My reading with Rob Fitterman,
scheduled for this coming Thursday,
has been postponed until sometime in the new year

Dia: Chelsea sustained damage in Hurricane Sandy

(photo by Geof Huth [nb: not my basement])

On Bloomsday, a day in which I gave not one but four separate readings (albeit one a homophonic translation of Sappho, another a translation of Joyce into English) in Rotterdam, a pipe in the furnace room that adjoins my basement study burst, sending water shooting into the room that houses the majority of my ten thousand books. Fortunately, my wife & one of my sons were home, and they (along with one of my son’s friends) responded the instant they realized that the aqueous sound from downstairs didn’t sound right. Today, the bottom foot-and-a-half to two feet of wall around the room are entirely torn up, a consequence of the industrial processes the flood disaster company put into place, ensuring that the insulation didn’t turn into a sponge followed by mold. My books are upstairs, or on tables & pallets in the garage – 150 cartons or so. We’ve had to discard a number of bookcases themselves and a few others still need to be pulled to the curb. But gradually things are returning if not to normal, at least to a place from which “normal” might be glimpsed on the horizon.

Nonetheless, over 140 books and journals were water damaged beyond salvation. As somebody who grew up in a house without books, and who has grown to love books intensely, it’s a consequence I can’t even depict without getting a little hysterical. Worse still, many of these are by favorite authors and favorite presses. Almost without exception, they’re books I had not yet gotten to reading. Several were signed; more than a few are already out of print. It’s all I can do to just take a deep breath and remember that objects are only that.

Anyway, I thought I would list them in the hopes that if you wrote or published one (or more) of these, and/or if you have an extra copy that could use a good home, I can assure you that this is that home. Thanks.

Author, Title, Publisher

Scott Abels, Rambo Goes to Idaho, BlazeVOX Books

Amanda Ackerman, Parrot 8 I Fell in Love with a Monster Truck, Insert Press

Lanny Bierman, About There, Beggar Books

Marianne Bouche, The Book of Hours, Copper Canyon Press

Mairéad Byrne, Lucky, Little Red Leaves

Tom Comitta, Badveritisements, publisher unknown

Tom Comitta, Blueprint for Realist Cinema, publisher unknown

CA Conrad, A Beautiful Marsupial Afternoon, Wave Books

Louis de Gongora, The Solitudes, Penguin Classics

W.S. di Piero, Nitro Nights, Copper Canyon Press

Ben Doller, Dead Ahead, Fence Books

Thomas Fink, Peace Conference, Marsh Hawk Press

Ed Foster & Joseph Donohue (editors), The World in Time and Space, Towards a History of Innovative American Poetry in Our Time, Talisman Press

Vernon Frazer, Asterisk, Axon

Vernon Frazer, Styling Sanpaku, Beneath the Underground

Gloria Frym, Mind Over Matter, BlazeVOX Books

Nada Gordon, Scented Rushed, Roof Books

Susan Gevirtz, Aerodrome Orion + Starry Messenger, publisher unknown

Merrill Gilfillan, The Bank of the Dog, Flood Editions

Peter Gizzi, Threshold Songs, Wesleyan University Press

Andrew Grace, Sancta, Ahsahta Press

Hillary Gravendyk, Harm, Omnidawn Publishing

Nathaniel Handel, Poet in Andalucía, University of Pittsburg Press

J/J Hastain, Prurient Anarchic Omnibus, Meeting Eyes Binding

Lyn Hejinian, Saga/Circus, Omnidawn Publishing

Derek Henderson, This &, if p then q

Barbara Henning, Looking Up: Harryette Mullen Interview on Sleeping With, the Dictionary + Other Works, Belladonna

Brian Henry, Doppelganger, Talisman House

Colin Herd, Too Ok, BlazeVOX Books

Rick Hiller, A Map of the Lost World, University of Pittsburg Press

Geoffy Hillsabeck, Vaudeville, The Song Cave

Susan Holbrook, Joy is So Exhausting, Coach House Books

Paul Hoover, Desolation: Souvenir, Omnidawn Publishing

Brenda Iijima, revv. You'll - ution, Displaced Press

Charles Jensen, The Nanopedia Quick-Reference Pocket Lexicon of, Contemporary American Culture, Poets & Artists

Aisha Sasha John, The Shining Material, Book Thug

Jamey Jones, Blue Rain Morning, Farfalla, McMillan & Parrish

Paul Killebrew, Flowers, Canarium Books

Burt Kimmelman, The Way We Dive, Dos Madres Press

Basil King, Mirage, Marsh Hawk Press

Martha Kinney, The Fall of Heartless Horse, Akashic Books

Joanna Klink, Raptus, Penguin Poets

Jason Koo, Man on Extremely Small Island, C+R Press

Dana Teen Lomax, Disclosure, Black Radish Books

Travis Macdonald, Title Bout, Shadow Mountain Press

Richard Makin, Dwelling, Reality Street Editions

Sabrina Orah Mark, Tsim Tsum, Saturnalia Books

Todd Marshall, The Tangled Line, Canarium Books

Ted Mathys, The Spoils, Coffee House Press

Anita Mohan, Letters to an Albatross, BlazeVOX Books

Hoa Nguyen, Hecate Lochia, Hot Whiskey Press

Harry E Northup, The Ragged Vertical, Cahuenga Press

Harry E Northup, Enough the Great Running Chapel, Momentum Press

Alice Notley, Songs and Stories of the Ghouls, Wesleyan University Press

Sarah O'Brien, Catch Light, Coffee House Press

Karl Parker, Personationskin, No Tell Books

Allessandro Porco, Augustine in Carthage, ECW Press

Christopher William Purdom, Banana Magnet Vol. VIII, 226 Press.com

Sina Queyras, Expressway, Coach House Books

Lawrance Raab, The History of Forgetting, Penguin Poets

Margaret Randall, Something's Wrong With the Cornfields, Skylight Press

Thibault Raoult, El P.E., Projective Industries

E. Emil Reutter, Blue Collar Poet, Stonopidion.net Publishing

Barbara Jane Reyes, Easter Sunday, Publishing Genius

Andrew Michael Roberts, Something Has to Happen Next, University of Iowa Press

Mercedes Roffe, Like the Rains Come, Shearsman Books

Matthew Rohrer, A Plate of Chicken, Ugly Duckling Presse

Matthew Rohrer, Destroyer and Preserver, Wave Books

Robert Ronnous, New Selected Poems 1975-2005, Barnwood

Claude Royet-Journoud, Theory of Prepositions, La Presse

Casey Salerno, Shelter, Alice James Books

Edward Sanders, Thirsting For Peace, Coffee House Press

Sarah Sarai, The Future is Happy, BlazeVOX Books

Leslie Scalapino, The Dihedrons Gazelle-Dihedrals Zoom, The Post-Apollo Press

Steven D. Schroeder, Torched Verse Ends, BlazeVOX Books

Creed Shepard, Distraction Contra Diaspora, Enduring Puberty Press

Ed Skoog, Mister Skylight, Copper Canyon Press

Matt Shears, Where a Road Had Been, BlazeVOX Books

Andre Spears, Nexus of Evil Late Fragments 1-7, First Intensity Press

Daniel Stanford, Weaver in the Sluices, Skylight Press

Gavin Stein, Vita Graph, Binnacle Press London

Suzanne Stein, Hole in Space, OMG!

Jordan Stempleman, The Travels, Otoliths

Bert Stern, Steerage, Ibbotson Street Press

Catherine Strisik, Thousand Cricket Song, Stray Dog Media

Eileen R. Tabios, Roman Holiday, Chapbookpublisher.com

Eileen R. Tabios, The Thorn Rosary, Marsh Hawk Press

Brian Teare, Sight Map, University of California Press

Philip Terry, Advanced Immorality, if p then q classics

Ted Thillerman and Richard Blevins, Breathing, Meeting Eyes Binding

Susan Tichy, Gallowglass, Ahsahta Press

Steve Tills, Rugh Stuff, Theenk Books

Georg Trakl, In an Abandoned Room, Erbacce Press

Tomas Tranströmer, The Sorrow Gondola, Green Integer

Jane Unrue, Life of a Star, Burning Deck

Cesar Vallejo, Against Professional Secrets, Roof Books

Anne Valley-Fox, How Shadows are Bundled, University of New Mexico Press

Nico Vassilakis, Disparate Magnets, BlazeVOX Books

Nico Vassilakis, Protracted Type, Blue Lion Books

Sara Veglahn, Another Random Heart, Letter Machine Editions

Lina ramona Vitkauskas, The Range of Your Amazing Nothing, Ravenna Press

Arthur Vogelsang, A Planet, An Owl Book

Arthur Vogelsang, Left Wing of a Bird, Sarabande Books

Arthur Vogelsang, Cities and Towers, University of Massachusetts Press

Fred Wah, Isadora Blue, La Mano Impresora

Diane Wakoski, The Diamond Dogs, Anhinga Press

Diane Wald, Wonderbender, 1913 Press

Liz Waldner, Trust, Cleveland State University Poetry Center

Liz Waldner, Play, Rightful Press

G.C. Waldrep, Archicembalo, Tupelo Press

Dana Ward, The Squeakquel pt. 1, The Song Cave

Dana Ward, The Squeakquel pt. 2, The Song Cave

Craig Watson, Sleeping with Orphans, Shearsman Books

Emily Watson, Micrographia, University of Iowa Press

Phoebe Wayne, Lovejoy, c_L Books

Eric Weinstein, Vivisection, New Michigan Press

Mac Wellman, Left Glove, Solid Objects

Joe Wenderoth, No Real Light, Wave Books

Karen Weiser, To Light Out, Ugly Duckling Presse

Calvin Wharton, The Song Collides, Amrilpress

Anne-Adele White, Sidestep Catapult, BlazeVOX Books

Allison Benis White, Self Portrait with Crayon, Cleveland State University Poetry Center

J.P. White, All Good Water, Holy Cow Press

Elizabeth Willis, Address, Wesleyan University Press

Rob Winger, The Chimney Stone, Nightwood Editions

David Wollach, Occultations, Black Radish Books

Lisa Wolsak, Squeezed Light, Station Hill Press

Michael Woods, World News Story, Book Thug

Gail Wronsky, Blue Shadow Behind Everything Dazzling, Hollyridge Press

William Wroth, All Worlds in One, Coyote’s Journal

Dean Young, Primitive Mentor, University of Pittsburg Press

Mark Young, Genji Monogatari, Otoliths

Mike Young, We Are All Good if They Try Hard Enough, Publishing Genius

Michaek Zanol, Kval, Talisman House Publishers

Andrew Zawacki, Petals of Zero, Petals of One, Talisman House Publishers

Andrew Zawacki, By Reason of Breakings, University of Georgia Press

Andrew Zawacki, Anabranch, Wesleyan University Press

Scott Zeiker, Impatience, Emergency Press

Scott Zieker, Virga, Emergency Press

Various, House Organ 77,

Various, Filling Station #4

Various, Letterbox Magazine issue 5,