Hey everyone! It's the day before St. Patrick's day! I know all you Irish out there are in the last day of "The Master Cleanse" so you can drink your weight in beer tomorrow and then drain the main vein onto Seventh Avenue traffic.... But not me. I'm home sick in bed with terrible bronchitis AND a sinus infection. My whole face hurts as if it were just intimate with a staircase (bang, bang, bang, bang, bang). After sending out a couple emails eliciting sympathy from various sisters and friends that said: "Hey look I'm sick!", I picked up my prescriptions and returned to Napland, USA.
The second picture--the photograph, dummy, is a photo of me from last year attempting to enter napland. The photo is no Rielle Hunter GQ spread. That's for sure. You can't see any love-children (cuz I ain't got none), and you can't see even one centimeter of toned abs....but I love that photo because clearly I knew my photo was being taken, as I'd carefully pried off my glasses and carefully placed these specs beside myself.
So today is what's called: Shout Out Tuesday. What's the point of Shout Out Tuesday?
It's to write about people a few cool people I know and the cool stuff they did or are doing. Sure I'm cool and all and could clearly talk about myself all day [that's no spoiler alert], but that's not the point or the message behind Shout Out Tuesday. No, no NO! Shout Out Tuesday is about the others.
Firstly, I would like to mention my talented sister, Molly Lawless. She's writing an amazing graphic novel about timey baseball players Carl Mays and Ray Chapman. It's amazing to me how detailed and beautiful her story telling is. She does the hard research of getting everything right. Shout out to Molly! [Then all you readers join in and say 'SHOUT OUT TO MOLLY!] There, you did it! very good. I pasted one of Molly's many many cool images, but you can just click on her name up there for more. Follow Molly's blog because she has all sorts of cool illustrations every week! And buy her book when it comes out! I am so proud of Molly and not just because she's my sister, but because she's so awesome. Buy her book when it comes out.
Secondly, I'd like to give shout outs to Ben Mirov. He wrote this awesome
chapbook that won the New Michigan Press chapbook contest called I is to Vorticism. I am sure that Ben was referring to Pound's essay Vorticism which discussed the relationship between self to idea, self to other, self to art movement. I am glad Ben is thinking about these ideas while the rest of us are wondering when dinner is. I'm proud of him also, but he's not my kid brother, though that would be rad. He would make a good brother, because I could tease him and tell our parents that he was misbehaving--even when he's not, which is something I'd really like to do.
Here's a poem from Ben Mirov's I Is to Vorticism that I really liked:
CANDLESI wish I had ideas
I really need your help.
Pretend I'm your rabbit.
Your piano recital.
The ghost that makes you write
whatever you want.
Pretend I'm whatever you want.
I'm going to imagine you're a woman
staring out a kitchen window
hands and face
covered in suds.
Here's my sputtering match:
We do terrible things in the name of love.
Picture me punching through seven mirrors.
Picture everyone you know
punching through seven mirrors.
Picture the Power Goddess
descending from the sky
and placing a wreath of basil on your head.
Now open your eyes.
Not those eyes.
The ones inside you.
So that just about wraps up Shout Out Tuesday. Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel better! Wish me luck.
Love,
Amy Lawless
