New Poem--#3 of 4

{poem was here}

Poetry News--American Poet reviews THIS BIG FAKE WORLD

I have a mini review in the new issue of AMERICAN POET.

Page 81:

"Less than a year after her debut, lucky wreck, Ada Limon returns with an equally spellbinding narrrative of love's endings and what may remain. Limon's world is sweet and weird......(nice words here). Everything here is in flux, transitioning between sadness and something else--perhaps disaster, maybe hope--guided by Limon's gentle shaping and lyric sophistication."


There is more - and it's a very nice review, thank you American Poet.

My favorite part is, "Limon's world is sweet and weird." How wonderfully true. I want to put that on a t-shirt.

Notes from the Upper Ocean

Kaelea and I decided, at 2PM on Friday, that we should treat this three day weekend like a real vacation. So we have. And well, it's been lovely. Here are our some of the photos from our trip.

Friday 2PM:

The cruise ship takes off:



We toasted to the weird world we live in:



Our friend Kevin joined us:



We traveled far and wide:







Kevin even made us dinner:




The cruise ship is still going..

New Poem - 2nd of the 4 I owe myself

{poem was here}

New Poem for Today - One of the Four I Owe Myself

{poem was here}

A Review of Lucky Wreck in the Front Porch Journal

What can I say? I'm big in Texas. I'm very, very, small everywhere else. Thanks Texas!

REVIEW OF LUCKY WRECK

From the breakwater to breakneck speed.

See, the thing is, first I was here:





Now, I'm here:



But, it's only a month until I go here:



In the meantime, I owe myself four poems. I probably owe some other people poems too, but I'm going to start with me first. Okay?

Full reading report to come later, but know that we had a blast. Abe Smith read for Tim Earley and was wonderful. It's been four years since I've been back to Provincetown and I didn't go skinny dipping THIS time. But, that's only when there's a full moon.

I'm promising myself I will go back more regularly, it's good for me. Except for the reentry part. My lord, New York feels hard today.

Okay, fine..

I'll move back to Provincetown..

Anyone up for Cape Cod this weekend?

Poetry readings by Ada Limón and Tim Earley

When Saturday, May 19, 2007, 8 - 9pm

Where Fine Arts Work Center, Stanley Kunitz Common Room, 24 Pearl Street

Provincetown

Category Arts/Entertainment

Cost FREE

Phone 508 487 9960

Email general@fawc.org

Venue website www.fawc.org

Note

508-487-9960

Good Reading Tonight! You should go..

Nathan Parker and Abraham Smith do their best to not send us gentle.


This Friday, May 11th, 7pm. FREE!


Nathan Parker lives in Alabama with his wife Christie, son Noah, and
daughter Clara. Some of his poems have appeared in American Letters &
Commentary, Colorado Review, Conduit, and Octopus.

Abraham Smith hails from Ladysmith, Wisconsin. He's the recipient of
fellowships from the University of Alabama, where he completed his
MFA, and the Fine Arts Work Center, where he passed seven glorious
months inventing similes for seagulls. His most recent poem credits
include Denver Quarterly, Bird Dog, DIAGRAM, Ecotone, and Snow Monkey.
His first book will be published by Action Books in the fall of this
year.


Only at Pete's Candy Store
709 Lorimer Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
(718) 302-3770

"L" to Lorimer, "G" to Metropolitan.

Cinco de Mayo!

Hola,

It's my favorite day. AND I get to bet on the Derby. AND go to the first barbecue of the season. I thought I'd repost my post for last year for those of you who get confused about Cinco de Mayo.

And now I must go and drink tequila. And hope the horses come in, in the right order.

If you need a call to write. I give you Pancho Villa's last words:

"No permitas que ésto acabe así. Cuentales que he dicho algo." This translates as: "Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something."

So, say something.

Besos,

A.



Cinco de Mayo!
Since I'm of Mexican decent, I often get asked by people in my office and friends about the meaning of Cinco de Mayo. So, I thought I'd post something here that really clarified the importance of this day. (Aside from the obvious excuse to eat quacamole and drink margaritas).

So, first thing you need to know is that Cinco de Mayo is NOT Mexico's Independence Day (which is actually September 16th or midnight of the 15th). Rather, it is in celebration of the day, May 5th, 1862, when 4,000 members of the Mexican Militia defeated 8,000 members of the French army in the town of Puebla. (Napoleon wanted to take over and install Maximilian as ruler of Mexico).

Now, the thing to remember here is that there were wars almost constantly going on in Mexico, and one year later, angry at his defeat, Napoleon sent 30,000 troops to Mexico and indeed succeeded in placing Maximilian in power.

But their victory was short lived as well and soon the French were ousted with help from the United States in 1867.

And there's lots more to know, BUT, it really is simply a celebration of the little guy over the big guy, the mom & pop store over the Wallmart, the small poetry press over Random House and the independent bookstore over Barnes & Noble.

And if that's not an excuse to have a drink, well, really what is?

Personally, I also think it's a day to get your mojo back and fight your own personal Goliaths whatever they may be.

Reading on Monday, May 7th with....

Cornelia Street Cafe
6:00PM QUETZAL QUILL
Rigoberto Gonzales, host

Poet Ada Limon, author of Lucky Wreck and This Big Fake World

Poet Cynthia Cruz, author of Ruin

Short Story writer Manuel Munoz, author of Ziggzagger and The Faith Healer of Olive Street

Cover $6 (includes one house drink)

Come if you can!


How to get to the Cornelia Street Café
The Cornelia Street Café  29 Cornelia Street, NYC 10014  212-989-9319

By Subway

A, C, E, B, D, F & V TRAINS

Get on the south end of the train.
Take the train to the West 4th Street stop.
Exit at West 3rd Street.
Walk one block north to 4th Street.
Make an acute left onto Cornelia Street.
1 & 9 TRAINS

Take the train to the Sheridan Square stop.
Walk 21/2 blocks east on West 4th Street.
Make a right onto Cornelia Street.

Warm California Glow

I have an interview and three poems up on a Northern California Arts Website called The Scrambler.

Check it out!


Limon on The Scrambler

May is quiet..Indeed

Thanks to Jennifer L. Knox for playing along. We did it! 30 poems in 30 days. Woohoo!

Thank you for commenting. We take them down so we can actually edit them, rewrite them, and then maybe, if we like them at all, publish them somewhere.

Happy May Day.

May is quietest month.

Thank you, Lala, for putting up with me and putting me up. And for puttering. For pudding. And for Puscafe.

Now I'm going to greedily pour over my new poems like pirate booty.
Mwah mwah mwah mwah.

Ada's #30: Fin

String Theory

Somewhere between Goat Rock
and my small, green, kitchen in Brooklyn,
New York, I have found the same length
of green string wrapped around the cover
of a book on my bookshelf that I played with on
the Sonoma Coast cliffs. I don’t remember
where I found the string, or why I played
with it outside staring out to imagined whales,
but I do remember putting it in my pocket
and driving home. It’s just a string,
it does not wrap me to anything.
It is not a lock of hair or an umbilical or
a power cord. It is essentially trash.
But what binds us together is not of
any monetary worth, isn’t that the case?
What we find moves us the most is free,
uncompromising in its grounded ness.
Everyone says, “It is the thought that
counts.” And I agree, but sometimes it
is also the small tokens of a time, some
tangible thing that does not die, some
small useless item that brings two coasts,
a book, and body together. How small
a simple string has to be to tie us, completely,
to the world.