#donald quist

[largethingslargerthings]

MWP INTERVIEW WITH DONALD QUIST

"Writing is literal alchemy", an MWP interview with Donald Quist by Meditative Week of Poetry

Donald Quist is an award-winning fiction writer and essayist. He is an assistant professor at the University of Missouri and the executive e

[largethingslargerthings]

Meditative Weekend of Poetry: Duane Locke

I was contemplating the supreme brightness:

One bent, extended finger, the lower-half of three bent fingers close together,

A brightness in a chiaroscuro space of absolute darkness

Of a Rembrandt painting.

I was sitting in a space that was primarily hard black mud, water

Oozed underground and unseen.  Although the nearby Downy Woodpecker

Could hear and understand the speech of the unseen water, I could not.

This space of black mud is mostly covered with a bright green vegetation.

From its greenness and salvation sprouted Spring stems

That resembled thin wires, that so thing were almost invisible.

At the end of the thinness were two dark growths that looked

Like wings in flight, wings without a body quivering through a bible of blue air.

(Adapted from “Poem Written By A 96 Year Old Man, No. 55″ in The Bitter Orleander, V. 24, # 2)

(This poem is a spinal vertebrae broken into three sections - exaggerated in this selection - but the breaks in paragraphs of verse are the intervertebral discs that define the function of the vertebrae.  The absence in Locke’s poem can be considered by the juxtaposition of the different “stanzas” above as defined by undefined space of absence that allows the reader to define their relationship outside the writer’s control.  Another example of this is the work of Ange Mlinko, for example, her poem “Epic”.  A prose example are the stories of Donald Quist in his newest collection, For Other Ghosts, where a theme is disseminated throughout different stories and most fecund in the undefined absences within stories.)

[tlhopkinson]

Virtual Creativity: How The Speakeasy Project is Fostering a Space for Writers - guest blog post by Isabelle Jia

Virtual Creativity: How The Speakeasy Project is Fostering a Space for Writers – guest blog post by Isabelle Jia

An interview with Program Director & Founder, Tyler Tsay, on what The Speakeasy Project brings to the writing world.

What is The Speakeasy Project? The Speakeasy Projectis an online workshop space for students of all ages. By offering workshops entirely online, we hope to bring the space of the workshop to users that may not have access to a city or institutions of higher learning (where many…

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[largethingslargerthings]

REVIEW IN 6 WORDS OR LESS: DONALD QUIST'S HARBORS

PORT IN VIEW; ARRIVAL UNCERTAIN.

[poetinbangkok]

Episode 12 is different. Recorded during two meetings at Benchasiri Park in Bangkok--shortly after the passing of Thailand's beloved patriarch, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and then again a few weeks later, following the results of the U.S. presidential elections--Colin and Donald attempt to parse their world in the wake of recent happenings that stand to reshape the national and cultural identities of two countries they call home. In these park sessions, Colin and Donald describe some of the responses they've witnessed. They share their perspectives and explain the difficulty each have faced finding what to say during a period of mourning and transition in both Thailand and the United States.

The hosts discuss effects to the production of the podcast, and reveal personal developments that stand to change the dynamic of the show. Donald discusses the growing Martian plant invasion throughout Bangkok, and Colin makes plans for the alien bukrak flower he's been nursing on his balcony.

Written and produced by Donald and Colin. Mixed and edited by Colin.

Music by Reports (reports.bandcamp.com/). Thanks to Izotope (www.izotope.com) for the phenomenal sound editing software.

[poetinbangkok]

Err of Uncertainty

I’m writing this while sitting on a shopping mall bench, between a Starbucks and a MANGO clothing boutique. I’m looking up; I’m trying to imagine the origins of the luscious alien vines creeping through cracks in the ceiling. I’m snapping a picture to show Colin. These could be those bukraks, right? These could be the Martian flora Colin and I have discussed on the podcast: the ones I reported seeing at one of the Martian Whale crash sites in northern Thailand earlier this year, the plant Colin is currently growing on his balcony. This could be the invasion we’ve been preparing for.

But what do I want to say about this vibrant vegetation? What is there more compelling to say when Earth has become so much stranger?

I’m peering around and everyone around me is draped black in reverence. Every mannequin models garments as dark as the space between our atmosphere and Mars. Whenever I try to envision what could be happening on Mars among Dr. Wells-Clarke, Captain Sheppard and the Harbinger crew, I am slapped sober by the mournful landscapes immediately in front of me. Revelations from ISECG and Dr. Pim, new Guardian articles from Drew Sutton, and flowery veins choking Bangkok, all seems impossibly far away when confronted by the surrealism of more current events.

One nation mourns the passing of a beloved Monarch, the loss of a part of the country’s identity. Across social media, digital walls turn black. People fill the streets to express their grief. Another country mourns the outcome of an election, the loss of ideals and hopes for crafting a new, more inclusive, national identity. Again, across social media, digitals walls turn black. People take the streets to express their grief.

And I feel pressed between two sovereignties, trapped on this mall bench trying to figure out how to turn what I’m observing into something that might be art. But it feels harder than before. World events start to feel too big for a podcast. Have they always been? Have Colin and I made a mistake in attempting to pull what we’ve witnessed into a narrative that helps us make sense of what we consider absurd? Were we wrong in inviting people to join us in speculation over events that have grave consequences for others? In our attempts to understand our surroundings, in our pursuit for comprehension to narrow our uncertainty, has this endeavor helped anyone but ourselves?

I believe what we're doing has value. I’m unsure what will come next. But I’m compelled to make something, to do something that might be useful. I sincerely hope this podcast might be a work that might help others make sense of things too. 

- Donald

[aletdownsquid]

Harbors (Awst-Press.org) is a Handpicked title at Small Press Distribution along with some other great books. Check it out at spdbooks.org.

[poetinbangkok]

In episode 11, Colin heads to Hanoi, Vietnam, and chats with Burmese poet & visual artist Maung Day. Maung talks about how his early exposure to traditional Burmese songs and poems in school sparked a passion for writing, how--despite extreme military censorship--he sought out American and British literature that excited him, and how he found his own creative voice. He recalls the violent political clashes he saw while residing in Bangkok in the earlier half of the decade, and how he felt a haunting sense of familiarity having witnessed brutal suppressions of uprisings growing up in a Yangon suburb. Maung reflects on the difficulty many immigrants face in Thailand and personal instances of discrimination. He shares his optimism and comments on the exciting, socially engaging, art currently coming out of Myanmar. And Maung explains how the strange alien vines growing across the Earth inspire poetic imagery.

The hosts discuss the detention of Hong Kong activist, Joshua Wong, and reflect on the 40th anniversary of one of Thailand's darkest moments. Donald talks about a mysterious new friend with connections to ISECG and the Harbinger missions to Mars, and Colin comes into possession of lyrical translations of alien transmissions.

Written and produced by Donald and Colin. Mixed and edited by Colin.

Music by Reports, with thanks to Martin Pavlinic (reports.bandcamp.com).

Special thanks to Izotope for the fabulous sound editing software.

Questions or comments? [email protected]