OPEN BOOKS

After Lenten Quiet Morning, I made a spontaneous poetry pilgrimage to the holy land, Open Books: A Poem Emporium.

It was an opportunity to spend an hour picking through books of poetry, recognizing favorite authors and works, as well as encountering new voices.

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Another reason I decided to go was because I knew that a chapbook of new poetry was being released (in its audiobook format) later that evening at Open Books. However, being sick, I didn't want to be sitting in the back of the room hacking up my lungs, disturbing the reading, and potentially passing along my head cold.

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Here is what I ended up purchasing:

• The Winter & Spring 2020 issue of Poetry Northwest. It's one of my favorite literary journals. The editors do a great job of publishing vital and vibrant poetry, and this issue is no exception.
• To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings by John O'Donohue. I wasn't planning on getting this book, but it had been recommended to me by one of my pastors. She thought it was a good bridge between the worlds of religion and poetry. And she's right.
• World Ball Notebook by Sesshu Foster. This book of prose poems jumped out at me. Since Atomik Aztex is one of my all-time favorite books, and knowing WBN won the American Book Award, this was an easy choice.
• O—(ezekiel's wife) by C. R. Grimmer. I knew I would be picking this book up. It was described as being couched in the language of the biblical prophets yet giving voice to the unnamed wife of the prophet Ezekiel. In the poems within its pages it does just that and more.

APRIL BOOK EXPO

Troy's Work Table Publishing will be selling poetry chapbooks, calendars, sets of homemade sidewalk chalk, and past issues of the Les Sar'Zine literary journal at the APRIL Book Expo from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday 20 March 2016.

Plus, it will be one of the first opportunities to purchase the brand new Chthonic coloring book, based upon chalk art by Troy Kehm-Goins.

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Other small presses and independent literary voices at the APRIL Book Expo include:
Copper Canyon Press
Melville House
The Seattle Review of Books
Tavern Books
Wave Books
ZAPP, the Zine Archive and Publishing Project
and many more

URBAN ADVENTURE QUEST

One of our Christmas gifts this year was an Urban Adventure Quest. It started at the Seattle Center and ended a few hours later in downtown Seattle. Along the way, we saw various pieces of public art, learned about a few Seattle landmarks, and visited some places that figure prominently in current Seattle "mythology."

While we were dependent upon an internet-capable phone to receive clues and submit answers, we didn't need a GPS unit. And even though we weren't looking for longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates, it felt very similar to geocaching.

(And we may or may not have added some of our own chewed pieces of Hubba Bubba bubblegum to the Post Alley gum wall, which was recently cleaned in November 2015.)

TROY'S WORK TABLE PUBLISHING

Troy's Work Table Publishing debuts four new chapbooks at APRIL Book Expo 2015.

Sunday 29 March 2015
11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Hugo House, Seattle, Washington

Stop by and be the first to get your copies of these handmade poetry chapbooks.

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My Two Melvilles chapbook by Troy Kehm-Goins.

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#HermanMelville
#Moby-Dick
#epistolary
#counterpane
#pillowtalk
#Leviathan

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I want to climb into bed with you and embrace you, like Queequeg to Ishmael. I want us to be covered in a quilted blanket, of a nautical design, specifically a sailed ship in the warm waters of the tropical latitudes, created and stitched together by the hands of elderly New England widows…

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Let There Be chapbook by Troy Kehm-Goins.

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#apocalypse
#seeking
#rain
#rain
#rain
#run

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Over the water, mirrored in the sheen, the Gorgon seeks. Visible light tries to take form, shredded into component parts by one of the Disruption Shields.
There is a thump, then a wave of water. This is the Pulse. It squeals through us, past us. This Disruption Shield falls…

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All the Heroes Are Dead and Buried chapbook by Troy Kehm-Goins.

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#NorseMythology
#Odin
#Thor
#winter
#FenrisWolf
#fallenheroes

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Wednesday, hump day, Odin’s day / the day that Fenris wolf humps his leg / and gnashes blood-flecked fangs at his good eye // the day that whale-breathed Jörmungandr / world-serpent, coils around his chest / twelve thousand times and constricts // the day that his bad eye, the missing eye / itches…

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Black Psalms chapbook by Troy Kehm-Goins.

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#psalms
#heavymetal
#black
#disease
#lamentation
#octopus

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This is hot black, the sharpened black of obsidian polished by the kiss of deep earth. This is the stinking black of mold on bread and upon sails folded and improperly stored rather than stretched tight by the wind. The dripping black that hangs from the branches of trees…

APRIL in MARCH

Visit http://www.aprilfestival.com/ for more information.

SMITH TOWER

Looking west toward Interstate 5 from the observation deck of the Smith Tower's Chinese Room. I set the camera in night mode and let the slight swaying of the building "move" the lights of cars and buildings.

CEPHALOPOD APPRECIATION SOCIETY

The eighth annual meeting of the Cephalopod Appreciation Society is called to order.

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More than one-hundred fans of the octopus, the squid, the cuttlefish, and the chambered nautilus filled Hugo House this evening. They were gathered to shout out facts about their favorite cephalopod, to listen to poems about cephalopods be read, to hear original songs about cephalopods be performed, to watch short films about the octopus, and to sing along with "Octopus Garden" and "Drunken Sailor" as part of the Sea-Shantacular.

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It was a wonderful and magical literary event for most of the night. Toward the end, one of the performers (with her "impassioned speech") attempted to derail this all-ages event with a "speech" that was overly tangential, off topic, and rather profane. The profanity didn't fit with the story she was attempting to tell. And there was little to no passion in the telling of it, unless one confuses profanity for passion (which I don't).

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Seattle poet Sierra Nelson was the master of ceremonies and had plenty of students from one of her creative writing classes ("Creatures of the Sea") present to read new work inspired by one of the cephalopods.

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All in all, it was a wonder-filled evening of poetry, film, music, and art with a theme that allowed for as much flexibility as its subject(s).

SHORT RUN 2013

The main floor of the Book Fair at Short Run 2013. 

Short Run is one of those gifts of the gods that appear every so often. It's a wonderful thing bestowed upon us humans, and we didn't even know we needed it until it descends from divine regions into our midst.

Short Run is a small press festival focused on zines, comics, small presses, independent publishers, and homemade animation. Last year, Short Run was located at Vera Project at Seattle Center. This year, it moved to Washington Hall near the Seattle University campus. The main room of the Book Fair seemed to be a much better space overall. It was still too crowded, though, which is a good problem to have for all of these artists, illustrators, and writers. But I didn't like having to fight to move from table to table.

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I made a couple new discoveries.

One of my favorite artists there was Kinoko. I purchased her The Epic of Gilgamesh, both volumes #1 and #2. These comics loosely follow tales of Gilgamesh with a fresh updating of the stories. The artwork is filled with bold lines and Mesopotamian flavors. The look of the characters reminds me of illustrations I encountered somewhere in my childhood, but can't quite figure out in what book or from what illustrator. But that's okay because these works speak for themselves. See more of Kinoko's work HERE.

One of my favorite small publishers there was Little Otsu. Their stable of authors, artists, and illustrators have an aesthetic that feels shared. The works are magical and soft, filled with flora and fauna that inhabit a world perhaps known as Otsu. I like the childlike atmosphere that this world has, even though the works themselves don't feel childlike. See some of what Little Otsu has to offer HERE.

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I'm looking forward to next year. I think I need to get writing and perhaps be an exhibitor.

NORTHWEST BOOKFEST

I discovered last week that Northwest Bookfest had been resurrected. In its glory days of the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was the Pacific Northwest's premier festival of books, so I was excited to see what it would look like, especially in the shadow of Portland, Oregon's upcoming Wordstock (which is now the PNW's largest book festival) and amidst an embattled book industry (in an increasingly digital age).


Many of the exhibitors were local authors or homegrown presses representing one or a handful of books. One of the larger exhibitors was Seattle Center for Book Arts, which made its booth interactive and lively. SCBA had a working letterpress on hand and various mini books for kids and adults to make. Otherwise, with its outdoor tents (in Kirkland's Peter Kirk Park) on a drizzly October day, it felt like a literary farmer's market. That wasn't a bad image to portray, but the gray and rain seemed to be keeping crowds away. Next time, an indoor location for a fall event, seems a better idea.


For the most part, the exhibitors, authors, presses, publishers, literacy groups, and book industry services that participated were passionate about being present. The constant threat of rain couldn't dampen their spirits. Attendees were greeted with smiles and stories and welcome arms.


In addition to the booths, workshops, author discussions, book signings, and literary events took place in nearby buildings. The Wife, The Child, and I saw "Junk Puppet Land" by Zambini Brothers. It was a creative collection of five vignettes told with puppets made out of second-hand or discarded household items. The crowd of gathered children and adults loved the imaginative take on folk tales from around the world.

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I left Northwest Bookfest somewhat sad. I remembered what it once was, and this wasn't it. I know that it will difficult to try and be the large, well-attended events that took place on the Seattle waterfront, for those glory days are past. But I hope that the organizers of Northwest Bookfest have the same passion and tenacity as the authors and publishers that were present to make next year's event bigger and bolder.

SHELF LIFE

TWT went on a field trip with Les Sardines to the Henry Art Gallery's "Shelf Life" exhibit.

AIR FORCE ONE

The Troy's Work Table family headed up to Seattle's Museum of Flight on Presidents' Day. We marveled at the short span of time from the flight of the Wright brothers to the current day of jumbo jets and spacecraft. The best part, however, was getting to board the plane that served as Air Force One for presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Lyndon, and Nixon on Presidents' Day!


SAM970 flew under the call sign "Air Force One" for four sitting U.S. Presidents.


Buttons and switches galore.


SAM970 has a fascinating history, having flown four U.S. Presidents, as well as Soviet premier Nikita Khruschev on a tour of U.S. cities and Secretary of State to secret meetings with the Viet Cong in Paris during the Vietnam War.


The stars and stripes on the tail of SAM970.


TWT and SAM970 on Presidents' Day.

BRAINS

Zombie cupcakes adorn the storefront window of Capitol Hill's Cupcake Royale.

DIA DE MUERTOS

The Child and I headed up to Seattle to join in the Dia de Muertos 2010 celebration hosted by Taller Mexicano para la Cultura y las Artes (TMCA) at Seattle Center's Center House. The Mexican festival honoring the departed was rich in imagery and culture and family and tradition. Especially beautiful were the various altars built for the deceased. They were filled with flowers and fruit and pan de muerto (bread of the dead) and candles and sugar skulls and artistic renderings of skulls and skeletons. Many of the altars also had items that the dead person or persons would have enjoyed in life—a bottle of beer, a bottle of tequila, a cigar, a stick of gum—that were temporary experiences, the emphasis primarily on temporary and experience.


There was also a large sand painting in the center of the Center House floor, as well as many pictures, sketches, linocuts, woodcuts, lithographs, and paintings depicting skulls, skeletons, and death. It was a nice reminder of how temporary we are, I am.

To highlight that point, The Child became ill, apparently from one of the various viruses drifting through the classrooms of the new school year. That cut our time short and sent us scurrying for the safety and comfort of home, for rest and stillness and hibernation.

FREMONT OKTOBERFEST

TASTING NOTES

All pours were five ounces into the Fremont Oktoberfest souvenir tasting mug (pictured above).

Beer name (Alcohol % by volume)
Style as listed in Fremont Oktoberfest map/flier.
Brewery.

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Big Al Tripel (8.9)
Belgian-Style Strong Ale.
Big Al Brewing of Seattle, Washington.

Yeasty, spicy. Good tripel.

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Oaktoberfest (4.5)
Vienna Lager.
Firestone Walker Brewing Co. of Paso Robles, California.

Watery, butter flavor. Meh. Hoping for more.

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Deschutes Oktoberfest (5.0)
Märzen.
Deschutes Brewery of Bend, Oregon.

Nutty, yeasty, malty. I would like it to be a bit bolder in flavor.

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Mystere de la Saison (6.9)
Other Ale (Saison).
Fremont Brewing Co. of Seattle Washington.

Excellent. Yeast. Spice, sage perhaps. A hint of paper pulp.

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The Stranger Big Double Trouble (8.5)
(Imperial) IPA.
Lazy Boy Brewing Co. of Everett, Washington.

Yowza. Apple on the front, bitterness throughout, celery on the finish. The bitterness leans towards stinging nettles and pine needles and/or resin. Excellent.

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Heavy Horse (6.2)
Scotch Ale.
Big Sky Brewing of Missoula, Montana.

Too watery for a Scotch, in my opinion. Weak on flavor. Not bad, but nothing to rave about. I've had better.

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Lucille IPA (7.2)
IPA.
Georgetown Brewing Co. of Seattle, Washington.

Top notch. Pine resin and orange bitters. Over-the-top hops. Fantastic. It's like a bitter version of Manny's Pale Ale on overdrive.

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Little Sumpin Wild (7.7)
Belgian IPA.
Lagunitas Brewing Co. of Petaluma, California.

Yeast, cloves, heaven. The best Belgian today. Subtle, yet complex. Slight alcohol burn on the finish, but I'm okay with that. It works. Excellent x 2.

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Plus, sips of two Laurelwood Brewing Co. of Portland, Oregon brews: Organic Free Range Red, a NW ESB, and Workhorse IPA, an IPA. Both were complex and worth having again for full effect.

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Also, my beer buddy for the day had me try a sip of Manny's Pale Ale (Georgetown Brewing Co. of Seattle, Washington) to test his hypothesis that Manny's is a good ale on its own, but the flavor is off if had after another beer. I love Manny's, but he is correct. Other beers seem to influence its flavor, and not necessarily in a kind way.

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Another piece of heaven (or, rather, a bunch of pieces of heaven sliced up and mashed together): a veal bratwurst from Zieglers Bratwurst Haus. Served on a big ol' bun and slathered in sauerkraut and yellow mustard. Mmm!

FREMONT OKTOBERFEST

I won a pair of tickets to Fremont Oktoberfest as part of a random blind drawing for 99 Bottles Club members. My friend Chris and I headed up to Fremont on a lovely early fall day—clear skies, sunshine, low 70s, not too humid—to enjoy sampling some microbrews.


Beer Tent 6: Alaskan, Baron/Three Skulls, Big Al, Goose, Kona, Redhook, Firestone Walker. Big Al's Tripel was excellent.


Each brewer offered one or two ales or lagers. Each token filled up your five-ounce mug with your choice of brew.


Woody, the Deschutes Brewery Traveling Barrel, and Woody's Lounge.


A veal sausage bratwurst, smothered in sauerkraut and yellow mustard, was the perfect companion to an Oktoberfest/Märzen.


We are very happy at this point—beer, brats, beautiful weather.


The crowds quadrupled in the nearly four hours of our time at the festival. We were glad to head home when we did, before long lines and noisy drunkards became the norm.

THE CENTER for WOODEN BOATS

The three of us were hypnotized by the sea. It called to us.

The Wife suggested that we visit The Center for Wooden Boats on our final day of vacation, something I had talked about doing as part of my year-long Moby-Dick reading project, but couldn't quite fit into my work schedule. The Wife insisted and I listened.

The skipper who was going to captain the Admirable, a sailing gillnetter, had to unexpectedly cancel at the last minute. Instead, we signed up for the free public sailing of the steam launch Puffin. It was a quaint wooden boat with a small stove smack dab in the middle of its hull. Besides the four adult passengers and The Child, there was only room for the captain to steer the small vessel and the fireman to stoke the oven of its steam engine with pieces of oak and fir.

We putted about South Lake Union for almost forty-five minutes, getting to see dry docks and houseboats up close, soaking up bits of sunshine that peeked through the clouds and bits of briny spray that jumped over the bow.

We were still hypnotized, even though I seem to lack a proper pair of sea legs. I was somewhat dizzy on the docks both before and after the boat ride. I guess I was bred for terra firma.

TRIDUUM (NOT *THOSE* THREE DAYS...)

What a wild ride this past weekend was. It was spent in the company of family and friends, some long absent from my life, some not so. Nevertheless, it was a weekend of joy with people that I like being around. It was what Troy's Work Table is all about—books, art, beer.

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If I could stop being such a deliberate misanthrope, then I am sure that more of these weekends would present themselves to me.

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FRIDAY

Highlights included:
*Two rounds of miniature golf at Interbay Golf in Seattle (one loss, one win).
*Dinner at Via Tribunali with the friend D.
*Viewing the movie Picnic at Hanging Rock on DVD.


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SATURDAY

Highlights included:
*A full round of disc golf at Fort Steilacoom DGC.
*Chicago-style hot dogs at Lucky's Hot Dog Diner.
*Beginning the novel The Good Life by Jay McInerney.
*Picking up a new Champion Valkyrie golf disc (175 grams for wind) from Mando's.

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SUNDAY

Highlights included:
*A full round of disc golf at Fort Steilacoom DGC with the friend M.
*Sharing a schooner of Walking Man Homo Erectus Imperial IPA at the Parkway Tavern.
*Receiving two gifts of beer in one day—a bottle of New Belgium Lips of Faith (Biere de Mars) and a bottle of Russian River Consecration.

PACIFIC SCIENCE CENTER

Troy's Work Table had an extra day off this week, so the wife, the child, and I headed up to Pacific Science Center to fill our brains with empirical evidence, observed phenomena, and information galore.


(1) The arches.


(2) Allosaurus sez: "I need me some donuts!"


(3) Indeed!


(4) What happens to those donuts? The men's "Grossology" restroom at Pacific Science Center explains.


(5) Caligo memnon, the owl butterfly, with proboscis firmly inserted into ripe banana. The Tropical Butterfly House was TWT's favorite part of the day.


(6) GPS Adventures—the wife, the child, and I enjoyed learning more about geocaching, as well as testing out our "geosense" skills on an indoor "course."


(7) GPS units in abundance within the GPS Adventures maze.


(8) The Space Needle hovers over the scientific activities taking place below.