Studio8 - Uniting the Arts

Dino's sister, Nina, contacted me to let me know that she had a collection of Dino's poems compiled into book form. The book is titled "Elas," the title of one of his longer poems.

I've been reading my copy. The book is an absolute treasure! The poems are compiled in alphabetical order by title and flow through the pages allowing the reader to either dive in anywhere or swim through the stream from beginning to end. I am about halfway into reading it and I've found myself laughing aloud with his humor as well as with tears welling up in my eyes reading his poignant phrasing. I've also skipped around a bit to read some poems in the second half of the book.

A huge body of work is documented, including the whimsical kiwi poems and Mr. Poet poems as well as the moving confessionals, and much more! There are 176 full-sized pages, most of them with multiple poems on the page.

You will be captivated and charmed by this collection, whether you are familiar with Dino's work or whether you are new to his work. There is an Editor's Note by his friend, Preble, a Forward by his son, Zen, and an About The Author page written by his brother, Aris — all of which give additional insights into Dino's life and his poetry.

We truly lost a wise and astute poet, with an ability to relay intimate lucid peeks into his vivid perceptions as well as the ability to bring humor to the page. RIP Constantine Pantazonis! Your work is a true treasure and we miss you.

–––––––––––––
Nina sent me a few copies. If anybody wants to own one (and you would be delighted to own one!) please let me know and I'll make arrangements with you to send you one. Nina also has available copies!

Nice

such a wonderful tribute, doreen - thanks for letting us know!

Yes yes yes please! Let me know how to purchase please. Essential art.

How much does it cost, I'll buy it.
Seriously where can I buy it?

Cool! I have 3 extra copies. The price is $15.95. The proceeds will go to help Dino's special needs granddaughter. Send me your addresses by private message. When you send them to me, I will send you Dino's sister Nina's address for you to send her your checks. I will ship the books to you and I'll pay for shipping.

Mark & Jack,
I sent you Nina's address by private message for payment. Looking forward to receiving your address so I can ship you the books.

So good news!!! I want a copy if it´s possible to purchase it from the deep-deep south ! Send to me too Nina´s link , please, Doreen!!! Try with the yahoo account if it´s not dead already at the moment, if it´s dead, tell me how to message you or Nina!

The book is remarkable...a complex peek into the mind of a man born to write....i read a little every night...I was lucky enough that nina dropped one off to me....it inspired my recent poem " distant poet"....get a copy..it's a treasure

Into Dino's book. Only read maybe a dozen or so scattered pages so far of this remarkable collection, skipping around. He had a way of rambling and digressing in his poetry yet getting to the point . . . which, was sometimes that life is one big ramble and digression.

So many great works - alternate worlds apart from the ratrace, like in don't ever forget it, beautiful ruminations like in fernande or conversation with lilia, timeless reflections of old world cobbled alleys and earth spinning, eroding, remaking...

I learned an extensive new vocabulary-- words like gee-gaws and pikers.

I relived the glory of '60s black-and-white cowboy TV - "mccain's not looking for trouble - he always says that when he's about to stir up some shit." (I stole that for one of mine.)

I was enriched by his no-nonsense dino-sophy, like: "nothing man is a religion of one" . . . "everybody wants honesty until they get it" . . . "sex is just icing on the cake. The cake is the most important thing; without the cake, icing is unnecessary, mere frippery! though it could be argued that with the cupcake icing becomes the raison d'etre of the cake's existence; the cake is but a medium to convey the confection. with the muffin, however, the issue is cleverly side-stepped." (Loved those abrupt "punkrock" endings to some of his stuff.)

Social studies too! like: "If you have a box of rats, and start cramming more rats into the box, you will eventually reach a level - a rodentia saturation point - that disrupts, not only their social cohesion but the laws (innate, or otherwise) that govern their intra-species affairs. in other words, things get pretty ugly."

Culinary critique as well! -- "a shitball of breadcrumbs welded together with mayo and deep fried in some grease vat that i wouldn't use on a rusty hinge.."

Loved the Confessionals as well -- "buck up! show some moral fibre - eat some shredded wheat or something" . . . "i was a nut, but not a bad nut, a kind and gentle nut like mr. peanut, only without the monocle..."

He even got me writing poems about haggis for godssake, in that 8-8-8-4-8-4 AAABAB six line Scottish "Habbie" rhyme scheme like Robbie Burns' "Address to a Haggis"... Recommended.

Dino s book is great- inspired by his stream of consciousness As he was a lovely man- a night owl as well - I could so imagine myself out with him walking in the night - he seemed like he was super hyper in some way - energy!!!

I got the book and I am happy I got it, the only disappointment for me was that this poem was not in it—

the bastard sons and daughters of godless humanity
Unread post by constantine » Fri Oct 18, 2013 1:26 pm

what a fucking town!
chock-full of yahoos and ding-dongs
each with a story to tell
where do they find these stories
what possesses - no!
what compels them to tell
these incongruous tales to begin with
i used to listen to them
i was an idiot and didn't know better
i theorized and speculated - stuff like:
what manner of beast is this, or
how far back does this peculiar strain of idiocy go
much like a sociologist, i became a participant observer
and wallowed among the flotsam and jetsam -
the bastard sons and daughters of godless humanity
seeking rustic wisdom and something good to catch a buzz on
but, after thirty years or so i got tired of the whole mess
now they just piss me off with their carny bullshit
their hokey gee-gaws and goofy old ladies
they can all go fuck themselves
if you want to know the truth

That's not in the book? I must have gotten it from here I guess. ("Gee-gaws" is kinda obscure, but "pikers" made a bit of a splash on the Baltimore site.) I've been reading Dino's thread too. Norman's too. I was looking for his poem on Vermeer.

I thought everything he wrote was in the book... "the complete works"

(I love reading all of your reviews! Great!)

I miss him. Not just his poetry but the man himself. . Dino was the coolest person I have ever met on the internet. I wish we got to talk that walk around Fells Point we talked about. I imagine him a lot, maybe not everyday, but I still wonder what he would say about now.

I think about Clay often also, especially when I am editing these mindless rambles.