If the doctor told me I had six minutes to live, I'd type a little faster.
Isaac Asimov
~0~
Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you're doomed.
Ray Bradbury
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Friday, September 07, 2007
supersized sigh
I am mulling over in my mind a number of questions relating to poem revisions. I am not sure if I will be finished with this and ready to post over the weekend or not, but just to alert you, I hope that when I do, it will be something that will create further discussion.
Is is Friday isn't it.... yep! [supersized-sigh]
I looked at the Fred Thompson campaign site yesterday. Very nicely put together and very void of specifics on issues. I guess he believes people will just like his down home style and to hell with where he would take us. Do I sound cynical yet?
This is good news: Judge Rejects Parts Of New Patriot Act
The government investigators must have court's approval to order businesses such as internet service providers and telephone companies to turn over records without telling customers.
The court found that government orders must be subject to meaningful judicial review and that the recently rewritten Patriot Act "offends the fundamental constitutional principles of checks and balances and separation of powers."
For John Ashbery fans: check out-> Perennial Voyager
Is is Friday isn't it.... yep! [supersized-sigh]
I looked at the Fred Thompson campaign site yesterday. Very nicely put together and very void of specifics on issues. I guess he believes people will just like his down home style and to hell with where he would take us. Do I sound cynical yet?
This is good news: Judge Rejects Parts Of New Patriot Act
The government investigators must have court's approval to order businesses such as internet service providers and telephone companies to turn over records without telling customers.
The court found that government orders must be subject to meaningful judicial review and that the recently rewritten Patriot Act "offends the fundamental constitutional principles of checks and balances and separation of powers."
For John Ashbery fans: check out-> Perennial Voyager
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Review of the Dana Goodyear Event
Last night I joined a full house in the Helzberg auditorium in the Central branch of the Kansas City Public Library to hear Dana Goodyear, poet, staff writer and senior editor at The New Yorker.
My previous exposure to Goodyear was limited to a handful of poems and an essay or two. The poems tended toward the edgy side and often melancholy, something I am often drawn to.
She read from her first book, Honey and Junk as well as a couple of newer poems and to my delight, what she shared proved my earlier samplings of her work did not deceive me, she is a poet of immense depth and talent. Her voice commands a sense of frankness and is not without the capacity for wit.
If there was any surprise in what I saw, it was a young woman that was quite capable of an exuberance that transcends the more staid side often seen in her poetry.
She took questions after reading and her responses revealed much about her approach to poetry as well as her career as an editor. An enjoyable evening overall. Oh, did I mention the wine and cheese?
My previous exposure to Goodyear was limited to a handful of poems and an essay or two. The poems tended toward the edgy side and often melancholy, something I am often drawn to.
She read from her first book, Honey and Junk as well as a couple of newer poems and to my delight, what she shared proved my earlier samplings of her work did not deceive me, she is a poet of immense depth and talent. Her voice commands a sense of frankness and is not without the capacity for wit.
If there was any surprise in what I saw, it was a young woman that was quite capable of an exuberance that transcends the more staid side often seen in her poetry.
She took questions after reading and her responses revealed much about her approach to poetry as well as her career as an editor. An enjoyable evening overall. Oh, did I mention the wine and cheese?
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Bukowski's Poetry & more
- Interesting take on the prolific Bukowski - Don't blame Bukowski for bad poetry.
- Collection of previously unknown poems by a young WH Auden found - Auden: The lost poems .
Quote for the day....
"It is not easy to see how the more extreme forms of nationalism can long survive when men have seen the Earth in its true perspective as a single small globe against the stars." ~ Arthur C. Clarke
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Tuesday & the times they are a changing...
- At the center of each poem is a mystery - Mark Strand on poetry [here]
- Poet's Choice - Robert Strand examines a James Hoch poem [here]
- Poems analysed in search of clues to suicide [here]
- Poets on Prozac: Mental Illness Treatment and the Creative Process - [here]
- Songwriter and protest icon embraced and taught in British schools as poetry - [here]
Monday, September 03, 2007
On another look...
Last Thursday night, I picked up Donald Hall’s The Painted Bed when I couldn’t sleep. I shuffle through various poetry books on my night stand, even after reading them, going back to them again and again usually proves to be worthwhile.
I read three poems that night at random. All poems I have read multiple times before. That night there were things that resonated in two of these poems that simply did not do the same for me in earlier reads.
In Wool Squares where the voice talks about going through a “muddled heap of women’s work and finding wool squares she used to knit while he sat opposite. And this is one of those poems that one assumes Hall is writing from his own persona. Jane has succumbed finally to leukemia and he does a most interesting thing. He evokes Young Caitlin, wife of Dylan Thomas. It is so odd that this did not strike me as particularly profound in earlier readings. Hall finds himself in Caitlin here the widow with the “leftover life to kill.” His final stanza…
“At seventy I taste / In solitude / Starvation’s food, / As the land goes to waste / Where her death overthrew / A government of two.”
My recollection is that in earlier reads I focused on the wool squares themselves and the visual of the two of them sitting in the same room, he recalling her work on them. I also connected with his solitude. It is hard not to read Halls late work especially and not feel the grayness. But in this last read I was struck by his metaphorical view as the two of them a unique government that was overthrow by her death. These are not profound discoveries in this poem, but they provided a more salient view for me then before.
The other poem was Ardor. Hall unleashes all the accompanying feelings; the outrage, the desire. The inability to work, to love or die. “Each day lapses as I recite my complaints / Lust is grief that has turned over in bed / to look the other way.” A very strong final line in the last stanza. The magnitude of it seems so real in my latest read.
People will often say that Hall is a downer to read. Certainly, isolated to an individual poem or two, one can easily reach this conclusion. But even in Hall’s later work, the underlying motive is love. There few contemporary poets that have the command of love either in abundance or loss that he has.
I read three poems that night at random. All poems I have read multiple times before. That night there were things that resonated in two of these poems that simply did not do the same for me in earlier reads.
In Wool Squares where the voice talks about going through a “muddled heap of women’s work and finding wool squares she used to knit while he sat opposite. And this is one of those poems that one assumes Hall is writing from his own persona. Jane has succumbed finally to leukemia and he does a most interesting thing. He evokes Young Caitlin, wife of Dylan Thomas. It is so odd that this did not strike me as particularly profound in earlier readings. Hall finds himself in Caitlin here the widow with the “leftover life to kill.” His final stanza…
“At seventy I taste / In solitude / Starvation’s food, / As the land goes to waste / Where her death overthrew / A government of two.”
My recollection is that in earlier reads I focused on the wool squares themselves and the visual of the two of them sitting in the same room, he recalling her work on them. I also connected with his solitude. It is hard not to read Halls late work especially and not feel the grayness. But in this last read I was struck by his metaphorical view as the two of them a unique government that was overthrow by her death. These are not profound discoveries in this poem, but they provided a more salient view for me then before.
The other poem was Ardor. Hall unleashes all the accompanying feelings; the outrage, the desire. The inability to work, to love or die. “Each day lapses as I recite my complaints / Lust is grief that has turned over in bed / to look the other way.” A very strong final line in the last stanza. The magnitude of it seems so real in my latest read.
People will often say that Hall is a downer to read. Certainly, isolated to an individual poem or two, one can easily reach this conclusion. But even in Hall’s later work, the underlying motive is love. There few contemporary poets that have the command of love either in abundance or loss that he has.
What Makes a Successful Writer?
#links
What budding writer is going to pass up a headline like that? I couldn't. Besides the fact that I've often found the source (Kelli) to be an informative and positive reinforcement, it is just one of those lines I gravitate to no matter how any times I see it. I suppose it is the perfect pickup line for writers.
What is often the case when we read something like this, is it's really something we already know deep down inside. It is also quite often something that in spite of such knowledge, we need to keep hearing it and seeing it because it is something that is so simple in concept, that we make it hard to conform to.
I've come to the conclusion for instance, that forcing yourself to write through blocks is good, even at the expense of writing poorly, I've also fount that it is good to read some poetry every night before retiring, and often at least five minutes or so before writing, read a poem or two. Such exercises help me to see the magic of others in their words. I have several specific poets that I like to use in this capacity because of their particular talent as wordsmiths.
Playing with words, reading, these are certainly very basic and fundamentally easy things that writers can do. That so many believe in their link to successful writing is reason to take them seriously and make sure that they are integrated into the day-to day efforts of anyone who is wishing to improve his or her writing for whatever reason they write.
What budding writer is going to pass up a headline like that? I couldn't. Besides the fact that I've often found the source (Kelli) to be an informative and positive reinforcement, it is just one of those lines I gravitate to no matter how any times I see it. I suppose it is the perfect pickup line for writers.
What is often the case when we read something like this, is it's really something we already know deep down inside. It is also quite often something that in spite of such knowledge, we need to keep hearing it and seeing it because it is something that is so simple in concept, that we make it hard to conform to.
I've come to the conclusion for instance, that forcing yourself to write through blocks is good, even at the expense of writing poorly, I've also fount that it is good to read some poetry every night before retiring, and often at least five minutes or so before writing, read a poem or two. Such exercises help me to see the magic of others in their words. I have several specific poets that I like to use in this capacity because of their particular talent as wordsmiths.
Playing with words, reading, these are certainly very basic and fundamentally easy things that writers can do. That so many believe in their link to successful writing is reason to take them seriously and make sure that they are integrated into the day-to day efforts of anyone who is wishing to improve his or her writing for whatever reason they write.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Last Day of Survey On Rewrites
Today is the last opportunity to participate in the survey of poets on their revision practices. See the left sidebar and take the survey if you have not already. There are about 12 hours left till it closes. Thanks!
Friday, August 31, 2007
Dana Goodyear - Kansas City - September 5th
Dana Goodyear - Poet & senior editor and staff writer at the New Yorker will appear at the Kansas City Public Library in the Halzberg Auditorium - 14 W.10th St. - Kansas City, Missouri on Wednesday - September 5th. Reception is at 6:00 PM and program begins at 6:30PM.Goodyear will discuss her debut book of poetry, Honey and Junk. Goodyear first hit my radar screen when she became one of the 18 debut poets of 2005 that were featured in Poets & Writers.
I've read a few of her poems and she is remarkably impressionable with creating an undercurrent to her often melancholy voice.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
I beseech you, don't make me beg...
I’m scaling down this weeks summit and being careful, but not particularly graceful in my descent. Monday and Tuesday were relatively speaking manageable days. Wednesday was on the other hand, one of those days where it all falls apart and topples down on you. So today, I continue down the incline, but with concern as not to create an avalanche behind me.
There are but two days left for people to respond to my survey on the sidebar about rewrites. I want to blog some next week on revisions and while such a survey is of course not scientifically representative of the poet population as a whole, it will give me some idea as to what readers here might consider their norm. So please, don’t make be beg, (I look so undignified) if you haven’t done so already, take a moment to respond.
Couple of bits from my journal this week:
- The lady up the street powered up her nose / in a mammoth snub / I flashed an Indian corm smile / like I wanted her approving curtsy
- Afternoon slumps / Holding its hands in its pockets
- I would watch her sleep / Sometimes in silent fog
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Poet's Pulpit
So you wake up one morning and "poof" you're the poet laureate. Okay, it didn't quite happen that way. First you get a call from out of the blue and you mull the offer around in your crowded head, bounce the idea off family and finally call back and say, "yes, I'll do it."
Then comes that fateful morning when you realize "you are it!" This has come and passed for Charles Simic. So what's going on with him?
For all the fan fair and hoop-la about raising the interest in poetry in this country by recent past laureates, Simic is not as passionately optimistic. He views Americans as a people who are not particularly proud of our literature and he is not inclined to believe you can force the issue. Oh, I'll admit that a part of me wants to be more idealistic about the picture than that, but perhaps Simic is more reality grounded here. At any point, we all really do know that the evangelism of poetry is not going to bring everyone the their knees in verse.
If I were asked to do a state of the union on poetry, I believe first of all, not a lot of people would tune in. There is a large segment of society who really could care less. Still, for a good many people poetry remains a valued commodity. And like the American economy, the leading indicators here are truly mixed.
It seems fewer presses are turning out poetry. Yet we are seeing poetry all over the Internet. There are few economic success stories among contemporary poets, yet MFA programs are everywhere. To be sure, there are a significant number of people who do in fact turn to poetry, but it is also true that this is a representatively low percentage of the American public. Simic is right, as a nation we do not proud of our literature, poetry or otherwise. Our interests are splintered and divided among so many possibilities it is like vying a piece of the Nielsen ratings.
Of course I want to see poetry promoted. And I am already pleased to know from things Simic has said that he is not about to set out to define what poetry is or should be to readers or poets. To create "ramps for poetically handicapped people" (borrowing a phrase from Billy Collins) is not going to bring America to some profound awakening about poetry. The best we can do is to support the art, gain exposure for it, and let it reach those who are receptive to it.
Simic is in his own right a very talented poet. I believe he can be a outstanding ambassador for the art. Like everyone else, we'll have to set back and give him time to develop his methodology.
Then comes that fateful morning when you realize "you are it!" This has come and passed for Charles Simic. So what's going on with him?
For all the fan fair and hoop-la about raising the interest in poetry in this country by recent past laureates, Simic is not as passionately optimistic. He views Americans as a people who are not particularly proud of our literature and he is not inclined to believe you can force the issue. Oh, I'll admit that a part of me wants to be more idealistic about the picture than that, but perhaps Simic is more reality grounded here. At any point, we all really do know that the evangelism of poetry is not going to bring everyone the their knees in verse.
If I were asked to do a state of the union on poetry, I believe first of all, not a lot of people would tune in. There is a large segment of society who really could care less. Still, for a good many people poetry remains a valued commodity. And like the American economy, the leading indicators here are truly mixed.
It seems fewer presses are turning out poetry. Yet we are seeing poetry all over the Internet. There are few economic success stories among contemporary poets, yet MFA programs are everywhere. To be sure, there are a significant number of people who do in fact turn to poetry, but it is also true that this is a representatively low percentage of the American public. Simic is right, as a nation we do not proud of our literature, poetry or otherwise. Our interests are splintered and divided among so many possibilities it is like vying a piece of the Nielsen ratings.
Of course I want to see poetry promoted. And I am already pleased to know from things Simic has said that he is not about to set out to define what poetry is or should be to readers or poets. To create "ramps for poetically handicapped people" (borrowing a phrase from Billy Collins) is not going to bring America to some profound awakening about poetry. The best we can do is to support the art, gain exposure for it, and let it reach those who are receptive to it.
Simic is in his own right a very talented poet. I believe he can be a outstanding ambassador for the art. Like everyone else, we'll have to set back and give him time to develop his methodology.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Monday Blues...
It's Monday and and of course I wish it wasn't. Of course next week I have Labor Day to look forward to. But that is then and this is now. I hate that it's Monday. (sigh)
- This month, another poetic voice was lost with the passing of poet and short-story writer Grace Paley. The 84 year old Paley was also a prominent political voice in the '60s and '70's in pro-peace and anti-nuclear rallies.
- Poetry Hut turned 4 years old this past weekend.
- News this morning.... Alberto Gonzalez is resigning. Nice start. He still needs to be prosecuted along with a host of others in the Bush administration.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Bush hails freedom, but can he handle a lousy T-shirt?
President Bush's speech at the state capitol in Charleston, W.Va., on Independence Day in 2004, invoked the nation's highest ideals: "On this Fourth of July, we confirm our love of freedom, the freedom for people to speak their minds. ... Free thought, free expression, that's what we believe," Bush told the crowd.
Ringing words. Unfortunately, the White House advance team didn't get the memo. Or the message. But the taxpayer got a bill for $80,000. Click here to here about the $80,000.
Ringing words. Unfortunately, the White House advance team didn't get the memo. Or the message. But the taxpayer got a bill for $80,000. Click here to here about the $80,000.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Online NewsHour: Essay | Poet's Work Honors Native Spirit | August 23, 2007 | PBS
Online NewsHour: Essay Poet's Work Honors Native Spirit August 23, 2007 PBS: "Joy Harjo Reflects on the 'Spirit of Poetry' Born into the Muscogee Creek Nation in Oklahoma, Joy Harjo's poetry, song and saxophone music honor the Native American spirit."
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Workspaces...
A worthwhile slide show called Workspaces: Donald Hall - - A Slide Show can been seen here. Thanks to Cindy for the link.
Couple of other items....
Thanks to those who have responded to the rewrite / revision survey in the side bar. It's still open so please respond if you haven't.
I still have a few of my broadsides, Give Me Some Everyday Religion a poem of my own with an Anne Sexton epigram on it. If you'd like one. just e-mail me with your address.
Couple of other items....
Thanks to those who have responded to the rewrite / revision survey in the side bar. It's still open so please respond if you haven't.
I still have a few of my broadsides, Give Me Some Everyday Religion a poem of my own with an Anne Sexton epigram on it. If you'd like one. just e-mail me with your address.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Revisions...
I want to talk about revisions of poetry in the near future. In the meantime, if you've been writing poetry, please take the survey in the sidebar on the revisions. Think in terms of the average number of times you are likely to revisit a poem to consider making changes. Getting a better idea how others approach this could make this discussion more informative.
I will not complete any of those sentences
I was ecstatic at the news the Charles Simic was to become the new poet laureate because I had only recently discovered his poetry and found him to be an excellent read. This week however, I read a piece in the Boston Globe that only accentuated my excitement.
David Mehegan of the globe staff wrote a piece in Simic on August 18 that provided a little more insight into Simic the laureate. Mehegan reports that Simic doesn't yet have a plan for his term but says, "All those sentences that begin with, 'Poetry must...,' 'The purpose of poetry is to... , 'Readers of poetry should...' -- 'I will not complete any of those sentences." I can't say enough about what a delight it is to hear these words.
Even after Donald Hall's tenure as poet laureate, the handcuffs that Ted Kooser slipped around poetry still leave marks on its wrists. Simic is insightful enough to see the divisiveness trying to mold and shape what poetry is or should be has brought to the art. Enough!
David Mehegan of the globe staff wrote a piece in Simic on August 18 that provided a little more insight into Simic the laureate. Mehegan reports that Simic doesn't yet have a plan for his term but says, "All those sentences that begin with, 'Poetry must...,' 'The purpose of poetry is to... , 'Readers of poetry should...' -- 'I will not complete any of those sentences." I can't say enough about what a delight it is to hear these words.
Even after Donald Hall's tenure as poet laureate, the handcuffs that Ted Kooser slipped around poetry still leave marks on its wrists. Simic is insightful enough to see the divisiveness trying to mold and shape what poetry is or should be has brought to the art. Enough!
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Presidential Candidates say the stupidest things...
If you are my age, you may remember Art Linkletter and his program and later book, Kids Say The Darnedest Things. A recent AP wire story about Presidential candidates and their gaffes, has the makings of a first class reality TV show.
A few gems:
A few gems:
- Republican candidate Mitt Romney - Defending the decision by his five sons for not enlisting in military service by uttering the following, "...one of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected." Romney later tried to clear the air and said he didn't mean to compare their campaign work to military service. Yeah, well duh.
- Republican Mike Huckabee has referred to Arkansas as a "banana republic" as well as jokingly attributed his 110-pound weight loss to spending time in a concentration camp. Way to go Mike!
- Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.,demonstrated fuzzy math skills when he drastically overstated the death toll from a Kansas tornado, saying "ten thousand people died." The real number was 12. As in one and two with no zeros following.
- Good old Republican Rudy Giuliani, the mayor of New York City during the Sept. 11 attacks, claims he was at ground zero "as often, if not more, than most of the workers" and was exposed to the same health risks. Ok, I don't think his photo opps were the same as digging through the rubble and I suspect there is a wee bit of exaggeration on the time as well.
Back home....
It's good to be back at home. I was so delighted to see Cathy (wife) at the airport last night. Plus, I had a great night of sleep. Best in a long time. What is not good, is this morning I see little things around the house that belong to Meghan and it's sad because I miss her terribly already.
Talked to her on the phone late last night when we got in. She had made a new friend on campus (which delighted me) and I know she is going to do so well there. I am quite proud of her.
I'm not looking forward to work tomorrow. I imagine my plate will be quite full. It is normally, so this is only going to to set me back. (sigh) But I have decided to keep a smile on my face and roll up my sleeves.
Good News!!! I had a card in the mail when I got home that Dana Goodyear is going to be in town in September. I have greatly enjoyed her own poetry as well as some of her commentary I've read. I am looking forward to meeting her and hearing her read!
Talked to her on the phone late last night when we got in. She had made a new friend on campus (which delighted me) and I know she is going to do so well there. I am quite proud of her.
I'm not looking forward to work tomorrow. I imagine my plate will be quite full. It is normally, so this is only going to to set me back. (sigh) But I have decided to keep a smile on my face and roll up my sleeves.
Good News!!! I had a card in the mail when I got home that Dana Goodyear is going to be in town in September. I have greatly enjoyed her own poetry as well as some of her commentary I've read. I am looking forward to meeting her and hearing her read!
Friday, August 17, 2007
Arts diary: Revealed: Sylvia Plath's unseen art, discovered in the attic | Art & Architecture | Guardian Unlimited Arts
Arts diary: Revealed: Sylvia Plath's unseen art, discovered in the attic Art & Architecture Guardian Unlimited Arts: "Paintings and drawings by Sylvia Plath, many of which have never been seen before, are to be published in October to mark the 75th anniversary of the birth of the American poet and novelist."
The Rug
Horizontal stripes thrown down
Bar the floor from leaving.
We watch all day
It never moves from prison.
You and I are visitors
Neither saying much
And the floor isn't talking.
Perhaps it has spoken things to others,
Later used against it.
Dirty truths that were never intended
Beyond its horizontal plane.
Bar the floor from leaving.
We watch all day
It never moves from prison.
You and I are visitors
Neither saying much
And the floor isn't talking.
Perhaps it has spoken things to others,
Later used against it.
Dirty truths that were never intended
Beyond its horizontal plane.
Hastert Blames Americans' Impatience For '06 GOP Losses
I read with amazement this article about the retirement of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. After all this time he blames the GOP losses in the midterm election on American impatience.
I won't even bother to discuss the numerous scandals among GOP House members which he denied lead to the Republican electoral demise. But I will take issue with the insistence that the American people are impatient where the war is concerned.
Patience, or lack thereof is only a small part of the electoral revolt where the war in Iraq is concerned. It is far more than impatience. He ignores the fact that the vast majority of America realizes that they were mislead in the first place. There was no compelling reason for the US to make an unprovoked strike on Iraq. Information about possible nuclear concerns were grossly exaggerated and information at the time suggested so. We had UN inspectors in the country again surveying the situation.
It is true that the existing government in Iraq was wrought with human rights abuses, but so is the Sudan, so is China, Sri Lanka, Labia, Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Côte d’Ivoire, El Salvador, Colombia, Turkey and the list of places with major human rights abuses goes on. Where is the U.S. response in these places? The fact is that our government and in particular the Bush administration found it politically expedient to go to war with Iraq, and they believed it would be a short campaign and there would be minimal causalities. They shifted resources from Afghanistan (a real stronghold for anti-American extremists) to Iraq.
For all the bad you could say about the Saddam Hussein, he did after all rise in power with behind the scenes help from the United States government. Further there existed a stable government environment that was not susceptible to outside interference in the region.
What Representative Hastert ignores of fails to understand is that we know the truth about Iraq and it is an ugly scar in the history of the U.S.
At last count, we've lost at least 3,699 U.S. servicemen and women in the ear in Iraq. At least 25,000 Americans have been wounded. This Mr. Hastert is a pretty heavy price to pay for what amounts to a lie. Your President was bound and determined to go to war in Iraq to the extent that he would present less than honest assessments of facts. That is a polite way of saying he lied.
On the other side, the price has been worse. By other side I am speaking of Iraqi citizens. Bush's war has created a vacuum in leadership in country where there is no consensus among the Iraqi people themselves. There are deep divisions between neighboring people. To the point of bloody civil strife on a daily basis. The death toll in one day alone in a northern Kurdish province that was previously one of the quieter spots is now at least 400.
We've destroyed so much of the countries infrastructure, in the capital alone they are lucky to have an hour or two electricity a day. One seriously has to ask the question, are they better off today than under Saddam?
Efforts to create a democratic government in Iraq have had only partial success. While the structure of a legislative body now exists, the divisions between the Iraqi people themselves are so deep that this brave body of men and women that rick their own lives daily are in worse gridlock than anything we've ever witnessed here in America.
Given this, and the fact that this whole mess has in fact lead to greater disdain for America Islamic people worldwide, how exactly has this made us safer?
In all this it is amazing how prophetic Dick Cheney was in 1994. The question is what lead to his mental lapse?
Congressman Hastert needs to understand that the American people are not simply an impatient bunch. No, we realize that George Bush pulled a Gulf of Tonkin on us (see here, here, and especially here) and are angered and the loss of lives on both sides, the loss of American prestige, the monetary cost of over $450 billion of non-budgeted tax money and counting , and creating a cause celeb for recruiting anti-American terrorists. If THIS is not a crime against the American people and humanity as a whole, I don't know what is.
I won't even bother to discuss the numerous scandals among GOP House members which he denied lead to the Republican electoral demise. But I will take issue with the insistence that the American people are impatient where the war is concerned.
Patience, or lack thereof is only a small part of the electoral revolt where the war in Iraq is concerned. It is far more than impatience. He ignores the fact that the vast majority of America realizes that they were mislead in the first place. There was no compelling reason for the US to make an unprovoked strike on Iraq. Information about possible nuclear concerns were grossly exaggerated and information at the time suggested so. We had UN inspectors in the country again surveying the situation.
It is true that the existing government in Iraq was wrought with human rights abuses, but so is the Sudan, so is China, Sri Lanka, Labia, Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Côte d’Ivoire, El Salvador, Colombia, Turkey and the list of places with major human rights abuses goes on. Where is the U.S. response in these places? The fact is that our government and in particular the Bush administration found it politically expedient to go to war with Iraq, and they believed it would be a short campaign and there would be minimal causalities. They shifted resources from Afghanistan (a real stronghold for anti-American extremists) to Iraq.
For all the bad you could say about the Saddam Hussein, he did after all rise in power with behind the scenes help from the United States government. Further there existed a stable government environment that was not susceptible to outside interference in the region.
What Representative Hastert ignores of fails to understand is that we know the truth about Iraq and it is an ugly scar in the history of the U.S.
At last count, we've lost at least 3,699 U.S. servicemen and women in the ear in Iraq. At least 25,000 Americans have been wounded. This Mr. Hastert is a pretty heavy price to pay for what amounts to a lie. Your President was bound and determined to go to war in Iraq to the extent that he would present less than honest assessments of facts. That is a polite way of saying he lied.
On the other side, the price has been worse. By other side I am speaking of Iraqi citizens. Bush's war has created a vacuum in leadership in country where there is no consensus among the Iraqi people themselves. There are deep divisions between neighboring people. To the point of bloody civil strife on a daily basis. The death toll in one day alone in a northern Kurdish province that was previously one of the quieter spots is now at least 400.
We've destroyed so much of the countries infrastructure, in the capital alone they are lucky to have an hour or two electricity a day. One seriously has to ask the question, are they better off today than under Saddam?
Efforts to create a democratic government in Iraq have had only partial success. While the structure of a legislative body now exists, the divisions between the Iraqi people themselves are so deep that this brave body of men and women that rick their own lives daily are in worse gridlock than anything we've ever witnessed here in America.
Given this, and the fact that this whole mess has in fact lead to greater disdain for America Islamic people worldwide, how exactly has this made us safer?
In all this it is amazing how prophetic Dick Cheney was in 1994. The question is what lead to his mental lapse?
Congressman Hastert needs to understand that the American people are not simply an impatient bunch. No, we realize that George Bush pulled a Gulf of Tonkin on us (see here, here, and especially here) and are angered and the loss of lives on both sides, the loss of American prestige, the monetary cost of over $450 billion of non-budgeted tax money and counting , and creating a cause celeb for recruiting anti-American terrorists. If THIS is not a crime against the American people and humanity as a whole, I don't know what is.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Weary and wilted
In the course of my visit, I have now misplaced a shirt and shorts. Considering I came with extremely limited clothes this trip, and they seem to be disappearing at the rate of one item a day for the past two days, I could have difficulty being able to dress for the flight home by Saturday.
The trip is truly a mixture. I have greatly enjoyed being able to see my oldest daughter. That's been a blessing. I am however homesick- missing my wife tremendously, and beginning to feel a bit emotional already about the fact that when I leave, my youngest will be staying behind. So the emotions for the trip are a bit like taking a jar and putting the good and the bad together and shaking them up. What you get is pretty messy emotionally.
Writing has been difficult. Still a sampling of my journal from the last few days:
The trip is truly a mixture. I have greatly enjoyed being able to see my oldest daughter. That's been a blessing. I am however homesick- missing my wife tremendously, and beginning to feel a bit emotional already about the fact that when I leave, my youngest will be staying behind. So the emotions for the trip are a bit like taking a jar and putting the good and the bad together and shaking them up. What you get is pretty messy emotionally.
Writing has been difficult. Still a sampling of my journal from the last few days:
- These are not afterthoughts / That spill over the levee / But plateaus of articulation
- Things I wanted to say in deep cobalt blue
- Raining syllabic utterances
- His skin circumcised by a combination / Of sun and shifty motivations
- We saw in him all the signs / Of a man able to straddle / the Continental divide
In the News
- UA Poetry Center moves into new home (here) : According to Gail Browne, Executive Director of the University of Arizona Poetry Center, they will begin moving to a new facility on Wednesday. With more than 60,000 items it is one of the largest such centers in the country. I'd like to browse through this when they are finished.
- Classified evidence debated / Court likely to allow suit against AT&T (here) Wednesday, a federal appeals court in San Francisco - hearing arguments about President Bush's clandestine eavesdropping program, appeared inclined to keep alive a lawsuit accusing AT&T of illegally letting the government intercept millions of Americans' phone calls and e-mails.
- Acclaimed poet Pavel Chichikov debuts on Catholic Radio International (here)
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Screw the Dry Heat Argument
My oldest daughter who lives in Phoenix argues that with no humidity it's a dry heat and that isn't as uncomfortable. Of course she has been here long enough that the remaining uncooked braincells may still believe this. My last visit was during the Spring Training period of the year several years back. It was hot then, but nothing like it is now.
I saw the ASU campus yesterday with youngest daughter. Heat aside it's a pretty nice place. Tomorrow I should see even more of it.
Last night we watched "A Night's Tale" which I really enjoyed. The pop-culture aspect of it was pretty entertaining.
My writing the past few days hasn't been entertaining. It's been pathetic. Heat, change of environment? Who knows.
I saw the ASU campus yesterday with youngest daughter. Heat aside it's a pretty nice place. Tomorrow I should see even more of it.
Last night we watched "A Night's Tale" which I really enjoyed. The pop-culture aspect of it was pretty entertaining.
My writing the past few days hasn't been entertaining. It's been pathetic. Heat, change of environment? Who knows.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Child Soldiers [draft)
A slumping night
Wept for those pressed intoduty battle
By grown men with archaic presence of mind
To plunder thenatural order- peace-
It is all remedial arithmetic.
More soldiers equals more tokens in their hands.
More chips they can gamble away
With low maintenance child warriors.
No enlistment paperwork or die-cast metal tags
To string around their necks.
No toe tags for the dead.
No one knows where they come from
Or cares where they go;
No duty to notify families or messy emotions.
Just a simple war-
With child labor.
Wept for those pressed into
By grown men with archaic presence of mind
To plunder the
It is all remedial arithmetic.
More soldiers equals more tokens in their hands.
More chips they can gamble away
With low maintenance child warriors.
No enlistment paperwork or die-cast metal tags
To string around their necks.
No toe tags for the dead.
No one knows where they come from
Or cares where they go;
No duty to notify families or messy emotions.
Just a simple war-
With child labor.
Arizona Sunset
Arrived late last night in Phoenix on a mission to safely deliver youngest daughter to Arizona for her next phase of education at ASU. The picture here is taken from the car window in Flagstaff.
Slept so-so last night. Awoke this morning and checked into the office to deal with a couple of matters.
Having a diet coke and trying to orientate myself to the day. Staying with my oldest daughter who I haven't seen in gee, I guess about three years.
Evidently I upset Storm's (the cat) apple cart. Sitting in his place on the couch. Taking over the bedroom where he's been hanging out lately. He had already made it know that I was an encroachment. But when bedroom was readied for me he was totally pissed of. You would not have believed the mean-mugging stare!
Of course I had to stop in Winslow, Arizona of Eagles fame in the song Take It Easy . First time I ever came out here we made a road stop there at a little shit & get place and as we were getting in the car I kept saying Winslow, Arizona over and over to myself and as we were driving away it hit me why it was familiar. Duh!
I'd like to say that the scenery was so inspiring that I stayed up last night writing great material. In the alternative, I'd like to say I slept well. Unfortunately neather would be accurate.
I think it's time to do breakfast...
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Stickpoet will be dark for a few days
I will be tied up (nothing kinky) for a few days and if I post at all,
it will likely be very sporadic. Everyone have a good weekend and week ahead.
it will likely be very sporadic. Everyone have a good weekend and week ahead.
Insignificance is but one view
"I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars."
~Walt Whitman
Friday, August 10, 2007
Thursday, August 09, 2007
I'm In Poor Mojo's Almanic(k) Issue # 342
One of my poems accepted earlier this year is finally up at Poor Mojo's Almanic(k).
The direct link Beautiful Music.
The direct link Beautiful Music.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
I should not mention...
Words seem to get in the way tonight. The wrong words. And where there are no words, this silence screams the blood curdling chills of language face down in a roadside ditch. So newly dead the flies of disquieted expectations have not even noted the gruesome occurrence as yet.
The ink in my journal tonight reeks of this death.
It is not fit or noteworthy enough for an obit.
I should not mention its passing.
The ink in my journal tonight reeks of this death.
It is not fit or noteworthy enough for an obit.
I should not mention its passing.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
The Sexuality of War
It's Tuesday, it feels like it should be Wednesday and I wish it was Thursday. How's that for defying reality? Further, I really have no idea why I wish it were Thursday.
I've always considered that Virginia Woolf was never in short supply of thoughts to express. Nor timid about getting them out. I found an interesting quote that is one of the more profound statements I've heard attributed to her. "If you insist upon fighting to protect me, or 'our' country, let it be understood soberly and rationally between us that you are fighting to gratify a sex instinct which I cannot share; to procure benefits where I have not shared and probably will not share." -Virginia Woolf
It seems very evident that Woolf sees war largely the sexual aggression of men (emphasis on gender). I don't suppose I am qualified to challenge or uphold the psychological pretexts of such assumption, but it is rather profound that she is serving notice that she shares no such stake in these actions. A strong stand that I have to admire.
I've always considered that Virginia Woolf was never in short supply of thoughts to express. Nor timid about getting them out. I found an interesting quote that is one of the more profound statements I've heard attributed to her. "If you insist upon fighting to protect me, or 'our' country, let it be understood soberly and rationally between us that you are fighting to gratify a sex instinct which I cannot share; to procure benefits where I have not shared and probably will not share." -Virginia Woolf
It seems very evident that Woolf sees war largely the sexual aggression of men (emphasis on gender). I don't suppose I am qualified to challenge or uphold the psychological pretexts of such assumption, but it is rather profound that she is serving notice that she shares no such stake in these actions. A strong stand that I have to admire.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Michael Vick Chew Toy: The Only Thing You Can Still Buy With Vick's Name on It - Sports Blog - The FanHouse
Michael Vick Chew Toy: The Only Thing You Can Still Buy With Vick's Name on It - Sports Blog - The FanHouse: "Michael Vick Chew Toy: The Only Thing You Can Still Buy With Vick's Name on It"
Under the circumstances....
you gotta love it! I give it a thumbs up!
A Monday Medley
This is the start of a grueling week of getting things in order to be out of the office for a week. So much to do, so few nerves left to stretch.
A few bits from my journal this last week:
A few bits from my journal this last week:
- a pretentious line from a love song / neither recalls the tune
- tracing a smile with his finger / her red lips kiss his index
- the days are ruled / by tweezer fingers /picking here, picking there
- crystal frost clinging to the bony flesh /of the best face one could put forward / under blistery circumstances
- a mind is a terrible thing to use when it's fucked up
- no one's here but scamper feet / who've come to witness my headache- / a mind with anxious classical thoughts / the Greek gods eavesdrop through paper walls
~0~
755
for Bud
You there when history was made
I saw you in high def
You didn’t want to be there
Your face said as much
Your looked so uncomfortable in your skin
Later you talked on your cell
I wonder who it was
There was no excitement in your face
I was excited for him
You should have stayed home
The Making of an American Police State
The following 41 Democrats grew weak at the knees when Bush suggested some may be soft on the war on terrorism. They voted with the Republican House members to give the president an even more powers of surveillance by a 227 to 183 vote.
They are:
They are:
- Jason Altmire (4th Pennsylvania)
- John Barrow (12th Georgia)
- Melissa Bean (8th Illinois)
- Dan Boren (2nd Oklahoma)
- Leonard Boswell (3rd Iowa)
- Allen Boyd (2nd Florida)
- Christopher Carney (10th Pennsylvania)
- Ben Chandler (6th Kentucky)
- Jim Cooper (5th Tennessee)
- Jim Costa (20th California)
- Bud Cramer (5th Alabama)
- Henry Cuellar (28th Texas)
- Artur Davis (7th Alabama)
- Lincoln Davis (4th Tennessee)
- Joe Donnelly (2nd Indiana)
- Chet Edwards (17th Texas)
- Brad Ellsworth (8th Indiana)
- Bob Etheridge (North Carolina)
- Bart Gordon (6th Tennessee)
- Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (South Dakota)
- Brian Higgins (27th New York)
- Baron Hill (9th Indiana)
- Nick Lampson (23rd Texas)
- Daniel Lipinski (3rd Illinois)
- Jim Marshall (8th Georgia)
- Jim Matheson (2nd Utah)
- Mike McIntyre (7th North Carolina)
- Charlie Melancon (3rd Louisiana)
- Harry Mitchell (5th Arizona)
- Colin Peterson (7th Minnesota)
- Earl Pomeroy (North Dakota)
- Ciro Rodriguez (23rd Texas)
- Mike Ross (4th Arkansas)
- John Salazar (3rd Colorado)
- Heath Shuler (11th North Carolina)
- Vic Snyder (2nd Arkansas)
- Zachary Space (18th Ohio)
- John Tanner (8th Tennessee)
- Gene Taylor (4th Mississippi)
- Timothy Walz (1st Minnesota)
- Charles A. Wilson (6th Ohio)
Thank you for bringing us closer to a police state!
Sunday, August 05, 2007
The Immigrant Poet Laureate
Jilly presents an interesting take on the selection of poet laureates in the U.S. While this is not totally new information to me, she has presented some good reference material and demonstrates the tendencies toward NE geographies and the male gender. Much will be made of it because much was made of it the last time, a NE male then too.
In my own humble view, there are quite a few women I believe would be excellent candidates. I am perhaps more bothered by the gender issue than the geographical one. Why? I suppose being from the Midwest I should have been jumping for joy at the Kooser appointment. It turns out that his being from a neighboring state meant little of nothing to me.
I believe what may say a lot about the latest selection, and a very positive way to view it, would be that Simic is a first generation immigrant to the U.S. This at a time when our own American culture seems to be at such odds with our own American heritage. Simic was born under the dark shadows of very troubling times in his native land. I've seen in his work a more worldly view of life and I think this is a good time for Americans to experience a poet with such background.
On another note my copy of Poems from Guantanamo: The Detainees Speak arrived on Friday.
In my own humble view, there are quite a few women I believe would be excellent candidates. I am perhaps more bothered by the gender issue than the geographical one. Why? I suppose being from the Midwest I should have been jumping for joy at the Kooser appointment. It turns out that his being from a neighboring state meant little of nothing to me.
I believe what may say a lot about the latest selection, and a very positive way to view it, would be that Simic is a first generation immigrant to the U.S. This at a time when our own American culture seems to be at such odds with our own American heritage. Simic was born under the dark shadows of very troubling times in his native land. I've seen in his work a more worldly view of life and I think this is a good time for Americans to experience a poet with such background.
On another note my copy of Poems from Guantanamo: The Detainees Speak arrived on Friday.
Friday, August 03, 2007
on writing differently
Love this quote posted on Dana's blog - And with perfect timing:
"Inside my empty bottle I was constructing a lighthouse while all the others were making ships. " — Charles Simic
But don't stop there.... her blog is a great read for poets.
"Inside my empty bottle I was constructing a lighthouse while all the others were making ships. " — Charles Simic
But don't stop there.... her blog is a great read for poets.
A New Poet Laureate
It was not long ago that another blogger poet Cindy turned me on to a poet that had somehow slipped under my radar in spite of his acclaim. I've previously mentioned this in earlier blog posts. The poet is Charles Simic. Imagine my surprise when reading my e-mail, I learned that Simic has been named to fill the Poet Laureate post this fall replacing Donald Hall who will only serve one term due to his health.
This is somewhat a bittersweet moment in my view as I have especially enjoyed the Hall period. Hall was such a refreshing voice to me following Ted Kooser. Kooser is enjoyable, but in my view lacking in the depth that Hall's work shows. Additionally, while Kooser was and remains a strong advocate for broadening the consumer base of poetry, I believe he has done so at the expense of dividing those in the literary arts themselves.
Simic is an immigrant. He was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia in1938. Living as a child under the shadows of Hitler and Stalin. His family came to the U.S. in 1953.
Like Kooser, Simic is not a difficult read. Like Hall, there is clearly more depth to his work. He is no Bly or Ashbery, but he is a brilliant mind and I have enjoyed what work of his I have read. I believe he'll bring a positive voice to the position.
This is somewhat a bittersweet moment in my view as I have especially enjoyed the Hall period. Hall was such a refreshing voice to me following Ted Kooser. Kooser is enjoyable, but in my view lacking in the depth that Hall's work shows. Additionally, while Kooser was and remains a strong advocate for broadening the consumer base of poetry, I believe he has done so at the expense of dividing those in the literary arts themselves.
Simic is an immigrant. He was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia in1938. Living as a child under the shadows of Hitler and Stalin. His family came to the U.S. in 1953.
Like Kooser, Simic is not a difficult read. Like Hall, there is clearly more depth to his work. He is no Bly or Ashbery, but he is a brilliant mind and I have enjoyed what work of his I have read. I believe he'll bring a positive voice to the position.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Women Get To Play St Andrews Golf Course
For the first time, the Old Course will host a women's professional tournament. The finest female players in the world finally will stroll around the storied Home of Golf, a place flowing with 500 years of history.
There has been a sign on the clubhouse like forever that reads, "No Dogs, No Women." Progress can be a very slow thing.
There has been a sign on the clubhouse like forever that reads, "No Dogs, No Women." Progress can be a very slow thing.
I can see clearly now...
I got a new pair of glasses last night. It had become so frustreating to read for any extended length of time and I am pleased to say the new ones are making a ton of difference. I don't believe my old Rx was that off, but I have always believed they got my measurement of my puples off and so for reading it was a bitch. They never were quite right and over time with even slight changes in my vision, the issue worsened. I really feel for those who need glasses but do not have them.
Poetric moments on the field
Watching the San Francisco Giants play the (cough) LA Dodgers I was taken in by a couple of poetic moments on the field. No, nether of them had to do with Barry Bonds hitting #755. That quest continues. The unlikely source of this artistry on the field came from the new arrival Rajai Davis a young fielder from the Pirates organization with very limited major league experience. He came in a deal that sent pitcher Matt Morris to Pittsburgh and will give the Giants another player to be named later.
While somewhat disappointed about the trade, Young Davis came up with a fantastic fielding play in center and firing to 2B to cut down a Dodger hitter challenging the young fielder for a two bagger. In the 8th, he safely bunted on, had a stolen base, then went to third on a wild pitch and was latter driven home. Oh, did I mention he hit safely in I believe the 5th? The kid definitely has wheels. ###
(sigh) I know who the winneris in Rupert Murdoch's acqusition of the Wall Street Journal. Sadly, I think I know who the loser is as well. ###
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A special court that routinely has approved eavesdropping operations has put new restrictions on the ability of U.S. spy agencies to intercept e-mails and phone calls of suspected terrorists overseas, U.S. officials said Wednesday.The previously undisclosed ruling by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has prompted concern among senior intelligence officials and lawmakers that the efforts by U.S. spy agencies to track terrorism suspects could be impaired at a dangerous time. Gee - I suppose this is the consequences of not being able to trust them not to abuse of this power. ###
Hey, in case you have't noticed it - check out the poll on the side bar. - Thanks!
While somewhat disappointed about the trade, Young Davis came up with a fantastic fielding play in center and firing to 2B to cut down a Dodger hitter challenging the young fielder for a two bagger. In the 8th, he safely bunted on, had a stolen base, then went to third on a wild pitch and was latter driven home. Oh, did I mention he hit safely in I believe the 5th? The kid definitely has wheels. ###
(sigh) I know who the winneris in Rupert Murdoch's acqusition of the Wall Street Journal. Sadly, I think I know who the loser is as well. ###
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A special court that routinely has approved eavesdropping operations has put new restrictions on the ability of U.S. spy agencies to intercept e-mails and phone calls of suspected terrorists overseas, U.S. officials said Wednesday.The previously undisclosed ruling by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has prompted concern among senior intelligence officials and lawmakers that the efforts by U.S. spy agencies to track terrorism suspects could be impaired at a dangerous time. Gee - I suppose this is the consequences of not being able to trust them not to abuse of this power. ###
Hey, in case you have't noticed it - check out the poll on the side bar. - Thanks!
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Thought for the day...
"Two things come to mind that are euphoric for me. One is the universal euphoric: sex. The other is when I create something that moves me."
~ Paul Simon
~ Paul Simon
Obsessions Good and Bad
The other day when I stumbled upon Picasso's obsession quote that I posted, I found his positive take on obsessions remarkable in that I generally hear the term used in a disapproving light. So I am setting here with my hands like a balance thinking of the counter weight of the good obsessions and the bad ones. Flashing lights and sirens go off in my head. The can be indication of scary things about to happen or it may be that it is really a good idea ( the line on this can get fuzzy).
Since one of the thing I like to do in my poems is to create a strong dissonance, I thought what an opportunity. So I am thinking of a series of poems on different obsessions. So I will be brainstorming on obsessions for a few days. Maybe it can become a compulsion; or not.
And I could not pass up this bit of news to share.... 237 Reasons to have sex. Psychologists at the University of Texas at Austin say they have catalogued a total of 237 reasons people dance between the sheets.*
* not all of the reasons in this article are condoned by Stickpoet Superhero. Some may have a pathology that is unhealthy; additionally this may not be a totally inclusive list. Their may actually be many more reasons to have sex than have been disclosed here and Stickpoet Superhero assumes no liability for any omissions or errors.
Since one of the thing I like to do in my poems is to create a strong dissonance, I thought what an opportunity. So I am thinking of a series of poems on different obsessions. So I will be brainstorming on obsessions for a few days. Maybe it can become a compulsion; or not.
And I could not pass up this bit of news to share.... 237 Reasons to have sex. Psychologists at the University of Texas at Austin say they have catalogued a total of 237 reasons people dance between the sheets.*
* not all of the reasons in this article are condoned by Stickpoet Superhero. Some may have a pathology that is unhealthy; additionally this may not be a totally inclusive list. Their may actually be many more reasons to have sex than have been disclosed here and Stickpoet Superhero assumes no liability for any omissions or errors.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
The Breakdown ofThinking (Draft)
The Breakdown of Thinking (draft)
A once pristine constellation of small gauge wired pathways,
Moved data about with intrepid speed.
This territory later would clog down and misplace
Important bits of knowledge lost in the cobwebs that stretched
Tilted in corners of the shell of an aging command central.
If older is wiser, it is also part of a strange pathos;
More is less, expanse is limited, there is always a but—
These come with a price that never seems to be negotiable.
A once pristine constellation of small gauge wired pathways,
Moved data about with intrepid speed.
This territory later would clog down and misplace
Important bits of knowledge lost in the cobwebs that stretched
Tilted in corners of the shell of an aging command central.
If older is wiser, it is also part of a strange pathos;
More is less, expanse is limited, there is always a but—
These come with a price that never seems to be negotiable.
Porous poison
There are times when I allow myself to write in a free flowing manner that tolerates what I would imagine is my subconscious influence upon the written product. While I recognize the term subconscious is perhaps passe in many academic settings, I am referring to an influence by that part of one's mind that one cannot be entirely aware of, yet still exerts some influence upon one's actions without concentrated efforts at thought.
The outcome of such writing will often produce some interesting word combinations. A small example for instance might be something that came out on the page last night, in a line that that contained these two words together: porous poison. Now in reality, I don't imagine poison as being porous. I can see poison seeping into porous cracks - perhaps an insecticide. That is a perfectly clear picture.
Still, I find allowing myself this broad freedom of expression in writing a liberating experience because it certainly seems to negate self imposed censorship. Such censorship I believe to be a great source of obstruction to the risk taking necessary to advance any form of art.
The question I still must deal with at some point, is deciding how much of such abstraction to allow into a poem. It is something which I do not presently have an answer for, though I remain devoted to some rational answer.
The outcome of such writing will often produce some interesting word combinations. A small example for instance might be something that came out on the page last night, in a line that that contained these two words together: porous poison. Now in reality, I don't imagine poison as being porous. I can see poison seeping into porous cracks - perhaps an insecticide. That is a perfectly clear picture.
Still, I find allowing myself this broad freedom of expression in writing a liberating experience because it certainly seems to negate self imposed censorship. Such censorship I believe to be a great source of obstruction to the risk taking necessary to advance any form of art.
The question I still must deal with at some point, is deciding how much of such abstraction to allow into a poem. It is something which I do not presently have an answer for, though I remain devoted to some rational answer.
Shock waves - Times Online
Shock waves - Times Online: "July 30, 2007
Shock waves -Frieda Hughes: poetry
The Diameter of the Bomb
(by Yehuda Amichai (1924-2000),
translated by Yehuda Amichai and Ted Hughes,
Selected Poems edited by Ted Hughes and Daniel Weissbort, Faber) "
Read the Poem and Commentary by Frieda Hughes
Shock waves -Frieda Hughes: poetry
The Diameter of the Bomb
(by Yehuda Amichai (1924-2000),
translated by Yehuda Amichai and Ted Hughes,
Selected Poems edited by Ted Hughes and Daniel Weissbort, Faber) "
Read the Poem and Commentary by Frieda Hughes
Monday, July 30, 2007
Wordplay
Di-vis-i-ble
Chopped up.
Grade school math.
One divided four times into four parts.
Broken into four pieces.
Able to be divided.
Three Musketeer bar in four pieces.
Four separate and visible parts.
Four syllables.
Four flavors in one scoop.
Chopped up.
Grade school math.
One divided four times into four parts.
Broken into four pieces.
Able to be divided.
Three Musketeer bar in four pieces.
Four separate and visible parts.
Four syllables.
Four flavors in one scoop.
This is my brain on sludge
My brain is in a haze this morning. I didn’t sleep well at all last night and it feels like my thoughts are slowly processing to the surface after exerting unreal amounts of energy making their way through sludge in order to arrive at their destination. Even the caffeine drip IV from my Diet Coke is not enough to significantly alter this process.
Perhaps it is the fact that I had a most abysmal excuse for sleep last night. But this feels more than tired. This feels fatigued.
I will face phone calls today at the office and a large number of tasks. Fortunately I have no appointments scheduled. It is inevitable there will be someone who walks in and needs something done right away. Inevitables should be outlawed and someone remind me to undertake a campaign for such a law as soon as I regain my functionality.
Of all my writing this week, I think I have only one piece that shows any real promise. I still need take an anvil and hammer to it and whack some shape into it.
There were a number of “bright ideas” that popped into my head the past few days. Actually, there was a period where it seemed like Orville Redenbacher popcorn was ricocheting off my cranium. I hate it when they become so fervent it is difficult to harness them onto paper for future consideration. Instead, the hazy memory of their existence only adds to the mental anguish that ratchets up the tension inside your head.
I’ve been reading some on John Keats theory of negative capability and exploring the relevance to my poetry. I can assure you, it is too weighty a topic for this post in my present condition.
Perhaps it is the fact that I had a most abysmal excuse for sleep last night. But this feels more than tired. This feels fatigued.
I will face phone calls today at the office and a large number of tasks. Fortunately I have no appointments scheduled. It is inevitable there will be someone who walks in and needs something done right away. Inevitables should be outlawed and someone remind me to undertake a campaign for such a law as soon as I regain my functionality.
Of all my writing this week, I think I have only one piece that shows any real promise. I still need take an anvil and hammer to it and whack some shape into it.
There were a number of “bright ideas” that popped into my head the past few days. Actually, there was a period where it seemed like Orville Redenbacher popcorn was ricocheting off my cranium. I hate it when they become so fervent it is difficult to harness them onto paper for future consideration. Instead, the hazy memory of their existence only adds to the mental anguish that ratchets up the tension inside your head.
I’ve been reading some on John Keats theory of negative capability and exploring the relevance to my poetry. I can assure you, it is too weighty a topic for this post in my present condition.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Obsessions- Have you any?
The poet Robert Bly on obsessions...
"It is surely a great calamity for a human being to have no obsessions."
"It is surely a great calamity for a human being to have no obsessions."
Sunday... I believe it is too early
Sunday morning and my mind is largely in sleep mode. I did notice something worth checking out over at Jilly's: The Reanimation of Ted Williams' Frozen Head.
Then I noted that Kelli responded to the NPR series "This I Believe" and her response can be read here. Thinking about this reminds me, I did one many moons ago, and decided to see if in fact that mine made it past the circular file. To my surprise, it did, and can be found here.
I've had breakfast and need to find what I did with my medicine but thinking about where I last had it is like doing mental calisthenics and it is too early for that. Ouch!
Then I noted that Kelli responded to the NPR series "This I Believe" and her response can be read here. Thinking about this reminds me, I did one many moons ago, and decided to see if in fact that mine made it past the circular file. To my surprise, it did, and can be found here.
I've had breakfast and need to find what I did with my medicine but thinking about where I last had it is like doing mental calisthenics and it is too early for that. Ouch!
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Guantanamo Poetry - five commentaries
This past week I received an e-mail from Jeff Charis-Carlson, Opinion Editor for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. He noted an earlier post in which I referenced the book, Poems from Guantanamo: The Detainees Speak that UI Press has published and brought to my attention a series of op-ed pieces on the subject that have appeared in the Iowa City Press-Citizen. I promised him I would take a look at them and I did. There were some interesting point offered in these editorials.
Jeff Charis-Carlson himself writes of his reactions to reading these poems and relates it to the haunting feelings that surface from reading Psalm 137, a song of exile in which the psalmist denounces those who captured him.
Shams Ghoneim, in another op-ed writes about the contrasting values on which America was founded and the code we are operating on with respect to the detainees at Guantanamo. She writes of Moazzam Begg's poem, "Homeward Bound," in which she can sense his hopelessness and sorrow. Begg received a letter from his 7-year-old daughter in which the only line that avoided the censor's pen was, "I love you, Daddy."
Joseph Parsons noted the poet Adrienne Rich has expressed that poetry can remind us of what we are forbidden to see. Parsons believes"Poems from Guantánamo: The Detainees Speak," is not about these accusations of maltreatment... "Its only ambition is to provide a glimpse into the lives, hearts and minds of the men held by the U.S. military at Guantanamo -- something we have been forbidden to see....as they pine for their families, their homes and all they hold dear."
Spring Ulmer writes, that words are dangerous things and "Poems from Guantánamo," had to be liberated from the Pentagon's "secure facilities," where most detainee writing remains in confinement, as it is considered "a security risk." I was struck by Ulmer's story where a year ago, after reading detainee Jumah Al Dossari's descriptions of torture (smuggled out and published online), she began writing letters to Dossari, only to have them returned by the military, marked and brutally ripped open as if to frighten her.
Tung Yin is a law professor at the University of Iowa, specializes in constitutional law and national security law. He writes of the poems giving human voice to the problems caused by applying the war model to non-state actors. He distinguishes the differences between traditional wars between nations, and that between the United States and al Qaida/Taliban. In traditional war, the enemy easily is identified, whereas in this conflict, the enemy hides among civilians. Because al Qaida members deliberately conceal themselves and because even the Taliban fighters did not wear traditional uniforms, there's higher likelihood that the United States would have incorrectly identified a person as the enemy. And in traditional war, it may be unknown what date the war will end, but it is known that the war can end when there is an armistice. In this conflict, it is unlikely the United States would negotiate with al Qaida, and we never may know if we have succeeded in destroying it as a threat to this country extending indefinitely the detention of these individuals without any due process.
I applaud the Iowa City Press-Citizen for dialogue it has contributed to the discussion of the Guantanamo poems.
Jeff Charis-Carlson himself writes of his reactions to reading these poems and relates it to the haunting feelings that surface from reading Psalm 137, a song of exile in which the psalmist denounces those who captured him.
Shams Ghoneim, in another op-ed writes about the contrasting values on which America was founded and the code we are operating on with respect to the detainees at Guantanamo. She writes of Moazzam Begg's poem, "Homeward Bound," in which she can sense his hopelessness and sorrow. Begg received a letter from his 7-year-old daughter in which the only line that avoided the censor's pen was, "I love you, Daddy."
Joseph Parsons noted the poet Adrienne Rich has expressed that poetry can remind us of what we are forbidden to see. Parsons believes"Poems from Guantánamo: The Detainees Speak," is not about these accusations of maltreatment... "Its only ambition is to provide a glimpse into the lives, hearts and minds of the men held by the U.S. military at Guantanamo -- something we have been forbidden to see....as they pine for their families, their homes and all they hold dear."
Spring Ulmer writes, that words are dangerous things and "Poems from Guantánamo," had to be liberated from the Pentagon's "secure facilities," where most detainee writing remains in confinement, as it is considered "a security risk." I was struck by Ulmer's story where a year ago, after reading detainee Jumah Al Dossari's descriptions of torture (smuggled out and published online), she began writing letters to Dossari, only to have them returned by the military, marked and brutally ripped open as if to frighten her.
Tung Yin is a law professor at the University of Iowa, specializes in constitutional law and national security law. He writes of the poems giving human voice to the problems caused by applying the war model to non-state actors. He distinguishes the differences between traditional wars between nations, and that between the United States and al Qaida/Taliban. In traditional war, the enemy easily is identified, whereas in this conflict, the enemy hides among civilians. Because al Qaida members deliberately conceal themselves and because even the Taliban fighters did not wear traditional uniforms, there's higher likelihood that the United States would have incorrectly identified a person as the enemy. And in traditional war, it may be unknown what date the war will end, but it is known that the war can end when there is an armistice. In this conflict, it is unlikely the United States would negotiate with al Qaida, and we never may know if we have succeeded in destroying it as a threat to this country extending indefinitely the detention of these individuals without any due process.
I applaud the Iowa City Press-Citizen for dialogue it has contributed to the discussion of the Guantanamo poems.
Friday, July 27, 2007
life outside the safety and security that humans normally crave
"Sometimes I think poets are called on to experience life outside the safety and security that humans normally crave. That we have this responsibility in order to bring that dimension of life to the forefront for others."
That was an excerpt from a comment I posted in a response to something on another poetry blog. I won’t go into the entire substance of the initial conversation here. Instead I want to expound on the statement itself within the larger scope of poetry and life as a poet. It seems the statement could easily be applied across the board to the arts; however, it is my belief that it is especially significant in literary arts and most of all poetry.
I’m not certain if as practicing poets we develop this capability or if those who are drawn to poetry are individuals who largely experience a fuller range of emotions. Like the chicken or the egg debate, we could argue this for hours, I prefer to focus on the maxim and allow others to have that discussion.
Some may see this as an extension of the contention often voiced, that poets are all dark introspective individuals. It’s easy to see how this is affixed to us considering the high profile lives of poets known to have taken their own lives, been alcoholics, or insert whatever other depressive lifestyle you wish in the blank. It may be that the numbers of people in misery are no higher among poets than the population in general; that we know more of this from poets because they write of it where others silently go on to their demise. I'm not convinced one way or the other.
Good poetry provokes. It should provoke reaction. Sometimes socially provocative poetry can provoke action. I suppose this is why many find poetry and social or political issues to be so easily entwined.
A poem that provokes disgust with a reader has effectively communicated in some way because it has made that reader feel some emotion. A poem that can arouse passion in a reader again has brought to the surface an emotional response to the writing.
I read a good many poems that sound good or nice (both words perceived as positive but are about as bland as can be) and they do not bring any significant emotional connection to me as a reader. Something is missing here.
I like to think of us poets as both artists and historians. We tell something in such a way that we evoke a feeling that reminds you of something in your mental anthology of emotions that recreates and takes you there again.
If poets writing about war or death or rape or torture seems depressing, that is the point, but it is just as necessary as writing about birth or marriage or orgasmic sex or winning the World Series with a walk-off home run, because humanity must be able to experience the lows and the highs in order to appreciate these extremes in life.
It is critical in any art to push envelopes, to take risks with your work. I’ve seen poems that I did not particularly like but were quite effective at taking me someplace I’d rather not be. But such poetry is effectively doing what it should just as much as one that takes me to one of my most joyous memories.
So with this in mind, my point is that as poets we must write outside of our safety zones because that is where we need to take our readers.
That was an excerpt from a comment I posted in a response to something on another poetry blog. I won’t go into the entire substance of the initial conversation here. Instead I want to expound on the statement itself within the larger scope of poetry and life as a poet. It seems the statement could easily be applied across the board to the arts; however, it is my belief that it is especially significant in literary arts and most of all poetry.
I’m not certain if as practicing poets we develop this capability or if those who are drawn to poetry are individuals who largely experience a fuller range of emotions. Like the chicken or the egg debate, we could argue this for hours, I prefer to focus on the maxim and allow others to have that discussion.
Some may see this as an extension of the contention often voiced, that poets are all dark introspective individuals. It’s easy to see how this is affixed to us considering the high profile lives of poets known to have taken their own lives, been alcoholics, or insert whatever other depressive lifestyle you wish in the blank. It may be that the numbers of people in misery are no higher among poets than the population in general; that we know more of this from poets because they write of it where others silently go on to their demise. I'm not convinced one way or the other.
Good poetry provokes. It should provoke reaction. Sometimes socially provocative poetry can provoke action. I suppose this is why many find poetry and social or political issues to be so easily entwined.
A poem that provokes disgust with a reader has effectively communicated in some way because it has made that reader feel some emotion. A poem that can arouse passion in a reader again has brought to the surface an emotional response to the writing.
I read a good many poems that sound good or nice (both words perceived as positive but are about as bland as can be) and they do not bring any significant emotional connection to me as a reader. Something is missing here.
I like to think of us poets as both artists and historians. We tell something in such a way that we evoke a feeling that reminds you of something in your mental anthology of emotions that recreates and takes you there again.
If poets writing about war or death or rape or torture seems depressing, that is the point, but it is just as necessary as writing about birth or marriage or orgasmic sex or winning the World Series with a walk-off home run, because humanity must be able to experience the lows and the highs in order to appreciate these extremes in life.
It is critical in any art to push envelopes, to take risks with your work. I’ve seen poems that I did not particularly like but were quite effective at taking me someplace I’d rather not be. But such poetry is effectively doing what it should just as much as one that takes me to one of my most joyous memories.
So with this in mind, my point is that as poets we must write outside of our safety zones because that is where we need to take our readers.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Odds & Ends
Couple of interesting items:
The first one - I have to give credit to Jilly for Healing power of poetry.
Another, Fortune as Fate: The Story Of Two Poetry Magazines from the Wall Street Journal.
I had my eyes checked yesterday. Time for some new glasses. My present ones have made reading anything of length so damn frustrating. Here's hope that changes soon.
Perhaps JK Rowling was experiencing a bit of postpartum depression after the birth of her last Harry Potter book.
The first one - I have to give credit to Jilly for Healing power of poetry.
Another, Fortune as Fate: The Story Of Two Poetry Magazines from the Wall Street Journal.
I had my eyes checked yesterday. Time for some new glasses. My present ones have made reading anything of length so damn frustrating. Here's hope that changes soon.
Perhaps JK Rowling was experiencing a bit of postpartum depression after the birth of her last Harry Potter book.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Poetry Mecca
I read yesterday of a young writer who won a university sponsored fellowship to live and work at the Frost Place for most of the summer. In the article, the Frost Home at Franconia is referred to as being seen by many as kind of a holy ground, "poetry's Mecca."
The idea of a physical space being a source of inspiration to writers and poets is not at all new. Nor is the thought that writing in a place where the presence of other poet & writer greats have created works in the past. Young writers for instance are often excited to be fortunate enough to attend a fellowship at say MacDowell Colony or say, Yaddo. Each with it's rich litany of great artists that have previously graced these places and worked their creative talents.
Sylvia Plath was drawn to the London flat at 23 Fitzroy Road (photo above) - in part because it had once been home to W.B. Yeats. It was here she ultimately created some of her most profound work before taking her own life.
So what is, or where is your poetry Mecca?
Monday, July 23, 2007
Journal Bits From The Past Week
Taken from my journal this week:
- Holder of first and last impressions
- A translucent additive to the tributaries / winding through the body
- fed on surplus desires / hand fulls of daffodils /knuckles white with clinch
- story lines so well rehearsed / blocked out in homes and on street /corners that Thornton Wilder / might have mistaken
- Life eases along here. Not saying it / is an easy life, just that resistance / has become the motor oil overdue for a change
Call for Censure by Feingold
Over the weekend Sen. Russ Feingold called for the censure of President Bush by Congress. He laid out his two part basis for censure on Meet the Press Sunday Morning. You can watch the program here.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Reading last night at Writerhouse
Poets from the Kansas City Metro Verse Chapter of the Missouri State Poetry Society read last night at the Writerhouse in the northland area in Kansas City. The reading celebrated the release earlier this summer of the KC Metro Verse Anthology. Pictured here are poets Amy Leigh Davis (top right) and Brenda Conley (bottom right) are featured here. I had not read out in the general public for a while, other then doing read-arounds at chapter meetings, which is not at all the same thing. It's something I really should make sure I systematically do again on a more frequent basis.
I've never been a fan of math... so of course when I find from time to time some reference drawing a common link between poetry and math it both peeks my attention and raises my natural defensive mechanisms. So here again is a quickie on Math & Poetry in the 60 SECOND INTERVIEW that I thought others might enjoy.
Well, I have a few chores to tend to this morning so that will wrap it up for now.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Another Moronic Shill for Cheney
According to news reports [here] and [here] and [here] Under Secretary of Defense Eric S. Edelman offered a stinging rebuke of Senator Hillary Clinton following her questions to Pentagon officials about how the U.S. would withdraw from Iraq. Edelman was attributed to the following, “Premature and public discussion of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq reinforces enemy propaganda that the United States will abandon its allies in Iraq..."
The sharp attack on Clinton is interesting for two reasons. First, numerous Senators including Senator Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee have asked the same questions. Has he blasted Luger or any Republicans who's asked these same questions? Second, Edelman's background is interesting to say the least because Edelman is Vice President Cheney's former deputy national security adviser. Funny how these things always lead back to Cheney.
Since he has mentioned propaganda, I'd be interested in Mr. Edelman's thoughts on the propaganda fed to the American people leading up to President Bush's commitment of U.S. forces to Invade Iraq. I'm tired of the Cheney henchmen in government and in the military.
The sharp attack on Clinton is interesting for two reasons. First, numerous Senators including Senator Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee have asked the same questions. Has he blasted Luger or any Republicans who's asked these same questions? Second, Edelman's background is interesting to say the least because Edelman is Vice President Cheney's former deputy national security adviser. Funny how these things always lead back to Cheney.
Since he has mentioned propaganda, I'd be interested in Mr. Edelman's thoughts on the propaganda fed to the American people leading up to President Bush's commitment of U.S. forces to Invade Iraq. I'm tired of the Cheney henchmen in government and in the military.
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
Went to my mailbox yesterday and much to my astonishment found a stamped piece of a Kraft Macaroni & Cheese box cut the size of a postcard. On the flip side a note about one of my poems that appeared in the Grist - 2007 ( State Poetry Society Anthology). It was of course a pleasant surprise. The writer acknowledged liking my poem titled "Sport Utility Poem"* for "pzzzazzz and sasss-"
I found the writer's approach using recycled box both enterprising and heartening. It had to have passed through a couple of other hands in order to reach me and that gave her a way to make a statement by example. The writer was a poet peer and she expressed herself in verse with an Ode To Michael Poet.
While this was not a situation where a poem had a life affirming impact on another it was none the less the kind of acknowledgement of an others work I blogged about a few days back that I noted as rare. It is I suppose, one more reason this box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese was especially tasty.
* this poem first appeared in the Rockhurst Annual Arts Review in 2006
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Four GOP Hypocrites reaffirm their ownership of the War In Iraq
Republican Senators like John Warner, George Voinovich, Richard Luger, and Pete Domenici say they have reached a point opposition to President Bush's present course on the war in Iraq. Yet, when it comes to delivering a vote to change this mistaken course, what do they do? They vote the President's party line. They are hypocrites. Every time they to vote to continue to keep the US smack dab in the middle of a sectarian war, propping up a government that shows no sign of ending critical differences between waring factions, and continues to commit billions of U.S. dollars and American lives, they reaffirm their personal ownership in the massive mistake that is the War in Iraq.
A bump in the week & Dana Gioia's NEA
While my week has not exactly been zipping by, I always view Wednesdays are a sort of speed bump in the week. Maybe on weeks like this one, it is more like reaching the crest of a giant hill and knowing the rest is all down hill. Anyway, Wednesday constitutes that great divide between the start of the work week and the end of same. It's not quite Hazzah... but perhaps acceptable to exert a small sigh.
Thanks to Jilly the source for Free dreams, fond bores or why you should always read poetry twice (I say three times).
After Senate all-nighter, war vote at hand today, but it is expected fall short of the 60 votes that are needed. It's anticipated that only three Republicans, Olympia Snowe of Maine, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Gordon Smith of Oregon are likely to vote with Democrats calling for this change in war policy. Even Republican Sen. Richard Luger and Republican Sen. Pete Domenici, who have indicated to the press in recent times they are breaking with the President on the war, are not likely to to exhibit the courage to abandon the Republican party line on this vote.
A literary forum run by poet Lu Yang has been blocked by the Chinese government - See Reporters Without Boarders.
Last night I attended a reception at the new Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City for NEA Chairman Dana Gioia. The invitation only event was nicely attended. The intent I suppose was two-fold. To get local art enthusiasts inside the newly opened building and showcase it, as well as to partner withe the NEA and it's mission to encourage and broaden support for the arts.
Couple of personal observations...
Thanks to Jilly the source for Free dreams, fond bores or why you should always read poetry twice (I say three times).
After Senate all-nighter, war vote at hand today, but it is expected fall short of the 60 votes that are needed. It's anticipated that only three Republicans, Olympia Snowe of Maine, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Gordon Smith of Oregon are likely to vote with Democrats calling for this change in war policy. Even Republican Sen. Richard Luger and Republican Sen. Pete Domenici, who have indicated to the press in recent times they are breaking with the President on the war, are not likely to to exhibit the courage to abandon the Republican party line on this vote.
A literary forum run by poet Lu Yang has been blocked by the Chinese government - See Reporters Without Boarders.
Last night I attended a reception at the new Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City for NEA Chairman Dana Gioia. The invitation only event was nicely attended. The intent I suppose was two-fold. To get local art enthusiasts inside the newly opened building and showcase it, as well as to partner withe the NEA and it's mission to encourage and broaden support for the arts.
Couple of personal observations...
- The building which as been criticized by some in the neighboring community needs to be seen in the context of what the architecture offers on the inside. The external structure has a functional purpose that needs to be considered.
- Although the NEA is funded by the government - putting Laura Bush on the cover of the NEA Vol 3 - 2007 publication is not in my mind a good marketing strategy.
- Dana Gioia is an interesting individual. I have often been captivated by the unusual nature of his assent in the arts as it is definitely unorthodox. I've not always been convinced that his approach is the best, but I was impressed in his brief remarks that the NEA's mission was a valuable one and that it needed to reflect the pluralism of American culture today. While this is an expansive mission statement, and intelligent people may disagree on how you achieve such a mission, it is in the end, the right mission for the arts community to embrace.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Spacing Out P o e t r y
I've been thinking about the dimensional aspects of poetry upon a page. Not only the poem itself within the boarders of the page but the lineage as well.
There are times when the visual impact of poetry is obvious. An example would be Golria Vando's New Shoes and An Old Flame. However, not every poem is dependent upon the kind of tedious spacing of letters /words that are required to achieve what Vando did here.
How important is the visual appeal of a poem on a page to the average reader? What contributes to an appealing layout of words on a page? What kinds of things are turn-offs? Are these questions trite?
Sometimes when I am journaling and not working on poetry drafts (because I often do that in my journal as well) I will catch myself writing in stanzas. Almost without a second thought at times breaking lines much as I would consider line breaks in a poem draft. Go figure.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Five was all I could do
Yesterday, we tried a family outing to Waterworks Park to play Disc Golf. The course there is much bigger than what I have played on. It is challenging enough, but the killer for us was the oppressive heat and the steep hills. We were ready to play hole 6 when we decided we could not go on. We had already decided that 18 holes would be too much, but we were hopeful we could get the front 8 in. We won't talk about my score.
Tomorrow, I have a reception for Dana Gioia to go to. Then Saturday night I have a reading to do so there are some extra curricular art events going one this week. I think I need to focus on some rewrites this week. I didn't have much success with new stuff over the weekend. Time to revisit old ideas.
Tomorrow, I have a reception for Dana Gioia to go to. Then Saturday night I have a reading to do so there are some extra curricular art events going one this week. I think I need to focus on some rewrites this week. I didn't have much success with new stuff over the weekend. Time to revisit old ideas.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Let it be...
I was thinking today about non-literary art and the fact that you often see an accompanying artists statement of purpose with it. I thought about the application of the same to poetry. The irony of a written summation of another piece of "word art."
I suppose we do often see such a critter inside the flap of a poetry book where the reader is offered some general statement of purpose relative to the entire manuscript. Otherwise, we don't see this with individual poetry.
With more abstract work it would perhaps not be as odd. Still, there is a tendency by many poets, myself included to want let the reader experience the work themselves. Drawing from their own life experiences whatever it is that speaks to them in the poem. As MacLeish argues in Ars Poetica, [the] poem should not mean But be.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Lazy Saturday Morning...
Not much of my plans for the day have quite unfolded yet and it is just past noon. I sit drinking a diet coke - the rest of the family is out on a shopping adventure.
Was writing earlier and came to a standstill.
We cling to the handles of customs
Crusted through years of oxidation
In the hands of others through
A buildup of broken resistance
... then the wall. But that's ok, I had not planned on writing this early in the day anyway, so I suppose I am ahead of the game.
As I surveyed the news this morning, I see that Russia has suspended its participation in an European arms control treaty that governs deployment of troops on the continent. This in response Bush's plans for a missile defense system in former Soviet bloc countries. I suppose his Iraq war legacy is not sufficient, he feels to need to refuel the cold war.
Nothing is ever simple... Harry Potter's success has the publishers fighting bootleggers. A legal team has been commissioned to prevent copies of the new book being pirated on publication.
Last night we went to see Wild Hogs at the $2 picture show. It was really kind of mindless fun. I didn't have any expectations going in so I was pleased that it was entertaining. Last week my wife and I watched The Devil Wears Prada in bead on a portable DVD player. Besides enjoying the movie, I really liked that atmosphere. I could stand to watch a lot of movies that way.
Was planning to take my daughter and do some video footage today to incorporate into a poetry video. With any luck, when they get home from shopping it won't be too hot and she won't be exausted. We shall see.
Was writing earlier and came to a standstill.
We cling to the handles of customs
Crusted through years of oxidation
In the hands of others through
A buildup of broken resistance
... then the wall. But that's ok, I had not planned on writing this early in the day anyway, so I suppose I am ahead of the game.
As I surveyed the news this morning, I see that Russia has suspended its participation in an European arms control treaty that governs deployment of troops on the continent. This in response Bush's plans for a missile defense system in former Soviet bloc countries. I suppose his Iraq war legacy is not sufficient, he feels to need to refuel the cold war.
Nothing is ever simple... Harry Potter's success has the publishers fighting bootleggers. A legal team has been commissioned to prevent copies of the new book being pirated on publication.
Last night we went to see Wild Hogs at the $2 picture show. It was really kind of mindless fun. I didn't have any expectations going in so I was pleased that it was entertaining. Last week my wife and I watched The Devil Wears Prada in bead on a portable DVD player. Besides enjoying the movie, I really liked that atmosphere. I could stand to watch a lot of movies that way.
Was planning to take my daughter and do some video footage today to incorporate into a poetry video. With any luck, when they get home from shopping it won't be too hot and she won't be exausted. We shall see.
Friday, July 13, 2007
From my journal this week....
A few extracted bits from my journal:
- Though I'd like to remain an optimist... believing in that which is so minute / it leaves no shadow trailing.
- A hint of something greater / God sitting on a pin head.
- A dog whose gender was truncated / his head on a pillow keeping / his thoughts to himself.
- The boundary between them / more a smudge than a line.
~0~
At Age 92 - Ruth Stone deservedly is named Vermont's State Poet [here]
~0~
On the war.....
Bush's optimism is impossible to square with the situation in Iraq
Defying Bush, House Passes New Deadline for Withdrawal From Iraq
Thursday, July 12, 2007
That rare connection
I was reading the interview of David Yessl by Bernard Chapin mentioned in an earlier post and I was captivated by a statement attributed to Yvor Winters, "The greatest poems are worth waiting for (and wading through a lot of inferior stuff). In many cases, it is not until a poet gives voice to a particular emotion by rendering it in words that one can experience it fully for the first time."
Thinking about this special link, how personal it is. How even really great poems are not going to provide such personal connectivity to every reader. Rare occurrence indeed. I suppose these occasions often go unacknowledged to the poet. Reducing even further any awareness the poet may have to such attribution, quite minuscule. Very sad to consider.
Thinking about this special link, how personal it is. How even really great poems are not going to provide such personal connectivity to every reader. Rare occurrence indeed. I suppose these occasions often go unacknowledged to the poet. Reducing even further any awareness the poet may have to such attribution, quite minuscule. Very sad to consider.
Bush acknowledges administration official leaked Plame's name, immediately 'moves on'
The Raw Story Bush acknowledges administration official leaked Plame's name, immediately 'moves on'
At a White House press conference Thursday, President Bush acknowledged that someone in his administration leaked the name of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame, but he avoided addressing the question of whether he saw it as a moral issue or was at all disappointed in his senior advisers.
At a White House press conference Thursday, President Bush acknowledged that someone in his administration leaked the name of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame, but he avoided addressing the question of whether he saw it as a moral issue or was at all disappointed in his senior advisers.
Well Duh!
Poetry Amidst the Kultursmog: An Interview with David Yezzi.
MND: News and Commentary Since 2001 » Poetry Amidst the Kultursmog: An Interview with David Yezzi.:
"David Yezzi is Executive Editor of The New Criterion and the former director of New York’s Unterberg Poetry Center of the 92nd Street Y. He is a well-known poet whose published collections include The Hidden Model and Sad Is Eros. His libretto for a chamber opera by David Conte, Firebird Motel, was released as a CD earlier this year by Arsis. His essays have appeared at Poetry, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times Book Review, The New York Sun, and The New Yorker. He has earned degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and Columbia University School of the Arts."
This interview is a very interesting read.
"David Yezzi is Executive Editor of The New Criterion and the former director of New York’s Unterberg Poetry Center of the 92nd Street Y. He is a well-known poet whose published collections include The Hidden Model and Sad Is Eros. His libretto for a chamber opera by David Conte, Firebird Motel, was released as a CD earlier this year by Arsis. His essays have appeared at Poetry, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times Book Review, The New York Sun, and The New Yorker. He has earned degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and Columbia University School of the Arts."
This interview is a very interesting read.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Read this....
A MUST READ for everyone.... What is Al-Qaeda?
There was a similar story on NPR today - If I can find the link I'll post it later.
There was a similar story on NPR today - If I can find the link I'll post it later.
See what summer heat can do?
I know summer is here. There are very distinct signs I can rely upon. One is the All-Star game. This signals the mid-point in the baseball season and starts the mixed-up emotions that come with the downhill turn towards the fall classic. I say mixed-up because this period is a blend of excitement and melancholy.
Another is the size of the watermelons. I am talking about food here, least you think this is some coded sexual thing. I ran into our local Hy-Vee tonight and there were big hefty watermelons, not the personal size variety that have been in the produce isle up to this point.
Yet another sign summer is here is what happens in my office when a nice day follows a really hot one. For some reason the building maintenance people decide we don't need quite as much a/c and they cut it back in the morning. By 1 PM we are all hot and cranky. Today was such a day.
I'm not really big on reality TV. Basically I find it to be an insult to the intelligence of the average person. I'm speaking for the most part about the concept, because I rarely watch it. I suppose this puts me in the category of a person who wants to remove a book from the library because they are offended by it in spite of the fact they haven't read it. I'd like to believe my issue with reality TV is perhaps on a slightly higher level than that.
Part of the thing about Reality TV is that it involves ordinary people. I have nothing against ordinary people. Some of my best friends are ordinary though they might differ in their impression of me. The use of ordinary people by the producers smacks of "cheap". Networks love such programs because they scrape the bottom rung of production costs so scoring high in the ratings is an extra big payoff. Low overhead - high yield. All that said, I could be persuaded to consider watching a Poet's Reality Series. Six or eight poets thrown together in a house - representing various schools of writing.
I think the real test would be to have them each write in their own styles and then open up the home to the community for a public reading. Each would present their own work. Additionally, each would have to sit with the audience through everyone's work. I envision lots of closeups of the facial expressions during the readings.
Okay, I have no real delusion that this is coming to a cable channel near me any time soon. But hey, there would at least be an audience of one out their for it.
Another is the size of the watermelons. I am talking about food here, least you think this is some coded sexual thing. I ran into our local Hy-Vee tonight and there were big hefty watermelons, not the personal size variety that have been in the produce isle up to this point.
Yet another sign summer is here is what happens in my office when a nice day follows a really hot one. For some reason the building maintenance people decide we don't need quite as much a/c and they cut it back in the morning. By 1 PM we are all hot and cranky. Today was such a day.
I'm not really big on reality TV. Basically I find it to be an insult to the intelligence of the average person. I'm speaking for the most part about the concept, because I rarely watch it. I suppose this puts me in the category of a person who wants to remove a book from the library because they are offended by it in spite of the fact they haven't read it. I'd like to believe my issue with reality TV is perhaps on a slightly higher level than that.
Part of the thing about Reality TV is that it involves ordinary people. I have nothing against ordinary people. Some of my best friends are ordinary though they might differ in their impression of me. The use of ordinary people by the producers smacks of "cheap". Networks love such programs because they scrape the bottom rung of production costs so scoring high in the ratings is an extra big payoff. Low overhead - high yield. All that said, I could be persuaded to consider watching a Poet's Reality Series. Six or eight poets thrown together in a house - representing various schools of writing.
I think the real test would be to have them each write in their own styles and then open up the home to the community for a public reading. Each would present their own work. Additionally, each would have to sit with the audience through everyone's work. I envision lots of closeups of the facial expressions during the readings.
Okay, I have no real delusion that this is coming to a cable channel near me any time soon. But hey, there would at least be an audience of one out their for it.
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