Two Poems by Mary Kasimor

x

my brain is an egg creating itself

a clone of being

a buddha of farce

               fixating on a lack of reason

this suffering of absence says nothing

the sculptor fell unleashing the brain       on amphetamine

                   fractured          between two kinds of electricity

through transparency mirroring polyester

                         and brocade       

                                                    lipstick on a pig

an enigma outwaits itself

polyester comes pre-         prepared

it will never die

passion manufacturing itself

by remote control          the brain is without

itself

until it dissolves

(stays quiet in its facelift        )

                                    mumbles 

evoking a formula

into this device I pour myself

l                 left the words in a hole

this                              strangeness of being

xiv

desire with its concave smile

i wore it all day

intimate and cruel  

the rain

drops its wet skin

in all its nakedness

the shiny flesh

is all surface

the orange marigold

touched with reason

and barely an adult

____________________________

Mary Kasimor has been writing poetry for many years. Her recent poetry collections are The Landfill Dancers (BlazeVox Books 2014), Saint Pink (Moria Books 2015), and a chapbook, The Prometheus Collage (locofo chaps 2017). Her chapbook, The Nature Store, will be published this spring by Dancing Girl Press. 

The maps are stricken by a strange disease

by Jefferson Hansen

We feel all gummy today.

It was not likely to happen

this way, but it did.

Something comes, but not

right. We stand on

either side of an imaginary

boundary enforced by the

nuclear threat. There is no

rhythm to a simple line.

We must heed the waiting list.

A cement truck follows

wet footprints fading on asphalt.

Our turn may come somewhere:

There is no “sort of” an end.

____________________________________

Jefferson Hansen edits this blog. He has a number of books out, including Cruelty and and beefheart saved craig, both from BlazeVox.

First Large-Scale Exhibition of Asemic Art in U.S.A.

March 10, 2017 – May 28, 2017
Minnesota Center for Book Arts Main Gallery
1011 S Washington Avenue, Minneapolis

Opening reception Friday, March 10, 6-9 pm

Asemic writing is a wordless semantic form that often has the appearance of abstract calligraphy; it allows writers to present visual narratives that move beyond language and rely on the viewer for context and meaning.

Asemic Writing: Offline & In the Gallery, curated by Michael Jacobson, is the first large-scale exhibition of asemic art in the United States, featuring the work of over 50 international artists who together create an eclectic assemblage of inventing, designing, and dreaming.

Saturday, March 25, 2017, 7:00 pm

Minnesota Center for Book Arts

1011 S Washington Ave, Minneapolis

On March 25 at 7 pm the reading Asemic Translations will feature various poets and scholars “translating” asemic texts into performative works. Presenters include John M. Bennett, C. Mehrl Bennett, exhibition curator Michael Jacobson, and others to be announced, with a musical performance by Ghostband.

This event is free and open to the public, and is presented by Rain Taxi and the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. We hope to see you there!

For examples of asemic writing see The New Post-Literate Blog.