Neko Case Big Ups Poetry in Poetry Magazine

"My Flaming Hamster Wheel of Panic About Publicly Discussing Poetry in This Respected Forum"
Neko Case Big Ups Poetry in Poetry Magazine

Williams, Eliot, Pound, Frost... Case? That's right, scarlet-haired singer Neko Case has joined the esteemed ranks of those published in Poetry magazine (three guesses as to what it covers).

In Poetry's November issue, which features art by David Byrne on its cover, Neko Case explains her history with poetry in an essay titled "My Flaming Hamster Wheel of Panic About Publicly Discussing Poetry in This Respected Forum". The essay is just one in a series called "The View From Here", where folks reflect on their personal experiences with the form.

The full text of Case's "Hamster Wheel" is available online here, but here are some choice bits:

"I am an awkward, heavy-handed mule of a high school dropout. I guess I just need permission to be in the same room with poetry...

"Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus haunts me. Aaron's death speech is veiled, venomous gospel music...

"W.H. Auden scares me under the couch (even when he's being funny)...

"Dorothy Parker makes me manic! I can't even make it through the first three lines of 'The Godmother' without bursting into tears...

"Lynda Barry and Sherman Alexie save my life constantly..."

Thanks to reader David Congdon for the tip!

Case will pick back up with the New Pornographers for a European tour on November 17, but she has solo dates in Tucson and L.A. on November 15 and 16, respectively. UPDATE: NEKO WILL NOT BE ACCOMPANYING THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS IN EUROPE If for any reason you need to prep for those solo shows, her entire back catalog was recently reissued.

Neko:

11-15 Tucson, AZ - The Rialto (No More Deaths benefit)
11-16 Los Angeles, CA - Walt Disney Concert Hall

Pornos (no Neko):

11-17 Dublin, Ireland - Whelan's
11-18 Glasgow, Scotland - Oran Mor
11-19 Leeds, England - Faversham
11-20 Manchester, England - Academy 3
11-21 Bristol, England - Trinity
11-22 The Hague, Netherlands - Crossing Border Festival
11-24 Brussels, Belgium - Botanique Rotunde
11-25 Cologne, Germany - Gebäude 9
11-27 Copenhagen, Denmark - Loppen
11-28 Gothenburg, Sweden - Pusterviksbaren
11-29 Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser
12-01 Bergen, Norway - Hulen

Posted by Dave Maher on Tue, Nov 13, 2007 at 3:50pm