dominating the small press

my buddy Glenn W. Cooper appears in the recently released International Issue of the journal Poesy, where not only are his poems featured, but a wonderful interview. Glenn is an amazing poet living in a cultural island and continent wasteland in the middle of the Pacific.

this is Glenn's 4th interview (2nd in print) and i am so proud of -- and happy for -- him.

and thank you, Glenn, for the plugs for my own work; you're the tits.

poems are meant to be found

The Guerilla Poetics Project is barrelling along like a locomotive off its tracks; gaining speed as it careens down a treeless hill towards the small press village in the valley.

to date, five broadsides have been found of the hundreds that have been placed across this world. three of the five are even from different countries (Ireland, Canada and the US).
we are always eager to find more operatives, especially in places where we currently have no presence. if you are interested in helping us subvert the current publishing paradigm, while also connecting great writing to the masses, then check out the website and join us.

while you're there buy a chapbook or two, or one of the snazzy vinyl stickers or a set of coasters, the proceeds of which all go to the furthering of our mission.
and coming soon: a GPPReader featuring great poetry of the GPP.

this is going to be huge, folks. for once, be part of something larger than yourself; something beautiful; something immortal.

for what are we paying?

my wife is required to get her blood thinning levels (known as an International Normalize Ratio; or an INR) checked every so often. She has been on Coumadin for six weeks now (with four and a half months to go, at least) and in the beginning her levels will fluctuate as the doctors try to pinpoint the correct dosage for her body chemistry and eating habits (certain foods can counteract the effectivity of Coumadin).

a therapeutic INR level is between 2.0 and 3.0 (where a 1.0 is "normal"). she has gone to the clinic weekly to get it checked out, and it's fluctuated rather wildly. it rose up to 3.7 three weeks ago, whereupon her dose was adjusted. it dropped the subsequent week to 2.4 (just about where she needs to be) and was told to come back in two weeks. being the vigilant and intelligent girl she is, she went back the next week (just last week) surmising that without an adjustment it is likely her INR had continued to plummet.
it had dropped to 2.0.
then, the doctor told her to come back in a month without adjusting her dosage! A MONTH! he obviously didn't review her chart, or the trend of her levels, or anything like that. anything BELOW a 2.0 and she is at risk to have another clot. jesus h. christ!

well, my vigilant and intelligent wife KNEW a month wasn't right as her levels had been steadily dropping, and who was to say it plateaued at 2.0? she went back this week to get it tested and lo and behold! it was at 1.6! well below the therapeutic level. if my wife wasn't vigilant and intelligent, she would've been walking around with an increased chance of having another thrombic episode, and we would've been through the same hell we just went through six weeks ago.

so, my question is this: what the hell are we paying this guy for, exactly?
insight? no.
concern? no.
expertise? no.
incomptence? apparently.
apathy? definitely!

i can tell you this, we will no longer be paying him a dime. we're looking for another clinic that can handle the workload; with doctors who care, understand trends, and with the time (or ethics) to do their job right.

and all of this now reminds me of a little joke:
Q. what do call a person who graduates last in his class in medical school?
A. doctor.

it appears we found ourselves such a guy.