Just a note on a great exhibition of visual art coming up by good guy Wordsalad man Paul Baker of far-away Madison, Wisconsin.

Moroccan Montages:
Merging Muses

Photographs by Paul Baker
Adapted by artist Linda Endlich

July 13 – Sept. 29, 2008

Opening Reception
July 20, 5 – 7 pm

Gallery SB
Steep & Brew
544 State Street
Madison, WI 53703

For more information: endlich@tds.net

We’re in the process of planning volumes by Jonathan Monroe of Cornell University (prose poems), and the di Prima collection TimeBomb. “City of Water” by Robert Thompson, a collaborative Ahadada Books and Situations Press edition is nearing completion. Jess

Ahadada Books is pleased to announce that Jane Nakagawa’s collection of experimental poetry Exhibit C will be officially released by Ahadada Books in September. It’s a great collection of crisp, cracklingly intelligent writing. More on this soon. Jesse

A great thank you to everyone! I can even sense that those who did not respond were too full of emotion to do so: I more than most realize that sentiment sometimes acts as a crazy glue to the seat of the pants while an invisible bar rockets repeatedly through the left cheek and out the top of the skull in an explosion of the fuggy black-powder of lugubricity.

Be that as it may, Mr. Schwartz’s poem and other sentiments were printed on scraps of Chinese Hell Money and burnt in a steel brazier in the park (to the accompaniment of Beethoven’s 9the “Ode to Joy”), so that the smoke could wend its way to Braincap in Elysium.

While staring up through these clouded light receptors called my eyes, I believe I saw a flash of a piscine tail among the clouds signalling “all is well.”

Let us hope so,

Jesse

to say the sorrow past the joy of knowing a creature whom we love and live
with

I am sorry, Jess, and think of you now

sheila [Murphy]

From: Joseph Duemer
Subject: Re: The Passing of Braincap

Jesse, I must have fish-consciousness because my politics exactly match that
of Braincap, whom I feel I know through your loving description.

jd

Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:05:46 -0400
From: Frederick Pollack
Subject: Re: The Passing of Braincap

Ave atque vale, Braincap, ave atque vale.

Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:08:00 +0100
From: Patrick McManus
Subject: Re: The Passing of Braincap

Sounds like he had a good fishlife exposing him to GW Bush (did you
translate him into Japanese -but could count as cruelty-shame he missed the
results of the election
Us and our pets
Best wishes Patrick

Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:38:37 +0100
From: David Bircumshaw
Subject: Re: The Passing of Braincap

i sympathise on your loss, jesse. Of course, when the braincap goes,
it becomes like Swift, dying like a tree, from the top down. If only
those twittering song-birds, obsessed with their territorial markings,
realised, in their tiny minds, that a tree dies from its roots up.

Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:00:20 +0200
From: Anny Ballardini
Subject: Re: The Passing of Braincap

Truely heartbroken,

may the thought of his new existence (freer in spirit) help you, your
family, (and me) in this moment,

Anny

Date: Fri, 27 Jun 28th, 2008

The Passing of Braincap

As Braincap wound a way

through waters, I imagine

a following of a weave, we

cannot hope to flow, one

going among news-cycles

that really change, but do

not change. I wonder

about what and how this

fish pursued. There is no

explanation. So hard for

any of us to see. We look

through glass and water

as Briancap looked

through glass and water

and we get lost. Tragedies

happen– so many people

are destroyed; celebrations

happen– some people are

consecrated; and Braincap

swims and learns and ages.

Nothing Braincap could do

would stop time’s watery

unfolding. None of us ever

wish to let go of the weave.

–Gerald Schwartz

We really like this, but must apologize because this blogging system does not allow us to reproduce the stepped lines of each stanza.

Hi Jesse -

As it happens I wrote 2 fish poems just recently:

Poisson

le poisson la position le ptombeau
la partition le pointilon la puration
le pourquoi la pmaison le ptomaine
la pancarte le pantalon la page
le pense-bête la pénurie le pédéraste
la paine le poulpe la portête
la portet le pulp la pane
le pederaste la penury le pens-beet
la page le pant-along la pancake
le ptomaine la maze le porkrot
la puration le point thong la partition
le tumble la position le poison

Fish Fish

fish fish poison poison hand hand it it
hand hand wet wet went went hor hor
went went lug lug pry pry hook hook
pry pry dance dance dunce dunce he he
dunce dunce chug chug dry dry sea sea
dry dry ant ant peel peel new new
peel peel bore bore blew blew sat sat
blew blew fed fed gunk gunk nit nit
gunk gunk sky sky rash rash blood blood
rash rash drop drop pile pile drool drool
pile pile bone bone shoe shoe gut gut
shoe shoe lunk lunk eat eat sent sent
eat eat eye eye egg egg fin fin
egg egg glottal glottal fish fish glue glue

Dr. John M. Bennett
__________________________________________

Just a note to friends and well-wishers that Braincap, my eight year old Kyushu goldfish and the partner of my midnight ramblings has shaken off this mortal coil and has ascended to wherever it is the metaphysical portion of good fishes go. He (I truly believe it was a he, though sometimes I wondered), showed me that goldfish could truly be peaceful, thoughtful, planetary beings. In fact, as Braincap assumed his adult proportions (about 10 inches in length, four in girth), he reminded me of a dugong, with that same kind of “easy does it” manner; in addition he and his friends Biggie and Abc-sama all reminded me of a herd of little cows grazing on the stones of their near-industrial sized aquarium.

Braincap was born in Fukuoka prefecture, and came as a group of six tiny fish that my son won at a temple matsuri (festival) in July of that long-ago time, just north of the year 2000. We decided to purchase a small plastic aquarium and introduced a bubble stone to keep the crew happy. Little did we know that these little fish would thrive and come with us by plane to our new home near Tokyo, and that they would stick with us to calm us and cheer us up through good times and through bad.

Braincap was the most gifted of the crew. He recognized his name, watched CNN with me and offered passable commentary–at times blazingly intelligent commentary–on global warming and other subjects of vital concern. He did a great imitation of George W. Bush (fool me once…)and predicted that Weapons of Mass Destruction would never be found. When Hillary began her run he (or was it she?) swam hot and cold. Braincap was definitely for a woman running for office, but maybe just not that woman. I’m happy to add that Braincap was an Obama supporter, a tradition that he began and now that I and the whole Ahadada group maintain.

Braincap is survived by his spawn-mates Biggie (pushing 11 inches, 4 inches girth) and Abc-sama, and the Glass family of Shin-Urayasu. Tributes in experimental, conceptual, and visual poetries would be greatly appreciated. Post them to this list, or back-channel and we’ll put the best up on the ahadada books website.

Thanks,

Jesse

We’ve booked a table, we’re bringing our books, and we’re looking forward to seeing you at the Chicago Hilton!

We’re closing in on our first run of print on demand books and should deliver the first file to Bookmobile by next week. Jesse