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May 24, 2004
*New books available for review

We've just received a fresh bunch of books for review. If you'd like to review a book for Cordite (and get paid $30 - as well as keeping the book), check out the list of titles available for review on our reviews page. You can also find out how to submit a review on our submissions page. Just a reminder: submissions for Cordite #19 - Anti/heroes - close on 31 May 2004.

 

May 11, 2004
*Search Strings: April 2004

To help put our recent site crash into perspective, we noticed that at the beginning of April we began to attract hits from readers searching for pictures of Prince William and his current better half, Kate Middleton. As long-term readers of Cordite doubtlessly know already, there is another Kate Middleton, who is an Australian poet. We wonder what all those royal watchers are thinking of their future Queen now!

THe search strings for April reveal the depth of feeling for this young and innocent couple. Our top search string (437 hits) was, natch, Kate Middleton. This figure does not include the number of hits in the frst week of April, which we guesstimate as being between 5000 and 10000 search requests in total. It's heartening to know that our second top search string, Australian poems, garnered a respectable 117 hits. Ahem.



Until next month ...

 

May 11, 2004
*Wha happened?

Well hello again. It has been a cold hibernation. Cordite has been dysfunctional for the best part of four weeks, due to every website creator's nighmare: a server crash. Seems ye olde Internet form just gets less and less stable, which makes for some interesting hits and misses.

Speaking of hits, in the first week of April we were inundated with hits dropping like rain from the sky: 40,000 and counting on April 6 then — silence. We lost everything. All your comments. All our entries. Every page. Then they came back. Most of em. Unfortunately, we lost all the content posted by readers in the month leading up to April.

We also lost our notification list, so if you'd like to be informed of future Cordite site crashes (oh, and exciting poetry), visit our submissions page

Despite these setbacks, we have survived. We're going back to our roots. You can expect more poetry in Issue #18. More audio. More interviews and multimedia content. More reviews than you can poke a pencil at.

You won't, however, have an opportunity to comment on the site for a few weeks, while we make the commenting system less susceptible to robot spam.

Submissions are now open for Issue #19 — Anti/heroes. Look busy.

 

March 1, 2004
*Babble & Cordite!

The wait is almost over!

This year Babble will become a monthly event, held on the first Wednesday of every month at Bar Open in Fitzroy (317 Brunswick Street), starting this Wednesday 3rd March at 8:30pm.

Returning again is the infamous Babble Open-Mic. This year however every entrant in the Babble open-mic has the chance to be published on Cordite, be paid $50 and be played on 3RRR's Aural Text!

How? It's simple. Each month the poetry open-mic will be recorded, and selected pieces will be given to the hosts of radio 3RRR's Aural Text, alicia sometimes and Steve Grimwade. Aural Text is a program dedicated to spoken word and is broadcast every Wednesday afternoon, 1pm on 3RRR, 102.7 FM. The poem judged to be the best of the open mic will also be published as an MP3 on Cordite! The contributor will also be paid $50 for publication!

For your chance to be part of it, all you have to do is read your poem of three minutes or less on the infamous Babble open-mic. The only poetry open mic in Melbourne offering the chance of both radio broadcast and online publication with $50 payment!

So get along to the first Babble of the year, you'd be crazy to miss it! The first feature of the year is a past winner of Fringe Festival's best Spoken Word performer, Mr Dan Lee. Also a special guest for the evening is hip-hop MC, Joelistics from TZU! DJ for the night will be Cordite's very own Sean Whelan, cutting trax under the pseudonym of DJ Tigerbalm! Entry $5. Email the organisers for further details!

 

February 27, 2004
*Search Strings: February 2004

 

February 26, 2004
*Celebrity Poet: Viggo Mortensen

viggo.jpg

Viggo Mortensen, the actor who played Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings films, has been giving readings of his own poetry at the famous City Lights bookshop in San Francisco. Check out examples of his work here, as well as some sound files of Viggo reading his own stuff. He has also published several books of poems and photographs through his own company, Perceval Press. (I want to be all smarmy and anti-celebrity here, but Viggo's understated coolness defeats me. Plus, you know, he's like the King of Middle Earth. Or something.)

 

February 18, 2004
*Issue #18 Roots - submissions extended!

Hey there all you rootsy poets, it's time to get busy and send us your poems for our extra special #18th issue. That's right, ROOTS be on our minds, and in the ground. We need to pull them up like teeth, mandrakes, mallee roots or plain old roots. Just to get you all even more inspired than you are already, we've extended the deadline for submissions until March 31. That means you've got another five or so weeks to get your submissions in. We're not just seeking poetry either - feature articles, images, interviews with poets or other interesting people, reviews of books and reflections on the meaning of the word "Roots" are all welcome. Check the submissions page for details.

 

February 9, 2004
*Double Trouble

Expect a slather of correspondence in the upcoming issue of Overland on the Just Which John Leonard Are You? controversy. Seems the Australian literary scene's not big enough for two JLs, or so some would have it. Here at Cordite we're no strangers to double trouble - after all, who else would have the guts to expose Kate Middleton as a future royal, or Matt Hetherington as a stripper? One comment we received in response to the Middleton saga sums it up completely: "What the Hell?"

Well, it gets even better. In our current issue we've published a search poem by Adam Aitken which has (excitingly) been featured in a special OZPO issue of US webzine Big Bridge. Only problem is, the poems are quite different in terms of line breaks (compare poems: Cordite | Big Bridge). What do you think? Any other cases of double identity/indemnity that come to mind?

 

January 29, 2004
*Billy Corgan poetry update

It's nearly here. It's so close we can almost taste the brimstone. Yes, that's right - former Smashing Pumpkins/Zwan frontman Billy Corgan is almost ready to unleash the full force of his poetry upon the reading public.

In just a few days, he hands the manuscript to his publisher; a few finishing touches are required though. Namely, a title. On his website (which he seems to be updating with personal messages every few days) Corgan extends a special request to his fans:

I don't have a title yet. Any suggestions? How about 'Sensitive Rhymes and Crimes of the Heart' or some shit like that? Ha. Welcome to the real me.
So, there you have it, dear readers. A challenge. Please leave your suggestions in the comments section, and once we have a list, we'll forward them on to the man himself. Go!

(Update update: Thanks, everyone, for your comments! We have compiled a list of your title suggestions and emailed them to Billy, as well as to Faber and Faber, the publishers of Corgan's book, and will keep you abreast of any developments.)

 

January 26, 2004
*Law and Order: Special Verse Unit

A Brisbane man, charged with public drunkenness, tried the old 'free verse' defense in court recently, hoping for a little poetry-induced leniency. Apparently, 'the court fell silent during the recital and one lawyer had tears rolling down her cheeks.'

He still got fined $425, though.

 

January 22, 2004
*We're so hot right now

All this time, we've been telling you how achingly hip we are, and at last we have proof: apparently, literary weblogs are the way of the future. See? We're hot. If you want us, we'll be at the bar, comparing solarium experiences with Paris Hilton. (Via Maud Newton)

 

January 19, 2004
*Best Australian Poems 2003

We're very excited about the release of Peter Craven's Best Australian Poems 2003, not least because it contains a poem by Michael Farrell originally published in Cordite! So far as we know, this is the first instance of a Cordite poem being anthologised - read 'bat and ball' in its original context here. Congratulations to Michael - how glitter can you get!!

 

January 19, 2004
*Melbourne Emerging Writers Festival

Express Media, publishers of Voiceworks and advocates for young writers all over the shop will be holding their inaugural Melbourne Emerging Writers Festival this long weekend, Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th January 2004.

Of special interest may be a panel hosted by Cordite editor David Prater entitled "If You Can Understand It, Is It Poetry?" (Sunday January 25, 12.30pm).

The opening night party (The Victoria Hotel, 215 Little Collins Street, Melbourne from 7pm) is a free event. Don't delay, book now as places are limited! To RSVP simply send an email or phone 03 9326 8367.

 

January 18, 2004
*Copyleft? Or Copywrong?

In our Copyleft issue (#11), we published a piece by Pi O on the subject of copyright and its attendant daemons. While the article has been taken down from our site (as per the author's wishes), we still receive the occasional inquiry or comment, like the ones below. The article has been archived in perpetuity on the NLA's Pandora site here.

What do you reckon - is this all just a storm in a teacup?

 

January 13, 2004
*Search Strings: January 2004

How uncanny is it that, just when we launch our Search issue, we begin to get inundated with search strings again. Since February last year, we've been able to read the search requests of people who have been getting to our site via search engines. Since about September, people have only been typing in "cordite" or "cordite poetry" or "cordite poetry review" or "www.cordite.org.au". But boy, has that all changed this month!

 

January 13, 2004
*Nude Poetry Shock!

Now we've got your attention, it's our potty pleasure to report that, in an attempt to increase bums on seats at open mike performances, Melbourne poet, comment-maker and sometime reviewer Matt Hetherington has gone one step further than anyone ever thought he would and joined the cast of hit musical The Full Monty.

 

January 4, 2004
*Barbara Cartland: Celebrity Poet?

You know them in prose, song and celluloid, now you can strip them bare through their poetry. The Celebrity Poetry section of trash fiction implores you 'to never mind the width — feel the quality'.

 

December 31, 2003
*Search Strings: December 2003

 

December 20, 2003
*Mariah's miles ahead!


Mariah Carey glams it up on the Glitter promo poster.
Voters in our Celebrity Poet of 2003 Award are plumbing overwhelmingly for glitterlicious R&B star Mariah Carey, despite the fact that she is the only non-poet amongst the nominees. We're slightly puzzled by this development, having been previously convinced that Russell Crowe was an obvious choice for most Oztraylians. Interestingly, also, WA Premier Geoff Gallop has failed to pick up a single vote, suggesting that he may need to work on his profile. Votes close at midnight on New Year's Eve (well, technically), so you've only got a few more days to have your say.

 

December 17, 2003
*Free Trade and Poetry

While Australian and U.S. negotiators continue to thrash out the terms of the so-called free trade agreement, in this land of sweeping plains we wait with baited breath for details of how the FTA will affect the global trade in poetry.

 

December 5, 2003
*Hot Pink Poet gets her glitter on

Touted as putting the 'Oh!' into poetry and the 'Ahhhh' into alliteration, Penny Ashton, the Hot Pink Poet will be appropriately showcased in the Pacific Crystal Palace, for a glamourous night of cabaret-style performance poetry.

Date: Tuesday, 10 February 2004, 8.30pm
Admission: $25, Friends $22.50

New Zealand's getting sexier by the minute, so better make a note to be there. There's more to be found at the Taupo Arts Festival (5-15 February 2004).

 

December 5, 2003
*Bards of the Ring

This is all getting a bit silly. With the huge amount of publicity and spin surrounding the release of The Return of the King it's worth bearing in mind that much of Tolkien's book is actually poetry of the turgid variety.

 

December 2, 2003
*Kate Middleton: Our Future Queen?

Speculation that Australian poet Kate Middleton is romantically involved with HRH Prince William has been gathering pace in the last few months, with at least two news reports suggesting that the two are more than just flatmates.

 

November 30, 2003
*Search Strings: November 2003

 

November 26, 2003
*Get your votes in!

Votes are still pouring in from across the globe for what promises to be the most intriguing contest of the millennium: Cordite's Award for Best Celebrity Poet of 2003.

 

November 20, 2003
*Geoff Gallop: Poet

While we'd usually refrain from reporting on something as unsexy - indeed, non-glitter - as the Western Australian parliament, this time we can't resist. WA Premier Dr. Geoff Gallop has landed himself in hot water by daring to attempt to recite a poem into the State's Hansard (parliamentary record).

 

November 17, 2003
*Who invented poetry?

Here's a question, or should I say a whole series of them, as posed by one of our readers in response to the comments thread resulting from Richard King's review of papertiger 2.

Janae asks a) when was poetry invented? b) why? and c) by whom?

That should get your trivia juices flowing. Let's hope we receive as many responses to these burning questions as we did when we asked for a collective noun for poets!

Oh and thanks Janae for your bravery in coming forward. I'm sorry I can't be of more help myself - as far as I can tell, it was the Generation of 68 who invented poetry in, erm, 1968. As to why, I'm at a loss.

Can anybody help?

 

November 12, 2003
*Dark Glitter at LadyFest in Melbourne!

If you're in the Melbourne area, in town soon is the San Francisco based poet and radical performance artist Wendy-O Matik. She'll be performing at Ladyfest on Thursday 20th November for the opening night. Also performing is Melbourne's own Queen of the Kaoss pad, Klare Lanson.

 

November 5, 2003
*A little bit of bling bling!

P Diddy got it. J-Lo got it. Why don't you?

According to the Scotsman, Elizabeth Taylor's passion for diamonds far outstripped any passion within her marriages, Burton included. An interesting article, though you've got to wonder about any reference to a 1.5-carat diamond that costs £2,975 (AU$8,925) as 'surprisingly modest'.

Ice, ice, baby.

In other bling news, a diamond bikini in New Zealand is busy whipping lads and ladies into a lather, while Bollywood stars in Mumbai whore themselves to sell the shiny baubles; it's for a good cause, apparently.

 

October 31, 2003
*Search Strings: October 2003

 

October 29, 2003
*Get ready to glitter!

True to form, Cordite #14 - Zombie - has lived on well past its use-by date, continuing to attract hits from far and wide. Now it's time to get grassed for our next journey through cyberpoetics, Cordite #15 - GLITTER! As with previous issues, we'll be posting items from the issue over a two/three month period, just so that we can make you come back! Expect the usual batch of fresh poetry, amusing articles and interviews, cutting reviews and, of course, hard-core borg items. Glitter will hit your screens in the next week or so.

In the meantime, of course, our Cordite editors have been busy as monkeys thrashing away on those metaphorical typewriters. Paul Hardacre (The Year Nothing) and Paul Mitchell (minorphysics) have celebrated book launches in the past week. Well done guys! Sean Whelan's chapbook has also been published as part of a series called Hit and Miss. Carlie Lazar's all set to pummel the opposition on a panel organised by the Writers Centre in Melbourne (see her blog for details). Have I forgotten anyone? Ivy, I'm sure, is busy as ever. Cassie, too. Who knows what Terry gets up to in his spare time. As for me, well, I'm on holidays. What am I doing here? Okay, look busy.

 

October 12, 2003
*Zombie Survival Guide

So, you think you're prepared: you've got the bunker fitted out, you've bought enough canned food to last a month, and you've brushed upon your ham radio skills. You've even made sure there's a generator and a dvd box set of 'Hogan's Heroes' and 'Webster' to keep your spirits up during those dark hours before dawn when the living dead are scratching at your door and trying to eat your brain. But is that enough? Have you done your research?

This might help: The Zombie Survival Guide, a new book which came out just last month. From what we've seen so far, it looks like an invaluable resource for those interested in pursuing a career in zombology or even those just trying to alive in a crisis.

Oh, and here's a useful training exercise: the Zombie Infection Simulation. Dib dib, dob dob, and all that.

 

October 2, 2003
*Billy Corgan's book a distant glimmer

Those of you itching to get your mitts on former Smashing Pumpkins' frontman Billy Corgan's debut book of poetry may have to wait just a little longer. In pursuit of a review copy, we emailed the Chicago Poetry Centre, where Corgan gave a reading earlier this month.

 

September 30, 2003
*Themes for 2004

Our submissions page now details themes for Issues #17-#21, and the relevant closing dates. Get your thinking caps on! In other news, Glitter, despite being advertised as going live on October 1 has now been delayed and will appear in early November. Sorry everyone!

 

September 29, 2003
*Search Strings: September 2003

At the risk of inducing further boredom in at least one of our readers, herewith follows the top search strings plugged into search engines by Cordite readers for the month of September. By the way, does anyone mind if we change our name to Corgan Poetry Review?

 

September 27, 2003
*George Plympton goes into space.

George Plimpton, founder and Editor in Chief of the Paris Review, has died. The exuberant Plympton, who passed away at the age of 76, had lived more than his share of adventures in the pursuit of his own brand of 'participatory journalism'. Sometime boxer, trapeze artist and actor (he appeared in Good Will Hunting and an episode of the Simpsons), he was regrettably never able to realise one of his final dreams: to take a posse of poets into space:

"The one participatory piece I still want to write is about outer space, of course. I want to go up before I pass away. I want a poet to go up too - WS Merwin, perhaps. John Ashberry. Updike. Maybe me. They need a good chronicler to write about what it really feels like to be up there. I live in hope."

As do we. Poets in space? Send us up.

 

September 25, 2003
*Thom Yorke VS Grade Five Children

It's impossible to have an original opinion on Radiohead these days. Too much exposure, even your grandmother doesn't mind crooning along to Creep (although she hates the newer stuff). So what's the solution? Get a bunch of untarnished minds in the same room (namely Grade Five children of Roosevelt Elementary in San Leandro) whose soft little skulls haven't quite appeared over the trenchs yet and play them a bunch of Radiohead songs spanning the band's entire career (sorry grandma).

Then tell them to do a bunch of drawings while they listen, reflecting their humble opinion of Thom Yorke's (so called) genius. This is exactly what online San Francisco paper East Bay Express did. The results are illuminating and hilarious. Including one self portrait of a child whose speech bubble reads "Mommy please come help." Priceless! Obviously he's not quite part of Radiohead's target market just yet. Or is he? Check it out at Radio Rorschach.

 

September 22, 2003
*Test Match issue re-vamp!

Cordite Issue #12 - TEST MATCH - has been re-vamped and is now available for further perusal here. Now featuring more cool images (including the one to the right: an overhead shot of a slips cordon from the classic Test Match game), and a clearer layout, it's part of our effort to provide a more consistent look and feel across the site. As ever, your comments, suggestion and feedback are most welcome.

 

September 17, 2003
*Books available for review

On our reviews page you'll find a list of books, periodicals, anthologies, CDs and e-books, all of which are available for review. Simply send us an e-mail. On top of the free book, you'll also be paid if we decide to publish your review.

 

September 17, 2003
*Lorca to rise from the grave?

Just recently we asked Cordite readers to nominate one poet they would like to see return from the dead. While the response to this question has not elicited the same kind of frenzied commenting as our query on a collective noun for poets, news that Spanish poet Federico Lorca's remains may be exhumed from a mass grave first dug in 1936 may inspire a few more readers to put on their thinking caps.

 

September 12, 2003
*Billy Corgan: Poet

In news that's sure to make even Donald Rumsfeld feel a little nervous, bald rocker and former Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan is set to release a book of his own poetry.

 

September 1, 2003
*LIVE: Roo-ku

LIVE: Roo-ku (Overload Poetry Festival)
Saturday 23 August 2003

I was flattered to receive an invitation last month to MC a reading put on by the Overload Poetry Festival with the mischievous title of "Roo-ku" - as in Australian haiku, or some variant of it. With fifteen readers scheduled to perform over a two hour period, I understood instantly that "directing traffic" at such an event would amount to some serious speed-MCing.

my pleasant surprise
the whole thing went off so well
no stray syllables ...

 

August 29, 2003
*Search Strings: August 2003

 

August 27, 2003
*Random Zombie Links

Here are some terrible zombie jokes from Usenet. Seriously, they're really terrible. Did we mention they're terrible? Here's our favourite:

Lady Astor: If I were your wife, Sir Winston, I'd poison your tea!
Zombie Winston Churchill: BRAAAAIINS!

See? Told you.

REM knew a couple of things about zombies. Well, maybe only one thing.

Some people think zombies taste like decomposing flesh. Others say they taste like rum, pineapple juice and papaya. We say there's only one way to find out for sure.

And lastly, the latest craze in Korea involves pretending to be dead - which is kind of like being a zombie, isn't it? Click and scroll down for amazing pictures of not-really-dead people sprawled out of tumble dryers. Brilliant.

 

August 21, 2003
*Audio from the Archives

In Issue 11, we began what we thought would end up as a series of spoken word audio pieces. In fact, the three audio poems we posted then constitute the sum total of our audio archive. While they're no longer hosted on this site (rather, archived by the National Library of Australia), we thought it might be just as well to re-post details of the tracks, for your listening pleasure (links will open in new windows). Now press record and get your audio trax to us, pronto!

 

August 21, 2003
*Cordite Launch Pics (2)

More pics from our launch at Babble (thanks again, Sean ...)



Paul Hardacre goes into gangsta-rap mode during his incendiary reading at the Cordite launch.

 

August 21, 2003
*Cordite Launch Pics (1)

As you may recall, in June Cordite held a gigantic, three issue launch party at the infamous Babble at Bar Open, Fitzroy. Sean Whelan, our new audio-visual editor, took this series of pics on the night. (Apologies for the size of the files - we will be reducing them soon.)



MC for the night and former Cordite performance editor Phil Norton tags Cordite large-style on the Babble canvas.

 

August 19, 2003
*NYWF a-blog-blog!

This year's National Young Writers Festival has a snazzy website featuring a blogs page where festival participants will be able to write online diaries to reflect on their experiences at the festival.

Festival coordinators Paul Byron and Natasha Cho have already begun their own blog about their experiences coordinating NYWF – a writing experiment they describe as “arts management meets confessional writing”.

 

August 19, 2003
*LA TRIBU DE LAS PALABRAS

Next Thursday August 28 at 7.30pm Filmoteca, in conjuction with the Melbourne Writer's Festival, presents LA TRIBU DE LAS PALABRAS (WORD TRIBE):

“A feature-length documentary on the inaugural 'Chile Poesia' poetry festival held in Santiago, Valparaiso and surrounds in March, 2002. The film is a moving and thoughtful account on the role of poetry in contemporary Latin America and beyond, and features poets including Nicanor Parra (Chile), Adrienne Rich (USA), Juan Gelman (Argentina), Ernesto Cardenal (Nicaragua), Amanda Berenguer (Uruguay), Alberto Blanco (Mexico), Raul Zurita (Chile) and others.”

The film is being screened at ACMI, Federation Square, Melbourne. It will be preceeded by live poetry performance in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Any readers planning to attend the event who are interested in writing a review for Cordite, please send us an e-mail.

 

August 19, 2003
*Melbourne: City of the Dead?

Over at the well-designed sleepybrain.net, the editorial addresses the entirely appropriate question of whether Melbourne is in fact a city of the dead:

"For Jerry Seinfeld, Melbourne was, and shall always be, the "ass end of the Earth". Ava Gardner filmed On The Beach in Melbourne and thought it to be "the perfect place to make a film about the end of the world". But although the city clearly struggles to satisfy the high-powered tastes of butch celebrities and Hollywood has-beens, it nevertheless contains simple pleasures for those with a little less space between their ears."

No arguments here.

 

August 16, 2003
*Cordite + Magnets = Poetry

Do you remember when you first saw Magnetic Poetry? In a crowded room, perhaps? Stuck on a stranger's fridge to entertain inebriates, there's a good chance you enjoyed pushing around the little dinky words. Well, this year is the tenth anniversary of Magnetic Poetry, and after some squizzling on Google, we've discovered how you can do it to Cordite! With words taken from the front page of Cordite's latest issue, these can be deconstructed for your own tone poem. Voilá! Instant masterpiece.

 

August 13, 2003
*Brains: now more convenient than ever!

If there's one thing that zombies love even more than the fresh, juicy brains of military personnel, it's home shopping - so it was just a matter of time until an online retailer worked out how to tap into that lucrative market. Now, with Brains4zombies.com, the living dead can shop for the tastiest, most succulent brains from the comfort of their own tombs. Provided, of course, that those tombs are equipped with an internet connection.

 

August 13, 2003
*Donald Rumsfeld: Poet

In what must surely rank as the most amazing poetry news story of the year, U.S. writer and humorist Hart Seely has put together a new book entitled "Pieces of Intelligence: The Existential Poetry of Donald H. Rumsfeld" (Free Press).

 

August 12, 2003
*Vogon Poetry Generator

Fans of The Hitchiker's Guide To the Galaxy (whose author, Douglas Adams, sadly passed away recently) have probably already tried this but the BBC website features a Vogon Poetry Generator that allows you to plug in a few choice terms, click a button and receive, free of charge, your very own Vogon poem.

 

August 10, 2003
*Trail of (Un)dead ...

Well, there's dead and there's Undead, a small budget zombie film made by Aussie brothers Peter and Michael Spierig that's gaining huge amounts of press, not to mention an overseas release.

Undead, which screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival last night, concerns a small Australian town subjected to a shower of zombie meteors. Pretty soon the set looks like a war zone, zombies are being skewered, shovelled and head-punched into oblivion, blood splashes liberally across the screen and hopelessly outnumbered humans battle valiantly to avoid a) zombiedom and b) a Close Encounters type ascension.

The film is successful because it's humorous, fast-paced and sticks to its traditional genre. Its eerie conclusion also manages to make a subtle statement about Australian society today (but we won't spoil it for you - Undead opens in Australian cinemas on September 4).

 

August 9, 2003
*The Age Book of the Year Shortlist

Melbourne newspaper The Age has announced the shortlists for its Book of the Year Awards. This year's shortlist for the Poetry award is:

We say, you decide - read a review of Emma Lew's book here. Decipher Michael Farrell's cover of Laurie Duggan's "Blue Hills" and Duggan's response. Discover the sexy side of Javant Biarujia in the new edition of slope. Finally, experience the wonder that is Steve Kelen's Buffy.

Then again, everyone's a winner - good luck to all!

 

August 7, 2003
*Aberzombie.com

Aberzombie.com wins the legal dispute led by complainant Abercrombie & Fitch (US clothing retailer) over the name and website.

On 10 June 2003, the Panel for the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Centre (Geneva, Switzerland) decided that

'the Complainants failed to show that the disputed domain name, aberzombie.com, is confusingly similar to the Complainants’ Abercrombie and Abercrombie & Fitch trademarks.'
In their response, Aberzombie.com asserted that
'[t]he word "Zombie" is universally known as a being who is under the spell of another. More specifically, Webster’s Dictionary defines it as "a supernatural power through which a corpse supposedly is brought to a state of trance-like animation and made to obey the commands of the person exercising the power."'
Aberzombie.com exhorts "the mindless horde of [American] teens [who] follow this [Abercrombie & Fitch] clothing line like a religion" with the following: "You are not a sheep. You are not a lemming. You are not getting sleepy".

 

August 7, 2003
*Zombie Honeymoon

Christina Reilly, producer of Zombie Honeymoon, currently screening in New Jersey, reveals, "The only thing campy about the film is the title; it's played as a very serious drama of how this couple copes with one of them becoming the undead".

Ahem.

 

August 6, 2003
*Oz Lit Zombie Competition

Here's a question for all you lovers of Australian Lit: if you could bring back one Australian poet from the dead, who would it be?

Please feel free to leave a comment in the box below - but if you're really serious and would like to be in the running for a spooky prize, send your entry (500 words maximum) to cordite@cordite.org.au.

Entries close at the end of this issue - that is, September 15. Mua ha ha!

 

August 5, 2003
*Our Cyber-Zombie Pals

Seems we're finally getting noticed by web-denizens interested in Zombies: this excellent site mentions our current issue and features a list of zombie links on the web but is also a blog (or blog portal) for a course on all things Zombie run by K. Silem Mohammad at the University of California (Santa Cruz).

The course syllabus contains the following cautionary note: "WARNING: This course may be too intense for some viewers! Some of the movies to be screened contain graphic depictions of violence, gore, sexuality, and extreme SPOOKINESS." Yowsers!

Readers may be interested to know that last week's class featured a screening of "I Eat Your Skin" (1964) while today (Tuesday), students will be exposed to Jacques Tourneur's 1943 classic "I Walked with a Zombie". And they call this work?

 

July 31, 2003
*Search Strings: July 2003

 

July 26, 2003
*Zombie & Mummy.

You don't need to turn your speakers on to experience the unearthly pleasures of Zombie and Mummy's homepage, but it helps. They have many adventures. They form a hip-hop band, they visit a beauty salon, they journey into space and they have terrible, terrible nightmares. Why isn't your life as exciting as theirs? Because you're not undead, that's why. You need to eat more brains.

 

July 23, 2003
*Do zombies have feelings?

The answer to this question seems to be the subject of some debate within psychological and philosophical circles. Take Nigel Roberts for example, who in his paper Zombie Killers states the following:

"Philosopher's (sic) zombies are hypothetical beings that are behaviorally and functionally (or perhaps even physically) equivalent to (and thus indistinguishable from) human beings, but which differ from humans in not having conscious (or, at least, qualitatively conscious) mental states. They have the same information processing capacities that we humans have, and, because of this, a similar capacity to form cognitive representations and perhaps even to enter into intentional states, but they are not conscious because they do not have sensations, or qualia as the jargon has it."

This notion of qualia pops up quite often in pseudo-academic discussions of zombies online. David Chalmers' Self-Ascription Without Qualia: A Case-Study deals with the author's alter-ego, Zombie Dave:

First, let us ask: Does Zombie Dave have beliefs? It seems to me that he does. If we ask him where his car is, he'll tell us that it's in the driveway. If we ask him whether he likes basketball, he tells us that he does. If we tell him that there's a basketball game starting across town in half an hour, he'll immediately head for the driveway, an action that seems to be best explained by the hypothesis that he wants to go to the basketball game, believes that his car will get him there, and believes that his car is in the driveway."

All the more reason, then, to get your hands on a Zombie Alert. In fact, why not choose from a range of zombie alert products: "The Industrial" (pictured) is designed for protection over a wide area: "The siren is so loud that its sound carries just as far as its zombie sensing protection. For the farmer, commune or religious cult the small extra cost pays big advantages in zombie protection." Yup. Other models include "The Personal Protector" and "The Mobile".

For the zombie nostalgic, there's an excellent site devoted to the Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency (US - sadly disbanded in 1975). Otherwise, why not kick back with a zombie cocktail!

 

July 15, 2003
*Diana to return as a zombie!

It is a great pleasure to report today, the first day of our Zombie issue, that the Queen of Hearts, aka Princess Diana, will soon be returning from the dead in a Marvel Comics X-Statix book hilariously entitled "Di Another Day."

Apart from the obvious question of what the estate of Ian Fleming might think of such a title, and the predictable flurry of protest from Fleet Street, the Bulletin makes a crucial point: "Of course, one small problem is Diana's death." Solution? Return to life as a mutant zombie! We can't wait to see what she gets up to, kicking heads and butts, Buffy-style.

If only there were a market for such a comic book about the great lost dead of Australian poetry ... "Gentlemen Prefer Elision" ... "From Ern With Love" ... "The Word Is Not Enough" ... "Octopatterson" ... "On Her Majesty's Secret Sonnet" ... somebody stop me.

 

July 1, 2003
*Apologies

Sorry everyone but due to circumstances beyond our control, Zombie will not be beginning today, as previously advertised. The launch date for Zombie will now be July 15. In the meantime, why not take a look at our list of books for review.

 

June 26, 2003
*Cordite #15: GLITTER

Submissions are now open for Cordite #15: GLITTER. We seek content that reflects on a glamorous theme. Submissions focussing on fame, gossip, soaps, drag, superstars and Mariah Carey will all be considered. But seriously, read our guidelines for contributors before you do anything. Submissions close on 15 August, 2003.

In other news, Cordite #14 (ZOMBIE) will kick off on July 1. Thanks to all those who have submitted their work. We will be in touch with you shortly.

 

June 25, 2003
*Poetry and Politics

If you thought John Howard was the only political leader to be tempted by the power of poetry, think again: it seems the trend is growing, with three separate political figures in the Asian region showing their true poetic colours in the last week.

 

June 22, 2003
*Search Strings: June 2003

 

June 20, 2003
*Coming soon: Cordite AV!

 

June 19, 2003
*A collective noun for poets?

Okay so you've got your murder of crows, your gang of elk and your drunkship of cobblers but the question for today is: what's the collective noun for a group of poets? I personally like the sound of a "ward" of poets but perhaps that's going a bit far. Any suggestions?

 

June 18, 2003
*Cordite (re)Launch(ed)

Come along to Babble at Bar Open (Brunswick St Fitzroy) tonight for a special Cordite event: our celebration of two years online. Readings by Paul Hardacre, Michael Farrell and Nick Whittock will be followed by the traditional Babble open mic section. MC for the evening is former Cordite performance editor, Mr Phil Norton. Doors open 8pm. Rumours of complimentary champagne should not be dismissed out of hand.

 

June 17, 2003
*What's a haiku again?

Further to yesterday's post, the question on everybody's lips seems to be: what's a haiku anyway? And what's a haiga? Well, a haiku is a poetic form, three lines long. Beyond that, it's anyone's guess. A haiga is a pictorial representation of a haiku that also features calligraphic text.

The answer to the question "What is a haiku?" depends largely on where you are when you ask it. For a Japanese speaker, the meaning of haiku is obvious. For an English speaker, Jack Kerouac offers a glimpse into one of poetry's most ancient of forms. But here's the rub: while you may have been taught a particular haiku structure at school (three lines of five, seven and five syllables), no matter what the structure is in English, it will never truly emulate a Japanese haiku.

If you're confused, why not read this article from the World Haiku Association website. It's called "From 5-7-5 to 8-8-8: An Investigation of Japanese Haiku Metrics and Implications for English Haiku". Warning: there is a fair bit of maths in this one!

If, on the other hand, words like synchronic and diachronic tickle your poetic fancy, perhaps you'd be better off reading this one instead. It's called "Stalking the Wild Onji: The Search for Current Linguistic Terms Used in Japanese Poetry Circles." (Both articles are in PDF format - download the Acrobat reader here).

 

June 16, 2003
*Go Haikunauts!

The Second Annual Conference of the World Haiku Association is to be held in Tenri, Japan, this October 3-5. Co-sponsored by the Slovenian embassy in Japan, the conference is expected to attract haikunauts from all over the world.

Cordite Poetry Review is also proud to be named as a supporter of this event, and we look forward to making further links at the conference with Ban'ya Natsuishi, who is the driving force behind contemporary Japanese haiku aesthetics (as well as a contributor to Cordite: Ban'ya's haiga were featured in Issue #10).

Activities at the conference include an opening night party/haiku reading, a day of discussions on all things haiku and, to close, a walk along Japan's oldest road, featuring haiku readings at ancient burial grounds. Go Haikunauts!

 

June 12, 2003
*Cordite Celebrates Two Years On the Web!

Well, you wouldn't know it but Cordite Poetry Review has now been online for two years! Two years of blood, sweat, tears and good poetry. In order to celebrate, we're "launching" three issues of the magazine at once, next Wednesday the 18th of June, at Babble (Bar Open, Brunswick Street, Fiztory, 8pm). Entry on the night is $5, with a complimentary glass of champagne. Readings by Paul Hardacre (Brisbane), Nick Whittock and Michael Farrell (Melbourne). See you there!

 

June 11, 2003
*Pacific Connections

The Asia and Pacific Writers Network (APWN), an initiative of Melbourne PEN Centre and Asialink, in conjunction with the Victorian Writers' Centre is presenting its inaugural event: Pacific Connections, described as "an evening of poetry, prose and discussion featuring writers with pacific intentions and Asian connections". Speakers include Kirpal Singh (Singapore), Alvin Pang (Singapore), Chi Vu (Melbourne), Javant Biarujia (Melbourne) and Ouyang Yu (Melbourne). Cost: $7, Members of the VWC, Asialink and APWN $5. Contact the VWC for venue details.

 

June 10, 2003
*Bloomsday in Melbourne

Next Monday from 11.30am-3.30pm, Collected Works Bookshop (1st Floor, Nicolas Building, 37 Swanston St, City) presents continuous readings from James Joyce's Ulysses - anybody can read - free soda bread, dip, cheese & stout. Irish music & a recording of Joyce's Finnegans Wake are also on offer.

Then at 7.30pm things get really serious, with the FAW readings at Molly Blooms Hotel (cnr Bay & Rouse Sts Port Melbourne) featuring prizes for Best Overall Performer ($50), Best Performance Relating to Bloomsday/James Joyce ($50), Best Performance According to Audience Applause ($50) and books for 2nd & 3rd prizes in each category (judging panel: Kris Hemensley, Jennifer Harrison, Alex Skovron).

 

June 6, 2003
*Ruark Lewis in Berlin

A picture of a performance featuring Ruark LewisSydney-based artist Ruark Lewis is off to Berlin in June to perform a work entitled Banalities/Banalitäten. The piece has been commissioned by the Literatturwerkstatt Berlin. Judging by this rehearsal still, it's guaranteed to knock your head off.

 

June 4, 2003
*Nicaragua ...

So you've read Salman Rushdie's The Jaguar Smile, a book that describes the intensely poetic culture of Nicaragua. Now you can read more deeply into Nicaragua's take on poetry at the excellent VeRT site. In particular, a feature entitled A Nation of Poets: Writings from the Poetry Workshops of Nicaragua is worth checking out for its republication (in .gif format) of the introductory essay and some poems from the book of the same name published in 1985.

The book foreshadows Rushdie's travelogue by several years, and opens with this statement: "In Latin America, Nicaragua has long been known as the 'Land of the Poets'. Nicaraguans take the title seriously. In the streets of Managua, Granada and Leon, writers are matter-of-factly greeted as 'poeta' in the same way that physicians are greeted as 'doctor' or priests as 'padre' ..." Kent Johnson's interview with Ernesto Cardenal on the Nicaraguan Ministry of Culture and his experiences of studying in America is also well worth reading.

 

June 2, 2003
*Poetry Espresso ...

A project-in-progress involving a small community of poets from far-flung corners of the globe now has a home on the web: the Poetry Espresso website. Run by Australian expatriate Cassie Lewis from the Bay area of California, the site documents two years of activity on the public mailing list of the same name.

One of the most interesting experiments to come out of the list has been the poem of the day project, which involved list members taking turns as editor and posting a poem each day for a month at a time. Aside from being a curious example of distributed publishing, the project also showcases Lewis' skills in book-making (which also extends to books of postcard poems). Stay tuned for the final installment - a collection of search poems from November last year, edited by yours truly!

 

May 27, 2003
*Search Strings: May 2003

 

May 21, 2003
*Poetry In Utero

In an unusual fusion of arts and science, a team of Canadian and Chinese researchers has studied the effects on a foetus of hearing its mother’s voice reading poetry, concluding that the experience makes the fetus' heart race. The Science Daily website quotes a news release from Queens University in Ontario, Canada, stating that the study "confirms what scientists have speculated about for more than 20 years - that experiences in the womb help shape newborn preferences and behaviour."

 

May 20, 2003
*Jill Jones Wins Kenneth Slessor Prize

Last issue we reported on the shortlist for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards. We can now report that Sydney-based poet and chanteuse Jill Jones' Screens Jets Heaven carried off the 2003 Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry at the Awards ceremony last night.

Judges praised Screens Jets Heaven for its sense of wholeness, specifically the poems in the last section of the book which, by "expressing a more mysterious, cryptic inner consciousness suggest new future areas of Jill Jones's poetic interest and activity."

You can read Jill's poetry online at her home page.

 

May 18, 2003
*Contribution: Mrs Mary [ ]

The international availability of Cordite means that from time to time we get some strange submissions. In fact just last week we received an e-mail, innoccuously titled "Contribution". When opened, it turned out to be a passionate plea for Cordite Poetry Review to accept a donation of $10 million (US) for "the development of evangelism". While we can't accept Mrs. Mary [ ]'s donation, we welcome contributions of this sort, and have decided to publish the piece as part of our "Interim National" issue. Enjoy.

 

May 11, 2003
*Mohsen Soltany Zand

Mohsen Soltany Zand, detained at Sydney's Villawood detention centre for four years, is now free and will be appearing at this year's Sydney Writer's Festival.

Along with collaborator, poet/composer Geoffrey Datson, Mohsen will perform poetry and music as part of the Let Loose program, which features "two plays from the other side of the razor wire" - one by novelist Linda Jaivin and the other by Iranian actor/playwright Shahin Shafaei, who spent 22 months in Curtin Detention Centre.

You can listen to some of Mohsen's recordings here. For further details of the Let Loose program, visit the Sydney Writer's Festival Website.

 

May 5, 2003
*Word Up, Melbourne!

A flier advertising a new spoken word night in Melbourne

 

May 4, 2003
*Is Pottery Dead?

Bruce Wexler seems to think so, though his main evidence is that he himself no longer reads it. Readers disagreeing with his article have responded with rebuttals, citing rap, hip hop and poetry slams as examples of poetry's new wave. And what's more, they say, the new poets are being nominated for Oscars.

Why are we talking about this again? The vital signs are positive. Poetry.com is finally being sued. Pam Ayres is still touring. Pottery may be dead, but poetry's just fine.

 

April 27, 2003
*Search Strings: April 2003

 

April 17, 2003
*Sneakers and Cricket

the symbol of the reds cricket team: a star containing a fist[sneaker_freaker] is a site dedicated to, erm, sneakers.

Along with the magazine of the same name, it's the brainchild of cricket tragic and sneaker fanatic Simon Wood, or "Woody" to his fans.

When he's not chasing down that obscure pair of Air Jordans, Woody plays for the Reds, a socialist cricket team whose motto - "Win nervously, lose tragically" - has served them well in recent years.

This season, Woody captained his D-Grade charges to a semi-final berth. Alas, the second part of the Reds' motto then kicked in, with the team going down quite tragically, though not without dignity.

Despite the lack of recent glory, the Reds are a club with a fascinating history; they've even been profiled on ABC Radio National. Check it out!

 

April 16, 2003
*NSW Premier's Literary Awards

The NSW Premier's Literary Awards shortlists were announced this morning (Sydney time). Books short-listed for the Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry include:


  • Jill Jones: Screens Jets Heaven

  • Alison Croggon: Attempts at Being

  • Kate Lilley: Versary

  • Emma Lew: Anything the Landlord Touches

  • Sarah Day: New and Selected Poems

  • Robert Gray: Afterimages


  • You can read details of the shortlist (including comments by the judges on each of the books) at the website of the NSW Ministry for the Arts.

     

    April 10, 2003
    *Cordite #13: INTERNATIONAL

    Flags of the worldSubmissions are now open for Cordite #13: INTERNATIONAL.

    We seek content that reflects on an international theme (sorry, we can't be any more vague and general than that).

    Send us your poetry, images, web reviews and articles. But first, read our guidelines for contributors.

    Submissions close on 30 April, just in time for a May 1 kick-off.

     

    April 9, 2003
    *Windies Kids Get Cricket Lessons

    Given the decline in fortunes of West Indies cricket since the glory days of the 1980s, it may come as no surpise to readers to learn that the West Indies Cricket Board has developed a new teaching manual which relates cricket to learning.

    Known as "Clarence Goes to School", the manual "introduces different facets of cricket in a fun way into the core subject areas of language arts, maths, geography, history, art and design, design and technology, information technology," according to the Trinidad Guardian.

    It goes on: "In the language arts section, the targeted outcome is that the students develop, improve and apply the skills of speaking, listening and writing. The section includes lessons in imaginative, poetry and explanation writing. One lesson asks students to read biographical sketches of cricket greats like Sir Frank Worrell and Sonny Ramadin and then write their own autobiographies."

    Let's hope Clarence inspires a whole new generation of West Indian kids to take on the world. Who knows, maybe he'll also encourage a few budding bards to combine their sporting and poetic interests ...

     

    April 7, 2003
    *More Go Russ ...

    Russell Crowe has denied rumours that he will read poetry during his wedding to fellow-entertainier Danielle Spencer today.

    A few days ago we reported that poetry and cricket would be featuring heavily on the agenda for the three day wedding party, being held on the New South Wales north coast.

    Alas, we can only confirm that Crowe's XI (featuring his Kiwi cricketing cousins) trounced the Spencer XI in what was surely a relaxed afternoon of cricket yetserday.

    Further news sources have Crowe denying that he will be waxing lyrical at any point during today's ceremony.

    Disapppointingly, Crowe has also revealed that neither Heath Ledger or Sting will attend the do.

     

    April 2, 2003
    *Go Russ, Cricket & Poetry

    Actor Russell Crowe has stunned the literary world by planning to incorporate a POETRY reading and a CRICKET match into his epic three day wedding ceremony, which begins next Monday.

    News sources suggest Crowe, who will marry fellow-entertainer Danielle Spencer at Nana Glen (near Coffs Harbour), will invite his cousins, former New Zealand cricketers Martin and Jeff Crowe, and possibly Shane Warne to strap on the pads for a celebrity "backyard" cricket match.

    It is not known whether Warne will be allowed to play, having been ousted from international cricket for twelve months after testing positive for a banned substance.

    While the format of the poetry reading has not been revealed, it is expected that Crowe will recite a poem he has written for his new bride. This is not the first time Crowe has appealed to the Muse - last year he became involved in an altercation at the British BAFTA awards, after the show's producer cut him off mid-poem.

    What we'd like to know is this: if you were Russell Crowe, what poem would you read this time?

     

    March 27, 2003
    *The Bank of Victoria

    A picture of Victoria StantonVictoria Stanton is a Montreal-based performer, spoken word historian and CEO. She co-wrote (with Vincent Tinguely) Impure, a history of the Montreal spoken word scene; and her poetry has also been anthologised in Short Fuse, the global anthology of fusion poetry.

    It is with great pleasure that Cordite announces two special events in the life of this beguiling chanteuse. The first is the official opening of Victoria's eponymous banking empire, The Bank of Victoria. Check out the site for details of the bank's services, clients and projects.

    Secondly, following a whirlwind tour of Japan, where her performance(s) will be featured in an exhibition, Victoria will be visiting Melbourne and will be performing at Babble (Bar Open - Brunswick Street Fitzroy) on April 9 at 9pm.

    It seems oddly appropriate that the Bank of Victoria should be so interested in its, erm, Victorian clientele. Come along for some good old fashioned performance from Ms Stanton, a musical act (Tamas Wells) and the infamous Babble Open Mike section. Entry is a trivial $4. See you there!

    (Photo © Guy L'Heureux)

     

    March 23, 2003
    *News From the World of Books.

    There's an interesting article over at Slate about the appalling quality of English books; in particular their shoddy glue binding. Apparently British books are crumbling well before their time and people aren't at all pleased about it.

    Web de Sol's running a continuing series entitled How Contemporary American Poets are Denaturing the Poem. The observations are perhaps a little cynical, but still interesting, particularly this installment about back-cover blurbs.

    Many people (myself included) were concerned that Readings Books and Music in Carlton, one of Melbourne's best independent bookshops, would be put out of business by the new Borders store that's just opened up across the road. As it turns out, however, we needn't have worried.

    And this looks promising: a new site called Bookfilter started up just a couple of days ago. It's a community blog devoted to the discussion of all things bookish, and it's easy to sign up and join in the fun. Goody.

     

    March 20, 2003
    *Search Strings: March 2003

     

    March 15, 2003
    *"Less journalism, more gin."

    It would seem that the Guardian's cricket writer is having the kind of nervous breakdown that can only be alleviated by a string of capital letters. Priceless.

     

    March 12, 2003
    *War Paint.

    There are a lot of poets speaking out against the war at the moment, and the Guardian's published three war poems from the new anthology, 101 Poems Against War. The poems featured are by Seamus Heaney, Iraqi writer Saadi Youssef and Vietnam veteran Michael Casey.

    Also, Poets Against the War held Anti-war Poetry Readings in various locations (including Australia) around the world earlier this week that seem to have been a resounding success.

    But interestingly, not everyone agrees. An opposing site, Poets For the War, has started up, and it doesn't seem to be a parody.

     

    March 9, 2003
    *Cricket. It's a Bloody Business.

    Tug Dumbly, Sydney poet favoured by Triple J's Breakfast Show, has a poem called I Know Bloody Cricket. You can listen to it here, if you like. Go on.

     

    March 9, 2003
    *Reasons to Renew Your Passport.

    Australian Poet Chris Mansell is running some writing workshops in wonderfully exotic places this year, like Tuscany in July and India in November. For more information, contact Chris at chris@mansell.name

     

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