The Real Talk

Phone call between me & Bernadette Mayer in advance of our March 9, 2019 public talk at Poet’s House on the long poem. She was at her home in East Nassau, NY and I was in a rental in Missoula, MT where I was a visiting writer. These are the parts of our conversation I had the presence of mind to write down.

9:00 am - 9:50 am 2/11/19

B: Do you miss the job?
S: No, did you?
B: Not for a second.
S: You wrote in one of your work journals that, working at The Poetry Project, one becomes necessarily superficial.
B: Well that’s an understatement...

B: When I was the director [name redacted] came to the office and put his arm down on my desk and just couldn't understand how a woman could run the Project. I don’t talk about these things for obvious reasons.

B: I think the Project should get rid of all the men.
S: Like no men should work there or...
B: Any involvement of any kind.

B: I probably can’t say this but I was told I should fuck Andrew Young to get money for The Poetry Project. Is he still around?
S: Who is he?
B: He was a politician.
S: I think you can tell this story. To think fucking a politician for poetry money would work… it sounds absurd!
B: I thought okay, if he’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen I’d consider it—but no.

B: Illuminations is a long poem, I just thought of that. We should at least agree on what a long poem is.
S: For me it has always meant a book-length poem.
B: Isn't that an epic?

B: Poe said a long poem is written in one sitting. He was a notoriously impatient guy.
S: So, a 2-page poem written in 1 sitting is a long poem? I can agree to that. I think I already know you’re not into editing.
B: No, I’m against it. You can remove large sections, or just throw it away... or read it backwards.

S: Oh yah, I heard you wanted to ask me about Gummy Bears. Do you eat them?
B: No, well I just got some, you chew 2 and they are supposed to put you to sleep, but they don’t work. We could talk about the contents of food. Keep it real low level. There is a chemical in Cheez-Its that can be deathly.
S: You eat a lot of Cheez-Its?
B: Grace and I eat them in the car. We can talk about asparagus.
S: Is there something bad in it?
B: No, I love it.
S: Me too.
B: We can talk about how much we like it.

S: So I fear that they will expect us to maybe be more academic than we are?
B: We’ll use the word “fractal.” As long as you use that word you're academic.

S: Phil told me he ordered my book.
B: Yes, do you know the Cage book A Year From Monday?
S: Yes, I stole it.
B: In the book do you ask people to meet you a year from today?
S: No. When I check books out of the UM library they always say, “These are due a year from today,” so I get to hear people say these words back to me.

B: We could wear our clothes upside down.
S: Oh, what are you wearing?
B: Right now?
S: [bursts into laughter] No, I’m already thinking about outfits for the event... OH you cut your braids off recently, why?
B: They became an affectation. I went to the local hair cutting place. And it’s called Sheer Perfection. I wanted to donate it for wigs but they told me no one wants grey hair.

B: Will there be a microphone?
S: Yes.
B: We could just laugh into the mics. It’s very therapeutic.
S: I like that.
B: Or we could weave. Do you crochet?
S: No, I don't do any crafts like that.
B: I could teach you and we could crochet.
S: Yes, and maybe just say a thing or 2, very intermittent and casual.
B: I’ll say “You know Stacy, I was just thinking, etc…”
or “The long poem is…”
S: Yes. Well we’ve basically just had the talk.
B: Why do we have to do it again? Oh yah, the money.