Debra Di Blasi, Poet
(pronunciation of Di Blasi's name) dee BLAH-see
Di Blasi's mailing address is 5932 Charlotte St., Kansas City, MO 64110, her e.mail address is ddiblasi@earthlink.net.
(affiliations/organizations)
Missouri Arts Council - Literature Panelist
PEN Center USA West - Member
The Authors Guild, Inc. - Member
The Academy of American Poets - Associate Member
The Writers Place - Member
National League of American Pen Women, Westport, MO Branch -
Member Chair, Short Story Committee
publication credits
BOOKS:
* Drought & Say What You Like, novella, New Directions Books: New York, NY. March 1997 - winner Thorpe Menn Book Award
* Prayers of an Accidental Nature, short story collection, Coffee House Press: Minneapolis, MN. May 1999.
* "Gass Pain," hypertext essay (Dalkey Archive Press/The Center for Book Culture, www.centerforthebook.org)
*many published short fiction, articles, essays, reviews
list of works
FICTION
* What the Body Requires (formerly titled Reprise: Reprisal), novel (See AWARDS)
* The Fourth Book, short story collection, in progress
SHORT STORIES
*"Czechoslovakian Rhapsody Sung To The Accompaniment Of Piano." The Iowa Review. December 2000 (See RADIO / AUDIO and PERFORMANCE / INSTALLATION / THEATRE)
* "Blue," "Recollection," and "Exiles." The Prague Review. Winter 2000
*"Snapshots: A Geneology." Show + Tell anthology of Kansas City writers and artists, Potpourri Publications: Kansas City, MO. June 2000
*"The Buck." Potpourri literary journal. Fall 1996
*"Blind." New Letters literary journal. Spring 1996
*"Drowning Hard." Cottonwood literary journal. 1995 anthologized in Moondance e-zine. 1997
*"I Am Telling You Lies." Sou'wester literary journal. 1995
*"Chairman of the Board." TIWA (Themes Interpreted by Writers and Artists) literary and visual arts magazine. 1993 (See RADIO / AUDIO)
*"An Interview With My Husband." New Delta Review. 1991 anthologized in Lovers: Writings By Women, The Crossing Press. 1992. (See AWARDS)
*"Delbert." AENE literary journal. 1991
*"The Season's Condition." Colorado-North Review literary journal. 1990 (See FILM and RADIO / AUDIO)
*"Where All Things Converge." Transfer literary journal. 1989
NONFICTION
*The Way Men Kiss, memoir, in progress
Gass Pain, hypertext, The Center for Book Culture casebook on William H. Gass's The Tunnel, H.L. Hix, editor. November 2000 (www.centerforbookculture.org)
Essays
"Millennium Garden: Paintings by Jim Sajovic." Published in art catalog. September 1999.
"Out of the Garden, Into the Cave." 1997 (See AWARDS)
"What Three Cheers Everywhere Provide." Anthologized in Exposures: Essays By Missouri Women, Woods Colt Press: Kansas City, MO, March 1997 (See AWARDS)
Articles (for SOMA arts magazine: San Francisco, CA)
"We've Got Joe Montana." 1994
"I Am Writing To You From the Middle Of Nowhere." 1990
"James Rosenquist: Seeing/Not Seeing." 1990
"Diamanda Galas: Honesty Inside A Clenched Fist." 1989
"Rising From the Ash Heap of Performance Art, Rinde Eckert Takes Off." 1988
"Otto Hitzberger: Cutting Away." 1987
"Miró." 1987
"Jonathan Barbieri: Missiles Across the Border." 1987
Art Reviews (for The New Art Examiner: Chicago, IL)
"Jane Ashbury." 1985.
"Marilyn Propp." 1984,
SCREENPLAYS / FILM
Screenplays Produced
Drought, 16mm, 28 min. 1998 (premiere) 1993 (written)
Based on the novella of the same title by Debra Di Blasi.
Produced by Breathing Furniture Films/Lisa Moncure & Michael Leen, Screenplay by Debra Di Blasi, Lisa Moncure, Michael Leen, Directed by Lisa Moncure, Photography by Michael Leen, Sound Design by Jim McKee/Earwax Productions, Starring Jessika Cardinahl & Jack Conley, Production esign by Megan Ricks & John Matheson, Editing by Jennifer Jean Cacavas, Radio Program Music by Allen Davis.
SCREENINGS:
o National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC, November 2000
o Ragtag Cinema: Columbia, MO. June 2000
o Universe Elle, as part of the 53rd Cannes International Film Festival: Cannes, France. May 2000
* Broadcast rights purchased by Independent Film Channel. Premiere broadcast November 23, 1999
* Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee: Kansas City, MO. April 1999 (see AWARDS)
o Göteborg Sweden Film Festival: Göteborg, Sweden. Feb. 1999
o Festival Internacional de Cine de Bilbao Spain: Bilbao, Spain. November 1998
o Sao Paulo Mostra Internacional de Cinama: Sao Paulo, Brazil. October 1998
o Figueira da Foz International Festival of Cinema: Lisbon Portugal. September 1998 (See AWARDS)
o Webster University Film Series: St. Louis, MO. September 1999.
o Sarajevo International Film Festival: Sarajevo, Bosnia. August 1998
o Recontres Cinemágraphiques Franco-American D'Avignon, France: Avignon, France. June 1998 (See AWARDS)
o Charlotte Film Festival: Charlotte, NC. June 1998
o Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival: Toronto, Canada. June 1998 (See AWARDS)
o New York/Avignon Film Festival: New York, NY. April-May 1998
o New York Women's Film Festival: New York, NY. April 1998
o Taos Talking Pictures Film Festival: Taos, NM. April 1998 (See AWARDS)
o American Film Institute Film Festival: Los Angeles, CA. World premiere: October 1997
The Season's Condition — Super 8, 10 min.
Based on the short story of the same title by Debra Di Blasi.
Produced and directed by Lisa Moncure, photography by Michael Leen.
SCREENINGS:
o Toronto Film Festival: Toronto, Canada. 1998
o American Film Institute Film Festival: Los Angeles, CA. 1995
o Bay Area Film & Video Poetry Festival: San Francisco, CA. 1994
o Culture Under Fire Film Festival: Kansas City, MO. 1994
Screenplays in Pre-Production
My Father’s Farm, original short documentary in pre-production, based on the essay "Out of the Garden, Into the Cave" by Debra Di Blasi. Produced/written/directed by Debra Di Blasi.
Intruder, short screenplay in pre-production screenplay by Debra Di Blasi. Producer/director Edward Stencel.
Screenplays Unproduced
The Hunger Winter, original feature in progress co-written with historian Hal Wert
The Shortest Route Home, original short screenplay
The Walking Wounded, original feature-length screenplay (See AWARDS)
The Significance of Dreams, original short screenplay
Taming Wild Geese — unproduced original feature-length screenplay
Staring Into The Sun — unproduced original feature-length screenplay
RADIO / AUDIO
Czechoslovakian Rhapsody, radio adaptation from the short story of the same title. Produced by Finnish Broadcasting Corporation (YLE): Helsinki, Finland. Broadcast premiere October 1998
Kansas City Fiction Writers: Vol. 1 — short stories ("The Season's Condition" and "Chairman of the Board") recorded for double CD set, limited edition featuring Kansas City fiction writers. Art Radio: Kansas City, MO. Release date December 1998
Dreamless Dream, radio adaptation from the short stories "Blind," "Stones," and "Our Perversions." Produced by Finnish Broadcasting Corporation: Helsinki, Finland. Broadcast premiere October 1998
An Interview With My Husband — chamber theatre adaptation from the short story of the same title by Debra Di Blasi. Produced and adapted by Stephen Booser, directed by Art Suskin, stage management by Nancy Madsen, premiere at The Writers Place, Kansas City, MO, October 1997
Drought — radio adaptation of the novella of the same title by Debra Di Blasi, produced and adapted by YLE (Finnish Broadcasting Corporation), Helsinki, Finland o broadcast premiere May 1998
PERFORMANCE / EXHIBITIONS / THEATRE
Unbroken View, multimedia installation collaboration with visual artist Sharyn O’Mara assisted by sound designer Chris Willits. Premiere exhibition: Edwin A. Ulrich Museum: Wichita, KS. November 2000-January 2001. Traveling to Juniata Landscape Museum: Juniata, Pennsylvania. September 2001.
Czechoslovakian Rhapsody, multimedia performance based on the short story of the same title by Debra Di Blasi. Written/directed/produced/performed by Debra Di Blasi. Premiere Ragtag Cinema, June 2000
An Interview With My Husband — chamber theatre adaptation from the short story of the same title by Debra Di Blasi. Produced and adapted by Stephen Booser, directed by Art Suskin, stage management by Nancy Madsen, premiere at The Writers Place, Kansas City, MO, October 1997
(where written up)
The New York Times Book Review
*Publishers Weekly
*Book Forum
*ForeWord
*In Print
*The Kansas City Star
many, many others
contemporary poets important to Di Blasi
Louise Gluck
Larry Levis (deceased)
Billy Collins
H.L. Hix
Galway Kinnell
Mark Strand
Marilyn Hacker
many, many others
poets of yesteryear important to Di Blasi
Sylvia Plath
T.S. Eliot
W.B. Yeats
many, many others
critics important to Di Blasi: "Not particularly interested in criticism"
tastes in poetry: "As a fiction writer, I am most fond of narrative poetry, although I enjoy anything brilliant that contains aural lyricism. Content is important only in that it helps illuminate a 'truth' I already know or confronts me with one I have not yet discovered.
impression of contemporary poetry: "Wonderful. The range of styles and voices is a pleasure."
zines, etc., that ought to be listed in the dictionary: "Virtually every serious literary journal that publishes poetry deserves to be on this list."
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