the 100th "The Book of the Red King" poem

Painting: Graham Ward, "King in Finisterre."
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Today I wrote the 100th poem of The Book of the Red King. In the fall, Graham Ward's paintings reminded me of a Red King story I had written a year or so before; Graham also likes fools, and I had fooled with fools before as well.

And somehow on October 17th of last year, I started writing madly about the Fool and the Red King and Precious Wentletrap and the blossom Queen and many another character. Some days I wrote three poems. One day I wrote five. It has been a delicious insanity.

100 is round. Perhaps I am done. Perhaps not. Only the Fool can know, and he can only know when he knows. And when he doesn't know, there might be more.

Some of the poems have appeared at Mezzo Cammin and qarrtsiluni (January 24), and some are forthcoming at The Flea, but I haven't sent many out yet. They are still new. So it will be a while before The Book of the Red King appears in the world.

But in the meantime, you can always slide down to the next post and take a gander at The Throne of Psyche. That book of poetry will be out soon.

And maybe it's appropriate here to remember once again (trala!) the immortal words of Kenneth Rexroth: "People who say they love poetry and never buy any are cheap sons-of-bitches!" Long ago, back in the mythical time of youth, that line was typed on a little strip of paper on end of the poetry section at the Bull's Head Bookshop at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It must have been effective because it stayed up for years! XD

The Throne of Psyche: pre-order discounts

If you are an Amazon buyer rather than a local shopper, links are now up with pre-order discounts. The paperback is discounted 32% and the hardcover 34%. Can we say, dirt cheap?

Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Throne-Psyche-Poems-Marly-Youmans/dp/0881462322/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1296748329&sr=1-2

Hardcover: http://www.amazon.com/Throne-Psyche-Poems-Marly-Youmans/dp/0881462462/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1296748329&sr=1-20?ie=UTF8&qid=1296748329&sr=1-2

Other options are your local independent bookseller or ordering direct from the publisher, Mercer University Press, a way of buying which gives them a generous return. I just ordered R. H. W. Dillard's new book, What Is Owed the Dead, that way from Factory Hollow Press. And reminded his facebook fans of Kenneth Rexroth's immortal words, "People who say they love poetry and never buy any are cheap sons-of-bitches!"

Amusing and wonderful Paul Digby (composer, photographer, curator, bespoke framemaker--and I don't know what else!) is progressing on a video featuring "The Exile's Track" from The Throne of Psyche. That's a darkish sort of poem, and there will be cellos! More on that effort anon.

Illustrations: Jacket/cover of The Throne of Psyche along with an image of the original painting from which the image is drawn, "Touched" by Clive Hicks-Jenkins.

Boot Scoot Snow Charm

The secret to nabbing a snow day when the weather turns out to be not nearly as history-making as the weather mavens declare: wear your pajamas inside-out in the accepted snow-day-wish fashion and do the boot scootin' boogie for your snow dance. Now you know.

Anatomy of a Snow Day

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• Youngest child wore his bright red plaid pajamas inside-out, surefire guarantee of the snow day.
• Mama and said boy did the Wild Happy Snow Dance just to make sure, with appropriate whooping and wheeling about... It looked rather native American this time. Must've been the 1/16th Mohawk popping out (his, not mine, but evidently contagious.) I would think the snow would obey even a bit of fierce Akewesasne Mohawk, and it certainly did.
• Visibility: dratted poor, especially when shivering and wet at the bus stop.
• Snow: deep and falling fast, at the moment fine flakes but filling the air with an artistic southward slant.
• Plows: excessively busy, buzzing and jingling and getting stuck on our corner with a great racket. Cheerful.
• Schools: all closed it seems, from more than an hour below us in Binghamton to Delhi to Elmira to Cherry Valley and Adirondack points north.
• Except: our neighbor Milford (getting out early) and us (nobody's saying.)

Now I go off to write and make podcasts...

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Photograph credit: snow lion courtesy of Nikola Hartmann and sxc.hu.