John Brandi
goes back to my New Mexico days. He used to live near a potter friend of mine in Chimayo. Brandi was a friend of hers. I never met him. He seemed to be always traveling to distant places. But wherever I found a book of his around Taos or Santa Fe, I bought it. They all seemed very personal, truly hand-made, straight from the poet’s heart and hand…SKY HOURSE a particular little treasure, perfect bound, only about 4 x 5 inches, filled with John’s drawings and poems. He wrote a kind of Zen-Southwest haiku poem, and a little more. I have no idea where he is today…Mexico? New Mexico? South America? I’m glad I have some of his books. –norbert blei
Okay, Issa
Alright,
Buson—I give back
all I stole!No!
I’m not putting
on a white
shirt, for the sake
of a poem—who took the prize
today, O
windmill—sunrise
or sunset: north
wind
or south?Oh no!
The broom
stands up, &
sweeps me
out of my
own
houseAh—
that map
the morning afterIndia,
in your dark
triangle
[from SKY HOURSE, A Tooth of the Time Publication, 1980 300 copies]
It’s the white shirt mistake I’ve made!
What a fascinating guy–I’d love to find a couple of his books also, but he probably didn’t drift as far from NM to Wis.
White shirts be damned! I’ve got to read a poem tonight and was ruminating in the closet for fancy duds. Crap I’ll go as Jackie.
You can reach my father John Brandi at johnbrandi@cybermesa.com ! It’s great to see this gem of a book here on your blog!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brandi