Free Verse: The Waldrops at the Walker, 11/30

Last night A., M. and I went to see Rosmarie and Keith Waldrop at the Walker, sponsored by Rain Taxi (I like having them curate readings for me; if they put it on, it'll probably be good).

Rosmarie read a series of thoughtful poems about language and change. They took the podium together to a read an echoing collaborative work, and then Keith read a series of pieces from his book on the ruminations of Jacob Delafan (whose name I can never forget after hearing it repeated in every piece). I admit I marvelled at his long beard for much of the reading.
Both of them have quite different styles of writing and reading, but an insistence on collage and intertextuality really united the evening. Jacob Delafan reads widely and eclectically, and marvels at what he reads. It would all be very homespun if he didn't read things like a commentary on St Augustine that asserts that angels have nothing to "fall out" or "cut off." The questions focused on the Waldrops' work in translation and publishing, and how their different kinds of work amplified each other. I was relieved to hear intelligent questions, because at the Marjane Satrapi reading last month, the q & a period was filled with self-important rambling nonsense from the questioners.

A. collaged in a book of Rosmarie's, pasting in illustrations from a mid-century book on insects, geological diagrams, photographs, making a neat altered book which she gave as a gift but brought in to be signed. Rosmarie was highly amused by the alterations, and flipped through the whole book while talking with A. about Providence and Brown.

Then I defended Wickett's Remedy against its detractors over beers and Thai food.