Author Archives: michaeljarmer

#770: Interlude: An American Sonnet Before the Letter K

I couldn’t bring myself today to startat the top of the letter K listening to Kansas records. I’ve listened to the entire collection alphabetically up through the letter J and I need a break. Since October I have written 78,000words about music in these poem-like-things. But I couldn’t bear to break my streak, oddly, ofContinue reading “#770: Interlude: An American Sonnet Before the Letter K”

#769: J is for John, Elton John

I ran a search of all my poststo see how many times I had written about or at least namedElton John in a blog entry.The result: nineteen times. He was my first rock star idol. I was a fourth grader and my cousins played me Goodbye YellowBrick Road from start to finish. Almost immediately after,Continue reading “#769: J is for John, Elton John”

#768: J is for Jockstrap

Georgia Ellery and Taylor Skye are the electronic experimental Englishpop duo of Jockstrap, who, with I Love You, Jennifer B, have released the only album I am aware of for which the listener gets to design their own album cover. The absolutely blank bright greenrecord jacket contains the record, of course, in translucent green, andContinue reading “#768: J is for Jockstrap”

#767: The Muses

The muses are doom-scrolling on their cell phoneswhile we mortals look for inspiration in pocket fuzz, lint traps, duty-free liquor, or by doom-scrolling onour cell phones. This can’t end well. I wrote: “She grimaced as her hand tightened into a fish.”This becomes the premise for a new novel. The muses have forgotten why they pickedContinue reading “#767: The Muses”

#766: Now and Then

I am sitting in the backyard under the oak trees on a beautiful spring day with the dogs. We just went for a walk and now we are relaxing, mowers in the distance, the hammering of a new roof install a few houses down, traffic from adistant highway, and underneath all of that thrum, theContinue reading “#766: Now and Then”

#765: J is for Joan As Police Woman

I don’t know how I found her. In 2008, either because I hadread something or someonehad recommended her to me, I bought a CD. I don’t think I had a clue at the time about her collaborations with otherfamous artists or that she wasJeff Buckley’s fiancee up to thepoint of his tragic drowning.So beyond allContinue reading “#765: J is for Joan As Police Woman”

#764: Things to Remember

A swarm of 50,000 bees is nesting inside of her bedroom wall.How many plush toys or teddy bearsdid it take to make you feel safe? It is important to remember thatall living things have but one purpose.

#763: J is for Jimenez, José

Filed under Jimenez, and not underBill Dana, the name of the comedian whoplays the character–José Jimenez The Astronaut, the First Man in Space, is the only comedy record albumin my collection, the only record in the collection that was once part of my parent’s record collection. That record was lost to me until I foundContinue reading “#763: J is for Jimenez, José”

#762: Ars Poetica

To be bad at it. Good at the sentence, bad at the poem. To write proseand then just break that shit upinto lines. To write the poem-like-thing, the almost poem, the near beer poetry. To reach for the formbecause of its economy,its compression, its spongy versatility. To reach for the formbecause you have a thingContinue reading “#762: Ars Poetica”