A Tourist in Kentucky

I'm here in Louisville, Kentucky for the Sarabande/21c Reading Series. It's been wonderful, so far. The 21c Hotel is a really interesting concept hotel--it's basically a contemporary art museum. So there are all sorts of neat nooks and crannies here and there. Here's a mirror poem by Toi Derricote that I found on the first floor:

 

Basically, the only way to read the poem is to read it through the mirror.

There's also this neat and disconcerting exhibit in the men's bathroom:

The whole mirror is covered with these little TV monitors showing nothing but eyes.

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Also took in the town with the wonderful poet, Nickole Brown, a Louisville native who took me to a kitschy restaurant for brunch. After, we took in some of the local haunts via her VW. The magnolias were in full bloom.

After she dropped me off, I wandered the downtown area and tried to go to the Muhammad Ali Center, but it was closed.

So then I wandered over to the Louisville Slugger Factory/Museum. I didn't bother getting a ticket. I'm not THAT interested in the stuff, but the big baseball bat outside the entrance beckoned me to actually wander through the gift shop.

All in all, I like Louisville. It's got a cozy, alternative feel to it. I saw a lot of hipster/alt-country types wandering about, which made me feel comfortable.

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As I mentioned, the reading is tonight. I'm trying to decide what to read . . . I think 15 minutes means only a few poems out of the new book, since they're longish narratives. Hard to decide.

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I need a nap. The time difference is getting to me.

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Current Spin:

 

Oliver de la Paz