Thread for snipe, snark, and ad hominem grandstanding

[TSherbs]

I love the line about bent pines that limp in crowds. Nicely done!

I should dig out the worksheet for that one to see what the original characters were. Sam Hamill, head of Copper Canyon Press (which published the Red Pine translations) gave a workshop when I was a grad student, many years ago. Interesting guy. He died in 2018. He liked the translation, but turned down my first book.

Were you a grad student at Iowa?

[Chip]

Were you a grad student at Iowa?

At that point, I was working on a Masters in Literature and Linguistics at Utah State. My lit prof, Tom Lyon (who gave me my first fountain pen) was a magnet for writers such as Wallace Stegner, Gary Snyder, Sam Hamill, Edward Abbey, Scot Momaday, Barre Toelken, William Stafford, and many others. So I was able to meet them, take their classes and seminars, and make friends.

Later, I was a Stegner Fellow in the Stanford graduate writing workshop. Iowa was the second-oldest writing program in the US, and the arch enemy as far as the Stanford folks were concerned. When my fellowship was done, rather than jump on the creative writing career track, I returned to my job as a backcountry grazing cop in Wyoming, which really pissed them off.

[TSherbs]

Do you like Snyder's writing? A few of the Beats are in my pantheon of poetic American gods.

[Chip]

Do you like Snyder's writing? A few of the Beats are in my pantheon of poetic American gods.

I think he's a very good poet and a dedicated scholar, who is less shackled by vanity and self-regard than many. He just turned 91. He's won most of the major awards for poetry in the US.

Snyder lived with Philip Whalen, one of the premier Beats and a follower of the Soto school of Zen Buddhism. Jack Kerouac based a character (Japhy Ryder) on him for The Dharma Bums, with accounts of backcountry trips. Snyder later started a homestead/commune (Kitkitdizze) in the woods that was a magnet for creative types.

My best memory is of sitting across a campfire in Logan Canyon, Utah, as we roared out sea chanties. He knows lots of old songs.

[TSherbs]

Awesome. I'm jealous! I love his writing.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

Does that mean we here are all now two degrees of separation away from actual Beat poets? Fabulous!

[Chip]

While I know Snyder well enough to call him Gary, and corresponded a bit, we weren't best mates or anything.

Being a writer, I met and spent time with quite a few of the greats.

Still, dropping the names of writers who were better-known and more successful than me (a long list) can be slightly depressing.

I wrote the books I wanted to write, made a bit of money, and had some recognition, but no Pulitzer.

[Chuck Naill]

While I know Snyder well enough to call him Gary, and corresponded a bit, we weren't best mates or anything.

Being a writer, I met and spent time with quite a few of the greats.

Still, dropping the names of writers who were better-known and more successful than me (a long list) can be slightly depressing.

I wrote the books I wanted to write, made a bit of money, and had some recognition, but no Pulitzer.

Tiger Woods made $43,000 yesterday coming in #47. Congrats on making what you did.

[Chip]

Tiger Woods made $43,000 yesterday coming in #47. Congrats on making what you did.

A $100,000 book advance ain't exactly peanuts.

[Chuck Naill]

Tiger Woods made $43,000 yesterday coming in #47. Congrats on making what you did.

A $100,000 book advance ain't exactly peanuts.

Wonderful!!

[ethernautrix]

While I know Snyder well enough to call him Gary, and corresponded a bit, we weren't best mates or anything.

Being a writer, I met and spent time with quite a few of the greats.

Still, dropping the names of writers who were better-known and more successful than me (a long list) can be slightly depressing.

I wrote the books I wanted to write, made a bit of money, and had some recognition, but no Pulitzer.

I'm envious! I'd like to invite myself to your dinner parties. 🐨

[Chip]

I'm envious! I'd like to invite myself to your dinner parties. 🐨

Hypothetically fun, but rather few, these days. We live far off the travelled routes, so writers on the road can't pop in. My darling has immune system issues and most of our friends are elders, so we've been lying rather low. Meanwhile the nice wine in the cellar has been aging and we have quite a few prime bottles that ought to be cracked. I'm looking forward to warm weather and grill parties.

Most of my encounters with the greats, both recognised and obscure, took place on the writing circuit: the round of book festivals, workshops, readings, conferences, etc. that offered lots of after-hours engagement. But I've pretty much retired from the glamourous world of publishing. Which I don't miss, much.

To every thing there is a season. . .

Nice to see you here again.

[ethernautrix]

Oh wow, been a month since my last foray here. So much to slog through. Heh.

I still want an invitation to, say, one of your grill parties. Hahaha. I mean, obviously just a gesture and as a nod to your experiences and your own stories.

Warm greetings from Wrocław!

[Chip]

Good to see you surface in our troubled sea.



Some of us have been behaving better and some worse.

You missed a session with the grill yesterday. Ever had Chicken Adobo? It's a Filipino recipe: chicken (I use thighs) parboiled in soy sauce, vinegar, and garlic, with a couple bay leaves. You take it hot out of the marinade and char it on the grill.



Served with basmati rice, cole slaw with a sriracha mayo dressing, and a Muller-Thurgau riesling.

[Chuck Naill]

Not a fan of thighs! Enjoy otherwise!!👍👍👍

[Chip]

Warm greetings from Wrocław!

I'd barely heard of Wroclaw (astonishing how ignorant we Yanks can be). So I searched it. A major city in the Polish southwest, dating from the 10th century.

What a beautiful place!

[TSherbs]

Bump

[ethernautrix]

I love Wrocław! I'd share photos here, but those are on the other phone.

Wild shot: Anyone use a photo-resizer app one'd recommend?

[dneal]

I love Wrocław! I'd share photos here, but those are on the other phone.

Wild shot: Anyone use a photo-resizer app one'd recommend?

What operating system?

[ethernautrix]

Android version 9