I wonder if Bob Hicok still means the opening line “Never before have I so resembled British Petroleum.”
Monday, May 24th, 2010I was trying to think of a grabbing title, what do you think? Of course he means it, and he doesn’t mean it. Like we all do. Emotional truth right? Capsules of time and spheres of existence and…. Yeah. Anyway, I was flipping through the new New Ohio Review and saw one of Bob Hicok’s lovely long titles in the table of contents: “Having intended to merely pick on an oil company, the poem goes awry” and thought Hmm. I too feel like picking on an oil company, the Deepwater Horizon’s spill still fresh (sadly, even while writing this right here, still gushing).
Also, is it just me, or does the name Deepwater Horizon sound, at least in retrospect, like Event Horizon? About the ship attempting a form of travel (drilling) never tried before, to a place never gone before in space (the ocean) and after a mishap a dark presence is making its way toward our homes. How did we not see it coming?
Anyway, Hicok’s poem begins “Never before have I so resembled British Petroleum.” Of course, British Petroleum is the essential parent company of Transocean, operators of the Deepwater Horizon rig. Now comes the part where I say the ironic tone of the poem perhaps rings even truer in the light of the current gulf spill. The poem is anchored very well in a time not far divorced from the spill (present) with other lines referring to current events such as:
…Isn’t a corporation technically a person
and responsible? Aren’t I technically a person
and responsible?
which seems, at least to this reader, to be very much a comment on the supreme court ruling allowing corporations the rights of citizens, and therefore the right to donate to political campaigns (which gets chosen politicians, law/policy makers in a place of actually deciding law/policy, with a debt of sorts to that corporation).
Hicok critically questions his own actions, his own ineffectualness, at the same time as asking the reader to consider their own global ineffectualness without getting preachy. How? Well, because he’s a magician, mostly, but also by building a strong case of self deprecation before laying into the ubiquitous you with: “How far would you walk for bread? For the flour // to make bread?” And, as promised, the poem goes awry at the end in a very organic way. From destruction to apathy to well, what’s next? I was going to quote his line about how gently BP planned to drill for their oil, but I’ll let you discover that as it was intended, within the poem, which New Ohio Review’s graciously produced not only in their pages, but also on their website as a pdf.
Read Bob Hicok’s “Having intended to merely pick on an oil company, the poem goes awry”

Maybe it’s because there are so many absurdities being recorded every moment, maybe it’s because I grew up watching tv, maybe it’s because I’m too affected by email-induced-ADD to sit and stare at a painting for three hours at a time, maybe it’s because of anaphora–wait. No, it’s one of the first three, but whatever,
Well, specifically at in-jokes in Arrested Development which reference the actor in question’s previous acting experience. Confused? At one point Henry Winkler, Barry Zuckercorn, hops over a plastic inflatable shark. The Fonz has finally, once more jumped the shark. So yeah, this is an interesting and well done list from
with access to a GPS device. People hide ‘geocaches’ whereever they feel like, and record the GPS coordinates on websites like Geocaching.com for others to find it. Why? Well, why not? Why do anything that doesn’t feel, clothe or shelter yourself? For fun. Geocaches usually contain a log for those who find it to log their discvery, and mini treasures, which are for the taking (with a deposit of similar value for the next hunter.) Some people include special prizes for FTF (first to find) and others include items like Travel Bugs, with additional instructions for those willing to take the bug to specified global locations.
Read it here




I have an EnV2. The secret is out. And, oh noes! Anyway, a lot of phones these days include a full keyboard for easier texting, which also means easier note-taking or brainstorming when on-the-go. Whether this means you woke up late for class, or you’re waiting for the East County Youth Symphony (they’re amazing, and the program– including weekly lessons– is completely free for the kids.) to begin, you again have the capability to write.