Often on opposite sides the country, poetry readings by both of Eastlake’s Wave Books co-editors Matthew Zapruder and Joshua Beckman are few and far between. In the beginning of what could be a very beautiful friendship both Beckman and Zapruder will be reading at The Richard Hugo House this Friday at 7p along with Wave Books author Michael Earl Craig.
Matthew Zapruder’s second collection of poetry The Pajamaist was selected by Tony Hoagland for the William Carlos Williams poetry prize from the Poetry Society of America in 2006. His most recent book Come All You Ghosts, published by Copper Canyon Press of Port Townsend, was selected as one of the year’s top five poetry books by publisher’s weekly.
From Mission:
Drunker than Voyager I
but not as Voyager 2 I rode my blue
bike back through the darkness
to my lonely geode cave of light
awaiting nothing under the punctured
dome. I had achieved escape
Joshua Beckman is the author of seven books including Take It and his most recent Micrograms (co-translated by Alejanro de Acosta). He is the recipient of a NYFA fellowship and a Pushcart Prize among other accolades.
From Lying in Bed I Think About You:
Lying in bed I think about you,
your ugly empty airless apartment
and your eyes. It’s noon, and tired
I look into the rest of the awake day
incapable of even awe, just
a presence of particle and wave,
Aside from his three collections of poetry and numerous print and online publications, Michael Earl Craig is in possession of the most unusual poet day job: Certified Journeyman Farrier. His latest book Thin Kimono (Wave Books 2010) ranges from Bubbles Came Through Their Noses to A Bold Coat of Vodka Bonbons and back again.
From Bubbles Came Through Their Noses:
He wasn’t supposed to be there.
(This is how any number of poems begin)
He had goggles. And his nose plugs.
He was underwater and pretending
to be fixing a ladder
bolted to the side of the pool
