Reading Malamud

This section struck me as terribly funny and all too true. The emphasis on the word just at the end is the truest and funniest part of all. How two or three months is still a long bit to labor over a manuscript, working and reworking the sentences, the paragraphs, the word choices constantly, as most of us do. The timing of his sentence he sets the reader with a great and verifiable punchline, that sounds initially like two or three months working diligently is a major effort, and the last of it. But the reader gets the idea that this is more like a cycle that has gone on and on, as he reveals at the end of this excerpt. A writer sees time differently in the long run, because there is only the long run. The sprint is for the poets, or so I think until I am reminded by Coleridge that "I should not think of devoting less than twenty years to an epic poem." Thanks, Bernard, for putting things in perspective:

"He entered his three-windowed study, raised the cracked green shades without looking into the street and arranged himself at his desk. From the top drawer he removed a portion of the manuscript. Harry felt a momentary sense of loss, regret at having given his life to writing, followed by a surge of affection for the imaginative self, as he read yesterday's page and a half and found it solid, sound, going well. The book redeemed him. Another two or three months ought to finish it. Then a quick last rewrite of the enterprise--call it third-and-a-quarter draft--in about three months, possibly four, and he'd have it made, novel accomplished. Triumph after just ten years."

-Bernard Malamud, from The Tenants

eXfoliation was a success! The new quarterly reading series at bookculture on 112th street between Broadway and Amsterdam in Manhattan. The next eXfoliation (winter edition) will be Wednesday, February 18, 2015.

This November 6th, LOUFFA PRESS was more than pleased to present eXfoliation: two poets and two writers of prose at bookculture. Hosted by David Moscovich and Justin Maki.

eXfoliation November 6th, 7PM @bookculture, 536 W 112th St (NY,NY) Subway 1: Cathedral Parkway/110th St FREE

featuring:

A. H. JERRIOD AVANT, poetry

MATT DOJNY, fiction

AMY FUSSELMAN, nonfiction

CLAUDIA SEREA, poetry

eXfoliation was a success! The new quarterly reading series at bookculture on 112th street between Broadway and Amsterdam in Manhattan. The next eXfoliation (winter edition) will be Wednesday, February 18, 2015.

This November 6th, LOUFFA PRESS was more than pleased to present eXfoliation: two poets and two writers of prose at bookculture. Hosted by David Moscovich and Justin Maki.

eXfoliation November 6th, 7PM @bookculture, 536 W 112th St (NY,NY) Subway 1: Cathedral Parkway/110th St FREE

featuring:

A. H. JERRIOD AVANT, poetry

MATT DOJNY, fiction

AMY FUSSELMAN, nonfiction

CLAUDIA SEREA, poetry

Bookculture is located on 112th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam in Manhattan. Louffa Press is featured in the newly appointed small press section at Bookculture.

Last night the Academy of American Poets held a Chancellor's reading at Skirball Center NYU.

It was breathtaking to see these poets read. Jane Hirschfield and Edward Hirsch, Claudia Rankine and Juan Felipe Herrera among others. That is an adjective I think I have never used before to refer to any reading. But if you examine the list of poets from the evening you may understand why. Tonight is an event free and open to the public...what a city AMERICAN POETS PRIZES CEREMONY & RECEPTION, 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. Celebrate this year’s recipients of the American Poets Prizes, given by the Academy of American Poets, with readings by Brian Blanchfield, Luigi Bonaffini, Rigoberto González, Robert Hass, Hannah Sanghee Park, and Tracy K. Smith. A public reception with the poets and presenters will follow the ceremony. This event is free and open to the public. The Auditorium at 66 West 12th Street, The New School

Once ipon a time, I had a professor whose reading packet held an unusual title: CRAFT OF FICTIPON. I understood immediately that he had sprung on us a brilliant neologism. FICTIPON: (n.) to pontificate ipon the craft of fiction.

So the idea came to me to do The First William S. Burroughs Centennial Tribute of Lincoln, Nebraska on Friday June 6, 2014. Now, the idea is that this is the "first" centennial celebration because like any annual or biannual celebration, the first one implies that another will also occur. As for the plans for the "second" otherwise known as the Bicentennial William S. Burroughs Tribute of Lincoln, Nebraska, that is up in the air. The calendar has not been booked that far in advance, and I will also be -- out of town for that one, barring a huge jump in cryogenics research that will affordably allow me to freeze my brain and thaw it (note, the word de-thaw does not exist, despite its irksome usage). New York has one, London has one -- why not Lincoln, Nebraska. It's closer to Lawrence anyway. For now, the idea remains one loosely composed of two elements thusfar: 1. Tiny Tiny Tongues (Joseph Jaros and David Moscovich) and 2. Joe Younglove (Joe Younglove) and 3. You The venue and full lineup will be posted as soon as these things have been arranged.

The frozen Hudson river December 2013. Photo by David Moscovich.

So, de repente I've been invited to join the “My Writing Process” blog tour and have completamente accepted the maravilloso invitation from Eckhard Gerdes for April 14 (today). Thanks, Eckhard. You can check his blog post here: www.egerdes.wordpress.com.

Mitte kudasai! The blog post is totemo simple. I must follow the three mitsu steps below and post to my blog on the date given. Understand? Of course I do. Mochiron. Acknowledge the person who invited me Boku wa and that the post is part of the "My Writing Process" blog tour (ue), answer the 4 yotsu questions which are provided below, then nominate up to three authors to follow with short bios and blog burogu links rinkusu for all. Pafekuto!

1) What am I working on?

HEALTH MATTERS: I am working on my deltoids and my abdominals, which is tough with my fabulous, soon to be patented Moscovich All-Carb 20th Century Masterplan. That's right -- it's not a diet, it's a Masterplan. A lot of people are crazy for this low-carb and paleolithic diet and I have decided to go the other way -- it's bread and pasta and granola bars and anything beige, brown and tasteless all the way. I'm taking a stand -- no protein, no fiber, virtually no nutrition. I am also alternating the all-carb diet with the paleolithic diet, for the sake of balance and occasionally smartening up with one of those green algae brain-booster drinks. One week carb, two weeks caveman, loads of B-vitamins and B-movies. As a result, I look exactly the same as when I was in the fifth grade, but with smaller glasses.

MEMORY: I am working on remembering things. Things like, "Librarians are not secretly nymphomaniacs." Things like, "Plants and people are two different things." Things like, "Never put a down payment on a featherduster." Things like the fact these are all quotes from my novella You Are Make Very Important Bathtime.

STATISTICS: I am working on statistics. For example, did you know that 98% of US-based businesses use social media? And did you know that 98% of Catholic women use birth control? I am sure you noticed that 100% of these statistics have not been cited or sourced and that JK Rowling did not write them. Thank you for noticing all of that.

NOVELS, ETC: I am packed to the hilt with projects, as usual. As I do the work on writing it feels more like The Work, rather than just work. I am working on two novels right now. I am too superstitious to speak to them in detail before they are published, but in more general terms, one of them is a revision of a process I began in 2006, and the other is a fresh new take on a story I have been telling my entire life. I am also working on a book of poetry and a couple of screenplay treatments based on my flash fiction novella which was published last year, called You Are Make Very Important Bathtime. The treatments are connected to the novella in varying and probably disturbing ways. One of them is a horror spoof, another is a drama treatment, and a noir. They all use the characters in the novella but bring out different characterization and in some cases wildly diverging plotlines. I am finding a certain freedom in writing the screenplays that doesn't exist when writing a novel -- knowing that it won't be read word for word as the finished product itself, and in fact taken to a different medium entirely. I have also noticed something new arise since working the film angle of things. I no longer think that working on a screenplay is antithetical to literary work, now that I am doing it, it seems to be there like a trampoline I get jump on whenever I want a break from the literary work. That probably means I have workaholic tendencies. My muse is a slave-driving sadist with no concern for physical or mental well-being.

WRITER SUBMISSIONS: I have also been working on submissions for my Louffa Press single author chapbooks project, as well as the online E-asy Journal for Louffa Press, called Scrubbadubdub, which are both ongoing and accepting submissions between September-June each year.

THREE-DIMENSIONALITY: I am working on being less three-dimensional and less predictable. I have noticed that many of us in this day and age are under the impression that being a person in three-dimensions is better than being an image on a flatscreen. Ideally, I would only appear on a flatscreen or as a hologram or on the side of a mirror when you need a mirror. But that would be funny and possibly even confusing if when you needed a mirror you saw David Moscovich in the mirror instead of yourself. Then again, it might not be funny at all.

TEACHING AT NYU: I am working on a syllabus for teaching a class at NYU, Intro to Fiction and Poetry which will commence in the Fall of 2014. The class is divided more or less as half craft and half workshop. We are going to explore a few of the more impactful writers of the last century, and the other half of the course is concerned with fomenting interest in the art of writing itself by doing it and workshopping it.

TEACHING IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS: I am working on a book launch for some very bright and creative students at PS110. The book to be launched is an anthology of student work for which I am Editor-in-Chief. There will be two 4th and two 5th grade classes reading from the work they have created as a result of the Writers in the Public Schools Fellowship which I am happy to be part of at NYU. It will take place on May 31st at Barnes and Noble Union Square starting at 1:30PM. There will be some very talented kids sharing their work in the bravest way.

NEW WORK: I have work forthcoming in July in Asymptote, which just went live with their new April issue: http://www.asymptotejournal.com/index.php

CALMING DOWN: I am working on calming down after a few recent fun things happened, such as my work being shown at the London Biennial and in Rome as well, which was exciting, projected large on an outdoor wall. I am working on calming down while writing and rewriting a novel. I am working on calming down after a really fun book launch for Bathtime which was held at Quimby's in Chicago (Friday, Sep 13) and then Cake Shop in New York, last October 23. I am working on calming down after a recent MRI scan. I am working on calming down.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

My work is exactly the same as everyone else's work, only it's completely different. See above.

3) Why do I write what I do?

I write what I do for exactly the same reason as everyone else, only for precisely the same completely different reasons. See above. See below. Watch for falling rocks.

4) How does your writing process work?

Yes, it does work. See above. And thank you for the questions.

Want to do it? Thank you! Arigato! Mulțumesc! Touche!

Sweet Potatoes by David Moscovich Sweet potatoes are wonderful philological inventions, according to my computer virus sweet potatoes are located in a barnyard sweet potatoes are only four and a quarter today sweet potatoes are that the variety commonly grown here quite frequently tastes sweet potatoes are difficult for social and economic reasons but varieties with improved keeping qualities sweet potatoes are currently being conducted by the lsu agricultural center sweet potatoes are to highlight their versatility sweet potatoes are not only sweet potatoes are a very slow sweet potatoes are due to increased technology which changed the way people could prepare them sweet potatoes are $400 million a year sweet potatoes are flavored with brown sugar sweet potatoes are that they are delicious sweet potatoes are necessary for sweet potatoes are good for me sweet potatoes are stable compared with prices of highly perishable vegetables sweet potatoes are added sweet potatoes are easy, В В В just drain off the hot water sweet potatoes are concentrated in the stretch from thanksgiving to christmas sweet potatoes are rapidly expanding sweet potatoes are confusing; what is labeled a "yam" at the supermarket most likely is an orange sweet potato sweet potatoes is good sweet potatoes are just so sweet sweet potatoes are like the difference between cats and dogs sweet potatoes are rust sweet potatoes are here to help you treat your child to affordable style sweet potatoes are usually done between 90 sweet potatoes are about 85 degrees fahrenheit with 90 to 95% relative humidity sweet potatoes are to form latkes or potato pancakes sweet potatoes are to heal cuts and bruises quickly sweet potatoes are coming closer to commercial reality as the result of a co-pay computer virus that is taking over the internet sweet potatoes are in the microwave sweet potatoes are not especially innovative sweet potatoes are taken to new heights in this simple yet sophisticated casserole sweet potatoes are up from the sweet potatoes are featured in springtime in seville sweet potatoes are one way to increase kenya's food security sweet potatoes are better than dessert sweet potatoes are a standard procedure prior to storage sweet potatoes are to peel them and slice them about 1/4" thick sweet potatoes are taken to new heights in this simple yet sophisticated cass sweet potatoes are mid sweet potatoes are their versatility when it comes to utilizing them in recipes sweet potatoes are that they also provide micronutrients sweet potatoes are with cream sweet potatoes are to bake them at 350 to 375 degrees until they are soft and tender sweet potatoes are located in a sweet potatoes are fun and quite productive for the amount of labor spent sweet potatoes are such a precarious enterprise sweet potatoes are the health benefits like being high in beta sweet potatoes are estimated at 13 sweet potatoes are estimated at 11 sweet potatoes are that they do not grow locally sweet potatoes are china and it is the second most important crop in japan where it is used for the production of starch sweet potatoes are not recommended sweet potatoes are to cure them first sweet potatoes are one of my thanksgiving cookery jobs because this dish was such a favorite in my family and only a born and raised day can sweet potatoes are a wonderful sweet potatoes are the standard to which all other sweet potato dishes must rise to meet sweet potatoes are 55 to 65 degrees f with 85 to 90% relative humidity sweet potatoes are all naturally occurring sodium sweet potatoes are not worth the effort sweet potatoes are not a subject we know much about sweet potatoes are a small agricultural industry that has done well sweet potatoes are a good sweet potatoes are a wonderful combination giving you a great way to enjoy the many health benefits sweet potatoes are relatively new sweet potatoes are lower than most other garden vegetables sweet potatoes are delivered to the central virginia food bank in richmond sweet potatoes are expected to fetch between $5 and $10 sweet potatoes are cook sweet potatoes are thin and smooth and the colour patchy sweet potatoes are one of the largest producers of sweet potatoes in the usa sweet potatoes are poured into a pan of sizzling melted butter to produce a puffy and custardy pudding sweet potatoes are swimming in butter and smothered by marshmallows? think again sweet potatoes are necessary to get the syrupy sweet consistency sweet potatoes are merely an illusion sweet potatoes are donating $1 sweet potatoes are just what you'd make for your baby if you had the time sweet potatoes are over

Performance Concept for a Japanese Public

The Dropping
Here is a performance concept for a Japanese public that occurred to me recently. It has its basis in my knowledge of Japanese culture and a curiosity for testing the limits of the kata, and Japanese behavior in general. This performance is intended specifically for a Japanese public but could probably apply to other cultures, although not with the same effect. This performance concept is based on the idea that in Japanese culture, when a person drops an object, it is polite to pick it up and hand it back to them if a witness to it.

Location: Street, Train, Bus, or other public place

Idea: Performer drops an object (handkerchief, lipstick case, matchbook, lighter, etc) in the presence of other people. Performer does not pick up object but waits instead for someone to hand it to them.

Performer may repeat action any number of times, or go to another location and drop another object or the same object, wait for someone to hand it to them or offer it to them. Ideally, the performer would be walking and dropping objects on a busy street, so that several people would offer the object back to the performer.

This performance concept is copyright © 2014 by David Moscovich, all rights reserved. Use of this performance concept is permitted only with proper credit to the original concept by David Moscovich. Contact david at louffapress .com to use this idea for a performance.

Thank you.

SURREALIST MANIFESTO REMIXED BY DAVID MOSCOVICH

PROJECT DESCRIPTION This performance is based on an excerpt from The First Manifesto of Surrealism by Andre Breton, written in 1924, which concerns Breton’s approach to writing surrealist composition. The performance is a remix and collage of a live, non-linear reading with a video projection of the same text, rendered in color for the big screen. The text is reordered into 11 different permutations, so that each remix or permutation contains the text placed out of its original space. It then is dismantled then reconfigured visually, with characters juxtaposing and superimposing for the video. The text is approached as a medium of surrealism itself, and is molded in the shape of a re-reading as if directly from dreams and the subconscious. The text is meant to be read aloud in the precise spirit of Breton’s original instructions on surrealist composition, with the visual remix of the video projected behind the reader, and for simultaneous broadcast on the radio of the spoken delivery. The original text is not to be read, only the remixes. The voice then, will triangulate the visual collage of the surrealist manifesto.

Art In Odd Places Project Proposal

PROJECT TITLE The Golden Ratio on 14th Street PROJECT DESCRIPTION This project was born from a fascination with the golden mean, a sacred proportion used in the arts for centuries from the designers of The Parthenon to Leonardo DaVinci to Salvador Dali to Mondrian. The golden mean is also the basis for the Fibonacci sequence, the spiral pattern commonly found in many aspects of the natural world. This performance work by two New York-based artists, David Moscovich (USA) and Beatriz Albuquerque (Portugal), examines Caravaggio through a cascade of concrete poetry projections on passersby and buildings, while at the same time, the text is destroyed, deconstructed, reimagined and transformed gently into a microphone. The active audience is invited to follow the artists in their performances along 14th street, a physical trajectory which itself follows the golden mean. PROJECT PROPOSAL The golden mean, or the divine proportion, has been used in art for centuries. This project explores the divine number, 1.618, by projecting concrete poetry and through live spoken performance which interacts with the projected piece while at the same time will act as a short essay on the concept of the golden mean throughout time, including reiterations of the mathematics of the ratio itself. The text from the projected piece will be deconstructed, collaged and transformed gently into Moscovich’s mouth and consequently into the microphone, with great care to avoid the cadence typically associated with the genre of “spoken word”. The video will be projected onto members of the audience along 14th street, the street and its buildings. The microphone will be amplified through a handheld amplifier. The artists will perform on one of the four street corners for each avenue along 14th street between 6th avenue and Avenue C. The duration of each piece will be 14 minutes and 56 seconds, directly proportional to the golden mean itself, in other words, 1.618 minutes multiplied by 9. The street itself is considered a canvas, and will be divided in this way by the golden mean, using the streetcorners as the four points of the canvas rectangle. The public will be engaged through the projection of the video interacting with their clothes, so the piece will vary depending on what is visible on their clothes and the way they choose to respond to the video, spoken text, and the space surrounding the public. The artists will be interpreting the text which appears on their clothes. LOCATION The artists will perform on one of the four street corners for each avenue along 14th street between 6th avenue and Avenue C. TIME Thursday, October 17th, 2013 between 5PM-8PM, with a second and third choice being Friday or Saturday of the same week, respectively.

The Healing Power of Cleanly Laundered Socks

T-Shirt Idea 1

Not sure I'm
part of the
solution


T-Shirt Idea 2

Will pay
for t-shirt ideas

The Non-Interview with Prathna Lor. Finally it's found a home. And you know what his response was? It was funny. Great job. Read on, dear readers. Read on...this is my first interview done without the subject. The subject, of the interview. Missing. Missing subject. Absent subject. Subject not there. Empty. Filled in the spaces with. His words. From his chapbook. Ventriloquism. Yes. His words. But not his words. His answers. To my questions, not. His words. Yes. Not answers. Yes. Subject was. Absent. From the interview. There was no interview. Non-interview. Therefore. Read on, dear readers...

Today I was hit hard by Anselm Kiefer's new exhibition at Gagosian Gallery. What was it exactly that hit me?

Forget the links, go see it. From the press release: "Kiefer has transformed the space that surrounds Occupations into a labyrinth of glass and steel vitrines, some more than twenty feet high..."

Guide To Self Marriage. 16pp., Illustrated by Zeami. Screenprinted covers edition of 100. Cerulean Blue and Copper. Six bucks includes shipping within the USA.