the poet ed smith

i re-read david trinidad's blog post about his late friend the poet ed smith, toy time bombs: the poems of ed smith.  trinidad starts his piece by noting how common the name ed smith is that there must be thousands of ed smiths on facebook.  that made my ears prick up.  do you know how many richard lopezes are out there?  sheesh!

but like trinidad says about his ed smith there is only one.  i trust that.  smith is a witty, miniaturist whose verse is influenced a lot by punk rock.  i like that too.  something about the few poems reproduced by trinidad makes me want to learn more about this poet who was active in the 1980s los angeles art scene.

i can't say much more about the poetry of ed smith until i read more.  i hope trinidad does indeed edit a collected smith.  but lo!  we live in a remarkable age.  below is a video of ed smith interviewed and reading his poetry.  i really like smith's fast pace and quirky delivery of his lines.  watch and see for yourself.