below are a few poems by jim vetter from his 1995 book simple shrine. i know nothing about vetter except that when i was managing the recycling center for a non-profit back in the mid-90s i ran across this book. there were many copies and i guessed at the time that these books were remaindered and finally sent to be pulped. i also guessed that this was a diy affair.

i've always regretted not keeping a copy. recently i wrote in an email to jim mccrary that regret and that i had googled vetter and found that he is also a painter. i mentioned to mccrary in some half-assed way that books and poets find their readers too. however, tonight a quick search on google turned up nothing. i still know nothing about vetter.

and yet, yesterday i stopped in a local indie bookstore, time tested books, and found vetter in the stacks. i bought it immediately, and i've been reading him since. vetter possesses a quiet, minimalist nihilst gusto that i find appealing. i hope he's doing well and still writing. i hope he googles himself and finds this post. i'd love to chat with him.

so this post is something about how poets and books find their readers, eventually. in poetry if you want fame and immortality you best search elsewhere. i'm sure american idol will soon hold auditions in yr town. for me poetry involve the processes of living and even dying. no one gives a shit for the most part. you do it out of obsessions and love and self-love. you do it cuz you ain't got a choice. if yr lucky that is. so do it yrself. don't wait for someone to discover yr genius. chances are, even if you are a genius, no one will recognize it. and if yr discovered after yr death, you won't give a shit. yr dead. read/write and publish it yrself. start a blog, email friends. whatever. just do it.

off point. here are a few of vetter's untitled texts.

i threw away
my nothing.
fiery toy.
unnecessary offering

* * *

so ive come
to this..
dismal hierarchy

scum.
to my intentions

* * *

you be your
fuckin patriotic
controlled
capitalist bitch
i will not support the opposition

* * *

nasa
created
necessity
fuck you all

* * *

i dont want
to know why(etc.)
i just want
it to be