Drinking champagne with chambord and making lists of all that's left to do for our move. Just back from a reading in NY last night at Verlaine with Eileen Tabios and Murat Nemet-Nejat. Murat read some fabulous poems from a new Turkish poetry anthology that he edited, including some Orhan Veli translations. Eileen read from her new Menage a Trois book. Eileen in person is effervescent and full of cheer. She had a big contingency at the reading which had an overall interesting audience - largely Asian. Before the reading began, the host called for silence during the reading and for the turning off of all cellphones - it was the most well behaved audience at a poetry reading I had ever seen. Eileen drew the big crowd. We were unfortunately competing with both a Nick Flynn reading and an Eileen Myles premiere at the Poetry Project. It was good to see MacDowell colony friends Tia, Tom, Simeon, and Ferenc, all highly talented and diverse artists. On my way over to Verlaine with Tia, we had a Moby sighting - TEANY is just down the street from Verlaine.

It was a busy 3 days. I stayed in North Soho with another MacDowell friend, a talented sculptor. Spent Tuesday with ex-blogger/poet/collage artist/Naropan Michael Smoler and hung out with my collaborator Ferenc and discussed a book project that we hope to develop on his brother John. Actually got to meet John at the Cyril Weinberg adult day care facility. John has severe Downs Syndrome. He is about 4'8" and whispers and is so totally devoted to his brother. Powerful to see the 2 of them together. Spent some time later with a filmmaker friend who was busy this week meeting with potential backers on a new film. He pointed out that blogging is not really like journaling, as there is an awareness of audience. Very true - so many things that I don't say, that should say. And maybe that will change when I leave Boston. I am entirely too polite. Isn't this after all a pillow book?

Went to the Yoko Ono show at Printed Matter in Chelsea. On the back wall - a large map of the world with ink pads and rubber stamps with the phrase "imagine peace" stamped all over the globe. Eileen's reading reminded me in part of Yoko's spirit - the spirit of participation. The Printed Matter show was very poorly organized, posters and broadsides hung way above eye level and scattered amidst publications for sale. Very hard to take in, but Yoko's work always creating a certain mental spaciousness. Checked out also shows at Brooke Alexander and the Drawing Center, both institutions who seem to support visual textual works. Finally saw Walter de Maria's work at two Dia installations. The Earth Room - what a smell - and how do they keep all that soil from drying up?! Someone please tell me.

We are moving and it is all quite heartbreaking and full of tears and passionate outbursts. I am aware of having avoided groups of loved ones at our party, for the sheer inability to deal with loss and transition. That and the mindfuck enacted on me by one of our NESA guests who took it upon himself to introduce me to enlightenment. An intellectual grasp of one's feelings, is not at all the same as the ability to feel one's feelings in the heart. There is no such thing as being too smart to be fooled by or to choose one's sadness. One simply feels.