It feels just a little weird - make that really weird - to be calling up a poet out of the blue and asking her to read one of her compositions down the phone. But this is exactly how Heather Christle is encouraging readers to experience her new collection, The Trees the Trees. Rather than hope people might come across her book in a shop, online, or at a literature festival, she recently published her US phone number on her website, as well as a list of poems to choose from. "Call me and I will read to you," it says. It's that simple. You don't have to be a journalist or a poetry expert. You just have to dial the number and listen.
And so it comes to pass that I interrupt Christle doing the dishes one morning in Atlanta, Georgia, hoping that she'll read me the intriguingly titled Poem Consisting Entirely Of Advice. She doesn't appear to mind. "I wish you'd called a bit later, though," she giggles. "I'm going to the hardware store in a bit and reading a poem next to the nails might have been quite fun."
The poem in question, she warns, is short. There is an awkward silence when it abruptly ends, although that might be because the line "what if he asks you/what are you looking at" is slightly unnerving. But what do you do in these circumstances? Clap? Make delighted whooping noises? There is, it seems, no etiquette to express appreciation for a solo poetry performance taking place in a kitchen thousands of miles away.
Sensing my slight unease, perhaps, Christle breezily says "that's it!" and starts laughing. But then, she's already had plenty of practice at disarming her listeners: she's just read a poem to somebody in Australia ("it was past midnight, their time!" she exclaims) and has fielded calls from Canada, the UK, and nearer to home, in the US.
"People do get anxious about calling me," she says, which is reassuring. "But it's a great experience both for them and me. I get these little glimpses of lives, people calling on their breaks at work, or from the beach. It's really cool.
"Writing these poems I had this 'you' that I kept addressing, without specifically knowing who that was. And I feel that every person who calls makes that 'you' grow in my mind just a little bit more. That is tremendously exciting."
Speaking to Christle, it's clear that even though she can't quite believe the "insane" response to her project, it isn't just a gimmick picked up via the internet and just as quickly spat out again. The poems are sharp meditations on modern life and the book, she tells me, is full of little nods to phones and phone calls. So it made sense to complete the circle by reading them through the same technology. "I didn't put the phone number on the site and invite calls because I was cynically dreaming up some cool new way to promote it," she says. "I was just genuinely intrigued to see what might happen if I did."
What happened is that Christle is finding herself on the phone more and more as word gets around. It's interesting that her project has been so popular. As she admits herself it's not an original idea - the New York poets Frank O'Hara and John Giorno were attempting something similar in the 1950s and 1960s. The difference in 2011 is that we're so used to living our lives digitally and virtually, actually speaking to a poet on the end of a line rather than engaging with them via e-mail, Facebook or Twitter is something of a novelty.
"I find it refreshing, definitely," she says. "It's invaluable to hear a poet read their work. I mean, it can be transformative, can't it? I wouldn't say what I'm doing is replacing the act of sitting and reading quietly, though, which can also be wonderful - and of course I also believe in text because I'm a poet, so I value those ways of communicating. But I've been most surprised with how generous people are when they listen to me. Not that I expect them to tell me that a poem I've just read them is amazing. But what I love, really love, is the notion that people want to call at all. If you step back and think about it, it's pretty unbelievable."
And with that, Christle says goodbye and gets ready for her trip to the hardware store. Poetry book - and phone - firmly in hand.
Heather Christle is reading from The Trees the Trees until Thursday. Call 00 1 (413) 570 3077 or visit www.thetreesthetrees.tumblr.com
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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'Nope'
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Company%20Profile
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Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
The%20specs
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Revival
Eminem
Interscope
The Outsider
Stephen King, Penguin
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
