Cumpián, Carlos 2005; 2022
with Ana Castillo
Blue Hour Reading Series with Jennifer Scappettone and Carlos Cumpián
Haymarket House
Four women wearing less than
What’s wrapped in ribbon around
Their lances bounce freely alongside
13 elephants that line up, turn, mount,
And massage each other,
– Carlos Cumpián, “The Circus”
Broadside of “The Circus” by Carlos Cumpián
Watch Carlos Cumpián’s 2022 reading with Jennifer Scappettone at the Poetry Center of Chicago:
Carlos Cumpián begins at 48:08 minutes.
Read this article about Carlos Cumpián from the Chicago Reader:
Spirit Guide – Chicago Reader
Carlos Cumpian on Poetry, Chicano Culture, and the Emergency Taco
Smokers huddle at a thousand doors,
withdrawing 12 minutes every day
from the new-world mirage,
no one inhales the same anymore,
as mosquito-mean bosses look for blood in
every dollar, expecting us to laugh to forget our stress.
– Carlos Cumpián, “Soon It’s Robots”
Listen to Carlos Cumpián read “When Jesus Walked:”
