Whoah. (sigh) I can't believe I finished all my papers. I'm free, free, free! It's a weird feeling.

So, I finally got my act together and put together a decent chapbook of my experimental poetry. I feel like mostly I'm known for my narrative confessional work, but I do a lot of experimental stuff too. It's just harder to get people to respond to it.

I submitted it to the Pavement Saw contest, just seconds before the deadline. I called it "Build Your Own Alphabet." What do you think?

Here's one of the poems from it. I wrote this 6 years ago, but I radically rewrote it last week.

The Wooden Blocks of Boise

……. Get permission promptly.
You will master your theory if you
build your own alphabet.

…--…. (tiny yellow fingers in a nun’s palm)
…----…. squeezed

…--…. splinters……. knees ……. bitten sleeves

ABH……. THR……. QRS……. UVP
…-----…. TRY NOT TO SHRIEK
…-----…. we are deaf now

if special business is not available,
make up difficult terms that occur with great frequency

machines to manufacture phrases that are peculiar to you
are underneath your ……. leaf-eating bed

very little study should be done

Remember our undivided attention
will be placed on your shoulders.