The Week We Got Out

It’s getting chilly here in the glorious American Midwest, but before the gloom of winter descends, we have vowed to take a few more spry jaunts, catch a few more readings and events, and explore the world around us. This week, we took the initiative, got outside, and did things.

We strolled to the NYU campus to celebrate the life and work of Arkadii Dragomoschenko.

We encountered poet, raconteur, L.A. punk icon, and fitness guru Henry Rollins at Chicago’s beloved Old Town School of Folk Music.

While we were in the area, we caught some historical landmark poetry in Mellencamp Country.

We took a quick break from the written word and caught a couple of those moving pictures the bobby-soxers seem to enjoy.

Of course, to venture out of doors is to engage with the scandals and controversies of the day.

We popped some popcorn and took in Jordan Davis’s beef with nepotism, the internet, airburgers, and everything else he dislikes about “Poetryland.”

We sought the poetry in the head-spinning Love Pentagon that disgraced ex-CIA director David Petraeus.

We did likewise with Pete Wells’s eviscerating critique of Food Network star Guy Fieri’s latest business venture.

We got lost in translations. And we may be coming down with something.