Susie Timmons (b. 1955) lives in Brooklyn, NY. She is originally from Chicago. In 1979, she released a chapbook, Hog Wild, with Frontward Books (a press which also put out things by Bob Rosenthal and Ted Berrigan and printed using the Poetry Project facility; it was limited to 350 copies and is difficult to track down). In 1990, she released a collection called Locked From the Outside (Yellow Press; currently OOP), and in 2010, she released The New Old Paint (Faux/Press).
“This is the view from our tenement home…as you know, all poets must suffer.”
Susie Timmons is kind of a secret poetry goddess. Ever since I took note of her, she’s popped up in everything I love (but she is not clobbering me with things!). She is a poet who clearly believes in quality not quantity. (And if that IS her mission, I applaud her, because she’s doing that 100% right…absolutely a torment to know she is out there somewhere, holding poems I have not read in her hot little hands.) Susie has what I believe is the last ever (though I am uncertain due to there BEING NO INFORMATION ON THIS PRESS AT ALL/IT HAVING A COMPLETELY TERRIBLE NAME FOR INTERNET SEARCHING UGH) release from Yellow Press and is a wonderful contributor to Poetry Project goings-on. As a writer, she is feminine but doesn’t let it GET IN THE WAY of things. She could care less, really. I love that. I love her. She’s so casual, she just GETS it and because of that she never has a bad line/thought/poem.
Anyway, I think the poet most adoring of Susie is CACONRAD, who has written amazing things about her all over the internet, specifically at the PhillySound Blog (and you will notice that the majority of the material I am referring you to is the product of his excellent enthusiasm about her material). He is perhaps where I FIRST heard of her (as I lovingly spoke of earlier, CAC’s goodreads has fantastic reviews, one of which being Susie’s Locked From the Outside). As someone who has only read her second collection and scattered others, I would love to see a reprint of her first collection. And just more of her work in general! Agh, she is wonderful.
VIDEO:
Susie Timmons on Jupiter 88 (2011)
Susie Timmons on Public Access Poetry (1977)
TEXT:
“ARSON” (2007)
PhillySound Blog Post w/ 2 Poems (2007)
Do you want to read The New Old Paint? Of course you do; I will lend it to you.
