Cindy asked about a link for NaPoWriMo and I suppose others may wonder the same. It seems that Poetry Free For All is hosting a special thread on their forum for this exercise in craziness. There may well be other locations doing something, but I am not aware of any. Personally I've done a number of poetry forums in the past and have gravitated away from them. I have no experience with wit Poetry Free For All - this will be my first time using this forum. I do intend to do a separate blog for my NaPoWriMo creations and will link it back to this blog. Anyway, for Cindy and anyone else asking - there is the main deeliebopper.
A poem a day for a month.... Starting April Fools Day. That must say something about us all. ::grin::
Friday, March 30, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Misc on my mind
From my deck this morning, the ornamental tree that rises next to it is praising spring.A few items of note:
Let me add Wilton Public Schools Superintendent Gary Richards to my 5 thumbs down award for his part in the Wilton High School cancellation of Voices In Conflict. [see earlier post] It appears that Richards along with school principal Timothy H. Canty were both in decision making roles with respect to cancelling this performance by students.
I have taken the dive into NaPoWriMo / a poem a day for thirty days in April.
Yesterday, I read Autobiography and Poetry in Slate. Dan Chiassonto and Meghan O'Rourke tackle confessional or autobiographical poetry, or if you will, the presumptive reader in some cases. I found the commentary between these two (if it really happened) to be thought provoking. Both making interesting points. Wonder what others are thinking out this piece? I'm going to sit on my thoughts for the time being. Anyone else who read it wanna share?
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Richard Wilbur on the Poet's Audience
"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. ... To this congress the poet speaks not of peculiar and personal things, but of what in himself is most common, most anonymous, most fundamental, most true of all men." ~ Richard Wilbur
Monday, March 26, 2007
The End of Periods
In terms of my own poetry, I tend to move in and out of the usage of punctuation I suppose based more on mood than anything. Exactly why, I could not say and this bothers me. Sometimes in the process of rewrites I’ll add it and at other times I’ll take it away. There seems to be no real rhyme (no pun intended) or reason for my adherence or departure from punctuation. It bothers me not that I punctuate or not punctuate. What disturbs me is that if asked, I could not justify my decision. Line breaks, stanzas, etc. I’ll be able to give you a reason.
Some time in the 1960’s W.S. Merwin, whose work I greatly admire, moved away from punctuation. Merwin writes that, “By the end of the poems in The Moving Target I had relinquished punctuation along with several other structural conventions, a move that evolved from my growing sense that punctuation alluded to and assumed an allegiance to the rational protocol of written language, and of prose in particular. I had come to feel that it stapled the poems to the page. Whereas I wanted the poems to evoke the spoken language, and wanted the hearing of them to be essential to taking them in.”
I find a great deal of favor with Merwin’s justification, at least the idea of separating my poetry from prose. Yet, I am from the school that believes seeing the poem on the page can be an essential part of enjoying it as well. The spacing, open or closed on the page, the length of lines can so often speed up or slow down the reader to give the poet some control over tone. I don’t deny that punctuation can add to that process as well. Perhaps this is one reason that I have trouble making the break altogether.
I do find some comfort in knowing that Merwin’s change seemed to be an evolutionary transformation and did not just occur over night.
Some time in the 1960’s W.S. Merwin, whose work I greatly admire, moved away from punctuation. Merwin writes that, “By the end of the poems in The Moving Target I had relinquished punctuation along with several other structural conventions, a move that evolved from my growing sense that punctuation alluded to and assumed an allegiance to the rational protocol of written language, and of prose in particular. I had come to feel that it stapled the poems to the page. Whereas I wanted the poems to evoke the spoken language, and wanted the hearing of them to be essential to taking them in.”
I find a great deal of favor with Merwin’s justification, at least the idea of separating my poetry from prose. Yet, I am from the school that believes seeing the poem on the page can be an essential part of enjoying it as well. The spacing, open or closed on the page, the length of lines can so often speed up or slow down the reader to give the poet some control over tone. I don’t deny that punctuation can add to that process as well. Perhaps this is one reason that I have trouble making the break altogether.
I do find some comfort in knowing that Merwin’s change seemed to be an evolutionary transformation and did not just occur over night.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Play About Iraq War Divides a Connecticut School - New York Times
Play About Iraq War Divides a Connecticut School - New York Times
Natalie Kropf, 18, Seth Koproski, 17, Devon Fontaine, 16, and James Presson, 16, are students at Wilton High School in Wilton, Connecticut. Timothy H. Canty is the principal at Wilton High. These are a few principal players in an off stage drama about an on stage drams, "Voices in Conflict."
Wilton students in an advanced acting class were taking on the challenge of creating an original play about the war in Iraq. Last week, principal Timothy H. Canty canceled a play to be put on by the school's advanced theater class citing questions of political balance and context. Efforts were made to make some concessions in the script by the students. Even the thought of doing the performance off campus at night was out. Students say Canty had indicated that the material was too inflammatory, and that only someone who had actually served in the war could understand the experience. “He told us the student body is unprepared to hear about the war from students, and we aren’t prepared to answer questions from the audience and it wasn’t our place to tell them what soldiers were thinking,” said Sarah Anderson, a 17-year-old senior.
Two things come to my mind about this story....
Natalie Kropf, 18, Seth Koproski, 17, Devon Fontaine, 16, and James Presson, 16, are students at Wilton High School in Wilton, Connecticut. Timothy H. Canty is the principal at Wilton High. These are a few principal players in an off stage drama about an on stage drams, "Voices in Conflict."
Wilton students in an advanced acting class were taking on the challenge of creating an original play about the war in Iraq. Last week, principal Timothy H. Canty canceled a play to be put on by the school's advanced theater class citing questions of political balance and context. Efforts were made to make some concessions in the script by the students. Even the thought of doing the performance off campus at night was out. Students say Canty had indicated that the material was too inflammatory, and that only someone who had actually served in the war could understand the experience. “He told us the student body is unprepared to hear about the war from students, and we aren’t prepared to answer questions from the audience and it wasn’t our place to tell them what soldiers were thinking,” said Sarah Anderson, a 17-year-old senior.
Two things come to my mind about this story....
- From a purely artistic point of view, principal Timothy Canty is way out of line. I'd have to give him my tops of 5 thumbs down for censorship of a piece of creative work by students that no doubt took significant commitment on their part. Perhaps (and sadly) their greatest learning experience from all this is the distaste for censorship in art when they could have been taking away more positive life experiences.
- Outside my artistic mode, I have to again give Mr. Canty my maximum 5 thumbs down for like many, sticking there head in the sand (I had another place in mind) with respect (and I emphasise the "R" word here) to treating these students in such a demeaning manner. Students like Natalie Kropf are old enough to be serving in Iraq, and of course many other students are not far behind. Why hide in the safety of comfort and pretend this war in not in the room. It is a fucking elephant he wants to pretend it is not there. Gives these students a lot of credit for wanting to undertake this and ask the hard questions that too many adults in this country are afraid to ask. Maybe if people had asked more questions earlier and engaged in meaningful dialogue there would not be 3234 U.S. serviceman dead and we would not have spent $410 billion plus on a war the has no end in sight. A war that has left deep divisions and civil-war strife between the Iraqi people themselves. Give these you people a little respect. We ask them to fight our wars, don't talk down to them like we know what we are doing. If we did, things would be a lot different after four years.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Friday Morning
from today's journal....
Bitterness hammered
Tenderizing flesh
Otherwise toughened to edges
Beyond customary contortion
Quiet settled
On black on blue on black
On pink slivers that wink
Through the sting involuntarily
Bitterness hammered
Tenderizing flesh
Otherwise toughened to edges
Beyond customary contortion
Quiet settled
On black on blue on black
On pink slivers that wink
Through the sting involuntarily
Thursday, March 22, 2007
What constitutes poetry anyway...
"A Poetries Symposium" April 5-7 at the University of Iowa hopes to expand the public understanding of what constitutes poetry. "Poetries" will encourage participants to think of poetry as a wide range of cultural and language phenomena, not just the masterpieces one might study in English class. Poetic texts exist in unexpected places:
- like greeting cards
- scrapbooks,
- on posters
- or in messages read at weddings
" Such poetry has value, even if it wouldn't make a poetry anthology or a discussion of great art," said Mike Chasar, a UI graduate student in English and co-organizer of the event.
More information and event schedule here
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Congress Can Make This The Last Anniversary
Congress Can Make This The Last Anniversary
"As we mark the fourth anniversary of the most insane military misadventure in American history--yes, even worse than James K. Polk's invasion of Mexico for the purpose of spreading slavery--there is now more than enough blame to go around for the death and destruction that has not merely killed thousands of Americans but that has left hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis dead, emptied the US and Iraqi treasuries into the pockets of unscrupulous contractors and corrupt politicians, and done severe harm to the reputation of the United States as an honest player on the world stage." (read the entire commentary)
"As we mark the fourth anniversary of the most insane military misadventure in American history--yes, even worse than James K. Polk's invasion of Mexico for the purpose of spreading slavery--there is now more than enough blame to go around for the death and destruction that has not merely killed thousands of Americans but that has left hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis dead, emptied the US and Iraqi treasuries into the pockets of unscrupulous contractors and corrupt politicians, and done severe harm to the reputation of the United States as an honest player on the world stage." (read the entire commentary)
Monday, March 19, 2007
Small Knots
Some time back, on one of my Wednesday Poet Series features, I highlighted a North Western poet by the name of Kelli Russell Agodon. This past week, I’ve been reading her book Small Knots published in 2004 by Cherry Grove Collections out of Cincinnati, Ohio. Her poetry is intricately layered and stirring.
A few of my favorites from the book are:
Fifty-Six Knots, which touches me with iconic references to the Rosary and the way she has woven the lives of women together, and counting, and Hail Marys bleeding from the walls. Collection plates filling with broken rosaries and the suffered woman in the corner who unties each knot, allowing the beads to fall, baptizing the marble floors…. can you not hear that sound?
If you look closely at the poem on the page, it is constructed of 4 sever line stanzas. Each has a center justified fourth line creating a pattern as though it were strung together. Genius!
Vacationing With Sylvia Plath: Each of four stanzas begins by asking, Maybe if….
A poet’s contemplation that asks aloud and sort of comes back to me as an internalized echo. If the clouds didn’t look like tombstones… if the ocean didn’t seem so final… if I had a chocolate bar between breakdowns… these all grow in crescendo and the final stanza so strong that I won’t repeat it. You need to read it yourself.
It’s Easy to wake up in someone’s poem… (I love titles that become the first line)
Couplets that capture snippets of life around us. Real people you feel you must know being pulled into the page, their lives blots if ink… and in the same way you see how people awake one morning and presto! They become poems.
These are just three… The book is a real treat to read. Kelli is not so mundane as to write simply assessable work, but something that is just over the line and will likely appeal as well to those who like something just a bit more conceptual without going overboard.
A few of my favorites from the book are:
Fifty-Six Knots, which touches me with iconic references to the Rosary and the way she has woven the lives of women together, and counting, and Hail Marys bleeding from the walls. Collection plates filling with broken rosaries and the suffered woman in the corner who unties each knot, allowing the beads to fall, baptizing the marble floors…. can you not hear that sound?
If you look closely at the poem on the page, it is constructed of 4 sever line stanzas. Each has a center justified fourth line creating a pattern as though it were strung together. Genius!
Vacationing With Sylvia Plath: Each of four stanzas begins by asking, Maybe if….
A poet’s contemplation that asks aloud and sort of comes back to me as an internalized echo. If the clouds didn’t look like tombstones… if the ocean didn’t seem so final… if I had a chocolate bar between breakdowns… these all grow in crescendo and the final stanza so strong that I won’t repeat it. You need to read it yourself.
It’s Easy to wake up in someone’s poem… (I love titles that become the first line)
Couplets that capture snippets of life around us. Real people you feel you must know being pulled into the page, their lives blots if ink… and in the same way you see how people awake one morning and presto! They become poems.
These are just three… The book is a real treat to read. Kelli is not so mundane as to write simply assessable work, but something that is just over the line and will likely appeal as well to those who like something just a bit more conceptual without going overboard.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Thursday, March 15, 2007
What's Art Got To Do With It?
Last night I was looking for something my wife wanted me to pick up at Hobby Lobby and I saw one of those rubber stamps with a line on it that when roughly like this…. “Art washes the soul of the dust of life.”
There is a tendency for people to view art as something superfluous or even a luxury. While I admit, if it were a choice of giving my family food to eat or art, I’d have to choose food. However, if we choose to view art in the context of the quote on the rubber stamp, it seems particularly sad to think that those who are less fortunate, who have to give up something for food or say are too disadvantaged to have health care, may well lack something that cleanses the soul of life’s grime. So what is the value of art? Is it really only for the upper crust of society?
Recently, the metropolitan Kansas City area established something for art that parallels United Way. It’s a workplace-based fundraising campaign designed to support arts and culture. The regional ArtsKC Fund as it is know has been stated as a test program with originally 27 area workplaces that will allow employees to sign on to have “x” amount withheld each pay period to supports arts in the community. The program was just launched in February so I have no idea how well it is being received. The idea is not totally new, as I believe there are some 100 communities across the U.S. that have undertaken similar ventures.
So what’s the value of such an undertaking is in a major City? Why would businesses sign on to something like this? A recent article in BusinessWeek indicates there is a connection between the growth of art communities and economic development in a city. It cites many instances where communities which were once art havens have become upscale and now too pricey for many struggling artists. If you accept the premise of this article, cities should clamor at the opportunity to support and enhance the development of artists within their city limits on the basis of return on their investment. Much in the same way many cities now view professional sports franchises. Cleansing the soul of that community would just be icing on the cake.
There is a tendency for people to view art as something superfluous or even a luxury. While I admit, if it were a choice of giving my family food to eat or art, I’d have to choose food. However, if we choose to view art in the context of the quote on the rubber stamp, it seems particularly sad to think that those who are less fortunate, who have to give up something for food or say are too disadvantaged to have health care, may well lack something that cleanses the soul of life’s grime. So what is the value of art? Is it really only for the upper crust of society?
Recently, the metropolitan Kansas City area established something for art that parallels United Way. It’s a workplace-based fundraising campaign designed to support arts and culture. The regional ArtsKC Fund as it is know has been stated as a test program with originally 27 area workplaces that will allow employees to sign on to have “x” amount withheld each pay period to supports arts in the community. The program was just launched in February so I have no idea how well it is being received. The idea is not totally new, as I believe there are some 100 communities across the U.S. that have undertaken similar ventures.
So what’s the value of such an undertaking is in a major City? Why would businesses sign on to something like this? A recent article in BusinessWeek indicates there is a connection between the growth of art communities and economic development in a city. It cites many instances where communities which were once art havens have become upscale and now too pricey for many struggling artists. If you accept the premise of this article, cities should clamor at the opportunity to support and enhance the development of artists within their city limits on the basis of return on their investment. Much in the same way many cities now view professional sports franchises. Cleansing the soul of that community would just be icing on the cake.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Mid-Week Pulse Check
- George W. Bush
- Dick Cheney
- Michael Brown
- I Scooter Libby
- Donald Rumsfeld
- Carl Rove
- Alberto Gonzales
- Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley
- Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman
- Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey
Is the entire Bush Administration Ethically Challenged or what?
)()()(
There are Tulips peeking out of the loam in my front yard.
)()()(
Day Four - I Still Hate Daylight Savings Time.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Full Moon Clears the Right Field Fence....
Ah, I am so in the mood for baseball. Even more after seeing the 3rd House Journal Baseball Haiku post.
Bush seeks 8,200 more troops for wars - Yahoo! News
Bush asked Congress on Saturday for $3.2 billion to pay for 8,200 more U.S. troops on top of the 21,500-troop buildup he announced in January.
More troops, more tax dollars, more death to propagate a war based on lies to the American People.
More troops, more tax dollars, more death to propagate a war based on lies to the American People.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Words That Raise The Dead: An Interview with Poet MartÃn Espada
Lisa Alvarado interviews MartÃn Espada. [Click here] I heard Espada read and lecture in Kansas City about a year ago. He is extremely authoritative when it comes to Pablo Neruda.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Trying to Shake A Shade of Blue
When I came home from work last night we began tearing up our carpeting throughout most of the homes. The old carpeting along with some other miscellaneous items then were loaded in a rented truck and early this morning we visited the dump.Things are moved about here and there so you can imagine the house is presently pretty much a total disaster. We have about 900 sq ft of imminent flooring to replace the carpeting. Of course there is no way the flooring is going down in one night like the carpet came up. I have a strange feeling of both accomplishment and feeling blue. Yes, we got right into the demolition part and completed it promptly. Still, I feel like I am in some foreign building and I don't know when I will be able to return home. Of course I know when I do, The floors will look really awesome. It just seems far off into the future.
In the meantime, I got a draft of a chapbook I'm working on sent off today to be reviewed. That was good news. Of course, as soon as it is gone, you feel a sinking feeling in you get that maybe it isn't ready. And I was able to read some in Kelli Russell Agodon's Small Knots that arrived by mail yesterday. I am really enjoying what I have read of it today, and I'll more to say about it later.
I've been pretty wasted today, I presume from all the carpet stuff. I really hope I am not coming down with something. (crossing fingers) I am quite as bad off as I was earlier and I may actually work on some rewrites this evening.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Top News- FBI Misused Patriot Act, Audit Finds - AOL News
FBI Misused Patriot Act, Audit Finds
OH gee, I'm surprised. NOT!
OH gee, I'm surprised. NOT!
Friday Links of Interest
- Pulling Paper Towel Poetry - What a great Idea!!! I love it! Thanks Jilly for the link
- One poet of the past - speaks to 10 artists today link
- Bob Dylan was not on Pope Benedict's radar in 1997 when he sang at a youth concert with the late Pope John Paul link
- "A Wordly Country" by John Ashbery gets rave review in the New Your Sun link
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
BBC NEWS | Americas | US towns seek Bush's impeachment
BBC NEWS Americas US towns seek Bush's impeachment:
"Some 30 towns in Vermont have passed resolutions urging Congress to impeach President George Bush during the US state's annual Town Meeting Day. "
"Some 30 towns in Vermont have passed resolutions urging Congress to impeach President George Bush during the US state's annual Town Meeting Day. "
Artists Retreat into Solitude at MacDowell Colony
Happy 100th Anniversary to MacDowell Colony!
Heard this story last night on NPR and thought others might enjoy it. Especially some of you who have had the opportunity to experience the Colony yourself. I've hear some great stories... They scenery, the lunch baskets, Maple Syrup, cozy lodges to name a few things that come to my mind. Just thinking of some of the people and their work that has been inspired at MacDowell is awesome in itself.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Geometry
Brave topography heaved heavenward
With each refreshing breath
And I could not but help notice
Though it was not as if I set out to
But more as one might stare
In contemplation of a creation
Of Henry Moore if you were to find it
Stark naked in the middle of your backyard
One morning when you let the dog out.
It has occurred to me that God
Like a sculptor must have envisioned
Such appreciation of the simplicity
Of smooth curve lines that intersect
Man’s eye and pull him along
The contouring waves to become himself
A partner to this masterpiece
In the same way a poet makes the reader
A part of his every poem.
With each refreshing breath
And I could not but help notice
Though it was not as if I set out to
But more as one might stare
In contemplation of a creation
Of Henry Moore if you were to find it
Stark naked in the middle of your backyard
One morning when you let the dog out.
It has occurred to me that God
Like a sculptor must have envisioned
Such appreciation of the simplicity
Of smooth curve lines that intersect
Man’s eye and pull him along
The contouring waves to become himself
A partner to this masterpiece
In the same way a poet makes the reader
A part of his every poem.
Immortality box
Picked up a book at the library of Anne Sexon's that I have not previously seen. The Book of Folly, published in 1972 Houghton Mifflin. Sexton is on of several poets that have long been on my radar and I have read a fair amount of her work. The very first poem in the the book caught me attention and I had to check the book out. The Ambition Bird was right there slapping me in the face. I could identify with it in the moment I was reading it.
I would like a simple life
yet all night I am laying
poems away in a long box,
It is my immortality box,
my lay-away plan,
my coffin.
Sometimes that so describes my life. Don't get me wrong, I do derive great satisfaction by writing. And I can't say that anyone is forcing me at gunpoint to write. Still, there is a level of work associated with the compulsion to write that can be very taxing. And I so identify with the immortality box.
There is an overpowering call to create material for this box. The material must pass the critical review of a very demanding critic that resides within me. A slave master that demands greater productivity and at the same time improvement in the quality of work Even in the business world these two objectives do not complement each other well. In the world of art, the tension between these two can be exhausting.
The immortality thing has been an issue with me for as long as I can remember and I remain thoroughly convinced that writing is the only outlet I know availability to me to remotely deal with this issue.
I would like a simple life
yet all night I am laying
poems away in a long box,
It is my immortality box,
my lay-away plan,
my coffin.
Sometimes that so describes my life. Don't get me wrong, I do derive great satisfaction by writing. And I can't say that anyone is forcing me at gunpoint to write. Still, there is a level of work associated with the compulsion to write that can be very taxing. And I so identify with the immortality box.
There is an overpowering call to create material for this box. The material must pass the critical review of a very demanding critic that resides within me. A slave master that demands greater productivity and at the same time improvement in the quality of work Even in the business world these two objectives do not complement each other well. In the world of art, the tension between these two can be exhausting.
The immortality thing has been an issue with me for as long as I can remember and I remain thoroughly convinced that writing is the only outlet I know availability to me to remotely deal with this issue.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Intellectual Property
"Private property began the instant somebody had a mind of his own." ~ e.e. cummings
Monday, February 26, 2007
A Night at the Oscars from My Comfy Couch
I don't always watch them. In fact I did for years and then just sort of grew away from it but I did tune in last night. The funny thing is I really didn't see anything this year that was up for awards.
I think my interest this year was sparked a bit by the fact that in one way or another I felt connected because of a common thread of creativity. There were a couple of nominations that I did hope would be winners.
I think my interest this year was sparked a bit by the fact that in one way or another I felt connected because of a common thread of creativity. There were a couple of nominations that I did hope would be winners.
- An Inconvenient Truth for Best Documentary Feature - which won
- Two Hands for Best Documentary Short Subject - which didn't
- Happy Feet for Best Animated Feature Film - which won
- Peter O'Toole in Venus for Best Actor - which didn't
So I guess I was batting .500
I think the best line of the night has to go to Melissa Etheridge who won for her song "I Need to Wake Up" from An Inconvenient Truth when she said, "This is the only naked man that will ever be in my bedroom."
I know many tune in to see who is wearing what, but from an environmental standpoint it bothers me to see people spend lavishly thousands of dollars for a dress that they will wear one time. Is this really the best use of our renewable resources?
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Ground Clutter
Rain and thunder rolled in this morning. A cold chill hangs in the air. It is quiet here, I've already taken the car in for routine maintenance bright and early this morning and back home already. So starts the weekend.
While in the waiting room at the dealership, I let my mind take hold of my pen and scratched out some stuff in my journal. Nothing spectacular came of it.
I kept thinking of things going on around the world this week:
While in the waiting room at the dealership, I let my mind take hold of my pen and scratched out some stuff in my journal. Nothing spectacular came of it.
I kept thinking of things going on around the world this week:
- I thought of Vice President Cheney and I had to ask myself what drives this man to to be so caustic and discordant? His remarks aimed at both China and Iran are not helpful to constructive dialogue.
- I'm wondered what was going through the heads of the Jurors in the I. "Scooter" Libby trial?
- I envisioned the rats running around the NYC Taco Bell. "Which way to the boarder?"
- And the building at Walter Reed Army Hospital with U.S. soldiers who returned home from war facing struggles with psychological issues and housed in deplorable conditions and primarily caring for themselves.
You may think I have too much time on my hands. Perhaps, but in the quiet of a Saturday morning this poet is finding it hard to clear his head of ground clutter.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Poetry magazine creates unity through line breaks - Culture
Poetry magazine creates unity through line breaks - Culture
Interesting piece on Women Celebrating Poetry
Interesting piece on Women Celebrating Poetry
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Journal Bits
- Global runs both ways- big; all inclusive, / Shrinking; creating less distance, more interdependence.
- Cold War never ended- rather disappeared in hibernation. Recent rhetoric has awaken it.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Going Nowhere
I have today off. Of course Tuesday after a Monday holiday is like a Super Monday with at least 3 x the frustrations and demands.But I guess that is so we learn to appreciate the regular Mondays. Have I convinced you, because it isn't working for me yet?
Congratulations are in order for Jilly Dybka who has two poems up over at storySouth.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Top News- Children's Book Stirs Battle With Single Word - AOL News
Top News- Children's Book Stirs Battle With Single Word - AOL News
Oh my God.... This is great. A book that won the Newberry Medal and the author uses the word Scrotum on the first page. Why, because she likes the way it sounds and because it conjured up an image of "...something green that comes up when you have the flu and cough too much. It sounded medical and secret, but also important.”
But people are getting their panties all twisted. Take Dana Nilsson, a teacher and librarian in Durango, Colo., wrote on LM_Net, a mailing list that reaches more than 16,000 school librarians. “How very sad.” She said, “This book included what I call a Howard Stern-type shock treatment just to see how far they could push the envelope, but they didn’t have the children in mind,”
In the story, Lucky, the main character hears the word through a hole in a wall when another character says he saw a rattlesnake bite his dog, Roy, on the scrotum. Anyone who sees this as something Howard Sternish has a pretty vivid imagination.
Oh my God.... This is great. A book that won the Newberry Medal and the author uses the word Scrotum on the first page. Why, because she likes the way it sounds and because it conjured up an image of "...something green that comes up when you have the flu and cough too much. It sounded medical and secret, but also important.”
But people are getting their panties all twisted. Take Dana Nilsson, a teacher and librarian in Durango, Colo., wrote on LM_Net, a mailing list that reaches more than 16,000 school librarians. “How very sad.” She said, “This book included what I call a Howard Stern-type shock treatment just to see how far they could push the envelope, but they didn’t have the children in mind,”
In the story, Lucky, the main character hears the word through a hole in a wall when another character says he saw a rattlesnake bite his dog, Roy, on the scrotum. Anyone who sees this as something Howard Sternish has a pretty vivid imagination.
Senate Republicans nix Iraq resolution
On a 56 to 34 vote in the Senate today, Democrats with the help of a few Republicans fell 4 votes short of being able to advance the same resolution forward that the House passed - stating it's opposition the the Troop Surge in Iraq. The test vote Seven Republicans broke ranks with the Party Leadership to side with Democrats. While the vote on the on the resolution itself did not occur, it is clear that a majority of the Senate wanted this to happen and those in the majority on the test vote would likely have voted for the Resolution opposing the Troop Surge itself.
Both Houses of Congress are now understanding just how much the American public sees this war as a mistake and not worth the costs of American lives and the hundreds of billions in tax dollars we have already spent on it. Even as President Bush is sending to Congress a request for $100 billion more.
Both Houses of Congress are now understanding just how much the American public sees this war as a mistake and not worth the costs of American lives and the hundreds of billions in tax dollars we have already spent on it. Even as President Bush is sending to Congress a request for $100 billion more.
Friday, February 16, 2007
U.S. House of Representatives Vote Opposition to Bush's Troop Surge In Iraq
On a vote of 246 to 182 - The House approved H.Con Res 63 - A bill opposing the increase of some 21,000 troops to be sent to Iraq.
The stronger sex
The stronger sex-Arts & Entertainment-Books-Poetry-TimesOnline
Frieda Hughes on Poetry - London Times
Frieda Hughes on Poetry - London Times
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Unconscious Mutterings Week 210
I say ... and you think ... ?
- The best thing :: Peter Pan Peanut Butter
- Hold :: hold on through the night
- Rapture :: Taken
- Cover :: Coveralls
- Restrictive :: clothing
- Baker :: Bread
- Author :: writer
- Pill :: Pill box
- Months :: Dozen
- Valentine’s Day :: Roses
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
12 Republicans Break Ranks on Iraq Resolution
A Washington Post article today says as many as a dozen House Republicans today broke ranks with the President over the Iraq Troop Surge.
untitled draft 2-14-07
Night was lost
In the fall through nowhere cracks
Separated by a tired,
Protracted strangulation
That squeezed the neck of all want
Till the last blood drops puddled below.
A spatula flipped the side over
The splatter of day
Crackled and sizzled
Opening wide-eyed A yellow yolk.
In the fall through nowhere cracks
Separated by a tired,
Protracted strangulation
That squeezed the neck of all want
Till the last blood drops puddled below.
A spatula flipped the side over
The splatter of day
Crackled and sizzled
Opening wide-eyed A yellow yolk.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Writing Routine
This weekend I did little writing. This is pretty unusual for me. I have often gone about my days somewhat in a parallel to the routine that Sylvia Plath employed. Even if I am not writing, I am consciously alert, trying to zone in on something that could become a part of my next piece. This can become pretty intense at times.
If and when I hit a brick wall, I sometimes feel overwhelmed. This past week I reached a point of being overwhelmed while still turning out material with relative ease. This was a new situation for me and I decided to allow myself a bit of a break from the writing mindset this weekend. Instead, I turned out some submissions thinking this was still productive. Besides, I as less into the administrative side of it and have to psych myself up for it. In the end, I think it was a good decision.
If and when I hit a brick wall, I sometimes feel overwhelmed. This past week I reached a point of being overwhelmed while still turning out material with relative ease. This was a new situation for me and I decided to allow myself a bit of a break from the writing mindset this weekend. Instead, I turned out some submissions thinking this was still productive. Besides, I as less into the administrative side of it and have to psych myself up for it. In the end, I think it was a good decision.
Friday, February 09, 2007
They Can't Have Their Book Back
Book Policewoman Jackie Taylor [Mother of Cedar Grove Elementary School student] is unhappy with a book her 3rd grader brought home from the school library. "I understand that it is a book of poetry, but there is a fine line between poetry art and porn and this book's illustrations are absolutely offensive in every way," Taylor said. The book is I Saw Esau - a Schoolchild's Pocket Book. Taylor said she's not "giving them this book back, so it can disappear." [source]
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Meet Mo
Mo is a rescue dog that came to live with us a few weeks ago. He was left abandoned in a backyard of a vacant house. He was malnourished and has a few other medical issues but he has a great disposition and has very easily come to trust us. He is simply a delight and we all love him!
Barry and Klaus have been for the most part accepting of him. Barry is not real fond of sharing his toys but that is pretty much a part of his whole daschund personality and nothing personal against Mo. He is on the other hand, quite willing to play with Mo's toys.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Reality Be Gone!
Had a KC Metro Verse meeting last night. Read a draft of a poem I've been working on. I have several new drafts in the can right now. I suppose this is a good thing. One I'm very close on.
I've been reading some submissions to the Rogue. I had some really nice work come in this week.
I have a question that perhaps someone can answer for me. What number to we call to vote the reality shows off TV?
I've been reading some submissions to the Rogue. I had some really nice work come in this week.
I have a question that perhaps someone can answer for me. What number to we call to vote the reality shows off TV?
Monday, February 05, 2007
The Iraq Troop Surge
The following members of the Senate [in a procedural motion ] went on record against allowing the Senate to consider S. 470 a resolution. This [S. 470] was a non-binding resolution expressing opposition to the President Bush's Surge of 21,500 additional troops to Iraq.
Alexander (R-TN)Allard (R-CO)Bennett (R-UT)Bond (R-MO)Brownback (R-KS)Bunning (R-KY)Burr (R-NC)Chambliss (R-GA)Coburn (R-OK)Cochran (R-MS)Corker (R-TN)Cornyn (R-TX)Craig (R-ID)Crapo (R-ID)DeMint (R-SC)Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)Ensign (R-NV)Enzi (R-WY)Graham (R-SC)Grassley (R-IA)Gregg (R-NH)Hagel (R-NE)Hatch (R-UT)Hutchison (R-TX)Inhofe (R-OK)Isakson (R-GA)Kyl (R-AZ)Lieberman (ID-CT)Lott (R-MS)Lugar (R-IN)McConnell (R-KY)
Murkowski (R-AK)Reid (D-NV)Roberts (R-KS)Sessions (R-AL)Shelby (R-AL)Smith (R-OR)Snowe (R-ME)Specter (R-PA)Stevens (R-AK)Sununu (R-NH)Thomas (R-WY)Thune (R-SD)Vitter (R-LA)Voinovich (R-OH)Warner (R-VA)
Sadly these Senators would not allow the Senate to have a serious discussion on the matter.
Then as you can see below, Senator McCain didn't even have the guts to cast a vote.
These members were Not Voting - 4
Johnson (D-SD)* Landrieu (D-LA)
Martinez (R-FL)McCain (R-AZ)
* Johnson is in the hospital.
Alexander (R-TN)Allard (R-CO)Bennett (R-UT)Bond (R-MO)Brownback (R-KS)Bunning (R-KY)Burr (R-NC)Chambliss (R-GA)Coburn (R-OK)Cochran (R-MS)Corker (R-TN)Cornyn (R-TX)Craig (R-ID)Crapo (R-ID)DeMint (R-SC)Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)Ensign (R-NV)Enzi (R-WY)Graham (R-SC)Grassley (R-IA)Gregg (R-NH)Hagel (R-NE)Hatch (R-UT)Hutchison (R-TX)Inhofe (R-OK)Isakson (R-GA)Kyl (R-AZ)Lieberman (ID-CT)Lott (R-MS)Lugar (R-IN)McConnell (R-KY)
Murkowski (R-AK)Reid (D-NV)Roberts (R-KS)Sessions (R-AL)Shelby (R-AL)Smith (R-OR)Snowe (R-ME)Specter (R-PA)Stevens (R-AK)Sununu (R-NH)Thomas (R-WY)Thune (R-SD)Vitter (R-LA)Voinovich (R-OH)Warner (R-VA)
Sadly these Senators would not allow the Senate to have a serious discussion on the matter.
Then as you can see below, Senator McCain didn't even have the guts to cast a vote.
These members were Not Voting - 4
Johnson (D-SD)* Landrieu (D-LA)
Martinez (R-FL)McCain (R-AZ)
* Johnson is in the hospital.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Poetry & Madness
"The courage of the poets is to keep ajar the door that leads into madness." ~Christopher Morley
Friday, February 02, 2007
Unconscious Mutterings week 208
I say ... and you think ... ?
- Limit :: the sky
- Voice :: recognition
- Change :: very season
- Expression: Same
- Tailor :: made
- Lemonade :: homemade
- Thought :: police
- Phoebe :: Friends
- Impression :: first
- Sister :: hood
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Boston Literary Magazine
The Winter issue of Boston Literary Magazine is up & I have a poem featured in it. [click here]
Sunday, January 28, 2007
By way of explanation
"The one man who should never attempt an explanation on poetry is its author. If the poem can be improved by its author’s explanations, it never should have been published." ~Archibald MacLeish
I offer this one up to Ted Kooser to think about for a while
“I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled [poets] to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean.” ~ Socrates
Saturday, January 20, 2007
The World of Good and Evil
This is not about poetry. It is about more weighty subjects. But those of you who read me on a routine basis have learned I digress. This is about a world of texture and of color. A world in which there are gray areas and all is not black and white.
According an associate press story, Lawrence Wilkerson, a former chief of staff to then Secretary of State Colin Powell, told the BBC in an interview that Vice President Dick Cheney rejected an offer by Iran in 2003 to help the U.S. stabilize Iraq and at the same time end its military support of Hezbollah and Hamas. Wilkerson said when the offer was received, it was thought by the State Department to be “very propitious moment” to strike a deal, but as soon as it reached the vice president’s office, “… the old mantra of ‘We don’t talk to evil”…reasserted itself.
Of course here we are three years later, 3,000 plus U.S. Servicemen deal, countless others with wounds that will impact them for the rest of their lives, tens of thousands of Iraqi civilian causalities and a bloody civil-war between rival factions and no end in sight. The Iraq Study Group recommends that one alternative approach would be to enlist the support of Iran and Syria in the region. Of course, the President, el al in the administration have chosen to ignore this possibility in favor of sending 21,500 more American to the middle of a civil war.
I understand fully the concern President Bush has with nuclear proliferation. There are several fronts in which this is an issue, including North Korea and some of the regions of the old Soviet Union which have unaccounted for nuclear weapons grade supplies. Unfortunately, through out his one and a half terms of service, he has really achieved nothing on two of those fronts and largely ignored the third. This administration sees everything in terms of “good” and “evil” and if you are evil, we isolate you and hope that one day you will wake up and realize you are evil and decide to be good instead. Is this progressive foreign policy?
For many years, nations have successfully worked to find areas of agreement even though they have other issues in which they remain far apart. There is the old adage that the “enemy of my enemy is my friend.” It has allowed countries to find areas of mutual interest and work towards solving problems from what they can agree upon. If what Wilkerson has indicated about Iran’s communication in 2003 is current, it angers me to think that the Vice President would not have allowed the State Department to see what might have been accomplished to spare the region more bloodshed, loss of more American lives, and slow the $380 billion plus drain on the people of this country.
If one is to accept the premise of good and evil, it might be noted that good like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Such a concept is strictly black and white. I can acknowledge my fears and concerns about the nuclear paths of North Korea and Iran. But I can clearly see how from their vantage point they feel a double standard that says some nations have nuclear weapons and it is ok for those that have them to keep them, but the rest just have to accept the fact that no one else can.
Perhaps it is time again for us to conduct our foreign policy in living color – recognizing all the gray areas and not just looking at everything as if it were just black and white. Do we need to put poets in government? Is this the answer?
Sorry, I digress again.
According an associate press story, Lawrence Wilkerson, a former chief of staff to then Secretary of State Colin Powell, told the BBC in an interview that Vice President Dick Cheney rejected an offer by Iran in 2003 to help the U.S. stabilize Iraq and at the same time end its military support of Hezbollah and Hamas. Wilkerson said when the offer was received, it was thought by the State Department to be “very propitious moment” to strike a deal, but as soon as it reached the vice president’s office, “… the old mantra of ‘We don’t talk to evil”…reasserted itself.
Of course here we are three years later, 3,000 plus U.S. Servicemen deal, countless others with wounds that will impact them for the rest of their lives, tens of thousands of Iraqi civilian causalities and a bloody civil-war between rival factions and no end in sight. The Iraq Study Group recommends that one alternative approach would be to enlist the support of Iran and Syria in the region. Of course, the President, el al in the administration have chosen to ignore this possibility in favor of sending 21,500 more American to the middle of a civil war.
I understand fully the concern President Bush has with nuclear proliferation. There are several fronts in which this is an issue, including North Korea and some of the regions of the old Soviet Union which have unaccounted for nuclear weapons grade supplies. Unfortunately, through out his one and a half terms of service, he has really achieved nothing on two of those fronts and largely ignored the third. This administration sees everything in terms of “good” and “evil” and if you are evil, we isolate you and hope that one day you will wake up and realize you are evil and decide to be good instead. Is this progressive foreign policy?
For many years, nations have successfully worked to find areas of agreement even though they have other issues in which they remain far apart. There is the old adage that the “enemy of my enemy is my friend.” It has allowed countries to find areas of mutual interest and work towards solving problems from what they can agree upon. If what Wilkerson has indicated about Iran’s communication in 2003 is current, it angers me to think that the Vice President would not have allowed the State Department to see what might have been accomplished to spare the region more bloodshed, loss of more American lives, and slow the $380 billion plus drain on the people of this country.
If one is to accept the premise of good and evil, it might be noted that good like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Such a concept is strictly black and white. I can acknowledge my fears and concerns about the nuclear paths of North Korea and Iran. But I can clearly see how from their vantage point they feel a double standard that says some nations have nuclear weapons and it is ok for those that have them to keep them, but the rest just have to accept the fact that no one else can.
Perhaps it is time again for us to conduct our foreign policy in living color – recognizing all the gray areas and not just looking at everything as if it were just black and white. Do we need to put poets in government? Is this the answer?
Sorry, I digress again.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
The Year 2006 In Words
From my project I started on December 31, 2006
In all, the red and blue states were not so static—
As a sagging democracy, we have a lot to learn
About spreading it. And why
Do we want others to have it, yet emigrants are a code word
Rioting through our heads in fear— grabbing up our food
Crashing our schools and hospitals stealing what jobs
We still have in this global economy of circular motion?
The more things change for the worse, the more we hear “stay-the-course”
We need a plan, all of us, to deal with it all…
Gruesome body counts, stock market, crude oil and health care costs
Ascending rugged terrain of news charts—
Who are the terrorists? The lines are blurrier than ever.
Neocons fashion themselves as saviors.
Religious extremists chant with fervor.
A jihad in denomination is still a jihad.
A global warming to the sounds of war is calling us to redeploy
And some what withdrawal now!
Where are our battles? Who? What do we fight?
Illegal aliens? Civil Union? Stem-cell research?
What really ticks the clock of doom? Any of these?
Or nuclear tests by a nation teetering on instability
While another thinks proliferation their birthright
And we beg to argue from the weakness of a hypocrite.
We talk about the issue of bilateral verses unilateral discourse
Yet the critical issue might as well be the unidentifiable liquid
Upon the moon. Insane as is was 2006 is history.
In all, the red and blue states were not so static—
As a sagging democracy, we have a lot to learn
About spreading it. And why
Do we want others to have it, yet emigrants are a code word
Rioting through our heads in fear— grabbing up our food
Crashing our schools and hospitals stealing what jobs
We still have in this global economy of circular motion?
The more things change for the worse, the more we hear “stay-the-course”
We need a plan, all of us, to deal with it all…
Gruesome body counts, stock market, crude oil and health care costs
Ascending rugged terrain of news charts—
Who are the terrorists? The lines are blurrier than ever.
Neocons fashion themselves as saviors.
Religious extremists chant with fervor.
A jihad in denomination is still a jihad.
A global warming to the sounds of war is calling us to redeploy
And some what withdrawal now!
Where are our battles? Who? What do we fight?
Illegal aliens? Civil Union? Stem-cell research?
What really ticks the clock of doom? Any of these?
Or nuclear tests by a nation teetering on instability
While another thinks proliferation their birthright
And we beg to argue from the weakness of a hypocrite.
We talk about the issue of bilateral verses unilateral discourse
Yet the critical issue might as well be the unidentifiable liquid
Upon the moon. Insane as is was 2006 is history.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Last Night In The Bedroom....
So here I am last night lying across the bed and my wife sitting next to me and she is reading notes from a French Poetry Anthology with English translations. The book is actually a text book for one of my daughter’s classes. But here we are, my wife [who is not particularly enamored by poetry] and I, discussing the process of translation, Romanticism, Surrealism, Cubism, Dadaism and a whole host of things about poetry including. It was both fascinating at the time, and rather amusing thinking back on it this morning.
In other news of a personal note, I discovered somewhat belatedly that a poem of mine titled File Folder was published in the Park University Scribe.
In other news of a personal note, I discovered somewhat belatedly that a poem of mine titled File Folder was published in the Park University Scribe.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Some days it goes like this....
"I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again. "
Oscar Wilde
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Unconscious Mutterings Week 206
I say ... and you think ... ?
Episode :: Another episode disconnect in foreign policy
Source :: Considering the
Jerk :: Knee jerk pleadings of an asshole
Introduce :: Spy vs. Spy
Ralph :: Ralph Constance Lauren
Stare :: stare into the blank
Cast :: -aways
Scenario :: opera of the possible
Flu :: shot over the bow
Mad :: about you
Episode :: Another episode disconnect in foreign policy
Source :: Considering the
Jerk :: Knee jerk pleadings of an asshole
Introduce :: Spy vs. Spy
Ralph :: Ralph Constance Lauren
Stare :: stare into the blank
Cast :: -aways
Scenario :: opera of the possible
Flu :: shot over the bow
Mad :: about you
John Ashbery - Not Poet Laureate Material
John Ashbery is a highly recognized figure in contemporary American Poetry. The last of the so-called New York School of poetry. He has some 24 poetry books that have been published and in the realm measuring success by publication, one is hard pressed to discount is successes.
He has had poetry books published in each of the last six decades.
Deborah Solomon in a New York Times Magazine article posed the possibility that Ashbery may have felt snubbed since he has never been asked to serve as Poet Laureate. But Ashbery himself insisted, "I really don’t think I’m poet-laureate material." He added, " To be poet laureate you have to have a program for spreading the word of poetry. I’m just willing to let it spread by itself."
In earlier biographical material I've read on Ashbery I've noted that he seems to be quite content with a more laid back, less public posture. I can appreciate that the remarks attributed to him in Solomon's article are an honest expression of his view. But I can't help but believe this man, who's work I believe so brilliant, would in fact bring a robust and exciting debate to the
public discussion of contemporary poetry.
He has had poetry books published in each of the last six decades.
Deborah Solomon in a New York Times Magazine article posed the possibility that Ashbery may have felt snubbed since he has never been asked to serve as Poet Laureate. But Ashbery himself insisted, "I really don’t think I’m poet-laureate material." He added, " To be poet laureate you have to have a program for spreading the word of poetry. I’m just willing to let it spread by itself."
In earlier biographical material I've read on Ashbery I've noted that he seems to be quite content with a more laid back, less public posture. I can appreciate that the remarks attributed to him in Solomon's article are an honest expression of his view. But I can't help but believe this man, who's work I believe so brilliant, would in fact bring a robust and exciting debate to the
public discussion of contemporary poetry.
Friday, January 12, 2007
First Manuscript Report for 2007
Yesterday I had 5 manuscripts rejected. Alas, 4 more went out today.
Outstanding submission remaining at end of year 8
less rejections through 1-12-07 -5
new submissions through 1-12-06 + 4
-----------
Outstanding manuscripts currently 7
Outstanding submission remaining at end of year 8
less rejections through 1-12-07 -5
new submissions through 1-12-06 + 4
-----------
Outstanding manuscripts currently 7
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Deep breath
I won't say I'm in a bad mood, but I not exactly chipper either. I've had two grueling days at the office. Then today we were informed that our long standing casual Friday has bitten the dust.
Then let me heap a little more on the pile. This weekend I sort of hit the skids with writing. Everything seemed forced and it bugged the hell out of me. It has been quite a while since I have been in a writing funk, so I suppose I should be grateful for the nice run. No, that is not how one looks at this. Instead, it is like the zit that is bigger than your face.
I'm trying to calm myself down and remember that I've lived through this before and it will surely happen again. So take it in stride and just keep writing. Crap and all. it will work itself out.
Donald Hall is coming into town this month. I'm looking forward to hearing him.
I have a KC Metro Verse meeting tomorrow night.
I've got two places I need to get material off to by the 15th.
Just need to keep myself focused, meet my goals for the month and just write, knowing it will work itself out sooner or later.
Then let me heap a little more on the pile. This weekend I sort of hit the skids with writing. Everything seemed forced and it bugged the hell out of me. It has been quite a while since I have been in a writing funk, so I suppose I should be grateful for the nice run. No, that is not how one looks at this. Instead, it is like the zit that is bigger than your face.
I'm trying to calm myself down and remember that I've lived through this before and it will surely happen again. So take it in stride and just keep writing. Crap and all. it will work itself out.
Donald Hall is coming into town this month. I'm looking forward to hearing him.
I have a KC Metro Verse meeting tomorrow night.
I've got two places I need to get material off to by the 15th.
Just need to keep myself focused, meet my goals for the month and just write, knowing it will work itself out sooner or later.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Allowing Poetry to Speak to You
When I saw this quote, it touched a nerve within me that rang all sorts of bells and whistles...
"A lot of the fun lies in trying to penetrate the mystery; and this is best done by saying over the lines to yourself again and again, till they pass through the stage of sounding like nonsense, and finally return to a full sense that had at first escaped notice." -Anthony Hecht
This takes me to the core belief that I have about the issue of accessibility in poetry and why I believe we should not have to defend poetry that is outside that nice clean little cozy realm of accessibility.
In fact, I hunger for poetry that is more then a read it through once and be able to say, "that's nice." I much prefer to allow the poem to speak to me than for me to read it as though it were a Dick and Jane reader and presto it is all perfectly clear at that period at the end of the last sentence.
"A lot of the fun lies in trying to penetrate the mystery; and this is best done by saying over the lines to yourself again and again, till they pass through the stage of sounding like nonsense, and finally return to a full sense that had at first escaped notice." -Anthony Hecht
This takes me to the core belief that I have about the issue of accessibility in poetry and why I believe we should not have to defend poetry that is outside that nice clean little cozy realm of accessibility.
In fact, I hunger for poetry that is more then a read it through once and be able to say, "that's nice." I much prefer to allow the poem to speak to me than for me to read it as though it were a Dick and Jane reader and presto it is all perfectly clear at that period at the end of the last sentence.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Unconscious Mutterings
I say ... and you think ... ?
Resolution :: another plowed under into the ground
Happy :: Birthday to me
Bubbly :: Champagne music of Lawrence Welk
Kiss :: sweetheart roses with a kiss of baby breath
Leather :: camera gear - on a strap - over the shoulder
Fancy :: guppy fins with rainbow
Pages :: blank pages stare back at me
Stupid :: idiot was one of his favorite proclamations, and he should know
Apologize :: sorry, sorry, a thousand times over
Secrets :: held tightly in a vest pocket
Resolution :: another plowed under into the ground
Happy :: Birthday to me
Bubbly :: Champagne music of Lawrence Welk
Kiss :: sweetheart roses with a kiss of baby breath
Leather :: camera gear - on a strap - over the shoulder
Fancy :: guppy fins with rainbow
Pages :: blank pages stare back at me
Stupid :: idiot was one of his favorite proclamations, and he should know
Apologize :: sorry, sorry, a thousand times over
Secrets :: held tightly in a vest pocket
In The News
- Holiday Greetings from the U.S. Army - US wants its officials to ‘die again’, apologises
- Poetry: electronica style [story]
- Montana's first poet laureate is unpaid, she said she is not impoverished as a result [story]
- Before 'Howl,' the hospital [story]
Just a few bits of news on this Saturday.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
The Writing Process
In reading another poet/blogger post this week I realized something. Sometimes I am all over the map in process. The post I am referring to is by Kelli. Her post tells of one way to write poems, the process she employs.
Kelli's process itself is not revolutionary in my eyes and I sure most who have written for any length of time will recognize the process. I don't use it universally but more often than not it is a version of what I do. There are still times I try to force the issue, which is to say I sit down and say to myself, "let’s write a poem about "XYZ" and I struggle through the end to write something I am most of the time not totally happy with. Still, out of hard headedness or whatever, I will try this from time to time and with rare exception, frustrate myself and to a less than desirable end.
The aspect of Kelli's approach that impressed me was her organization in working from an "In Process" file. That is where her developing or embryonic poems are. A sort of purgatory for poems (perhaps it is the Catholic in me that identifies with this) from which she will return to cull ideas and rewrite, moving them out of the file when they become full fledged poems.
The process of writing about whatever comes to your mind and moving forward with it is in fact the process I most often employ. My problem is that I have gotten away from doing a lot of my writing one the computer. Imagine that! It is not that I am trying to step backwards in time, but rather that I often write these poetry beginnings in my journal. I suppose that there are two major reasons for this. One is that the competition for the computer at home is great. You know the movies where the family has one bathroom and four children only one of which is a boy? The male family members find it challenging to eek out a few moments in the morning for themselves. Actually, that is not just a movie, but my life for many years. Now it is the same pattern with respect to the computers in our household.
I do enjoy writing in the journal. It is handy and has become a near appendage to my body. Still, the organization issues associated with it are problematic at times. I can, and do go back through it to rework stuff. But this is not a smooth process and going back to even older journals that have been retired to the bookshelf presents another whole dimension of juggling to find something vague in my memory from 6 months or a year ago.
I may have to start trying to transfer the journal work to the PC on say a weekly basis and then try Kelli’s process.
Any others want to be brave and share their formulas for successful poetry writing?
Kelli's process itself is not revolutionary in my eyes and I sure most who have written for any length of time will recognize the process. I don't use it universally but more often than not it is a version of what I do. There are still times I try to force the issue, which is to say I sit down and say to myself, "let’s write a poem about "XYZ" and I struggle through the end to write something I am most of the time not totally happy with. Still, out of hard headedness or whatever, I will try this from time to time and with rare exception, frustrate myself and to a less than desirable end.
The aspect of Kelli's approach that impressed me was her organization in working from an "In Process" file. That is where her developing or embryonic poems are. A sort of purgatory for poems (perhaps it is the Catholic in me that identifies with this) from which she will return to cull ideas and rewrite, moving them out of the file when they become full fledged poems.
The process of writing about whatever comes to your mind and moving forward with it is in fact the process I most often employ. My problem is that I have gotten away from doing a lot of my writing one the computer. Imagine that! It is not that I am trying to step backwards in time, but rather that I often write these poetry beginnings in my journal. I suppose that there are two major reasons for this. One is that the competition for the computer at home is great. You know the movies where the family has one bathroom and four children only one of which is a boy? The male family members find it challenging to eek out a few moments in the morning for themselves. Actually, that is not just a movie, but my life for many years. Now it is the same pattern with respect to the computers in our household.
I do enjoy writing in the journal. It is handy and has become a near appendage to my body. Still, the organization issues associated with it are problematic at times. I can, and do go back through it to rework stuff. But this is not a smooth process and going back to even older journals that have been retired to the bookshelf presents another whole dimension of juggling to find something vague in my memory from 6 months or a year ago.
I may have to start trying to transfer the journal work to the PC on say a weekly basis and then try Kelli’s process.
Any others want to be brave and share their formulas for successful poetry writing?
Monday, January 01, 2007
Happy New Year!
Even Barry is ready for the New Year. He handed me his New Years Resolution list this morning. It reads as follows:
1. I will exclude the cats from my diet.
2. I will not slobber on my toys I bring to you to play fetch with.
3. I will not covet the cat's food.
4. I will not steel your witting and publish it, but if I do, I'll split the royalties 80-20. 70-30? Ok, 60-40.
5. I will not use my cute look when being scolded or redirected.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
The Year in Words
I was thinking for words or phrases that seemed to define the year we are ending. I thought I'd compile a list of say 25 with the idea in mind of say in a week or two coming back to the list and using it as the basis of creating a poem to represent the positive and negative energies that made up 2006. However, I thought that I truly want the selections to represent universality So I though for the next week, in addition to my own list, I wold tally up those anyone else cared to suggest and then settle on the 25 most mentioned. So, this is audience participation time. Between now and the 7th of January, give me your list in the comments. Please, no proper names. Just words and short two or three word phrases. Here is mine for starters:
- global economy
- global warming
- emigrant
- illegal alien
- withdrawal
- stem cell research
- stay-the-course
- body count
- health care costs
- stock market
- bilateral talks
- nuclear tests
- nuclear proliferation
- liquid on the moon
- red states / blue states
- jihad
- religious extremists
- neocon
- spreading democracy
- truthiness
- need a plan
- terrorists
- crude oil
- redeploy
- civil union
Perhap.. ok definately my last Meme of 2006
Mini-meme I got From Ivy's blog.
- Find the nearest book.
- Turn to page 123.
- Go to the fifth sentence on the page.
- Copy out the next three sentences and post to your blog.
- Name the book and the author,
- and tag three more folks.
"This was Lyonnesse. /Inaccessible clouds, submarine trees / The labyrinth / Of brambly burrow lanes. Bundled women- / Stump-warts, you called them- / Sniffling at your strangeness in wet shops. /
Book: Birthday Letters - Author: Ted Hughes
hum... [drumming fingers and thinking] I guess I will tag:
- Christine - because she has so much extra time on her hands ;)
- James - because I haven't picked on him lately
- Robert - Because he takes it so well when I pick on him
Friday, December 29, 2006
Looking at a new copy of Poets & Writers (Jan/Feb 2007) I noted that it is their 20th Anniversary Issue. They have a really neat time capsule that runs through the magazine for each year since inception with A picture of a cover for the perspective year, the current Poet Laureate, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, Notable events, names of those in covers, News and trends, and a quote. I am a bug fan of this magazine, so I naturally found these annual composits to be entertaining to read.
I saw where congratulations are in order for Ivy Alvarez as she is already slated for inclusion in a 2008 Anthology of Younger Poets. And some of us haven't even started on 2007 yet. Actually, I think she get kudos for both being anthologized as well as still being able to be considered a young poet.
I saw where congratulations are in order for Ivy Alvarez as she is already slated for inclusion in a 2008 Anthology of Younger Poets. And some of us haven't even started on 2007 yet. Actually, I think she get kudos for both being anthologized as well as still being able to be considered a young poet.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Taxing my mind a bit
"You must always work not just within but below your means If you can handle three elements, handle only two. If you can handle ten, then handle only five. In that way the ones you do handle, you handle with more ease, more mastery, and you create a feeling of strength in reserve." --Pablo Picasso
This came to me as such an engrossing point of view. It seems so contradictory to what advise people are usually given. And while it seems contrary to the norm, it also appears in some respects to be sound advise.
This came to me as such an engrossing point of view. It seems so contradictory to what advise people are usually given. And while it seems contrary to the norm, it also appears in some respects to be sound advise.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Sorry No Wednesday Poet
There will be no Wednesday Poet today as I just returned home from hospital. I was bound up in cords yesterday and today for some cardiac tests which all proved to be negative- which is not to say they could not find evidence of a heart (I'm sure of great disappointment to those who think me heartless), just not any heart related problems.
I did get to read a few poems last night and this morning before my stress test.
I did get to read a few poems last night and this morning before my stress test.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Reminder Call For Submissions
Perhaps some of the holiday madness will settle down now. Dust off those poems you've been meaning to send out because ROGUE POETRY REVIEW is still accepting submissions for the next issue. Submission instructions are on the site.
Christmas day and all is quiet.
Enjoyed Christmas Eve with our immediate family. My wife and I, as well as all but our oldest daughter (who lives is out of the area [sigh] gathered at my son's house. Had a very enjoyable evening - dinner was great. Among Cath's many creative skills, bread making is an art form for her.
My library grew by two books last night. One a book from my want list - The Cambridge Companion to Sylvia Plath and the other was one I was not aware of but looks to be equally as enticing.... Sylvia Plath - The Wound and the Cure of Words by Steven Gould Axelrod. These look to be especially insightful. I've read so many POVs on Plath it is hard to imagine there are still things to glean from others but that man never end.
Right now everyone is away but me and the house is so quiet. Even the dogs are off to the park. It's just me and the cats. I'm sure these moments of tranquility are extra special to them.
I am so not ready to go back to work tomorrow.
My library grew by two books last night. One a book from my want list - The Cambridge Companion to Sylvia Plath and the other was one I was not aware of but looks to be equally as enticing.... Sylvia Plath - The Wound and the Cure of Words by Steven Gould Axelrod. These look to be especially insightful. I've read so many POVs on Plath it is hard to imagine there are still things to glean from others but that man never end.
Right now everyone is away but me and the house is so quiet. Even the dogs are off to the park. It's just me and the cats. I'm sure these moments of tranquility are extra special to them.
I am so not ready to go back to work tomorrow.
Friday, December 22, 2006
May you find your own peace..
This morning I see the solar radiance beaming through the dinning room window and casting itself upon me clear into the Great room where I sit at a laptop. My thoughts turn to all those traveling with timetables that are imposable or at least improbable to meet due to the storm that came through Denver this week. What frustration they must feel and at a time of year that begs for peace and tranquility.
We start each new year on a path that we have no idea what it will take us through. We know there will be opportunities and we can be sure there will be obstacles. Often we will have to make our own opportunities out of the landscape around us.
I can look back on 2006 and there are ups and downs to be sure. This new year no doubt will offer more of the same. It is in these last few days of the year that I think all of us, Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Muslim, or nothing at all, can benefit from the pause in the season to take a deep breath, reach for an inner peace, recharge ourselves for the continued journey on your path of life.
It seems especially challenging to imagine a world at peace if we cannot be at peace ourselves. To expect our nation, or city, our own communities to be at peace if we cannot have an atmosphere of peace within our own home.
I am reminded of the words of Albert Canus ~ "We used to wonder where war lived, what it was that made it so vile. And now we realize that we know where it lives...inside ourselves."
May you all find yourselves at peace this holiday season...
Found this link from Ivy / From now on, I shall be known as....
 | My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: His Eminence the Very Lord Michael the Lackadaisical of Chipping Sodbury Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title |
Fear and Ignorance
Not pretry related but I must get this off my chest...
Sometimes in a democracy we get lucky and select men and women with the intellect and humility to provide good and thoughtful leadership. Unfortunately this is not always the case, and I am reminded of this by the words of Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr. - 5th Congressional Dist. of Virginia.
In a letter to his constituents, Congressman Goode said, "When I raise my hand to take the oath on swearing-in day, I will have the Bible in my other hand. I do not subscribe to using the Koran in any way." He adds, "The Muslim representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran." He is of course referring to Congressman elect Keith Ellison. Ellison is the first Muslin elected to Congress.
Goode's letter to his constituents is interesting because it appears to serve only one purpose. To propagate contempt for those of other faiths and nationalities. Such contempt is not surprisingly based upon ignorance. Perhaps both fear and ignorance. They seem to walk hand-in-hand these days.
For starters, Congress is sworn in as a group and no book of religious significance is required. Many will later pose for photo-ops with a book in their hand. Yes a Bible has been used, as well as the Old Testament by some of Jewish faith and The book of Mormon by those of the Mormon faith. I seems rather silly to make such a deal over a prop for a photo-op because that is basically what it amounts to.
Of greater significance to Congressman Goode is the fact that Keith Ellison is Muslin. This is the force driving his fear and hate. He warns that if America is not awaken, more immigrants will come to America and more Muslims will be elected to Congress. The immigrants point here is misrepresented in that Keith Ellison was not an immigrant to the U.S. but a good old American citizen. Imagine that!
It was John F. Kennedy who said, "Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others." By our tolerance to others, we honor America's commitment to those principals on which this nation was founded. How easy it has become, under the guise of a "War on Terror" to allow ourselves to waver from so many of our basic beliefs as a nation.
I would like to believe that Congressman Goode was simply trying to pander to his constituents. That of course would not excuse his actions, but it is so hard to accept that people will twist Christian principals of tolerance and our own Constitutional principals of equality and religious freedom to fit such a narrow and hateful view.
Sometimes in a democracy we get lucky and select men and women with the intellect and humility to provide good and thoughtful leadership. Unfortunately this is not always the case, and I am reminded of this by the words of Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr. - 5th Congressional Dist. of Virginia.
In a letter to his constituents, Congressman Goode said, "When I raise my hand to take the oath on swearing-in day, I will have the Bible in my other hand. I do not subscribe to using the Koran in any way." He adds, "The Muslim representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran." He is of course referring to Congressman elect Keith Ellison. Ellison is the first Muslin elected to Congress.
Goode's letter to his constituents is interesting because it appears to serve only one purpose. To propagate contempt for those of other faiths and nationalities. Such contempt is not surprisingly based upon ignorance. Perhaps both fear and ignorance. They seem to walk hand-in-hand these days.
For starters, Congress is sworn in as a group and no book of religious significance is required. Many will later pose for photo-ops with a book in their hand. Yes a Bible has been used, as well as the Old Testament by some of Jewish faith and The book of Mormon by those of the Mormon faith. I seems rather silly to make such a deal over a prop for a photo-op because that is basically what it amounts to.
Of greater significance to Congressman Goode is the fact that Keith Ellison is Muslin. This is the force driving his fear and hate. He warns that if America is not awaken, more immigrants will come to America and more Muslims will be elected to Congress. The immigrants point here is misrepresented in that Keith Ellison was not an immigrant to the U.S. but a good old American citizen. Imagine that!
It was John F. Kennedy who said, "Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others." By our tolerance to others, we honor America's commitment to those principals on which this nation was founded. How easy it has become, under the guise of a "War on Terror" to allow ourselves to waver from so many of our basic beliefs as a nation.
I would like to believe that Congressman Goode was simply trying to pander to his constituents. That of course would not excuse his actions, but it is so hard to accept that people will twist Christian principals of tolerance and our own Constitutional principals of equality and religious freedom to fit such a narrow and hateful view.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Nothing to Embrace
Nothing to Embrace
A tin can that rattles of air
A limp sting with no kite
A battle with no one
The war is over
They’ve all gone home.
I’d wring my hands
Of this blank space in time
But how, and where
Would I hang my head?
I’d wring my hands
Of this blank space in time
But how, and where
Would I hang my head?
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Wednesday Poet Series No 9
Connie Wanek is the author of two books of poems:- Bonfire, (New Rivers Press in 1997)
- Hartley Field, (Holy Cow! Press in 2002)
She was anthologized in Poets Against The War. Her work has also appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, The Virginia Quarterly Review, Quarterly West, and a number of other venues.
She she was born in 1952 in Madison, Wisconsin and has received fellowships and support from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council and The Jerome Foundation. She's been a finalist for both the Minnesota Book Award and the Northeastern Minnesota Book Award and won the 1998 Willow Poetry Prize.
In the early 1060's her family relocated from Wisconsin farming to Las Cruces, New Mexico. In 1990, she took residence in Duluth, Minnesota she lives with her husband and two children.
The first poem of Waneck's I read was Coloring Book . The paper is cheap, easily torn. / A coloring book's authority is derived / from its heavy black lines / as unalterable as the ten commandments / within which minor decisions are possible: / the dog black and white, / the kitten gray. I loved the authority of the black lines she ascribed to the page.In Butter she denotes a commonality between butter and love. And I love the line: Will the rope never strike her ankle, / love's bite? from Jump Rope so much to decide... Whom will she marry? Whom will she love?
More of Wanek's Poetry: After Us Two Poems: Children Near The Water & Daisies
Radiator
Monday, December 18, 2006
22 Lines
Busy weekend with family gathering on Saturday and Sunday I spent most of the day at my wife's office helping rearrange things. I did carve out a little bit of time to read some poetry over the weekend and did write a bit, even if it wasn't a great deal.
The sky was a beautiful filtered pink glow when I left for work this morning. Looks like it could turn out to be a nice day outside even though the morning started out a bit chilly.
Found a deliciously interesting article on Donald Hall I wanted to share. There were several things I found fascinating but among them was reference to a poem of Hall's that appeared in the Nov. 13th New Yorker under what now seems a somewhat ambiguous title, Maples. Mike Pride reports in this article that the poem condenses Hall's nearly entire 78 year lifespan into these 22 lines and at the same time providing an insight to the themes of his life's work in poetry: decline & loss, place, nature, mankind's addiction to wanton destruction. Read the piece here.
The sky was a beautiful filtered pink glow when I left for work this morning. Looks like it could turn out to be a nice day outside even though the morning started out a bit chilly.
Found a deliciously interesting article on Donald Hall I wanted to share. There were several things I found fascinating but among them was reference to a poem of Hall's that appeared in the Nov. 13th New Yorker under what now seems a somewhat ambiguous title, Maples. Mike Pride reports in this article that the poem condenses Hall's nearly entire 78 year lifespan into these 22 lines and at the same time providing an insight to the themes of his life's work in poetry: decline & loss, place, nature, mankind's addiction to wanton destruction. Read the piece here.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Multi-form success
Was reading this on Margaret Atwood that I found on Jilly's blog and got quite a kick out of the following line... "I think I'm this way because I never went to creative writing school and nobody told me not to. Nobody said, 'You have to specialize,' or 'For heaven's sake, control yourself.' " She was talking about the fact that she has been published in so many forms...poetry, short stories, children's literature, thrillers, a romance, criticism, even science fiction. I've only read Atwood poetry, but I admire the versatility as a writer. Especially since I find her poetry to be very agreeable to my taste, I don't get the feeling that she is simply a half-assed writer in a variety of areas. Am I envious? Not especially. I am myself content to better myself in poetry, but I am none the less impressed with her success outside of the form.
~0~
Voices behind bars... Poetry in Prison. [story]
~0~
Voices behind bars... Poetry in Prison. [story]
Saturday, December 16, 2006
New Blog Project
I've started a new blog project to list the poets I am reading periodically and note observations about the work. You'll find the link on the side bar as well as here.
~0~
Yesterday, I caught this really interesting podcast on NPR that deals with the question of Creativity, Learned or Innate?
[photo: a shot I took of one of the Seven views of Grand Canyon - sculptures]
Friday, December 15, 2006
Ahh ~ Friday at last...
The week is coming to an end like a locomotive pulling into a small town station... the brakes stalling the wheels and the metal to metal glide amid all the steam and noise, the motion continues a bit longer but at a declining speed. Then the jolt and there you are. It has stopped.
I definitely feel the holiday upon us. Two Christmas parties yesterday. One for the office and one an evening at the Writer House. I read a couple of poems. I'll have Christmas shopping to do this weekend.
There is a mixture of a sort of manic world and this inner calling for peace and tranquility. They do not mix well together. I suppose that is would support James Hillman's assessment when he said, "Slowness is basic to the notion of melancholy from the very beginning. Mania is often described in psychiatry by the absence of sadness." When the world is in chaos it tends to overlook the sadness of war and famine and sickness, and so on. It is at these very moments that I believe mankind needs poetry the most. But no, we somehow find it easier to be numb to the horror and immune from humor as well. We are just to busy to let silly emotions get in the way of anything.
Bits from my journal this week:
U.S.-LED COALITION FORCES = United States 2,941 / Britain 126 / Other nations 121
IRAQIS = Military Between 4,900 and 6,375 / Civilians Between 50,585 and 56,083
[source]
I definitely feel the holiday upon us. Two Christmas parties yesterday. One for the office and one an evening at the Writer House. I read a couple of poems. I'll have Christmas shopping to do this weekend.
There is a mixture of a sort of manic world and this inner calling for peace and tranquility. They do not mix well together. I suppose that is would support James Hillman's assessment when he said, "Slowness is basic to the notion of melancholy from the very beginning. Mania is often described in psychiatry by the absence of sadness." When the world is in chaos it tends to overlook the sadness of war and famine and sickness, and so on. It is at these very moments that I believe mankind needs poetry the most. But no, we somehow find it easier to be numb to the horror and immune from humor as well. We are just to busy to let silly emotions get in the way of anything.
Bits from my journal this week:
- A fog of silence settles in the gully sunken between us.
- The reeds of hope / sprouting runners / travel across the anticipatory terrain
- I am transparent, here but out of sight.
- Nights of curview / days strung between roads / boardered by odds / not quite palatable / survival will apply to travelers / moving between strife // What are the options? / a sigh of indigestion /rather resignation of lost causes / St Anthony Pray for us. //
~0~
The President is not going to make "rash decisions" on Iraq. He has moved back the time for his anouncement to after the first of the year. Some military people are now calling for more troops. {sigh} The President has rejected major parts of the ISG. He talks about changing stratagy. I'm thinking that chage is going to look a lot more like "stay the course."
Question for Iraqi citizens. Are you better off now than you were four years ago?
~0~
Driving through Taco Bell - "Hold the green onions, hold the lettuce. Uh, come to think of it, just hold my order."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Latest Iraq War Deaths to date since U.S. Invasion in March 2003:U.S.-LED COALITION FORCES = United States 2,941 / Britain 126 / Other nations 121
IRAQIS = Military Between 4,900 and 6,375 / Civilians Between 50,585 and 56,083
[source]
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Poet's memorial riddle solved
Five years of secrecy over the location of a memorial to the late Poet Laureate Ted Hughes have come to an end.
BBC Spotlight's environment correspondent Simon Hall has spent two years searching for the site on Dartmoor in Devon. He was helped by a guide, and used clues in Ted Hughes' will and his work. [full story]
BBC Spotlight's environment correspondent Simon Hall has spent two years searching for the site on Dartmoor in Devon. He was helped by a guide, and used clues in Ted Hughes' will and his work. [full story]
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
A lover's parting shot Frieda Hughes: Poetry
From London Times Online:
A scorned lover imagines her partner in the drama of an abstract geometric painting in one last anguished message.
A scorned lover imagines her partner in the drama of an abstract geometric painting in one last anguished message.
Congratulations Kelli
- Congratulations to Kelli Russell Agodon for her Pushcart nomination by 32 Poems!
- 87 year old Ferlinghetti recognized by France for his poetry.
- Over the weekend I listened to a number of podcasts from Poetry Magazine's web site. The following one concerning a poem by Dean Young caught my fancy and I thought I'd pass it along. [click here]
Monday, December 11, 2006
Under Construction....
You will note for example my links have shrunk... hang loose peeps, I'm just doing some home remodeling. Things will look normal soon. Ok, hopefully normal / better.
Persian poetry for dummies?
Yep... A U.S.-based Iranian foundation, Translation Project, plans to translate 100 top Iranian literary works into world’s mostly spoken languages. Seriously, they are also are partners to create a Persian poetry for dummies-style book that traces Persian poetry from its classical roots to today’s work and breaks it down for all a variety of audiences... second-generation Iranians, students, and poetry enthusiasts.
Small Wonder "Truthiness" is the New Word for 2006
When Comedy Central's The Colbert Report host Stephen Colbert first used the word "truthiness" in October of 2005 in a comedy skit, he defined the word as "truth that comes from the gut, not books." And in January of this year, the American Dialect Society chose the word as their own 16th annual Word of the Year, defining it as "the quality of preferring concepts or facts one wishes to be true, rather than concepts or facts known to be true." So with it's 5-1 margin in the Merriam-Webster poll over a year after Colbert's original usage, it is clear the word has staying power. Yet, can it be any great surprise?
The past few years we have witnessed at our nation's highest levels the so many instances of something packaged, labeled and sold to the American people as truth in spite of contravening evidence. The war in Iraq being a prime example. Tensions in this country and far beyond our boarders for that matter, are strained by persons holding on to a truth they prefer as opposed to one based upon factual information.
The president of Iran is holding a two-day Holocaust conference in Tehran to discuss if the Holocaust in WWII actually existed. Along with so much of what we have witnessed over these past few years by our own president, it seems that there are plenty of examples of truthiness in the highest places. Can it be any wonder that these are times of extreme nationalist passions and great international strife? Truth has become not an objective, but a means to an end that is molded like play-dough to fit the occasion. We who buy into this are the play-dough that is manipulated.
Tags: truthiness Stephen Colbert words Language Culture Iran Bush Holocaust War IraqFriday, December 08, 2006
A prisoner of the enemy - Times 2 - Times Online
A prisoner of the enemy - Times 2 - Times Online
Frieda Hughes has a weekly column on poetry in the London Times. Read the latest here
Frieda Hughes has a weekly column on poetry in the London Times. Read the latest here
Just A Fun Draft
But Have You Considered?
Principal among the theatrics
Vivian postulated a retro design,
After all it was her kitchen--
She alone should have the say
For which I had no discomfort,
Only what I felt
Were innocuous questions
About how the laser cooker,
Robotic sweeper and hydrogenated
Gadgets were going to clash
With black and white checked décor
Accessorized with pink Flamingos.
Principal among the theatrics
Vivian postulated a retro design,
After all it was her kitchen--
She alone should have the say
For which I had no discomfort,
Only what I felt
Were innocuous questions
About how the laser cooker,
Robotic sweeper and hydrogenated
Gadgets were going to clash
With black and white checked décor
Accessorized with pink Flamingos.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Apologies...
My apologies to readers who checked in yesterday expecting to see the Wednesday Poet Series. I simply was too busy this week to put it together. I am however working on some interviews that will be part of future WPS posts.
I added two new poetry books to my library last night -
- The Painted Bed by Donald Hall
- Forty-five by Frieda Hughes
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
The Republic of Poetry
What sort of place is "The Republic of Poetry"? As portrayed in the title poem of MartÃn Espada's dynamic eighth collection, it's a place where poets eat for free in restaurants, where "poets rent a helicopter/ to bombard the national palace/ with poems on bookmarks," and where "the guard at the airport/ will not allow you to leave the country/ until you declaim a poem for her/ and she says Ah! Beautiful." Review by Megan Harlan here
I met Martin Espada this past year at an event in Kansas City. Espada is an authority on Pablo Neruda as well as a widely published translator of Neruda's work. This looks to be another work inspired by Neruda's flair for language that has become such a strong influence on Espada. Should make for good reading.
Tags: Martin Espada Pablo Neruda
I met Martin Espada this past year at an event in Kansas City. Espada is an authority on Pablo Neruda as well as a widely published translator of Neruda's work. This looks to be another work inspired by Neruda's flair for language that has become such a strong influence on Espada. Should make for good reading.
Tags: Martin Espada Pablo Neruda
The Chase
The Chase
Those meringue urges—
They lead you on like no other.
I’ve seen your eyes swell and shine
Moonbeams to light the night sky
As you rise in your helium trance
On the hope you have whipped up for yourself.
Soar—
Monday, December 04, 2006
The award for originality in lies...
The woman told a writer that the manuscript had been aboard one of the planes hijacked in the September Eleventh attacks. That was just one of the excuses offered by a fifty-seven year old woman who bilked would-be authors with false promises to publish their books.
She'll have some time to read manuscripts now as she'll be doing five years in prison. She has also been ordered to pay 231 people more than $728,000 in restitution. [story here]
~0~
It now appears there will be two films rushing to bring the tempestuous relationship between Welch poet Dylan and his Irish wife Caitlin to the screen. Both promising to focus on the mythology of the poet and exposing his unorthodox love life and that of his wife Caitlin. [story]
She'll have some time to read manuscripts now as she'll be doing five years in prison. She has also been ordered to pay 231 people more than $728,000 in restitution. [story here]
~0~
It now appears there will be two films rushing to bring the tempestuous relationship between Welch poet Dylan and his Irish wife Caitlin to the screen. Both promising to focus on the mythology of the poet and exposing his unorthodox love life and that of his wife Caitlin. [story]
Saturday, December 02, 2006
A Thought from Albert Camus - Geezzz, He had so many good ones
"We all carry within us our places of exile, our crimes, and our ravages. But our task is not to unleash them on the world; it is to fight them in ourselves and in others." -- Albert Camus
Plath daughter puts her pain in poetry - Sunday Times - Times Online
Plath daaughter
Richard Brooks, Arts Editor
FRIEDA Hughes, the daughter of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath, has written a frank autobiographical book of poetry about the tragedies in her life. The terse and painful style of her work is remarkably like that of her mother.
Published last week in America before it appears in Britain in the spring, Forty-Five has 45 poems about each of the years of her life. The most poignant cover the suicide in 1963 of her mother, her discovery in her teens that her mother had taken her own life, and her father’s death from cancer in 1998. ughter puts her pain in poetry - Sunday Times - Times Online
Tag: Frieda Hughes
Richard Brooks, Arts Editor
FRIEDA Hughes, the daughter of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath, has written a frank autobiographical book of poetry about the tragedies in her life. The terse and painful style of her work is remarkably like that of her mother.
Published last week in America before it appears in Britain in the spring, Forty-Five has 45 poems about each of the years of her life. The most poignant cover the suicide in 1963 of her mother, her discovery in her teens that her mother had taken her own life, and her father’s death from cancer in 1998. ughter puts her pain in poetry - Sunday Times - Times Online
Tag: Frieda Hughes
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