DARKER BOUQUETS
a roundtable on the state of contemporary poetry criticism responding to an open letter by Kent Johnson,
including responses by David Orr, Maureen McLane, Don Share, Eric Lorberer, Ange Mlinko, and roughly two dozen others

THE AVOIDANCE CANON RECENTLY RELEASED
documents conceived by Jared Schickling wherein fiction turns the critique more skjh ec   tn xx
and critique tuns the fiction more skjh ec   tx as well as hilarious

 

T R A N S L A T I O N S

THE JACKAL'S BAPTISM
    drama by Abdellatif Laâbi, translated by Gordon Hadfield and Nancy Hadfield

    THE DARK VALLEY
    from Boccaccio's Eclogues, translated by David R. Slavitt

 

P R O S E

   TIME  : :  TZIMTZUM  : :  WOUND  : :  ZENO'S PARADOX
lyrical entries from Dan Beachy-Quick's marvelous investigation of Melville and metaphysics, A Whaler's Dictionary

MOORING STONES  : : THE BIG HALE-BOPP : :  OCTOBER
three more lovely microfictions, these by Paula Carter

SLOWEST, FATTEST CURVE BALL IN HISTORY : :  THE LATEST BUDDY TEAM  : :  NUMBERS MEAN SOMETHING
three insistent microfictions by Steve Davenport

BRONWYN STEELE TALKS LUNCH MONEY
a fictional letter written to Kyle Minor with three mathematical equations

LOVE IS A BLACK HOLE : :  QUARK'S ATTIC
two more prosies, or did I dream that, by Chuck Richardson

CHODE!
a frequently-impolite excerpt from the forthcoming novel by Mark Spitzer

 

P O E T R Y

THE HADITHAH DAM
poetry by Matt Armstrong

LA SIRENA
poetry by Katie Atkinson

GOATSPEAK  : :  SIGHING DAMNS THE WORLD
poems for a bacchanal by Jerrod Bohn

ORE
an excerpt from Ore, the third book of Christophe Casamassima's Proteus Cycle

ADAM'S LETTER TO LILITH  : :  SUPPORT GROUP: MENTAL ILLNESS  : :  WHAT JENNY TRIED TO SAY
poems by David Dasher

VISITING THE MODERN ART MUSEUM
poetry by David Gibbs

MY FATHER'S POTATO DEATH : :  SUNDAY MORNING
poems by Sean Karns

MARCEL ADDRESSES KATE (AS HE WOULD IF HE COULD)
a poem written in the world's southernmost town by a poet named Jillian Weise

 

C O N T R I B U T O R S'  N O T E S