ME READING STUFF

"We shall find peace. We shall hear angels. We shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds." - Anton Chekhov "We shall eat pizza. We shall choke on it. We shall spit the red sauce on a cute boy's white, white shorts." - Me, in response to the contents of Megan the Klutz LINKS: Buy Alida Young's Megan the Klutz for a penny here: https://www.amazon.com/Megan-Klutz-Alida-Young/dp/0874066964 Me on Insta...

I leave tomorrow for a Ted Bundy Bookclub, which takes place on a lazy river in Mexico. Find out more about that on this episode of Me Reading Stuff. "I think the best American poetry is the poetry that utilizes the resources of poetry rather than exploits the defects or triumphs of the poet's personality." -Mark Strand Hell yes to that, Mr. Strand. LINKS: Mark Strand's Collected Poems: http://kno...

Whoa, it's late. I'm tired. I'm greasy. I'm slow. I'm already hungry for breakfast. I'm bragging about how I'm never late to anything. But I'm also gifting you with warrior Novica Tadić's THEY COME FOR ME & MY FIRST RECORD. Get ready. Wear protective gear. Sit down. Drink water; drive on. LINKS: Buy NIGHT MAIL here: https://www.amazon.com/Night-Mail-Selected-Novica-Tadic/dp/0932440592 Check ou...

WALK ON AIR AGAINST YOUR BETTER JUDGEMENT LINKS: Buy Seamus Heaney's Opened Ground here: http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/opened-ground-selected-poems-1966-1996_seamus-heaney/261559/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwo5--BRCS8ceLjv-XppUBEiQAGp15ELizYkaXkyPIY2qkzE1xHV9_IDw7mTaMwHUnsRvRBxwaAhLs8P8HAQ#isbn=0374526788&pcrid=70112866032&pkw=&pmt=&plc= Talley Dunn Gallery in Dallas (my opening is November 12th)...

What do Thumbelina, Adam Ant and Alasdair Gillis have in common? Listen to find out! And then share with me your three! Today we read more César Vallejo. This time without croissant on my face. The table is prepared for you. I'll always be there for you. It's a loop. (FRANK) LINKS: Buy César Vallejo's The Complete Poetry (Bilingual) here: http://www.lybrary.com/the-complete-poetry-a-bilingual-edit...

In tonight's bonus episode, I read a new poem by Kanye West and talk about my history with people pleasing. Which I have conquered like a goddamned warrior. I also mention my attraction to both being cold and to Mickey Rourke. With love, Robyn LINKS: Frank Ocean's "Blonde" on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/blonde/id1146195596 @caioberns on twitter: https://twitter.com/caioberns My StorY...

“I am a boy in a grey flannel suit. She has found me. I am struck on the nape of the neck. She has kissed me. All is shattered.” – V. Woolf, The Waves “I am a woman in a Target skirt and Old Navy tank top. Someone has emailed me. I have dry skin on my eyelids. My pharmacy just left me a message. All is on my calendar.” – R. O’Neil, Boketto LINKS: Buy "The Waves" here: http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/...

"With history piling up so fast, almost every day is the anniversary of something awful." - Brainard LINKS: Buy "I Remember" here: http://granarybooks.com/book/13/Joe_Brainard+I_Remember/ The film about Joe Brainard available here: http://www.joebrainardfilm.com Follow me on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/Robyn_ONeil Follow me on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/robyn_oneil/ More on Fi...

"My name, my pronoun - a grey void." - Pizarnik OH and the word is MASCOT. Realized that while publishing this damn thing. My apologies. There is static and atmosphere roaming through my brain right now. Which feels really good actually. It's the result of serious productivity. Love to all. Robyn, the President. LINKS: Buy Pizarnik's A Musical Hell HERE: http://www.indiebound.org/book/978081122096...

After 6 days of not leaving the house, I'm coming at you loud and strong and without Vitamin D. Cuddle with your stuffed animals while listening to this one! LINKS: Buy "In the Moremarrow / En la masmedula" by Oliverio Girondo, Translated by Molly Weigel here at Action Books: http://actionbooks.org/oliverio-girondo-moremarrow/ Check out information about The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner PhD he...

“My imagination functions much better when I don't have to speak to people.” -Patricia Highsmith SAME times a million. Today, as rusty water drips on my head, I present to you two separate readings about how the earliest occupants of the Americas discovered the wheel, but only as a children's toy. Kids first I guess. Stay strong my friends. I love you very much. Oh, and I heard your cries via the...

Today, we celebrate the end of relationships. We shall find peace. We shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds in Tommy's backyard. We will quote RuPaul's self-love benediction and we will get on with our day even if we can't button our pants. LINKS: Buy Rebecca Solnit's A Field Guide to Getting Lost here: http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/293600/a-field-guide-to-getting-lost-by-rebecca-sol...

The white noise of my dishwasher (baller) guides us through the beginning of what is sure to be a sweet day. I encourage 30 minutes of being good to yourself and I won't take no for an answer. I (for no reason) tell you something about Kurt Russell you might or might not know. And I ask who you loved in 2006. Also what's great about being alive? Tell me everything. I'm here. LINKS: Read Steve's fu...

“The Flood doesn’t come as a punishment, or a warning, or even as a lesson, but instead it seems to come because floods will sometimes come - leaving us with nothing but the opportunity to rebuild.” - John D’Agata, The Making of the American Essay “It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.” - Frederick Do...

My laptop battery is down to 11% so I gotta get this thing published. I also need food. I also would love to hear you guys tell me about an artist/writer/filmmaker you hated until you loved. I'm looking outside as I type this, and the world looks hazy and dreamy and exactly like I prefer it. So out I go to walk in it. With my Yeezus praying skeleton shirt on and Kay Ryan's deep tracks in my head....

The 4th of July seemed like a time to celebrate American sports, so I give you the weird words of Metta World Peace and some devastating ones from Doc Rivers. Thanks again to Pasha Malla and Jeff Parker for this book. It never fails to amuse/excite/move me. I gotta get back to the elbow macaroni and murder. Shoutout to all the pasta though. LINKS: Buy Erratic Fire, Erratic Passion here: http://www...

"Promise me you're not here to sew discord in the fields of my peace." - Oprah on Twitter last night. LINKS: Buy Robert Bly's "The Winged Energy of Delight" here: http://www.ebookmall.com/ebook/the-winged-energy-of-delight/robert-bly/9780060575861?gclid=Cj0KEQjwhtO7BRCtwuO9gfTH-fQBEiQAdJ8FY4MhSNa7nS00K6jLvFiFr_E2L8Q8P4L50njO8u4NmgEaAsbj8P8HAQ More about Tomas Tranströmer here: https://en.wikipedia...

Shower first, coffee later! Don't make that into a shirt. Worst phrase ever: "Happy wife; happy life." I hate that show "Everybody Loves Raymond" because it's the tv show version of that phrase. Anyway, today we read the intro to Lolita. Which makes me very uncomfortable even though these might be my favorite 4 paragraphs in the history of literature. Listen to find out more. It's all a big tangle...

On ME READING STUFF, I've read you Whitman, e.e. cummings, Rilke, Gertrude Stein and so many more. And yeah.....now I'm reading you Heidi Montag. Haters gonna hate. "Hoppin' out the Maserati, all I see is paparazzi snapping pictures for the front cover of a magazine. So I pose in everything I wear, love to make the people stare. Always center of attention lookin' so bootylicious." LINKS: Download...

156 episodes and counting! Twice a week (sometimes more) for exactly a year now, I have shared my loves and hates with you. I've shared the poems, letters and various other literary excerpts that make my brain and heart weak with awe. And you've been very kind to me every step of the way. I love you all for caring. And I can not thank you enough for your support. But all of this truly goes out to...

Someone called me loud the other day. I'm trying to be quieter. I promise I'll get back to that Heidi Montag song. And John D'Agata. But for now, I give you Lucille Clifton. xo, Robyn LINKS: Buy "Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems 1988-2000" through BOA Editions: https://www.boaeditions.org/collections/lucille-clifton More on Lucille here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucille_Clifton Dona...

"But of all sadness this was sad..." LINKS: Even a few dollars helps: https://www.gofundme.com/pulsevictimsfund Brady Campaign: http://www.bradycampaign.org The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence: http://csgv.org Buy the book that contains this Stephen Crane poem here: http://www.discoverbooks.com/ProductDetails.asp? ProductCode=1598530933&gclid=Cj0KEQjws_m6BRCv37WbtNmJs-IBEiQAWKKt0HUXOz67UhnCiyHr...

In my first time ever reading you Emily Dickinson, I birth the new idiot term “pencil letter.” I praise so much today, even as the emotional fog makes happiness nearly impossible. I praise John D’Agata number one, I praise Emily, I praise Bookworm on KCRW, I praise Graywolf Press, I praise New Directions, I praise charged collisions, I praise all of you who join me every week, I praise swollen moo...

"It is difficult to get the news from poems yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there." - William Carlos Williams LINKS: Buy this book HERE: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/collected-poems-of-william-carlos-williams-1909-1939-william-carlos-williams/1100873871/2694169999268?st=PLA&sid=BNB_DRS_Marketplace+Shopping+greatbookprices_00000000&2sid=Google_&sourceId=PLGo...

I wonder what Oliver Sacks would have said being called "pizza face with extra pepperoni" caused me, neu′ro·log′i·cal·ly speaking. LINKS: Buy Daily Rituals here: http://knopfdoubleday.com/book/198763/daily-rituals/ Check Oliver Sacks: https://2e0a24317f4a9294563f-26c3b154822345d9dde0204930c49e9c.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/4856736_oliver-sacks-on-storytelling-the-curious_tbe2a2462.jpg