SUSAN HAYDEN'S YOU ARE NOW A MISSING PERSON

 
A new addition to my all-time favorite books list. The title page says it's "a memoir in poems, stories & fragments" but it could easily say "a memoir in poems and poetic prose." It flows so naturally it was more like the book was reading me than vice versa. Fascinating, poignant, funny, at times, breathtakingly honest, totally engaging, and literally charming.

And yes the author is a longtime dear friend, and I'm briefly mentioned in a list of LA poets, but anyone who knows me knows I don't hesitate to criticize my friends' work if I feel it's deserved. Not NOW I AM A MISSING PERSON. Read it and see for yourself. 

SINAED O'CONNOR R.I.P.

 This.

LONGTIME FAVORITE QUOTE

"While looking for the light, you may suddenly be devoured by the darkness and find the true light."

—Jack Kerouac (from The Scripture of The Golden Eternity)

LUCKY

Wish I could have invited everyone I love to the event, but for that they would have needed Madison Square Garden and it was limited to 60 people and most were invited by the organizers and readers. Here's a few photos from it: 

Maria Serrano and Stella Kamakaris Keating on their way back home the day after;

me and Charles Bernstein at the event;

Jamie Rose, Jeanne Donohue, me, and Sue Brennan;

the cover of the program...how lucky am I...

HELLO

 

LALLYPALOOZA

 
This past Sunday an amazing (to me) event occurred at The Center for Peace Through Culture in Housatonic Mass. My longtime friends (over 50 years) photographer/poet Bobby Miller and actor/director Karen Allen organized "Lallypalooza" (as the program called it) "A Celebration of the Life and Poetry of Michael Lally".

If you're anything like I used to be, you may be asking why the feck you weren't invited, but they didn't promote it cause of limited capacity (the art gallery only fit 60 and with family and their guests alone it was already half full). With almost 30 readers, some on video, many dear friends weren't included. But that was the only aspect of the event that wasn't overwhelmingly joyous.

The love in the room was enough to sustain and delight me for the rest of my story. From the minute I walked in and saw blown up photographic portraits of me through the decades taken by Bobbly (like the one in the photo here) I felt like the luckiest person alive. It was all filmed and should be available online soon.

(photo of Bobby and Karen hosting the event, by Jane DeLynn)

GOOD QUOTE