Collecting Thoughts in Journal

I've decided today I will keep my journal close at hand and record bits and pieces of any variety of thoughts that come together in a semblance of phrase. Not wanting any particular issue, theme, agenda but merely allowing the collection of these random particles of thought. At the end of the day, or perhaps tomorrow I'll visit these and see what has substantive value. From this, I'll see what I can write.

The concept is of course not at all novel. I do write little bits of verbiage from time to time and some become the basis of later work. But I am going to try to be more prolific in that process throughout the day. This is where this process differs from my past experiences.

On another note, I picked up a couple of good books over the weekend. My wife has the uncanny ability to walk into a book store and find really good material on poetry. This would not be so surprising if she were more attune to the craft. She is highly creative and artistic, but poetry is not her thing. (though she is highly supportive of my poetry)



tag: Writing and poetry

Anne Bradstreet Quote

"Iron till it be thoroughly heated is incapable to be wrought; so God sees good to cast some men into the furnace of affliction, and then beats them on his anvil into what frame he pleases." ~Anne Bradstreet

High Fives All-Around!

"Each word bears its weight, so you have to read my poems quite slowly." ~ Anne Stevenson

I like this quote because it reminds me of the whole matter of word economy in poetry. I often need to remind myself the importance of this to poetry. It is not so much that I have a struggle with it as it is that it just needs to remain on the forefront of my mind.

It has occurred to me that this is a concept that really goes against the grain of my normal mode of communication. With ADD the tendency is to verbalize everything that is going through your mind. Hence, I will often give a person more information than needed in the course of a conversation. As I write this, I'm thinking my wife would likely ask me, "then how come I can write poems with less wordage and not do the same in our conversations?" It is a good question and I suspect the major factor is that we speak in conversations much faster than we write. Writing slows us and of course besides taking more time to choose the best words, we have the ability to re-write.

I do have some good news. Last week I was flipping through the mail and there is one of my self-addressed envelopes.

So I'm reading along... " We are pleased to inform you that your work has been accepted for publication in the 2006 issue..."
and all of a sudden, I realize this is not a rejection letter! I could get into the joy of receiving these much better than the other variety.

Free Speech & Poetry

"In our period, they say there is free speech. They say there is no penalty for poets, There is no penalty for writing poems. They say this. This is the penalty."~ Muriel Rukeyser

April 18th Poet's Quote

I'll love you, dear, I'll love you till China and Africa meet and the river jumps over the mountain and the salmon sing in the street. ~ W. H. Auden


* Happy Birthday to my wife Cathy Jean

The Way You Carry Yourself

The Way You Carry Yourself
For Cathy Jean

You wear your flannelness
in that laid back way
that fits you pleasantly.

Conformity seems unimportant
and you prove it like you would
work a math problem backwards.

I swear, you give it utmost validity;
a blossoming art hung out of self-assurance
in an off the path gallery-

If two people find it appealing,
you are satisfied. An if no one sees it,
it's all just the same.

But I would hold you in any fabric,
just as you are, and I would press
your nakedness to mine

in nothing at all,
as the creator herself
has become a treasure of art.

A search for order

"For me, poetry is always a search for order." ~ Elizabeth Jennings

It seems that as we go through life, the very process of living is in itself a natural disordering process. We read the paper, it ends up with sections missing or A between E and D and the Movie section folded inside out. Or we get up in the morning and the bed covering is all out of kelter. And so life moves through the day being lived, being sort of misshapen if you will. We stop at various points to re-order our lives. But we know full well these are temporary shifts in the sand of life, and like the wheat in a Kansas field, it will again move with each breeze.

Elizabeth Jennings has touched upon a most human instinctive facet of poetry. Poetry often speaks to my own need to pause and get things right. To find and reorder life. To find that emotion that resides deep within. You know it is there and cannot begin tell or explain it, even to the one you are closest to in life, for want of words. For perfect description. Your mind and soul searches for that ordering and until you find it - until a poem speaks it to you and you have that ah-ha! realization - it remains locked deep within.

Sometimes it's through my own writing that these things come about. Still, at other times it is the words of another poet that provide a key to this ordering, this finding the right words or image to complete the emotional translation. And so it is that we become better aware and in that greater awareness, now have the ability to put our deepest fears or longing desires, or greater joys and utmost delights into the right words and best order to achieve most precise meaning.

tags: Writing and poetry Poetry

Poet's Quote - Wallace Stevens

"A poet looks at the world the way a man looks at a woman." ~ Wallace Stevens

Poet's Quote ~ Bryant H. McGill

"Creativity is the greatest expression of liberty. " ~Bryant H. McGill

From a work in progress

One more morning sunrise
strained through a gauze wrapped sky-
One more day forcing itself into my squinting eyes.

Student can recite poem with profanity

Student can recite poem with profanity


U.S. District Court Judge Brian Sandoval gave the ok for a 14 year old student to recite a poem in competition with the words "hell" and "damn" in it. Stickpoet recently reported on this in an earlier blog.

A school official, Steven West, at Coral Academy of Science in Reno, NV told 14 year old Jacob Behymer-Smith, that he could not recite the poem in competition again after using W.H. Auden's "The More Loving One" and then reprimanded the student's English teacher. West said the Auden then work contained profanity.

It is sad that this matter had to rise to the level of taking up time on a federal court docket and the school's decision blows my mind. Of course you may go here and judge for yourself just how profane this poem about love is.

I have to say, based on the poor the judgment used by the school in this instance, I don't know that I would trust these people with greater issues of education for a child of mine.

This kid is a freshman in high school for Christ's sake. The academy's attorney said this was not about free speech (the court bagged to differ) but about the schools' ability to set educational standards. That is scary given the prominence of W. H. Auden in modern poetry and how benign the usage of the words in question.

Jacob intends to recite the poem on April 22 during Poetry Out Loud, a contest sponsored by the National Endowment of the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.

Tags: Poetry Free Speech Jacob Behymer-Smith National Endowment of the Arts Steven West

New frost place director wants to put poetry in motion

New frost place director wants to put poetry in motion


He is on just about everybody's short list of best known poets. New director of The Frost Place, a museum and arts center, talks about his plans.

Chicago Tribune | Just the thought of poetry

Chicago Tribune Just the thought of poetry


All this fuss about poetry this month... Diane Cameron asks what's it all about?

Poet's Quote - Sharon Olds

"This creature of the poem may assemble itself into a being with its own centrifugal force." ~ Sharon Olds

Tags: Writing and poetry Poetry

WAG THE CAMEL

A phrase that has raised from the ink and is making quite a splash throughout the blogisphere is MAUREEN DOWD's catch phrase from her Op-ed piece yesterday titled: WAG THE CAMEL. Dowd writes in a New York Times Op-ed piece: "Iran was whipping up real uranium while America was whipped up by fake uranium." [source]

I think this pretty much says it all.

Tags: Wag the Camel Bush War Iraq Iran Nuclear

Thursday Mix

The moon was luminous last night and hung in the sky like one of those globes at a dance that reflect lights. The drive into to work was pleasant, with remarkably little traffic and I noticed the greening that is occurring all about us. It felt safe and comforting.

On the west cost, the San Francisco Giants, my absolute favorite baseball team suffered consecutive days of rainouts for only the second time since the team moved to San Fran in 1958. Tell me there isn't something screwy going on with the weather. Tuesday's series opener was already rescheduled as a split doubleheader for Thursday.

Tuesday night, the KC Metro Verse met at the Writer House. I filled in for our President who was ill. The meeting was mostly read-arounds. We were short several other members.

I see Christine over at This is All Your Fault has been experimenting with e.e. cummings - I kind of like it, but it seems so different from what we usually see from her. I guess that is where the experimental part comes in. Anyway I liked it! Note: her book The Salt Daughter is now available on Amazon.com.

The past few days - I seem to have lost track how many now, I have been following Eileen Tabios' posts on her blog - she have captured the last days with her father. Her words have been painfully beautiful.

I finished reading Bitter Fame - A Life of Sylvia Plath this week. I've read numerous biographical books on Plath. This on is worth the read. I'll tell you more about why I feel this way in a later post.

Tags: Sylvia Plath Books San Francisco Giants Eileen Tabios Christine Hamm

Poet's Quote - Robert Bly

"The beginning of love is a horror of emptiness." ~ Robert Bly

Channel 4 KRNV.com: Local News and Weather for Reno-Tahoe Region: Reno student threatening lawsuit over poetry censorship

Channel 4 KRNV.com: Local News and Weather for Reno-Tahoe Region: Reno student threatening lawsuit over poetry censorship


This is a case of some seriously lame School Administrators at the Coral Academy of Science in Reno, NV. More power to the student - Jacob Beyhmer-Smith.

Tags: Coral Academy of Science censorship Free Speech Poetry

Poet's Quote - Elizabeth Barrett Browning

"Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes - The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries."~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

My Point

I have something to say
and I want your attention-
Your focus to the point these lines
ride the whiteness of this page.

I want you to read me and taste
the acidic black words,
question what this all means.

Bore yourself, in search
of some higher purpose,
that these have
some vaulted meaning
that springs forth.

Look between these lines
or beneath the page in hope
of more clarity. Some special
clue to my agenda
in all these words.

Take me apart,
line by line
with a paring knife.
There has to be an agenda.
Right?

Add these to your vocab

My wife sent me the following yesterday in an e-mail and I must admit it cracked me up. I believe my favorites are numbers 3, 7 and 18.


The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. .....Here are this year's winners:

1. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

2. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

3. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

4 . Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

5. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.

6. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

7. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

8. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

9. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.

10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

11. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

12. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

13. Glibido: All talk and no action.

14. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

15. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

17. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.
And the pick of the literature:

18. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an arsehole.

Poet's Quote - Richard Wilbur

"It is true that the poet does not directly address his neighbors; but he does address a great congress of persons who dwell at the back of his mind, a congress of all those who have taught him and whom he has admired; they constitute his ideal audience and his better self." ~ Richard Wilbur

Yes, who is the poet's audience? Sometimes, I write with absolutely no audience in mind. I have been known to think more about audience in rewrites, but I'll admit, sometimes I believe it is my own soul that is the audience. I think perhaps this is the very audience Wilbur is addressing.

NPR : Caroline Kennedy: 'My Favorite Poetry for Children'

NPR : Caroline Kennedy: 'My Favorite Poetry for Children'


I featured a piece on this in one of my blog posts in the past but I thought since NPR did a segment on morning edition, it was worth mentioning it during National Poetry Month.


Tags: National Poetry Month Poetry Caroline Kennedy

Mondays Can Be Such A Bitch

So today is Monday. It is also my oldest daughters birthday. What a contrast. I recall Cathy Ann's birth like it was yesterday, though sadly, it was eons ago. Yet, today is Monday and I'd like to forget it already. The day started with the realization that all out CD's were stolen from the car. Then, my wife's very favorite winter hat was damaged. To add insult to injury, she locked herself out of work this morning, on my account. Monday is not normally a kind day anyway, but today especially.

So back to my oldest daughter. She lives out of the area, so we rarely see her. I am quite proud of her, as I am all our kids, but she is the only one who has moved out of the city and her mother and I miss her very much!

I did not write much this weekend but, for what time I attempted, I was back to trying to force a round peg into a square hole. Of course the results were not worthy of salvage. So much in contrast to last week when stuff just rolled out of the pen to the page.

I suppose it is time to shake this Monday thing and try to get things moving. My body seems to be moving at the speed of a slug and that is just not going to help me get through this day. I guess I need to get a little more positive passion about the day.

Here is the poet's quote for the day:

"The voice of passion is better than the voice of reason. The passionless cannot change history." ~ Czeslaw Milosz

Poet's Quote for Sunday April 9

"A book must be an ice-axe to break the seas frozen inside our soul." ~ Franz Kafka

Poet's Quote - Sautuday April 8th

"Yet there are times when a deeper need enters, when we want the poem to be not only pleasurably right but compellingly wise, not only a surprising variation played upon the world, but a re-tuning of the world itself." ~ Seamus Heaney

Hearing again the life-altering, haunting words of poet Sexton

Hearing again the life-altering, haunting words of poet Sexton - baltimoresun.com


On October 1st, 1974, Anne Sexton appeared at Goucher College and gave her last lecture. With her usual props - a glass of water, a sheaf of papers, a pack of cigarettes, she delivered a bracing, spirited 90 minute performance that ended with a prolonged standing ovation. Looking back at this address, were there signs of what was to come?

Tags: Poetry Anne Sexton

Friday Smiles!

My selected Poet Quote of the day is great advice. It comes from Christina Rossetti

"Better by far you should forget and smile that you should remember and be sad."

~*~

Art in Words

I was reading an article about Laura McCullough and her book The Dancing Bear. For her, writing poetry is about discovery and she says that her poetry helps her explore her obsessions. [source] I have thought about this in the context of the confessional school but even as I write more and more stream of conscinence material to begin first drafts, I believe there is a lot of discover to be had even in more abstract work. Sometimes this produces the most surprising imagry in this art. We are not intentionally driving a piece in a certain direction trying to hammer some specific idea, meaning or image into the poem. To me, this, perhaps more than anything else, is justification for the free verse form.

~

Select lines from Robert Lowell's Epilogue:

I hear the noise of my own voice: / The painter's vision is not
a lens, / it trembles to caress the light. / But sometimes everything I write
with the threadbare art of my eyes / seems a snapshot, /

~

Poet's Quote of the Day:

"The more articulate one is, the more dangerous words become." ~ May Sarton

Ted Hughes project given boost

Local News - Yorkshire Post Today: News, Sport, Jobs, Property, Cars, Entertainments & More: LB6

Story generated from local news source in Yorkshire on state of the Ted Hughes Project by locals.

Upcoming Events

The new Busch Stadium in St. Louis - View of the home plate side.

Poet Quote for today....


"Baseball will take our people out-of-doors, fill them with oxygen, give them a larger physical stoicism. Tend to relieve us from being a nervous, dyspeptic set. Repair these losses, and be a blessing to us." ~ Walt Whitman

Poetry Events:

John Ashbery Festival

• From April 6 - April 8 the New School in New York City will sponsor a festival honoring John Ashbery, the author of more than twenty books of poetry and the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and fellowships from the MacArthur and Guggenheim foundations.

Readers at the festival will include: Mark Bibbins, Billy Collins, Daniel Halpern, Bob Holman, Ann Lauterbach, Ron Padgett, James Tate, Susan Wheeler, and, Ashbery himself. Click here for more information.

Kansas City, Missouri at The Writers Place:

Friday, April 7, 7:30pm- Michelle Boisseau and Michael Waters will read from their poetry. (click here)

Writers Place - 3607 Pennsylvania - Kansas City, MO 64111

tags: Poetry John Ashbery Baseball

Poetry is about discovering, not dissecting

The Herald-Mail ONLINE: "Poetry is about discovering, not dissecting"


Nice piece written by Lydia Hadfield - great for poetry month. I could not have said it better.

More is More

I've been fairly free wheeling with my poetry drafts these past few days. I'm not sure that I've
produced much that I am happy with, but I have been spilling the ink quite well. In the long run, this is a good thing. It means for instance, that I am gravitating away from trying to force something to happen. I am not suffering delusions that I have kicked that habit, only that for the time being, I've moved beyond that.

I'm looking forward to being able to cull some material from what has been flowing on the page. It just hasn't hit me yet, but with greater volume comes greater opportunity. This is kind of a weird thought in some respects because most of us are accustomed to challenging the assumption that somehow, more is better. In this case, I think it has the greater potential, but in terms of raw material, it is not in itself necessarily better. The reality is that more is simply more to cull from. If I go fishing in a lake with 200 fish in it, I am not going to always catch more than down the road where there are only 100 fish in the lake, but the possibilities are better. I view this the same as creating material for poems. It is good to initially spill out your treasure troff of musings. Then see where that leads.

Poet Quote for Today

"If we lose love and self respect for each other, this is how we finally die." ~ Maya Angelou

The ordinary

Morning view of Arch from our hotel room

I was in St Louis this weekend - weather was nice. Saw the new Busch Stadium which is nearing completion for the Cardinals home opener. It certainly felt like spring time was itching to get underway.

I had a bit of an epiphany about what we see in life. An too, perhaps what we miss and I found a wonderful link between that and my view of poetry. It seems that sometimes when you look with a great deal of focus you can find the most unique and beautiful things among the ordinary.

I saw for example, in downtown St. Louis, an area richly green with ivy spread across the ground and amid it was planted the bright red on/off valve on a stem. Here was a man made flower so to speak in the midst of natures lush foliage. Some would perhaps discount this as an intrusion into nature and it could be viewed that way. I chose to look beyond that.

While waiting for my wife who was in the city on business, I happened upon a bead shop. I can't tell you how excited I was about this. I don't bead, but I have been in enough shops with my wife to know that she would have found this one exciting. Unfortunately they were closing before she was to be finished with her meetings, but I picked up a very small item for her there and she seemed delighted by it.

It has occurred to me that sometimes the ordinary is only ordinary if we allow it it be. Yes, there are many extraordinary things in this world that we can marvel at, but it is important to not overlook the beauty around us in the ordinary course of life.

I found a poet's quote for today that sort of fit into what I am saying...

"For sure I once thought of myself as the poet who would save the ordinary from oblivion." ~ Philip Levine

When I saw this quote, I thought that perhaps Levine was on to something. I have always found poetry about the simplest things to be so enjoyable. If we can find ourselves within the ordinary, certainly the objective of saving the ordinary from oblivion is a noble cause for any poet to take on.

tags: Poetry St. Louis Busch Stadium St Louis Arch Creativity

Poet's Quote for April 2nd

"I write with experiences in mind, but I don't write about them, I write out of them." ~ John Ashbery

Don't Forget to move your clocks forward an hour. It may be later than you think. ;)

April 1st - Out of the poet's mouth

"I've read some of your modern free verse and wonder who set it free." ~ John Barrymore

Poetry Month

Last year Stickpoet offered a poetry-quote-day via e-mail during Poetry Month. This year, I am not doing the e-mail quote, however I will be posting a quote from a poet each day. If fact, due to my weekend schedule I will be posting April 1st Quote early.


Wishing you all a great poetry month.

PoetryFoundation.org Celebrates National Poetry Month With Daily Poetry Podcasts

PoetryFoundation.org Celebrates National Poetry Month With Daily Poetry Podcasts


THERE IS SO MUCH GOING ON FOR NATIONAL POETRY MONTH....

CHECK OUT THIS ARTICLE ABOUT THE POETRY FOUNDATIONS ACTIVITIES & VISIT THEIR WEB SITE.


tag: Poetry

Child poetry plagiarist a bad Oomen

Child poetry plagiarist a bad Oomen



Tag: Poetry

Tread softly...

"But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams." ~ William Butler Yeats

Yeats was truly masterful at transforming words to mood. His writing so lyrical. He is one of those few people who I believe can make you fall in love with the words themselves.

Night Wishes

So quiet this house,
the night.

The two entwined,
inseparable.

I, on the other hand,
sit, like an extra.

An uninvited witness
to their cozy bond,
wishing she were home,
and I the night.

Bush shuns Patriot Act requirement - The Boston Globe

Bush shuns Patriot Act requirement - The Boston Globe

Bush shows the utmost arrogance - placing himself above the law and accountability to the American People. While not the first time he has done so, this is perhaps the boldest example yet.

She's the "Real Deal"

My wife was out shopping yesterday with my daughter while I was at home changing out the insides of a toilet tank. When she came home, she had bought me a magazine with some terrific stuff on poetry in. What a sweetie!!!

The New Criterion - What Auden believed

The New Criterion - What Auden believed

I'll give credit to Jilly for finding this interesting piece on W. H. Auden.



Tog: poets

Back to the Hughes Quote

I've thought about this. I've even posed the question to my wife and one of my daughters. The question being that of my personalities- assuming I have more than one, what are they? The consensus from the family was that yes I have more than one. It was pointed out to me that I would likely act one way around say "x" but another if I was not in there presence. I certainly see their point, and I suspect we all have similar situations we could point to, but is that a different personality altogether or simply make up a part of our overall personality? I don't have the answer to that question as of yet.

This morning, it occurred to me that personality testing could give me some outside quantitative basis for examining my specific personality. So I went back to the last time I took such a test That would be July of last year. I blogged briefly on it here.

So accordingly, I find myself based upon this too be a EIFP. That designation would make me am extroverted Intuition person with Introverted Feelings. So perhaps this is a clue to what I am exploring. I present extroverted, but deep down inside I am really an emotionally introverted kind of guy? This, I suppose could account for two different personality types.

Hughes talks about writers of verse ideally finding a style that is inclusive of all our personalities.
I'm thinking that unless we are trying to force into words what we are writing, this would seem a natural occurrence of the act of writing itself. Am I mistaken? I would really be interested in the thoughts of others on this topic.

My Several Personalities

"Most writers of verse have several different personalities. The ideal is to find a style or a method that includes them all." ~Ted Hughes

I'm going to have to think about this "several personalizes" thing a bit. Yes, I've written from a variety of personas, but that is not what Hughes is saying here. This may require outside counsel in order to arrive at objectivity. Hence, I need a day or two or three on this one. But I will be back!

the substratum of our beings...

Todays quote from the mouth of a poet comes from T. S. Eliot ~

"Poetry may make us from time to time a little more aware of the deeper, unnamed feelings which form the substratum of our being, to which we rarely penetrate; for our lives are mostly a constant evasion of ourselves. "

Yesterday's mailbag ~ My 2006 National Poetry Month Poster arrived. You can see it pictured here to the right - really cool this year!

Contest - Eileen Tabios plugs Marsh Hawk Press contest [here]

Tag: Poetry

"This is what a poet does..."

It strikes me humorously how radical Allen Ginsberg was thought, by many people back when he was alive and writing poetry. The times themselves, or the churning and turning that was taking place in the American culture at that time I suppose seemed radical to most. Ginsberg I suppose only embodied a part of what was happening behind the everyday America that was sort of like in this giant vat being slowly mixed and turned into something that would one day resemble a quite different America. But Ginsberg verbalized what was happening slowly.

For a long time, we had been moving away from a stricter model of poetry subject matter. The romanticism that so often we equate with poetry was not the only relevant voice and in fact, to many, its relevance even seemed questionable. Perhaps it is the awakening of America that was truly more radical then the singular notion. There are things that quietly occupied the minds of people that turned into reality were quite radical, but they stayed there, quietly, kept to themselves.

Ginsberg was not alone. He was not a sole practitioner in radical thought. Indeed, it was a transformation that preceded him altogether. I think he simply realized what a powerful vehicle we each had at our disposal if we simply unleashed it. And the timing was right. There were others- people who were transforming the world with words. Ginsberg became a very powerful public personification of the thought process of a whole generation of Americans.
He said,

"Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It's that time of night, lying in
bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that's
what the poet does."

This is what Allen Ginsberg showed us, and I believe it has dramatically changed us as people.

Out of a poets mouth ~ Today's quote

Bitterness is like cancer.

It eats upon the host.

But anger is like fire.

It burns it all clean.

~Maya Angelou

WebWatch : World Poetry Day

pembrokeshiretv.com - News, Sport, Information and Entertainment

Believed to have its origins in the 1930s, World Poetry Day honours poets and their craft. It was specifically declared as such by UNESCO in 1999, in order to "give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements". The aim is to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world.

Missouri & the Arts

Snowed overnight, but the results were not that bad. For the most part roads were good this morning about town. At least the ones I drove on.

~

I saw an article from the K.C. Star on Sunday in the arts section that painted a really dismal picture of Missouri and support for the arts. It seems that the Missouri Arts Council is the second oldest state arts council in the nation. In the 1990's the state legislature routinely budgeted between $4.5 million and $5.6 million annually. Now, the state gives it less than $500,000 a year.

I was appalled to see that the state now ranks 49th for spending in the nation for arts. A paltry 8 cents per person. Even the territory of Guam spends more on art. This is a big turnaround from being a state that at the outset was an innovative driving force in support of the arts.

I am well aware that the state has faced major cuts in critical programs but it seems to me less than a half a million a year is appalling. If the legislature cannot budget more from state funds, they could lend their efforts to working for funds from the private sector. There is a lot Missouri has to offer the arts. Our history is rich with poets and writers. Paint artists, musicians, and so on.

Four Seasons in Verse

Yes, it is the first day of spring. Tell that to the weather man. Meghan can be seen here pre-race Saturday getting her gear on. The cold came to visit again and it seems to be handing around. Fortunately last night it stayed just above freezing as rain and sleet moved into the area. We are told a motherload of snow is in store for us next. So much for spring fever.

So there are four seasons to a year - admittedly some geography seems to ignite this fact, but that is another whole blog topic and I am not going there.

What I am pondering is which season has been the subject of more poems?
Of course I don't have the answer, but it is an interesting thought to ponder on a day that could turn ugly chasing us inside to begin the process of "winter cabin-fever" even if it is spring.

Redlands Daily Facts - Living

Redlands Daily Facts - Living

Poet Sholeh Wolpe has work included in the forthcoming anthology "The Other Side of Sorrow," to be published by the Poetry Society of New Hampshire. Patricia Frisella, editor, says the idea for the book began when Sam Hamill called on like-minded poets to host community readings to address the impending war against Iraq.

Tags: Iraq Poetry War Sam Hamill

The Clearest Voice

She holds on to something
In defiance of form

It isn't easy to keep a firm grip
On something you can't distinguish:

Still, she must.
The clearest words
From deep within
Her nuclear core
Tell her

She must.

Can I pause the weekend?

"The faster I write the better my output. If I'm going slow I'm in trouble. It means I'm pushing the words instead of being pulled by them. " --Raymond Chandler

Interesting statement. I find room of agreement and disagreement with it. With poetry, I think it is most applicable to first drafts.

~

Yesterday was another cycling event for my daughter in Lawrence, Kansas. Cold, and the wind was outrageous. Weather forecasts are talking about all kinds of scary amounts of snow for us in the Kansas City area yet this weekend and tomorrow. While the sky looks bad out, I am having trouble being a believer. Perhaps it is simply I am in denial.

~

I need to be sending some stuff today or tomorrow. <---- note to self.

~

I really don't want the weekend to end. Of course I never do anymore but I really don't want Monday to arrive this week. I need more time. ::sigh::

Feeling Green....

A VERY HAPPY AND SAFE ST PATRICK'S DAY TO ALL

Social & Political Commentary Moving To New Blog

I have decided to post social / political commentary for the most part away from this blog. My reasons are really pretty simple, it is more a housekeeping matter than anything else. You can read more on this in the first post at Social Commentary by Stickpoet

Editorial: Fighting terrorism by cheating justice

Editorial: Fighting terrorism by cheating justice

I recommend reading this editorial.

Stickpoet

A Sorry Example of Sociology

A blister, given rise
Plump with anticipation
And between events.
A beginning and an end
That really is not,
But explanation reeks.

We copy to paper
With no thought given
But a man’s DNA,

That's another splinter
Inflamed in redness,
Taut, and mimicking
An ear on a cold day.

Go ahead, Cry foul.
Cry wolf.
Cry at the drop
Of a Stetson.
Cry in vain.
Cry out
With no remorse.

Tears beat a path to your door
And you let them in. Why?
A sorry example of sociology

At best. Another way
To pound the dent out
Of love wrecked
On the corner of indifference.

A time when I called
And the voice of reply was mine,
The explanation reeks too
And we won't talk about it.
Just like the DNA
We fear the complexity
Reaches beyond linear travel
Or comfort.

Thursday Briefs

• Kudos to Eileen Tabios, Editor and the other contributors to the first issue of Galatea Resurrects! [click here]
• Happy Birthday to Ivy !

Point of View

An article by Henry Stimpson in P&W Magazine (March / April - 2006) gives us a glimpse of the poet Franz Wright which I was intrigued by for several reasons, but most importantly because Franz has achieved success outside the realm of academia.

Franz wrote in the shadow of his father's success, although his contact with his father while growing up was limited. In the article, Franz relates writing a poem at the age of 15 and mailing it off to his father. His father reportedly wrote back something like, "I'll be damned, you're a poet. Welcome to hell."

Genetics aside, both achieved a Pulitzer for poetry - I believe the only father and son combination to do so, but the paths both too to such success differ. James Wright was educated at Kenyon College where literary arts were the order of the Day. Franz however achieved his success working outside the academic structure. It is perhaps this facet that I find most interesting. While I am not a critic of academia for the sake if itself, I find refreshing hope in the fact that one can achieve such a respected level of success in the art of poetry outside of its realm.

Both father and son battled mental health issues. Franz has spent a great deal of energy in his later life focusing on poetry as a way to help those isolated and alone in their illness as he once was. In the P&W article he spoke frankly about the path he took. "Let's face it, somebody has to write from outside academia. I got my ass kicked in this world, but I got something out of it. I think I have a sense of the way people live on the outside that I wouldn't trade." This reflects a point of view that I can identify with both as a writer and a consumer of poetry.

tags: Poetry Franz Wright academia Literature Mental Health

Jerry Hall Turns To Poetry

Evening Echo: News

Texas supermodel takes to writing poetry...


tags: Poetry supermodel

Safe from harms way...

The weekend brought with it another trip to Lawrence, Kansas where my daughter rode in two cycling events. A prolog (a time trial) and then later a Crit. The weather was windy but not rainy as it had been the week before. Meghan did much better. I was impressed that she seemed to keep her laps on the Crit pretty consistent as I timed her.

My wife put in long hours volunteering at the event. We were all tired by the time we got home.
Little did we know how fortunate we were for Saturdays weather and not Sundays as severe weather pounded parts of Kansas and Missouri Sunday. The KU campus is closed today with major parts of the campus having some damage to the structures.

Sunday, we rounded up all the pets and headed for the basement as tornado warnings sounded near our home. We were all safe, suffered no damage, but it put a bit of a crimp in some of the chores I had planned. None the less, I still got a lot done, though little work on poetry. I did journal extensively.

Saturdays mail brought with it a rejection letter on two of the poems I had out. They are both strong pieces of work and I am not too dismayed, they will go right back out. I'll find the right venue for them yet.

With that I'll close with a couple of quotes on critics of writing....

Critics are like eunuchs in a harem: they know how it's done,they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves. - Brendan Francis Behan

Asking a working writer what he feels about critics is like asking a lamp-post what it feels about dogs. - John Osborne

tag: critics rejection letter storms tornado

The start of something small

calendarlive.com: The start of something small

Susan Salter Reynolds, LA Times staff writer reviews a new book Edgar Allan Poe & the Juke-Box: Uncollected Poems, Drafts, and Fragments.

According the Reynolds, this book is best suited for true fans of the poet Elizabeth Bishop. People already quite familiar with her work.

tags: poetry Elizabeth Bishop poet review

Hum...

George Orwell: Nineteen Eighty-Four. You are the
classic warning against the threat of
totalitarianism. To you, politics and
philosophy are inseparable, auchtorities suck
and the reality might not exist outside our
imaginations.

Which literature classic are you?
brought to you by

Thursday Quote

"Is getting well ever an art / Or art a way to get well"

~Robert Lowell

Trophy

A face awash in white
Veins drained of the fervent red
Trunk drawn into fetal form

Mock, mock, it is written in the air
Its taste, dingy rock salt
And perfume, essence
of nothing-

Consideration, not withstanding
The evident, apart from a picture window
Saturated in transparent misdirection,

Hard as granite, a place to rest your laurels
A baton with which to bruise
A trophy to hold

*note / original title The Air

Sign Up For A Poem-A-Day

From:
The Academy of American Poets [ click here ]

Is this a face...

Is this a face

you'd trust with a line-item Veto?

Another Race Picture

Meghan on the tail of another cyclist at the Saturday race in Lawrence.

A Full Weekend

Saturday, My wife and I and "race-cycling crazy" daughter, Meghan, drove to Lawrence, Kansas for a race. Meghan "The Beast" is seen here in pre-race warm-up (I use the term warm loosely). She placed - which made her very happy. She'll be back at it again next weekend.

I was able to craft a couple of decent poem drafts Saturday and Sunday. I've got several pieces now that are in Multiple draft stages.

My wife and I started to watch a movie Saturday night - Weatherman staring Nicholas Cage. The movie is presented as a comedy but it is one of the most depressing things I've watched. I can do dark comedy, even enjoy it. There was nothing amusing about this movie. We could not finish it. It sucked! Normally I really like Cage in movies and Gone in Sixty Seconds is one of Cathy's favorites.

I am guessing that Stickpoet will hit the 20,000 unique visitor mark sometime today (Monday) and I'm excited about that. It has also been fun taking note of some of the far away places some of the readers have some from. Besides a healthy dose of local (Kansas City area) readers, they have been coming from California to New York and places between. There are often Canadian readers, several that check in from Great Britain, Australia, China, India, Germany, Poland, Italy, the list goes on. Thanks to all of you, the near are the far. It is always great the get comments from readers as well.

I'll close today's post with a poetry quote from Marianne Moore -

"I am governed by the pull of a sentence as the pull of a fabric is governed by gravity. I like the end-stopped line and dislike the reversed order of words, like symmetry."

Life Distilled: Four Decades of U.S. Poet Laureates

Life Distilled: Four Decades of U.S. Poet Laureates
SPECIAL SERIES ON PUBLIC RADIO

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Many casual fans of poetry do not know who the U.S. poet laureate is or, for that matter, what the poet laureate does. Who appoints the poet laureate? What are his or her official duties? More importantly, why should you care? New Letters on the Air, a nationally syndicated literary arts program, answers those questions and more with the series Life Distilled: Four Decades of U.S. Poet Laureates.

This special five-episode series of one hour programs features readings and conversations with 16 of the U.S. poet laureates, using archive interviews from one of the longest-running literary shows in public radio, thanks to a reversioning grant from the Public Radio Exchange (http://www.prx.org/). The series spans over four decades of poet laureates, from the late Howard Nemerov, who held the position in 1963, to the current laureate, Ted Kooser.

Many poets laureate have used the position to expose new audiences to poetry. Billy Collins discusses his Poetry 180 program for American high schools. He says, “I picked 180 poems that I think are clear and interesting and smart and contemporary, and I encouraged high schools to have the poem read as part of public announcements every day. So you don’t have to respond to the poem at all. You just have to listen to it.”

Life Distilled: Four Decades of U.S. Poet Laureates also includes former laureates Rita Dove, Robert Pinsky, and Maxine Kumin, who read some of their most famous work and give insight into the creative process that drives them to write. James Whittemore, William Stafford and Stanley Kunitz talk about the political power of poetry, while Joseph Brodsky explains how poetry helped keep his mind active while serving time in a Soviet prison. Gwendolyn Brooks recalls meeting Langston Hughes as a young girl and recollects his encouraging words that inspired her to continue writing. In a rather cantankerous interview, Howard Nemerov reads “On the Occasion of National Mourning,” a poem about the space shuttle Challenger disaster, as well as some humorous poems about his dog.

Even if listeners don’t think they’re into poetry, this series has something to offer. “Most people have a creative streak, whether they’re interested in writing or not,” says Angela Elam, host of New Letters on the Air. “I hope by exploring the writer’s process and hearing work that captures the essence of life, this series will inspire listeners to do something creative in their own way,”

The shows will be available for preview at www.prx.org beginning in March. Individuals interested in hearing the series should contact the program director of their local public radio station, and ask if the series is airing for National Poetry Month in April. For more information about the series, visit the New Letters homepage at http://www.newletters.org/ or call toll-free (888) 548-2477.

Tags: Poetry poets Poet Laureates

Poetry Workshop - Kansas City

The Poetry Workshop Series
Conducted by
Missi Rasmussen

March 8th, 15th, and 22nd Wednesdays
6:30p.m. - 8:30p.m. $45.00 (includes all 3 workshops)

The Poetry Workshop Series is a series of three 2-hour workshops where poets of all levels will get together to compose poems, enhance poems, and give and receive feedback from other poets.

Workshop 1 - During this workshop poets will do a series of mini-exercises designed to get the poetic words on the page. Poets will leave this workshop with approximately 10 new poems on their pages. Poets will also be asked during this workshop to bring up to ten pages of poems to exchange with other members for feedback.

Workshop 2 - During this workshop members will experiment with different ways to enhance poems they may feel dissatisfied with. Poets are asked to bring at least three poems to be enhanced. Poets will then be able to read aloud their finished works for verbal feedback from other members. The workshop will begin with a mini-exercise session to get the poetic muses stirring.

Workshop 3 - During this workshop poets will create poems using more thorough exercises. A final read-around of finished works for feedback will conclude these workshops.

**Poets are expected to leave the workshops with approximately 15 new poems he or she has composed during the workshops, in addition to the several he or she has brought to enhance. Poets will also have written feedback on up to ten of their poems, in addition to the verbal feedback they’ve received.

Please call (816) 468-4766 to reserve your spot in the Workshops.

Coach's Bio: Missi Rasmussen is a poet and writer whose work has appeared in numerous literary journals and the anthology Under the TellingTree: An Anthology of Verse and Voice. She is a Production Editor for The Scribe literary journal and a state board representative of the Missouri Poetry Society as well as the president of the Kansas City Chapter of the Missouri Poetry Society. Her first collection of poems, Like a Madman is due out this summer.

Desperate people do stupid things

If you ever wondered what often drives men to do stupid things, we have a perfect example before us right now. A president of the most powerful nation on earth is faced with the following:

• Slumping popularity in the polls
• Scandal and ineptness all around him (Libby, Brown, Chertoff, et al)
• A preemptive attack on a nation over WMDs it did not have
• Unconstitutional eavesdropping against American citizens
• Troops committed to a war that over 2/3 now believe we should withdraw from
• A nuclear arms crisis brewing in Iran and North Korea
• 8 billion dollars a month committed to the war effort
• Impending Civil war in Iran
• The recent controversy over the Arab company Dubai Ports

With not idea what to tackle or where to start, the President has run off to India to offer them a sweet nuclear deal in the name of making the world safer. That is right, if India will separate it's nuclear energy program from it's weapons program, we'll give them more nuclear material. The idea is that somehow, separating these two programs and giving us the option to inspect the weapons facility from time to time makes the world a safer place.

Keep in mind these three things:

1. India never signed the nuclear nonproliferation treaty.
2. They already have nuclear weapons.
3. They presently are finding it difficult to access additional nuclear material.

So the President, in the name of some great benefit to the security of the world, is going to reward a nation that has refused to be a partner over all these years to the nonproliferation treaty, by giving them privileged treatment and awarding them more nuclear material. What kind of precedence will this establish? How will you say no to other nations, and how is this going to stabilize nuclear powers and make us all safer?

This is the kind of stupid thing that desperate people do. Now we can make a reality TV show called Desperate Presidents.

Tags: Bush India Nuclear

It's Wednesday, What do you want?

On this fine Wednesday morning, when the weather here in K.C. is beautiful, I'll take a stroll around the world at what is going on.

First, there is Frist. Senator Frist is busy trashing American civil liberties. Meanwhile, Bush has turned in the lowest rating of a two term President in the polls since Nixon prior to his resignation. Still, Bush isn't worried about the polls, he has "ample capital" according to an ABC interview. But capital or not, he now finds that his Iraq War effort is not even supported by the troops in the field.

Overnight, Bush made a surprise stop in Afghanistan on the way to India. While there, Afghan President Hamid Karzai asked the $64,000 question, "Where's Osama bin Laden?"

In India, the president is busy with a plan to make the world safer.... "Both of us have to convince our respective people in the interest of having a civilian nuclear program that's separate from a military nuclear program," Bush said. [scratching my head, WTF? They already have the bomb!] And thousands turn out to protest. But then [click here] and now I get it!

In Baghdad it gets diecy. But Bush denied Iraq was sliding into civil war, despite the worst sectarian strife since a U.S. invasion. It's the denial thing all over again ::sigh:: - but perhaps he realizes we are close to one at home? No, I doubt it.

Back in the states, Imani Perry, a Law Professor seeks the meaning of Rap. It it, or is it not poetry? And North Carolina's poet laureate believes it's the best way to learn verse.

And last, this just in!!! HUSAYBAH, Iraq - News travels slowly to American troops deployed in the desert plains of western Iraq. Days after the bombing of a Shiite shrine convulsed the country in religious violence, word hadn't reached U.S. Marines some 160 miles away. In fact, some are just now learning Bush was re-elected. Not!

Tags: Bush Iraq Bill Frist Civil liberties Patriot Act Poetry

Governor Kulongoski Appoints Lawson Inada Poet Laureate Of Oregon - (Ashland Article)

Governor Kulongoski Appoints Lawson Inada Poet Laureate Of Oregon - (Ashland Article)

Note: The first to serve since William Stafford served as Poet Laureate until his death in 1983. It has taken them over 22 years to find a replacement?

Tag: Poetry

American Chronicle: The Commander in Chief Has Lost the Troops

American Chronicle: The Commander in Chief Has Lost the Troops

The President has lost the support of those charged with executing his policy in Iraq.

According to the poll - 72% of American troops serving in Iraq think the U.S. should exit the country within the next year. Among Reserves 90% favor withdrawal compared to 83% of the National Guard, 70% of the Army, and 58% of the Marines. Moreover, about three-quarters of National Guard and Reserve units favor withdrawal within 6 months.

Tag: Iraq Bush War Troops Military

AP Wire | 02/27/2006 | Critic and poet Leonard Unger dead at 89

AP Wire 02/27/2006 Critic and poet Leonard Unger dead at 89



Tag: poets

Poetry Foundation Announces Partnership with The NewsHour

U.S. Newswire : Releases : "Poetry Foundation Announces Partnership with The NewsHour..."


Tag: Poetry

Speaking of Olympics

In conjunction with an earlier post where I indicated that I found Curling to be interesting, I found a few interesting quotes related to the subject. Hope you will enjoy them along with me.

• We'll explain the appeal of curling to you if you explain the appeal of the National Rifle Association to us. ~Andy Barrie, Canadians to Americans
• It's not just a rock. It's forty-two pounds of polished granite, with a beveled underbelly and a handle a human being can hold. Okay, so in and of itself it looks like it has no practical purpose, but it's a repository of possibility. And, when it's handled just right, it exacts a kind of poetry - as close to poetry as I ever want to get. The way it moves.... Not once, in everything I've done, have I ever felt the same wonder and humanity as when I'm playing the game of curling. ~Paul Gross, John Krizanc, and Paul Quarrington, Men with Brooms
• Curling is not a sport. I called my grandmother and told her she could win a gold medal because they have dusting in the Olympics now. ~Charles Barkley
• If curling were easy, they'd call it hockey. ~Author Unknown
• I get my rocks off curling. ~Saying of the sport
• I'm a curling addict - I need a hit, and I want to get stoned! ~Author Unknown

A couple of other fund quotes in honor of the Winter Games:

• I think my favorite sport in the Olympics is the one in which you make your way through the snow, you stop, you shoot a gun, and then you continue on. In most of the world, it is known as the biathlon, except in New York City, where it is known as winter. ~Michael Ventre, L.A. Daily News
• Stretch pants - the garment that made skiing a spectator sport. ~Author Unknown
• Cross country skiing is great if you live in a small country. ~Steven Wright

Tags: Olympics Curling Winter Olympics skiing

Overlord by Jorie Graham - reviewed

Jorie Graham teaches us about the nature of being human with her poetic reflection on war, Overlord, says Fiona Sampson - [review here]

As Promised - My Education Budget

When I originally posted a blog with a request for people to allocate a $100 education budget among a number of subjects I did so with an intent in mind. The intent was to gauge the placement of emphasis individuals placed on poetry. While there were several comments posted, I never really was able to achieve some idea of where poetry fit into the importance of a curriculum model. One person gave 100% of the budget to poetry. The rest lumped things together making it impossible to assess it as an individual item. While in my heart, I too want to give poetry 100% I know that is not realistic.

So alas, here is my effort at placing priorities on the education curriculum pie.

• English - $15
• Math - $15
• Science - $15
• Social Sciences - $16
• Poetry - $07
• Physical Ed - $06
• Music -$07
• Art - $07
• Shop/Home ecc -$06
• Team Sports -$06

In defense of my budget let me say that I believe that English is of critical importance. While it may look like I am treating it the same as Math and Science, by separating poetry funding outside of the English Department, it really is in essence getting more than the rest. I view language skills, reading and communication critical educational elements. Without which, further education including self-education later in life is hindered.

Math and Science are core subjects of importance - in the long run, they are enhanced by laying a good foundation of reading and communication.

Social Sciences (history, social studies, civics, government) actually receive a dollar more that the other core subjects. This is because I believe we don't place enough emphasis on understanding where we as people fit into a vast pool of world cultures and different governments. It is hard for people with ignorance to the outside world to be expected to achieve any kind of reasonable understanding of others and what their needs, motivations, and cultural experiences are about. If we are to achieve greater world harmony, we need to better understand the rest of the world and not become so entrenched in the, "It's all about me" mentality.

Poetry- had as it might be, it gets only $7. And equal amount to the other arts, but it truly in my book is a valuable educational experience. It is not only a fine are, but it helped develop excellent thought process, enhance communication skills and open even more doors to other cultures. I know not every appreciates poetry to the extent that some of us do, but I believe this is their loss. It is so much about life and personal knowledge that is is far more than just memorizing poems for a class. It has real therapeutic value and opens the door to relieving stress and anxiety.

Music and Art are each getting the same allotment amount. While both of these share some of the same benefits as poetry, they deserve their owns separate funding. They add to our over all appreciation and enjoyment of life, but without nearly as much emphasis on the communication components.

Physical education is important and for may years has been perhaps hit hard in education budgets just as the arts have. It gets $6 out of my budget, but that is the daytime school program and not included is after school sports. That receives a separate $6 budget allotment.

Shop and Home Economics receive a $6 budget allocation as well. These are elective programs that have some importance but I believe I am be especially generous to them at six bucks out of the total budget.

So there you have it, and I'm sure some of you will want to pick it apart, but what I am trying to say is that poetry is in my opinion a critical part of any educational program for youngsters. I wish I had had more exposure to it in school. I believe at the time I was in school, there was not near the emphasis that I believe in hindsight it should have had.

Some of you may look at my $7 figure and think that it fails to reflect the level of importance that I verbalize. I agree that in some respects, for example saying that it gets only 7% of the total budget seems paltry. I think on the other hand that when you consider that the core subjects get 15 to 16 dollars each, this is about 47% of a core subject.

No Soccer Socks Here

I must be easily amused. I noticed today that someone actually found their way to this blog by googling "orange/black bumblebee soccer socks". Now the reason this strikes me with such hilarity is that soccer is way down on my list of interests. Yes, I have played it as a youngster and I found it to be something akin to a disorganized fire drill. It seemed so totally pointless to spend so much time running on this big field with so little contact with the ball. Anyway, I trust the person looking for soccer socks was not too disillusioned.

My daughter is off today to Lawrence for a bicycle race. I am sorry to say I'll miss it. I am staying home as another daughter is recuperating from surgery this week. At any rate, I'm wishing good thoughts for Meghan. Of course yesterday's weather was much warmer and Sunday it is supposed to be back in the upper 60's again, so it only stands to reason she get stuck in between two nice days and have to ride in the cold and the wind.

My book Break, Blow, Burn, Camille Paglia Reads Forty-Three of the World's Best Poems has come in so I'll likely go pick it up after while.

Last night, in an effort to find that groove, I spent time writing some small bits of imagery stuff. I felt there were several really nice things that came out of this exercise and one or two of them I believe I can cull for use down the road.

I have enjoyed both the athleticism and artistry of several things in the Winter Olympics. The figure skating and ice dancing especially lend itself to both. I always enjoy the Nordic events. The downhill, slaloms, the ski jumping. On the other end if the spectrum, my wife and I have both found the curling events to be interesting. I have found that there is a local curling organizations that gives lessons. Hum....

Well, I need to check and see if my daughter needs anything so I suppose that is it for now.

Camille Paglia on Art / Poetry

Last night I heard Camille Paglia speak here in Kansas City. She was promoting her new book, Break, Blow, Burn, Camille Paglia Reads Forty-Three of the World's Best Poems. I'll share a few thoughts on here presentation & viewpoint.

To start with, she has not trouble speaking her mind. Given her notoriety as a feminist, I thought this would likely shine through, however it didn't. I found her to be thought provoking and I tended to be in agreement with her more often than not in terms of substance.

An example: I agree with her that great art (poetry included) never remains the same. She urged people to go back and review art that they have found strikingly significant in the past and consider what it is saying to them today. Five, ten, or fifteen years later we see it different via our life experiences. I totally agree with this, and while this is not revolutionary or new to me, I appreciated her way of expressing it.

Her view of what makes a good poem centers on the quality usage of language and words of vitality. She prefers the personal read on the page to reading poetry aloud. And I tend to agree that how the poem hangs on the page, its visual presentation is important.

She was highly critical of existing established academic programs these days and maintains that Art belongs to all of humanity, not simply to an elite coterie.

She used "the term"accessible which of course is not the most positive word in my vocabulary and I would not specifically find it necessary to define poetry that for my buck, would stand the test of time.

I glanced at the book, though they were sold out. Mine is expected in on Friday. I was guessing the Plath poem she selected would be Daddy or Lady Lazaruss. It was Daddy.

Ms. Paglia speaks at a 90 mile an hour clip (I kid you not) and it taxes an ADD mind, but I found the experienced to be worthwhile.

I am anxious to get into her specifics in the book and when I do, I'll likely have more to say about it.


Tags: Poetry Art Break, Blow, Burn Paglia

To Be Sure Is A Good Thing...

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh!" he whispered. "Yes, Piglet?" "Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. "I just wanted to be sure of you." ~A.A. Milne

Saturday - all is quiet

Bitter cold descended upon us overnight. Gone are the 60 degree January days we knew were too good to be true. Last night it was single digits. We had a touch of snow, but even that was scant and chased away by the cold.

Last night I managed to get three more poems off bringing my total submissions for the year to date at 13.

The mail has come, no rejections - only a utility bill, the latest Poets & Writers and a slew of junk mail, catalogues and material mostly for my daughters. My wife lamented no mail. I reminded her no mail can be a good thing.

My daughter picked up a couple of books for me last night as some discount book store. The Night Abraham Called To The Stars by Robert Bly, and Augusten Burroughs book, Running with Scissors. I've been wanting to read this book for some time. It will have to wait however for me to finish my current read.

That is it for now, I'm off to clean in my office.

Site visitors

Just wanted to mention that some of the readers of stickpoet this week have visited the site from these places:

• 13 from Van Texas
• 3 from San Joes
• 2 from Calgary, Canada
• 2 from Stirling, Scotland
• 2 from Blue Springs, Missouri (almost my backyard)
• 1 from Erode, India
• 1 from Toronto, Canada
• 1 from Sarasota, Florida (spring training is coming soon!)
• 1 from White Plains, New York
• 1 from Detroit, Michigan
• 1 from San Juan, Puerto Rico
• 1 from Rotterdam, Netherlands
• 1 from Schenectady, New York

Just to name a few. Thanks to everyone for dropping in.

A summary of this years publication activity

January

Submissions to publishers / journals - 8 poems
Submissions accepted - none
Submissions rejected - none

February

Submissions To Publishers / journals - 2 poems
Submissions accepted - none
Submissions rejected - none

Totals for year

Submissions - 10
Accepted - none
Rejected - none

Note: I should have 3-4 more going out over the weekend.

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Civil liberties fear as US terror suspect list rises to 325,000

Guardian Unlimited Special reports Civil liberties fear as US terror suspect list rises to 325,000


With the list numbers growing swiftly, Timothy Sparapani, a privacy rights expert at the American Civil Liberties Union, said the ACLU's response was one of incredulity, and alarm that many people are likely to be on the list by mistake, with serious impact on their lives and few, if any, means of getting themselves off it.

Tags: civil-liberties

Poetry Rules Valentine's Day Online

Poetry Rules Valentine's Day Online

In the week ending February 11 - leading up to Valentines Day - the search term, "love poems" grew 83 percent. This outpaced searches for Chocolates, flowers and other gifts normally associated with Valentine's day during the same time period.

This news is a positive indication on the general publics view of poetry, at least in a broad context.

Other interesting demographics information can be seen at the story linked.

In Defense of the Vice President

Vise President Dick Cheney is taking a lot of heat over the weekend hunting accident in Texas in which he shot a fellow hunter in the face. I realize that this is a bit uncommon. The last Vice President to shoot a man was on July 11, 1804, when Alexander Hamilton and Vice President Aaron Burr met on the dueling grounds at Weehawken, New Jersey. So it is not like it has never happened before.

Cheney, an experienced hunter had a $125 nonresident hunting license in Texas. But after investigating the incident, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department issues a warning to the Vice President because while he had a license, he did not purchase a required $7 special stamp. Officials at the White House said the Vice President was not aware he needed the stamp. Honestly, I would not have thought you needed to buy a $7 stamp to shot someone either.


Tag: Dick Cheney

The Poet Robert Browning on Love

"Take away love and our earth is a tomb."

~Robert Browning

Chalk Lines

Chalk Lines
for Cathy

The gravity of it,
Newton’s hour
When force of physics
Establish its dominance
Pulling you down-
The blue chill of
Mare Moscoviense
On the darkside,
Freeze dries all hope.
I sprinkle what's left
A fine pool cue pumice
To outline your sleep.
If hope is all that I have,
It must be close to you-
A reminder when you awake,
You have all there is of me.

VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY SHOOTS FRIEND IN FACE

No, that is not a headline from the Onion - check out Time or CNN. Just think of the options open to Jon Stewart of The Daily Show.

Poetry notes....

1. Check out the John Freeman's review of Love in the Extreme, a poetry book by Richard Siken and published by Grand Rapids Press.
2. Reading: Victor Smith - Friday February 17th at 7:30 pm - The Writers Place- Kansas City native who's poems have appeared in a number of publications, including The Kansas City Star and the Alternative American.
3. OPEN MIC - The Writers Place - Monday - February 27th - 8-10PM

Today's Poetry Quote: "Each man carries within him the soul of a poet who died young." ~Sainte-Beuve, Portraits litteaires, 1862

Saturday Stuff

Thanks to Jilly, I found this piece about Billy Collins and his feelings of being less than a laureate interesting.

The opening ceremony of the Olympics was moving. I always enjoy seeing the attire that each country chooses to wear. Thank God the U.S. ditched the cowboy hats. The lighting of the torch was spectacular. Watched some of the women's hockey today. Excellent games. Looking forward to alpine sking tonight and figure skating.

Worked some this morning on a new poem... still much more to do on it just to finish the first draft.

I'm off to run some errands...

FRIDAY BITS

• This interesting piece is making the news today: Libby Testifies "Superiors" Ordered Leak of Classified Information.
• A guide to the Winter Olympics which start today (here)
• My wife and I were talking during the drive into work this morning... she was highly suspicious of Bush's details on failed LA terrorist plot. I am too. It is not that I don't think that it could have or could become a target. I just find it interesting that he is only now talking about it publicly. It just runs contrary to his normal personality. This man likes to take "bragging rights" so the news of it over three years later seems a bit contrived. Besides, what basis do we have to believe him?
• Jack Abramoff on Bush's brush-off of their relationship, "The guy saw me in almost a dozen settings, and joked with me about a bunch of things, including details of my kids. Perhaps he has forgotten everything, who knows." (here)
• "I feel somewhat abandoned..." The words of Michael Brown testifying before Congress on the government's response to Katrina. Wow, those are words I bet the people of the Gulf Coast area can identify with. (here)
• "Poetry is an act of peace" wrote Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. "Peace goes into the making of a poet as flour goes into the making of bread." (here)
• And this on Moon Poetry.
• If you haven't already joined this discussion on the $ value of poetry do so [see yesterday's post]

Here and There

Just to note a few geographical locations represented by Stickpoet visitors lately.....

• Sydney, Australia
• Montreal, Canada
• Kalamazoo, Michigan
• Burgas, Bulgaria
• Joliet, Illinois
• Chula Vista, California
• Brighton, United Kingdom
• Wadesboro, North Carolina
• Silver Springs, Maryland
• Bonn, Germany
• Vadodara, India
• Shawnee Mission, Kansas
• Screwsbury, United Kingdom
• Mansfield, Missouri
• San Francisco, California
• Wichita, Kansas

Nice broad mix of people. Stickpoet thanks you all for stopping by and the many other locations I did not name. We truly have an international group of readers dropping in.