it's all about scale

think about the largest thing you've ever personally seen (other than the moon, sun, stars or planetary body). what is it? a skyscraper? maybe one of those gigantic hangars used for zeppelins? a sports stadium? a mountain?
now, compare that to the size of the earth. it's miniscule in comparison, right? i mean, the earth is humongous.
yet, we all know that the earth is dwarfed by Jupiter and Saturn and, of couse, the Sun. but, HOW dwarfed are we talking?

this should help with the scale. now, just imagine that there are stars out there that dwarf our own. and imagine the size of a galaxy. and imagine the immensities involved in a cluster of galaxies. or in a supercluster.

now, think about the size of our universe. there is no word in any language that can describe it's largeness. nothing even comes close (except MAYBE infinity, but that is a meaningless concept).

now, after all this thinking, how big do you feel? pretty damn small, huh? fairly insignificant? THIS is why art and science are necessary. both use different means towards the same end: shrinking the universe -- or at least our concept of it.

mail call

waiting in my inbox today was a package from Liquid Paper Press with the newest issue of Nerve Cowboy (#21). unfortunately, i didn't get a submission sent in time to potentially have made this issue, but that only makes this issue that much stronger.
featured poets include this poet's life contributors Christopher Cunningham, Kathleen Paul-Flanagan, Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal; great job guys, good work.
also included are great pieces by the likes of Henry Denander, Gerald Locklin, Karl Koweski, Rocking Chair Frank, and Nathan Graziano. all great stuff.
i've said it before and i'll say it again: Nerve Cowboy is the best poetry journal out there.

also in the package was a copy of Karl Koweski's 2nd place-finishing chapbook from the 2004 Nerve Cowboy Chapbook Contest, Casualty of the Industrial Revolution. i'm a big fan of Koweski's stuff and look forward to diving into this one.

a site, a mag and a book

i was browsing through some sites and found this one. there are plenty of article relating to writing and grammar and spelling. good stuff. i wish more people would read these kinds of things.

i received the newest issue of remark. (issue 45) in today's mail. this issue was edited by this poet's life contributor Christopher Kornacki. i have two poems in this issue, but despite that error Mr. Kornacki did an excellent job in choosing poems for this issue (which speaks to the quality of most of the poems). other poets include Glenn W. Cooper, Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal, Michael Estabrook, S.A. Griffin, Karl Koweski, C. Allen Rearick and Amanda Oaks.

lastly, in yesterday's mail was a copy of this poet's life contributor C. Allen Rearick's first chapbook, a split-chapbook with Greg O., published by green panda press and titled from Cali to Cleve. the book consists of seven poems by Rearick and a short story by Mr. O. the short story is amusing and engaging, but it's the seven poems that grab me as the best part of the book (this is probably due more to the fact that i do not write fiction than to the ability of Mr. O.). Rearick's poetry has matured immensely in a very short time, and it shows in this collection.
the chapbook is limited to 69 issues and goes for $6. if you're interested, let me know and i can get you in contact with the author so that you may obtain a copy.
on a related note, my own press (Hemispherical Press) will be releasing a C. Allen Rearick chapbook in 2007. it'll be worth the wait, trust me.

and speaking of Hemispherical Press, it's been a long while since the last release, but the press has not folded (check out the website and contact me if you're interested in purchasing an item) but has only been on a short hiatus. when HemPress returns, we will be releasing some of the best work out there. watch for it.

quantum theory of poetry

over on Upright Against The Savage Heavens, the newest installment of my weekly "column" Background Noise has been posted.

this week i make a fool of myself by coming up with a Quantum Theory of Poetry.

check it out.