Steel, concrete and poetry: the making of a Bay Area landmark

The Real Estate Value Just Went Up On The Jim Side

Thanks to Alli Warren

Two Heads Testifying

They met with the panel, these high-ranking men.
Bush the President and Cheney, with the smirk of a grin.
They haggled for months about this event.
Finally to a meeting they would consent.
We’ll come they said but only both at once.
I guess two heads are better than a dunce.
We aren’t under oath; there’ll be no recorders
We are the President and those are the orders!

Thursday News & Poetry Bits

Flying Saucer Fever Grips Iran - but no Cup sightings reported. Of course this leads me to the poem by Charles Bukowski - aliens

Bush and Cheney testify before the 9-11 panel today. Likely conclusion... Two heads are not necessarily better than one. Speaking of which here.

Surfing Blogs, I noted this - from Dean

Ode To Poets

Just a few Bits....

Yes, it is still poetry month, but...
Poetry In a Malicious Worm - Who would have thought?

Pitcher with touch of a poet Ok, I'm going to have to start reading both his stats and his work.

MIT Grad Finds Poetry in Mother's Schizophrenia

I found this interesting news bit: Nobel laureate warns on anti-Semitism This struck me as interesting at the same time I see reports AP reports: Police gunned down machete-wielding militants who stormed security outposts in Thailand's Muslim-dominated south Wednesday, killing at least 112 people in one of the bloodiest days in the Southeast Asian kingdom.

And the it also reports: It was one of the heaviest battles with the militia as U.S. troops try to increase the pressure on gunmen loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. There is a lot of hatred amassed around religious diversity these days. I realize there is a lot of religion that people cling to for purposes that don't seem to meet the fundamental principals of the religious core beliefs. There is such hate and misunderstanding that emanates from all this. **stepping off my soap box**

foam:e - first issue is posted

Check it out folks... here

Reading & Submissions Make for Busy Three days

Since Saturday, I've been a bit busy with poetry. Saturday I got two poems for the Missouri State Poetry Society Anthology. Sunday, there was the Northland Writers group meeting at Maple Woods College, I also successfully got off three poems for the Telling Tree Anthology. And then yesterday ( Monday ) there was a reading at the Writers Place.

I read four poems last night. Cerebral Cobwebs, To Emily and Her Friends, Outsiders and Train Ride. There was a good contingency from the Northland Writers - who have adoptied me since I don't live in the Northland but clear over on the edge of hell. Why they tolerate me I'm not sure. I think they don't get out much ** smile**

There were some very strong readings last night and some of us will do it again on Wednesday night at the Barnes & Nobel in Northland. The busy times have been great though. Hey, it keeps me out of trouble.

I even got home last night early enough to catch the last couple innings of w west cost game between my SF Giants and the Braves. The Giants have been hurting this season **sigh** but they pulled off a 3-2 win last night! Yeah!

The Dover Test

Couple of days ago, my post here touched on this subject. I found the "Dover Test" to be something I recommend everyone read. It seems to address well a fundamental concept about war that President Bush fails to understand. It is about the clash between an informed public and a visceral desire to limit knowledge for fear of the consequences. It begs to ask the question, Who here really can't handle the truth?

Saturday Night Notes

Just got home from a Percussion Explosion concert at my daughters High School. Talk about some high energy. It was a very enjoyable break from some writing I have been working on this evening. I'm back to do a post here and have my coffee cup ready to help me tackle more writing after this post.


Jilly has exciting news. Actually she's had a fair share of good things happening lately.


With that I'll share the following poem by W.H Auden

The More Loving One

Ted Hughes Collected Poems

Book Review
'Collected Poems': The full spectrum of Ted Hughes - By Sheila Farr

The Cost

From an earlier post last year I wrote...


Blinders
"What you don't see won't hurt you"
I've heard it said before,
And so they've added blinders.
What can the dead do anyway?

© 2003 Michael A. Wells



The following pictures have become available

Pictures Bush did not want you to see

What is Left Behind?

"No Child Left Behind" is a wonderful slogan. As far as slogans go. The images it instills in the mind are positive ones. I think of a house on fire with a parent, neighbor or fireman rushing into a smoke filled room to save a child. Or parents going on a weekend get-away, but being thoughtful enough to think junior is just as deserving of a mini-vacation from the drudgery of the world as they are.

In education, which is where this phrase has been hitched to since President Bush declared this to be a goal of his administration, the concept is laudable. Beyond conceptualization, how is this country doing with respect to the president's goal? Michael Dobbs, a Washington Post Staff Writer has looked at this program and it's impact on education.

While the program has focused on achievement by students and creating a system of accountability within the education system itself, the impact is far reaching in some instances with respect to traditional curriculum. While the stated objective of every student in the country achieving proficiency in reading and math by 2014, it has impacted some schools by causing the elimination for instance of some arts, foreign language and physical education classes.

I recommend reading Michael Dobbs article on this subject.

In Volusia County Florida, the School Board is faced with the loss of $626,145 from their academic budget. See Linda Trimble's article from the Daytona Beach News- Journal about the impact of No Child Left Behind in this district.

Has the President adequately funded No Child Left Behind? See one view here.

This view, by Mary Cohen, U.S. Department of Educations - "American students probably won't reach 100 percent proficiency in core subjects by 2014 as required by the No Child Left Behind Act, but they'll be closer than if the law weren't in place." presented in this Kansas City Star article.

Are we simply leaving behind old ways? Are we better off by focusing on reading and math in early education? What is lost by discarding broader education curriculums and paring back to focus on an objective with a 10 year timeline. One that as Mary Cohen states we probably will not reach.

[untitled]

Gun on a plane
Hysteria in the clip
Gun on front page
Hysteria in ink
Blood blotted newsprint
Soaking into non-fiction pulp
A frenzy feeding hunger, contrary to
Sign at the airport- Please,
Do not feed the frenzy.
Starve it
Let the frenzy die of natural causes
Slow
Of complacency;
Don't upset the animals

Captive Tuesday Morning

Air thick with anticipation of more rain.
Morning offering little
In the way of welcome or hope.
Like a hold over from a rainy night
It just exists without permission,
Without apology and
Allows me no arbitration in the matter.

FYI

My Bloginality is ESFP!!!

Subliminals

You say... I think

1. Virginia:: ham
   
2. Soft:: ball
   
3. Carol:: Channing
   
4. Vanity:: Carol King
   
5. Feminist:: Gloria
   
6. Alias:: crook
   
7. Coward:: Bush
   
8. Beer:: Bud
   
9. Chance:: drawing
   
10. Honest:: Abe
    

A Toast To Emily

They lift a glass to Emily...

Other Talent Spotted

To Emily and Her Friends

I'd like to be one
of your friends and maybe
from a distance I will.

You don't seem the "snob" poet type-
just a whole lot better than present company.
I can't really hold that against you.

But how did you do it?
bottled up inside so often
away; far far away
yet with such passion and flavor
did you spike the language that we taste,
savor
and still are clueless to your recipe.

You seemed to live life to the fullest
in such a solitude
yet you bore your soul open
like bare breasts for all to see
and they were different from the rest.

You spoke of death with the authority
of one who has been on that side
still your words live in the tender
and the most sensual sides of life.

I might just be your friend too;
from a distance.

Those Pesky News People

Take That! the Republicans said in reply....

What is the aversion the GOP has to constitutionally protected rights?

The Missouri House Republicans have become such an embarrassment to the people in this state.

More on Plath

"Damn, she could write." THOR KAH HOONG discusses his avoidance of Sylvia Plath's journals. His Master's project was Plath. He expresses gratitude that the journals had not been published at the time of his project or he would have been "paralysed (sic) with the effort of absorbing all the material in the journals and slotting them into my Grand Illusion."

Note: I am presently reading her Journals. Along with Letters Home, they make a most interesting compendiumm to her work.

Bonds Ties Willie Mays

660 - this is poetry.

Monday afternoon... count me among the living

Somewhere between the early morning of Saturday and mid-day, I became convinced that I was sick. Sinus drainage, horrible sore throat and congested chest. Followed by fever. I went down for the count Saturday and all day Easter Sunday as well. I am feeling better today, but I did take time off work to recuperate. I should be back tomorrow.

This put a end to most everything this weekend. Almost no reading. I didn't even feel like reading for pleasure. No writing. Mostly did medicine, fluids and sleeping. I truly hate being sick. Last year, I had a couple long bouts that I like to never got over. I'm hopeful this one is behind me.

Saturday Segments

Check out A Poetry Free Presidency by Salon.com and the Poet Spy from the Baltimore Sun.

Aimee is talking Hot Seat

Cassie wears me out! Is the girl ever gonna settle down?

and last but not least, watch out for people stilling poems!

Reading Poetry - one poem at a time...

This month, I've tried mixing my reading of poetry a bit. In past, I've often picked out a poet I like or think I'm going to like and read a number of poem by that poet. I am trying to broaden my contact with individual poets as much as I am with the poems themselves. So far I think the experience has been rewarding. When I have a little more time this weekend I'll try and provide an example of some of the range I am talking about.

I am curious how may others have tried to incorporate something different than normal into their day as a result of poetry month. Is this just another of those specially designated months that means little to you and changes nothing?

AMY GERSTLER

Fuck You Poem # 45


A Blessing and A Curse


A couple more in celebration of National Poetry Month

Subliminals

1. Condemn:: sentence
   
2. Promiscuous:: active
   
3. Pro-life:: voter
   
4. Mona Lisa:: smiles
   
5. Crown:: jewels
   
6. Mumble:: under breath
   
7. Hack:: chop
   
8. Diet:: coke
   
9. Introduction:: forward
   
10. Latin America:: Latino
    

Baseball and Writing

Baseball and Writing by Marianne Moore

Check Out Aimee's Watermelons

Oh get your mind out of the gutter! :)

It's a poem!

Two North Carolina Poets - Reading & Book Signing

Shelby Stephenson and Nancy T. King the featured poets.

Sex With A Famous Poet

As part of my own advise to share poems you like with others, this Denise Duhamel poem I ran across a couple of weeks ago is one I like - thought others might enjoy it too!

Sex With A Famous Poet

Robert Bly & Naomi Shihab Nye - Appearing together at reading

April 13th - in Austin, TX
Poetry reading of Rumi, with Naomi Shihab Nye.
Contact: Farid Mohammadi, poetry10@juno.com


Wow, I've had the pleasure of seeing them both separately. This should be delicious!

What Poetry Can Do For You

Diane Cameron from the Christian Science Monitor writes What Poetry Can Do For You

Issue # 3 of Plum Ruby Review is Up - check it out

National Poetry Month.... Things to do

Poetry Month (April) began in 1996. It is a way for us to being Poetry into focus.

The Academy of American Poets has an online almanac with 365 ideas and things to do related to poetry. Check out the Bob Minzesheimer piece from USA TODAY.

Poetry Almanac

Sick Poet urges you to embrace this month as a way to enrich your own life and that of others by sharing poetry with your friends.

1. recommend a good poetry book to a friend
2. share a favorite poem
3. send a poem you wrote to someone on a post card (even the postman will likely read it)
4. try writing in a different style than usual
5. write a poem in the persona of someone else - different gender, age, race, economic status
6. attend a local poetry reading - take a friend
7. if you can't find a local reading, invite some friends over and have a reading of your own.

these are just a few suggestions - i'm sure you may be able to come up with others

stop and smell the metaphors

"It is difficult / to get the news from poems / yet men die miserably every day / for lack / of what is found there." - Carlos Williams

Creativity

"The creative artist seems to be almost the only kind of man that you could never meet on neutral ground. You can only meet him as an artist. He sees nothing objectively because his own ego is always in the foreground of every picture." --Raymond Chandler

Interesting remarks from the novelist Raymond Chandler... Ego? Do creative people really possess such things? :)

Jilly Dybka - "Express Yourself"

When I decided a while back to take a break form my top five blogs of the week list, I did so with the thought in mind of featuring a few select interviews with individuals whom write with special emphasis given to those writing poetry.

The first interview with Katey Nicosia went over so well, I no longer questioned if I made the right decision. It was only natural to move to the next person on my list. I was fortunate enough to once again select a willing participant.

My feature interview is with Jilly Dybka. She is a most intriguing suspect for an interview. This very balanced woman who has a career that is technical, yet has the expressive ability to write poetry. Grew up in a diner and has been exposed to people all over the world via ham radio communications, yet is right at home in an American ballpark. Folks, this is culture!

Jilly caught my eye with her occasional references to baseball on her blog along with of course poetry. This told me we were dealing with my kind of person. Her blog The Poetry Hut continually offers a wide variety of informational links that feed my incredible hunger of odd stuff related to poetry.

While Jilly seldom features her own poetry directly on her blog, I have also had an opportunity to see some of Jilly’s baseball sonnets. Let’s say they are like therapy to a fan in an off season crisis mode. Fortunately April is fast approaching. Perhaps that makes this interview all the more fitting. I hope you will enjoy learning a little more about Jilly Dybka, just as I have.

Interview Of Jilly Dybka by Michael Wells – March 2004



SP: Jill, Tell me a little about what you do for a living. I'm under the impression you are in the technology field. Am I right?

JILLY: Yep. I work as the computer systems administrator and webmaster for a non-profit honorific scientific organization. The members of the organization study the brain and invent things like Prozac. Ironic kind of, because I'm a consumer of those drugs since I have schizoaffective disorder.



SP: You have a MFA in Creative Writing from Queens University of Charlotte, N.C. I'm interested in how well you feel the program there prepared you for writing?

JILLY: I just began the program but so far it has really helped my editorial/revision process a lot. I can self-edit better already. I have a much more critical eye. I was reluctant to do an MFA because I was afraid it might change my voice or turn me into a cookie-cutter overly workshopped writer. Vanilla. My fears were unjustified. I have another year to go. I picked that program because of the low-residency requirements and price. But I have been overwhelmed by the quality of the instructors and of my peers.



SP: I see that your works have been published or in some cases are about to be in a number of literary reviews. Two notably in issues Spitball and another in Elysian Fields Quarterly. Being a baseball fan and historian of sorts myself, I was interested in your selection of baseball as a topic. Are you an avid fan yourself?

JILLY: Yes, I love baseball. I root for the local minor league team (the Nashville Sounds--first in our division last year!) and try to see as many games as possible at the ballpark. Just a couple more weeks until opening day! I love baseball literature and those 2 literary magazines in particular. My baseball sonnet chapbook is currently in revision mode. When it's done I'll try to foist it on a publisher. I have no interest in any other sport, strangely enough. Baseball is so lyrical.

SP: You grew up in a family that owned a Drive-in Restaurant. Did you carhop?

JILLY: By the time I came along (I'll be 37 this year) the drive-up part was not happening anymore but the inside portion of the restaurant with the counter and booths was still operational. So I started working there when I was a kid, like the rest of my siblings.

SP: How has the family Drive-in influenced you life?

JILLY: I had a public childhood with all kinds of unique characters who were our regular customers. It was kind of a hang out for horse track people. Betters, bookies, etc. My mom used to have all-night poker games. So it gave me a real affinity for the odd I think. At least that's the best explanation I can come up with for my strong affinity for the odd.


SP: Has this given you any opportunity in your writing to develop characters from such real life experiences?

JILLY: That is a good question because I've written a couple poems about some of the people and the poems came out kind of flat. :( But I think my experiences will always be there to draw upon whenever I am ready.

SP: You are into ham radio. What is that all about? Tell me a little about how that got started and what it means to you. Have you written anything that has been inspired by this?

JILLY: I'm fairly obsessed with radio. I'm a ham radio operator and fluent in morse code, which I send with an old WWII telegraph key. My husband's former boss, Chet Atkins, taught me morse code. Chet was an amateur radio operator and had a ham radio in his kitchen. I think it is so cool that you can communicate with the other side of the world with like 50 watts of power and a piece of wire, bouncing your signals off of the sky. I've written a couple radio villanelles. My call sign is KF4ZEO.

SP: Great quote in your blog the other day... "My husband is a jazz musician. I write poetry. The average American could care less about jazz. The average American could care less about poetry. I think we are screwed. But we are having fun." Is fun what you wanted or do you feel you have to settle for it?

JILLY: I think a creative life is what I wanted and the fun is in the creating. And it is a shame that the end result--be it a jazz song or a poem--is not appreciated by the average American. It's about the process for me, the writing. Self-expression. Playing with words. It's neat that you get a poem or a song at the end though. Too bad only a few other poets will read it and that’s it.

SP: What's it like having two artists in the same household? Tell me about how each of you impact the other's work.

JILLY: We stay out of each other's hair. My husband Darryl is not into words. That's fine. He is purely instrumental. I was a musician too when we met but after we married I decided to go into the computer field. I didn't want to be struggling the rest of my life. No regrets. My day job gives me the security and leisure time to write and my genius musician hubby can do music all the time. :)

SP: Outside of your family, who has had the most influence on your writing and in what way?

JILLY: Dr. Seuss taught me exuberance for language, rhyme and the unusual.

SP: So this passion came at a pretty early age?

JILLY: My first word was book. So, yeah.


SP: Your AIM name is DetroitHaiku. You live in the south. Were educated in the south. That seems like a story just begging to be told.

JILLY: I grew up in Dearborn Heights Michigan and moved to Nashville after I married in 1990. My mom is from Chattanooga TN so I'm only 1/2 yankee though. I love the South. The people, the food, the pace, the language. I do miss snow though.

SP: I'm curious about your fascination with Anna Akmatova. A friend gave me a book of her poems in 1988. The marvelous Jane Kenyon translations. I was hooked by her clean, clear verse. Then I read about her life and became kind of obsessed for a while. I studied Russian one summer with a refugee so I could try to read Akhmatova in the original. I did manage to get through one simple Akhmatova poem in Russian and I was thrilled.

SP: Who in your view, are the five most significant poets of the last fifty years? Why?

JILLY: I don't think I'm well-read or smart enough to answer this question properly. I'm not very scholarly about the craft, sorry. In fact, I'm pretty stupid about things like that. I hate reviewing. I hate theory. THAT is the part of the craft that gives me angst. Blah. That’s why I don’t want to teach after I get my MFA. Why is writing in form the Reaganomics of poetry? Why is writing in form misogynistic and patriarchal? It’s all just a bunch of puffed-up crap. The actual writing part is all I’m about haha. I’m not at all antsy when I write and it isn’t just because I’m medicated haha. It’s not at all discomforting or painful. It’s very liberating and fun. That’s why I like writing in form. It’s fun like doing a puzzle.

SP: Let me take this a little different direction then. Who are some of your favorite poets to read?

JILLY: Akhmatova, RS Gwynn, Gwendolyn Brooks, Wislawa Szymborska, and Dr. Seuss.

SP: What has blogging meant to you as a writer? What impact do you think blogging has had on traditional print venues?

JILLY: I think blogging has loosened me up. When I post poems on the blog they are usually first drafts. My ego wouldn't have allowed that before. There's less of an attachment there. Also, Mike Snider at the Sonnetarium recommended R.S. Gwynn to me. I picked up some of his books and Gwynn is now my favorite living poet. That’s pretty strong blogging stuff. Well, the New Criterion has a blog. That tells you something right there.

SP: Your best written work... tell me about it. What is it and what do you think makes it your best? Tell me about your writing style. What do you think best describes it?

JILLY: Well hopefully my best written work is still ahead of me. But I like my sideshow sonnets. And judging from the number of rejections that the book manuscript has gotten so far (28), I am one of the few, haha. I do irony and humor and form well, from what I've been told. I've only been writing seriously for about 3 years. I dabbled before that. Then when I came down with mental illness and got put on medication pow! I couldn't stop writing. I’m studying with Cathy Smith Bowers this semester and she says my poems are quirky.

SP: Quirky? How so?

JILLY: I think it is because I write about unusual subjects. I guess this is an example. I have a poem coming out in Michigan Quarterly Review called "The Retired Vietnam Munitions Loader Attempts to Open a Can of Biscuits."

SP: As to the medication, I take it you believe it impacts your writing... more prolific? Better? How do you see it impacting your work?

JILLY: Well more prolific for sure. The medication really calms my mind so I can have clear thoughts instead just a jumble of many thoughts swirling around. So that helps me write.

SP: Your recent blogging link to The Atlantic online book review by Christina Nehring on Sylvia Plath caught my eye. Plath has been in the news a great deal lately, I suppose mainly in the aftermath of the movie Sylvia. In your opinion, how do you think Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes would be viewed today had Sylvia not chosen to end her life?

JILLY: It's funny, when I went to England in '92 to see my brother graduate from Oxford I went to a bookstore to see what they had in the "American Literature" section and it seemed like half was Mark Twain and half was Sylvia Plath. I found that to be peculiar. Sylvia would be on Zoloft. She’d be a happy blue dot.

SP: Are poets really screwed? Is there hope for us? If we are, why should we trudge on, doing what we do?

JILLY: I think poets are screwed in a way because we don’t have much of an audience. And most of our audience is made up of fellow poets. The average person at Wal-Mart doesn’t subscribe to a literary magazine. My neighbors here in Kingston Springs Tennessee probably don’t subscribe. (Though my mailman has written a couple novels and given me the drafts!) It’s mostly other writers from what I can see. But so what? Have fun with your writing. Play your jazz. Express yourself. Just don’t expect to make any money from it haha.

SP: You are a member of the National Writer's Union and the Tennessee Writers Alliance. How have you benefited from these organizations. What would you tell other writers who might be curious about their value to the trade.

JILLY: Well frankly, these organizations don’t do much for me, unfortunately. I’m a member of the Writer’s Union because I’m into the labor movement and think that’s important to do. It’s just a personal ideology. Probably growing up in Detroit had something to do with this. The Tennessee Writers Alliance is trying hard I think, but also hasn’t offered much for me personally. They do have a good poetry contest every year. I probably won’t renew my membership to the latter. 16. How do you feel about poets addressing social or political concerns with their work? I’m all for it, if that’s their thing. I’m political, I will be in the big March 20 antiwar demonstration but I haven’t written much political poetry. I guess I don’t think I have anything unique to say about it.

SP: Where would you like to see yourself and your work in five years?

JILLY: 5 years from now I hope to have a book or 2 published.

SP: Fifteen?

JILLY: 15 years from now I hope to be retired early, mortgage paid off, writing, writing, writing.

SP: One last question… I'm always interested in what people are reading these days. What have you read lately (or are reading now) and tell us if you would or would not recommend it and why?

JILLY: I'm reading a bunch of stuff for school right now and I recommend it all, really. Haven't got to any clunkers yet. A lot of anthologies. One in particular shows the processes our poems go through once we send them off with a SASE. It's called Spreading the Word: Editors on Poetry. A book I've read recently not for school is American Western Song by Victor W. Pearn. I really like his poems.

SP: That wraps up our interview with Jilly Dykka. Jilly, thanks again for the opportunity to interview you.

JILLY: Thank you Michael. I visit your blog all the time. :)


Interview by Michael A Wells / Stickpoetsuperhero

Baseball & Poetics

Rose - Selig - Steinbrenner There is a threesome for you. I enjoyed this little ditty.

Baseball and Poetry seem such a naturally entwined pair to me.

Subliminals

You say ~ I reply

1. Pitbull:: vicious
   
2. TD:: touchdown
   
3. Carter:: President
   
4. Japan:: Orient
   
5. 50:: Golden
   
6. Streak:: hitting
   
7. Rifle:: NRA
   
8. Trap:: mouse
   
9. Easter:: resurrection
   
10. Mitt:: glove
    

Play Ball

Like a horse before a race:
Jumpy ahead of the starting gate.
I can already smell the fresh cut grass
And hot dogs. Hear the crack of the bat.
I want it all so badly I can taste it,
Hear it, smell it... Is it April yet?

No Name Required

Tinkering with volumes of frustration
harnessing to positive end
no?
molecular checkmate
unable to graft new branch
old one no longer palatable
hyper aggressive outburst
to no help
disabling emission of hot air
heavy sigh

Against All Enemies

The book by Richard Clarke which is getting so much attention in light of the 9-11 hearings.

Subliminals

1. Wife:: partner
   
2. Criminal:: crook
   
3. Campaign:: election
   
4. Infection:: disease
   
5. Portland:: rain
   
6. NASCAR:: rednick
   
7. IMAX:: show
   
8. Martian:: Marty
   
9. Nike:: shoe
   
10. Trial:: Monkey
    

Go ahead...

I am infinity You may worship me, but from afar _

what number are you?

this quiz by orsa

Laudable Goal

The new poet laureate of Illinois has big ideas. Perhaps too big, but I can't fault him for that or for efforts to transform those ideas into a proactivism towards the lofty goal he has set.

Kevin Stein is the fourth poet laureate in the history of Illinois. Two of those predecessors, Carl Sandburg and Gwendolyn Brooks. Big shoes to follow in. Yet Stein talks of I want people to be able to look at something tangible," Stein says.

Stein would like to win over a whole slew of people who never read poetry before - or who read it and didn't like it. "That's the goal," according to Stein.

I'm not sure how one accomplishes this. It seem as tricky as leading a horse to water who has no desire to drink.

This has caused me to wonder, is there a phobia of poetry? I mean like by name. And is this an issue with many people.

I'm thinking that most who don't like poetry have simply not read anything that clicked with their interest. When confronted with it, they are predisposed to automatically reject an open mind. I suppose it is no different than my attitude towards broccoli.

At any rate... I wish Kevin Stein much success.

Feature Interview This Week - Jilly Dybka

Jilly Dybka - who blogs The Poetry Hut is the subject of an interview I'm putting the final touches on and will hopefully get posted this week. You won't want to miss this one. Trust me... Jilly is a very interesting individual. I have enjoyed her blog for some time now. Check back daily ... Don't miss it!

undesired thought

woke this morning
sleep implied
dream
recurring theme
disturbing
brush aside
meet the day head on
lingering notion
pricks my mind

Coming Soon - Stick Poet Interview

I am presently working on my next poetry interview. I hope to wrap of the editing and be ready to post it soon. I'll be announcing the subject of this interview on Tuesday. I have to tell you I have enjoyed this interview. The person I've chosen is quite interesting and has what I believe is a very balanced and interesting set of life-interests.

It should be ready to post sometime this week if all goes well so stay tuned. Tuesday I'll let the cat out of the bag. Oh come on, I have to build a little excitement.

The Doctor is in...

Your Energy is Purple. You are a visionary with
unmatched intuition and spiritual
consciousness. The mystical world and
unexplainable forces fascinate you. There
resides in you a true dignity and nobility, and
others see you as a worthy leader, and loyal
friend. You are often very mature, with a deep
understanding of human nature, and you will
instinctively encourage and guide others toward
their full potential.

You find it natural to express yourself
aesthetically and artistically, you may be
involved in the artistic professions, a
religious organization, or in activities that
have a degree of ceremony and ritual. You would
make a good therapist, healer, psychic, or
entrepreneur.


What color is your energy?
brought to you by Quizilla

It's A Crime Against Nature....

Michaela Cooper brings us this ditty. It may not look like it, but it is the 21st Century in Rhea County Tennessee where the County Commissioners voted 8-0 to request that lawmakers to amend state law so the county can charge homosexuals with crimes against nature.
This is the county which held the famous Monkey trial. Whoa... am I awake?

Happy St. Patrick's Day

To the Irish... "Happy St. Patrick's Day" and to those who are just a wee-bit Irish today, well "Happy wee-bit day too!"

I attended a reading last night of Gloria Vando. This was not my first and hopefully there will be many others. The lady is sensational. Not only her written work, I especially enjoy her delivery when reading. Gloria has a soft-spoken but firm voice that carries her work well. She enunciates with such force and her way of intertwining the English language with Porto Rican and other Latin words is soothing to the ears.

Also reading, was Philip Miller. His reading was enjoyable. I like his written work as well. His delivery was strong and enjoyable.

Gloria Vando Tomorrow

Gloria is a wonderful local poet that has a reputation that goes well beyond the Kansas City area. She can be seen tomorrow evening....

March 16, Gloria Vando & Phil Miller: Reading, The Writers Place Reading Series, Johnson County Resource Library, 9875 West 87th Street, Overland Park, KS, 7:00 p.m.

check her site here

Robert Bly Appearance This Month in New York

March 26-27 New York, NY

Poetry reading of new poems, NY Open Center, 83 Spring St., Friday, 8 p.m. Workshop on the state of American culture today, NY Open Center, Saturday, 10-4. -- Contact: Adele Heyman, 212/219-2527, ext. 126

Yep!

What cartoon dog are you?

Brought to you by the good folks at sacwriters.com.

Life is being written...

Are your pages blank?

Subliminals

You say........... I say

1. Dogma:: tripe
   
2. Spirit:: ghost
   
3. Voodoo:: needles
   
4. Demon:: devil
   
5. Digital:: clock
   
6. Ceremony:: wedding
   
7. Research:: project
   
8. Career:: path
   
9. Penis:: dick
   
10. Film:: flick
    

Write On!

If I die, I hope to go with my head on that typewriter. It's my battlefield. -- Charles Bukowski

Bush - Motherhood - Apple Pie and All That Is Good

In the next few days - the would be Presidential Poet will try to conjure up images that will underscore his campaign for reelection. His war chest of $150 million (conservatively) will be unleashed on voters in some 17 targeted states.

The ads will feature firefighters and footage from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Bush is set to define the election in terms of this event that has had a profound impact on this nation in the past three years.

Clearly the Bush message is to try to focus on a broad theme. Security, American values (patriotism) and of course family values. The "I'm trying to do what is right for America" approach.

Broader rhetoric to detract from the specifics of economic issues, foreign policy blunders, environmental mismanagement and rights violations.

Hands on your hearts and wrap yourself in red-white-blue if you want to get aboard the G.W. Bush Express -- now departing for the November election in a state near you.

Papal Poetry - Big Hit

Pope John Paul II - is a published poet - his work first published in 2003. Sales topped 300,000 in his native Poland and publication has been expanded as a million copies has been now been published in 20 languages.

More on the pontifical poetry here.

Source of Art

"All art is a previous distortion..." This from Michael Bogue at Almost Successful.

I understand where Bogue is going with this and I disagree. Sure, I'll give him that much that is produced as art, be it music, literature, painting, sculpture, etc. has some inspiration. Is it all? I don't know... I suppose, but more importantly I don't believe it makes any difference to his arguement of copyright protection.

Those who object for instance, to the cost of CD's today have every right to. I will admit I believe most are well overpriced. The issue however is not copyright laws but the free market and as long as people are willing to pay these prices, that is what the market will bring. Those who mistake copyright protections for the effects of free market economy be warned... weakening copyright laws as a way to to produce lower pricing will only harm the broader art community.

Sardonic Verses

Literary Magazines

Very Timely Book....

Learn how the United States via the CIA's Central Asian missions helped pave the way for Osama bin Laden in the book by Steve Coll.

First Monthly Newsletter of Stick Poet Super Hero Will Be Out Next Week

Sign up in the yellow box (upper Left) to receive the monthly on line newsletter of Stick Poet Super Hero.

Three Days! Three Cheers!

Jilly is into day three as a non-smoker. Pop over to her blog and give her some encouragement!

Monday Mania....

Being the ROBERT BLY fan that I am - Jilly gets kudos for this link

Thanks Cassie for your evening ocean experience.


It's not the ball silly.... It's the goat! You can't change it. The baseball Gods are fickle. Oh man... I am so in need of opening day!!!



Awaking this morning, I was delighted to find that the sun seemed to invade my life a bit earlier. Light deprivation is such drag. The warm sun reminded me too that baseball is coming!

I owe this link to Katey

You're The Sound and the Fury!

by William Faulkner

Strong-willed but deeply confused, you are trying to come to grips
with a major crisis in your life. You can see many different perspectives on the issue,
but you're mostly overwhelmed with despair at what you've lost. People often have a hard
time understanding you, but they have some vague sense that you must be brilliant
anyway. Ultimately, you signify nothing.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

file folder

It crept across my desk
during the day
flopped on the floor
defied my hands once
surrendered
then in contumacy
sliced
and drew blood
for that I filed it away
in the dark file cabnet
under "S" for stay

My Birthday Star

Click here

Hypergraphia

Perhaps more then you wanted to know... Thanks Jilly

Patriots Act & Privacy Protection

Thanks Crystal for this link to take action to protect our rights and liberties.

Inside The Times

Michaela Cooper takes a slice out of our world and dishes up this really ostentatious piece. I especially like the way she has multi-layered throughout it.

You should be doing this stuff more often! [stepping off my soap box]

Katey Nicosia - Up and Coming Poet

If you have been a reader of Stick Poet Super Hero for any length of time, Katey Nicosia likely needs no introduction to you. She has been the winner of the Stick Poet Top Five Weekly Blogs more often than any other poetry blogger. In fact her blog One Good Bumblebee (formerly Chewing On Pencils) reigned at the Number One spot for five straight weeks.

Katey is a Texan. A young energetic woman who hardly shows any restraint of her high energy level when it comes to writing.

One of the reasons Katey's blog has continually ranked so high on my list is the excellent mixture of personal poetic works, serious discussion of poetics and a number of entertaining links that just allow for plain old enjoyment.

She is refreshingly honest and open. This made my task of interviewing her very easy.

It is my hope to bring you a series of interviews over the next few months. No all will necessarily be bloggers. They will all have some connection to poetry or writing in general. It seemed to me selecting Katey for the first interview was a no brainer. I hope you find it as interesting to read as I did to put together.

Interview of February 2004 with Katey Nicosia:

SP: First off, I'd like to ask you what initially sparked your interest and love of poetry? I assume you love it, it would seem like it has become a major force in your life.

KATEY: I've always enjoyed creating things, and I've always been in love with words, but the actual writing of poetry never occurred to me until college when I enrolled in a creative writing class and was forced to write it. Immediately, I fell in love with the medium of words and being able to shape something with language. The tangible, yet simultaneously intangible aspect of poetry fascinated me.

SP: Any particular individuals really push or direct you in this regard?

KATEY: My father is a photographer, and there's a very strange connection between photography and poetry...the quick capture of a moment, an image, and so, I think that relationship also pushed me into the mysterious realm of poetry. I ended up taking an advanced creative writing class which was formatted much the same way as a workshop, and all we did was write poems. At the end of the semester my professor asked me if I was planning on applying to graduate schools, and he encouraged me to do so. That's when I started taking writing more seriously. He is the one person that really pressed me and urged me to pursue poetry, and I have ever since.

SP: And how long have you been seriously writing?

KATEY: I've been writing seriously for about 2 1/2 years. I'm still a newborn!



SP: I'd like to know a little about the process you go through to get a poem from your head to a piece of paper. That would include rewrites. Do you tend to stick with one piece through the various drafts till complete, or do you keep coming back over a period of time? Try and walk me through your normal writing process. What do you think is the longest you spent on a single piece of poetry?



KATEY: OK...here's how it goes: First of all, I never "plan" to write, because the second I tell myself, "I'm going to sit down and write a poem right now," I lock up and can't write at all. There's too much pressure in that for me. I usually just sit at my computer and write. Most of the time I write in paragraphs and then craft them into lines...into a poem, because when I write, I don’t like to think about anything but moving my fingers. There are really three parts of creating a poem. The first is what I usually call "the explosion," where I just type whatever is in my head. The second part is the crafting of the explosion...this is the part that requires the most focus, it requires that zone, that frame of mind in which I forget where I am and all I know is the poem. There's a type of tunnel vision involved, it seems. This is the part where I figure out what the poem is trying to do, and where it wants to go. Then when I'm finished with the second part I usually get the poem critiqued by one of my poet-friends, which is a very important part of the process for me. Then comes the third part, which is revision...where I fix things. I change words or clean up line breaks. I switch up the perspective or change the title. I fine-tune the poem. Then, I send it off to publishers. But a poem is never finished for me...there are too many choices and too many paths in creating a poem to say that a poem is finished. However, I usually consider a poem finished if someone I admire says it's perfect (but that’s never happened so…) or if it gets published, but not always. I have about 40 poems that I'm working on right now. There's no way I could focus on one poem at a time. I'm always re-writing. I think I re-write more than I write. Some days I'll just sit down and go through a few of my poems and rework them one after the other.


SP: Categorize for me what school or style of poetry you would hope others view your work as. Much of your work that I have seen has a fun side to it.

KATEY: I'm not sure if there's a particular style that I'd hope others would view my work as, but there are poets who I'd like to be compared to. I like invention and wit in poetry. I like a poem that can make me laugh. I also admire poets who use everyday language and simple words that create potent poems. A perfect example is Richard Brautigan or even Billy Collins. I guess I'd have to say I happen to lean towards a surreal style. I think this is a result of my approach to poetry. I try not to hold back and control too much of what the next line will say. This usually creates odd, bizarre poems, but somehow they work, I think. I also happen to be a huge fan of surreal art. Magritte, mostly. In a strange way, I feel that Magritte has influenced my writing, or at least the way I view things, so that I can find poetry in ordinary objects. A perfect example of surreal poetry, to me, would be Russell Edson or James Tate, both of who are poets that I can't get enough of. I've noticed that I'm a true sponge, in that whatever I read, I tend to soak up drops of the poet’s voice, and I think my writing shows this.

SP: Do you find it hard to write in a confessional style?

KATEY: Yes, I find it extremely difficult to write confessional poetry, and there are reasons for that. I find confessional poetry rather boring, much like listening to someone complain. People always seem to think that poetry should be dark and depressing, but that's not true. Some of the best poems are about ordinary life, and that’s what I like to write about. Not about death or my terrified soul or my broken heart. Poetry lurks everywhere, so I’ll let everybody else write confessional poetry while I write about a gravel driveway or something. I just think confessional poetry is a bit antiquated if you know what I mean. It's almost become cliché. I have a feeling some people are going to hate me for saying that. Oh phooey.

SP: What form is most challenging to you?

Katey: What form is most challenging for me?

Sonnets are difficult, but I think they’re fun to write. I like flipping through my rhyming dictionary and counting the iambs on my fingers, which I’m sure is entertaining for anyone who’s willing to watch me write one.


SP: What role do you see for poets and poetry in terms of social issues or concerns? Are you turned off by any particular subject matter in poetry? Religion? Politics? Erotica? Anything?

KATEY: I'll read poetry about anything. But I think the most successful poems are those that don't try to make a huge statement about an issue or about religion, politics, etc, but that just are. I like poems that stay close to home, poems that are windows into someone's house. I'd like to read one that shows a bedroom, or a messy closet, a woman pouring a glass of orange juice. I like poetry that celebrates the mundane objects or aspects of life.


SP: As an individual, do you consider yourself to be more settled in or energetic and changing?

KATEY: Right now, I am definitely energetic and changing just because I'm still learning so much. I am perhaps overly passionate about poetry. I eat it. I get overwhelmingly giddy when the newest issue of The Paris Review comes out or when I read a great poem by a poet I'd never heard of before.

SP: How would you say this relates to the nature of your work?

KATEY: All of that adds up to an energetic me!

SP: You have indicated that you are afflicted with ADHD. You may not feel comfortable discussing this and I would understand. However, if you don't mind, I'd be interested to know if this poses any extra special challenges for you in writing? Are there any therapeutic benefits?

KATEY: This is very complicated and confusing. I don't mind talking about it at all; I just have a hard time figuring it all out for myself. But, here's my situation: I am ADHD and I take adderall. (I know some people don’t “believe in ADHD” but whatever. I have it.) Without the adderall, I have no inhibitions and I usually write my best poems this way. This is going to sound strange but without Adderall, I feel almost like I’m drunk. I am very silly and creative without it, but there's another side to this. Without adderall, I have a hard time sitting down. I find writing to be quite scary, as well, and it's very difficult for me to write without adderall because my emotions flow and I tend to avoid writing all together. However, when I do take my adderall, I have overwhelming urges to write, and I do. But for some reason the medicine hinders my creativity with language a little. I become more linear and left-brained. But at the same time I have such a drive to write, that something worthwhile is usually created. All in all, I find it best to write on adderall and force myself to let go and not worry about "the rules" of poetry. It's a little more complicated than all of what I just told you but that's the gist.

SP: Your recent post related to Donald Murray's book Crafting a Life you discuss the danger of reaching for "rhyme" and ending up with words that dilute or distort I believe you said, the meaning. What do you feel are the advantages, if any of the more traditional rhyme in poetry?

KATEY: Sound. Pure sound. Poetry is about sound as much as it is about images. Although I don’t write poems with regular rhyme schemes, I’m constantly striving to create sounds including all types of rhymes, alliteration, consonance, assonance, etc.

SP: Where do you fall in your thoughts about surrealism in poetry?

KATEY: I think I already answered this, but I love surrealism in poetry. I have an interest in poetry that on the surface doesn’t make “sense,” but for some reason the poem works deep down below somewhere. Again, Russell Edson and James Tate are perfect examples.

SP: Off the cuff, who do you consider the five individuals to most significantly influence American Poetry in the past fifty years?

KATEY:
1. William Carlos Williams
2. Charles Bukowski
3. Elizabeth Bishop
4. Ezra Pound
5. T.S. Eliot

SP: Who do you like the most of new, up and coming writers that have not already made a name for themselves?

KATEY: Will Roby. He was born to be a poet. He has a rare talent with language that tingles off the page. He reminds me of a combination between Rita Dove, Tate, and Brautigan. He’ll be huge someday. Guaranteed.

Rick Lupert. He’s the owner/editor of The Poetry Superhighway so he’s sort of made a name for himself, but I think he should be bigger. He makes me laugh a little too loud sometimes. He writes poems that make me want to hang out with him. He writes poems about things that people think about but never mention out loud. He’s the Jerry Seinfeld of young poets.



SP: I believe I saw where you indicated that you felt Louise Glück was difficult to understand. I don't want to put words in your mouth, assuming this is true, how well do you believe a poet of this nature can adequately promote the cause of poetry as poet laureate?

KATEY: No, I don’t think she’s difficult to understand. I just don’t particularly enjoy the type of poetry she writes: confessional. I know she’s a good poet, but there are so many types of poetry, and she falls into a category that I don’t attend to much. I think she’ll do a fine job as poet laureate, but I think I remember reading somewhere that she’s not planning on actually doing anything. Whereas Billy Collins did the Poetry 180 project and the airline poetry. So, I don’t know. I guess it’s good that we have a range of poetic talents as laureate.

SP: "How important do you believe formal education is to successfully writing poetry?"

I think about this a lot as I am preparing to apply for an MFA soon. I think it all depends on the person. Some people feel that school can get in the way of creativity and so on. I feel differently. Right now, I want to go back to school not just to get a degree in poetry but because I want to know more about it. I want a community where I can write and be forced to write. I'm comfortable in a formal setting of education. I remember when I'd go to my creative writing classes as an undergrad, there was never a time that I left class without a new, inspired motivation to write. Every time I left the classroom, I fell in love with poetry all over again. I think the sustained reinforcement that the poetry classroom lends would be very beneficial in my success as a poet. I crave the classroom. I crave that group of people who sit around and do nothing but talk about poetry. I don't see how that could get in the way of creativity. Laundry and grocery lists gets in the way of my creativity, not discussions on the subject of poetry. But, still, it depends on the writer.

SP: I see you have some responsibilities associated with some online literary sites. Can you tell me about those and what those experiences lend to your overall growth as a writer?

I co-edit Word Riot (wordriot.org) with Will Roby. He asked me to be his “assistant” (ha ha) and of course I said yes. I think the best part of editing Word Riot is being able to see the other side of publishing. It makes rejections easier for me because I know what editors go through to find the poems they want to publish. I’ve probably rejected heaps of poems that were actually quite great, but for strange reasons, I didn’t feel they fit the magazine or they didn’t hit me the right way. I’ve learned that rejection doesn’t mean I suck as a poet, it means I submitted to the wrong place or at the wrong time.

I’m also an administrator at Enter the Muse (enterthemuse.com) which is a critical forum for writers. It has been amazingly significant in my growth as a writer. I’ve learned so much from receiving critiques and from communicating with a tight knot of people that share my interests in writing. I don’t think I’d be writing today if it weren’t for the critiques and advice I receive from the members.

SP: Katey, where would you like to see yourself five year from now in terms of writing?

All I know is I better have a book or at least a chapbook within the next five years. (I just laughed out loud after writing that.)

SP: Fifteen?

KATEY: In fifteen years I’d like to see myself married with children and with an MFA in poetry. Oh and a few books of poetry. I’d also like to see myself signing autographs on the streets of some big city. I’d like to have a dog and a cappuccino maker. Maybe a fish tank too.


SP: Katey has been a great sport about this, though I am not surprised. As I said at the beginning, I find her to be very open and engaging in her work, it should not surprise me for her to be no different under questions. I want to express my sincere thanks for being my first victim here and hope it was relatively painless for her.


Interview by Michael Wells / Stick Poet Super Hero

No One Listening (v.2)

I want to dance
though my feet have no special steps.

I want to shout
though I have nothing distinguished to say
only a desire to be heard.

I can taste the grape exalted
to its supreme perfection
dry and with a hint of oak.

It is the water passing swiftly in the narrow stream that
travels so far with so little, and
I look inward and see in myself a raindrop that wishes
beyond all hope to travel half as far in my quest. Sometimes
the desire is far greater than purpose.

I wonder is something missing?
Is this why no one is listening?

I build a fire out of doubts and questions and douse it with
the enthusiasm that seems misplaced. I have no need for it.
At least I will be warm.

Stick Poet Invetview Coming Saturday

Katey Nicosia Poet, Student and Blogger on One Good Bumblebee is the subject of my interview which will appear as a Saturday post. Katey has been featured too many times to count on the Stick Poet's Top Five Weekly Bloggers List, including a stretch of 5 straight weeks at number one.

I greatly enjoyed learning a little more about Katey and hope you will too when you read the interview.

Subliminals

1. Dragon:: Tower
   
2. Molecule:: Atom
   
3. Tire:: Rubber
   
4. Mighty:: Mouse
   
5. Octane:: High
   
6. Troll:: Little
   
7. Atmosphere:: Air
   
8. Guide:: TV
   
9. Leash:: Dog
   
10. Dustmite:: Pillow
    

Interview Coming......

Stay Tuned.... Stick Poet will post an Interview with a previous Stick Poet Top Five winner this weekend.

I know you are all dying to know.

Even Being At the Top Can Be Tough For A Writer

"I thought I should do something to celebrate, have a glass of wine or something. But all I could find in that house, a friend's, were some cookies from America, some awful chocolate cookies- Oreos, I think- so I ended up eating two of those. And that's how I celebrated winning the Pulitzer Prize." -- Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979)

Ever thought how you would celebrate if you learned tonight that you won the Pulitzer Prize? Come on... tell us in the comments below.

Robert Bly Reading - Plymouth State College - NH

March 7 Plymouth, NH
Poetry reading, Plymouth State College, Sunday 3 p.m., admission free
Contact: 603/535-ARTS

Busy week

Let me whine just a bit. I've had a busy last few days. Writers workshop and Thursday and again on Sunday. Last night a meeting of one of my writers groups. And Snow... yes snow again, though it was not in the forecast this time.

I am working on a interview that I will get pulled together and posted this week come hell or high water. I'm not putting out any details just yet, but I think it will be an interesting piece. Maybe I'll break the news tomorrow... Or, maybe I won't. Ha! You'll have to come visit the site to see.

In the meantime, if you haven't signed up for my newsletter - do so in the yellow box at the upper left. Also, check out the "Stick Poet Super Hero" Gear:

Post cards, Greeting cards, Shirts, Cups, Journals, Boxers, etc.


Ok.... Yes, the official "Classic Stick Poet Super Hero Thong" can be seen here!

Glad we cleared that up!

No Top 5 Tomorrow

The Stick Poet Top Five is taking a vacation tomorrow. In Fact, I am taking a three week vacation from it while I work on catching up some writing projects of my own.

I know you can all survive. Drink lots of coffee or caffeinated Coke and you'll do just fine.

I actually have a series of Interviews I am planning on featuring here starting with the first one sometime next week. I think you will enjoy them and they will give us lots more to explore.

Paying For The Gas That Killed Sylvia

Elizabeth Sigmund, confidante and perhaps one of Sylvia Plath's closest friends recounts her memories of Sylvia and Ted and their tragic lives. "The academic research will go on because Sylvia Plath was a very important poet. But I think it would be far better if the personal details of Ted's and Sylvia's life were let be, because what good can it do, bringing it up again?"

The Call

Looney tunes
Everyone looks about
Chattering birds oblivious
On an invisible telephone line

Thanks to Jilly... for the link.

I'm terza rima, and I talk and smile. Where others lock their rhymes and thoughts away I let mine out, and chatter all the while. I'm rarely on my own - a wasted day Is any day that's spent without a friend, With nothing much to do or hear or say. I like to be with people, and depend On company for being entertained; Which seems a good solution, in the end. What Poetry Form Are You?

There is a Poem Somewhere Here

Just give me a little time... **grin**

Thank You George W.

Meet the Press on Sunday cleared up one thing for certain. My previously held assumptions about the President are right on the mark.

Subliminals

1. Identity:: stolen
   
2. Reveal:: expose
   
3. Live:: moving
   
4. Attitude:: stubborn
   
5. Night:: nocturnal
   
6. Nevada:: gambling
   
7. Weekend:: fun
   
8. Write:: poetry
   
9. Friend:: companion
   
10. Seventeen:: youth
    

Cold

The young boys face
stung with the bite of the icy wind
but he said noting.
His mother's flesh was no different
than his. They waited for the bus
knee deep in the road waste piled
at the bus stop by plows.

Newsletter

For those would like a taste of Stick Poet in the mail boxes from time to time, you are free to sign up in the yellow box at the upper left of the blog (just below the masthead). I promise you will not be subjected to massive amounts of e-mails.

Stick Poet Top 5 Blogs of the Week

It's Friday and I am on time - hooray!

No. 5 Ivy Is Here [First time on the list]

No. 4 One Good Bumblebee [Also No. 4 last week]

No. 3 The Poetry Hut [Also No. 3 last week]

No. 2The Chatelaine's Poetics [Last week's No. 1 on the list]

No. 1 Awake At Dawn on Someone's Couch [First time even on the list]

No One Listening

The glum will surely fade
and I, I can taste the grape exalted
to its supreme perfection
dry and with a hint of oak.

I want to dance
though my feet have no special steps
I want to shout though I have nothing distinguished to say
but only a desire to be heard.

And you, like so many others look at me and wonder.
It is the water passing swiftly in the narrow stream that
travels so far with so little,

And I look inward and see in myself a raindrop that wishes
beyond all hope to travel half as far in my quest. Sometimes
the desire is far greater than purpose. Then I too wonder
is there something missing? Is that why no one is listening?

I build a fire out of doubts and questions and douse it with
the enthusiasm that seems misplaced. I have no need for it.
At least I will be warm.

"Free The People"

"Free the people." he said
and took a walk along the shore.

Too many black clouds
and the hatchet men.

Oh you say we must provide affordable health care
by eliminating lawsuits that hurt good doctors...
but good medicine is the best remedy for eliminating lawsuits.

"Free the people." he said as he drove the truck into town.

Too much at stake
too many out of work.

You say we are at war with terrorism.
Why do you terrorize us?

"Free the people." He said to the teacher
as he left his daughter at the school playground.

You read to a class and tell us to leave no child behind.
Then pile a debt to leave behind for the children.

"Free the people" He said to his neighbor
standing in line at the polls.
The neighbor nodded.

Minute Memo

EILEEN TABIOS, one of this past week's Stick Poet Top Five will not blog for the rest of the week as she is leaving for New York where as she puts it, "I'll be creating mischief."

Actually I believe that mischief will come in the form of poetry readings. Best wishes to her in the Big Apple!

Jilly why NASA hasn't got at least 512MB. Good question!

No Women Need Apply

"Keep Women Out" I heard him say
and then he went off to play.
What's Gregory fear of the little dears...
That they may actually play up to par?

Monday Madness

Weather sucks here in river city... but not bad enough to shut down work.

I mentioned this weekend that Love During Wartime has a new look. Let me go a step further and say that it agrees with me. I think it is a real improvement.

The second issue of Plum Ruby Review is posted. I have not had a chance to read it yet... but hope to maybe later today.


Poetry in the air... Thanks to Laurable for this find.

Forecast Factors

Prognosticator's wiggle room
three to six inches
rain or freezing rain changing to snow

Radar tracking
information lacking
will it turn
we'll wait to learn

The sky looks bad
feeling stuck and sad

FYI

New Look for Love During Wartime

Stick Poet Gear Now Available

Top Five Poetry Blog List for the Past Week

Thank you all for your patience this week.
The winners are....


No. 5 The Blue Kangaroo (welcome back after falling off the list last week)

No. 4 One Good Bumblebee (Last week's No. 2)

No. 3 The Poetry Hut (Last week's No. 2)

No. 2 Love During Wartime (Last week's No. 3)

No. 1 The Chatelaine's Poetics (Moving up from No. 4 Last Week)


I enjoyed this weeks readings.... Everyone have a great week ahead!

NOW YOU CAN BUY YOUR OWN STICK POET SUPER HERO GEAR

Stick Poet Super Hero Gear - cards, journals T-shirts and more available here