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CHIC AGONISTIC CHIC AGOTADO — Urayoán Noel

on August 25 | in Poetry, Uncategorized | by | with No Comments

(SMARTPHONE VIDEO IMPROVISATIONS—CHICAGO—4/26/15)

AT THE ONSET     OF SUNSET     CITY UNSETTLED      CHAIN HOTEL HELL     MODERNIST HEAVEN     THE PURGATORY OF MY ORATORY     AND DID I MENTION THE 7-ELEVEN?     LOS QUE SE VEN Y LOS QUE NO SE VEN     LOS QUE SE ELEVAN Y LOS QUE NO SE ELEVAN     Y TODO LO QUE CONLLEVA CAMINAR     ONE FOOT AND THEN ANOTHER     WHAT’S LOCOMOTION     ON A GLOBAL STAGE?     TECHNO-ONEUPMANSHIP     ON A PHONE      HAVING A FINE TIME     STAGING AN URBANISM     PRIME ESTATE     FOR THE DELEVOPERS     AND THE WAY THE MUSIC ENVELOPES ME     POLYPS FOR MY MUTED VOCAL CORDS     YOU CAN’T IGNORE THE CITY     IT FOLLOWS YOU     TE SIGUE     TE SABE     BEING LOOKED AT     BEING LAUGHED AT     SCRATCH THAT     TAKE A RIDE INSIDE THE MENTAL HATCHBACK     GO FIND ANOTHER WACK HABITAT     AND LEAVE THIS ONE TO ME     LET ME FLEE THE PEDIGREE     OF THEM VICTORIAN AGES     LET ME TURN THE PAGES     ON CITY BEAUTIFUL     LET ME BE IMBUED     WITH UH     BUSTLEHUSTLE     BUSTLEHUSTLE     BUSTLEHUSTLE     BUSTLEHUSTLE     BUSTLEHUSTLE     BUSTLEHUSTLE     NO OBSERVATION DECKS     IN THIS CITY     TO VIEW IS TO DISAVOW     TO NAME ANOTHER STARBUCKS     ANOTHER NORTH BANK     ANOTHER FISHTANK FORGERY     SEE     I TOLD YOU THERE WAS A STARBUCKS     NO STARS AND FEWER BUCKS    BUT REFILLS MAYBE     AND AFTER THE BATONS     THE HYPERBATONS     THE BETANCES’S     AND THE MARTÍ’S    AND THE LOLAS     AND THE LOLITAS     AND THE JUAN-MIGUEL-MILAGROS-OLGA-MANUEL     NO NERVOUS BREAKDOWN ON THESE STREETS     WEST CLARK IS WHERE I’LL REMIX     ODE TO A SKYLARK     IF THE DYING SUN DON’T GET TO ME FIRST     CAN YOU READ MY FIRST THIRST     OR MY LAST HUNGER?     I’M FROM THE UH     TELETHON     UM     TELETUBBY ERA     NOT THE FRONTERA GRILL SWILL     FUCK THAT MIERDA     ¿A VER QUIÉN SE ACUERDA DE ARTHUR MURRAY?     ESTUDIOS DE DANZA     PA BAJAR LA PANZA     EN CONFIANZA     IT’S OBVIOUSLY NOT WORKING YET     MAYBE I HAVE TO ASK AT ERIKSON INSTITUTE     MAYBE LEIF CAN TELL ME     MAYBE THIS CITY IS BEYOND BELIEF     MAYBE EVERY CITY IS A BLUFF     NOT IN THE ECO-NATURE-PROMONTORY SENSE     BUT MORE IN THE MANNER OF A WAGER     RIDING ON NOTHING     MAKING YOURSELF BELIEVE     THAT DEEP DISH IS DELISH     THE WAY THEY MAKE IT AT GINO’S EAST     SO FAR FROM URA’S SOUTH     BUT I HAVE A BIG MOUTH     I’LL FIND ROOM     I’VE HAD MORE DISGUSTING THINGS IN MY MOUTH         BEFORE     AND WILL AGAIN     PLENTY OF TIMES     I SPIT OUT MORE THAN JUST WACK RHYMES     LOOK     IT’S CHICAGO     THAT’S RHYMES SQUARE!     WHERE?     OKAY     MAYBE THERE’S NO SUCH THING     ¿QUÉ COSA HAY EN CHICAGO ENTONCES?     ESTE NO ES EL POEMA DEL CHIC DEL LONG AGO     LET’S SEE EXACTLY     WHAT THE LANDMARK IS     “LASALLE STREET CABLE CAR POWERHOUSE”     CABLE CARS ARE INDEED POWERHOUSES     RECUERDOS DE GIRONDO     POEMAS PARA SER LEÍDOS EN EL TRANVÍA     AND MINE WOULD BE WHAT?     POEMS TO BE TEXTED     WHILE EATING A DEEP DISH PIZZA     POEMS TO BE TWEETED INTO THE VIRTUAL ETHER     POEMS TO OCCUPY . . .

 


nn, headshot, NOEL printOriginally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Urayoán Noel is the author of several books of poetry in English and Spanish, including Los días porosos (Catafixia Editorial, Guatemala, 2012; rpt. Atarraya Cartonera, Puerto Rico, 2014), and Buzzing Hemisphere/Rumor Hemisférico (University of Arizona Press, 2015), as well as the critical study In Visible Movement: Nuyorican Poetry from the Sixties to Slam (University of Iowa Press, 2014), winner of the Latino Studies Book Award from the Latin American Studies Association. Also a translator and performer, and a former CantoMundo and Ford Foundation fellow, Noel lives in the Bronx and teaches at NYU. Learn more at http://urayoannoel.com/ and http://www.wokitokiteki.com/, an improvisational poetry vlog.

 

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