March 2007
Charles Jensen
Phoenix, Arizona
Poetry
Residency: Fall 2006"I came to Casa Libre to complete a bunch of projects--my new book manuscript, an interview, and work on my online literary magazine. I got to finish everything, and I enjoyed the peace and quiet here -- the accomodations were excellent. I liked being able to cook my own meals...
(Casa is) A beautiful facility, the writing suites boast wireless internet and full kitchens while the public areas of the property include a pool, spa, and library—all conveniently located in hip and funky downtown Tucson."
(Excerpts from) Charles' blog entries while at Casa:
"I drove through the dark, topping out at 90, nearly legal even then. Passing semis with a shudder. There was the hour I spent crawling through rush hour traffic listening to your songs, singing those words, thinking. In dreams the car represents the self, the body. Where we go in it is a portent. After a crash, we say, He hit me! although he did no such thing: he struck my vehicle, myself.
The space inside the car is psychically small and only allows a finite number of thoughts to exist. They were all of you.
I arrived, set up my little camp in the suite, tucked my clothes behind the blind, ate a brownie my mom packed along for me. Unloaded the stack of books and arranged them like a Doric column on the shelf: imposing and Greek. Hopefully not to be a tragedy. But you never know.
I need a store, like a Target—one place to sell white wine and shaving cream, although I may not shave the whole while I'm here. I need little else: I have it all here. And nightly, your voice arrives from the ghost world and tells me about tomorrow. I'll be listening. There is no distance between us, not now.."Read Charles' blog entries from his residency at Casa Libre
Here, and here. Scroll down in Charles' blog to find Casa posts.
Charles' Bio
Charles Jensen is the assistant director for the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University. He holds an MFA in poetry from ASU and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Nonprofit Leadership and Management. He is the author of two chapbooks, including Living Things, which won the 2006 Frank O’Hara chapbook award, and is a recipient of a 2007 Artist’s Project Grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts. His poetry has appeared in Bloom, The Journal, New England Review, and West Branch. He is the founding editor of the online poetry magazine LOCUSPOINT, which explores creative work on a city-by-city basis.Links to Charles' Work
42opus
Notell Motel
Locus Point (editor)
Kinema Poetics (blog)
Review of his chapbook Living Things, by Stephanie Lenox
Last updated February 14, 2007
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