I Hear Only Myself Breathing

    Photo by Rosie Sun on Unsplash

Sometimes I feel the darkness touching my sides.  It hugs me, not in

loving way, nothing sensual, not even in a caring sort of way.

It's not a darkness with a mood overhead. It's not a darkness with the

twinkle of stars above. It's not even the darkness with the expectation

of a gradual lightening into a new day.

It is an aloneness that compounds your very existence. It's a kind of

blindness to everything that surrounds you. 

It takes your balance away. It takes away joy. It surrenders you to 

an uncharted surrounding. It's an emptiness that is missing vibrance 

that it has not forgotten.  

#emptiness. #dark.  # alone #missing 

Thought Scape

                                        Photo by Fons Heijnsbroek, abstract-art on Unsplash

A blended series of interactive thoughts.

Transcribed to ethical proportion.

Taking up space -- but only in a single dimension.

What would it say-

were it able to speak for itself?

Would the response be linear? 

Tangential?

Much adoo about nothing? 

#abstract

Is The Taylor Swifte Endorsement of Kamala Harris the Cultural Zenath for the 2024 Election?

 

With the 2024 Election Campaign coming at us like an astroid, the endorsement of Kamala Harris for president the night of the Trump - Harris debate has sparked the question of how much impact such an endorsement can have on a national campaign. 

We know per recent polling that the race is very tight.  We know that Swife has a whole army of fans out there. Not all are voting age, but even those who are not, in most cases have parents that have likely shelled out money for Taylor Swift tickets of merchandise and I think even these young swifties can play an influential role getting parents on board. 

Is there another celebrity that could offer as much star power out there?  What would it take for Trump to find a counter to Swift? Does it even make a difference. 

There are plenty of other  cultural influencers out there that have heave lesser fanfair to offer but still bring some unique quark to the campaign.  This election is unlike any I have ever witnessed. 

Recently Liz Cheney and her father the former Vice President, both Republicans icons historically, have announced that for the sake of the country, they will not support the Republican nominee but instead, vote for Kamala Harris. The day I saw this, I though hell had frozen over. Then on Friday, famous conservative columnist, baseball enthusiasts and author George Will did the same.  Again, it was a nod to the importance of saving our democracy from Trump as opposed to any more ideological position on issues.

If this election campaign is unorthodox for any reason, it is because the threat of our democratic republic is in so many people's view trumping other issues. No pun intended. 

How Much Difference If Any Will Taylor Swift Make?

Swift commands a significant following - as of Aug 7, 2024 — Taylor Swift – 550.5 million followers on all her social media platforms. Reuters reports that Taylor Swift's Harris endorsement drew 9 million 'likes.' 

The thing about Swift is she has a very positive image. Further, those that don't care for her are often a result of cultural issues they disagree with her on, and the general feeling she represents an opposition to Trump so they automatically don't care for her. 

The latter fact probably means that she is not going to likely caust Harris votes on these issues because they are already zoned in on those issues and were not going to vote for her anyway.

There is an ongoing number of new 18 year olds every day. This added youth vote offers a whole new pool of voters. They are likely influenced by many things including Taylor Swift. But additionally in the scheme of courtural war issues, they are more likely to lean Harris then Trump.  Harris has been making a plea to young people to register to vote, so that opens  a door to many 18 and older that were not registered. 

We won't likely know till after the election how much Harris may have been helped by this endorsement, and even then, it. will likely be speculative based on the turn out of  young people, even though her fan base is quite expansive in terms of age. I can personally attest to that. 

#culturalwars  #Haeeis. #Trump. #election2024. #TaylorSwift #endorsements

We Must Stop The Genocide Now!

Innocent Civilians -- including women and children are being killed daily.  Stand with Artists 4 Cease Fire 

#Gaza  #StopTheKilling.  #Genocide   #EthnicCleansing 

A Moon by any other name --

Photo by Dominik Fischer on Unsplash 

What poet has not been lured in by the moon? A mystical luminary overhead. 

The moon is known by so many names - New Moon, Full Moon, Crescent Moon, Gibbous Moon, Quarter Moon, Blue Moon, Supermoon, Micromoon, Beaver Moon, Harvest Moon, Hunters Moon, Buck Moon, Pink Moon, Blood Moon, Black Moon, Wolf Moon, and Strawberry Moon, to name a few. There are a number of them that named for various mythological Goddesses of the moon. 

Also there are any number of geographical variation of some of their moon names listed above and many names given in non-english languages.

There, you have a whole host of writing prompts - write a poem using each of these moons in it.

#moonnames  #Moon 

Has A Poem Had Such A Profound Impact on You as to Change Your Life?

 Not everyone is keen on poetry and I realized that almost as far back as I became aware of poetry.  I guess when I first learned of it realizing what it was, I would hear people from time to time dismissing it as boring, or irrelevant, or too hard to understand was maybe the most common. 

Obviously over the years none of this dissuaded me. I crossed over the bridge from being a reader to being a poet as well as a reader myself.  So this weekend I was sitting here with things flowing through my head as the tend to do on weekends, and I wondered how many could say that they have read a poem that truly changed their life.  If that is the case for you, I'd love to hear about it. What the the poem and how did it change your life? 

Since most of my readers are poets themselves, My second question is, have any of you written a poem that changed your life? This could be changing your attitude of life in such a way to modify your life in some way. I suppose it could be a poem you wrote that won a prize and how that might have impacted you. 

Anyway, don't be shy. Le's give it up for poetry-- What's the poem that made a difference to you. Even if it was one of your own poems. 

#poemschangelives #lifechangingpoems #poetry 

We Hold These Truths - That ALL men & women ARE CREATED EQUAL

 

The Fourth of July  is an important part of the heritage and the history of this country.  You may be asking what the difference is.  History is a chronology of something from the past towards the present.  Heritage is altogether different.  Heritage is defined this way:

 1.property that descends to an heir.  My parents were American and by birth I therefore inherit an ownership in American and all it's freedoms and responsibilities. That is my inheritance. 

2. a special or individual possession; an allotted portion. As an immigrant, upon naturalization I may be allotted a portion of those freedoms afforded us under our constitution and laws.   

Yes, I know the 4th is all about fireworks, and BBQ, and apple pie, and beer, and so on.  But I believe it is important to focus on the word FREEDOM, because that is what the colonies were in search of.  Freedom from the King of England.  Freedom of religion, to name perhaps the most significant causes.

After our fight with Great Britton to free us from the British commonwealth, we established a Constitution that  guarenteed we would have self rule. That we would not  be beholden to any King, be it the King of England or one established here in the colonies. 

Further, people were free to worship as they so wished. They were not beholden to the King and the Anglican Church, or any other, Catholic or Protestant rite, or Judaism, or Muslim, or Hindu, or Buddhist church. 

These are founding principles that have guided us for all these hundreds of years.  I think it is important on the things that. have made our Democratic Republic the envy of so many.

We are not by any means perfect. but the phraseology "a more perfect union" underscores what we have been striving for. It has been long and it has not been easy, but we have continued to be committed to this quest that our forefathers started us on.  Our strength is in our diversity. And though we can be many, we can also be one.  

Remember tonight, what an awesome responsibility we have to our nation, to the preservation of a democratic republic, and to be an example to the free world.    

Imagine

Photo by Kristaps Ungurs on Unsplash

Imagination pulls us up, out of our grounded self and allows us to reach the sky.

We breath deep and fill ourselves with the hope and magic of tomorrow. 

It will be different - it will be new & we will be a part of it  

M.A.W.

 

AWP24 - KANSAS CITY CONFERENCE REVIEW -- As I Experienced it

eostpSdonriY9aaec41:0sfA3Mh3 713e40md54i8ct80944ry 2769 8t17  · 

Shared with Public

2024 AWP Conference review

Tie for best thrown together display on Bookfair tables,

Homemade sign for a Lit Journal table that read, “Most of our poets are not dead.”

Another was a table in which the cloth covering was anchored down by two 5 lbs bags of C&H Sugar, primpting me to ask, “Why graze from table to table on the free candy, when you can just infuse 5 lbs of sugar here?”

Other fun stuff- a metal box with window, random word magnets -complete your best poem in 6 to 8 words. They you have them framed in a little framed window box.

Keynote address by poet Jericho Brown was awesome. He was funny, charming, and raged against the danger and stupidity of book banning.

Biggest downfall of conference - no bags at registration, no program books. Signage about the convention center was poor/lacking which was exacerbated by not having the program books this year.

Persons I missed seeing Mary Biddinger, who was in attendance but elusive, Susan Rich, also present but I missed. Kelli Russell Agodon, who cancelled at last minute, Katie Manning, who I missed to see a competing poetry reading and now wish I had gone to the one she was having. Amy Leigh Davis, who I heard was coming but I did not see, and a host of others that I often get to see only at conference.

It was especilly nice run into Erin Schaaf Robertson, another alumnus if the Spring 2017 Writer to Writter Session and catch up on her work.

A mammoth thank you to Peace Keenen for all her work on the Writer 2 Writer Conference reading.

New poet’s work I was introduced to: Elise Paschen. Her words rang with a cadence that not only touches you, but clings with you long afterwords. I hope to see much more of her in the future.

Overall, the conference was positive, though it did feel a lot different than in the past. Maybe some of that was that I was in my home turf. Hard to put my finger on it for sure.

#AWP24. #AWPKC

Kansas City Eats - AWP Edition Post # 3

A Taste Of Kansas City 

So if this is your first time visiting our fair city, I have a few eating establishments to call your attention to.   We have a wide range of culinary options here, but I will start with something Kansas City is especially known for.- Bar-B-Que.

In the downtown area a short drive from the conference and at the Arts Crossroad District is Jack Stack Bar-B-Que. The downtown location is converted historic Freight House with atmosphere to wow. 25-foot ceilings, fireplace lounge and full-service bar. This is a place I highly recommend. My personal favorites  are the beef ribs and burnt ends. 

There are so many Barbecue locations across the city - I mean, that and Jazz are what we are known for.  I would be remiss if I did not tell you about Arthur Bryants Barbecue. Located at 1717 Brookland Ave in K.C. it is famous for BBQ fit for a President. It has over the years served Presidents Harry S Truman, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama.   Note, people don't go there for the esthetics, it's all about the food. President's have had it flown back to D.C.   Burnt Ends are great, ribs are great, the only drawback is they don't have beef ribs but I will till eat Bryant's pork ribs any day.

Johnny's Power & Light District  I can attest to their food a wide variety. They are walking distance from my work, so I have dined there a few times. 

Yard House  at 1300 Main KCMO.   Cuisine is Amaracana  

Buca di Beppo Italian Restaurant - located in the Country Club Plaza district 310 W. 47th Street  Another Personal Favorite for Italian Dining Ive dinned here many times.

The Melting Pot  450 Ward Parkway, KCMO This is another Cuntry Club Plaza location.  I have not eaten here for some time, but ever time I've been there it has been a delightful experiance. 

The Mix  4855 Main St. KCMO.   If you like salads, (I do) the mix is a fun place to go. Build your own salad from seemingly endless options.  This is Just South of the Country Club Plaza.

The Brick - 1727 McGee KCMO  Great appetizers and main dishes. An array of Burgers and they have an onion block to die for.  

The Phoenix - 302 W. 8th KCMO. Jazz and great Food Nightly

#FoodKansas City.  #FoodKC.  #AWP24  #AWPKCMO

AWP is Coming to Kansas City - Part 2

 

Kansas City is hosting the AWP Conference this year and I've waited for this since it was kicked aside over concerns related to the spread of Covid.  Actually, I was waiting for it even before it was announced.  Kansas City is an excellent site for the conference for several reasons (besides I won't have to fly in). 

• We have excellent convention facilities.
• Fantastic food.
• Many unique sites to visit.

Kansas City actually is a culturally rich city for the arts.  

• We have a world-class center for performing arts.  The Kaufman Center for Performing Arts is just one of the jewels of the Arts in K.C. 
• South of the Kaufman Center is the Kansas Cities Arts District.  An area of Private Galleries,  Shops, Food, Bars and Coffee Shops.  
• East of the Downtown area you will find 18th and Vine. This area has a rich Jazz History and the Jazz Museum is yet another jewel of the city,  
• The Negro Leagues Museum is also in the 18th & Vine District. It shares a lobby with the Jazz Museum. 
• Kansas City has a famous shopping area called the Country Club Plaza.  It's south of Kansas City. Unfortunately you you will be too late to see the miles of Christmas lights strung there and delighting visitors from Thanksgiving until just after the first of the year. 
• East of the Plaza is the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. You will see two buildings, the mamoth origional and a new venue on the same grounds that was designed for providing natural lighting for the art displays.  Outside 0n the grounds is a sculpture garden and you will see the giant shuttlecocks which have become famous in KC.
• North of the Convention Center you will find the Main branch of the Kansas City Public Libaray.  This is worth seeing. Both the Parking garage with giant book spines and the elegent inside. It is a not just a functional library, but a spot that I recomend finding a book and getting comfortable in one of the many area you will find seating. 
• Slightly east of the Convention Center is the Power and Light -  Foor, Drink -music and after sporting events often a spontanious party location. 

Kaufman Center for Preforming Arts

J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain (east edge of Plaza)

 Nelson Atkins Museum

American Jazz Museum 

These are just a few of the many sites that I feel are noteworthy. 

Next Up I will share information about notable places to eat. 

#AWP24.  #AWPKC

Confession Tuesday -Major Snow Edition

 

Dear Reader:

It's been a week since my last confession.  Come with me to the confessional. 

This morning I awoke to major snow here in Kansas City. It Happens. This was the most severe of this winter. Our street was not plowed.  It is a few blocks off a beaten path, but it is not on the city plow route and I think it is usually plowed by someone in the neighborhood.  I confess that my efforts to get to work were stymied  I got stuck at the other end of the block, and somewhere around an hour and a half later I got the car backed maybe 200 feet from the drive and was stuck again. Eventually, with two very nice neighbors, we got it back safely in our drive. 

After exceeding my book reading goal by 1 book last year, I have upped my goal from 24 to 28 books. I confess I have finished the first of the year. A Biography on Frida Kahlo.  She is a fascinating individual who endured enormous pain in her life and crafted art that was often reflective of her pain. 

AWP is coming fast.  February 7th. I confess I can't believe how fast that seems to be closing in. 

Last night I wrote a new draft poem, working late into the night. I have struggled the last few days to feel effective with my pen. I did three drafts and I confess I believe it is a keeper, however, it still requires a rewrite. 

They have finally cleared the road out front, I confess I feel optimistic about getting to work tomorrow. 

I confess I recall being really angry about something but for the life of me, I cannot recall what it was. 

That's about it for today, my friends.  Until next time, be safe.

Best wishes,

Michael Wells

AWP Is COMING to KANSAS CITY PART 1

 AWP IS COMING - FOLLOW THIS SERIES 

#AWPreading 

Confession Tuesday January 2, 2024

 My Friends:

As a fallen-away confessor, I am back.  I don't have nearly enough digits to count the weeks since I was last in this confessional. I might have given enough for the months, but let's just agree it has been too long.

I confess that today was kind of a slow day at work and it drug on till all of a sudden, I realized it was 4:16 PM and I knew I could make it to the end. 

I actually met and exceeded my reading goal for the month by one book. I confess I was shocked that I reached it.

Believe it or not, poetry was not my number-one reading genre this year. Now I don't count the Poetry books I go back to from time to time for inspiration or to explore what some poets are doing about ampersands, form, etc. I reread parts of many poetry books throughout the year and these are in addition to my totals to meet my goal challenge. I confess I really enjoy memoirs. I think it was Mary Kerr, the poet and essayist that turned me on. to Memoirs. 

I confess that I periodically pinch myself every time I remember AWP is in Kansas City this year.  I will do a series of AWP-related posts in the next couple of weeks, so put on your seat belts and get ready. 

I'm sorry folks, I confess that's all for today. 

Stay safe,  and check back soon. 

#AWP  #ConfessionTuesday  #Reading2023

2023 Is History - Welcome to 2024

 Small Victories 

I ended up reading 25 books last year. My goal was 24. 

What's more, I expanded the reading genres considerably. I generally read mostly poetry, biographies, and memoirs.  This is how my reading broke down :

• Memoir 8
• Novels  7
• Poetry 6
• Historical / Political 2
• Biography 2