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Showing posts with label Kansas City. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kansas City. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

A Black Velvet Sky

Last night we picked up my youngest daughter at the airport and met my my son for a quick bite to eat on the way back in to town. The Kansas City metro area was under a severe weather watch and there was terrific lightening, off and on rain, monstrous clouds and a rainbow gracing the sky. Things then turned more ominous looking as we were leaving, the sky had a vast airstream of deep black velvet smoke drifting in from a westerly location.

Across the state line into Kansas City, Kansas (sister city) a gas storage tank in an industrial area had been struck by lightening. The resulting smoke and the mixture of other sky components previously mentioned, presented a surreal atmosphere. As we drove on home to Independence, the electrical storm became much more intense.

This morning, on the drive back into KC, the black stream of smoke continued to funnel skyward in what otherwise were clearer, bright morning skies. The fuel tank was no doubt still actively ablaze. It brought back to mind pictures of the skies over Baghdad in the early days of the invasion. On an obviously smaller scale of course.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Burrr.....

mood: funky
listening to: nothing

Bitter cold air seems to have taken up residency in the Kansas City area. Even yesterday, with one of the brightest sunshine skies I've seen in a long time, the temperatures were in single digits. Today however, the sky is cloudy. The snow has a crusty sound to it when you walk on it.

This caught my eye today - Maya Angelou's poem in praise of Hillary. Funny how many articles I read out of the Guardian. The British media do a very respectable job of covering a variety of things outside of Britain, not the least of which are the arts and American Politics.

It seems totally inconceivable to me that Suzanne Pleshette was 70. Ah, but perhaps I am in denial of my own age. I was very fond of her - enjoying everything I think I ever saw of her acting. Admittedly I did not see her in any Hitchcock movies. I know she did at least one of them. An any rate, I was saddened to hear of her death. God, the Newheart show was an evening staple for me for many years.

Anyone else amused by the speech last night by Fred Thompson as he was going down the tubes in the GOP primary in South Carolina? I mean it was early in the night and I guess the old man had to get some rest from all his walking for president, so he cut out early.

Turned out a good first draft today of a poem. I'm wanting to work on it some more but trying to resist till at least tomorrow to see what kind of perspective I have after sleeping on it.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

The short list

"Society honors its living conformists and its dead troublemakers." -Mignon McLaughlin
Oh my God! How true is that?!!
Anyway, I've thought about the poet I'd pick to spend the day tagging along with (see my earlier post) and it's a tough call. I am narrowing it down... Ok, honestly I kept adding to the list as often as I whittled it. It was like two steps forward and one back. But this is where I am at now...
  • W.S. Merwin
  • Sharon Olds
  • Donald Hall
  • Cecilia Woloch
  • John Ashbery
  • Kim Addonizio
  • Denise Dehamel
There is a lot of variety between these poets, and there is something about each that makes them and or there work fascinating enough to believe that one could learn a lot from them if you had the opportunity to follow, observe, and ask questions of them through a day of watching them work. Now, the trick would be to decide upon just one of them. Oh, and not add any more to the list in the meantime.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Disc Golf - What Fun!


It's not the greatest picture but this is one of the holes for the disc- golf course about a block from our home. I discovered it about a week ago. It actually was put in last year sometime with a grant from Sprint.

I've wanted to play disc golf for some time now. I've picked up some equipment at a local DG store. I think this is something my wife and I can do together outside. Fun!!!

It is actually become a really big thing over the years. There is a professional disc golf association and the 25th Annual Kansas City Wide Open tournament is coming up on June 22 - 24th. What fun!

What has any of this got to do with poetry? Not a damn thing. I just didn't want people to think I was one dimensional. ::grin::

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Tomorrow Night at the Writers Place

The Following I am passing along from the Writers Place here in Kansas City:

This will be a truly wonderful event. Please make be sure to join us as we celebrate the work of two of KC's finest poets: Tom Zwi & Jeanie Wilson.


Reading in the Round: Wilsons and Friends
June 8, 2007
8:00 p.m.
Riverfront Reading
at The Writers Place
The Writers Place - 3607 Pennsylvania Kansas City, MO 64111

Jeanie Wilson and Thomas Zvi Wilson will read from The Door into the Dream. Both poets have previous books to their credit. Thomas’ Deliberate and Accidental Acts came out in 1997; Jeanie’s Uncurling appeared in 2000. The Door into the Dream was listed in the KC Star’s 2006: The Year’s 100 Noteworthy Books. Jeanie currently serves as a board member for TWP, and Thomas formerly served as treasurer on the TWP board. Jeanie and Thomas host The Writers Place Poetry Reading Series held monthly at the Johnson County Central Resource Library.

Other poet colleagues reading from The Door into the Dream:

· Brian Daldorph
· Gregg Field
· Denise Low-Weso—Poet Laureate fro Kansas for 2007-2009; her latest book is Words of a Prairie Alchemist.
· Jo McDougall—an Arkansas native, has published most recently Dirt and Satisfied with Havoc. Jo was inducted into the Arkansas Writers Hall of Fame (2006)
· Robert Stewart—is author of Outside Language: Essays and editor of New Letters magazine.
· Maryfrances Wagner

Monday, May 21, 2007

13,000


It appears the K.C. Literary Festival was indeed a success. Estimates are 13,000 attended the event. It was worth attending and it would be worth returning on K.C on an annual basis.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Local Poet at Kansas City Event


Jazz Poetry: Stacey Tolbert, the "Brown Suga Poet"

Stacey Tolbert - Appearing at the American Jazz Museum Stacey is a member of Kansas City, MO’s Black Poets Collective, a freelance writer, painter, playwright, poet, DJ, and founder / facilitator of a clinic geared for the healing and bonding of women as well as a workshop specializing in teaching literacy and math under the umbrella of art.


Tuesday May 15th, 2007

7:00pm to 11:00pm

American Jazz Museum

1615 E 18th St. - Kansas City, MO 64108

Admission is $5.00