Six months

Today marks six months ordained. It feels like both no time at all and forever.
Not in a bad way. Five months till retreat.

It is also almost Losar. One more day of duns. It has been a really hard week, but there were good points too. Clean laundry one day and a six hour nap another. I'm not dead yet. That is always a bonus.

Which reminds me. Apparently (the remaining members of) Monty Python are coming out with a new movie in the spring. That made today *much* better. Robin Williams will also be part of it.

The memorial/passing away ceremony for Anselm Hollo was very nice. Way more people showed up for it than originally planned. The sound set up for the reception (one guitar) was horrible (but then again, so was the room acoustics) but, thankfully, no one seemed to mind too much, except to tell me to turn it up. The musician didn't know that he was going to have a mic, so he wasn't too picky. I realized though, how much being around crew during these events is important. There wasn't a booth to hang out in alone, and I didn't know 95% of the people except by reputation (mostly writers). What can I say. I was bored. I didn't have any crew to commiserate with. Luckily a former classmate of mine / now SWP staff was there, and he was in the same boat as me so to speak. So we sat and talked about the archives for most of the time.

And then I got to lug the powered monitor and etc. back to the tech closet. This time I used a dolly.

Anselm Hollo

I will miss him. I never had the opportunity to take his class and I'm sad about that, but he had one wicked sense of humor, and his voice, with his finnish accent, was fabulous. I could listen to him read a phonebook. (as the saying goes).
(I stole the banner from the Coffehouse Press website.)

Official note from the University that arrived in my email:
Naropa University is very sorry to announce that Professor Anselm Hollo passed away this morning following a long illness. Anselm was one of the pillars of the Jack Kerouac School and a great friend to Naropa and beloved mentor to hundreds of students and inspiring poet to countless readers around the world.

“Naropa University has lost an extraordinary professor and friend,” shares Naropa President Charles Lief. “Anselm exuded European culture, Beat truth telling, and ordinary human kindness and grace; He was a fearless and outspoken poet-warrior and will be greatly missed by our community and the big world he so profoundly touched.

“Anselm Hollo arrived at Naropa in 1985 at a very key time in the development of our year-round MFA program. He brought his vast knowledge of surrealism, European poetics, experimental poetics, and translation to the classroom and deftly took students through those poetic paths,” says Anne Waldman, Core Professor, Co-founder of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, and Artistic Director, Summer Writing Program. “A much loved member of the large and distinct community of Front Range poets, we will all keep strong the memory of the twinkle in his blue eyes, his wry sense of humor, and deep and resonant laugh. We are in gratitude for the panoramic poetics wisdom he generously shared with us these many years. We loved him and his poetry.”

“Professor Anselm Hollo was an inspiring poet, translator, teacher. His work has influenced many writers both inside and outside the classroom. His engagement with the written word generated beautiful verse, humorous speech, and exceptional space around language,” says Michelle Naka Pierce, Director of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. “The faculty, staff, and students of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics have lost a vivid example of a writer today. Anselm Hollo “fought the hungry ghosts here on Earth” and will be deeply missed.”

Anselm’s wife Jane Dalrymple-Hollo and children Kaarina and Tamsin were with him during what Jane described as a peaceful death. Naropa has lost another of our treasures, who will be greatly missed. A memorial for Anselm is being planned for some time next week. Details will be announced.