Leif Haven, Japanese Red Leaf Maple, Love Symbol Press.
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Sort of brilliantly hilarious Craigs-List erasures put out as a nice lookin’ebook from Love Symbol Press.- Mike Kitchell
Craigslist shows
humanity at its weirdest. With Leif Haven’s chapbook he shows the
bizarre goings-on of free stuff offered on Craigslist. Ranging from the
perverse, why would you even give it away to the ordinary, these little
snippets suggest larger stories. By giving bare minimum details the
Craigslist Free Ads suggest a deeper backstory. They tease with images
of how they ended up being given away for free, on the curb, in the
backyard, or in large plastic bags. Due to the sheer number of these ads
Haven’s work shows the inherent goodness of people. Whoever is giving
these things away wants a good home for them. In fact several state for a
good family or for someone in need. Craigslist free ad creators want to
make the world a marginally better place in their backyard.
The plants are
strange. Several plants are given away. One is ‘in the wrong place’.
Another one is basic sod. Why someone would give it away is strange.
Various shrubs are given away. Sidewalks are being expanded. Without a
special someone the plants would wither away or simply be destroyed.
Offering it to someone else is thus the best way to ensure survival of
the hearty little plants. Parts of the plants appear extremely strange.
Pick figs in a front yard. Anybody can go to the place and just pick
them. Free leaves are given away in case there is ever a shortage of
leaves. Wood chips are given away. Broken shards of glasses require a
new home. Perhaps this is an extreme form of recycling. Or maybe the
owners of the broken shards of glass are curious about who would want
them.
Darker things are
given away. Some of these things are funny (the Playboy – good condition
is one example). The sadder things are the most moving. With the sad
things it is reminiscent of the short six-word Hemingway story “For
Sale: baby shoes never worn”. Broken infant swings offer up a slice of
that sadness. ‘Working hospital bed and mattress’ fits into that
category. Description is given in full: low to the ground, works great.
The shocking or deeply depressing part of the ad is the ‘now we do not
need it anymore’. Is this from death? Did the person’s condition
improve? For what reason did they have it in the first place. Thanks to
the brevity of the ad it remains unknowable. Anyone who picked up that
item was probably in for the most depressing backstory ever, along with
exchanging why exactly they were picking it up.
Leif Haven’s work is
so simple. He picks a wide range of ads from funny to sad to simply
bizarre. The description is kept as he saw it. Grammatical errors and
typos are kept as he found them. Re-arranging and changing the order of
the sentence (offering space) lets the reader get the full impact of
each ad. These are a wonderful look into possessions as a way to live. - beachsloth
CHAPBOOK: TRANSLATOR’S NOTE on SOLAR LUXURIANCE VIDEO TRAILER Good Reads Page
CHAPBOOK: GEHENNAS OF WRETCHED SQUAWL on PANGUR BAN PARTY
elimae: http://www.elimae.com/2010/11/Borges.html after the story “A Weary Man’s Utopia”
new wave vomit: Several Short Poems
columbia poetry review: Sam Jackson & Joy Division All The Time
1913: A bunch of poems about Wittgenstein and the Romantics, some of which appeared in Translator’s Note on Solar Luxuriance.
TRNSFR: To Karl Lagerfeld
Pop Serial: Bunch of Short poems
Lies/Isle: “Dear, Reader”
our flow is hard: a poem appropriating rockabilly lyrics
metazen: two guilt poems
Everyday Other Things:
“In Those Cases Something He Didn’t Understand Pt.1”
“In Those Cases Something He Didn’t Understand Pt.2”
“In Those Cases Something He Didn’t Understand Pt.3”
“In Those Cases Something He Didn’t Understand Pt.4”
“In Those Cases Something He Didn’t Understand Pt.5”
“In Those Cases Something He Didn’t Understand Pt.6”
HTML Giant: Various Prose Pieces, Reviews, and Essays
SAND: Published some of my INSTRUCTIONS FOR A NEW WORLD
HOBART: A List Of Our Demands
BANANGO STREET: Adorable Motors
Work Forthcoming From:
COURT GREEN
SPORK
RED LIGHTBULBS
MEAT CONFETTI
RADIOACTIVE MOAT
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