Two upcoming events to launch In Praise of Copying:

Friday, October 1, 2010, 7 p.m.
In Praise of Copying: A Borgesian Book Launch
at Spoonbill and Sugartown, 218 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211

“Every man should be capable of all ideas, and I believe that in the future he will be.” — Jorge Luis Borges, “Pierre Menard”.

In Praise of Copying, Marcus Boon’s new book from Harvard U.P. makes the bold claim that everything in the universe is a copy, and that that’s a good thing. Join us on Friday October 1 at 7 p.m., to test that theory at the New York launch hosted by the excellent booksellers Spoonbill and Sugartown of Williamsburg. Instead of reading from his book, as is traditionally done at a launch, Boon will read from books selected at random from the copious and wide-ranging shelves of Spoonbill, revealing the secret Borgesian omnipresence of copying in even the most obscure or popular places, recreating the argument of In Praise of Copying using materials found in the store. In other words: by making a copy of his book. Refreshments will be served; discussion encouraged; books signed.

Tuesday, October 12th, 2010, 8 p.m.

This Is Not A Reading Series presents:
Marcus Boon and John Giorno in a creative performance and dialogue
at The Annex Live, 296 Brunswick Avenue, Toronto. $5 cover charge.

For the Toronto launch of In Praise of Copying, I'll be reading and talking with the great New York poet John Giorno, whose work I recently edited.  It's a great honor to be reading with John and an auspicious way to launch my book.  Aside from admiring his mastery of the poetic practice of copying, repetition, montage and other mimetic forms, reading John's work allowed me to see the ways in which Buddhist practice and avant garde techniques and critiques of originality and authorship resonate with each other.  John's also an amazing performer ... it should be a great night!