{"id":15201,"date":"2024-12-23T05:55:11","date_gmt":"2024-12-23T11:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/?post_type=product&p=15201"},"modified":"2025-09-08T06:08:59","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T11:08:59","slug":"what-were-you-thinking","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/what-were-you-thinking\/","title":{"rendered":"What Were You Thinking: Essays 2006\u20132024"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hank Lazer<\/a><\/h2>\n

What Were You Thinking: Essays 2006\u20132024<\/h3>\n

552 Pages \/ Essays
\n978-1-956921-35-9 (pbk. $39.95)\u00a0
\nFebruary 1, 2025 (pre-order available)<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Twenty years of essays (2006-2024) on contemporary poetry and poetics exploring spirituality, ethics, and international perspectives through talks and exchanges in China and Cuba, with interviews exploring Lazer\u2019s innovative poetry and poetics. This is the first collection of Lazer\u2019s essays since Lyric & Spirit<\/em> (2008).\u00a0 What Were You Thinking<\/em> is a companion volume to the simultaneous publication of Abundant Life: New & Selected Poems<\/em> (Chax Press, 2025).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

\u2014From the Foreword by Charles Bernstein:<\/h3>\n

What the devil is the spiritual and why do those who flaunt it do so much to discredit it? Hank Lazer asks the same about the lyric, as part of his quest, in these essays, interviews, and commentaries, to reclaim lyric <\/i>and spirit<\/i> for an active poetics of invention and improvisation. You could also turn this topsy-turvy: Lazer questions the aversion to lyric and spirit in much of the poetry that claims the mantle of the new. In his gentle way, Lazer shows how old hat that can be. In so doing, he shows the \u201cinnovative necessity\u201d (Kathleen Fraser\u2019s phrase) of transvaluing \u201ctransvaluation\u201d: not letting the transgressions of youth become the shibboleths of old age. There is an urgent politics here, in a time where liberalism\u2019s illiberalism haunts our haunts and bedevils our democratic vistas.<\/p>\n

Grace, says Hank. He\u2019s not talking about a benediction before meals or the fact that some are destined to be saved while the rest of us, well, ain\u2019t. Or dear old Grace, the manager of the local General Store. Lazer keeps discovering grace in unlikely places, offering not answers to our metaphysical questions, but a way to carry on, as at a wild party, or while handwriting a poem, or when returning care to a caregiver in the ICU. Grace is present in Hank\u2019s patience, his refusal to be belligerent, his lucid calm (and calm lucidity). And in his commitment to inconstancy\u2014\u201cmirrored in artistic and improvisational activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Lazer, poetry has the capacity to celebrate not<\/i> being present; it offers a way out of the emotional coercion, bordering on sentimentality, that demands presence to authenticate lyricism. Lazer\u2019s poetics advocates being present to the inability to be present; indeed, he values a refusal to be present, even a resistance to presence. He warns that a rhetoric of presence may fall into a trap of naming. As Lazer wryly observes\u2014the demand for lyric presence can be used to exclude what is present in the name of being present<\/i>. For similar reasons, being mindful in poetry, in the sense of putting virtuousness before experience, can be a kind of mindlessness, just as religiosity is a mask of technorationality.<\/p>\n

\n

Table of Contents<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Foreword by Charles Bernstein\b<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a Big Reach:<\/strong>
\nOf Course Poetry Is Difficult \/ Poetry Is Not Difficult
\nAmerican Poetry and Its Institutions in the 21st Century\b
\nGrace, & the Spiritual Reach of Representation\b
\nPoetry and Community: Of Being Numerous, Sometimes<\/p>\n

Jewish Questions:<\/strong>
\nWho or What Is a Jewish-American Poet, with Specific Reference to David Antin, Charles Bernstein, Rachel Blau DuPlessis, and Jerome Rothenberg\b
\nIs There a Distinctive Jewish Poetics? Several? Many? Is There Any Question?\b
\nMaking Jewish\b<\/p>\n

Traveling the Red Road:<\/strong>
\nTwo Recommendations: The Poetry of George Oppen and Larry Eigner (Or, The Peculiarities of the Making of Cross-Cultural Literary History)
\nEthical Criticism and the Challenges Posed by Innovative Poetry\b
\nWriting Poetry That Focuses on the Autobiographical\b
\nThree Meetings with Juan Carlos Flores\b<\/p>\n

Readings:<\/strong>
\nDavid Antin\u2019s Wondrous X-Ray Machine, Radical Coherency: Selected Essays on Art and Literature 1966\u20132005\b
\nSusan M. Schultz\u2019s Dementia Blog: The Poetry of Fact and the Pedagogy of Dementia\b
\nReading John Taggart\u2019s \u201cHenry David Thoreau \/ Sonny Rollins\u201d\b
\na way to stay true to what arises: Gillian Parrish\u2019s of rain and nettles wove\b
\nLissa Wolsak\u2019s Squeezed Light: Collected Poems 1994\u20132005: Thinking of Spirit and Spiritual\b
\nClearly Enigmatic: Glenn Mott\u2019s Analects on a Chinese Screen\b
\nYingelishi: Chanted Songs Beautiful Poetry, Jonathan Stalling\b
\nWelling, Replenishing: Richard Berengarten\u2019s Changing and the I Ching\b
\nLadders of Light: Mei-mei Berssenbrugge\u2019s A Treatise On Stars\b
\n\u201cIts human summary if nothing else\u201d: On Robert Creeley\u2019s On Earth: Last Poems and an Essay\b
\nNorman Fischer\u2019s Nature: Recomposing Emerson\u2019s Nature\b
\nThree Humdingers: Rodger Kamenetz\u2019s The Missing Jew: Poems 1976\u20132022; Rachel Blau DuPlessis\u2019s Selected Poems 1980\u20132020; Gary Snyder\u2019s Collected Poems\b
\nAll Elegy: What Are Poems for in a Destitute Time? \u2014 Joseph Lease\u2019s Fire Season\b<\/p>\n

Interviews & Conversations:<\/strong>
\nMarjorie Perloff Interview with Hank Lazer\b
\n\u201cTalk Show\u201d\u2014Conversation with Glenn Mott\b
\nExchange with Hank Lazer on Thinking in Jewish, N 20\b
\nInterview with Gillian Parrish (Mothership) for SPACECRAFTPROJECT\b<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hank Lazer<\/a>
\n9781956921359
\n“There is an urgent politics here\u2026” \u00a0\u2014Charles Bernstein<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":15203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":true,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[16],"product_tag":[386,478,124,84,70,474,221,18],"class_list":{"0":"post-15201","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-lavender-ink","7":"product_tag-buddhism","8":"product_tag-china","9":"product_tag-cuba","10":"product_tag-essays","11":"product_tag-hank-lazer","12":"product_tag-jewish-studies","13":"product_tag-nonfiction","14":"product_tag-poetry","15":"product_shipping_class-heavy","17":"first","18":"instock","19":"featured","20":"taxable","21":"shipping-taxable","22":"purchasable","23":"product-type-simple","24":"berocket_lgv_grid","25":"berocket_lgv_list_grid"},"yoast_head":"\nWhat Were You Thinking: Essays 2006\u20132024 - Lavender Ink \/ Di\u00e1logos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/what-were-you-thinking\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Were You Thinking: Essays 2006\u20132024 - Lavender Ink \/ Di\u00e1logos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hank Lazer 9781956921359 "There is an urgent politics here\u2026" \u00a0\u2014Charles Bernstein\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/what-were-you-thinking\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lavender Ink \/ Di\u00e1logos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lavenderinkdialogos\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-08T11:08:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/lazer-essays-cover-500.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"950\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@lavender_ink_pr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/what-were-you-thinking\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/what-were-you-thinking\/\",\"name\":\"What Were You Thinking: Essays 2006\u20132024 - Lavender Ink \/ Di\u00e1logos\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/what-were-you-thinking\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/what-were-you-thinking\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/lazer-essays-cover-500.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-23T11:55:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-08T11:08:59+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/what-were-you-thinking\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/what-were-you-thinking\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/what-were-you-thinking\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/lazer-essays-cover-500.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/lazer-essays-cover-500.jpg\",\"width\":700,\"height\":950},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/what-were-you-thinking\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Shop\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"What Were You Thinking: Essays 2006\u20132024\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/\",\"name\":\"Lavender Ink \/ Di\u00e1logos\",\"description\":\"Publisher of Contemporary Poetry and Literary Prose\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Lavender Ink \/ Di\u00e1logos\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/cityscape-800.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/cityscape-800.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":183,\"caption\":\"Lavender Ink \/ Di\u00e1logos\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lavenderinkdialogos\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/lavender_ink_pr\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Were You Thinking: Essays 2006\u20132024 - Lavender Ink \/ Di\u00e1logos","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/what-were-you-thinking\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Were You Thinking: Essays 2006\u20132024 - Lavender Ink \/ Di\u00e1logos","og_description":"Hank Lazer 9781956921359 \"There is an urgent politics here\u2026\" \u00a0\u2014Charles Bernstein","og_url":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/what-were-you-thinking\/","og_site_name":"Lavender Ink \/ Di\u00e1logos","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lavenderinkdialogos\/","article_modified_time":"2025-09-08T11:08:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":700,"height":950,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/lazer-essays-cover-500.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@lavender_ink_pr","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/what-were-you-thinking\/","url":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/what-were-you-thinking\/","name":"What Were You Thinking: Essays 2006\u20132024 - Lavender Ink \/ Di\u00e1logos","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/what-were-you-thinking\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/what-were-you-thinking\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/lazer-essays-cover-500.jpg","datePublished":"2024-12-23T11:55:11+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-08T11:08:59+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/what-were-you-thinking\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/what-were-you-thinking\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/what-were-you-thinking\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/lazer-essays-cover-500.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/lazer-essays-cover-500.jpg","width":700,"height":950},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/what-were-you-thinking\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Shop","item":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/shop\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"What Were You Thinking: Essays 2006\u20132024"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/","name":"Lavender Ink \/ Di\u00e1logos","description":"Publisher of Contemporary Poetry and Literary Prose","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/#organization","name":"Lavender Ink \/ Di\u00e1logos","url":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/cityscape-800.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/cityscape-800.jpg","width":800,"height":183,"caption":"Lavender Ink \/ Di\u00e1logos"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lavenderinkdialogos\/","https:\/\/x.com\/lavender_ink_pr"]}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/15201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/15201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=15201"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=15201"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavenderink.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=15201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}