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Rumpus Book ClubThe Rumpus Original Combo with Gabrielle Calvocoressi
Calvocoressi: I love that you are asking these questions about Twitter because it makes me realize that, for me, Twitter is one of the spaces that I feel is oddly most private and allows me to “play” and dream and think about my process. Part of it is that I don’t really know how to use Twitter and I don’t have many followers so I feel like I’m either talking to myself or to a larger nameless other or sometimes I’m talking to someone specific but not in a way that most people would know. I like the word “Twitter” because, for me, it is a little like birdsong: it seems like just a bunch of sound (sometimes very beautiful) but really there is something going on underneath. There’s a system.
As opposed to Facebook, which I also love but in a more water-cooler, social kind of way, Twitter is a place where I have little dream projects. I owe a debt of thanks to Sean Hill and J.M. Tyree for that because the site The Owls asked to follow my Twitter feeds for a month and that gave me a push to make a project. It’s also true that The Owls itself uses the internet format in a really interesting way, a place that acts like a canvas for makers. So I was inspired by The Owls (more birds!) and began making narrative tweet projects. And then, as I discussed earlier, I asked Alicia to come join me for a bit and I found that deeply moving and interesting.
Some days I’ll just post what I’m up to. And that can be fun but it also doesn’t seem to push the form, which I’m just interested in no matter what I’m doing. For the book release I posted the whole secret playlist for the poems in tweets. That was cool. Over Christmas I became obsessed with Adele and the fact that she makes me daydream about snowy days in London, kind of a movie. And so I started talking about that but then (and this is interesting to me) I started wondering what would happen if one really began to dream on Twitter and, let’s say, there was an actual romantic or erotic part of the narrative. And it’s funny because that felt intimidating to do on Twitter and also like it could perceived the wrong way, the wrong kind of dream. So. That was a moment where I realized there might be a boundary (both artistic and personal) that I couldn’t push past there without beginning to have to think about the public perception.
As I write this I’m realizing that a better word for what I’m doing on Twitter is “film.” I think I’m taking the movies that always run in my head (those sort of grainy hand held films) and putting them somewhere. So over Christmas I had Adele (Hometown Glory) as the soundtrack and the bird in me was tweeting and filming the dream scene where I (or some version) have ended up in London over Christmas and it’s snowing and it’s evening and I’m walking along a street of beautiful apartment buildings with a bag in my hand that holds some gift that’s meant to open some door. And then it goes on and I didn’t tweet the rest. There’s a whole movie about Paris that is slowly getting played out over months, those tweets are far apart. And there’s the dream of God. And then there’s my garden. And there’s me sending messages in bottles.
Rumpus: Last question. Put on your sportswriter had for a minute. Assuming Mayweather and Pacquiao get past their beef and get in a ring, who do you like?
Calvocoressi: Okay. First, I think they will get past it. I know it looks bleak and I think there’s been real damage done to the promise of the fight in terms of what it would do for boxing but I bet the fight will happen in September like some folks are speculating. It’s a bummer but I think it will still create so much excitement. And it will (hopefully) be a great fight for people who don’t love boxing to get a real taste. Everyone talks about heavyweights but it’s just more fun and interesting to watch guys with the kind of dexterity and speed of these two. It will be great. And the cultural aspect. Pacquiao’s incredible fanbase. Just. It’s amazing.
That said. I like Floyd. I think he will win. The odds have him winning and I haven’t watched enough boxing in the last few years to be able to speak super intelligently but I love watching him fight. And I think he can just do a kind of damage. I must say, the moment before Floyd Mayweather knocks someone out will do something to your whole body. Really. You can just feel it, “This man is about to do something very beautiful with his body very quickly and someone is going to get knocked down.” You just feel it rising in you. He’s an artist. In a way, he really is.
And he has paraffin treatments on his hands to keep them from just falling apart. Imagine. Going to the physical therapist and having paraffin treatments on your hands. Incredible.
I know people don’t like Mayweather as a person. I think there are reasons for it and I also think we could have a whole discussion about the way black men and women athletes are demonized. You look at Serena Williams, who behaved poorly, but (in my opinion) is being treated terribly unfairly in terms of fines. you think of what she has to deal with from fans at the French Open. Barry Bonds having people threaten the life of his child and commentators alluding to lynching. Anyway, I think Mayweather is an easy mark. I personally don’t care if he throws money around and acts sort of immature. I think if you watch that HBO De La Hoya/Mayweather series there are some very telling moments that reveal him to be a guy who survived a pretty brutal childhood and who has a remarkable gift and is using that gift. Anyway, I think he’s the better fighter and I am also one of the minority of fans.
Which doesn’t mean I don’t like Pacquiao. I love him. I think he’s tremendous. And he may be the best fighter of this generation. I’d be happy to see either fighter win. I think it’s a fight where, if it’s fought well, people will have a chance to really see great boxing. And that’s a really rare and special thing.
You can follow Gabrielle Calvocoressi on Twitter at @gabbat and at @broadsidedpress, where she’s the Twitter editor. And check out “Every Person in This Town Loves Football” in Rumpus Original Poems, the other half of our Original Combo.
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February 3rd, 2010 at 12:37 pm
What a fascinating discussion of poetry AND religion/faith (and Twitter…). A few years ago I went to a small, intimate reading that Calvocoressi did at the Coupa Cafe in Palo Alto, where she read from the Amelia Earhart collection. Her poetry was absolutely inspiring, and I remember all of it vividly. Thanks for the great interview.
February 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Thanks so much for this great interview! I really liked what Gabrielle Calvocoressi had to say about Bach on early instruments, twitter, Adult Drive-In, etc–wonderful!