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Show ibcArts A Heart for Catastrophe j The Lab Theatre prepares its production of Howard Barker's "A Hard Heart" FEB : theBeel 25, 2004 Passionate Filmmaking y out if Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of the Christ" is worth all the controversy Find 9 ) , , : i 1 i!. '.'...Vt? . sold to the poorer literate classes as short collections of songs, poems, political treatises, folk stories or religious writings. These collections were sold by the A salesmen of their day called chapmen, often looked C ,381 at as dubious fellows. Many chapbooks of this time were also dedicated to children's literature. The size and door-to-do- content lent itself perfectly to young people learning to read. Chapbooks were typically printed on large sheets Vm0 of paper and then folded into eight, 16, or 24 pages. The form of chapbooks today is more or less the same, although the collections within them seem to be a tad more concurrent. Many of them follow suit with chapbooks of old by not only including verse, but also visual art. It's a medium where the two can be mixed together to create a greater statement. It's not so hard to make your own chapbook, as far as the By I Hayley Heaton A dam Davis specializes in harmonic and anecdotal may hem. In plainer words, he is a narrative poet. And he is one of many who enlarged his portfolio with a self published chapbook. Choosing writing as a career, especially to be a poet, is not always considered one of the most practical professions. First and foremost, you have to have the talent and the ambition that it takes, and second, you have to be willing to accept the risks and all the rejection that come with the territory. As a writer, it can be beyond frustrating to find a way to get your work out there. Many of us try the grueling "please publish something of mine" gambit with the literary journals and others throw in the towel and go the self publication route. Davis has done both. He was first published in MOSAIC, a literary journal out of the University of California at Riverside, where he was honored with the title of Poet Laureate for 2003. He has also been published in England, where he spent a year at the University of Canterbury. This, however, wasn't enough. Having been bit by that legendary publishing bug, Davis felt that he should be doing more to share his work. He set out to write a collection that he could self publish in a chapbook. The purpose of a chapbook is to increase a poet's output. Chapbooks grew out of an early tradition of ballad literature. In the 18th and 19th centuries, chapbooks became more popular and were JL DHEKRlfJC or those who have had enough of the Democratic primary elections, relief is in sight. Next week marks the unveiling of George W. Bush's re election campaign, one sure to entertain even the most unpatriotic Avvy- citizen. In an attempt to boost ratings, the president has made several Gadette mostly predictby Jamie able moves, including his recent support of a ban on an gay marriage. Bush also announced food ingenious decision to label all fast a industry jobs as "manufacturing" jobs, current the to certain remedy proposal economic downfall. Wan5a Fishny, an employee at the McDonald's in Skowhegan, Mich., was "Now pleased with the official change. when I tell people what I do, they treat me with ret pert," Fishny said. "It doesn't COPYL WITH AN CONVERSATION ill POET folding and typing goes. All you really need is a few sheets of paper, a good idea for a cover, some publishing software and a nearby Kinko's or if you're lucky, a publisher that will do that part for you. It isn't that expensive, either. The price of printing your own chapbook will run you about $1.50 to $5 per book, depending on how fancy you make it. If you're smart enough, you might be able to recoup some of your expenses by selling your chapbook to people instead of just donating it to them. That being said, the payoff of making or publishing a chapbook isn't necessarily monetary. It's more about expanding as a writer. The hardest part is writing something good and following with something better. It's best if the small collection relates to a unifying theme and, due to space being somewhat limited, each poem must pack a punch in order to keep the reader's attention. The process of writing a chapbook can be taxing for a poet. There is a lot of staring at a blank page waiting for something to happen, then there is the point at which something has happened and a is declared. A lot of time and revision is put into a chapbook, but it can be a very rewarding experience. Davis didn't use a streamlined process for the poems in his chapbook. "Most of my work starts with a line. I love describing things and can easily go on for pages writing about a rusted tin can or bullet riddled road sign, until I eventually drown the reader in words. I was writing 23 lines when two would do. That was the hardest part for me weaning myself off over- do-ov- explicating. With that, you have to ax some lines you may love but that ultimately don't work in the poem something one of my professors is keen to refer to as 'killing my darlings.' Some things work right off the bat, while some take bloody forever to fashion. For example, yesterday I was sitting in the tub and had an idea for a piece when it occurred to me this line I had wanted to use for more than a year would fit perfectly. I've finally found it a home. Sometimes I feel like each line is an orphan and I'm charged with its successful placement in a functional poem. Man, how lame was that? I sound like more of a semantic adoption agency than burgeoning poet." THE CHAPMAN'S SCRIBBLINGS Davis keeps an optimistic view of his future as a writer. "One of the things that always grates me is when I meet someone on a plane or in the laundromat and they ask what I do and I tell them. They tend to respond one of two ways: (a) high five me and tell me 'that's awesome' or (b) ask, rather condescendingly, what I plan on doing with that. I understand that writing is a tough thing to make a living at, but quite simply, that's what I want to do. Perhaps it's naive on my part, but I'd like to give it a shot," he said. Chapbooks are part of the way he is honing his craft. Of his poetry, Davis says, ,4 .',"'MUi "I like to tell a story, but that doesn't keep me from also being concerned with sound and language. I'm very interested in the sonic NricteciRCCi nature of poetry. I think the pnn&naM in fwrci thing that is so great about is it the that gives poetry opportunity to fuse language and story in a very ". focused and dynamic way. You don't have as much room to work with as you do in prose, so I think the ante is upped you have to deliver in a few lines what V a story does in 200 pages." Davis wrote his first poem at age 7 and claims ikh "V see davis, page Mid! S 1 Who doesn't like a little pepper?" Representatives are also working to amplify the president's television exposure. Over the past few months, media outlets have focused on everything from John Kerry and his motorcycle-riding- , Vietnam serving persona to Howard Dean's issues and Dennis Kucinich's striking resemblance to that cereal obsessed Lucky the Lepre- chaun. Surveys indicate that although Americans ages prefer to watch potential candidates in between their favorite WB programs. In order to reach younger audiences, Bush has agreed to collaborate with Ashton Kutcher on a special six episode edition of MTV's "Punk d." The program, which typically features Kutcher pulling the wool over the eyes of various Hollywood stars and starlets, will pit Bush against his own unwitting family and friends. Possible hilarious hijink victims fairly 18-3- mind-numbin- f I. - N 2004 Campaign a Liberal Lure really matter that the new name doesn't affect my yearly income. I mean, my neighbor Yoshida, she just works at an IHOP and that's still just plain serving. She's so jealousl!" Yet for all of the praise lauded upon his conservative choices, liberal parties are becoming increasingly alienated by Bush's right-wintunnel vision. According to a poll in a January 2004 edition of Newsweek, 52 percent of Americans do not want to see the former Texas governor back in office. In order to combat such negative reactions, campaign advisers have developed some rather surprising courses of action. On Wednesday, the Spongmonkeys featured on Quiznos Sub commercials are slated as the official sponsors for Bush 2004. "The quirky characters make Dubya giggle," White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said. "Personally, I think it's pretty creepy, but who am to argue? Besides they have a pepper bar! R2 1 j i When this dog started humping President Bush's leg, he screamed, "Not in my country you dirty, dirty sinner! I'm a good of boy likey'all." h include Hillary Clinton, Saddam Hussein and boozehound daughter Jenna. ABC television producer Mike Fleiss creator of "Tie Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" is also hoping to produce a reality show based on the wild antics of our nation's fearless leader. The season debut would the burial of deceased White House pooch Spot. "I think that PETA voters would really empathize with that sort r n mil mi. M of crap," Fleiss said. Should sentimental antics prove successful, Bush plans to release a novel recounting his experiences on the program, a memoir certain to gain approval for Oprah's celebrated book club. Of course, the most obvious ratings boost will be Bush's running mate Diet Coke with Lime. "The vice president will see MitiMo, page k8 |
