Granted, living next to PClem has taught me one thing: Don't Jinx it.

Regardless, I'm hoping that when I say future BCR contributor Kent Johnson has a pretty good thing going with this poem about Abu Gharib, nothing ill occurs. (Link goes to BlazeVox2k4, an online journal. There is music. Don't be scared, at least not more than you should be.)

Kent Johnson is a regular contributor for Jacket, and "somehow" got himself mixed up in the famous "Yasusada Affair" of a couple years ago.

Our pal, Marcus Slease, mentions wanting to tackle Kent in this blog post. I think he meant it literally. Regardless, he (marcus) was the first person to fill me in on the Yasusada stuff, I just never got around to looking into it until this week.

Fun Fun. Much like our favorite portuguese modernist, Fernado Pessoa. He wrote through four fully developed heteronyms, even writing criticism by one, on another's poems. Alter egos? See..poets can be superheroes.

In semi-related news, NPR (scroll way down for the link...)had a short story yesterday about the Military, and how they were sponsoring writing workshops for military personnel, in order to help them cope with their experiences in our war against terror. (You can also google, "operation homecoming") Looks like Tom Clancy is one of the great writers they have giving out advice!

Some snips: "If you want to write a book, then get a computer and write it...You'll find it isn't as hard as you think it might be." (okay. My paraphrase. but it is seriously, like 90% close) Easy for you, Tom, easy for you.

My favorite (this one is 98% accurate):
"The best killers are poets, not engineers. That's been true throughout history. A successful warrior is a person who can envision what he wants to do and accomplish it. And it really is an artistic mindset that makes that happen."

Sharpen a pencil? I should be sharpening a sword, I guess. What's next, ARMY-LIT?