Benjamin Hollander Memorial Tribute: February 5, 2017

Steve Dickison welcomes the audience and gives opening remarks. Laurie Polster reads a poem from Ammiel Alcalay. George Albon reads a tribute, speaking among other subjects to Hollander's connections to immigrants and education. Charles Alexander remarks on BH as mischievous and generous, and reads from the foreword to his newest book, The Letters of Carla, the letter b.. Todd Baron comments on BH's sense of humor, and reads an original poem entitled "Dream in Which," then reads "House of Cards" and "My Giorgio's Doodle" from Rituals of Truce. Michael Palmer reads a new poem written for BH, then reads "Last Night" from the Romanian Poems of Paul Celan (tr. Julian Semilian and Sanda Agalidi), and "Dream of a Language that Speaks" from his own book, Company of Moths (New Directions, 2005). Arthur Bierman recalls two instances of running into BH in San Francisco, and receiving his book, In the House Un-American. He reads a note from BH and his own commentary on that book. William Cirocco tells an anecdote of his first meeting with BH and explains his nickname "Barry." He reads his own poem "for Ben Barry." Norma Cole talks of BH bringing people together, and reads from his book How to Read, Too, along with a message from French poet Claude Royet-Journaud. David Abel reads a tribute from Chris Daniels. Steve Dickison reads a tribute written for BH called "Hollandering," incorporating an email from Gad Hollander on the subject of Haifa, Israel, where BH was born, then reads "When I Woke, I Was Mistaken" from Jimmie Durham's Poems That Do Not Go Together (Edition Hansjorg Mayer, 2013). Elise Ficarra reads "This Is The Problem," from Rituals, followed by two excerpts from The Book of Who Are Was. Susan Gevirtz remarks on BH's recent essay "Color At The Mercy Of The Light" (The Rumpus, 1 Nov 2016). She discusses his books, Memoir American and Rituals, and talks of the labor-intensive planning behind readings with him. She then plays excerpts of a recording of her and BH reading at Moe's Books, in Berkeley, May 2013. Jack Hirschman reads his own new poem, "The Benny Hollander Arcane." Duncan McNaughton presents several quotations from various figures, then reads from BH's unpublished book, Celan: The Memory of an Unspeakable Name, and an original poem for BH, "After-Effect and Echo." Sarah Menefee talks about BH's generosity and "radical music," and reads "Just Call Me Al" from In the House Un-American. Laura Moriarty recalls a trip to Paris and Fondation Royaumont with BH, and reads from "Forgetting," a poem they collaborated on. She then reads "Sequence Articulate" from The Book of Who Are Was. Murat Nemet-Nejat talks about BH as the essence of a Jew, emphasizing his empathy. He calls BH's work "film lumiere" and tells a story of BH writing the start of his work "Onome" in the dark. Julien Poirier recalls BH and discusses Rituals and In the House Un-American. John Sakkis recalls a dream he had involving BH and Emmanuel Levinas, and offers a tribute. Len Shneyder tells an anecdote of his first day in BH's classroom at Chabot College, then reads "Twenty Four," a poem written for BH. Susan Thackrey talks of BH's notion of poetry as alien, and reads from Vigilance. Siamak Vossoughi talks about his friendship with BH, and his talent for memory and "relentless questioning," then reads from his own review of In the House Un-American, citing BH's contention there that "the heart of Islam is American."