Sunday, October 1, 2017

Erasure unachieved

I got to see "California Typewriter" for the third time in Chicago on Saturday and participate in a Q&A along with Martin Howard (antiquetypewriters.com), Eric Plattner (Poems While You Wait), and Arthur Wagner (Wagner Office Machines). Also attending: Ton S. (i dream lo-tech).

In the film, Silvi Alcivar (The Poetry Store) talks about how the words come when she's at the typewriter, and about being asked to write poems about intimate experiences. One man who had attempted suicide asked her for a poem about surviving.

I wondered what on earth I could come up with if I were given such a request. Back home, I sat at the Woodstock and tried a response. So here it is, for whatever it's worth.

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