What Are The Benefits Of Pigheadedness?

Jason Guriel points them out:

Pigheadedness, at its most productive, can result in a kind of head-clearing loyalty to one’s gut reactions—and an allegedly self-destructive compulsion to air those reactions publicly. I say “allegedly” because I really do think that expressing an honest opinion about, say, the Griffin Poetry Prize ceremony or Dennis Lee can only be good for one’s health in the long term. What I mean is that the short-term negative effects of pigheadedness are outweighed by the lasting benefits of honesty. Pigheadedness makes far more enemies than allies—but they tend to be the right enemies, the right allies.

"My Father's Stamps"

A new poem by Jason Guriel.

Saturday Poem

SONG OF THE NORTH AMERICAN LAWN

I must learn from sidewalk cement.
Be a little less impressed
by every passing footprint.
Stand tall. Spring forth.
After all, I win every Mexican
standoff with the sky—
the sun backing down,
the moon clearly phased,
half the man I am when mown.
Stars are always first
to blink, and clouds sweating
over me make my thirst
their priority. Even the tallest trees,
looming above, trail off
when it’s foggy,
and the signs of local parties
driven into my chest
can’t kill me.
The heart, bypassing politics,
opens new paths
like an anthill healing.

From Pure Product (2009) by Jason Guriel

Perfect Contempt

Jason Guriel reviews Dorothy Parker's Complete Poems in this month's Poetry.

In general, Parker came up with no surprising images, similes, or metaphors of her own. The odd telephone makes an appearance and keeps things up to the minute. But for the most part she made do with lads, suns, stars, things, tears, time. The heart is so frequently reached for and handled in Parker’s poems it’s as worn and polished a prop as Yorick’s skull. Eliot wrote that it was the poet’s business “to make poetry out of the unexplored resources of the unpoetical.” Parker worked the exhausted resources of the poetical.

Pushing Product

Activity around Jason Guriel's Pure Product is proving to be one of the few growth industries during these recessionary times.

A flurry of year-end assessements flushed out more Pure Product fans: here, here, here and here.

Also Jason Guriel's book has received several lovely reviews: here, here, and here.

Product placement

Rob Taylor includes Jason Guriel's Pure Product in his list of last minute gift ideas.

Someone comes to Guriel's defense.

Guriel reads his poetry like a real man.

IFOA RSVP

Jason Guriel will reading at Toronto's IFOA this Thursday night. Info here.

If you need a reason, or a reminder, as to why you should go hear him, Alex Good puts it as eloquently as anyone could hope for.

Jason also appears in a October issue of Poetry with a review of George Johnston and Jeramy Dodds.

Celebration

Good news on every front. Jason Guriel, author of Pure Product, was awarded Poetry magazine's editors prize for his reviews in the October 2008 and March 2009 issues. Esplanade editor Andrew Steinmetz’s novel, Eva’s Threepenny Theatre, is a finalist for the 2009 Ottawa Book Awards. Winner will be announced October 20.

Gurielmania

It's been a quiet summer for our Google Alerts, except when it comes to Jason Guriel.

He has an essay well worth reading over at Contemporary Poetry Review.

Maisonneuve posted an interview with him and invited poets Mark Callanan and Michael Lista to discuss his new book Pure Product.

Lastly, Canadian trend-setters Gloss think he's the bee's knees.

Consumer Report

Over at Maisonneuve, Jason Guriel's Pure Product gets a test drive from Michael Lista and Mark Callanan. They give it excellent ratings for performance and reliabilty.

Give Me Less

Jason Guriel can run but he can't hide from the fact that "Less," which you can find in his new collection Pure Product, is the featured poem on Poetry Daily.

And if you missed it, check out the NaPoMo interview he did for The Afterword, the National Post book blog..

Getting it Right

David Drummond discusses the cover for Jason Guriel's Pure Product.

Pillow Fight!

Would you believe a new online mag called Mayday is devoting a section of its new issue to a series of responses to someone's elses response to Jason Guriel's essay/review "Going Negative"? Would you? Check it out here.

Your Daily Fix of Jason Guriel

Jason is today's NaPoMo poster boy.

You can also catch him revealing his writerly peccadillos at Desk Space.

And don't forget to visit his Harriet blog

(Photo is from last night launch for Jason's Pure Product, held at Drawn and Quarterly bookstore)

Beating the Monday Blues

A mini-deluge of good news for Signal poets. First, a couple of excellent notices for Shannon Stewart's Penny Dreadful. One from Brian Campbell, who reviewed it for Rover ("many of these poems," he says "have a mordant, singsong quality; though penny-sized, they pack a powerful punch"). The other from the Utne Blog ("Rather than disengage from the horrific news, Stewart used her poetry to engage with it through humor").

We also just learned that Jason Guriel squeaked into the inner sanctum of the IFOA. He is one of five poets who, following last week's "verse-off," has been extended an invitation to read in the festival in October. The winner was Jacob McArthur Mooney.

The photo to the left features a "good luck charm shelf" from Stewart's home. You can read all about it here.