ISBN: 0-86547-320-X
TITLE: way
AUTHOR: Leslie Scalapino (Carried by O Books / Distributed by Small Press Distribution)
$12.00
Excerpts
Description: Poetry
"...she makes everything take place in real time, in the light and air and night where all of us live, everything happening at once."
-Philip Whalen"This window - of displacement, of alterity - is the way things are seen through language. It's not the sense of having been there, even though you always were. The 'anti-perspective' of Scalapino's poetics is realism in its contemporary manifestation."
Barrett Watten
Leslie Scalapino has developed great expertise in presenting a hard-edged picture of the world. We are constantly made to realize that what shes showing us is the world as we have constructed it: were the responsible parties; were the policemen, bums, burning automobiles upside down, pond lilies, men in new wave attire. Sometimes her words look vacant and many of her statements are outrageous, but she makes everything take place in real time, in the light and air and night where all of us live, everything happening at once. Philip Whalen
| from bum series the menwhen Id been out in the cold weatherwere found lying on the street, having diedfrom the weather; though usually being there when its warmer the men on the street whod diedin the weatherwhore bums observing it, that instance of where they arenot my seeing that * cranes are on the skylinewhich are accustomed to lift the containers to or from the freightersas the new wave attire of the man though not muscular but youngwith the new wave dyed blonde hairseeming to wait at the bus stop, but always outside of the hair salon * the bumsthe menhaving diedfrom the weatherthough their doing that, seeing things from their view when they were alive so not to be upper classthe new wave baggy pantsthe man with the dyed blonde hairwhos always standing in front of the hair salon on the corner * the public figureas gentleas the freighter and their relation that of the man with the dyed blonde hair and new wave attireand the freighter * of our present presidentwho doesnt know of the foreign environsas vacantand to the freighter and his and its relation when our present president is in an inverse relation to themwhen theres a social struggle in their whole setting, which is abroad the bumswhove diedbut could be only when theyre livingthough it doesnt have desire, so inverse in that one setting * to their social struggle in their whole setting, which is abroad and its relation to the freighter to the person of new wave attirethat persons relation to the freighter when the bums are not aliveat this timethough were here, not abroadand not aware in being so of a social struggle * the man in the new wave attireas the relation of him being another personas the freighter and his and its relation the inverse relation to the freighter only occurring when that person is living the manwhos accustomed to working in the garage as having that relation to their whole setting * I have beenam dumbas the way in which that would occurthe bumsnot their existence or dying from the weatherthough the effect of that for me to be dumbto have been actually stupidso that really could occurthe bumsin an event sodumb as an active relation to the bums or to the freighter and the still oil rigson the ocean * to the repair of the carso inverse in that settingthough it doesnt have desireof the present as the oil rigswhich are the freighteron the oceanpushed up to be the relation with me, by my beingamdumbtheir to have that occurrence * to have thatfor them, some people whod had an attitude of snobberyalwaysso that theyre dumbwhen its senselessthat relation with them I almost frozeand realized I could die from itwhen the bums were in the situationand then not caring, though thats not possible which had been repaired to the caras I amwhen thats senselessthough it doesnt have desireof the present * the bums found laterin the whole setting though when the car hadnt been repairedand so their grinding and movement in relation to it
The floating series Floating Series I the womennot in the immediate setting putting the lily pads or bud of it in themselves a man entering after having come on herthat and the memory of putting in the lily pad or the bud of it first made her come
having put the lily pad in herself encouraging the man to come inside her a man to come on the woman gentlyher having put the lily pad in herself with him not having entered her yet people whore there alreadythough the other people arent aware of that not being able to see the other peopleand to be sticking the lily pad in themselves the manthough the woman had come with the bud of it in her not having done so on that time or her not having put it inand the man coming on her gently lying on her in that situation people having been therebeing from the cityalready and others not aware of them
or having put in the bud of it and the man not having entered her coming first that in the city as in the middleto someone whos death comes from age having nothing to do in a place as having been crazed in his life time and having been aware before of others whod been in the setting all along a man putting the lily pad in her after hed comeand she hadnt on that time that in the city as in the middleto someone the thought that theyshould be treated wellif theyd paid their moneyor not a mans senseofwhen hed come and she had the lily pad in her and hadnt come then
the manon whom the boy spitfrom him riding his bicycle by over and overwas lying on the sidewalk not having anything to do as his having a blockage with others around in the setting having the high rents with an attitude that they shouldnt live in this placewhore poor Floating Series 2 to foresee the mans responsewhen the woman had comehim not having done soand had the bud of it in her still of the public figure and the death at some time of the person who dies from age and an attitude that they should have a job whether theyve means or not and theiror ones having the means to take care of oneself or someoneas what should be done
told of someone being lower in social valuethat and in a setting which defined us allwhen at that point their not to have a child as it happens and the bud of the water lily in herwhen theyd been doing it her having had the lily pad in her stillafter shed comeand when there wasnt that from it
the crowd returning when the manof their race, though in the policehed left the van was immolated by themon a field myself or a person aging and dying when thats seen by a setting fromthat ofwhen we were young our being that as in the middle the manwhod come and with the bud of it in her stillwhen she had
andtheir sense of the cityas some ideal spot andwhere were not going to be able to live Third Part having swallowed the water lily budso having it in himwhen hed come on some time with her a mand swallowed the bud of the water lilyand had it in him that way
there being an aftermath to and something a public occurring figureand theirnot based in that the attitude that someoneshould be in an armyto democratize that her coming when with himthe lily buds being in the man from his earlier swallowing ithim not coming so that with him not comingbut had the lilys bud in him as in other instances the attitude of in a setting aging and dying at some time asthat we should be that anda break through from a stateof being crazedbut which someone was in tove gotten through the senseof being crazedand which occurred andthey shouldbe able to find some livelihoodwhen theyd been here awhile
Later Floating Series 1 as thenwhat would be sought after as valued by so many peopletheres not enough in the middleno matterwhat the age of someoneor if close to their deathfrom age andtheir not to be in itby virtue of the small storethe setting Later Floating Series 2 someone as choosing the means in startingthe small store and the attitude of the people frequenting the shopsas their a livelihood for themthe others theirwanting thatthe people frequenting themfor those whod opened the small stores his being depressedand to have some release from thatas what occurs a break in someones being depressedfor himso at the time to have release from it
in the state thats his being depressedand getting some charge from insidethat would get some release from that state andthe opening of the shopswhen many of them havent meansas for that situation |
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