The Anticipation of Down Time

John Winkelman

Reading material which arrived in the week of June 26, 2022

As of 17:00 on Friday, July 1, 2022, I am on vacation for two weeks. This is my first significant break from work since the Christmas holidays, and it is long overdue. I don’t have any particular plans beyond heading out of town with Zyra for a couple of days when her schedule allows. I hope to find time to read, write, and hang out at the lake until my head is clear of work stress and I am re-centered and ready to resume the daily grind. Then again, two weeks is likely nowhere near enough time for that.

This week’s only new arrival is the new issue of Poetry Magazine, the July/August issue, which was the last volume of words I read to completion in the month of June.

In reading news, I picked up Andrés Neuman‘s How to Travel Without Seeing, which arrived at the house at least six years ago from my old subscription to Restless Books. Ostensibly a collection of essays, this book reads more like a collection of journal entries focused on each of the many countries Neuman visits over the course of the books. And that could very well be what they are, though the cumulative effect is less travelogue and more lyric essay or prose poem. Neuman writes beautifully, and his translator Jeffrey Lawrence deserves serious props as well.

In writing news, not a lot going on. The past several weeks of work have been exhausting and what little free time I usually have has been put to use assisting Zyra with the many and varied events in which she and her company Gallafe have been participating. I have managed to transcribe a few more of my April poems, and even made some notes for a couple of new pieces, but I just haven’t had the mental and emotional space to do anything more than the occasional entry in my journal.

June 2022 Reading List

John Winkelman

What I read in June 2022

I finally made it through all of the back issues of Poetry Magazine I have been collecting for the past decade. Forty-some issues, read and appreciated and ready to be archived. Now I am working my way through back issues of The Paris Review, and enjoying the experience. I will likely let my subscription lapse at the end of the year, or go to digital-only, which gives me access to the entire online archives, which is an AMAZING resource. But no more physical copies.

Books and Journals

  1. Poetry Magazine #219.2 (November 2021) [2022.06.01]
  2. Poetry Magazine #219.3 (December 2021) [2022.06.03]
  3. Poetry Magazine #219.4 (January 2022) [2022.06.05]
  4. Hurley, Kameron, Future Artifacts: Stories [2022.06.05]
  5. Voices 2022 [2022.06.06]
  6. Poetry Magazine #219.5 (February 2022) [2022.06.06]
  7. Poetry Magazine #219.6 (March 2022) [2022.06.07]
  8. Poetry Magazine #220.1 (April 2022) [2022.06.09]
  9. Poetry Magazine #220.2 (May 2022) [2022.06.09]
  10. Poetry Magazine #220.3 (June 2022) [2022.06.09]
  11. Hariharan, Githa, Almost Home [2022.06.17]
  12. The Paris Review #215 [2022.06.18]
  13. The Paris Review #216 [2022.06.23]
  14. Monáe, Janelle, The Memory Librarian [2022.06.26]
  15. The Paris Review #217 [2022.06.26]
  16. The Paris Review #218 [2022.06.29]
  17. Poetry Magazine #220.4 (July/August 2022) [2022.06.30]

Short Prose

  1. Hurley, Kameron, “The Judgment of Gods and Monsters”, Future Artifacts: Stories [2022.06.02]
  2. Hurley, Kameron, “Broker of Souls”, Future Artifacts: Stories [2022.06.03]
  3. Hurley, Kameron, “The One We Feed”, Future Artifacts: Stories [2022.06.03]
  4. Hurley, Kameron, “Corpse Soldier”, Future Artifacts: Stories [2022.06.03]
  5. Hurley, Kameron, “Levianthan”, Future Artifacts: Stories [2022.06.03]
  6. Hurley, Kameron, “Unblooded”, Future Artifacts: Stories [2022.06.03]
  7. Hurley, Kameron, “The Skulls of Our Fathers”, Future Artifacts: Stories [2022.06.03]
  8. Hurley, Kameron, “Body Politic”, Future Artifacts: Stories [2022.06.04]
  9. Hurley, Kameron, “We Burn”, Future Artifacts: Stories [2022.06.04]
  10. Hurley, Kameron, “Antibodies”, Future Artifacts: Stories [2022.06.04]
  11. Hurley, Kameron, “The Traitor Lords”, Future Artifacts: Stories [2022.06.04]
  12. Hurley, Kameron, “Wonder Maul Doll”, Future Artifacts: Stories [2022.06.05]
  13. Hurley, Kameron, “Our Prisoners, the Stars”, Future Artifacts: Stories [2022.06.05]
  14. Hurley, Kameron, “The Body Remembers”, Future Artifacts: Stories [2022.06.05]
  15. Hurley, Kameron, “Moontide”, Future Artifacts: Stories [2022.06.05]
  16. Hurley, Kameron, “Citizens of Elsewhen”, Future Artifacts: Stories [2022.06.05]
  17. Hariharan, Githa, “Seven Cities and AnyCity”, Almost Home [2022.06.07]
  18. Freudenberger, Nell, “Found Objects“, The Paris Review #215 [2022.06.09]
  19. Hariharan, Githa, “Two Cities of Victory”, Almost Home [2022.06.12]
  20. Martin, Andrew, “With the Christopher Kids“, The Paris Review #215 [2022.06.13]
  21. Hariharan, Githa, “Toda Cafe Blues”, Almost Home [2022.06.14]
  22. Szalay, David, “Lascia Amor e siegui Marte”, The Paris Review #215 [2022.06.15]
  23. Bachelder, Chris, “The Throwback Special, part 3”, The Paris Review #215 [2022.06.16]
  24. Hariharan, Githa, “Mapping Freedom”, Almost Home [2022.06.17]
  25. Hariharan, Githa, “Speaking in Haiku”, Almost Home [2022.06.17]
  26. Hariharan, Githa, “Trailblazing in Andalusa”, Almost Home [2022.06.17]
  27. Hariharan, Githa, “Looking for a Nation, Looking at the Nation”, Almost Home [2022.06.17]
  28. Hariharan, Githa, “Bittersweet Danish”, Almost Home [2022.06.17]
  29. Hariharan, Githa, “Seeing Palestine”, Almost Home [2022.06.17]
  30. Hariharan, Githa, “Almost Home”, Almost Home [2022.06.17]
  31. Bischel, Peter, “Two Stories”, The Paris Review #215 [2022.06.17]
  32. Sorrentino, Christopher, “Apparition of Danhoff”, The Paris Review #215 [2022.06.18]
  33. Hale, Benjamin, “Don’t Worry Baby”, The Paris Review #216 [2022.06.18]
  34. Zevi, Anne-Laure (Angel, Mitzi, translator), “Nom”, The Paris Review #216 [2022.06.18]
  35. Teicher, Craig Morgan, “Four Stories”, The Paris Review #216 [2022.06.19]
  36. Beach, Jensen, “Migration”, The Paris Review #216 [2022.06.20]
  37. Gombrowicz, Witold (Bhambry, Tul’si, translator), “The Tragic Tale of the Baron and His Wife”, The Paris Review #216 [2022.06.21]
  38. Johnson, Dana, “She Deserves Everything She Gets”, The Paris Review #216 [2022.06.21]
  39. Monáe, Janelle and Johnson, Alaya Dawn, “The Memory Librarian”, The Memory Librarian [2022.06.23]
  40. Bachelder, Chris, “The Throwback Special, part 4”, The Paris Review #216 [2022.06.23]
  41. Monáe, Janelle and Lore, Danny, “Nevermind”, The Memory Librarian [2022.06.24]
  42. Cusk, Rachel, “Freedom”, The Paris Review #217 [2022.06.24]
  43. Arthurs, Alexia, “Bad Behavior”, The Paris Review #217 [2022.06.24]
  44. Nugent, Benjamin, “The Treasurer”, The Paris Review #217 [2022.06.25]
  45. Kroll-Zaidi, Rafil, “Lifeguards”, The Paris Review #217 [2022.06.25]
  46. Monáe, Janelle and Ewing, Eve L., “Timebox”, The Memory Librarian [2022.06.26]
  47. Monáe, Janelle and Delgado, Yohanca, “Save Changes”, The Memory Librarian [2022.06.26]
  48. Monáe, Janelle and Thomas, Sheree Renée, “Timebox Altar[ed]”, The Memory Librarian [2022.06.26]
  49. Campbell, Bonnie Jo, “Down”, The Paris Review #217 [2022.06.26]
  50. Gladman, Renee, “Five Things”, The Paris Review #217 [2022.06.26]
  51. Murnane, Gerald, “From Border Districts”, The Paris Review #217 [2022.06.26]
  52. Léger, Nathalie, “Barbara, Wanda”, The Paris Review #218 [2022.06.27]
  53. Martin, Andrew, “No Cops”, The Paris Review #218 [2022.06.29]
  54. Barrodale, Amie, “Protectors”, The Paris Review #218 [2022.06.29]
  55. Beattie, Ann, “Panthers”, The Paris Review #218 [2022.06.29]
  56. Sharma, Akhil, “The Well”, The Paris Review #218 [2022.06.29]

The Bottom of the Top #26

John Winkelman

Ah, the space between the end of Spring and the first major event of Summer, Independence Day. At this point in the year the post-school routine has been established and the summer job (or just the job, post-college) is in full swing.

1977: Rod Stewart, “The Killing of Georgie (parts 1 and 2”)

Wow. I am certain I had not heard this song before putting this post together. And certainly not in the summer between second and third grade. It’s beautiful, and sad, and Stewart sings it perfectly.

1982: J. Geils Band, “Angel in Blue”

I have no specific memory of hearing “Angel in Blue”, but I feel a general nostalgia associated with the song, which brings back memories of possibly summer camp, such as it was back in the early 1980s. “Angel in Blue” was overshadowed by the J. Geils Band’s bigger hits like “Freeze Frame” and “Centerfold,” but it is just as good as the other songs, and Peter Wolf sells it beautifully.

1987: Fleetwood Mac, “Seven Wonders”

Yeah, this was the song of the sustained enervation of being done with the familiar and on the cusp of the great unfamiliar of college. Hanging out with the one or two remaining high school friends and wondering how I would maintain the unrequited crushes on the girls who remained in my hometown when I left for college. What an odd (in hindsight) thing to worry about! How can I ineffectually lust after someone who is a hundred miles away! Also, I could listen to Stevie Nicks sing all day.

1992: Guns N’ Roses, “November Rain”

I remember the huge splash this song (and the associated album) made when it hit. I have never liked Guns N’ Roses, and I have never appreciated Axl Rose (Slash is the true heart and soul of GN’R), so listening to “November Rain” made me want to eject the CD from the CD player and pop in the most recent release from They Might Be Giants, or whatever.

1997: Bruce Springsteen, “Secret Garden”

I might have heard this one, at the bookstore when the soundtrack to Jerry Maguire was receiving some play. I have no specific memory (and also no associated memories) of this specific song, but I loves me some Bruce Springsteen so I more than likely have heard it at some point. According to the internets, “Secret Garden” was not one of Springsteen’s most popular songs, which is unfortunate, as it is quite lovely.

Shorter Days Are Also Long Days

John Winkelman

Books which arrived in the week of June 19, 2022

With the summer solstice behind us the days are slowly getting shorter but the work never ends and so I have resigned myself to the sight of the late afternoon shadows lengthening ever so slightly earlier every day. And summer has just begun.

Two new bookish things arrived in the past week. First up, from Two Lines Press, is a special edition bilingual chapbook which contains the first part of Jazmina Barrera‘s Linea Nigra, printed by Impronta Casa Editora. This little book is gorgeous, and has reaffirmed my opinion that chapbooks are absolutely a viable mode of publishing, for prose as well as poetry. The full version of Linea Nigra arrived at the house back in April.

Next is the latest issue of The Paris Review, which will go on the bottom of the stack of my back issues, through which I am steadily reading.

In reading news I am on issue #217 of The Paris Review, with (does the math) [N] more to go until I am caught up to present. The most recent issue came with a note that the Winter 2022 issue will be the last issue of my subscription, and I admit I am conflicted about letting the subscription lapse, if only because, poetry and prose aside, the interviews in The Paris Review are AMAZING!

I am also reading Janelle Monáe’s remarkable The Memory Librarian, and may well have it finished by the time this post goes live. I can’t say enough good things about it. Beautiful queer cyberpunk with a strong helping of bio- and neuro-punk on the side. Highly recommended.

In writing news, nothing to report. Maybe next week.

The Bottom of the Top #25

John Winkelman

With school finally in the rearview mirror, summer has officially kicked off in its various incarnations across the 25 years represented here.

1977: 10cc, “People in Love”

I do not recall ever having heard “People in Love” before adding it to this list. It is lovely, if not really a standout. “People in Love” peaked at #40 on the Billboard Hot 100, so this was probably it’s only week in the limelight. “People in Love” sounds very late-70s and makes me think of vans lined with shag carpet.

1982: Van Halen, “Dancing in the Street”

Given the realities of access to music in the early 1980s and in rural south-central Michigan it is likely that I heard (or became aware of) this version of Dancing in the Street before any of the older ones, or indeed the original. It is fun, if light, and it peaked at #38. I think it is indicative of Diver Down as a whole, in that is is not great, but it is awesome! Reminds me of bus rides to and from middle school with overly aggressive high school students using shoulder-punches to imprint us with a proper appreciation of the musical stylings of Eddie Van Halen.

1987: Company B, “Fascinated”

I wasn’t sure if I had heard this song before until the refrain, and then I was all “Oh yeah!” Though I had heard the song (and the video also seemed familiar) I don’t remember ever hearing of Company B qua Company B. I dig it. It’s fun, and probably got quite a bit of play on MTV, back in the day. As a point of interest, the Wikipedia article on Freestyle music has examples of some really great songs.

1992: Mariah Carey, “Make it Happen”

The early nineties are something of a dead zone in my music history, apparently. I have heard a lot of Mariah Carey, but I think the first time I heard this song was while putting together this post. Then again it was not one of her more popular songs and it came from one of her less popular albums, which means according to the rules of capitalism it was shuffled off to the side. But yeah, Carey has an amazing voice, and since coming across “Make it Happen” I have listened to it several times.

1997: Babyface, “Every Time I Close My Eyes”

I like this one. I don’t remember it, but I don’t see how I could have NOT heard it at some point, particularly with backing vocals by Mariah Carey (!) and Kenny G. on sax. I mean, that’s a whole lotta talent in one place. The summer when this charted, I was listening mostly to Tom Waits and Renaissance Fair music, so I amost certainly would have heard this one on MTV or at work.

It’s REALLY Hot Out

John Winkelman

Monarch Caterpillar on Milkweed

Like, seriously hot. The middle of the week hit the upper 90s by the thermometer, and over 100 by heat index. With that kind of heat any activity which requires any kind of energy is exceptionally difficult.

No new books arrived in the past week, so I have included a photo of one of the five (as of this past Monday) Monarch caterpillars currently munching their way through our small patch of milkweed. With the severe decline in the population of Monarchs overall, every one of these small beasts is precious.

In reading news, I have finished the first of the two dozen or so back issues of The Paris Review taking up space on my shelves. The past couple of weeks have been much busier than usual so I am not keeping up with my usual reading pace. Plus, much like the computers with which I have worked for well over half of my life, my brain doesn’t work so well when it is overheated.

I did manage to finish Githa Hariharan’s beautiful essay collection Almost Home. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the study and contemplation of cities and the experiences of immigrant, refugees, and those on the receiving end of colonialism.

With Almost Home complete, I have picked up Janelle Monáe‘s collection The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories From Dirty Computer. I have been looking forward to this one since I first heard of it at ConFusion 2022, back in January. The reviews are favorable so I have high hopes.

In writing news, other than journaling I haven’t done a lot. Too many other things going on in my life which are sapping my energy and competing for time. I don’t really expect the rest of the month to be any slower but I hope to make progress transcribing my poetry from two months ago.

So that’s it for this week. Work is crazy right now, as it always is in June as the next-to-last quarter of the fiscal year winds up and everyone heads to their own wherever for vacations. I have the first two weeks of July off, which I hope to use for more than recovery time. We will see how things shake out.

The Bottom of the Top #24

John Winkelman

 

1977: The Carpenters, “All You Get From Love is a Love Song”

Flashes of nostalgia or deja vu of traveling to the Kalamazoo area with Dad to visit his sister at her house on a small lake where we noodled around in his canoe while fishing for bluegills and whatever else would bite. Evenings catching fireflies and cooking hotdogs on a grill, and hanging out in a VERY seventies house with shag carpet, wood panelling, overstuffed couches and leather recliners and the scent of cigarette and pipe smoke and the remnants of the fire in the fireplace.

1982: Rainbow, “Stone Cold”

Definitely heard this one right when it came out. And probably saw it on MTV as well. “Stone Cold” brought up memories of that particular feeling of standing in the milking parlor while the cows grumble and chew and shit while we cleaned their udders and teats and hooked up the milking apparatus. The MTV would have happened when we flew down to Louisiana to visit Dad, usually around the middle of July. Louisiana in July doesn’t sound so inviting now.

1987: Jody Watley, “Looking For a New Love”

1992: Kathy Troccoli, “Everything Changes”

1997: Michael Bolton, “Go the Distance”

Longer Days Make For Some Long Days

John Winkelman

Books which arrived in the week of June 5, 2022

As July approaches and everyone at work plans for vacation and holidays the entire industry moves into a brief crunch time made up of long days and tight deadlines, held together by the flimsiest of fraying nerves. This doesn’t leave a lot of time or mental energy for reading and writing, though the compulsion persists.

Only one new book-ish thing arrived at the house this week – the June 2022 issue of Poetry.

In reading news, I am finally caught up to present in my pile of unread Poetry issues. Thanks to an unexpected free evening, I read the remaining two issues, including the June issue which arrived earlier this week. So now, as noted previously, I am working my way through my back-log of unread issues of The Paris Review. I might get to the end by the end of the year.

On a side note, this is the first time since I started these weekly posts that I finished reading all of the books which arrived in a week before the end of that week.

In writing news, I am still transcribing my poems from April. With a little luck I will come across something worthy of reading at The Sparrows at the end of the month. If not, well, I am just as happy to sit and listen to other readers.

The Bottom of the Top #23

John Winkelman

Ah, the first week of June, and also the week which roughly coincides with my birthday, and the first week of summer break, and the first “official” week of summer, even though we still have to endure about two more weeks of spring.

1977: Alice Cooper, “You and Me”

I loves me some Alice Cooper, and I probably heard this song right about when it came out. When I played the video I had a burst of deja vu of being a young kid, probably hearing the song come from the radio of a passing car as I read a book on the porch, or something. As a bonus, here is Cooper singing the song with a Muppet.

1982: Huey Lewis and the News, “Hope You Love Me Like You Say You Do”

This was playing when I was (probably) milking cows on the morning of my thirteenth birthday. The album which contained this song, Picture This, is good and entertaining, but didn’t make a splash like Sports and Fore! a few years later. Still, the song is fun and I likely heard it a lot more once I left for college and had access to e.g. culture and/or MTV.

1987: Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine, “Rhythm is Gonna Get You”

Ah, my eighteenth birthday. A week after the end of school I hosted a graduation/pool party, which was probably the last fun thing I did before leaving for college in late August.  “Rhythm is Gonna Get You” (from Let it Loose) was certainly playing at the time, as was “Conga” from her earlier album Primitive Love. We played “Conga” in the marching and pep bands in high school, and probably college as well. So yeah, whenever I hear Estefan (and Miami Sound Machine) I get All The Nostalgias for being a geeky kid with a trombone playing pop music covers.

1992: Das EFX, “They Want EFX”

I don’t know when or where I heard “They Want EFX” the first time, but it was probably at a time when I didn’t “get” it. 1992 was all frats and rednecks and working third shift in a garment factory in West Michigan. So, not a lot of exposure to hip hop, and definitely not in an environment where it was appreciated. “They Want EFX” is brilliant, and I’ve listened to it about half a dozen times in the past three days.

1997: Various Artists, “ESPN Presents the Jock Jam”

Umm…yeah, I might have heard this in a bar somewhere.

53, or 1 x 53

John Winkelman

Me at 53

Oh, here it is, on the dawn of the first day of my 53rd year. I am still here to welcome you and receive the plaudits and hosannas which are my just due and proper.

Ha! I almost got through that with a straight face.

This is my third pandemic birthday, and so far life is as good as can be expected. The weather is beautiful and poetry events around town are starting to pick up. This past week, for the first time in years, I read at an open mic event, and it was wonderful! And yesterday I attended the reading by the winners of the 2022 Dyer-Ives poetry competition, for the first time since well before COVID.

Now that I am in my mid-fifties I can say that I am doing a lot better than many people my age. I am in a loving relationship with a beautiful partner. My health is good, though keeping the weight off is not as easy as it used to be. My career is stable, my mind is as active as it ever was, even if I am currently severely burned out and counting the seconds to my two weeks off in the first part of July.

There have been a few changes; I am now wearing bifocals (long, long overdue) and my hair has not been this long since, I think, 1998. Compare the selfie above to my birthday photo from 2021.

This weekend was the first Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts since 2019, and the city is full of celebrants. I plan to spend more time out in the world than in past years, though with proper precautions since we are still in the middle of a pandemic which has been exacerbated by some extremely reactionary interpretations of “freedom.” Still, most of what I like doing involves being outdoors, so I will have an easier time staying socially distanced.

I don’t really have any concrete plans for the upcoming year, other than to continue to read, write, practice, and love my partner, and enjoy the company of our two little orange maniacs. That’s enough for my middle-aged self.