Natural + Listless
A few years ago, I took a trip to Ithaca with Jess Mynes. At the time, Aaron Tieger was living in Ithaca, writing great poems and, among other things, working as part of the Soon collective that hosted a reading with me and Jess. Just as a good friend will do, Aaron played the part of tour guide, showing us around the area, and it was then that I found a slice of shale with a seashell imprint. Two things made one integral thing: the shale was no longer simply shale, which is itself formed by compaction, and the seashell was no longer, yet had made its print, what Olson called "typos" or the imprint, the actuality of creation. You could say that it was impressive. (And, as I type this, I also think of Gerrit Lansing's "Honey From the Rock": "rock of what imprints us in the shakes of being where we are.") When I sat down to write "about" the trip in my notebook, "Naturalistless" was the result: Two things as one integral thing, formed in couplets that themselves are wholes. I literally wrote the impressions of the topos or topology of the place in compressed rhythmical "slices" or parts.
There is more to the story, even for such a modest sequence of poems. Suffice it to say that, somewhere along the way, I sent the poems off to Carl, and wow did he do a magnificent job with this little chapbook. Carl on the project:
"A few years back my wife and I were hanging with Chris Rizzo at this bar called Charlie's Kitchen over in Harvard Square. After a few beers he pushed over this packet of poems called 'Spare Parts' and says 'let me know what you think'. I remember going home and reading it and saying 'i wish i could write this good'. I didn't write a poem for five months. 'Naturalistless' is the ultimate compendium of his spare parts. These poems are whole sentences chopped down to two words, joined. It is both a refreshing poetic statement and a future bookshelf mainstay. Also, Christopher Rizzo is the man behind the unparalleled Anchorite Press."
If you're interested in procuring a copy, here's a link to The Greying Ghost Press. $5 ppd. Needless to say, I'm thrilled to see these poems out in the world. Thank you, Carl.
