-
![[words on VORTEXTS by BEN MIROV]
*
I just reread ‘Vortexts’ for the fifth-ish time
Ben Mirov’s latest chapbook (2011)
he has a new full-length coming out (Hider Roser)
I met Ben at a reading on Ashbury Street last year
a chapbook release party in which this chapbook was included
(as well as Diana Salier’s)
one may use the word ‘robotic’ to describe Ben’s reading style
I loved it & have since seen him read a few times
(& have since seen him at other people’s readings)
his delivery, like his poems themselves, is a mixture between ‘absurd’ humor & deep human yearning
he released his full-length book Ghost Machine a few years ago
at the ‘aforementioned’ (damn I hate that word) chapbook release party (our first meeting)
I bought ‘Vortexts’ & Ghost Machine
I also interviewed him months back – check it out: http://cuttyspot.tumblr.com/post/12506760819/ben-mirov-interview-cutty-spots-first-writer
I let someone borrow Ghost Machine after reading it & have not since retrieved it
I personally enjoy ‘Vortexts’ more but feel like Ghost Machine gets more attention
I published my 2 favorite pieces from ‘Vortexts’ in my online lit magazine, GESTURE: http://thegorillapress.com/gesture_1_.swf
‘Vortexts’ read as more ‘mature’ & ‘controlled’ than Ghost Machine
these are not always ‘positive’ qualities, but here they are (to me)
in ‘Vortexts’ he works most often in ‘tercets’ (three line stanzas)
this works well for him & I think forces him to place more emphasis on the line & line breaks (yes line breaks can still be cool!)
his ‘turns of phrase’ & surprises in ‘logic’ (or ‘lack thereof’) please me very much
he often uses ~ ‘scientific’ language to explore notions of ‘the void’ (read his speaking about ‘the void’ & poetry here: http://wewhoareabouttodie.com/2012/04/02/what-do-we-mean-when-we-say-a-poem-is-a-machine-part-8-ben-mirov/)
he blends ‘heavy’ language w/ ‘light’ language
for example, ‘There are many disturbing facts / about the nature of reality. Michael Burkard / takes the L to Lorimer Street and transfers / to the G’
this bit reminds me of O’Hara or one of the New York Schoolers
in this chapbook, Ben is preoccupied w/ ‘gurneys’ & ‘purplish light’
I enjoy the first half of the book more than the first
primarily because of the ‘enjambments’ & longer ‘sentences’
Ben references other writers, like ‘Joseph Conrad’, ‘James Tate’, & ‘William Butler Yeats’
Ben seems ‘hip’ & ‘well-read’
& he says: ‘sometimes I feel like I’m not drawn to poetry at all. There are moments when I look at my life in an objective way, and it seems like I shouldn’t be writing poetry. To quote my friend Dan Magers, “I’m just some guy”. I spend a lot of my time fucking around. I over to indulge in video games and fantasy novels. I watch too much TV. But then somehow, I get lucky and happen to write a poem.’
ultimately I will probably read anything Ben Mirov ever puts out
here are my favorite moments from ‘Vortexts’
‘The stars appear / one at a time, completely naked’
‘I thought about Papa / who died half-naked with a mouthful / of mushroom soup’
‘On the subject of love / I have only a single observation— / if you love a grapefruit you cut it open / and eat its flesh’
‘Lake is such a beautiful word. / I’d like to die with it inside me’
‘All matter is just empty space revolving / around a pinhead of energy growing / more and more tired each moment’
‘I am trying to figure out the secret / of artificial intelligence— / how to make something get up and live / all by itself’
*
find Ben here: http://isaghost.blogspot.com/](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_maczge45vj1r1vr5po1_1280.jpg)
[words on VORTEXTS by BEN MIROV]
*
I just reread ‘Vortexts’ for the fifth-ish time
Ben Mirov’s latest chapbook (2011)
he has a new full-length coming out (Hider Roser)
I met Ben at a reading on Ashbury Street last year
a chapbook release party in which this chapbook was included
(as well as Diana Salier’s)
one may use the word ‘robotic’ to describe Ben’s reading style
I loved it & have since seen him read a few times
(& have since seen him at other people’s readings)
his delivery, like his poems themselves, is a mixture between ‘absurd’ humor & deep human yearning
he released his full-length book Ghost Machine a few years ago
at the ‘aforementioned’ (damn I hate that word) chapbook release party (our first meeting)
I bought ‘Vortexts’ & Ghost Machine
I also interviewed him months back – check it out: http://cuttyspot.tumblr.com/post/12506760819/ben-mirov-interview-cutty-spots-first-writer
I let someone borrow Ghost Machine after reading it & have not since retrieved it
I personally enjoy ‘Vortexts’ more but feel like Ghost Machine gets more attention
I published my 2 favorite pieces from ‘Vortexts’ in my online lit magazine, GESTURE: http://thegorillapress.com/gesture_1_.swf
‘Vortexts’ read as more ‘mature’ & ‘controlled’ than Ghost Machine
these are not always ‘positive’ qualities, but here they are (to me)
in ‘Vortexts’ he works most often in ‘tercets’ (three line stanzas)
this works well for him & I think forces him to place more emphasis on the line & line breaks (yes line breaks can still be cool!)
his ‘turns of phrase’ & surprises in ‘logic’ (or ‘lack thereof’) please me very much
he often uses ~ ‘scientific’ language to explore notions of ‘the void’ (read his speaking about ‘the void’ & poetry here: http://wewhoareabouttodie.com/2012/04/02/what-do-we-mean-when-we-say-a-poem-is-a-machine-part-8-ben-mirov/)
he blends ‘heavy’ language w/ ‘light’ language
for example, ‘There are many disturbing facts / about the nature of reality. Michael Burkard / takes the L to Lorimer Street and transfers / to the G’
this bit reminds me of O’Hara or one of the New York Schoolers
in this chapbook, Ben is preoccupied w/ ‘gurneys’ & ‘purplish light’
I enjoy the first half of the book more than the first
primarily because of the ‘enjambments’ & longer ‘sentences’
Ben references other writers, like ‘Joseph Conrad’, ‘James Tate’, & ‘William Butler Yeats’
Ben seems ‘hip’ & ‘well-read’
& he says: ‘sometimes I feel like I’m not drawn to poetry at all. There are moments when I look at my life in an objective way, and it seems like I shouldn’t be writing poetry. To quote my friend Dan Magers, “I’m just some guy”. I spend a lot of my time fucking around. I over to indulge in video games and fantasy novels. I watch too much TV. But then somehow, I get lucky and happen to write a poem.’
ultimately I will probably read anything Ben Mirov ever puts out
here are my favorite moments from ‘Vortexts’
‘The stars appear / one at a time, completely naked’
‘I thought about Papa / who died half-naked with a mouthful / of mushroom soup’
‘On the subject of love / I have only a single observation— / if you love a grapefruit you cut it open / and eat its flesh’
‘Lake is such a beautiful word. / I’d like to die with it inside me’
‘All matter is just empty space revolving / around a pinhead of energy growing / more and more tired each moment’
‘I am trying to figure out the secret / of artificial intelligence— / how to make something get up and live / all by itself’
*
find Ben here: http://isaghost.blogspot.com/
