Up 9:30, quite a bit later than I’d intended (my phone was charging in the other room, so no alarm). Got myself together to leave in by about 10:50, made my train at Penn Station. Read a bit of the transference book, had to call my dad b/c there won’t be any other time until Monday.
Got in at 1:30, Brian picked me up, went to the bookstore at Time Space Limited, bought a few cheap CDs, a beat up copy of the big Lucia Berlin collection, and the 5-book set of translations of/commentary on Wagner’s Ring cycle that had been there since my last visit 4-5 months ago. Asked if the price was firm, but the clerk kinda shamed me.
Grocery shopping; came back to Jenny & Brian’s house in Catskill, took a rapid COVID test (negative) so no one would be worried (there was an email thread about everyone’s testing status); started cooking dinner as the rest of the weekend guests arrived (Kristin, Derek, Trip, Stefan & Amy, still waiting on Andrew & his gf).
Made pasta + sauce, split between sausage and eggplant/zucchini for the vegetarians. Ate around 8. Generally regarded as successful which was a relief. Some fairly amazing local ice cream — yuzu labneh and date shake — for dessert.
Karaoke (“The Cutter” and “Ladies Who Lunch”), also played some piano for other people singing through the awful effects on their karaoke. Did a couple of card tricks, more successfully than Thanksgiving. Round of Cards against of Humanity — I’ve never been too good at it. Drank, but not excessively - Andrew makes a good boulevardier.
Lights out midnight.
Up 7:30. Breakfast, coffee.
Called Bree at 8:30.
Massage.
Was supposed to leave by 12:30, but couldn’t find keys (had looked in the morning as well). As of 2, still haven’t found them; I got in last night, so they have to be here. Called Dylan begging off meeting, tried to clear my head for a while.
Found them about 15 min. after writing that, in the shoulder bag I didn’t use yesterday. Mystery. Revised plans w/ Dylan and Nina, Listened to an Echo & the Bunnymen collection on the way. Good decision.
Met for coffee near Whitney at 3:30. Nice chat.
Walked w/ them to their hotel, around 12th. Found a bite, went to Pete’s Candy Store, for Anna Maskovachis/James Hannahan reading. Hung out a little w/ Anna, Joanne MacNeill, Annie Nocenti. Before the reading, I was sitting in the patio alone and a guy who hadn’t gotten his time at the comedy open mic before the reading (Pete’s turns the room several times a night) asked if he could tell me his jokes. They weren’t good.
Enjoyed the reading - Anna’s work was a disguised acct. of adjuncting; James read from his quite interesting book of prose poems w/ some relationship to Pessoa and a jaundiced angle on idol.
Slipped out at 8:15, went to meet Pete G. to hear Chris Brokaw at Mama Tried. Good set, played “Fools Rush In.”
Got some chicken and rice on the way home that surely blew my diet for the day. Food scheduling is often an issue.
Home after midnight, lights out probably 1 am or so.
12.1.21
Up 8:30. Breakfast, coffee.
Put in some laundry. Tried to call Bree.
Trying to sell 2 Yo La Tengo tickets online; I’d forgotten that I’d bought an extra for a couple of their Hannukah shows. Found a taker for Sunday, a 33 1/3 writer I’ve met in passing.
Got clothes from dryer before therapy at 11.
Started looking into permissions/licenses for podcast; not sure of next step.
Got a new Queens Library card.
Read a transference paper, took a short nap.
Cleaned kitchen, tidied up elsewhere, folded laundry, did some packing.
Watched more of the Brassens tribute show - it’s multiple sets, I’m 2 hrs. In at this point.
A friend of Jack Silbert’s took me up on tonight’s extra ticket. Met him outside Bowery Ballroom about 8. Went in, chatted a bit near the stage, I went off to say hi to Jack. Opening set was CUP - Nels Cline and Yukio C. Honda (middle initial included anytime anyone said her name). One or both sat in for the YLT set; other guest was John Cameron Mitchell, singing Lou Reed’s “I Found a Reason” and “Waves of Fear,” dedicated to the Omicron variant. Comic in-between was Jo Firestone.
Left just a bit early, during the 2nd song of the encore, just to get a jump on the coat check and train.
Listened to a fairly interesting interview w/ Nicole Hannah-Jones, and an episode of a podcast called “What is X?” on the definition of art.
Home about midnight, needed to eat.
Nov 2021 reading
Montreux Rotholtz, Unmark
Nella Larsen, Passing
Suketu Mehta, This Land Is Our Land: An Immigrants Manifesto
Nathaniel Mackey, Tej Bet
Pamela Haag, Revise
Gustavus Stadler, Woody Guthrie: An Intimate Life
Peter Weiss, The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton under the direction of the Marquis de Sade, trans Geoffrey Skelton and Adrian Mitchell.
Imre Lakatos, Proofs and Refutations
Einar McBride, Mouthpieces
Agnes Callard, On Anger
Trisha Low, Socialist Realism
11.30.21
Up 9:30 - slow start.
Breakfast, coffee.
Listened to an podcast interview w/ Pete Galub. Proofed and sent PopCon proposal.
Read 30 p. Low.
Spent afternoon on to-do list; cleared a lot of email, wrote to a publicist, called the bank, etc. Arranged to meet Pete at Chris Brokaw Thursday.
Started watching/listening the rec’d stream of Pierre Gallande’s George Brassen’s concert at Barbes, which I’ve had on deck for a few weeks.
Made some zucchini and Brussel sprouts. Got laundry together for tomorrow.
Read a bit more of Low. Realized that an unnamed poet whose kinks she discusses is someone I know; I suspected, but then there was an unmistakable detail (a reference to a minor literary work we’ve discussed).
Worked at E77 7-9:30 pm. Realized just before I left that I’d misspelled a name in the PopCon proposal (one I know exactly who on the committee will recognize and tick against me), so I fixed it and resent; RJ replied that he got it.Watched one episode of Prime Suspect. Helen Mirren is drinking more.
Finished Low; read 1st poem/section of Lisa Robertson, 3 Summers. Lights out 1 am.