Week 3, Training Day 3

I finally hit my mark today, but with an intense amount of effort. I felt nauseous with exhaustion afterwards. I'm knocking out well over 100 total, but broken up over several sets. I still don't know if I can complete 100 push ups consecutively, but I've been upping the overall number I do while shortening the time between sets.

I'm a little worried about my shoulder. I have an injury in my right shoulder from when I tore a bunch of soft tissue in it playing football in high school. The coach made me play on it for the rest of the game and it never healed properly. It built up scar tissue and hangs lower in the socket than my left shoulder. Back in February of this year, I tore some of that old scar tissue doing some improper stretching. I went to PT for a few weeks, but it still clicks and crunches during certain activity. There's no pain, but it feels gross. I'm going to resume the strengthening / tightening exercises the therapist gave me for my shoulder, and do them on the off-days between push ups this week.

Theoretically I only have one more week to go, but I'm seriously considering extending it another week. Aside from the week of training that got screwed up, I just haven't come near to raising my goal amount.

Most of the pledges have come from people who don't even write poetry. While that's pretty cool that they're interested in supporting this cause, I think it speaks pretty badly about the hundreds of poets I know, that know about this project, who haven't pledged a cent. For the record, aside from training I am throwing my own money into the pot as well--and it's more than $100.

So, from here on out I'm offering a free hardcover edition of Black Ocean's newest title--Scary, No Scary by Zachary Schomburg--to everyone who makes a $1 per-push-up pledge. This is retroactive, so if you've already pledged that then you can expect to receive a copy. These books are very limited and are only available directly from Black Ocean, normally for $30. I hope this will serve as an added incentive to the poets out there who have been hemming and hawing over donating money to Poets House. In my opinion they are one of the greatest advocates we have in America, and they deserve our support. All you have to do is email me at pushupsforpoetry@gmail.com and make your pledge.

Week 3, Training Days 1 & 2 (belated)

I came in about 11 push ups short of my goal on Monday. No doubt last week really threw me off my training schedule, and so I had to go two days in a row without any recovery time. It was better than Sunday, but only by a few.

Yesterday I came in only 5 under my goal. I suppose that's progress, even though I'm still lagging a little. I also shortened my rest periods in between sets down to 45 seconds, which made for a more intense session, but also closer to what the real trial will feel like. I was still sweating when I showed up to the Deep Moat Reading last night... which was excellent, by the way. It featured Mark Leidner, Emily Kendal Frey and Zachary Schomburg.

It's always exciting to see any of the Black Ocean authors read, and of course Zach is now touring behind his new book with us: Scary, No Scary. I got to watch him encounter, for the first time, the limited edition hard cover we printed. I have to say that's one of the best feelings as a publisher—to share in that excitement and gratification that each author feels as s/he sees their book in print. I’m obviously not in this for the money, so the biggest pay-off is the appreciation our authors and readers have for the product. In that sense, all the time and energy I’ve put into Black Ocean over the years has made me feel very rich.

A few people have been urging me to push back the final trail for the push-ups, due to the week I pretty much lost to illness and domestic turmoil. I’m considering it, but probably more for the fact that I’d like to come closer to my donation goal than anything else. I’m up to $425 now, and I’m really thankful for the people who have donated, but they compose about 1% of everyone I know—which is discouraging and disappointing. If I could get $5K in pledges, it would mean that every push up I bang out in the final trial is worth $50. Now that’s motivation.

To pledge, just email me at: pushupsforpoetry@gmail.com. You don’t have to pay anything up front. Do it now, because you can!

Week 2, Training Day 3

I've been sick for a few days and had to miss my reading in NYC. I'm pretty sure the illnes is psychosomatic given the upheaval in my home life. It's exhausting and traumatic to see my partner leave after 8 years together.

I was running a fever of 102 on Friday night. The fever broke before I went to sleep and stayed normal all day yesterday. Regardless, I haven't been able to eat much, and my system is taxed.

Given that, it's not surprising that I came in 13 push ups under my goal today. Nonetheless I'm disappointed. I'm going to be modifying my diet and sleeping pratices to crank up my training. This begins tonight. I only have two more weeks and I need to get very serious.

On a similar note--I need more support. I'm now up to $325, which is great--but it's a long ways off from my goal of $5,000.

Please: if 100 more people would just donate 25 cents per-push-up I could reach my goal. If 47 people donated $1 per-push-up; I'd meet my goal.

I have to believe that there are at least 50 people out there in the world that think Poets House and all the tremendous work they're doing is worth a $100 donation.

Week 2, Training Day 2

I came about 11 pushups short of the minimum I wanted to hit today. I credit the major upheaval in my personal life that took place yesterday, which has resulted in a lack of sleep, poor diet today and some depressive feelings to boot.

I'm reading in NYC this weekend at the Stain of Poetry series curated by Amy King and Ana Božičević (with Emily Kendal Frey, Phil Memmer, Jeni “truck darling” Olin, Zachary Schomburg, and JodiAnn Stevenson ), so I'm going to have to somehow find a little time and space to fit in at least one training day while I'm there, in order to stay on track with my training program. This is also going to mean significantly lighter partying than I'm used to doing while in that fair(ly dirty) city.

On the upside, I received a very nice note from Lee Bricetti today, Executive Director of Poets House, regarding this endeavor.

I've raised $300 to date so far. This is great but I've got to get more pledges to hit my goal. This should be too hard to do. If everyone who knows about this would simply pledge20 cents per-push-up to Poets House then I'm sure I could easily hit my goal!

Week 2, Training Day 1

Since I made my announcement, I've already raised $220, assuming that I can complete the 100 push ups.

I've begun my second week of training, after taking the weekend off to allow my muscles some recovery time. My strategy is to train with actual push ups Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Tuesday and Thursday I focus on boxing, and work some other muscle groups. The weekends I rest.

My work out today was a little harder than I had hoped. I'm gradually increasing my reps, and On the second week I'm not able to breeze through as easily as I'd like. Maybe I'm just tired. Maybe I need to intensify my cardio. There's more acid build-up in my muscles than I'd ideally like. I probably shouldn't smoke cigarettes and drink so much on the weekends either :-/

Am I going to have to actually behave like an athlete to meet this goal?

What is "Push Ups for Poetry?"

Push Ups for Poetry is a fundraising project I began on Monday, August 10th 2009. I decided to set a goal for myself: in one month's time be able to complete 100 push ups without taking a break. This is not a herculean task by any stretch of the imagination, but it is also something decidedly difficult for most of us who aren't in solid athletic shape. On my first trial run, I was able to complete 40 push ups in a single set. I will train for the next four weeks, and plan on completing a single set of 100 push ups by the end of that time. All the money raised will then be donated to Poets House, in New York City.

Why a Fundraiser? As I began setting this goal for myself, I started thinking about how I could turn my coming month of effort into something beneficial and productive for a larger community. I decided it would be fun to ask people to pledge on a per-push-up-basis, and promise to pay a final amount upon my completion--much like a charity walk. When I go through my final trial, on Labor Day, those who pledged will pay according to however many push ups I'm able to complete, whether that final number is 50 or 150. So for instance, if you pledge $1 per-push-up, and I'm able to complete 100 push ups, you'll donate $100 to the cause. My goal is to raise $5,000. If I can get 50 people to pledge $1 per-push-up, I can reach this goal--and redeem my faith in humanity at the same time. I need your help!

Why Poets House? I've been following the work at Poets House for almost a decade now, and I've been extraordinarily impressed. They are a well-run foundation, with an exceptional amount of integrity, dedicated to completely archiving new volumes of poetry every year, as well as hosting and producing a variety of events aimed at increasing awareness and appreciation for poetry. In their own words: "Poets House is a national poetry library and literary center that invites poets and the public to step into the living tradition of poetry. Our poetry resources and literary events document the wealth and diversity of modern poetry, and stimulate public dialogue on issues of poetry in culture."

They have just moved into a new location in Battery Park City. Donating now will help ensure that the transition goes smoothly, and that they're able to really take advanatge of everything that this fantastic new space has to offer.

Why Push Ups? Push ups are one of the most basic and most effective exercises for the human body. More importantly, push ups can be performed no matter where you are and they're completey free. You don't need a gym and you don't need any equipment. All you need is your body and the discipline to act. Additionally, I'm really drawn to the idea of using an aggressively physical activity to fundraise for an intensely cerebral cause. I love paradoxes and subversion, and this endeavor works against stereotypes in both directions; one can be big and strong and enjoy reading, or conversely one can be a bookworm and still kick ass.

Who Am I? I'm a poet in my own right, as well as the publisher of a small press called Black Ocean. Although I've always had a large physical stature, I've never really enjoyed team sports or a particularly athletic lifestyle. I indulge in a variety of recreational vices and often find myself lapsing into daydreams of anarchist utopias. Feel free to google my name to see me as other strangers do.

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I'll be updating this blog a few times a week with my progress. Stay tuned for an announcement of exactly where and when I'll be performing my "final trial." If you'd like to donate, just send me an email to: pushupsforpoetry@gmail.com. Donations are made on the honor system because I won't be collecting any money until I've completed my final trial. I'll post updates of theoretical amounts raised, based on the assumption that I'll meet my goal. Please consider pledging even 10 or 25 cents, but if you're in no position to donate at lest help me get the word out and share this information with someone who might be able to contribute!