Happy July. June before it. August after it.
Russell Jaffe has put together a first. An online edition of his O Sweet Flowery Roses entitled, grandly, Finishing Hammers. A compilation of poetic engagements with the fast-rising sport of MMA ( not UFC ).
Hammers is worthy of note for its launch, arc, trajectory, and finish. The sport-poetry vein is long established ( Ol' WCW and Mr. Jack Spicer come to mind ), but always the sport is of a great or commonly agreed upon socio-historic connotation. Now that our attention spans are slight, even, and especially, the convergence of culturally aligned-produced forms of violence hold significance. Those forms of engagement. In his Harper's essay, "The Art of Suffering," Pascal Bruckner chirps, "Only things that repulse us teach us anything..." Men fighting men. The sport of how men do and can fight other men.
Whatever.
"Alligator," so named about the John Jacob Niles tune Little Black Star, is included in OSFR's overture-nod at Mixed Martial Arts.
