(many of these notes below were orignally written on 01/04/05 -- in other words, 4 days before Elvis's birthday)Mr. Bernstein's badass winning poem appears online at MILK MAG. (And is also now the title poem to his amazing new book!)
If I were giving out separate awards for poem and reading of poem, then Mr. Bernstein would have to win both!
When reading the poem in Philadelphia for the 2004 MLA conference he dedicated its reading to the memories of Gil Ott and Jackson Mac Low.
In New York at St. Mark's Poetry Project's 2005 New Years benefit reading he dedicated the reading of the poem to the memory of Jackson Mac Low.
Both times, as a listener, I dedicated my ears to let it be heard and told to the living, everywhere!
If Mr. Bernstein never inspired you ever before, you would not be able to say so after hearing this poem, I guarantee you!
And I wish (like all wishing idiots) that I could have had the MANY fools who know nothing about Language Poetry but claim to know it well and claim to hate it---I wish they could have heard what I heard!
Talking this evening with my friend Matt McGoldrick, he and I agreed that the reading in Philadelphia had much more punch and excitement, a much stronger delivery.
CAConrad
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