{"id":361,"date":"2024-03-01T12:07:48","date_gmt":"2024-03-01T18:07:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rainmountainpress.com\/wordpress\/?post_type=product&#038;p=361"},"modified":"2025-09-05T12:14:27","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T17:14:27","slug":"ned-discusses-beckett-in-key-west","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/rainmountainpress.com\/wordpress\/product\/ned-discusses-beckett-in-key-west","title":{"rendered":"Ned Discusses Beckett in Key West"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>by Lawrence Mallory<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<style>\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t#tab_container_360 {\r\n\toverflow:hidden;\r\n\tdisplay:block;\r\n\twidth:100%;\r\n\tborder:0px solid #ddd;\r\n\tmargin-bottom:30px;\r\n\t}\r\n\r\n#tab_container_360 .tab-content{\r\n\tpadding:20px;\r\n\tborder: 1px solid #e6e2cc !important;\r\n\tmargin-top: 0px;\r\n\tbackground-color:#fffbe5 !important;\r\n\tcolor: #000000 !important;\r\n\tfont-size:16px !important;\r\n\tfont-family: Open Sans !important;\r\n\t\r\n\t\tborder: 1px solid #e6e2cc !important;\r\n\t}\r\n#tab_container_360 .wpsm_nav-tabs {\r\n    border-bottom: 0px solid #ddd;\r\n}\r\n#tab_container_360 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li.active > a, #tab_container_360 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li.active > a:hover, #tab_container_360 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li.active > a:focus {\r\n\tcolor: #000000 !important;\r\n\tcursor: default;\r\n\tbackground-color: #fffbe5 !important;\r\n\tborder: 1px solid #e6e2cc !important;\r\n}\r\n\r\n#tab_container_360 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li > a {\r\n    margin-right: 0px !important; 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\r\n}\r\n\r\n\r\n#tab_container_360 .tab-content{\r\noverflow:hidden !important;\r\n}\r\n\r\n\r\n@media (min-width: 769px) {\r\n\r\n\t#tab_container_360 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li{\r\n\t\tfloat:left !important ;\r\n\t\t\t\tmargin-right:-1px !important;\r\n\t\t\t\t\t}\r\n\t#tab_container_360 .wpsm_nav-tabs{\r\n\t\tfloat:none !important;\r\n\t\tmargin:0px !important;\r\n\t}\r\n\r\n\t#tab_container_360 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li {\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t}\r\n\t#tab_container_360 .wpsm_nav{\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\r\n}\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n@media (max-width: 768px) {\r\n\t#tab_container_360 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li {\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t}\r\n\t#tab_container_360 .wpsm_nav{\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n}\r\n\r\n\r\n\t.wpsm_nav-tabs li:before{\r\n\t\tdisplay:none !important;\r\n\t}\r\n\r\n\t@media (max-width: 768px) {\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t.wpsm_nav-tabs{\r\n\t\t\tmargin-left:0px !important;\r\n\t\t\tmargin-right:0px !important; \r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t\t\t\t#tab_container_360 .wpsm_nav-tabs > li{\r\n\t\t\tfloat:none !important;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t}\t\t\t\t<\/style>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"tab_container_360\" >\r\n\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"wpsm_nav wpsm_nav-tabs\" role=\"tablist\" id=\"myTab_360\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li role=\"presentation\"  class=\"active\"  onclick=\"do_resize()\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#tabs_desc_360_1\" aria-controls=\"tabs_desc_360_1\" role=\"tab\" data-toggle=\"tab\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>Overview<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li role=\"presentation\"  onclick=\"do_resize()\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#tabs_desc_360_2\" aria-controls=\"tabs_desc_360_2\" role=\"tab\" data-toggle=\"tab\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>Excerpts<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/ul>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t  <!-- Tab panes -->\r\n\t\t\t\t\t  <div class=\"tab-content\" id=\"tab-content_360\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div role=\"tabpanel\" class=\"tab-pane  in active \" id=\"tabs_desc_360_1\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: left\">\"Larry Mallory\u2019s <em>Ned<\/em> Collection is a TED Talk delivered by Descartes, while being heckled by Jerry Seinfeld and Steve Martin. Ned is a forensic detective following the trail of what\u2019s been left out, what\u2019s beneath and outside of. The poems stand on their head to point at or not point at the secrets behind the secrets. Human foibles get a wry tongue-lashing and a pat on the back. In one piece, Ned admits he\u2019s a \u2018smart ass.\u2019 Yes, his poetry inspires you to look at the world with one raised eyebrow. Buckle up, a load of surprising words, images and inconclusive obser-vations are coming your way!\"<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: right\">\u2014Madeline Artenberg, author of\u00a0<em>Awakened, poems by Madeline Artenberg and Iris N. Schwartz<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\"As a devotee of Kant, Nietzsche, and Kierkegaard, Lawrence Mallory not only views humanity through a bemused philosophical prism but his vision is alive to what is comic in our foibles, misadventures, and in our tragedies. The poet is quizzical but never judgmental; he observes the mud wrestling-like chaos of the late 20<sup>th<\/sup> Century and aims to make sense of senselessness. My mother-in-law wants to know\/what it means.\/Krapp\u2019s Last Tape.\/Is Krapp going to die?\/Is there a disease?\/Is he getting ready\/to kill himself?\/I suggest the meaning is\/there is no meaning. What if sense is nonsense? Without pretense or affectation, the poet asks whether all that is beautifully idiosyncratic in us is helpless before the ravenous forces of consumerism and surveillance. It is in the answering of almost unanswerable questions where the greatness of Mallory\u2019s poetry lies. This only begins to scratch the surface of what makes <em>Ned Discusses Beckett in Key West: The Complete Poems of Lawrence Mallory<\/em>, a marvel. These poems are pleasurable in their sardonic darkness; they are made for the 21<sup>st<\/sup> Century.\"<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: right\">\u2014Stephanie Dickinson, author of\u00a0<em>Girl Behind the Door<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>The Emily Fables<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\"Lawrence Mallory was a unique individual and poet who affected an extended family of writers and readers. In Ned The Monster we sense the man behind the Ned persona who argues for living life on his own terms and whose pithy observations create a kind of existential wisdom. Born in West Virginia, he studied philosophy and literature and spent the rest of his life involved with the arts while making a living as an excellent technical writer. By reading his poetry, you\u2019ll know the man\u2019s essence.\"<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: right\">\u2014Tony Vlachos<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><strong>Larry Mallory<\/strong>'s\u00a0<em>Ned the Monster<\/em>\u00a0was published in 1997 and\u00a0<em>Some City of Their Desire<\/em>\u00a0was published in 2000, both by Linear Arts Press. Retired from Hudson Pier Poets' workshop (co-founder), The Unnamable Poetry Reading (former host) and the\u00a0<em>New York Quarterly<\/em>\u00a0(editorial staff), his poems have appeared in\u00a0<em>The Astrophysicist's Tango Partner Speaks, Medicinal Purposes, New York Quarterly, The Potomac Review, Salonika,<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>Split Verse.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div role=\"tabpanel\" class=\"tab-pane \" id=\"tabs_desc_360_2\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<P><strong>Key West: Discussing Beckett<\/strong><BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nWe\u2019ve been to see <em>Krapp\u2019s Last Tape,<\/em><BR>\r\n<BR>\r\ndirector, a friend from Zimbabwe,<BR>\r\nwhich used to be called Rhodesia.<BR>\r\nWe have brought drinks to the swimming pool.<BR>\r\nMy wife and I sit at the edge of the pool<BR>\r\ndangling our feet into the water.<BR>\r\nMy mother-in-law wants to know<BR>\r\nwhat it means.<BR>\r\n<em>Krapp\u2019s Last Tape.<\/em><BR>\r\nIs Krapp going to die?<BR>\r\nIs there a disease?<BR>\r\nIs he getting ready<BR>\r\nto kill himself?<BR>\r\nI suggest the meaning is<BR>\r\nthere is no meaning.<BR>\r\nAfter Krapp slips on the banana peel<BR>\r\nand the soliloquies begin on the tape recorder,<BR>\r\nthere is no plot.<BR>\r\nMy wife and her mother insist<BR>\r\nthat bearded men from India,<BR>\r\nwho own collections of Rolls Royces,<BR>\r\nknow that there are truths hidden<BR>\r\nin every microscopic breath of air.<BR>\r\nThe details aren\u2019t clear yet,<BR>\r\nbut progress is being made.<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nIt is quiet by the pool.<BR>\r\nThe Palmetto bugs<BR>\r\nlike the cut limes and quinine water<BR>\r\nbut let the humans have the gin.<BR>\r\nNot far away there exist<BR>\r\nThe sounds of the semi-tropic night.<BR>\r\nDrunken tourists exit the closing bars,<BR>\r\ntomorrow a sick breakfast and then the beach.<BR>\r\nThe moaners squat in alleyways<BR>\r\nagainst the sides of buildings<BR>\r\nand know without being told<BR>\r\nthat Key West,\u00a0<em>Caya Hueso,<\/em><BR>\r\nmeans Island of Bones.<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nThe scene changes for no reason,<BR>\r\nWe are living in Long Island.<BR>\r\nIt is winter and the days are gray and short.<BR>\r\nWe are trying to be domestic,<BR>\r\nwith two new children.<BR>\r\nThe director calls from Key West.<BR>\r\nHe has tested positive.<BR>\r\nThe director,<BR>\r\nCaucasian blond,<BR>\r\nborn in what used to be Rhodesia,<BR>\r\nliving on the edge of America<BR>\r\nin Key West,<BR>\r\nonce said he was thinking of<BR>\r\nchanging his own name to Zimbabwe,<BR>\r\ndead in four months.<\/P>\r\n\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\n<P><strong>Some Places I've Driven From<\/strong><BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nThe land here lies flat beneath the sky.<BR>\r\nAny mountains will be supplied<BR>\r\nby memory. Some places leave you<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nwrapped in ribbons. In others<BR>\r\nyou lay open. It is all much the same.<BR>\r\nInnocent roads have claimed many lives.<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nNot far from here there\u2019s a cemetery<BR>\r\nfull of poets. In the morning<BR>\r\nwe sit on the patio and drink coffee<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nspiked with last night\u2019s argument.<BR>\r\nThe fat man mows the lawn. He\u2019s already<BR>\r\ngrumbled politics and there\u2019s nothing<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nleft to do but cut the grass. We agree,<BR>\r\nthere\u2019s hardly ever an escape. I lay<BR>\r\nmy book on my lap and think\u00a0<em>road.<\/em><\/P>\r\n\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\n<P><strong>Memento Mori<\/strong><BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nI have lusted after pensions,<BR>\r\ninhabited guilty offices,<BR>\r\nand numbered innocent people.<BR>\r\nI have woken at night<BR>\r\nto hear my pinstripes moaning.<BR>\r\nI have commuted without mercy,<BR>\r\nI have clutched my stomach,<BR>\r\nI have had my shoes polished.<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nGreen birds have wept without me.<BR>\r\nTailors have measured me and laughed.<BR>\r\nCorporations have collected<BR>\r\nMy urine and tested me for lies.<BR>\r\nMusicians have understood much<BR>\r\nthat has escaped my grasp.<BR>\r\nPriests have blessed me<BR>\r\nand worried about their wine.<BR>\r\n<BR>\r\nTelephones have pursued me into subways.<BR>\r\nI have bored people<BR>\r\nwith interesting scientific theories.<BR>\r\nComputer programs have shown me<BR>\r\nto be mistaken many times.<BR>\r\nI have thought myself into abandoned buildings<BR>\r\nand scattered ancestral photographs<BR>\r\nlike dried leaves around my feet.<\/P>\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n <script>\r\n\t\tjQuery(function () {\r\n\t\t\tjQuery('#myTab_360 a:first').tab('show')\r\n\t\t});\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\tjQuery(function(){\r\n\t\t\tvar b=\"fadeIn\";\r\n\t\t\tvar c;\r\n\t\t\tvar a;\r\n\t\t\td(jQuery(\"#myTab_360 a\"),jQuery(\"#tab-content_360\"));function d(e,f,g){\r\n\t\t\t\te.click(function(i){\r\n\t\t\t\t\ti.preventDefault();\r\n\t\t\t\t\tjQuery(this).tab(\"show\");\r\n\t\t\t\t\tvar h=jQuery(this).data(\"easein\");\r\n\t\t\t\t\tif(c){c.removeClass(a);}\r\n\t\t\t\t\tif(h){f.find(\"div.active\").addClass(\"animated \"+h);a=h;}\r\n\t\t\t\t\telse{if(g){f.find(\"div.active\").addClass(\"animated \"+g);a=g;}else{f.find(\"div.active\").addClass(\"animated \"+b);a=b;}}c=f.find(\"div.active\");\r\n\t\t\t\t});\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\t\t});\r\n\t\t\r\n\r\n\t\tfunction do_resize(){\r\n\r\n\t\t\tvar width=jQuery( '.tab-content .tab-pane iframe' ).width();\r\n\t\t\tvar height=jQuery( '.tab-content .tab-pane iframe' ).height();\r\n\r\n\t\t\tvar toggleSize = true;\r\n\t\t\tjQuery('iframe').animate({\r\n\t\t\t    width: toggleSize ? width : 640,\r\n\t\t\t    height: toggleSize ? height : 360\r\n\t\t\t  }, 250);\r\n\r\n\t\t\t  toggleSize = !toggleSize;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\r\n\r\n\t<\/script>\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Lawrence Mallory<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":362,"template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[28],"product_tag":[33],"class_list":{"0":"post-361","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-poetry","7":"product_tag-lawrence-mallory","9":"first","10":"instock","11":"shipping-taxable","12":"purchasable","13":"product-type-simple"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rainmountainpress.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rainmountainpress.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rainmountainpress.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rainmountainpress.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rainmountainpress.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rainmountainpress.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=361"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rainmountainpress.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=361"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rainmountainpress.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}