Do you love New York City? Do you love poetry? Then why haven’t you purchased a copy of Craig Moreau’s Chelsea Boy? Oh, because it’s not out until June. In the meantime, there is this. A trailer. “Sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll” would be the subtitle, because we hear it was taken.
Next magazine wrote of the poetry collection last year:
Much like poet Emanuel Xavier’s If Jesus Were Gay, Moreau’s work has been pressing all the right buttons lately. His mission to create what he wryly calls a “national epic for Chelsea” is proving that those who reach for the moon may land among stars of queer culture. To wit, selections from Chelsea Boy (forthcoming from Chelsea Station Editions in June 2011) received a standing ovation at the Forbes Gallery in November.
Chelsea Boy charts the poet’s transition from small-town Iowa with its “heart-fueled factories” to his current residence on West 16th Street, and includes snapshots of a larger world where gay men cry with the nation post-9/11 because “we died too.”
If you hate it, blame NYU’s Creative Writing Program. [via]
NorthernNJ
Yeah, because I always associate Chelsea with such brilliant literature.
Phil
A friend of mine put this on my facebook and asked me if I knew (and if I did would I please make fun of him to his face).
I know this guy claims to be serious, but I cannot believe that anyone is this shamelessly and hopelessly stupid. I understand that we live in a nation where we have Teabaggers and Birthers and all types of unexplainable idiotry, but the blatant disrespect of the art form and its history on display here from someone earning an MFA seems like an elaborate (and only minutely funny) prank. I’m not a fan of Allen Ginsberg, and I believe that “Howl” is ripe for satire (there was a very good one on McSweeny’s called “Tweet” by Oyl Miller…google it), but poetry is so rich with gay history from Walt Whitman to Hart Crane to Frank O’Hara to Eileen Myles.
I don’t care what anyone says. This IS a joke. (Even if it’s not.)
LookingAround
Phil : If you don’t think transplant gays in NYC’s Chelsea can genuinely reach the ultimate forms of idiotry, you haven’t hung around there much (which is fine).
Kevin B
This has to be a very elaborate joke on par with Mr. Brainwash.
Rando
As an English major, I would have the hardest time labeling this as poetry…
SHHH
He’s so young/dense and I feel bad for him.
That said the line where he states he is making poetry sexy is pretty unforgiveable.
Zeus
This is almost as cheesy as Rebecca Black’s “Friday” and also he sounds like a creepy rapist.
tj
It strikes me as post-postmodernism in tone. Assuming he “knows” what he’s doing its not really that far removed from the cultural moment…
Defender
How does anyone here know if the poetry is good or not since the book isn’t out? The trailer only shows a few lines from two poems. Save the judgment for the actual book. Maybe it is bad but why hate it because he writes about parties and sex or because he’s good looking?