I will be appearing at these star-studded Valentine-related galas.
Beyond Baroque. 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA. Saturday Feb 9th, 8pm
Standard Hotel. 8300 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA. Tuesday Feb 12th, 7pm
January 28, 2013
Let Me Ruin Your Night
January 27, 2013
Doghouse Epiphany
The object of this restlessness that puzzles you
is solitude: a loneliness for loneliness,
a wistfulness for restlessness,
a straining back to what comes naturally –
the way things used to be
when I had only me.
I miss myself madly.
I long to be romantically involved
with myself again, like old times:
dependent only upon independence,
demanding only temptation.
January 25, 2013
Love Story
I cannot locate the source of the disturbance
that has blossomed between us.
It seems, possibly, real… untranslatable.
At best it can be mumbled incoherently,
requiring a different language:
one that you can only feel.
And a different form of currency,
in which I lack sufficient means.
Nevertheless, a situation has arisen
that demands my complete attention:
You persevered beyond the numbness,
even after your jaw cramped, to induce
a state of constant sickly anticipation
of something sweet: an impatience to wallow again
in a mutually tacit sense of wonder, to swoon
into a different kind of loneliness,
from which I restlessly await recovery
and the long snarled return to a serene apathy.
December 15, 2012
a charming combination
Throughout the month of December two VCPs (Victorian Choking Paintings) will be adorning the wall of Alias Books in Atwater, while a stack of Antiepithalamia will be decorating the counter. 3163 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles.
December 4, 2012
Second Blush
October 30, 2012
No Pressure
For those of you whose goodwill hasn’t been exhausted:
Standard Hotel, West Hollywood. Tuesday, November 13th. Complimentary wine served between 7 and 8pm. Reading at 8pm.
September 28, 2012
Another Last Lamentation
Please join us in lamenting the publication of
ANTIEPITHALAMIA & Other Poems of Regret and Resentment
A new collection of poetry by John Tottenham
At historic Besant Lodge in the heart of Beachwood Canyon.
Saturday October 13th, 7.30pm
2560 Beachwood Drive, LA, CA 90068
A recitation will be delivered by the author.
Melancholic strains will be supplied by violinist Laena Geronimo.
Libations will be poured by Bitter Tears of Los Angeles.
This is John Tottenham’s second book: a sequence of mean-spirited love poems, and a meditation on the subjects of regret and resentment.
Books will be available for sale.
Absentees will be noted.
September 20, 2012
PLEASANTVILLE
The entire world will become one room
In one town. And nothing of interest lies beyond the city limits.
It’s all right, you didn’t want to go out anyway.
Other people and their breeding habits
No longer hold any fascination.
It was time to move beyond sensation, free
From the inconveniences of a world wide-open,
Into an idyllic dormancy,
Muddying temptation with connubiality.
– Antiepithalamia (Penny-Ante editions, 2012)
September 10, 2012
San Francisco. Sept 13th.
The Squat. 849 Haight street, San Francisco. Thursday, September 13, 2012, 7:30PM. Book Launch. In association with Penny-Ante editions.
Jarett Kobek and M Kitchell have written books: Come celebrate their release. Also, if you feel like it, bring money to buy their books. Also Elly Jonez, Lorian Long, and special guest, John Tottenham, who has also written a book.
May 3, 2012
Desire and Desirability
We lie side by side, basking in the warm glow
Of an attraction tempered by considerations
Of age and failure. The window of opportunity narrows
As irresolution asserts itself. Perhaps you would be offended,
Puzzled and disgusted by such an intrusion.
It might be asking too much of anybody:
To stanch this thirst, no longer sweet,
And dwindling into hesitation.
John Tottenham 