Tuesday, May 02, 2006

a long weekend, a review, and a heart-shaped pretzel

we had a long weekend here in vienna after all - the weather forecast was so bad that we did not go to see sepp's parents as planned, probably a good idea. we spent the weekend relaxing, cuddling, talking, watching all three lord of the rings films (long planned), cooking dinners together, playing games, reading, listening to the rain, and sleeping. we also saw the danish film festen which i had long wanted to see. well worth staying up until 2 am. very disturbing. yesterday the weather was better, though it was still rather cool. we walked from south station to the city centre via the belvedere palace and park and schwarzenbergplatz. it was good to be outside. lots of people about, tourists and natives, it was a public holiday after all.

these pictures were not taken yesterday, but they're still nice. :)







we saw brokeback mountain, about time too, don't you think? loved the landscape. really good acting. heath ledger has come a long way since ten things i hate about you, and michelle williams has certainly improved since the days of dawson's creek. had dinner afterwards at a cosy place in the city where they serve delicious food.


terry lowenstein's review of my chapbook is now online in centrifugal eye - a big thanks to terry! oh and read the poetry once you are there, alex stolis has two poems in the issue, and he is in very good company.


i found a heartshaped pretzel in my bag of pretzels this afternoon - unbroken, too.




still reading the lovely bones and making love, and poetry.

if you have any poetry books you absolutely love, please do recommend them. i have some on my wish list or my must-read list, but it's never wrong to ask for more tips.

song of the day: burn it blue by caetano veloso and lila downs; goosebump music.

8 comments:

Cheryl and Janet Snell said...

Congrats on another positive review, Michi!

Rachel Mallino said...

Hey, I didn't even know you had a chapbook!! Where have I been??? Congrats on the good review. dayptxr which kind of sounds like "day picture".

michi said...

thanks cheryl, and thanks rach - the chapbook is "old" news, it was "born" in january 2005. funny that two reviews were only published relatively recently. but that does not matter at all. i am happy about them, and grateful to the reviewers!

m

Unknown said...

Congrats on the review!

Yes, i thought the landscape in Brokeback was stunning too.

Lovely city you live in, btw. I would like to travel someday but I'm terrified of planes and the long flight might send me into a panic. being trapped in a small space with a bunch of strangers makes me dizzy. of course, there's always vodka . . .

I tend to like intimate poets, ones that move me emotionally and not just intellectually. One book I love, if you haven't read her work, is Anne Swir. A polish poet translated by Milosz. Very intimate and at times radical. Another poet i like a great deal is Franz Wright. Also August Kleinzahler, Jane Hirshfield, Henri Cole is good, Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience, Donne's love poems, John Clare's nature poems, Steven's early poems, Bishop's uncollected poems is a great insight into her process and revision, Lowell's Life Studies, Spencer Reece's A Clerk's Tale, Philip Larkin is a sourpuss but I like his work, Holderlin's Hymns and fragments, Cavafy's complete poems. Another book I love that's not poetry but very insightful of any art is Dear Theo--van Gogh's letters.

michi said...

hi jenni - yes, vienna is not a bad place to live. whereabouts are you? just wondering how many hours on a plane it would be! i don't mind flying - one had better not if one wants to go places like the south pacific or new zealand and australia from here! :)

thanks for the book tips. i have not heard of anne swir, and will have to check her out. i've heard of most other poets you mentioned and have a couple of the books. always grateful for tips. cheers again.

m

Unknown said...

I'm in the dirty south, north carolina. any flight over 3 hours can be a traumatic event for me. i really, really hate flying! but i guess there's always boats!

Collin Kelley said...

Great blog and great taste in music! I just added you to my blog roll. :)

Cheers,
Collin

michi said...

jenni, how about walking across europe - repent for your little lie! ;))

collin - hi there, and thanks. i'll return the favour. :)

m