2015 was the year of The Knowledge for me, as well as a spate of film-poems, collaborations, and trips to new places. Here’s a brief look back at the salient moments from each month.
January: Nine Years of Love I reflect on nine years since the birth and death of our son, in the year when my maternal grandfather and spiritual teacher also pass on. The conclusion is simply this: our world is in need of love. | |
February: Namesake (Film-Poem Online) A paean to my namesake/nemesis, this bit of machinima plays with identity in the digital age using parallax techniques. It was both painstaking and fun to make. | |
March: Sneak Peek at The Knowledge Excitement builds as Nine Arches Press publishes a few poems from the book online. | |
April: The Knowledge Arrives I drive up to Milton Keynes to receive my first batch of author copies of the book. A surreal and wonderful moment on many levels. | |
May: Reading and Workshop at Walt Whitman Birthplace I delight in setting foot in New York for the first time (!) to give a half-day workshop and evening reading at the Walt Whitman Birthplace. | |
June: "Mnemosyne's Tango: Poetry, Film, and the Dance of Memory" A brief essay in which I lay out what fascinates me most about the film-poem genre. | |
July: Ledbury Poetry Festival I take in Ledbury, catching up with poets like George Wallace, George Szirtes, and Daniel Sluman in various cafes and pubs. | |
August: The Essence of Instinct (Film-Poem Online) Hot on the heels of the release of Google's new Deep Dream technology, I give it a try as the basis for a new film-poem. | |
September: Letting the Robin out of the Bag Nine Arches Press puts my poem "Robin" on their promotional canvas bag. Beautifully done, it becomes the basis for a few Christmas presents this year. | |
October: World Literature Today Does The Knowledge Piotr Florczyk takes a deep dive into The Knowledge, and comes up with a few pearls. | |
November: The Knowledge Goes Pining for the Fjords Abby E. Murray sucks the marrow from this book. To know even one reader has read the book this carefully--let alone a poet I admire as much as Abby--is a rare privilege indeed. | |
December: Two Poems, and a Review of The Knowledge, in Poetry Salzburg Review Ian Watson gives a ringing endorsement of The Knowledge, concluding, "The problem with The Knowledge is that there are just too many striking images, too many poems to cite. Just go out and buy it." |
Roll on 2016!