Friday, November 22, 2019

The Mystification Surrounding the Unflattering Self-Portrait



  • I bought Chris Ware's Rusty Brown and one-fourth in I'm holyfuck
  • don't worry, I'm not gonna start drawing cartoons (or jinx me) of me
  • Ware an addict too for telephone poles street signs stop lights, an old fuck like me
  • I did buy a giant moleskin to paste in white papered thingees from big Boorum and Peace tablet (and too big from beige tablet for orange tablet)
  • A sad face drawn five pages into Ware's *Rusty Brown* broke my heart I remember I don't watch what people watch on screens - I'm supposed to be able to produce those images in my head not lazily watch someone else's I was taught believe(d)....
  • But I promise you and more importantly me, no graphic cartoons, graphic novels, can't promise no graphic poetry, no cartoon mes











EDEN

Rae Armantrout

 1
About can mean near
or nearly.
A book can be about something
or I can be about
to do a thing
and then refrain.
To refrain is to stop yourself.
A refrain
is a repeated phrase.
           2
This table is an antique
from the early Machine Age.
The indented
circle within a circle
motif
which appears
at three-inch intervals
around the base
may be a nod
to craftsmanship
or may be a summary
dismissal of same.
It is charming
in its mute simplicity.
          3
People will ask, "Why should we care about this unattractive character?"
despite the fact that turning yourself into an admirable character
has been considered gauche for as long as I can recall.
The word "transparent" is often affixed to such efforts
while the mystification surrounding the unflattering self-portrait
at least provides some cover.
Now someone will say, "You don't need cover
unless you're standing naked at a window
shouting, 'Look up here!'"