Dan Sargent, publisher of Road of Excess Books, has posted a reading of Clark Coolidge, Robert Creeley, & Anselm Hollo on his site; just click here. Recorded at the Naropa Institute, Creeley speaks of “ways to articulate rhythm in a serial order”. Here investigations that illustrate Ornette Coleman’s maxim: “Rhythm patterns should be more or less like natural breathing patterns.”

Dan has worked under auspices of NEA and NEH grants to transfer analog recordings from Naropa University’s Audio Archives onto digital media for preservation and greater public access. The Naropa Audio Archives consists of nearly 7,000 hours of classes/lectures/readings/performances given at Naropa since its founding in 1974. People included in this cultural treasure (rated in a recent New York Times article as “One of the 3 most important literary audio archives in the nation”) include Allen Ginsberg, John Cage, John Ashberry, Marianne Faithful, H. H. the Dalai Lama, Merrideth Monk, Amiri Baraka, Pema Chodron, Robert Duncan, etc. (Photo of Robery Creeley, © 1995, Sunday Star, Auckland).

What a great weekend. Got a chance to meet up Jesse Glass, John Byrum, Paolo Javier, and Richard Peabody. David Kirschenbaum served as gracious host for our reading at the ACA Galleries in Chelsea. Afterwards, we hit the Cuba Cafe on Eighth for some grub, a “Tapas bar featuring the best mojitos in Chelsea.”

More soon about the reading. For now, however, we have some pics up over in the gallery, courtesy of John Byrum. Also, I’ve placed videos of the event here.

While I was able to meet a lot of new faces, and connect with old ones, I was happy to finally meet Derek White, of sleepingfish.net fame. I’ve always enjoyed Derek’s work, and have had the pleasure in the past of publishing him in my eponymously titled ezine a few years ago; presently he’s doing some cool things with his Calamari Press. It was great to meet him. Derek was kind enough to post his thoughts on the reading over at “5cense Reviews” wherein he writes reviews that stimulate all five senses.

Well, that’s it for now — back soon with more about some great books that I picked up at St. Mark’s Bookshop. Notably, Sarah Gambito, whose company Jesse and I had the pleasure of sharing over a Lychee Martini at Verlaines on Rivington. I’m reading her new book, Matadora, presently.

The Witness: Slavery in 19th Century Carroll County, Maryland is available for download here.

This book is a guide to the subject of slavery in Carroll County, Maryland as reflected in the antebellum newspapers published in Westminster, the county seat. The first section presents a miscellany of full newspaper accounts regarding the “Peculiar Institution.” The second part consists of the trial records of Rebecca McCormick, the first person to be executed in Carroll County. These records were pieced together by the author from both the American Sentinel and the Carroll County Democrat. The third, and most extensive, section offers a series of abstracts of international, national, and local articles on slavery culled from 19th century Carroll County newspapers. Some cases of domestic violence are also documented in this book. Meant to be a platform for future research, The Witness not only is a key to the newspaper holdings at the Historical Society of Carroll County, and to a lesser extent the Maryland State Archives, but is an interesting read in and of itself. The appended list of names will make this book an invaluable tool for historians and genealogists alike.

Praise for Glass’s previous collection, Carroll County Newspaper Wars; Know-Nothings, Alms House Scandals and the Death of a Civil-War Editor:

“[Carroll County Newspaper Wars] is an important contribution to our knowledge of Maryland local history that opens a window on the usefulness of local newspapers as historical sources”

—Douglas P. McElrath
Curator, Marylandia & Rare Books
The University of Maryland Libraries

Jesse Glass, a former resident of Carroll County, holds advanced degrees in English from The Johns Hopkins University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He currently teaches American Literature in the undergraduate and graduate schools at Meikai (Bright Sea) University, Shin-Urayasu, Japan.

Warning! Disturbing content!

The documents in this book reflect the prejudices of 19th century America and should be read with that context in mind. Neither the Historical Society of Carroll County, Maryland nor the compiler/editor advocate the views expressed in this material.

We here at Ahadada are pleased to offer you the Jesse Glass & Charles Krutzen collaboration featuring Mayakovski is Dead.

Ingvar Loco Nordin writes of this collaboration as simultaenously massive, distinguished, dense, and transparent:

[the] wall of sound sweeps the plains free of any loose debris from recent brainstorms or any subconscious litter that might have surfaced on the shores of the consciousness or its close vicinity.

Straight from the Ahadada Vaults, we present “Mayakovsky is Dead” a collaborative work featuring Jesse Glass and Malachi Scott Noegel. Recorded by Galivant Media in 1987 and posted with their permission.

It features the track, Apis — which is reprinted in its entirety here:

bq.. Apis

Bull with a serpent’s tale
I’ve seen you gallop silently
Above the shingle of the lake.
No fish swam near you
Out of fear, I suppose,
& I watched till I could not help
But breathe your element from need of life
& Cry your name
In languages I did not know: half spasm & half swoon.
You turned your wizened gaze upon me:
The muzzle of a drowned thing
& Keened a column of silver bubbles
That scummed the surface of the lake
& Like Osiris’ far-flung limbs
Coupled together in the dawn to make
One reposing flesh of iridescent domes.
That cruciform holder
Of crimson sky two booming crests
Will crash like cymbals
To a whispered shadow.
While beneath,
Ten fathoms down,
Black hooves roil vortices
Above a rusted bell.

p. Check out the newest addition to our site: The Audio page. Here you can check out tracks, create your own playlists, and stream the music and poetry you want!