Post 008: Posture & Post/docs*

two recent essays before the year ends

I. Pre-

I recently took the long way to a way-too-early doctor’s appointment, which is to say I took the first ferry from Wall Street to East 90th St.*

On the taxi to the hospital, the driver thought I was a doctor going to work and I had to break it to him that I was a poet.

*I actually got off at Astoria, because I was rocked asleep for part of the ride and missed my stop.

[ID: Sunrise no-filter photo from the top deck of the ferry on the East River taken by the author. Visible beyond the steel railings and the river is the Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan. Furthest back beyond pale purple and yellow sky is the Statue of Liberty.]

I write this as we near the end of another Gregorian cycle. We’re dry skin, cold fingers, viral spike again. I’m grateful to be spending almost the next two weeks Out-of-Office, mostly working to finish my forthcoming collection which is set to be out this Spring.

Before the year wraps, I wanted to share two recent prose pieces which I’m especially proud of. It’s been a while, so this newsletter comes in four parts.

II. Posture

I had the honor of being invited by one of my favorite art writers Emily Watlington to contribute to the October issue of Art In America on Disability Culture. I chose to write about a tender work by Darrel Ellis which I first encountered in the recent and excellent monograph published by Visual AIDS.

Here is the work, from ca. 1992:

Darrel Ellis: Untitled (Reclining Self-Portrait), ca. 1992, charcoal on paper, 22½ by 30 inches.[ID: Sketchy charcoal portrait of a bearded reclining figure with one hand over their head and one hand on their torso.]

I thought so much about the radical potential of a posture of rest in this work, one of the artist’s last. The posture of Darrel’s limbs and expression seems to be without posturing towards the camera or gaze. I’m so moved by his stillness.

Here is the link to my piece, which appears in the same section as personal hero Jasbir K. Puar!

III. Post/doc

Like Emily, Re’al Christian is one of those treasured writer friends I will always keep admiring and that I will always be excited to say yes to collaborating. (Our project on the work of Felix Gonzalez-Torres for ART PAPERS last year remains one of my favorites.)

[Purple graphic with three black asterisks by Re’al Christian.]

I was giddy when Re’al proposed I contribute an essay about the poetic implications of the asterisk. And now, after months of work, I’m thrilled to share “on asterisks (*for the stars.” It is part of the new publishing series Post/doc by the Vera List Center, where Re’al is Assistant Director of Editorial Initiatives.

IV. (Re)Post

Lastly, I wanted to uplift a fundraiser and share exciting updates about my reading series:

Please consider supporting or sharing my friend Shane’s recovery fundraiser. As a bonus, if you comment “WAVY” with a donation of $15 or more, I’ll ship you a signed copy of my chaplet wavy in its heat!

exquisites reading series, which I have been co-hosting with my friend Em Marie Kohl for the last six months is going virtual for the winter! Please join us every first Thursday at 6 pm EST! Here is the Save the Date for January, which will be featuring a juicy lineup of coast-to-coast poets!

[ID: Graphic with hand X-Ray as the background to bold yellow, white, and blue text with details of an upcoming exquisites reading.]

Keep taking care of each other, let me know if you need anything.

See you next year,

d