tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089616.post111345428131079516..comments2023-12-30T18:56:13.073-05:00Comments on Land Mammal: An odd readingAnne Haineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17038705452206752521noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089616.post-11677901825653809872007-09-27T12:24:00.000-04:002007-09-27T12:24:00.000-04:00I heard recently that LYL missed a conference he w...I heard recently that LYL missed a conference he was supposed to speak at because he went into rehab. That's just what I heard...since we're railing the guy, I wanted to say that there is a significant difference in sexual tone between the poems in "Rose" and those in "The City..." The poems in the former are intimate, touching, a man worshiping his wife. The poems from the latter seem perverse, uncomfortable for me to read.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089616.post-31452077385633328182007-05-04T06:37:00.000-04:002007-05-04T06:37:00.000-04:00LYL came to my college and nearly refused to do th...LYL came to my college and nearly refused to do the reading they had paid him to come for. The reading was set up with two armchairs, one for him and one for the moderator. He spent a long time complaining about there not being a podium or a microphone (it was located in a small auditorium with accoustics so nice there is no microphone system). He was eventually convinced to read, but he read in a very quiet voice, toward the ground, in a complete monotone. The reading part was horrible, but the discussion part wasn't bad.<BR/><BR/>You should hear the gossip about him in the English Department here. They would probably be far less upset with him if he had simply skipped the conference. At least they would have had something to say to the audience then.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089616.post-1113941877297174272005-04-19T16:17:00.000-04:002005-04-19T16:17:00.000-04:00I love Li-Young's poetry and have for a long time ...I love Li-Young's poetry and have for a long time but this behaviour strikes me as at best diva-ish and self-indulgent, and it won't be the first time that I have wondered if he was bi-polar. I knew him pretty well about twelve or so years ago when I lived in Chicago, and yeah, even back then he was extremely prone to very public drama. On one level, I think he really does believe that this is what a poet is supposed to be. I think this is rather sad really. I hope he is okay and has someone close by who can help him.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089616.post-1113843539213454962005-04-18T12:58:00.000-04:002005-04-18T12:58:00.000-04:00Didi, I think that's my favorite thing that anyone...Didi, I think that's my favorite thing that anyone has said about this. Thank you.Anne Haineshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17038705452206752521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089616.post-1113837358764676862005-04-18T11:15:00.000-04:002005-04-18T11:15:00.000-04:00So even someone who writes beautiful poems can be ...So even someone who writes beautiful poems can be a jerk. I suppose you could excuse his behaviour if you knew he was stoned at the time, but otherwise such selfish indulgence is just obscene. He forgot that the poetry reading wasn't about him as much as it was about sharing something with his audience.<BR/><BR/>Tsk tsk. It's not like he's alone in acting like this, though. I'm sure one could write a multi-volume book series on "Poets Behaving Badly."Poetry Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01398006539524196442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089616.post-1113829128447241912005-04-18T08:58:00.000-04:002005-04-18T08:58:00.000-04:00Well,You are one with God when you write. You are ...Well,<BR/><BR/>You are one with God when you write. You are one with man when you read.<BR/><BR/>That is all I have to say about that.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08195202743154382432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089616.post-1113771390404331632005-04-17T16:56:00.000-04:002005-04-17T16:56:00.000-04:00Just a clarification -- it wasn't LYL who asked th...Just a clarification -- it wasn't LYL who asked the audience to repeat the phrase "God in Man" but Cathy Bowman, who introduced him... <BR/><BR/>I'm starting to feel a little bad about this whole thread, as I had no intention of stirring up speculation or starting rumours. I think LYL is a fine poet, and when I heard him read last summer he seemed perfectly centered and "normal" whatever that means; his reading last week, while unusual, was still quite interesting and gave me a lot to chew on. <BR/><BR/>I'll make a new post later, perhaps, on some thoughts these comments have given me re: our expectations regarding poets and performance, whether being "calm and professional" vs. being "wild" is more or less poet-like, et cetera.Anne Haineshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17038705452206752521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089616.post-1113767659687635002005-04-17T15:54:00.000-04:002005-04-17T15:54:00.000-04:00He sounds bipolar to me. I have known a couple bi...He sounds bipolar to me. I have known a couple bipolar people, and the things you paraphrase him saying are (paraphrased) VERBATUM of the kinds of things these poeple would say while in a manic episode. especially making the audience say "God in Man" and his comments about that. Your questions about whether he was on drugs, or just being a diva...those things point to that to me as well...but of course I could be projecting my own past experiences onto him and could be terribly wrong.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089616.post-1113584849034442162005-04-15T13:07:00.000-04:002005-04-15T13:07:00.000-04:00For my poetry dollar, I'll take the spazz over the...For my poetry dollar, I'll take the spazz over the dull any day. I think there are entirely too many well adjusted and organized poets out there already. Bring on the drama! Li-Young Lee will always have me in the audience. He spent three hours with my workshop talking poetry and he was so neat to be near. I like to think he's our Emily Dickinson.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14803769438883141848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089616.post-1113581726964754042005-04-15T12:15:00.000-04:002005-04-15T12:15:00.000-04:00I'm pleased to see this post. My original take on ...I'm pleased to see this post. My original take on him to a friend was that I thought he was on drugs. Which is great! But hold off until you're offstage buddy.<BR/><BR/>Now, I realize, that it is a pattern. His performances are a combination of pretension and schtick. <BR/><BR/>I like his poems on the page. But when I go to a reading, spare me the melodrama please...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10883109611318399183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089616.post-1113576103918612372005-04-15T10:41:00.000-04:002005-04-15T10:41:00.000-04:00I think so. It sounded to me as if he was going th...I think so. It sounded to me as if he was going through some emotional turmoil, having been there, I know that it's comforting when someone shows they care, that compassion still exists, even if the world can be a confusing and evil place at times.jennihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15572881547671631396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089616.post-1113575971695409392005-04-15T10:39:00.000-04:002005-04-15T10:39:00.000-04:00Holy shit! Now that's a poetry reading. I wish I w...Holy shit! Now <I>that's</I> a poetry reading. I wish I was there, he's my kind of poet.Suzannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16623018763486643999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089616.post-1113527656644806352005-04-14T21:14:00.000-04:002005-04-14T21:14:00.000-04:00Kelli, you're right, people really didn't seem to ...Kelli, you're right, people really didn't seem to know how to respond. I'm curious what the English-dept. gossip about him is -- or maybe I don't want to know; it can be a bit brutal over there. <BR/><BR/>Julie, sounds like he's definitely having a life/career crisis, from what you said! He has such a thing about his father, I can only imagine that worrying about his son would be a raelly difficult thing for him. <BR/><BR/>I know I know someone who was in his workshop at the IU conference last year, but I can't remember who! I want to ask them if he seemed "off" then. His reading that week was, for lack of a better word, pretty normal. <BR/><BR/>Jenni and Em, oh god, do you really think I should? I guess I could get in touch with Cathy and she could forward something on to him, but I'd feel kind of weird about it. Hmmmmm. I'll think about it. <BR/><BR/>Em, Amy's first solo album (<I>Stag</I>, 2001) kicks butt too! She used the Butchies as her backup band for most of it, and they toured with her. Land Mammal: your one-stop source for all things Amy Ray. *hee* (okay, I'm just a <I>wee</I> bit of a fangirl...)Anne Haineshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17038705452206752521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089616.post-1113525258913660092005-04-14T20:34:00.000-04:002005-04-14T20:34:00.000-04:00I agree with Jenni. I think he'd like an appreciat...I agree with Jenni. I think he'd like an appreciate the poem, especially if he felt upset afterwards at how the reasing had gone: hey, it produced this great poem!<BR/><BR/>Yeeps, I didn't even know Amy Ray had a <I>first</I> solo album. Thanks for the review; I definitely want to buy the second one.Emily Lloydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03920886883651975823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089616.post-1113509844447531312005-04-14T16:17:00.000-04:002005-04-14T16:17:00.000-04:00I feel bad for him. Not pity, but well...it sounds...I feel bad for him. Not pity, but well...it sounds like he's going through a hard time. You should send him that poem you wrote.jennihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15572881547671631396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089616.post-1113494539524909042005-04-14T12:02:00.000-04:002005-04-14T12:02:00.000-04:00Anne,Hey, I have a recording of the reading he did...Anne,<BR/>Hey, I have a recording of the reading he did at my university, but I didn't record the first 10 minutes of it, because it was so weird, I forgot I had the recorder. He told us all that his son was very sick, back in Chicago, and that he was very worried, and he was hating his life as a poet because it made him feel irresponsible because he couldn't buy things like health insurance, and his son was having an operation, and he felt like he should be back there with him. We were all very understanding, and chalked up his weirdness to worry. When the reading was opened up to questions, one of my classmates asked him how old his son was, and he said, "Oh, he's 22."<BR/><BR/>But he said lots of fascinating other things and the parts I have recorded, I have listened to over and over again. Don't give up on him. I think that's what poets are supposed to be like, and all the uptight, organized and together types are the weird ones.<BR/><BR/>Rebecca, he was at our school for a whole week, and he mentioned that he tried teaching and he was really lousy at it because he felt like he really didn't know anything to teach anyone anything and felt paranoid the entire time that someone would find him out.<BR/>He certainly does have dreamy cheekbones. I think one of my fiction writing instructor's students referred to him as the Chinese Johnny Depp.<BR/><BR/>Look for the interview in next Fall's issue of Sou'wester. <BR/><BR/>~JdAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14803769438883141848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089616.post-1113464541222965992005-04-14T03:42:00.000-04:002005-04-14T03:42:00.000-04:00Anne--Loved your post. I think it's amazing (and t...Anne--<BR/><BR/>Loved your post. I think it's amazing (and thanks for the detail) and hey, you got to witness it.<BR/><BR/>This cracked me up:<BR/>(I was thinking at this point that it was kind of cool to see that maybe even Li-Young Lee has periods of thinking everything he has written is crap. Heh.)<BR/><BR/>I wonder what was up? It sounds bizarre and fascinating. And the sex talk too. Really, I'm not even sure how to respond, though it sounds as if others weren't too sure as well.<BR/><BR/>thanks for the post!Kelli Russell Agodon - Book of Kellshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01798460634708905783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089616.post-1113458047110759022005-04-14T01:54:00.000-04:002005-04-14T01:54:00.000-04:00Rebecca, LOL! Too bad you weren't there. A.D., I g...Rebecca, LOL! Too bad you weren't there. <BR/><BR/>A.D., I guess it was both endearing and troubling, though I'd say closer to intriguing than endearing. I'm sure I would have seen it differently if I knew him personally, or had any clue about what might be going on in his life or in his work. (And I guess that's why I was hesitant to describe it in much detail -- I don't feel like I necessarily had a clear view of what was going on, & I won't swear my description is accurate or complete.) <BR/><BR/>At first I thought it seemed courageous and oddly intimate for him to be literally revising poems as he read them, expressing his frustration with not knowing quite how to say what he wanted to say. Then it just seemed odd and rant-y. A lot of the audience (many of whom were MFA students, I think) seemed to be taking it in stride. If I knew Cathy Bowman just a little better, I'd be tempted to email her and ask her what her take on it was.Anne Haineshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17038705452206752521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089616.post-1113457206083554842005-04-14T01:40:00.000-04:002005-04-14T01:40:00.000-04:00Wow. As twisted as I am, that sounds wildly poetic...Wow. As twisted as I am, that sounds wildly poetic (and we know I like the wildly poetic). Was it endearing or troubling or both? I'm reminded of a Komunyakaa poem I can't get away from.<BR/><BR/><I>...<BR/>With eyes close and fists balled,<BR/>Laboring over a simple word, almost<BR/>Redeemed by what he tried to say.</I><BR/><BR/>Thank you for sharing at last.A. D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13356106957900416900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089616.post-1113455063480870922005-04-14T01:04:00.000-04:002005-04-14T01:04:00.000-04:00I would have said GODDAMNED FAN! really loudly. Re...I would have said <I>GODDAMNED FAN!</I> really loudly. Really, I would have. That's why no one takes me to these things. I took a class with LYL once. He didn't teach much but he looked real pretty. Good cheekbones.Radish Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06534752971317927559noreply@blogger.com