This is, however, a blog that believes in the power of the people. This is a blog that believes in standing up for the little guy. This is a blog that thinks it\u2019s extremely funny when there\u2019s an extremely unjust situation, a system that quite literally decides whether people live or die, often dependent on wealth or employment status<\/em>, a system that is done a million times better in every other<\/em> rich country on the planet, a system that makes you think, \u201cwhy doesn\u2019t someone just\u2026\u201d <\/p> And then? Someone just\u2026<\/p> Well, I PERSONALLY read a bunch of really great poetry this week.<\/p> Oh, and programming note: this is the last blog of 2024. Thank you so much for reading, I\u2019ll see you in 2025. <\/p> One more programming note: I\u2019ve started writing for The Daily Meal<\/em>! My first article is about one of my great passions, chicken wings<\/a>. It\u2019s very fun so far, I\u2019m stoked to be doing some food writing. I\u2019ll be writing at least a feature per week, but I won\u2019t spam this space every single Friday, unless I\u2019m really proud of something. Still, if you want yr man the shipwrecked sailor more than every Wednesday and Friday, head over to the daily meal dot com<\/a>. <\/p> What I\u2019ve Been Reading This Week: <\/strong><\/p> Lots of poetry! It\u2019s good to end the year with some poetry. Especially chaotic domestic poetry, and poetry published by my friends (including one book written by a friend). Lotta text, so let\u2019s get into it: I read Midwinter Day <\/em>by Bernadette Mayer, Night Science<\/em> by Kenny Bradley, red line <\/em>by Ashley Elizabeth, Full-Blooded Chamaole <\/em>by Jacob Jardel, and What\u2019s So Wrong With A Pity Party Anyway<\/em> by Maya Williams.<\/p> Midwinter Day<\/strong><\/em> by Bernadette Mayer: <\/strong>my second time reading this book. In a lot of ways, it felt like the first. This is a dense<\/em> long poem, with huge swaths of text. It\u2019s really, really great, though. She\u2019s doing so much with what a day looks like, especially a day when you have young children. The poem leaps\u2014all good poems leap, but this one especially. I am considering making this the last book I read for the blog every year. Also, if you like, and I went long on this month\u2019s The Line Break<\/em> podcast about this poem: Apple<\/a> | Spotty<\/a> | Soundcloud<\/a><\/p> Night Science<\/strong><\/em> by Kenny Bradley: <\/strong>wow I love this book. There\u2019s something so cool about combining science writing and poetry\u2014not unlike Sabrina Imbler\u2019s <\/a>dyke (geology)<\/a><\/em>\u2014and I sincerely appreciate the inside look at what it\u2019s like to work with lab mice. The book is interdisciplinary in more ways than one, though, with Kenny writing what it\u2019s like to be a Black man in STEM. There\u2019s a critical eye turned towards the self-importance and race-erasing of Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and if science continues to be my six-year-old\u2019s favorite subject in school, I\u2019m glad I\u2019ll have Kenny\u2019s book on my shelves to show him other<\/em> ways a Black Science Man can be. <\/p> red line <\/strong><\/em>by Ashley Elizabeth: <\/strong>it\u2019s hard to say much about this book except: what an incredibly brave and devastating book. A recent episode of The Daily Zeitgeist <\/em>(of course I forgot to write down which one) was talking about how in the US, we tend to move on too quickly from things. Sandy Hook. COVID. January 6th. Whatever you can think of, societally, we probably didn\u2019t grieve enough. This is an excellent book about grief and how to experience it. <\/p> Full-Blooded Chamaole <\/strong><\/em>by Jacob Jardel: <\/strong>man, I really enjoyed this book. It was Bob\u2019s pick, and I can see why (complimentary to both poets). As we mentioned in The Line Break<\/em>, I\u2019ve never met anyone nor read any books by someone from Guam (the intro mentions \u201cCHamaole\u201d being a term that evokes many things; as a white guy, I will opt for the less concise term). And I like to think I read widely, know people from all over the world\u2014the world is a big place, turns out. These poems are conversational without being prosaic, they echo each other in pleasingly. Jacob messes with form in a ways that really work for me. I came away from this book feeling grateful for what Jacob shared with the reading public, and wishing him peace on his journey.<\/p> What\u2019s So Wrong With A Pity Party Anyway<\/strong><\/em> by Maya Williams: <\/strong>I said on our The Line Break<\/em> episode that Maya will probably one day be viewed as one of our greatest poets on death, and I stand by it after reading this book. Maya\u2019s willingness to sit with pain and grief\u2014multiple times, because after initial trauma, they then have to sit with those feelings again, to write the poem\u2014is astonishing. I threw myself a pity party after reading this book (not in front of the kid, of course) and it was great. <\/p> LINKS!<\/strong><\/p> Something to listen to while you browse? I don\u2019t really like this style of music, but this was one of my favorite charts to read in high school jazz band. Absolutely one of my favorites. Brendan would make King Of The Hill<\/em> jokes, it was fun to play on guitar (I used to own a wah pedal!), and it felt like the mood in the room just got better. You ever hear something\u2014could be a music, could be a news\u2014that just makes it feel like the mood in the room got better?<\/p>![](\"https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/c3f09909-6df7-4d4e-abf4-bb21469d74d9_3848x2327.heic\"\/)
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