giveaway winner is...

the winner of the poetry book giveaway is...

dominick

congratulations! please e-mail me (jlkirsch [at] aol.com) your address so i can mail you your prize!

thank you everyone who entered the book giveaway! if you didn't win but you're interested in purchasing the book, you can buy a copy here! the book is also fully available to read online.

book giveaway!

today my darling boyfriend released his poetry book! i'm so happy for him. it is a really unusual poetry book because all the lines are from his instant messenger history. some of the lines are even from conversations the two of us had together when i was in high school. also, all the lines are set in bold helvetica, all caps, so it's almost like an art book more than a poetry book. for a taste, you can view some (or all) of the poems on the website. and...he was kind enough to give me a copy to give away!

anyone can enter! all you have to do for your chance to win a copy of the book is just leave a comment below. i will choose a random winner next tuesday!

on a night like this

i had a lovely weekend. my mom and sister came to chicago on the train from michigan to see me! they came saturday afternoon. their first stop was to the student salon at my school. they were my first-ever clients that actually requested me, so i felt pretty special that day. after i was done with their services we went downtown to the willis tower (formally known as the sears tower) skydeck. we viewed the entire city from the 103rd floor. the views were amazing and i am so glad we chose to go at night time. all the lights were so beautiful! i was also brave enough to step out on the glass box. 

sunday morning we went out for brunch at chicago diner with some of steve's friends. later my cat got to meet poncho peligroso for the first time (they seem to love each other as you can see)! that night the boys (steve, stephen, brett, and poncho) had a live poetry reading online.

our monday morning started off with a tour at the make-up artistry school here in chicago. the tour was set up for my sister; my mom and i went with her. she really enjoyed it and may come back to chicago in april to start the program. we went out for lunch, went to the field museum, went to m.a.c. cosmetics, got our make up done at bare escentuals, had vegan red velvet cupcakes at sprinkles, and then ate a late night dinner at the chicago diner. 

my family went back to michigan today. i really enjoyed my weekend with them! come back soon, mom and becca!

book cover contest

my boyfriend is publishing a poetry book on march 1st called DOWNLOAD HELVETICA FOR FREE.COM. the poems in the book are excerpts from his msn messenger history from high school (many from our conversations) set in 80 pt. helvetica.

right now he is having a project where people take pictures of printed poems for the upcoming book, and then one of the pictures will be used as the cover of the book. the photo below is one that i am submitting for the contest.

anyone can participate, and right now about 40 of 50 possible spots have been filled. you can get more information about the project on his blog. photo submissions are due on february 2nd, so there is still time to sign up and get a poem to photograph!


*contest closed*

sunday spotlight v.6

name/blog name:  steve roggenbuck

please tell us a little about yourself:over the past 5 years, i have considered myself mainly a poet. recently, i started making visual poems with large fonts and images. with some of my most recent projects, i realized they were quite a bit more "visual" than "poem," so now i consider myself a poet and a designer. also i have considered myself vegan since 2007 and have worked on different activism projects, including the video at youcanhelpstopthis.com (warning, graphic footage). and i consider myself a buddhist, or very influenced by buddhism. and i am your boyfriend. :) and we live with a dangerous mountain lion in chicago.

please tell us a little about your etsy shop:
right now i am selling minimalist ironic greeting cards, so they are white with black text in bold helvetica, and it says "card," "birthday card," "thank you card," and so on. the cards are letter-sized card stock folded in half, blank on the inside. i have around 10 different card designs and some packs of 3 or 5 cards. i just launched it, but i'll be expanding with more ideas in the upcoming months, including some stickers, wall prints, and t-shirts. http://www.etsy.com/shop/steveroggenbuck.

where do you get your design inspiration? 
i like a lot of the minimalist design on aisleone.net. for other visual art, i really like the painters mark rothko and franz kline. i like art, design, and writing that is simple and feels good to me immediately when i see it. i think my art taste has been influenced a lot by zen buddhism and reading shunryu suzuki.

what direction do you hope to move in the future? do you have any big plans? 
you know my plans, i think. :)  i am in an mfa program for poetry right now. i am using my program as a time to focus very hard on my writing and art, as well as promoting my writing and art. i have a lot of ideas for poetry (e-)books, more etsy items, and touring and other things. i would like to make an income from my writing and design eventually so i can spend even more time on them. in general, i will keep making things i like and trying to share them with as many people as possible.
 
what is the best perk of being a designer?
my favorite thing is that i think i'm creating culture for like-minded people. as a vegan who grew up in a rural area, i sometimes felt like all the cultural options i had were for mainstream america but not for me. i got annoyed or bored with most movies and tv, and there weren't many stores or restaurants i felt like supporting. when i eventually found some writers and artists that presented alternative ways of doing things, it was very inspiring to me. with my writing and art, i would like to create something fun and sustaining for other young(-at-heart) people who are questioning mainstream values.

thank you very much for interviewing me jess, and thanks to everybody for reading it. you are all wonderful and cool.

happy birthday

happy 23rd birthday, steve!

i love you!

i'm with you in rockland

this past weekend i went to the music box theater with my boyfriend steve and our new chicago friend, stephen. we saw howl. i really liked the movie. james franco (allen ginsberg) and jon hamm (jake ehrlich) looked very handsome. i loved all the outfits and hair. i adored the scene with allen ginsberg and his boyfriend peter orlovsky outside sitting back to back. so cute!

howl

i'm so excited about the movie howl! james franco stars as allen ginsberg. the release date is september 24, 2010.

here is the trailer for the film...

john keats

i almost wish we were butterflies and liv'd but three summer days ̶ three such days with you i could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain.