DID YOU KNOW CLAYTON ESHLEMAN WROTE A POEM ABOUT GARY SNYDER PICKING UP GOLD COINS WITH HIS BUTT?

I didn’t until I found a copy of his 1969 Chapbook The House of Okumura at Powell’s in Portland for five bucks. It’s another work of Eshleman’s responsive to the weird vibrations emanating from the site of its composition.  Here he’s wearing some influences on his sleeve, it seems (Olson? Pound?) but its good fun and the book is beautifully put together by Barbara Caruso & Weed/flower  Press.

“”…nightmare dreams
at a carnival I wander into gigantic tent
look at a wide velvet covered table with
huge steamshovel lowering over it Snyder
in the shovel-cup being lowered to table
picks up gold coins with his buns.”

Also picked up Let’s Collaborate by Jack Christian while mowing thru small press shelf. It was the equivalent of a wool afghan I bought at a church yard sale seven years ago.  That is, oddly comforting.

&–WTF–it turns out Let’s Collaborate is thru Magic Helicopter Press. And Magic Helicopter Press is run by Mike Young and Ryan Call.

In a blind taste test…

Also saw Evelyn Hampton read from We Were Eternal and Gigantic w/Emily Kendal Frey on my last day in Portland. Couldn’t focus due to exhaustion but should probably check this out whence I have more monies.