A Tribute to Leslie Scalapino (Day 2 of 4)

(Photo by Erica Kaufman)

Leslie Scalapino 1944 - 2010

We honor her passing and celebrate her not ever passing.

"In making a connection, I'm not proposing that one's language, sounds, conceptual shapes alter events outside. Rather, writing can note that one's/their sounds and conceptual shapes are events -- that are also along with events in the outside. A poem may place these together. As such one's conceptions alter oneself and being, and alter their and one being outside. The individual (and any individual instance) occurs as reading. As: while, alongside, and being (reading is an act)." -- LS, "Eco-logic in Writing" in EcoLanguage Reader (Brenda Iijima, ed)

Reading Leslie Scalapino is/as an altering act/event. We invited those who knew her and/or her work to write alongside/simultaneously to/of/on her/her writing as tribute. What follows here and over the course of the week is what came. We are grateful to know that her writing will live on in the world, in us, and will continue to be written and spoken about. We thank everyone who responded. We thank Tom White. We thank Tracy Grinnell. Most of all, of course, we thank Leslie.

eds Cara Benson, Elizabeth Bryant, Cathy Wagner


Day 2:

"that latent potential in each word to explode and crack its own surfaces": Jena Osman on her correspondence with Scalapino

Michael Rerick essays "Delay Series" (from way)

Rachel Zucker* voices homage

Lynn Behrendt "To play a nasal cello/its slice of sonic coins"

Ruth Lepson edits Lyn Hejinian and Leslie Scalapino in collaboration and conversation

Megan Kaminski found herself liberated

Jennifer Styperk "I love your shoes."

Jodi Chilson "And skimming over ZITHER & Autobiography again, now, I discover"

Deborah Poe "...so-called today flows into tomorrow..." (Please note: we regret that the version of this poem previously posted was incorrectly formatted. We have now posted a corrected version. Many apologies to Deborah! ~ Elizabeth, Cathy, and Cara)

"Oneself cannot be anywhere": K. Lorraine Graham

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Lyn Hejinian remembers Leslie Scalapino

Ron Silliman's birthday tribute to Leslie

Charles Bernstein's memorial, read at Poetry Project

"Disbelief," a memoir/essay by Leslie Scalapino on her relationship to Language writing/writers.

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* Rachel Zucker is the author of six books and the mother of three sons. [Other writers' bios are included at the end of their contributions.]