Wednesday Poet Series - Break

I am taking a break from the Wednesday Poet series while I work on becoming more acquainted with a couple of poets I wish to feature here. I cannot say that I will be back with the series as early as next week, but that is a possibility. I want the presentations to be more in depth, and I simply cannot do justice to the next few presentations I want to do without more time. In the past, Stickpoet has undertaken some interviews and I am looking at incorporating interviews into this series from time to time, where the opportunity might be available.

Tuesday & Tootsie Rolls

Laurel Snyder's post of October 18th caught my attention. She said she has been busy, among other things thinking about people who have clean houses and how hard it is to trust people with super clean houses. But what really caught my attention was her thoughts on: how a century from now, people will look back and ask themselves why we allowed our government to kill people. They will ask themselves, as we ask ourselves about slavery and the holocaust, "Why didn't they know it was wrong?"

Anyway, I share her view on capital punishment and I would extend this to include how our government treats others it has in detention. Anyway, read her post. BTW - I would like to meet King Arthur too!

Then, the New Zoo Poet asks: What is the longest you've ever worked on one poem? Wow! I wish I could answer that.

Looking forward to tonight's World Series game. Hope Detroit's pitchers leave their Tootsie Rolls at home.

I found this item interesting. The Grand Rounds, is a weekly event at Dartmouth Medical School. It's an academic forum in which physicians and researchers make scientific presentations. Recently, U.S. Poet Laureate Donald Hall added a new dimension to the forum by reading works about illness, grief and living life fully. Hall is no stranger to these subjects, a cancer survivor himself and of course having lost his wife to that same illness. Dr. Ira Byock, director of Palliative Medicine at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center said that the union between medicine and poetry has great therapeutic potential

Balancing Act

The public clamoring for community poet laureates is on the rise. Almost at an unbelievable clip. Kind of like the Dow Jones average climbing higher and higher on a graph. This has of course given poets and poetry a much higher public profile in recent years. Not only do we have a U.S. poet laureate, but many states, cities and even smaller municipalities are crowning their own as well.

This of course affords these entities someone in an official capacity to represent the community at significant community and or public events and these individuals are often called upon to recite a poem that relates to the community or the occasion that is being acknowledged. Often the poet may write something specific for the occasion.

But poets are a rare breed. And to ask a poet to speak at a public gathering and use their talent to express imagery and emotion can be like striking a match to a stick of dynamite. That is because poets tend to pull from the deepest pool of their inner-self. Therein lies a rich honesty that not all may like.

Last week, the poet Nikki Giovanni was asked to recite at a dedication in Cincinnati and her poem I am Cincinnati was emotionally and politically charged. Her poem struck out at some politicians and was laced with language that raised a lot of eyebrows. I suspect it would have been impossible for Giovanni to have addressed the crowd on this occasion with, shall we say etiquette and social grace; and at the same time remain true to herself. Given this choice to balance, I believe more times than not, a poet is going to remain true to themselves.

There are many instances of poets whose words have fallen on disfavor of certain segments of the public. The poet Amiri Baraka, for example , who was fired as poet laureate of New Jersey after his words in a poem on 9-11 were upsetting to some.

The juxtaposition created by the growing desire for very public and "official" poetry on one hand and the sometimes resulting unhappiness with content of publicly read poems creates an interesting dilemma for the poets and the community at large.

tags: Nikki Giovanni poetry censorship Free Speech self censorship

If this sounds Confusing...

One headline: Staying the course no more - Bush changes policy in wake of pressure as election nears (source) and another, WHITE HOUSE WON'T SHIFT IRAQ STRATEGY- Bush Officials: No Plan for Big Iraq Strategy Shift or Ultimatum to Iraqi Leaders (source). If this sounds confusing to you, then you are not alone. This is a president that has lying and deception down to an art. And my question to you is why, in the weeks before the mid-term elections should we believe ANYTHING that this man or those representing him say?

Tags: Iraq War Bush Republicans GOP elections

Got this from Quotidian Light

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 2,892 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

The Poetry Exercise's Logical Conclusion: New Book of Poems Consists of Exercises for Readers to Write Poems - PR.com

The Poetry Exercise's Logical Conclusion: New Book of Poems Consists of Exercises for Readers to Write Poems - PR.com

Blue lion books believes that an idea, if expressed, should be expressed in its fullest manner. one of our newest books is Catherine Daly’s third book of poetry, To Delite and Instruct, a 276-page romp through the idea of poetry-writing exercises.


tags: Catherine Daly poetry

Olbermann: the beginning of the end of America

A MUST WATCH COMMENTARY

tags: Olbermann Bush Terrorism Iraq civil-liberties habeus corpus

Thoughts on Bly's Archives

Robert Bly is an acclaimed American poet. He is also still very much alive. When we from time to time learn the Nachlass of some poet or writer has come into the hands of a public institution and that always seems to elicit some degree of enthusiasm. Perhaps it is the fact that the The University of Minnesota Libraries have acquired the archives of such a noteworthy living poet that I find his news all the more intriguing.

The reported cost of this acquisition was $775,000, came from private gifts as well as university support. For this sum they will get more than 80,000 pages of handwritten manuscripts, Bly's journal spanning nearly 50 years, notebooks of Bly's "morning poems" As well as countless drafts of translations, and his extensive correspondence with writers James Wright, Donald Hall, James Dickey along with other items.

To me, it is fitting that these literary documents remain at an institution in his home state. But I am especially pleased to see that the plans include having the material digitized and made available for research and study by the university community but also a global audience who by online access. At 79, no one knows how much more material Bly is likely to produce but the acquisition agreement also provide extended opportunity to acquire all of Bly's future creative output.

If I sound excited by all this, it's because I am. For whatever reason I have found it hard to pass over opportunities to look into the goodies of various literary estates. In this case I would be especially interested in Bly's correspondence with James Wright and Donald Hall. I have already seen some of the Wright correspondence that was published in his collection of letters done not too long ago. I read the Plath's journals, Sexton's letters, and now I am reading Journals and early poems of Allen Ginsberg. I guess I am a sucker for this stuff.

I really don't think you can discount the value that knowing more about a poet and his or her life can add to the critical understanding of their work.

Speaking of Ginsberg, if you consider that Stanford University paid $1 million 12 years ago for the Ginsberg archives, the Bly deal almost seems like a steal.

Tags: Robert Bly University of Minnesota Libraries Literary Estates

Vancouver wants own poet laureate

Vancouver wants own poet laureate like several other Canadian cities (Toronto, Montreal, Victoria and Saskatoon) . This seems to be a growing trend among municipalities. Even in the U.S.

Rogue Exposure

I'm very pleased with the initial traffic on Rogue Poetry Review. On the day the first issue went up (Tuesday) 324 hits. Yesterday another 211 hits for a total of 535 in the first two days. I have no complaints whatsoever about the exposure it has gotten.

A few thank you notes are in order here. The following have posted links. If I am missing anyone, and I probably am, please let me know.

• THE BLIND CHATELAINE'S POKER POETICS
• Quotidian Light
• Keep Searching For the Pearl

FYI

The Wednesday Poet Series will not appear here today. Instead, I encourage you go to the inaugural edition of Rogue Poetry Review and read the voices represented there. Wednesday Poet will be back next week.

Thanks for your understanding - Michael

Rogue Poetry Review

The first Issue is up... I hope everyone will check it out. There are some outstanding poems in this issue.

Michael A. Wells - Editor

tag: Rogue Poetry Review

Dylan Thomas in the News

Dylan Thomas is widely considered one of the greatest 20th Century poets writing in English. The Welsh poet certainly made a mark in the literary would during his short lifetime (dying at age 39).

This week starts off with news that Actor Neil Morrissey is selling a pub that was a hangout of the late Welsh poet Dylan Thomas in Brown's Hotel in Laugharne, Carmarthenshire. The site is near where Dylan and his wife Caitlin raised their family in a boat house.

And speaking of Caitlin... Actress Lindsay Lohan will play the wife of the Welsh poet in a movie with Keira Knightley. Knightely will play the role of childhood friend Vera Phillips. The two women are sexually attracted to one another.

That One Great Poem - What Would It Be Like?

Podcast - That One Great Poem - What Would It Be Like?

Friday the 13th ~

On the heels of my Wednesday Poet feature on Peter Conners comes this item: Poetry: "A Urinal I Invite You To Hang On Your Wall."

~0~

Nice to read of Ivy's exploits with her chapbooks. [here]

~0~

Check out Christine Hamm's - Transparent Dinner / Mayapple Press. [here]

~0~

Then chew in this morsel.............. The head of the British army has said that our troops in Iraq are merely exacerbating the problems there and leading to difficulties for British forces worldwide.


Tags: Transparent Dinner Christine Hamm Ivy Mayapple Press Wednesday Poet Peter Conners Iraq British Army War

And The Winner Is....

The announcement for the winner of the Nobel Prize for literature is out and Turkey's Orhan Pamuk has won for works bridging the east-west divide .

Not surprisingly, President Bush has rejected the findings of the Johns Hopkins Study on Iraqi deaths since the invasion. But the best arguments on the subject I have seen was made here and here. The study provides a significant point at which to judge the impact this decision has had and continues to have on the people of Iraq. Like some many other things, the president is simply in a state of denial.

A Canadian-born, Pulitzer Prize­winning poet survives the tests of time- Mark Strand. Read this article about his new book, Man and Camel.

Always amused by what brings people to this site. Two recent search engine keyword strings used...

• how would I make a Super Hero out of phosphorous
• killing a frog dream

The Chronicle: Daily News Blog: Verse Academics Dominate Poetry Finalists for National Book Awards

The Chronicle: Daily News Blog: Verse Academics Dominate Poetry Finalists for National Book Awards

Four poets with academic ties are finalists for the National Book Awards. Ther are: Louise Glück , H.L. Hix, Nathaniel Mackey, and James McMichael

Bush predicts victory at polls next month

President Bush Continues in a State of Denial

tags: Bush denial Iraq election

654,000 deaths tied to Iraq war

Johns Hopkins researchers now estimate that more than a half-million Iraqis have died as a result of the U.S.-led invasion and its bloody aftermath.

Tags: Iraq Bush War Republicans Republicans Congress

Wednesday Poet Series - No. 4

This week's poet is Peter Conners. He is both a poet and fiction writer who's work has been featured in Mississippi Review, Salt Hill, Beloit Fiction Journal, Luna, Sentence, 88: A Journal of Contemporary American Poetry, Paragraph, and, Quick Fiction, among other publications. Books include, The Names of Winter, While In The World , and he edited PP/FF: An Anthology

What work of Conners I have read seems intricate as to detail. Bite The Pomegranate would be a great example as to his predisposal to catching all that is about and pulling it into his images as he writes.

The Poet Washes Dishes is a favorite of mine. Here he gets a lot of mileage out of his detail.

"The soft downturn of the ladle handle soared and fell like the epic point guard's final jump shot..."

" Water turned from periods to semi-colons and, finally, ellipses."

Here are a few other poems by Peter Conners:

Snowbirds Made of Clay Endurance Poets with alarm clocks in their foreheads

Peter Conners official website - click here

Tags: Wednesday Poet Peter Conners Poetry

Overdue for an appearance here

A few poets I have read over the past week....

1. Susan Hutton in October Poetry Magazine
2. Laura Kasischke in October Poetry Magazine*
3. John Ashberry in The New Yorker - Oct. 9th
4. Jorie Graham in Swarm
5. Frank Higgins in Rockhurst Review of Five Arts - Spring 2006 19th Edition.

* I was really excited to see Kasischke in Poetry Magazine. Reading her book, Gardening In the Dark, I was so impressed with her talent for imagery. I did feel her piece in PM was a bit more abstract and I liked that very much.

A few bits from this weeks Journal

• In the villa of fantasy / The dancers wait, /And the passage of time / Slips through the waist / Of a rose colored hourglass / While the mind elicits / Thoughts to choreograph / In Burberry expressions / Of lust and indulgence //
• We could sit in the faint light forever, though we would be pained by spinal failure and in the end become two puddles of red emollient
• Why the diversion? Why the sudden interest in the hue of other lives.

Managed to recycle a submission to another venue this weekend and I have worked on some draft revisions.

On another note, Rogue Poetry Review should be ready by the weekend. I am excited!

Tags: Poets writing and poetry Laura Kasischke Jorie Graham John Ashberry Frank Higgins Susan Hutton Rogue Poetry Review

Wednesday Poet Will Not Appear Today

Stick Poet's regular Wednesday Poet Series will not appear today - but will resume next Wednesday.
Thank You for stopping by...

~ Michael

OJ

We lost one of our cats yesterday. OJ was 17 years old.

He had an Iconic status within our home. By far the senior cat - a wise old sage. Fiercely independent, he established his own boundaries where the other cats were concerned. The dogs even respected him.

Sometime back - I'm thinking about 7 years ago, he had one eye surgically removed. I recall really feeling sad for him when he lost it, but it was feared his bad eye would rupture so there really was not a choice. He actually seemed to feel much better afterwards and adjusted very well.

He was a strong cat. He had been quite large at one time, but over the past couple of years lost much weight and although he sometimes appeared quite frail, if you wanted to pick him up, he could dig his claws into the carpet and it was coming up too.

At one time he had been prone to seizures. We had to administer Phenobarbital. He grew out of this for the most part, but it was always a possibility that existed. So in many ways, I perceived OJ to be resolute, a tough dude who had endured a lot in his life, but at the same time saw him as fragile.

He is missed!

Poets I Have Read This Past Week

1. Lisa Zaran
2. Richard Wilbur
3. Eileen Tabios
4. Fenny Sterenborg
5. Robert Pinsky
6. Sharon Olds
7. Naomi Shihab Nye
8. Raymond A. Foss
9. John Ashbery
10. Jorie Graham
11. Destiny Dorozan Kappa
12. Cindy Tebo
13. Missi Rasmussen
14. Elizabeth Hykes
15. Sharon Esther Lampert
16. Judith Bader Jones

Sports Utility Poem by Michael Wells

What Time Can Do To The Written Word

I've been focusing on two things. One, pulling together the first issue of Rogue Poetry Review. This is going well and I originally had a target date of Oct.10th. I was hopeful that I might even do one better and complete everything by Monday. This may or may not happen, but I figure either way, I am ahead of myself in terms of original plans.

The other point of focus is trying to better organize my own poetry manuscripts. I am saving them as a backup to a flash drive, but being somewhat selective in that I have a lot of stuff I am not totally pleased with and I am trying to segregate this from the other. Doing so of course this involves revisiting a lot of stuff written long ago. Amazing what time can do.

Tags: poetry writing

As Congress Rushes For Election Break

• US backs 'torture' methods to question terror suspects
• Bob Woodward says Bush "increasingly removed from reality"
• Bush Dishonesty Ratio: 485 to 2

Recycling Poems

• Wednesday, I received rejection letters on two submissions... but they are on material that I am very pleased with and will go right back out. A form of recycling I suppose.
• House Adopts Measure Allowing U.S. Wiretaps Without Warrants The House Leadership is willing to put the U.S. Constitution through a shredder for the sake of doing the ONLY thing they believe they can run on and that is the "fear of terror." These are the losers this country elects.
• Interesting fact: Allen Ginsberg's archivist says Ginsberg had more then 300 volumes of journals.

Wednesday Poet Series No 3

This week, the Wednesday poet is one I have greatly admired. Sharon Olds was born in San Francisco. She graduated from Stanford University and the received her Ph.D. form Columbia University in New York and currently teaches creative writing at New York University.

That I am aware of, Olds has eight major works published the first Satan Says in 1980. These were followed by The Dead and the Living, The Gold Cell, The Father, The Wellspring, Blood, Tin, Straw, The Unswept Room, and the latest, Strike Sparks: Selected Poems published in 2004. I am personally most familiar with Satan Says and The Father, both of which resonate with a frankness and detail that is reflected in most everything of hers I have read or heard.

Like Sylvia Plath, Olds seems to push work out from within relating things most personal. I've seen her quoted as saying, "I wish I wrote more about the world at more distance from myself." While she might wish that, her talents have been well served by her approach.

Her first book Satan Says, received the inaugural San Francisco Poetry Center Award. The Dead and the Living won the 1983 Lamont Poetry Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award while her book The Father, was shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize and was a finalist for The National Book Critics' Circle Award.

Some of her poems: The Unborn The Borders The Clasp Topography

One of my favorites among her poems is The Blue Dress, which unfortunately I have not found a link for as of yet. If I am able to, I will update this post.

In closing, I suppose I would be neglectful if I did not mention that Olds was the New York State Poet Laureate from 1998 - 2000.

Tags: Wednesday Poet Sharon Olds Poet

Poet tells freshmen to scribble, not Hi-Lite

"The ideal reader is someone who reads with a dictionary and a pencil," he said. "You create a dialogue, a visible one, between yourself and the author," says Billy Collins, imploring freshman at University of Oregon to just say no to Hi-Liters.

I'M READING: an advance reading copy of The Book of Martyrdom and Artifice - First Journals and poems: 1937-1952 Allen Ginsberg / edited by Juanita Lieberman-Plimpton and Bill Morgan.

Boston University Professor to Talk on War and Poetry Sept. 28 ~ Boston University Professor James A. Winn will discuss his current book, "War and Poetry," Thursday, Sept. 28, at 4 p.m. in the University of Wyoming College of Business auditorium.

I Missed National Punctuation Day

Sunday was National Punctuation Day and I missed it, which I suppose is not quite the same as missing a period.

Poets I Have Read This Past Week

The following is as near an accurate list of poets I have read this past week as I can recall.

1. Harold Penter
2. Stanley Kuntz
3. Donald Hall
4. John Ashbery
5. Amy Davis ( local KC area poet)
6. Elizabeth Bishop
7. Missi Rasmussen (local KC area poet)
8. Adrean Rich
9. Sylvia Plath
10. Naomi Shihab Nye
11. Eileen Tabios
12. Lucinda Lawson

Tags: poets

The Problem Of Accessibility

The Problem Of Accessibility "In fact, I have always firmly believed that poetry is about communicating an experience through art. The reader necessarily has to bring their faculties to bear, and maybe do some work. But beyond some pretty basic requisites, I've always felt that poems should be accessible. " ~Robert Peake

I often enjoy reading Robert's blog, but I must disagree with him on this point. I see the standard of accessibility as a burden that handcuffs any artist, including poets. To say that what one writes must be accessible is no different that insisting that poetry be written in strict form. Or even that it must be written in free verse. Such limitations are all nonsense.

I don't feel, as some will tell you, that what Billy Collins writes is evil. I do indeed enjoy much of his work. But I an quite frankly tired of the lame game in poetry, those who would insist that it must be this way or that or else!

If poetry is about communicating an experience through art, as Robert firmly believes, why is it the poet cannot choose whatever medium he or she sees fit to best carry their artistic message? Do we tell paint artists they "must use only oils" never pastels or water color? That it must be on canvass? Do we tell musicians that you must play music only in minor keys? That you must have a set tempo and only work with certain instrumentation otherwise it is not art? That photographic art must be in full color no black and white allowed?

I do enjoy Billy Collins. But if all the poetry I read was in the same mold, how boring would that get? And where then would the art be?


Tags: Robert Peake Billy Collins Poetry acessibility in poetry artistic

A Few Friday Fragments

Another perspective on the Best American Poetry story that is going around. The commentary by Collin Kelley.

The recent serialization in The Daily Telegraph of Assia Wevill's tragic life has raised a furious debate .

I was amused by the Quotatian Light educational video for "National Speak Like A Pirate Day."
"Arrgh!" Maybe I can have some of my poetry translated into Pirate Speak.

Sarah Browning writes on a history of poetry and war in Pens Not Swords [here].

Tags: Pens Not Swords Assia Wevill Ted Hughes Sylvia Plath Best American Poetry Collin Kelley

The Wednesday Poet Series No. 2

One of the great things about poets is they seem to come in all sizes and shapes. Well, not really... er, yes really but that is not literally what I meant. Last Wednesday, the poet of my focus for the most part exhibited a voice that was mollifying, pacific, permeated in nature. Today, I've gone a different direction with poet and playwright Harold Pinter.

Pinter is born and educated in Britain and has received a number of awards for his work, much of it in the area of playwrite. In 2005 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

I found a most interesting quote from Pinter on his own web site attributed to him in 1958.

"There are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false." It was then followed by this text: I believe that these assertions still make sense and do still apply to the exploration of reality through art. So as a writer I stand by them but as a citizen I cannot. As a citizen I must ask: What is true? What is false?

Harold Pinter has been an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq as well as other hostilities. His anti-war voice has won him acclaim and criticism both. He was awarded the Wilfred Owen award for poetry, given biennially to a writer seen as continuing Owen's tradition for poems observing and distilling what he called "the pity of war".


Pinter's poetry is pretty down to earth. You don't have to read too much between the lines. Examples if this are prevalentnt in all six of his poems found here . His language can be quite dicey as you will see in American Football or Message.

Readers will no doubt find Harold Pinter to be pretty much unmasked in his work. He is the kind of writer that puts himself out there and will never make apologies for it.

Tags: Harold Pinter Wednesday Poet

Coming Soon....

Stickpoet Podcasts

The Bohemian Ball (Blues & BBQ) - Kansas City Writers

The Bohemian Ball (Blues & BBQ)

The Writers Place
3607 Pennsylvania
Kansas City, MO 64111


Saturday September 30th

6 pm - 10 pm

Tickets $20



Don't miss The Writers Place fall fun-raiser!



LIVE MUSIC: The Doghouse Daddies with special guests Brother Iota (www.doghousedaddies.com)



Food & Refreshments: Grilling hotdogs, burgers & veggie burgers; potato salad, baked beans, & more! Beer provided by Boulevard Brewery.



Costumes - Come dressed as your favorite literary figure and win great prizes for the best costume!



Silent Auction - Maryfrances is putting together some a series of wonderful baskets that you will absolutely want to take home with you!



Admission is a bargain at $20! We need your help so the Writers Place can be ready for the high utility bills this winter.



To purchase tickets call 816.753.1090. Tell your friends, buy tickets for your neighbors, help get the word out.

On A Roll

On A Roll

To roll around
as though round were
a continuum

as though it were sound
policy to engage in
such activity

could be the folly
of unbridled youth
in the midst of urban design

or it could just be the
unsteadiness that comes
with age.

Looking Around the Net

A few poetry related items this morning:

• Internet Radio Station Features Poetry
  Eyes Of The Poet Radio, an Internet-based radio station, is taking new audio poetry submissions for broadcast on the station.
• Poets Against the War! – Video Online & Info on Performing Artists
• Poets Have Big Balls (not my title, honestly)
• Poetry Bus Tour 2006 [here]

Just a Tired Thought

I have carried these words around way too long. I'm ready to put them back in the bag and draw new ones.

I Have A Dream

Wednesday Poet Series

Starting today I am beginning a weekly series to introduce a new poet each week. Some of these poets will have a national stature and some will be lesser knowns, perhaps poets with more regional ties. My intent is a mixture of both. If you have someone you'd like me to consider, please feel free to drop me a line.

Today is the first installment in this series and the poet featured is Native American poet named Sharmagne Leland-St. John who makes her home in southern California. She has written two poetry books, Silver Tears and Time & Unsung Songs.

Sharmagne has toured extensively sharing her work across the U.S., Canada and in England. She is also a poetry blogger and her site also called Poetry in Motion can be found here. Besides poetry, here interests include gardening, beadwork, film making ( she has co-authored a book on the subject), travel, Native American flute and her daughter.

I found two poems of Sharmagne's that I was particularly fond of. Evolution and I Said Coffee. Evolution has great metaphorical devise as she relates fetal development. In I Said Coffee, I like the way she takes the reader in and out of a particular point of view throughout the entire piece to a nice surprising ending.

I also found evidence of her Native American culture showing plainly through the poem Tiny Warrior that can be seen in poeticdiversity.

An interview with Sharmagne can be found at Magnapoets. I am anxious to read more of her work.

tags: Sharmagne Leland-St. John Wednesday Poet

September 11, 2006

There was never a good war or a bad peace.
Ben Franklin (1706-1790)

-0-

Poetry is an act of peace. Peace goes into the making of a poet as flour goes into the making of bread.
Pablo Neruda (1904-1973)

Another Ashbery Question

Deborah over at 32 Poems posed this question recently... "Would you be satisfied if you knew your book was published simply because the judge knew you? Or would you be happy just to get the book published?" The question was an outgrowth of a story about the publication of John Ashbery's first book. Deborah nod not answer her own question and I'm not going to either. Not here in this post, anyway. That is not the point of my blog for today. If you don't know the story, a somewhat more detailed account of it then Deborah provided can be found in an April 2006 article by Andrew Varnon on the 50th anniversary of the publication of Some Trees, Ashbery's first book.[here].

What I wanted to focus on for the moment is the nature of Ashbery's work. Varnon points out a couple of things that are worth establishing here as a starting point.

• Ashbery has gone on to publish 20 collections of poetry.
• He has won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award as well as countless other honors.

It is safe to say that in the past half century, John Ashbery has left a preemenent mark upon American Poetry and may well be viewed by many as a "poster child" of experimental and avant garde poetry.

So as the story goes, Ashbery's first book was almost not the beginning of this long rise in prominence. The manuscript that became Some Trees was first rejected by the poet W.H. Auden who was judging the work submitted. It seems that Auden was unhappy with all the entries but because of a mutual friend, Auden asked for the manuscript again and published it. Years later, another mutual friend told Ashbery that Auden," had never been able to understand a line of his poetry."

Varnon recounts talking to poet David Lehman who says, "Ashbery is the single poet about whom most people have opinions." My own experience is that Lehman is likely correct. At least to the extent that people have any knowledge of him and his work. Last year I circulated a wonderful article about Ashbery that appeared in the New Yorker to many of my writing friends. For some it was their first introduction to him. It was amazing the strong opinions and debate then ensued about what constitutes art as a result of this article.

I myself have enjoyed Ashbery's work that I have read. I have said here many times before, while there are many poets who write accessible work that I enjoy, I am disappointed in those who insist that this is the yardstick by which literary art must be measured.

There was something in Varnon's article that struck me as interesting and gave me pause for thought. It was how Meghan O'Rourke writing for Slate has described Ashbery's poetry as, "a kind of radio transistor through which many different voices, genres, and curious archaeological remains of language filter, so that the poems are like the sound you would hear if you spun through the FM/AM dial without stopping to tune into any one program for long." It has occurred to me that as an adult with ADD perhaps it is this very dynamic that makes Ashbery's poetic voice such a comfort to my own ears and provides a uniquely appealing language dynamic for me. It is just a thought, but have to wonder if this were also the case with others who have ADD?

Tags: John Ashbery ADD ADHD literary art poetry

Crime Dog

My daughter's dog Klaus doing time on the deck.

It was Labor Day weekend and you just never know how many good deck days are left.

Translator of Rumi's poetry among most popular Americans in Iran

DORIE TURNER writes about Coleman Barks, an American who is honored in Iran at a time when relations between the United States and Iran are strained. Banks has carved out a name for himself by way of his widely accepted translations of Rumi.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis

When it last rained
two women complained
their shoulders ached,

one said it was a sign
company was coming.
No one came.

The other woman
insisted the first
was a hypochondriac.

Surprised

Haiku has never been one of my stronger forms. For all the simplicity of it, I guess I try and complicate things. At any rate I'm never happy with them.

A short while back, my wife e-mailed me a link to a site that was sponsoring a local contest related to creating better awareness to air quality issues. They were looking for haikus to express the cause. You could submit once a week for four weeks. I composed three or four. Sent the one I was happiest with. I intended to enter once a week, but got busy and forgot.

This week I got a call and was told that I had won a bike from a local cycling store that was partnering with the organization for the contest. There were three first place prizes - all bikes - awarded. So I get to go pick out a Giant - Cypress. I would never have guessed my entry would win. Exciting!

A Moment with Our Surroundings

Freezing a moment with words.... We do it with camera and some artists do it with paint on another medium. But in this day and age, we often are not content with the frozen frame version of life. No, it seems that we must be able to roll it by in continuum. Motion pictures in a fast paced world that we live in. Even my cell phone has not just a camera but a video component.

Sometimes I think we miss a lot by not breaking it down into individual frames and looking at the picture as a particle of life, or of some smaller incident rather than allowing it to simply zip by.

I appreciate that aspect of poetry. Capturing a speck of time in the continuum of life. When we do this, I believe we find that life is so much richer for it.

"Creativity occurs in the moment, and in the moment we are timeless." ~Julia Cameron

“If we read one another, we won’t kill one another.”

Robert Hirschfield writes about the Palestinian-American poet, Naomi Shihab Nye and provides an excellent picture of a person who believes as I have said here in the past, that we find more common ground and understanding by reading each other.

A Few Gems and Lots of Frustration

Supposing I were patient, this post would be about something else. Or it would not be at all.

To write, even in the midst of others is such a solitary act. I am not a person who has to find complete solitude to write, I am able, to a large extent, create it even as I sit in a room with others. I can move into a conversation and come back to myself with relative ease. Still, that return to self is just that, being alone with yourself for those thoughts that develop into structured language.

I find I am quite capable of putting together some wonderful bits and pieces and then the problem of patience, or I should say the lack thereof, seems to take hold of me. It would be easy to dismiss this as having to much motion, commotion, distraction or whatever around me. If it were distraction, then the solution would be to write in a more secluded place to isolate myself, to shut out anything that might constitute a diversion. Since I have written in complete solitude as opposed to my personal one I have describe above, and still experienced this same problem, I must conclude that where I am writing is not the issue.

Sometimes I think I am better off writing something very average in a first draft and then craft it into something better. It is those moments when I have something come together like Emeril Lagasse throwing garlic into the pot and "BAM!" Those moments that are usually followed by great consternation, which leads to frustration, which leads to the difficulty of trying put something equally as good with it.

Knowing full well that first and last lines of poems are almost always the most important, that they need to be strong statements, I can tell you I have countless first and last lines still awaiting middles. I am indeed an impatient poet.

Tag: writing and poetry

Oh Pluto, What Have They Done?

This morning I work up to nine planets and tonight there are eight. In what seems to me to be an all too silly exercise in subjectivity, the International Astronomical Union voted Pluto off the island. Instantly textbooks all over the world are rendered obsolete. Was this actually a grand conspiracy by text book publishers to puff up sales?

Suddenly, memorizing all the planets in grade school has become an exercise in frivolity and I wonder what other acts associated with "so called" learning will I discover were a waste of time?

If all this is sounding cynical, I have succeeded. There is a part of me that wants to strike back at these stiff collared nerds for dissing the mysticism Pluto provided to my own childhood and likely countless others of my generation who grew up one the threshold of possibilities of space exploration.

I know the chilled little sphere called Pluto is really still in the fringes of an ever expanding universe. It hasn’t gone anywhere. And in some lame attempt to appease, it has been given the status of dwarf planet. This of course raises a whole series of new questions. How many dwarf planets are there? What are their names? Which number is Pluto?

Who are these people who too it upon themselves to disorder my universe? They call themselves astronomers but they are merely dwarf astronomers.

Tag: Pluto

Indiana poets will be featured on IndyGo buses

Meg Grey writes about the “Shared Spaces/Shared Voices,” an innovative public art project that pairs public transportation with poetry written by Hoosiers.

Drama Queen

Drama Queen
(just being Ann)


The fanfare isn't you at all.
I've watched the hilarity-
Your social conscience,
A cosmetic powder of absurdity
Enriched with the honey glaze
Of some cable news anchor
Seeking an erection in ratings.

And you play the southern church choirgirl
In suburban soccer-slut-mom 5-3/4"
Above the knee dress and ululate on
In discernible hyperbole
Saying nothing- still,
You exhaust it all, Anglo bitch
In your own little circus world
Pimping for the right to be right,
While unloading your glock.

Poetic Risk

This whole business of art and risk that I mentioned in my post yesterday came about as a result of listening to an NPR broadcast in which a person was talking about a architect with a particular flair for bold artistic design. The person related how his work involved great risk taking and asked if, "after all isn't that what art is about, being able to take risks?"

The suggestion of artists being able to take risks with their work was not totally new to me. Still, it is not something that I dwelled upon and really didn't extent my thoughts so far as my own poetry.

In comment to my post yesterday, Roxx talked about the risk involved in submitting your work. And while I too thought about this, I have sent out enough material and read enough of my work in public that I am for the most part not particularly wary of such exposure any longer. At least not to the point of dwelling on it with dread or fear of rejection. I know this is a hurdle most all of us have to get over at some point and I don't want to minimize what Roxx has said, but I am thinking more about the risk in the act of creating art itself. Forget submitting it anywhere for a moment and think about writing in a journal a poem or poems. Where is the risk that you are taking, or are you?

It is a challenge to cycle through ideas sometime and write about things that have been touched upon a million times before by others. You have to be different in your approach. Perhaps this has something to do with the advent of post modern poetry and many gravitating away from structured forms and or creating new ones themselves.

Stepping outside the box and doing something different or applying yourself diligently to a form or subject matter that has historically been uneasy for you... these are risks. The first erasure poems involved risk. The first Hay(na)ku poems were risks... and so on. If you are putting something together that you believe in, but know is different and challenges the norm, and may or may not be widely accepted, than you have risk.

So now, I need take a good hard look at myself and ask just how often am that I allowing myself to take risks with my writing?

tag: poetry and writing

Wrapping Up The Weekend

The weekend is history. I hate how that sounds so final.

I was able to tinker with a couple of rough drafts and also brainstorm for some new ideas. Nothing new submitted, and no rejection letters for that matter.

To the right, Barry at the dog park on Saturday. Barry is not well socialized where other dogs are concerned. He looks pretty happy go lucky here, but in truth he hardly interacted with any other dogs and was mostly annoyed at those who wanted to check him out.

Submissions to the first issue of Rogue Poetry Review have been coming in. There is still time to submit. More details here.

Listened to a podcast of Janet Holmes being interviewed by Amy King and I found it particularly interesting. Also Holmes read form of her Dickinson Erasure poems. I found them to be quite resolute and efficacious. Talk about no wasted words.

Just throwing this question out for people to be thinking about. If taking risks is a sign of a true artist, then what do you consider risk taking as a poet and how well do you fair by your own standards? I've been thinking about this myself and will blog more in depth on it soon.



Tags: Janet Holmes Amy King Rogue Poetry Review Poetry and Writing

Peaches & poems lie mangled among the dead | News | The Australian

Peaches & poems lie mangled among the dead News The Australian: "UNDER the rubble of a stone shack in a peach orchard, metres from the Syrian border, lay the deeply personal effects of 33 new casualties of war.
A tattered red book of love poems, with stickers and photos of someone's beaming wife, lay metres from a frugal mattress. Blood-stained shoes sat on a rock nearby, alongside an audit book documenting trucks that had left with their cargo in the past month. "

Warrantless wiretaps ruled unconstitutional

Warrantless wiretaps ruled unconstitutional:

It didn't take a surgeon or a rocket scientist, just a federal court judge to figure out how many ways the Administration is wrong on this issue.

"There are no hereditary kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution,'' Taylor said in finding that the administration's wiretapping violates an array of constitutional rights and a 1978 law requiring court warrants for electronic surveillance related to terrorism or espionage. It was the first ruling in the nation on the legality of the program.

ba-da-bing!


tag: Warrantless wiretap

Filtered Onto the Page

The thoughts that make their way onto a page- where do they come from? They appear like rays of light filtered through the branches and leaves of our interwoven mind.

Layers of experiences, memories, fears, joys, exhilaration, dreams, wishes, desires, pain, love and of course hatred. Then of course we create variations of these by mixing up from bits of two or more like a painter on a palette. A bit of dream with a little fear added, and so on.

Such thoughts make up our very human existence. They also make up our poetry. Isn't poetry in some way very much like the whole human experience?

Meet Poet: Michael Ondaatje

"It doubles your perception, to write from the point of view of someone you're not." ~ Michael Ondaatje

Ondaatje was born in 1954 and immigrated to Canada at age 19 from Ceylon or what is now Sri Lanka. He presently resides in Canada and you can find out more about him an his work at Famous Poets

A couple of his poems:

Application For A Drivers License [click here]

The Time Around Scars [click here]

Why is George Bush reading Camus? By John Dickerson - Slate Magazine

Why is George Bush reading Camus? By John Dickerson - Slate Magazine

John Dickerson is not the only one wondering What's Up With That?

I have to wonder how the president views the main character, Meursault. Any empathy for his plight? Is Bush capable of empathy? Was he drawn to the book because Meursault killed an Arab without provocation or remorse? Is this just a case of trying to impress people who generally read their books right side up and books that actually have more words than pictures in them? So many questions.....

Barry Says Hi!

Barry makes a cameo appearance - here is a picture taken last night when we went out to get some exercise playing fetch the ball. He has not appeared here for a while so I thought he was due.

Two Things....

• Two submissions off this evening to a venue I have never submitted to before.
• Racking my brain out for a theme to write about ten pages of poetry for a contest later this year. I don't do a lot of contests. But this one I am especially interested in.

Poetry in a World of Misunderstanding

"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?" ~ Mahatma Gandhi, "Non-Violence in Peace and War"

How often do we step outside ourselves - our own secure little boxes we create and carry wrapped around us like a barrel shielding our nakedness? How likely are we to try on someone else's box, and if we do, how well do we really feel what they feel? Americans are pretty good at the sympathy thing but I think rather weak where empathy is concerned. Perhaps this why it is so difficult for us to understand how and why some cultures view us in such a negative light.

It is my own view, that the exchange of poetry between countries, cultures, indeed people, offer perhaps the best hope of better grasping a sliver of understanding of the feelings and point of view of all people throughout the world.

It is not my suggestion that this would create "perfect" empathy, because not everyone is going to get into every poem in the same way and achieve the same communion of the poet's essential message, but the possibilities presented would be far more optimistic that the failed distance and isolation that so often feed ignorance of all parties.

Ongoing exposure to cross-cultural poetry offers a chance of hope in our times. Taking advantage of anything that offers hope, no matter how small is better than our status quo.

Art changes to suit mood of viewer - Science - MSNBC.com

Art changes to suit mood of viewer - Science - MSNBC.com

This link takes you to a article on a fascinating concept in art. The idea that a piece of artwork could change itself in "real time" right before your eyes to reflect your own mood. My mind wants to keep thinking about it in terms of how such a model might be applicable to poetry. It get like "goose bumps" thinking about it.

What's She Saving It For?

It is no secret, Eileen Tabios has a mind that has so often morphed fleeting thoughts into effulgent literary works of art. And yes, I have looked over her wine lists on occasion, pretending to be impressed with it too.... I say pretending, as what I know about wine can be contained on the first joint of my little finger. I know that I prefer dry - white wines, especially chardonnay - particularly Northern California varieties and riesling from Germany.

But I'm reading down one of her recent lists....

• 2003 Robert Mondavi cabernet Napa Valley
• 2002 Kistler chardonnay
• 1998 Greenock Creek Apricot Block Shiraz
• 1001 Domaine de Trevallon
• 1992 Bonneau du Matray Corton Charlemagne......

WAIT!!!! A 1001 Domaine de Trevallon? Ok, I AM impressed that she has a bottle of anything that old! And so I am sitting here wondering what on earth she has been saving this for.... Celebrating the publication of "Brick #2?"

Protecting the Necessities of Life

Yesterday, while at a picnic gathering I used the restroom at the park and found this lovely little security feature. Well, realizing this speaks volumes about our current societal norms, I simply had to take a picture. Admittedly, I felt a wee-bit odd whipping out my cell phone to shoot this picture with the camera, but it was just too good to pass up.

I might add, this is not just any padlock, this bugger is secured with a "Master - Commercial" pad lock. The only place this TP is going is "down the toilet."

Now I am a firm believer in the power of words, but this time, I think the picture just says it so much better.

In For A Hot One

Meghan came home last night from a month long trip to visit her older sister in Arizona. All seems right in the world this morning... except did she have to bring the heat with her? We have an afternoon picnic and the heat is already steamy.

I've thrown together some verse this weekend and I am happy with it as draft from. It has room for improvement but the important thing is there is something that can be done with it. I suppose I am most comfortable with it because it has that edgy tome that I am usually most comfortable with.

In thinking about poets that influence us I was wondering if we are drawn to particular poets because our own voice seems closer them them or do we find that our voice becomes more a basis of emulation? Emulation or appreciation, which is it? Seems like it is some of each for me.

I'm having a diet-coke this moment, my performance enhancement choice for the morning while listening to smooth jazz. King of Hearts by the Rippingtons

What's On Your Cover?

I read about a survey of some 2000 adults conducted for Boarders Book Store that indicated the following:

• Half admitted they would look at someone again or smile at them based on what that person was reading.
• A third of the surveyed would go so far as to consider flirting with someone based upon what that person was reading.

This tid-bit from the Culture Vulture blog seemed to me on the surface to represent a somewhat shallow human condition. Yet, upon further consideration I wondered is it really the most shallow factor in how or why some people would be attracted to others?

I'm not suggesting that we should pick our soul mates based upon the cover of their books, but it perhaps could be viewed as evidence that people are in fact prone to other consideration besides that which is only skin deep, so maybe it is not so shallow after all.

It might be worth noting that in general, many actually found erotic fiction, horror, chick lit, and self-help books as non-impressive, while classics, biographical books and modern literary fiction were seen as turn-ons. Just a little help in case you need to know what to be seen reading and what not to be caught with.

Joe is Bombing in New Haven

Next Tuesday, voters in many states will go off to the polls to votes in state primaries. Perhaps none will be watched as closely as the state of Connecticut where long time Senator Joe Lieberman and Al Gore's 2000 running mate hangs onto his political life against challenger Ned Lamont. There are many good things I could say about Joe Lieberman. Unfortunately, I cannot say I would vote for him if I lived in Connecticut.

Right now, Lieberman's campaign is looking pretty pathetic as evidenced by a would be rally in New Haven recently. In fact, you might say Joe bombed in New Haven. His campaign has all the enthusiasm of a George Bush clone. In fact, Joe has been just than on the war in Iraq. While Joe is not the only Democrat that has gotten, shall we say too close to this war on his votes and vocal support for the President, he is so close that his is not only likely to get burnt but scorched by the heat.

Lieberman has had the misfortune of having a Democratic challenger who has taken him to task on his support for the war. And I say it is about time. Ned Lamont's campaign raises a legitimate challenge to the idea that, well this may have been a mistake but we must see it through. A mistake that parallels that of Lyndon Johnson in Vietnam.
Recently, LBJ tapes have shown that at one point, in a private conversation with Gene McCarthy, Johnson acknowledged that the war had been a miscalculation and that if he could figure out a way to exit that day and save face, he would. The significance of this conversation is that it was after this point that 75% of all the American Deaths in Vietnam occurred. It would take determined American public to ultimately force President Nixon to end the War. Long after we had come to recognize the mistake.

A Ned Lamont victory (leading in polls) in Connecticut is a message to Republican and Democratic supporters of this failed foreign policy that the American People are not buying it any longer.

Tags: Lieberman Lamonte War Bush

Then Why Write?

If truth be known I stopped asking myself that question sometime back. I don't think it was because I rationalized an answer. Maybe I even stopped asking the question or perhaps it was that I actually stopped caring. I'm not sure.

It is quite possible that I felt the answer and didn't know it. Wasn't aware that I felt it and at the same time some internal satisfaction was met without realizing what or how the issue had been satisfactorily resolved.

Anais Nin once said, "If you do not breathe through writing, if you do not cry out in writing, or sing in writing, then don't write, because our culture has no use for it." I think in writing I have perhaps proven, to myself at least, that I do all the aforesaid verbs. I think that I have stopped questioning "why write" because it has become for me the very photosynthesis that allows me life.

Guilt - American Style

There rests within me a quiet guilt today. I woke to a peaceful neighborhood. If there were noises they were so benign as to leave no memorable footprints in my mind.

The drive to work was no more challenging than most. Perhaps even better. No major traffic backups on the highway.

My workplace was standing. This, I realize is not a normal part of fantasy of many people, but I realized that in some parts of the world, I might not have waken to tranquility but rather sit up all night listening for the sounds of explosions and how close they might be. If I ventured out at daylight, roads may well have been difficult to navigate with ease. My work place might or might not be standing. Even if it were, commerce as we normally know it would be non-existent.

Americans were horrified at 9-11. Most of us cannot recall what it was like when Pearl Harbor was attacked and even those that are old enough likely do not feel the intensity of it, unless they were present during the attack. Americans are richly blessed in that we have not realized the real horror of war when it is on our home front. Even as bloody as the Civil War was here on our home soil, it was domestic and not a foreign country invading.

So we see the fighting on television that is occurring in Iraq or between Israel and Lebanon and we accept it as thought it were just another occurrence like a space shuttle launch. After a while you forget it is going on.

I wonder if there is an aspect of visual imagery that is easier to become immune to than that or word imagery? If I see a picture of a bombed out apartment building flash before me on television screen, do I find it less disturbing than if I read a written account and have to construct the images myself?

And then I also wonder if Americans are more desensitizing to such images as civilian war casualties that people in other countries?

I do think that mankind must recollect such things as war and death and famine - those things that devastate humanity, and we must do it in writing. It is an obligation that we havde to remind future generations.

San Antonio poet and activist Sanchez dies at 63

"Sanchez’s writing topics ranged from race, to children killed by handguns in Detroit in the late 1980s, and spicy Mexican-American food.

His poetry was published in several anthologies, including “Why Am I So Brown?” which is now in its sixth reprint." from khou.com

BillingsGazette.com :: Former UM prof, honored poet dies

BillingsGazette.com :: Former UM prof, honored poet dies

Sunday Reflections

Have you been on Eileen Tabios' mind lately? Click here, you might be surprised.

Seems the town of Somerville, Mass. is poetry friendly. Anyone can get a poem published there. Click here.

There simply are no good guys in the Israeli /Hezbollah war, only victims and a very sad example of foreign diplomacy by the Bush administration. Click here and here.

Bits from my Journal:

the ancestral grip of your ankle / holding you back / only to circle like a compass / gyrating upon one foot / sweatshop perspiration held back by a defiant brow

tags: Poetry Israel Lebenan Eileen Tabios

Recycling

FROM THE NOT THIS TIME DEPT. ~ I received a rejection letter yesterday. I'll just recycle the submission this weekend.

Actually, I have been identifying some virgin venues to try. I need to venture into some uncharted waters. I'm thinking it could very well be immensely more satisfying to find my work in some different journals than what I have had thus far.

Yes, it is Thursday and I Am feeling Put Out

Top 10 new words we learnt from spam poetry this week... [here]. Maybe it is just the oppressive heat but I am kind of partial to mushraking.

I remain put out by all the pictures of Condoleezza Rice snapped in cheesy poses with the Miss America hand wave and captions that suggest "No Results in the foreseeable Future." It seems totally naive for anyone to suggest that a group of leaders meeting without any of the key players has any remote chance of resolving the conflict through diplomatic means. Meanwhile, civilians become the victims of continued hostilities. The Bush administration's foreign policies have contribute to this and other serious international problems that are building against a backdrop of their ineptness. Thinking about this makes me want to puke.

A LOOK AT WARTIME BEIRUT Bombs, Rubble and Poets [here] This all seems a bit surreal but then I have to ask myself just how war is supposed to seem where it coexists with a civilian population in a city?

tags: Beirut Condoleezza Rice Bush War poetry

Rogue Poetry Review

As I mentioned recently in a post, I would have an announcement soon concerning a new online poetry venue. Well, soon is here. In October I will publish the first electronic edition Rogue Poetry Review. You may feel free to publicize this Call for Submissions by linking or reprinting it if you so choose. I am excited and look forward to reading some outstanding material.

Call for Submissions

Between now and September 10, I will be accepting submissions for reading in advance of the October premiere edition of Rogue Poetry Review online.

I am looking for is poetry that embraces the notion of art painted with words. What I am not looking for is flowery rhyme. The poems should be unique in nature as opposed to laden with cliques or well worn themes that have been done a thousand times. If it has been done, it needs to be all the more unique.

Please submit unpublished

material only. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but please advise if you are doing so. I will also accept critical reviews of material already in print. Reviews are of lesser priority. That is to say that I will consider them, even desire them, but they will comprise a lesser percentage of the issue. I recommend you query first on reviews.

Submit material as an attachment to a word file and e-mail to: roguepr@gmail.com

The online site is at roguepr.wordpress.com

I Write Poetry in the Loo...

Well, not me, but model-turned-actress Sushma Reddy likes to because it relieves stress. It is just one of her many stress relievers... "I write poetry just for my heart's content and satisfy my urge. I don't write to recite them in some function, I prefer writing something offbeat. Writing is something like a stress buster for me. I can write anywhere. I write on air tickets, napkins, and even on tissue papers in loo." Truthfully, I have written poetry in the bathroom, I just haven't resorted to using toilet paper as of yet. Her other stress relievers here.

Tags: poetry Sushma Reddy

Getting By With A Little Help From His Friends

Perhaps the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova is a perfect example of the power that resides within words. At a time when the work of poets was considered a threat to the Soviet state, Akmatova was a profound voice - especially for women and the oppressed.

The Ships Pass Quietly is a play set in the 1950's in Leningrad. Two women are in their sixties, Anna and Lydia work in their kitchen... Anna writing and Lydia mentally recording AnnaÂ’s poetry with care that the some nosyneighborr might overhear them and report them to the authorities. Read an account of this play here.

*****

The Hussein Trial Resumes, Again Without Hussein - Saddam Hussein has been on a hunger strike. Meanwhile, the onlydefendantt to show was Barzan al-Tikriti, Mr. HusseinÂ’s half-brother. Chief Judge Raouf Abdel Rahman admonished Barzan al-Tikriti for reciting poetry and challenging the American-led invasion of Iraq.

*****

Donald Hall got a little help having the word "funky" defined for him. [story here]

Dodge Poetry Festival

I heard this morning while listening to NPR that the biannual Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival in coming up. I don't know why it took me by surprise since it happens every other year. I suppose I expected to hear it publicized earlier since it starts September 28th.

A few notables listed for this year's program...

• Tony Hoagland
• Gerald Stern
• Jorie Graham
• Andrew Motion
• Lucille Clifton
• Billy Collins

For Information [click here]

==============

I always feel so much better after submitting poetry. I've been well overdue to get some material out, but I did tonight and I do feel better.

I was also excited that my favorite baseball team, The SF Giants moved into first place last night. I listened to their game this evening as they tried to sweep the San Diego series but lost in extra innings. Was a good game none the less - but they are now a half game back in the standings. Baseball and poetry are so much alike.

Quickie

A quiet day, and thankfully somewhat cooler than it has been of recent. Everyone away today leaving me with just the animals.

I've divided my time between some cleaning and reading. Occasionally I update myself on the world events on msnbc. As I have watched the mess in the Middle East get messier over the past week. I look at America with amazement of how totally impotent we have become as a result of our foreign policy. Could anyone five years ago thought we would be were we are today?

Found A New Voice You Like Lately?

It was only one poem, but I liked it and the was is slowly turns 180 degrees. Diana Park was featured as a new voice in Tin House (vol. 7 no. 4) with her poem We're Not Farmers. Little bit of an edge to it also got my attention. Diana is an MFC candidate at Arizona State University. I'm looking forward to seeing more of her stuff.


Tags: Poetry Diana Park Tin House

Poetry in Commotion

Last night on TV, Keith Olbermann reported on an airline that was going to start selling ad space on those "puke bags" they have on airplanes. First I about cracked up over it in disbelief. Then of course I came to my senses and realized what an excellent opportunity this provided the poetry and the literary arts. I mean we could use a grant to buy exclusive ad rights and place poems on the bags and call the project. "Poetry in Commotion".

Interesting factoid - Donald Hall has neither typewriter (you remember them?) or computer in his writing room at Eagle Pond Farm.

Another writer friend of mine told me Tuesday night at a meeting that he had been reading Anne Sexton recently and realized that a lot of my poetry reminded him of hers. I don't know if I should feel flattered or dead?

The Good The Bad and The Ugly

KC Metro Verse met last night and the topic of discussion was good and bad poetry. For all the subjectivity required of such a discussion, it was in fact enjoyable and there were some agreements.

We did not set out to define poetry, though I was prepared with my minimal definition. We extended our discussion into the area of Garrison Keillor’s two anthologies, due to the claim to “good poetry” as part of their title.

I believe it is difficult to place a definition on what constitutes good poetry and bad poetry. Like beauty, it sort of comes down to who is the beholder. In the case of bad poetry, it seemed a lot easier to agree on what was bad. I suppose like often quoted remark about what constitutes pornography, I may not know how to explain it, but when I see it, I recognize it.

I think it is perhaps easier to say what a good poem isn’t than what it is. It isn’t rhyme at any cost. It isn’t more words than needed. It isn’t void of any literary devise. It isn’t cliché. Those elements tend to add up to a bad poem.

But what is good anyway. If I had a good day, that’s ok. Isn’t a great day superior to a good day? So while good isn’t bad, it could certainly be construed as say, just average or acceptable.

Keillor’s anthologies were written more in mind with a casual or non-poetry reader. His selections in both books (which I have read in but not through) seem to be decent. In that context, I suppose the title is quite appropriate. There are, as I recall even some exceptional poems among his selections. For Keillor to tag the title in such a way to suggest something more substantial, he might well have run the risk of scaring off many readers that are not poetry fanatics.

There is almost a whole cottage industry now of bad poetry. There very likely is an anthology out there titled The Worst of Bad Poetry.

In Quiet Irony

It looks every bit like the start of a hot July day- bright light and contrasting shadows in the back yard. The heat has been quite mugging these past few days and if not that, then the gas prices will take you down.

Birds flutter about outside the window and land on the feeder- strategically placed close for the benefit of Abby's (the cat) entertainment. A new twist to the old adage killing two birds with one stone,we entertain the cat and feed the local birds in one act. The irony of it.

Perhaps on this Sunday morning, with the lazy summer backdrop, it should be hard to think about troubles and misfortunes of others halfway around the world, but I do.

Maybe it is the quiet that allows my mind to wander far off to the middle-east and families in Israel and Lebanon, what it must be like to sit in the quiet and wait for missile or bomb to interrupt it. All of this over what? How different would these two fathers be- (one Israeli the other Lebanese) in their basic wants, needs and wishes for their families? Then my thoughts return to the irony of the cat in the window and the birds at the feeder.

She Wore

She Wore

the light of day
a crinkled giftwrap
around her waist
that curved off into the sunset

Worst Biking Hangover

My youngest daughter is visiting her sister and sent me this picture yesterday. Meghan as some readers will know from past blog posts is into road bike racing. She took her bike along on the trip and Tuesday road in the mountains with some other cyclists. This is Camelback Mountain which is where she rode.

Yesterday she called me late into the day... She had just got up (and sounded like it too). When she told me she had the "worst biking hangover" I just cracked up.

The grade was pretty steep but she said the ride back down was "pretty sweet".

Yesterday would have been the day from hell. Perhaps today will not be so taxing. My mood at this point is hopeful yet somewhat overwhelmed.

AROUND THE BLOGISPHERE: Yeah Jilly - who is doing a little self promotion (here)

Christine claimed to be on 25 peeps... Is that a good thing? - though I couldn't find her ::sigh:: Maybe I looked too late.

chuckling to self as I look at some of the search keywords used to get to this site recently.....

• a muse super hero stamp
• list of words posterious
• pulitzer prize michael wells * (I'm sure they were disappointed)
• write your own super hero story
• poets workshop complaints
• superhero badge making sites
• god with a small 'g' book

Worth noting - a review of a review by Levi Asher of Where Literature Lives. Asher takes on Don Chiasson for his harsh assessment of Donald Hall's book WHITE APPLES AND THE TASTE OF STONE.