tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18433422011999787592024-03-12T21:26:23.622-07:00More Words For Songs Never WrittenDrunken ramblings and the occasional pome.Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-88236498492818670432014-09-25T21:45:00.002-07:002014-09-25T21:47:09.321-07:00<div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: magenta;">The good folks at <a class="profileLink" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=564192203624529" href="https://www.facebook.com/Blotterature" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Blotterature Literary Magazine</a> have posted the first review of my upcoming poetry collection, The Blood of a Tourist. The book will be released on Nov. 4 and is not yet available to pre-order, but don't worry, when it is I'll be sure and remind you of all the nice things they said about it</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://blotterature.com/2014/09/24/blot-lit-reviews-the-blood-of-a-tourist-by-william-taylor-jr/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: black; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: magenta;">http://blotterature.com/2014/09/24/blot-lit-reviews-the-blood-of-a-tourist-by-william-taylor-jr/</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: magenta;">They also posted an interview, and, most importantly, a picture of my cat<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">.</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://blotterature.com/2014/09/25/blot-lit-reviews-an-interview-with-william-taylor-jr/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: black; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: magenta;">http://blotterature.com/2014/09/25/blot-lit-reviews-an-interview-with-william-taylor-jr/</span></a></div>
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Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-14917918848492223272014-09-09T19:52:00.000-07:002014-09-09T20:05:57.806-07:00Quiet Lightning, Monday Sept. 15<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">I'm honored and excited to be reading at the<a href="http://quietlightning.org/2014/09/sunset-things-follow/"> Sept. 15 Quiet Lightning</a>. We'll be meeting at Lands End to watch the sunset and then the reading will commence at a nearby location. Sounds like a magical evening in the making. Please join us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://quietlightning.org/2014/09/sunset-things-follow/">More info. here.</a></span></span>Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-38899765892308704442014-06-30T22:20:00.000-07:002014-06-30T22:20:12.722-07:00<a href="http://wordsdance.com/words-dance-17/william-taylor-jr/">Words Dance # 17</a> is now live. They've seen fit to include three of my poems, and each piece is accompanied by an audio file, which I think is pretty neat. Please indulge.Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-75817329109202471012014-06-23T22:30:00.000-07:002014-06-23T22:30:16.569-07:00Hello, dear readers. If I still have any readers.<br />
<br />
I plan to update this blog on a more regular basis, really I do.<br />
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For now, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNEdo7cccZc"> here's footage of my recent reading at the Bernal Yoga Literary Series in San Francisco</a>.<br />
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More soon.Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-44187873416057699752013-04-07T18:44:00.002-07:002013-04-07T18:44:38.559-07:00Hey, look. I'm blogging again. Kind of.<br />
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A few things:<br />
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<i>An Age of Monsters</i> and <i>Broken When We Got Here</i>, my two latest books, are now distributed through Tree Killer Ink. All the other great Epic Rites titles are there as well. Go ahead, indulge:<br />
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<a href="http://www.treekillerink.com/product/broken_when_we_got_here">http://www.treekillerink.com/product/broken_when_we_got_here</a><br />
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Also, the weekend of April 20 I will be in Cleveland, Ohio with a lot of amazing folks for an extravangant weekend of poetry events. If you're anywhere near the area, come on by:<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/425123404229219/">https://www.facebook.com/events/425123404229219/</a><br />
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Okay. That's it for now. More soon, really.<br />
<br />Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-27000418163458743892012-06-26T13:32:00.002-07:002012-06-26T13:32:23.557-07:00On a soon approaching weekend in July (7th & 8th), I will be reading at both<a href="http://beastcrawl.tumblr.com/"> Beast Crawl</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/368999456465079/">Zyfez California.</a> This is very exciting. Click the links for more info. I thank you.<br />
<br />Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-12722476459552914472012-06-26T13:12:00.004-07:002012-06-26T13:12:28.980-07:00<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Once, on the way to Oregon, I stopped at a California
winery to get free wine from the tasting room.
Just at that time a tour was starting so I decided to go along. A young
man of about 23 was the guide and began that strange kind of language
guides use, almost a chant:…<i>and on the
left a 1500 gallon redwood barrel containing Burgundy kept always at the
temperature of</i>…and then he said <i>Whose
kid is that?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The force of <i>whose kid is that</i>
caused everyone to pay attention to the real moment we were all in. A small child was about to fall in a very deep
vat of wine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> I
vowed, at that moment, that every statement in my poems should at least have
the force of <i>whose kid is that.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is
an impossible standard, but a good one.
Few really bad lines can stand against it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The
guide was chanting remembered lines to a vapid audience. The distance between his Mind, our Minds, and
the subject of wine-making simply was not being bridged. But the endangered child called words to his
mind which were immediate and un-premeditated—it was organic, as a leap would
be if one were frightened by a truck.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">--Lew Welch<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I really love this passage, and find it helps to keep it in mind while writing both poetry and prose.</span></div>Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-2646929045389683142011-10-11T11:13:00.000-07:002011-10-11T11:49:04.204-07:00An Age of Monsters now available to pre-order!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6961oPmRL0o/TpSLgDlLOwI/AAAAAAAAAGc/Eqgv1qT0dQc/s1600/an%2Bage%2Bof%2Bmonsters%2BFRONT%2BCOVER%2BSCREEN%2B385W%2B72%2Bdpi.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6961oPmRL0o/TpSLgDlLOwI/AAAAAAAAAGc/Eqgv1qT0dQc/s400/an%2Bage%2Bof%2Bmonsters%2BFRONT%2BCOVER%2BSCREEN%2B385W%2B72%2Bdpi.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662304014344862466" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.epicrites.org/an-age-of-monsters.html"><i><b>An Age of Monsters</b></i>,</a> my first collection of stories, will officially be released on Oct. 31. It is now available to pre-order from <a href="http://www.epicrites.org/">Epic Rites Press</a>. The book has been a long time in the works, and I'm very excited about it. It contains fifteen stories and features the amazing images of San Francisco photographer <a href="http://femmefotographie.com/">Julie Michelle.</a><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.epicrites.org/an-age-of-monsters.html">Please feel free to order a copy here.</a> (Scroll down to the very bottom of the page to buy.) It's a beautiful book, and I'd like to think you'll enjoy it.</div><div><br /></div><div>There will be an official release party and reading at The Space Gallery here in San Francisco on Nov. 17. Lots of wonderful folks will be involved. More info. soon.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also in San Francisco, Litquake is currently underway! I'll be reading as a part of the <a href="http://litcrawl.org/sf/events/event/i-live-here-sf-how-we-got-here-why-we-stay/">Litcrawl </a>this Saturday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. in the fabled Clarion Alley with Julie Michelle and her <a href="http://iliveheresf.com/">I Live Here: SF</a> crew. if you're in the area, come and check it out. It's gonna be a lotta fun.</div>Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-45186098545941638132011-05-26T22:59:00.000-07:002011-05-26T23:46:05.722-07:00I Live!Look here, I'm updating my blog thing and I recently bought a laptop AND a cellphone! The end times are indeed nigh. But while waiting on the Rapture, feel free to read about recent, current and upcoming events in my silly little world:<div><br /></div><div>Some neat photographs and a story of mine are currently featured on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=744789735">Julie Michelle's</a> wonderful website,<a href="http://iliveheresf.com/"> I Live Here SF</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>The story and images were also recently featured at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/jonathanikkyu">Jonathan Hirsch'</a>s <a href="http://tenderloinreadingseries.com/category/tenderlogues/">Tenderlogues</a> site. I'll be reading at the next installment of the Tenderloin Reading Series in early July.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm excited and proud to be reading at the upcoming installment of the <a href="http://quietlightning.org/">Quiet Lightning Reading Series</a> here in SF at the <a href="http://www.111minnagallery.com/">Minna Gallery</a> on June 6th. I'm reading with some amazing people, and it should be a big crowd. if you're in the area, please consider checking it out. It really should be a grand evening.</div><div><br /></div><div>What else? A new poem was recently featured at the <a href="http://pigeonbike.blogspot.com/2011/05/poem-written-after-drinking-too-much.html">PigeonBike</a> site and my short story, <a href="http://www.redfez.net/redfez/SubPage1.php?page=SubStory&ID=143">The Bastards Were Everywhere and Would Endure </a>has been listed among the <a href="http://www.storysouth.com/millionwriters/millionwritersnotable_2010.html">storySouth Million Writers Award Notable Stories of 2010.</a> That's purdy dern cool.</div><div><br /></div><div>Okay. That's all for now. I promise to update in a more regular and timely fashion. Really. Did I tell you I have a new laptop?</div>Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-62930258319000827272010-10-05T10:40:00.000-07:002010-10-05T11:19:03.544-07:00Stuff!For those kind souls who may be interested, some recent and upcoming happenings involving my work:<br /><br />I was recently the guest on the Tree Killer Ink Radio show, brought to you by Epic Rites Press. Listen in and hear me ramble on about random things with hosts Wolfgang Cartsens and Rob Plath. In the midst of it all I manage to read a few poems and discuss some upcoming projects. It was a grand time.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/epicrites/2010/10/02/tree-killer-ink-with-william-taylor-jr">Click here for the podcast.</a><br /><br />And... <a href="http://www.epicrites.org/tree-killer-ink.html">Tree Killer Ink # 6 is now available.</a> I'm the featured writer of the issue which contains 25 new poems that have not appeared in book form. The first 25 people who order a copy will receive a free broadside from Epic Rites, which is pretty dern cool. Take a moment and check it out. You'll be doing a bit to support a really amazing and hardworking independent press.<br /><br />A selection of the broadsides can be found <a href="http://www.epicrites.org/broadsides.html">here.</a><br /><br />Beat The Dust, the wonderful litzine out of the UK has devoted its current issue to Epic Rites authors. <a href="http://www.beatthedust.com/beat-the-dust.asp">Stop by and watch a video of me reading some of my lame Allen Ginsberg wannabe poems.</a><br /><br />And, lastly, a recent review of my latest poetry collection, <a href="http://www.sunnyoutside.com/releases/042/o.html">The Hunger Season</a>, can be found <a href="http://imaginarycanary.wordpress.com/2010/09/17/the-bones-of-once-beautiful-things-william-taylor-jr-s-the-hunger-season/">here.</a><br /><br />Thanks and Love.Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-6213174317589393292010-08-25T11:16:00.000-07:002010-08-25T11:52:40.787-07:00New Broadside And Other Random Whatnots...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7NgPLR2MBZQ/THVgtdTWldI/AAAAAAAAADw/ibUHLpCl-1w/s1600/some+of+us.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 262px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7NgPLR2MBZQ/THVgtdTWldI/AAAAAAAAADw/ibUHLpCl-1w/s320/some+of+us.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509416053233849810" /></a><br /><a href="http://yunews.com/broadsider.html">Yossarian Universal News Service's Broadsider magazine</a> has seen fit to include one of my poems in the new broadside series which will officially be relased at the end of the year. Other writers in the upcoming series include Diane Di Prima, Billy Collins and many other talented folk. The entire set of 30 signed and numbered broadsides will be available in December for $100, I think.<br /><br />I currently have signed (limited to 100)copies of my broadside, "Some of Us" available for $5, which includes postage and whatnot. If anyone is interested in getting a copy, lemme know. I think it turned out rather well, and I'm proud to have my work included in this project.<br /><br />Other cool things:<br /><br />Talented Bay area composer Jack Perla has put my poem We Would Fall to music. <a href="http://jackperla.com/">Here is a video of it being performed by Thomas Glenn.</a> Kinda neat.<br /><br />I recently took part in The New San Francisco Underground Press and Book Fair. It was a great event, and <a href="http://litseen.com/2010/08/17/the-new-san-francisco-underground-poets-press-and-book-fair/"> an article and videos from the evening can be found here.</a><br /><br />Last, and certainly not least: If you somehow missed it, here is my performance as Bill "The Hammer" Taylor in the premiere episode of <a href="http://www.recordstoreinspace.com/">Record Store In Space (A True Story).</a><br /><br />I think that's it for now. Thanks so much for indulging me. O, and it's like 92 degrees in San Francisco, which just ain't right.Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-4802205230100371792010-07-12T12:48:00.000-07:002010-07-12T12:56:18.221-07:00New review of Hunger SeasonFriends,<br /><br />The folks at <a href="http://guttereloquence.com/ooze/?p=45">Gutter Eloquence</a> have posted a very kind review of my latest book, <a href="http://www.sunnyoutside.com/releases/042/o.html">The Hunger Season.</a> Feel free to explore the link below. If the book is as half as good as they say it is, perhaps you should treat yourself to a copy. I'm just sayin'.<br /><br /><a href="http://guttereloquence.com/ooze/?p=45">Gutter Eloquence</a>Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-76034501539424667202010-05-07T15:46:00.000-07:002010-05-07T16:00:40.337-07:00American Street ShowcaseOn Sunday, April 25 I read at American Street Showcase, an event put together by Charle Getter of the Corner Poets of 16th and Mission and Alan Kaufman, editor of <span style="font-style:italic;">The Outlaw Bible of Amerian Poetry</span> (an essential volume, by the way).<span style="font-style:italic;"></span><br /><br />I had the pleasure of reading with Alan, Charlie, MK Chavez, and a large selection of the Corner Poets. Secret Secreteries played music. It was a fine afternoon, conveniently taking place at Cafe Royale, just a few blocks from my home.<br /><br />With thanks to Even Karp, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0y3Y6TqY84">here's the video of my portion of the reading.</a><br /><br />Have a look at the other videos from the reading as well. A lot of good stuff.Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-72782613598639918122010-04-21T23:22:00.000-07:002010-04-21T23:31:28.223-07:00Unpraying, But Religious With JoyThis week I've been reading through an old issue of<i> Story</i> magazine. November, 1934. A friend was kind enough to lend it to me. The highlights of the issue were contemporary stories by William Faulkner and William Saroyan, nestled among other fine stories by authors whose names have been lost to the years.<br /><br />Reading the stories in this magazine from some 75 years ago (!) put me in a magic place, as I revisited that feeling I had when reading these authors for the first time. I felt like a kid, discovering these magicians all over again. I felt once again the awe and wonder of the power of words. It made me excited about reading and writing in a way I haven't been in years.<br /><br />I compared the issue with similar magazines of today, such as they are, wondering where so much of the magic went. Is it the circumstances of particular generations that have the power to produce amazing writers? World wars? Is it something in the earth, the air, or is it mere chance? Is it like celebrities dying in threes? I dunno. I just know that much of contemporary writing feels to me at best competent and staidly clever, but often lacking what I would consider a soul. It doesn't have the ring of honesty. Many writers seem more in love with their words and their selves than the doors they have the power to open and the people they have the power to move. I certainly don't mean to say the world is currently lacking in good, even great, writers. I am lucky enough to call a fair amount of damned good writers my friends. But it's not the same, not quite This writing seemed to come from another, truer place.<br /><br />Saroyan's story in particular amazed me. <i>Resurrection of a Life</i>, it's called, and I'd never before read it. It's not exactly a narrative, but rather a man reflecting upon his lost youth, upon life, and death, all the big questions. Very common themes, but it's such a powerful piece, not a word wasted. Every sentence is what it should be. I read it though twice in one sitting. I did a bit of research and found that the story was collected in Saroyan's second book of fiction, <i>Inhale & Exhale</i>, published in 1936. Long out of print. That fact in itself amazes me, that work like this is allowed to fade into obscurity while so much junk is allowed to litter the shelves until the end of days.<br /><br />As I read Saroyan's story I feel the pain and the joy of life, the horror and the beauty all at once. It's not fakery, it's not cleverness. The writer feels this fire of being and is doing his damnedest to make us feel it too. He says, this is what it feels like for me to be human, is it the same way with you? Here is life, your life, my life, our life, in all it's beauty and misery, it's joy and ugliness. It's meaningless purpose. He's showing us that we're alive right now in this moment and burning, and it means everything and it means nothing at all, but the important thing is to feel it. Laughing, crying is one and the same. Nobody much writes like that anymore. This angry joy, this joyous anger.<br /><br />This is how the story ends:<br /><br />"I was this boy who is now lost and buried in the succeeding forms of myself, and I am now of this last moment, of this small room, and the night hush, time going, time coming, and gone, and gone, and again coming, and myself here, breathing, this last moment, inhale, exhale, the boy dead and alive. All that I have learned is that we breathe, from pleasure to ghastly pain, now, always now, and then we remember, and we see the boy moving through a city that has become lost, among people who have become dead, alive among dead moments, crossing a street, the scene thus, or standing by the bread bin in the bakery, a sack of chicken bread please so that we can live and shout about it, and it begins nowhere and it ends nowhere, and all that I know is that we are somehow alive, all of us in the light, making shadows, the sun overhead, space all around us, inhaling, exhaling, the face and form of man everywhere, pleasure and pain, sanity and madness, over and over again, war and no war, peace and no peace, the earth solid and unaware of us, unaware of our cities, our dreams, unaware of this love I have for life, the love that was the boy's, unaware of all things, my going, my coming, the earth everlastingly itself, not of me, everlastingly precise, and the sea sullen with movement like my breathing, waves pounding the shore of myself, coming and going, and all that I know is that I am alive and glad to be, glad to be of this ugliness ands this glory, somehow glad that I can remember, somehow remember the boy climbing the fig tree, unpraying but religious with joy, somehow of the earth, of the time of earth, somehow everlastingly of life, nothingness, blessed or unblessed, somehow deathless like myself, timeless, glad, insanely glad to be here, and so it is true, there is no death, somehow there is no death, and can never be."<br /><br />The mere act of typing this passage excites me, fills me with a particular joy rarely found elsewhere in life Like the best music. The best wine. Your best love.<br /><br />I amuse myself imagining this passage, and Saroyan's work in general, being critiqued in some writing workshop of today: "Well, first of all, you have far too many commas and run on sentences. The entire structure is horrible and you can't really understand what the hell's going on. You repeat yourself. Nothing really happens. The protagonist is unlikable. Be concise. Here. Do these exercises."<br /><br />All the while missing the point, missing the point., missing the point. These fuckers so oblivious to themselves and everything around them burning. Anyway, that's all. I just wanted to share this feeling. It might make sense to some of you.<br /><br />I'm gonna go try and write something worth reading.Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-77318110041121128862010-04-12T18:49:00.001-07:002010-04-12T18:54:43.483-07:00New Poem and VideoFriends,<br /><br />A video from <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR0lYNUVwyQ">my reading at Quiet Lightning IV on April 5. </a><br /><br />And<br /><br /><a href="http://deucecoupe.wordpress.com/2010/04/07/for-any-of-us-by-william-taylor-jr/">A new poem posted at Deuce Coupe. </a><br /><br />That's all.Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-3711327825994677062010-03-09T01:41:00.000-08:002010-03-09T01:48:41.949-08:00Videos Of Recent ReadingsA few videos taken at recent readings:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOORDil5Tss">Feb. 26 at Kalidoscope in SF.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdVnGB5oK9Y">Mar. 1 at The Elbo Room in SF.</a><br /><br />That's all.Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-79900177502335906682010-02-25T15:40:00.001-08:002010-02-25T22:51:29.244-08:00In Case You Were Wondering...Here's where you can purchase my books that are currently available:<br /><br />My latest Collection of poetry, <a href="http://www.sunnyoutside.com/releases/042/o.html">The Hunger Season,</a> is available through <a href="http://www.sunnyoutside.com/">sunnyoutside.</a><br /><br />As is <a href="http://www.sunnyoutside.com/releases/011/o.html">So Much Is Burning.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.centennialpress.com/wordsforsongs.html">Words For Songs Never Written: New & Collected Poems 1997-2007</a> is available through<a href="http://www.centennialpress.com/index.html"> Centennial Press.</a> <br /><br /><a href="http://www.lummoxpress.com/crookedroad.htm">Down this Crooked Road</a> is an anthology I edited with RD Armstrong of <a href="http://www.lummoxpress.com/index.html">Lummox Press.</a> It contains poetry by myself, as well as Christopher Robin, MK Chavez, Hosho McCreesh, Christopher Cunningham and Father Luke.<br /><br />They may also have some copies of <a href="http://www.lummoxpress.com/lummoxpress/id14.html">Any Abyss Will Do.(LRB #14)</a><br /><br />You can also find some of these titles on Amazon and in Bay Area Bookstores, including City Lights, Modern Times, Books and Bookshelves, The Beat Museum and other fine establishments. Sometimes they turn up in the strangest places.Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-83710168253570698152010-02-24T00:16:00.000-08:002010-02-24T00:48:35.571-08:00What I Will Soon Be Doing:Friends,<br /><br />I'm reading at two upcoming events here in San Francisco. I'm willing to bet they both will be pretty damned fun.<br /><br />This Friday, Feb. 26, I will be reading along with Harmon Leon and many other entertaining folk at the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/?sk=events#!/event.php?eid=320328908887">Anger Management and Revenge reading series at Kaleidoscope.</a><br /><br />And Monday, Mar. 1, I will be a part of <a href="http://www.facebook.com/?sk=events#!/event.php?eid=306966103222">Quiet Lightning 3 at the Elbo Room. </a> This event also has a great lineup of readers slated to perform.<br /><br />If you're in the area come on out and say hello. Have a drink or two. Support your local artistic fuckups. I would love to see you there.Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-84991623035578717132010-01-07T08:59:00.000-08:002010-01-07T09:07:45.589-08:00Anthills V<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7NgPLR2MBZQ/S0YTXdNHplI/AAAAAAAAADI/iK6vdftw9UQ/s1600-h/anthills5_lg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 237px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7NgPLR2MBZQ/S0YTXdNHplI/AAAAAAAAADI/iK6vdftw9UQ/s320/anthills5_lg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424044094911915602" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:Times;font-size:100%;"><br /><br />To those of you not in the know:<br /><br />The long awaited, much anticipated <a href="http://www.centennialpress.com/anthills5.html">Anthills V </a> <br />is now available from the always wonderful Centennial Press. It is a beautiful volume and contains work by myself and many amazing folks, including Amanda Oaks, Nate Graziano, Nick Osdick, Robyn Kohlwey and others. Give it a look...you won't be disappointed. </span><br /><h3 class="GenericStory_Message"><br /></h3>Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-81034424154014378152010-01-05T00:56:00.000-08:002010-01-05T01:42:21.069-08:00Or Maybe It's Just the WineThe thing is, the poetry is already there.<br /><br />Everyday, everywhere. You just have to know where and how to look. Or, at the very least, you have to want to try.<br /><br />For some it comes easy; some are born with the ability to see. Others have to work at it. Many don't give a damn one way or another.<br /><br />I believe the true poet has the ability to use words to create doors or windows or signposts that help reveal the poetry that already exists to those who, for one reason or another, might otherwise have missed it.<br /><br />Words used in such a way are magic.<br /><br />The problem is, so often we write stuff that we want to be poetry but it ends up just being cumbersome and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">unwieldy</span>, serving only to obstruct and cheapen the poetry that already exists. Words become walls of brick and layers of concrete that bury the original beauty underneath.<br /><br />Sometime the page is best left white.<br /><br />That's all.Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-61227500679991772702009-12-11T13:10:00.000-08:002009-12-11T13:25:45.944-08:00Hello And Welcome To Low Quality Video TheaterHere's a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJAAZPSF2Xc">video of myself </a>reading some of my work included in the poetry anthology <a href="http://www.lummoxpress.com/crookedroad.htm">Down This Crooked Road.</a><br /><br />Also, check out the<a href="http://www.cafepress.com/CrookedRoad"> gift shop for Lummox Press. </a> If you don't want to take the time and bother to actually read the book, you can buy a shirt or a mug or a coaster featuring the cover image. And really, what could possibly be a better holiday gift than any or all of these fine products?<br /><br />Did I mention the refrigerator magnets?Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-32438583508206415612009-11-17T18:36:00.000-08:002009-11-17T18:41:55.347-08:00Todd Moore Reviews Down This Crooked RoadIconic Outlaw Poet Todd Moore wrote a kind review of <i>Down This Crooked Road</i>, the poetry anthology I recently edited with Lummox Press. It's been posted at <a href="http://outlawpoetry.com/2009/11/11/todd-moore-the-gold-cane-van-goghs-ear-and-the-gun-in-the-casket-wandering-down-this-crooked-road/">Outlaw Poetry and Free Jazz Network.</a> Have a look. The volume could well make someone a very nice holiday gift. (Hint, hint.)<br /><br />That's all.Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-44181287085923739372009-10-06T12:26:00.000-07:002009-10-06T12:35:05.677-07:00New Review of The Hunger SeasonThe good folks at <a href="http://www.prickofthespindle.com/">Prick of the Spindle</a> have posted a review of my latest book, <i>The Hunger Season</i>. <br /><br />I found the review to be surpringly insightful and thoughtfully written.<br /><br />You can read it <a href=" http://www.prickofthespindle.com/reviews/3.3/_small_presses/taylor/the_hunger_season.htm">here.</a><br /><br />That's all.Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-24249450633117807992009-09-29T13:09:00.000-07:002009-09-29T13:25:07.807-07:00Down This Crooked Road<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7NgPLR2MBZQ/SsJrOxqeKuI/AAAAAAAAACw/l4u4Nqfmb2Q/s1600-h/crooked+road+cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 211px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7NgPLR2MBZQ/SsJrOxqeKuI/AAAAAAAAACw/l4u4Nqfmb2Q/s320/crooked+road+cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386986005882350306" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Down This Crooked Road</span> is now available. It is a poetry anthology I edited with RD Armstrong of Lummox Press. I hand picked the poets myself, and I truly think they are currently producing some of the best work out there. All of these writers I can't recommend enough:<br /><br />MK Chavez, Christopher Robin, Father Luke, Miles J. Bell, Hosho McCreesh, Christopher Cunningham, and um, me.<br /><br />The collection is currently available through the Lummox Press site, as well as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Ordering info. and some sample poems are available here:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.lummoxpress.com/crookedroad.htm">Down This Crooked Road</a><br /><br /><br /><br />I'll be reading in Santa Cruz on Friday, Oct. 16 with Christopher Robin and RD to help celebrate the release and hopefully sell some of the things. On October 17th I will be reading as part of the Litcrawl event here in San Francisco, which closes out the annual Litquake festival. More on that later. That's all for now.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7NgPLR2MBZQ/SsJsz32YIrI/AAAAAAAAADA/45XQyCBzepg/s1600-h/Split+Flyer-SC+10-16-09-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7NgPLR2MBZQ/SsJsz32YIrI/AAAAAAAAADA/45XQyCBzepg/s320/Split+Flyer-SC+10-16-09-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386987742709686962" border="0" /></a>Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1843342201199978759.post-21178243472619905542009-08-15T12:48:00.000-07:002009-08-15T12:59:45.503-07:00Hunger Season Now Available<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7NgPLR2MBZQ/SocTVAKQGYI/AAAAAAAAACo/m053wI_NKWA/s1600-h/Hunger+Season+Cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 201px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7NgPLR2MBZQ/SocTVAKQGYI/AAAAAAAAACo/m053wI_NKWA/s320/Hunger+Season+Cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370282332203784578" border="0" /></a><br />Some News:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250300225_0"><span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250302228_0"><span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250365747_0">The Hunger</span></span></span> Season,</span> my new book of poetry, is being released by Sunnyoutside Press on August 20th. They are currently accepting pre-orders, if you are interested in receiving the book on or around the release date. More information here:<br /><br /><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.sunnyoutside.com/releases/042/o.html"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250300225_1">http://www.sunnyoutside.com/releases/042/o.html</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Hunger Season</span> is my first full length book of poetry since<span style="font-style: italic;"> Words For Songs Never Written</span> was published in 2007. David from Sunnyoutside and myself put a lot of time and work into the collection, and I'm really happy with the results.<br /><br />If you like my work, and/or are interested an supporting one of the best independent presses out there, please consider having a look. I humbly thank you.<br /><br />I'm having a release party/reading at <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250300225_2"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250302228_1"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250365747_1">Modern Times books</span></span></span> here in <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250300225_3"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250302228_2"><span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250365747_2">San Francisco</span></span></span> on Wednesday Sept. 9. If you're in the area, come on out, I'd love to see you. I'll be reading with Joie Cook and Chelsea Martin, both really amazing writers.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.orangealert.net/taylorjr">What To Wear During An Orange Alert</a> has posted a review/interview concerning the new book.<br /><br />I just finished co-editing, along with RD of Lummox Press, an anthology of some of my favorite poets: MK Chavez, Christopher Robin, Father Luke, Hosho McCreesh, Christopher Cunningham, Miles Bell, and, um, me. It's called <i>Down This Crooked Road</i> and should be available sometime in September. More info. soon.<br /><br />O, and I got laid off again.<br /><br />Love,<br /><br />Bill<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250300225_0"><span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250302228_0"></span></span></span>Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04274281298691796300noreply@blogger.com4