The Introduction to the World by G M Holder

The Introduction to the World by GM Holder has become available from Blackout Publishing.  Check out the review on the website and take advantage of this very limited print. 

Since I met Garth he has been working on his novel Love Songs & and Monster Songs.  In 2011 his book will finally be printed by Blackout Publishing.  In 2004 or 2005 I was working at Half Price Books in Kansas City with his then wife Irena and we had become friends.  Garth gave me a copy of the manuscript (at the time it was entitled Vignettes for an Undestroyed Love) and I remember feeling at once captivated and terrified by it.  I was only able to process small pieces of it at a time, but I preferred it that way.  Like Vollmann's Atlas, this felt like a book that I could pick up and take in at any point and feel satisfied by the completeness of each piece.  I am no book reviewer, not by a longshot and I couldn't begin to do justice to the book here... and to be completely transparent, Garth and I have lost contact over the years and I am not sure if the manuscript that he gave me five years ago even remotely resembles what he will be publishing next year.  Regardless, even in it's earlier stages, this book was stunning. 

I am eagerly awaiting my copy of Introduction to the World and I hope that everyone will take advantage of the offer that Blackout Publishing is making.  You can buy the "very limited edition." from their website or you can download a PDF copy for free.  Congratulations Garth, I look forward to reading more.

Belgium, Belgium, Kansas City (Elegy to John Belushi) by Phil Estes from Gem City/Fountain City


Here is a poem by Phil Estes that appears in Gem City/Fountain City.  If you like this one, you should by your own copy of the chapbook.


Belgium, Belgium, Kansas City (Elegy to John Belushi)
by Phil Estes

Eric Idle tried to raise money
for England, but all he got was $20
on Saturday Night Live.
The queen looked young: 
black hair, thin, nice skin.
Was that really the queen? 
You beat Idle in the “World Heavywit Title”
contest on a pretty good joke—
Aykroyd called it a “My Wife
Combination, superbly executed”:

You know my wife
gained weight; the post office
gave her her own zip code.
Thank you.
Thank you.
My wife wears a coil. 
Not only does it prevent
pregnancy, it does wonders
for my television reception.
Thank you.
Thank you.

About the “Community Appeal”
sketch with Fran Tarkenton.
Your mind was supposed
to be like Swiss cheese, or a cloud,
and you dressed like a boy scout. 
But the Minnesota Vikings
and Community Appeal

were going to help you out anyway,
help you beat your habit.
With them you could see shadows,
and you memorized three countries.
Tell the audience the three countries you know John.
Belgium, Belgium, Kansas City.

Have you ever been here?  I wonder
what you’d think of Westport
or the Bottoms. You didn’t look like a Plaza guy,
but that’s where the coke
would be.  When they showed
you the script for Joy of Sex
you were supposed to be in a diaper.
Not only does it prevent
pregnancy, it does wonders
for my television reception.
Thank you.
Thank you.
When they had you on the slab
your arms looked like constellations. 
The water here and Arthur Bryant’s
may have helped, and the air too. 
The slowness of the city. 
The post office
gave her her own zip code.
Thank you.
Thank you.
You could’ve slowed down here,
drank some beers on the porch. 
Tell the audience the three countries you know John.
Belgium, Belgium, Kansas City.

Maybe it would be Len Dawson
not Fran Tarkenton. 

You were thick
like I am thick. 
But your hair
was full,
and you had Judith.

Belgium, Belgium, Kansas City (Elegy to John Belushi) first appeared in FRiGG.
Phil Estes maintains a blog at http://niceisaweapon.blogspot.com/

We are open for submissions!

Rabbit Catastrophe Review is open for submissions! We can't wait to read what you've written. Check out the guidelines and send submissions to rabbitcatastrophe@gmail.com

Also, if you buy a copy of Gem City/Fountain City by Phil Estes you will kind of get an idea of what the journal is going to look like.

Thanks!

Greg Lamer
Editor


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