I will use
whiskey only

for gargling.
I will argue

that dogs are
U.S. citizens, too.

I will compare work
to a strip search.

I will stare at you
as if you were

someone else.
I will call it war

rather than
armed conflict,

and in my head,

I will see myself
spiraling down

in orange flames.
I will admire

the dainty feet
of a hugely

fat woman.
I will place birds

like commas
around the yard.

_______________________

Howie Good, a journalism professor at the State University of New York at New Paltz, is the author of 12 poetry chapbooks, including most recently My Heart Draws a Rough Map from The Blue Hour Press and Ghosts of Breath from Bedouin Books. He has been nominated four times for a Pushcart Prize and five times for the Best of the Net anthology. His first full-length book of poetry, Lovesick, was released in 2009 by Press Americana. He is co-editor of the online literary journal Left Hand Waving.

We know from the Greeks that the poet is a maker of things. Looking at the root of the word poet, we find poiesis, which means making. In fact, Edward Hirsch tells us, “Open the Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics to the entry for “Poesie” and you discover that in the Renaissance the word makers, as in courtly makers was an exact equivalent for poets. The word poem became English in the sixteenth century and it has been with us ever since to designate a form of fabrication, a type of composition, a made thing.” When we think about the poem being a made thing, we think about Jennifer Borges Foster. Not only does she create her own words in her own poems, she also makes her own literary journal, Filter. We asked her about her work, and below she explains the made-ness of her linguistic artifacts. After reading our interview, you just might think less about the Kindle and more about the human communication invested in poetry and book making. To learn more about Jennifer’s bookmaking, visit Ticker Finch. — Lori Huskey

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Adorable!

We don’t buy Christmas gifts for our dogs, but we don’t begrudge those who do. Sometimes we dress our dogs in sweaters, but we know they’re not humans. Not buying them presents is our version of drawing the line.

Some of our friends think it’s odd that we’re readers. They think reading is as screwy as hanging a stocking for your Labrador. We’re getting those friends comic books for Christmas. We’re getting them comic books and we’re rolling our eyes.

Winter is getting to us. We miss sitting on front porches. We love the season, but we miss the taste of lemonade. Maybe we’re Grinches. Maybe Santa won’t come see us. Maybe we don’t believe in him anyways.

What do we believe in? The written word. And here we’ve gathered some reading to help you through the season. At the very least it’s a great escape from the in-laws. — Brian Allen Carr

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They had just returned to the United States. He thought that the immigration official at the border-control booth had looked at him skeptically when running his passport, even though he was a citizen. Maybe he looked like a terrorist. Fortunately the line had been long and he was passed through with his wife. It helped that she looked more securely like an American, he thought. She had blond hair and an open face. Everything seemed to go easier when she was at his side. They went down the escalator to the baggage claim area. They had their item each of carry-on luggage but had checked their larger bags. Once in the baggage claim area, his wife said that she was tired and went to take a seat on a row of chairs against the nearest wall of the vast room. He hadn’t slept well on this trip and should have been more tired than his wife, but he was filled with elation at the thought of being home, where he knew he would be able to sleep again and his bowels would return to normal.

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Book Stores Needed

Laredo, Texas is the biggest city in the United States without a bookstore (but there is a snowboard park near the Mexican border!). Maybe Laredo is afraid of too much information, or maybe it has more to do with the fact that people are shoplifting books like crazy, specifically The Bible, which probably is one of Texas’ biggest movers. Us, we’d sooner pull something from our dusty shelves than steal books from a store. But that doesn’t mean we’re not hoping for a few new titles this year. You can put Joseph Frank’s literary biography of Dostoevsky on our Christmas list. Add The Best European Fiction of 2010 to it, too. It’s hard to believe that books involving Monica Lewinsky are still coming out. But they are. Moving on, Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne designs a fetus-shaped Christmas ornament and Stephen Burt recommends picking up 88-year-old Marie Ponsot’s latest collection of poetry. Her book is called Easy and it’s available everywhere, except Laredo. – Andrew Geer

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