Poetry. "Jack Foley's work represents that rare commodity—genuinely avant-garde poetry. He takes the polyphonic forms of Pound and Eliot and pushes them into possibilities open only to performance-based art. This is experimental poetry with depth and intelligence as well as intensity."—Dana Gioia

EYES

Literature & Fiction

Foley, Jack

Poetry

Poetry Hotel Press

<p>“she is walking the other world?” from Ars Poetica Ars Poetica is not a sonnet sequence—despite the resemblances—but a sequence of “soundings.” Each poem is carefully dated: it was precisely at this moment that these words occurred to me; it was at this moment that I breathed these words in (“inspiration”). Remembering Wordsworth, we might call these poems spots of time. Ivan Argüelles has produced a body of work rooted in his Mexican-American heritage, but it is unlike anything anyone in any ethnic group has produced. Initially grounded in the Spanish variety of Surrealism, his poetry swiftly began to transform itself into an instrument that communicates before it is fully—or sometimes even partially—understood. It is simultaneously “difficult”—restless, full of “references”—but also immediate, visceral. It cannot be “explicated.” Moving beyond Catholic Mexico/Catholic Spain into the even darker roots of Catholicism, Argüelles’ imagination explores the deeply pagan, deeply anarchic ground of an “other” tradition. Urban, sophisticated, learned in many languages (“tongues”), the poet creates a profane, stunningly transcendent, enormously erotic body of work that would probably have had him burned at the stake in the Middle Ages. Poet John M. Bennett insists that Argüelles’ work “is not really ‘literature’ as the term is commonly understood”: we must read it “with a new mind-set”; “one has to allow oneself to be ‘drowned’ in the ocean of this stunning and protean work and be receptive to all the ambiguities and contradictions it contains.” Argüelles’ own word for his work is “Enigma”; another way to describe it is to insist that it is a mystical consciousness which has removed itself from any known religion: San Juan de la Nada, poetry as that old black magic. Our critical categories fall by the wayside as we attempt to tell people what it is about this work that so moves us, that so “charms” us with its impossible, totally “inconsiderate” power and darkness: “my” inspiration, year 1624 where is verdant luster, where is emerald bay, not carbonized, distance is the symbol, smoking “that” famous cigarette, where sidewalk turns into heaven’s gate, a remark in passing, lowering head in gesture of shy naiad, are there waters so crystalline? distance is the signal, remote the utter language of the Soul, do the two recognize the Other? ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I don’t remember what it is (“my inspiration”) We can call such passages “chaotic”—which they both are and are not. In its incredible swirl of sexuality, erudition, and massive longing, Argüelles’ poetry asks the reader again and again, “You think you have an ego? Try this.” But if we haven’t an ego, what do we “have”? What the entity Argüelles calls his “Muse” has given him: an amazing language that simultaneously attracts and betrays us at every possible moment: “a music emerges a riot.” From Introduction, by Jack Foley.</p>

Ars Poetica: Poems 2006-2013

Argüelles, Iván

Literary Nonfiction Poetry Travel with Clara Hsu San Francisco poet and writer to Morocco s ancient D jamaa Elfna Square See how the local inhabitants open their hearts to a stranger Discover a masseuse s generosity a sorcerous story teller an obliging old street musician and the rectitude of a young girl Visit a fatherless boy who must grow up quickly in order for his family to survive Find out what Moroccan hospitality really means Every moment a story unfolds Beneath the veneer of a different language and culture we savor the common bond of human connection Travel with Clara Hsu San Francisco poet and writer to Morocco s ancient D jamaa Elfna Square See how the local inhabitants open their hearts to a stranger Discover a masseuse s genorsity a sorcerous story teller an obliging old street musician and the rectitude of a young girl Visit a fatherless boy who must grow up quickly in order for his family to survive Find out what Moroccan hospitality really means Every moment a story unfolds Beneath the veneer of a different language and culture we savor the common bond of human connection

Babouche Impromptu and Other Moroccan Sketches

Hsu, Clara

Lao-Tzu’s Tao-te Ching (the earliest version dated back to the late 4th Century, B.C.) has been translated to western languages over 250 times. Perhaps it doesn’t need another translation. But this great text has the power to command and compel writers. Its effect does not diminish over time; rather, it ceaselessly invites new eyes. Translating the Tao is an act of reverence, is to become yet another of its many manifestations. This poetic rendition is based on the Wang Bi (226–249 AD) text. While translating the Tao, the passages prompted responses, memories, and philosophical thoughts which Clara Hsu incorporated in this book as part of the journey. Sometimes the reactions had nothing to do with the texts. Like water diverted from its main stream or strange flowers appearing on an old stump, the extraordinary mind of the ancient sage flowed through time into the ordinary reality and psyche of a 21st Century poet. You are constantly being surprised.

Lao-Tzu Tao-te Ching: Translations and Infusions

Lao, Tzu

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Books by Poetry Hotel Press

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Poetry Hotel Press publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

EYES

Ars Poetica: Poems 2006-2013

Babouche Impromptu and Other Moroccan Sketches

Lao-Tzu Tao-te Ching: Translations and Infusions