ATOMIC BUCKDANCE // 2003
Another DIY joint, I envisioned this as a companion to Anthem (Collapsing). I think I made about 60 of these, and have only my own copy left. I really wanted to put some of my more typographically experimental work out in the world, and this chapbook became a vehicle for that. I cannibalized a few of these poems for Fear, Some. I also used a poem from my Dove Sessions project*— “Br’er Parrot Learns His Own Song” and the dismantled Watermeloncholy, Baby project (“Thermojukleargeechigun,” “Mumbo Gumbo” and “Atomic Buckdance” were slated for that one). Full table of contents below:

“Br’er Parrot Learns His Own Song”
“‘that bit you’”
“Bougienigga Moan from North of Integration”
“Dealing”
“On the Morning of our Fifth Anniversary”
“[see line 19]”
“Thermojukelear Geechi Gun”
Buckdancing for Beginners
—“Mumbo Gumbo”/“Like A Mosquito’s Tongue”
—“scene from The Poisonous Coon”
—“View from an Uptown Window: MPLS”
“It has come to this…”
“Atomic Buckdance”
“Jimiattabucket(oh, Blood!)”

*A series of 17 dramatic monologues, one each for every human figure in Romare Bearden’s photomontage, The Dove (1964).“Shadowboxer on the Lookout,” which appears in Fear, Some, is also from that series of poems.

ANTHEM (COLLAPSING) // 2001
My first chapbook was a DIY affair; I made it to sell at shows in Minneapolis. I think I made about 100 of these, all told. Many of these poems begin an exploration of a lyrical style highly influenced by Bob Kaufman’s Cranial Guitar and several poems from Carl Hancock Rux’s Pagan Operetta. As the book’s title suggests, the poems were explicitly political in theme and content.

I have a few copies of this one left. For those of you who have Fear, Some: yes, the title poem(s) of this chap are earlier versions of Anthem (collapsing) in the full-length book. Also included in this chapbook are the s(t)aint suite: a cycle of poems about Mumia Abu Jamal; “The Elephants Honky Tonk at the End of the World”: a poem about the Republican National Convention in Philly, 2000; and “The Super Nigger Monster Jam”: one of the last of the “jam*” poems and an MPLS barn burner. Full table of contents below:

“Mexico City, 1968”
the s(t)aint suite
—Introduction
—“1. voice”
—“2. sides”
—“3. reasonable doubt?”
—“4. du(e/a)l”
—“5. the voiceless: william cook speaks”
—“6. re-tale (why this is happening)”
—“7. love (american style)”
“The Elephants Honky Tonk at the End of the World”
Anthem (collapsing)
—“twwwweeeeeeeeeeeetttttt!!!!!!!!!!”
—“the song of sam”
—“threnody for haliæetus leucocephalus”
—“the ballot booth slowgrind”
—“the theme from star wars (remix)”
—“melting pot (original dance mix)”
“look: up in the sky”
“The Super Nigger Monster Jam”

*The “jam” poems were poems akin to rants, but more structured. Somewhat.