Funds for Bookworm are provided in part by Lannin Foundation.

You are a human animal.

You are a very special breed.

Or you are the only animal.

Who can think, who can reason, who can read.

Hello and welcome to Bookworm.

I'm Michael Silverblad, and today I'm very happy to have as our special guest, Kenward

Elmsley.

Kenward Elmsley is my favorite contemporary American poet.

I'm on record, and I stand by this claim. His selected poems and lyrics,

routine disruptions, were published by Coffee House Press last year. We're celebrating the

publication of his new book, Cyberspace from Granary Books, and I thought I would introduce

Kenwood, or rather, let Kenward introduce himself

with a lyric that he wrote to music by Stephen Taylor that opened his review last year, Squeegee,

Bejoo of 99.

This is Kenward Elmsley doing an opening number spoken.

Vava Barum, time to jet up, ala-Zoom, don't get head up.

If you shimmy and shake and whiplash through the air till you find yourself lit up by comet tail glare. Don't panic.

Forget the Titanic. Hop into squeegee Biju. Test model year 99. Assembly line hype,

we won't feed you. Glammit's sleek, peek-a-boo design. Confession, we never

learned to weld. Mechanical genius, hoo-hee. Our daft pleasure craft is sweat-propelled.

Akton it may go kerflui. Welcome to squeegee Bijou, each blast off's a lucky sign.

...