lovin the new Amling Crush

Very very few places I go for consistently interesting kick ass poetry . . . Poor Claudia is one of them . .  check out the latest Amling Crush . . . diggin this Amling . . but right now I am on a loop with "Self Satisfied Vanity" . .


What is it with Portland. For fiction, poetry, indie music and publishing. Bizarro fiction etc. etc. It's the new mecca. Forget new NY! And def forget London! Been searching and searching in London for anything close to the energy of the indie presses and music of Portland . .  coming up dry . .. there are a handful of poets on this tiny island with kick ass poetry . . and those handful are writing as great as any kick ass poetry in the big old lands of the USA and Berlin . . but as a whole . . . the energy . . the playfulness . . . sterility is the order of the day in London . . .  in fiction too . . the booker prize . . the orange prize . .. the yellow prize . . . the blue prize . . the costa coffee prize . . . stale stale stale stale stale stale stale . . and music . . well a few ok bands . . but again far far behind USA, Germany, France, Poland . . . . not that it's a race . .. or a national competition . . it's not the bloody olympics . . .it's not that . .  no I mean do something interesting . . please please WAKE UP LONDON . . . and no one seems to know how to make nice looking books anymore . . I've seen books from the 70's coming out of London and they were gorgeous . .  some energy in Manchester . . . some potential . . . but London is way way way way behind the times in fiction and poetry . . ok . . there is Jeanette Winterson . . she's good . . . sort of a UK Aimee Bender . . or not quite . . but mining the same territories of fairy tale myth and so on . . I like Aimee Bender and Jeanette Winterson . .  I love George more . . George Saunders . . . a few good things to steal from them . . and Jeff Hilson and Tim Atkins for poetry here on this very very very small island . .  a few others quite good . .  maybe one handful . . .plus the Manchester poets . . north beats south on this tiny island . .  not that it's a competition . . no no no . . it's not north versus south . . or east versus west . . . or England versus Wales . . no no no . . but maybe someday London will shake itself loose from the pre-modernist era in poetry and speak in the language(s) of the 21st century . . NOW  . .

speak poetry speak . . .


http://www.poorclaudia.org/crush_amling.php




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