a while ago I saw Kasey Silem Mohammad's Dear Head Nation at Barnes & Noble, which event seemed ripe for me buying it. B&N hasn't invested in contemporary poetry in any big way, and just to encourage them in that made KSM's book a worthy purchase. I also admire him as a writer, as his writing is both humourous and challenging. as I thumbed it, tho, I felt a bit oppressed by all the pals he tips his cap to. the network. it's either smarmy or it's politics or I dunno if I am being even halfway fair, but whatever, I couldn't bring myself to buy the book. just recently KSM described his trip to the Boston area on his blog. I got the same oppressive feeling. too much seems to depend on these connections. I'm not advocating anti-social behaviour, just wary of you scratch my back/I scratch yours. which I don't accuse KSM of, but I don't see a reason to care who Kasey met on his travels either. tho it is not the requirement, god knows, for blogs to be substantive in a meaty sense tous les temps (and KSM posts plenty that is substantive), I just didn't want to read about how he pinged this local and that. I feel like I must excuse my grumpiness here but maybe I should just sail in with my thoughts. the scene is insular in an unwholesome way. or I should say, when scenes become important, the poetry starts to get dry.