The Cowboy's Dreams of Home

Book excerpt: Writings and interviews engaging the artists and themes from Blank Forms' public programming, from Thulani Davis to Charles Curtis This iteration privileges new texts produced for the publication. These include an interview with the idiosyncratic Texan singer-songwriter and visual artist Terry Allen, conducted by curator Anthony Elms; a conversation between writers--and longtime friends--Thulani Davis and Jessica Hagedorn, on the occasion of Davis' poetry collection Nothing But the Music; a discussion between composer Sarah Hennies and cellist Judith Hamann; and a conversation with composer-performers Tashi Wada and Charles Curtis, on the heels of a recent compilation of Curtis' work, Performances & Recordings 1998-2018, produced by Wada. Also featured are reflections on legendary jazz percussionist and healer Milford Graves, by Ciarán Finlayson; English multimedia artist Graham Lambkin's beguiling 2011 album Amateur Doubles, by Alan Licht; and the UK-based experimental music trio Still House Plants, by Joe Bucciero. The interviews and essays are complemented by three poets, René Daumal, Thulani Davis and Jessica Hagedorn.