ANDREW IS VANISHING

Best Albums of 2011

2011-12-28T19:40:00.000-05:00

While you can check out my contributions to The Fiddleback's year-end list here, I have put my complete list below.

25. Eddie Vedder - Ukulele Songs
24. Wild Flag - Wild Flag
23. The Strokes - Angles
22. TV On the Radio - Nine Types of Light
21. Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee, Part Two
20. Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto
19. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
18. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
17. Elbow - Build a Rocket Boys!
16. EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints
15. Yuck - Yuck
14. Wilco - The Whole Love
13. Destroyer - Kaputt
12. Fucked Up - David Comes to Life
11. Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will

10. Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - Mirror Traffic

9. R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now

8. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo

7. The Black Keys - El Camino

6. Tom Waits - Bad As Me

5. My Morning Jacket - Circuital

4. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

3. Radiohead - The King of Limbs

2. The Roots - undun

1. Bon Iver - Bon Iver

New stuff forthcoming...

2011-11-18T18:41:00.000-05:00

Hello hello.

I've got new poems forthcoming: "Marlon Brando"& "Laura Linney" in ACREAGE and "Morgan Freeman" & "John Belushi" in West Wind Review. Very excited about both. These are newer poems from a manuscript I'm working on called Method Acting. Check out both of these journals.

Support Augury Books

2011-10-18T00:21:00.000-04:00

Hello Hello:

I was recently named a finalist for the Augury Books Editors' Prize with my homeless manuscript No Tee Vee. Read about the other finalists and the winner Patrick Moran here.

They will be periodically posting poems from the finalists, so keep checking in. And buy Moran's book when it is available.

Find Augury on Facebook, like them, friend them, post nice things on their wall.

Support this press, they do good things!

West Memphis Three Freed!

2011-08-19T20:36:00.000-04:00

"This whole experience has taught me much about life, human nature, American justice, survival, and transcendence." - Damien Echols

Good news today! The West Memphis Three were freed today after 18 years behind bars for a crime they did not commit.

Rabbit Catastrophe Review: Issue 2

2011-07-27T23:14:00.000-04:00

Hello Hello

Rabbit Catastrophe Review: Issue 2 is available now. Support good art!

I've got two poems in this issue, but more importantly it features the work of many great writers like: Tao Lin, Lewis DeJong, the amazing Haesong Kwon, and many more.

While you're at it, check out Issue 1 featuring Phil Estes and James Brubaker and Phil's chapbook Gem City/Fountain City. It's all awesome.

Interview with David Trinidad

2011-07-21T23:31:00.000-04:00

I recently had the great opportunity to discuss collaboration, influence, and craft the wonderful David Trinidad for Sonora Review. It turned out really great. Check it out by clicking HERE:

Many thanks to David Trinidad, Lewis DeJong at Sonora and Phil Estes.

C'mon now, let's all help The Kernal

2011-06-14T13:19:00.002-04:00

Save Woodland Pattern!

2011-06-06T19:26:00.000-04:00

A letter from Nick Demske:

Many of you already know of Woodland Pattern Book Center in Milwaukee. For those who don't, let me just give a short introduction.

Woodland Pattern is very often labeled the best poetry book store in the nation. And it's in Milwaukee. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The one that's 40 minutes away from us. So yeah. That should be all the introduction it needs.

Woodland Pattern recently celebrated their 30year anniversary so an introduction to the work they've done could go on for pages and pages. I will spare everyone of that rambling resume, but suffice it to say that, to me, it is one of the most amazing literary hubs that I know of anywhere. The visiting readers, musicians and artists they bring into Wisconsin couldn't be more prestigious and, along with that, the work the Book Center does is still incredibly grass roots and down to earth. Whether it's holding edible book contests, sponsoring writing workshops for the public or hosting urban youth poetry camps for local children to learn about the arts in a nurturing environment, the presence of Woodland Pattern has effects that ripple far past the River West Milwaukee neighborhood where they're located.

To be more direct, BONK! in all likelihood would not exist--or at least not in the capacity it exists now--if Woodland Pattern did not exist. In the beginning, WP provided a template for the creation of BONK! and, even now, the only reason we learn of many performers we bring is because WP features them at an event and we simply steal the idea afterwards.

I'm writing all of this because Woodland Pattern is currently in financial trouble. With federal budget cutting, the general economic condition and now the current Wisconsin State Budget all but eliminating the Wisconsin Arts Board and cutting fiscal sources for the arts, Woodland Pattern, which is a nonprofit agency, faces some possible deficits that they've never had to struggle through before. So they need help. And, though we are not in their immediate community, I want to emphasize just how far the benefits of Woodland Pattern reach. We are lucky to be in the same STATE as them, let alone the same region. And, ultimately, what that means is-- creatively, artistically--we are benefitting from the work they are doing. I imagine I'm unaware even of many of the ways I benefit from their presence but, the one thing I am sure of is that what they do is extremely important and the effects of it travel to Racine and far beyond.

SO LET'S HELP THEM.

If Racine's artistic community is important to you, if Wisconsin's creative economy is important to you, if BONK! is important to you then, whether you've realized it or not, Woodland Pattern is very important to you. It is our house. And, when our house is in trouble, we are the only ones who will protect it. I, personally, am going to do so with a great passion and I fully encourage all of you to come with me and protect this house of the arts!

How Do we Help?

Here's the plan, in order of importance. Ready?--

1) If you don't know of Woodland Pattern, go familiarize yourself at their website now. Consider making the small trip to one of their programs soon. In fact, if you plan to go to something, let me know so I can bum a ride from you and see it too.

2) Short on time? Then consider becoming a WP "member." You can do so on their website. They ask a minimum donation of $25 for students and seniors ($35 for others), but there's of course no limit to the amount you can donate. Of course, they have a list of great discount and gift incentives for different donation amounts, but the real incentive, in my eyes, is supporting a legendary American institution and a champion of the arts in Wisconsin. There is nothing better to invest some precious money into. So become a member now!

3) "But what if I'm already a member, Nick?" you ask.

Well, you, in this time when Woodland Pattern is in extra need of our help, I suggest you upgrade your level of membership.

"Thanks, Nick, " you respond. "You're the best."

Aw, shucks.

4) Because of the ever-increasing cut-backs, Woodland Pattern will need to raise an additional $48,500 in less than seven months! Want to be a part of literary history? Be one of the people to donate money and save this Mecca of the Arts! They will even be starting an Honor Roll of responding individuals on the web-site with their names, city and state (but not amounts) and writers will be marked with an asterisk.

5) One way to help that costs no money and can be done from, say, the comfort of your local public library, is to be a Woodland Pattern spokesperson. Talk to your friends about Woodland Pattern and about the trouble they're facing. If you've benefitted from or had good experiences at Woodland Pattern, talk about it and, even better, write your stories down, blog them, socially network them, etcetera! If you come to Woodland Pattern and are up for being filmed, do a video blog! In fact, I hope anyone who does any of this contacts me with their story in an e-mail. Not only will I publish it (or republish it) on my blog, but I will collect all that I get, and give them to Woodland Pattern (these stories can be very useful in petitioning to Foundations and other groups for funding). Even if you haven't experienced the wonder of Woodland Pattern yet, if you've experienced BONK!, you can write about that or how you believe poetry, the arts or organizations such as WP benefit our quality of life. We can turn our separate voices into a gorgeous choir and sing Woodland Pattern back to safety!

6) The last suggestion I'll make--certainly many folks on this listserv buy books. Perhaps during certain times, like the holidays, or school semester, you buy many books at once, all at the same time. Rather than doing this through Amazon, Barnes and Noble or some other corporate entity, make your purchases at Woodland Pattern. Even if it's a little more expensive, the benefits to doing so are virtually endless. Where a $200 purchase is a drop in the bucket to a beast like Amazon, to Woodland Pattern it is a really significant transaction. And, as convenient as shopping online might be at times, Woodland Pattern is a destination. With real humans, too. Not only can you get some books, but you can say you've been to the best poetry Book Center in the country!

Ultimately, there are many diverse ways in which we can help protect Woodland Pattern and our arts community as a whole. But, one thing is for certain--We need to protect this house! Even if some of our politicians decide the arts are not a primary concern for them, we can take an assortment of actions and show just how many of us know arts are a critical value.

BONK! family, We are Woodland Pattern. BONK! is not safe, Racine is not safe, WE and our values are not safe, if Woodland Pattern is not safe. So join me and together we will protect this house--this home--of the arts in Wisconsin.

If you have further questions on this, contact me atnick.demske@racinelibrary.info. In the meantime, let's strengthen our neighbors to the North and, in turn, strengthen ourselves. Become a member, record and spread your stories, patronize the Book Center and take part in their incredible programs they put on.

Looking forward to investing with you in something we can really be proud of.

For Woodland Pattern, for BONK!, for The Arts,

Nick Demske

nickipoo.wordpress.com

Skadoosh

2011-06-01T22:48:00.000-04:00

Wife and I took the girls to see Kung Fu Panda 2 and left craving steamed dumplings. Good movie.

The Gatewood Prize

2011-05-16T12:40:00.000-04:00

Hello out there,

My good friends over at Switchback Books are still taking submissions for The Gatewood Prize.

The Gatewood Prize is Switchback Books' annual competition for a first or second full-length (48-80 pp.) collection of poems by a woman writing in the English language. It is named after Emma Gatewood, the first woman to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail.

2011 Judge: Harryette Mullen

Reading period: April 1 - June 1, 2011.

MTV + TRAFFIC JAM

2011-05-14T14:17:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone,

My brother-in-law, Gregg Hionis, is traveling to South East Asia with his new band Sargent Avenue. They are partnering with MTV + TRAFFIC JAM for Thailand.

Sargent Avenue has been asked by MTV in association with TRAFFIC JAM to play a show in Chiang Mai, Thailand on June 25 for MTV's anti-trafficking organization MTV EXIT. They are expecting 40,000 people for this event and Sargent Avenue are the first American band to be invited to play. A lineup will be announced shortly. MTV is going to be recording this concert and doing a documentary. Traffic Jam will also be following and doing a documentary with the band for a week prior to the concert. They will be visiting children and seeing first hand the terrors of global trafficking.

They are needing funds to cover additional costs. Consider donating to this cause. All donations are tax deductible and are going to support an amazing organization and event.

You can give by check to “World Orphans” (World Orphans, PO Box 1840, Castle Rock, CO 80104) and be sure to put ST-7070 (Hionis) on the memo line so that World Orphans can process it accordingly.

Also, you can also donate through TRAFFIC JAM via their Facebook Cause page.

For more information you can contact the band here.

Thanks!

Woodland Pattern

2011-05-14T11:26:00.000-04:00

Woodland Pattern is an amazing book center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When I lived in Chicago, I used to play hooky from work and visit. It's wonderful! If you live nearby, go check it out and become a member. If you don't live nearby - Check out their site here and see all the great things they do. If you can, make a donation - they need some help! Thank you.

I Saw These Movies...

2011-05-06T15:17:00.001-04:00

I actually saw all ten of the Best Picture nominees before the Oscars, but I've been hesitant in coming up with my top ten – because I have yet to see A Prophet, Dogtooth, I Am Love, Somewhere, Animal Kingdom, or Blue Valentine. My excuses are Kids! School! Work! Tired! I want to see these movies, I will see these movies. But I also wanted to celebrate some of my 2010 favorites with the blogosphere.

These were great!:

The Social Network (Fincher)

I hit the "like" button on this a bunch of times.

Exit Through the Gift Shop (Banksy)

I was a fan of Mr. Brainwash before he was Mr. Brainwash.

The Town (Affleck)

Ben Affleck is extremely talented, get used to it.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Wright)

Why didn't you go see this?

127 Hours (Boyle)

Hey James Franco's grandmother -- I kept my eyes open for 127 Hours!

True Grit (Coen)

Being a man with true grit means not using contractions.

Howl (Epstein/Friedman)

"I scribbled magic lines from my real mind."

Inception (Nolan)

"You musn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling."

Black Swan (Aronofsky)

Can't believe they cut this scene.

Greenberg (Baumbach)

"Dear Starbucks, in your attempt to manufacture culture out of fast food coffee you've been surprisingly successful for the most part. The part that isn't covered by 'the most part' sucks."

Oh, I enjoyed these too!:

Shutter Island (Scorsese)

I did not like this movie until I saw the last shot.

Jackass 3-D (Tremaine)

The reason 3-D was invented.

I Love You Phillip Morris (Ficarra & Requa)

One of Jim Carrey's best performances to date.

The Fighter (Russell)

Christian Bale as Dicky Eklund totally makes up for Melissa Leo's overrated performance.

Cyrus (Duplass)

Another great Duplass brothers movie.

Easy A (Gluck)

Funny, almost as funny as this.

Winter’s Bone (Granik)

Gritty.

The King’s Speech (Hooper)

The real version, not that PG-13 bullshit.

Toy Story 3 (Unkrich)

Closure.

How to Train Your Dragon (DeBlois & Sanders)

A highly educational instructional film on dragon indoctrination.

Talihina Sky

2011-04-19T04:22:00.002-04:00

Coming soon

2011-04-11T00:21:00.002-04:00

Coming soon. My top 10 films of 2011. I know it's almost mid-April, but hey I've got kids! I've only got a few more I need to see to make sure I make the correct picks. Stay tuned!

A.N.D

2011-04-07T09:33:00.000-04:00

Check this out. This is the A.N.D Project. My good friend Tyler Flynn Dorholt is a part of this. So head over there and see what they're up to. Thanks!

allwritethen

2011-04-06T23:49:00.000-04:00

Check out this new community-published poetry site with a print component: allwritethen. Really cool stuff, started by Perrin Carrell, Tom Nowak, and Paul R. Alvarez out of Columbia College Chicago. Anyone can contribute. Anyone can vote.

If you'd like to see Christian Bale curse at me for messing up his poem click here: Christian Bale by Andrew Terhune.

While you're there. Vote for it if you like it. If you don't like it but like me, you can still vote for it. If you like it but don't like me, please rise above your pettiness and vote for a poem you appreciate. If you don't like it or me, then why are you even reading my blog? Goodbye everybody, goodbye!

2011-04-05T22:36:00.002-04:00

Scissortail Creative Writing Festival

2011-04-05T14:42:00.001-04:00

Spent the weekend in Ada, Oklahoma at the Scissortail Creative Writing Festival at East Central University, where I was a featured reader. Lots of great readers including my buddies James Brubaker, Phil Estes, Karen Eileen Sisk and many others.

Thanks to Ken Hada for a great event!

04-05-02

2011-04-05T14:30:00.000-04:00

1951-2011

2011-04-03T12:45:00.002-04:00

Check out Rabbit Catastrophe Review!

2011-04-01T01:14:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone,

Check out Rabbit Catastrophe Review. Issue 1 is now available featuring wonderful work by Phil Estes and James Brubaker. Get yourself a copy while you can!

On a personal note I will have two poems featured in the upcoming second issue (which is rumored to have cover art by Tao Lin!).

Check it out!

2011-02-28T21:44:00.000-05:00

Check THIS out

Top 25 Albums of 2010

2010-12-27T21:47:00.000-05:00

Here's my end of the year list of favorite albums... enjoy......

25. Das Racist - Sit Down, Man
24. Belle & Sebastian - Belle & Sebastian Write About Love
23. Rufus Wainwright - All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu
22. Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
21. Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
20. The Black Keys - Brothers
19. Sleigh Bells - Treats
18. Conan O'Brien & The Legally Prohibited Band - Live at Third Man
17. The Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt
16. Dr. Dog - Shame, Shame
15. The Roots - How I Got Over
14. Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be
13. Wild Nothing - Gemini
12. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
11. LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening

10. Eminem - Recovery

To the fans, I'll never let you down again, I'm back
I promise to never go back on that promise.
In fact, let's be honest
That last Relapse CD was ehh....
- "Not Afraid"

9. The National - High Violet

The pricey stuff makes me dizzy
I guess I've always been a delicate man
Takes me a day to remember a day
I didn't mean to let it get so far out of hand
I was a comfortable kid
But I don't think about it much anymore
Lay me on the table, put flowers in my mouth
And we can say that we invented a summer lovin' torture party
- "Lemonworld"

8. Spoon - Transference

I'm writing this to you in reverse
Someone better call a hearse
I can see it all from here
from just a few glimpses
Now that lightbulb's gone off
And it's pulling my wince
- "Written in Reverse"

7. Neil Young - Le Noise

I feel a strength
I feel your faith in me
I'll never let you down no matter what you do
If you jus walk with me and let me walk with you
I'm on this journey I don't wanna walk alone
- "Walk with Me"

6. Bruce Springsteen - The Promise

How many men fail, their dreams denied
They walk through these streets with death in their eyes
Now the man on the radio says, "Elvis Presley died"
Come on, come on, let's go tonight
- "Come On (Let's Go Tonight)"

5. Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me

We'd talk as soft as chalk
Till morning came, as pale as a pearl
No time, no, no time
Now, I have got all the time in the world
- "Soft as Chalk"

4. Band of Horses - Infinite Arms

Drive out with the sun in your eyes
You wasted my time
It's true, it's true
My God, don't you hold out your hand
I called off my plans
I counted on you, on you
And if you're ever left with any doubt
What you live with and what you'll do without
I'm only sorry that it took so long to figure out
- "Evening Kitchen"

3. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Some cities make you lose your head
Endless suburbs stretched out thin and dead
And what was that line you said
Wishing you were anywhere but here
You watch the life you're living disappear
And now I see
We're still kids in buses longing to be free
- "Wasted Hours"

2. Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown

Hate to be so emotional
I didn't mean to get physical
But when he pulled in and revved it up
I said, "You call that a pickup truck?"
And in the moonlight I throwed him down
A kicking, screaming and rolling around
A little piece of a bloody tooth
Just so you know I was thinking of you
Just so you know
- "Pickup Truck"

1. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

I'm living in that 21st Century
Doing something mean to it
Do it better than anybody you ever seen do it
Screams from the haters, got a nice ring to it
I guess every superhero need his theme music
- "Power"

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T19:28:00.000-05:00

i wish it was christmas today