Tree Swenson, Executive Director of the Academy of American Poets, announced today that Naomi Shihab Nye and Marie Ponsot have been elected to the Board of Chancellors, the Academy's advisory board of distinguished poets. Nye is a Missourian by birth having been born in born in St. Louis in 1952. She makes her home in Texas now but has been described as a a citizen of the world. Her poetry often crosses borders and fosters understanding. I know little of Marie Ponsot but Nye is truly a wonderful ambassador for poetry everywhere.
Monday, January 11, 2010
In My E-mail This Morning
- A rejection letter for 3 poems. :(
- Word of the day - dysgraphia. Bad news nearly always follows when dys- begins a word, and so it does here: dysgraphia is an inability to write coherently, either as a learning disorder or a result of brain damage or disease. The Greek roots mean "difficult writing."
- $30 Amazon.com birthday gift certificate. :) Yeah!
- Urgent Attention, I am here on off-shore banks inspection exercise. Based on the report on your abandoned transaction file, only $2M have been approved to your family from the will. [Oh Darn, I was hopeful it would be at least $5M]
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Quote for the week
Unconscious Mutterings - Week 363
Subliminal word associations. You say.... I think:
1.Resolutions :: New Year
2.Page :: turm
3.Narrow :: ruled
4.Refuse :: decline
5.Fountain :: pen
6.Grunt :: strain
7.Construct :: build
8.Nightmare :: dream
9.Inch :: worm
10.Instant :: message
get your own list at Unconscious Mutterings
1.Resolutions :: New Year
2.Page :: turm
3.Narrow :: ruled
4.Refuse :: decline
5.Fountain :: pen
6.Grunt :: strain
7.Construct :: build
8.Nightmare :: dream
9.Inch :: worm
10.Instant :: message
get your own list at Unconscious Mutterings
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Coffee Break - Announcements
Here's an announcement for those in our neighboring state of Kansas.
Kansas Voices writing contested, sponsored by the Winfield Arts & Humanities Council, is back for its 21st year. Authors are urged to submit short stories, prose or poetry. Details here.
Issue 30 of Right Hand Pointing is up.
TWP POETRY READING SERIES @ THE JOHNSON COUNTY LIBRARY
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 7:00 pm - Johnson County Public Library, 9875 W. 87th, Overland Park, KS
Featuring Jo McDougall and Steve Paul
TWP SALON - Monday, January 25, 2010 - 7:00 pm - Open Mic opportunity hosted by Sharon Eiker
3607 Pennsylvania - Kansas City, Missouri
Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Tails Of The City : National children's pet poetry contest deadline extended
The American Pet Products Association (APPA) will be accepting poems for its 2nd Annual APPA National Children's Pet Poetry Contest through February 15, 2010 at 5 p.m. EST.
Third, fourth and fifth grade students are invited to pen a unique poem about their pets and then post it to petsaddlife.org or mail it to: Pets Add Life, 45 Winter Street, Reno, NV 89503.
Two students from each grade level (six total) will win a $250 gift certificate for pet products, and a by-line in a nationally circulated publication. In addition, the six winning students' classrooms will each receive a $1,000 scholarship to spend on pet-related education.
Posted By: Amelia Glynn (Email, Facebook) | January 08 2010 at 11:40 AM
Tails Of The City : National children's pet poetry contest deadline extended
Technorati Tags: childrens pet poetry
Friday, January 08, 2010
Brrrr...
I've drug out my copy of The Artist's Way again and decided it's time to re-examine what I'm doing for the sake of creativity. Especially since I feel like I'm in a somewhat conflicted state at the moment. I'm trying to look at it positive and a growing place but frustration isn't affording me any particular comfort. Basically I'm trying to project a different style of writing but I'm less satisfied with the results (more often then not) and it wants to pull me back to a more abstract approach. I'm thinking what I really needs is to be someplace between the two. I'm feeling as I move away from the abstract my voice becomes bland. There are other poets I admire who can do this well- I know it can be done.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Attention Metrophobics
"Does the thought of poetry make you nauseous? Does it trigger a dry mouth and clammy hands? Does your heart feel like it’s going to pound right out of your chest? Do your legs turn to rubber bands?" If so, help is on the way. For only $147 you can get a Home Study program of CDs and a Work Book or if you prefer, for the paltry sum of $2497 you can get one-on-one Private Sessions with Board-Certified Specialist to help you eliminate your underlying fear. This according an internet site that can be found here.
I’m so glad there is hope for people suffering from metrophobia. It seems there are so many metrophobics out there. Some of my own family may be metrophobic. This of course causes me to wonder why or how I escaped the condition? Is there a genetic predisposition towards this condition? If so, perhaps we can isolate the gene that controls our poetic responses and tweak it a bit to make poetry a little more palatable. Of course, if such therapy became possible, poetic gene therapy could put the previously mentioned site out of business.
I’m so glad there is hope for people suffering from metrophobia. It seems there are so many metrophobics out there. Some of my own family may be metrophobic. This of course causes me to wonder why or how I escaped the condition? Is there a genetic predisposition towards this condition? If so, perhaps we can isolate the gene that controls our poetic responses and tweak it a bit to make poetry a little more palatable. Of course, if such therapy became possible, poetic gene therapy could put the previously mentioned site out of business.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
A bit overdue for Journal Bits
A few journal bits from recent writings-Dec. 15th “and now I / Foam to wheat, glitter of seas / The child’s cry [from Ariel by Sylvia Plath]
Dec. 15th when your room is a town / and the hallways a thoroughfare / to climb into your own bed is trespassing
Dec. 16th What is it that keeps us focused and what are the things that derail us?
Dec. 22nd Trying to expose the soul is like catching carp with bare hands. If a soul wanted to be seen and recognized for all that it is it would show a little leg.
Dec. 24th Silence is the reversible side.
Dec. 24th. Guilt creeps through superficial cracks…
Dec. 26th I failed miserably.
Dec. 26th I don’t choose them; they find me (morning thoughts)
Dec 27th What does one have to do to get a glass of plain water?
Dec. 27th “The poet’s only hope is to be infinitely sensitive to what his gift is, and this itself seems to be another gift that few poets possess.” [Ted Hughes – London Magazine Vol. 1 NO. 2 1962]
Dec. 29th “pulp non-fiction / outdated upon arrival”
Jan 1st “I see the pox / on the old man’s face”
Jan 4th We’ve evolved into a voodoo age… Our current socio-political climate is so amerced in a high voltage hate that most Americans are of a mindset that they whish harm to come to those who are of a different (and usually believed inferior) view then themselves.
Monday, January 04, 2010
Unchopping A Tree
Artist and architect Maya Lin has produced a video which is inspired by a W.S. Merwin poem of the same name and focuses on how we would feel if deforestation came to the city parks that we love the most. It’s a quietly powerful piece that I hope many people have an opportunity to see.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
A Thought for the week
The concept that an artist would be revered by popular culture is an immediate dismissal of his relevance as an artist. ~Thomas Kinkade
Unconscious Mutterings - Week 362
You say - I think:
get your own list at Unconscious Mutterings
1. 365 :: days
2. Tombstone :: pizza
3. Dumb :: luck
4. Intrusive :: government
5. Fat :: cat
6. Axe :: Lizzy Borden
7. Planned :: vacation
8. Spike :: Lee
9. Bleach :: stain
10. Shopkeeper :: Clerk
get your own list at Unconscious Mutterings
There are Consequences
Feline steps are deliberate
cautious intermittent pauses-
to allow for adjustments.
No one expects life
to be without recalculations
or changes.
It is our prerogative
to make u turns
even if the law doesn't allow
for it, the road itself will
not hinder us
or the police that follow.
cautious intermittent pauses-
to allow for adjustments.
No one expects life
to be without recalculations
or changes.
It is our prerogative
to make u turns
even if the law doesn't allow
for it, the road itself will
not hinder us
or the police that follow.
Boring? Think Again
For those who might think all things poetry equals boring, think again. We who chose our words with great thought are quite capable of sparking sharp discourse. There are a couple of excellent examples of this going on right now in full public view.
On the national scene there is the ongoing and seemingly unending friction over a $200 million gift to Poetry Magazine by Ruth Lilly, the 94 year old reclusive philanthropist and drug heiress who died this past week. The basic story is old news to most poets, but the death of Ms. Lilly seems to have drawn media attention back to it by as evidenced by a series of new articles that have appeared in print these last few days.
For an art form often marginalized, such a gift was both shockingly exciting and on some level a bit difficult to rationalize. The Poetry Foundation which publishes Poetry Magazine is operated by a staff of four. It has a circulation of 12,000 and an annual operating budget of about $700.000 which makes such a gift seem a bit like overkill. But for many, it’s not so much the gift as it is the administration of the Foundation that has been the focus of discussion. Some, including a former trustee have been critical of the foundation’s expenditure of $25 million to build a “Home for Poetry” in Chicago. John Barr , the director has also been criticized for giving his wife a job at the Foundation. Complaints have reached the Illinois Attorney General who is looking into "questionable governance and management practices."
Back in my home state, the selection of a second Poet Laureate have has brought some criticism of the Governor’s office who has posted an application for the position that looks more like they are searching for a CEO of a fortune 500 Company than an ambassador for an art. It asks for instance to: “Please provide any other information, including information about other members of your family, which could suggest a conflict of interest or be a possible source of embarrassment to you, your family, or the Governor” and “Is there anything in your or your spouse’s background that might become an embarrassment to you if it were to become public? Please consider carefully any letters to the editor, blog posts, etc., which you or your spouse may have authored, even anonymously.” It also asks about associations with other individuals which might be a source of embarrassment. I’ve not personally seen applications used in other states, but according to a January 2nd Columbia Tribune article, “Application forms for poets laureate in other states do not ask similar questions.” The same article notes several individuals have expressed disappointment about such approach to the search and at least on poet with national accolades that said he was not interested in applying with these terms.
The outgoing Poet Laureate Walter Bargen, said he was not asked to fill out an application but he and his wife did agree to a State Highway Patrol background check. He was asked if there was anything they should know about. Bergen to them, “I grew up in the ‘60s,” and that he once used the world “nipple” in a poem.
On the national scene there is the ongoing and seemingly unending friction over a $200 million gift to Poetry Magazine by Ruth Lilly, the 94 year old reclusive philanthropist and drug heiress who died this past week. The basic story is old news to most poets, but the death of Ms. Lilly seems to have drawn media attention back to it by as evidenced by a series of new articles that have appeared in print these last few days.
For an art form often marginalized, such a gift was both shockingly exciting and on some level a bit difficult to rationalize. The Poetry Foundation which publishes Poetry Magazine is operated by a staff of four. It has a circulation of 12,000 and an annual operating budget of about $700.000 which makes such a gift seem a bit like overkill. But for many, it’s not so much the gift as it is the administration of the Foundation that has been the focus of discussion. Some, including a former trustee have been critical of the foundation’s expenditure of $25 million to build a “Home for Poetry” in Chicago. John Barr , the director has also been criticized for giving his wife a job at the Foundation. Complaints have reached the Illinois Attorney General who is looking into "questionable governance and management practices."
Back in my home state, the selection of a second Poet Laureate have has brought some criticism of the Governor’s office who has posted an application for the position that looks more like they are searching for a CEO of a fortune 500 Company than an ambassador for an art. It asks for instance to: “Please provide any other information, including information about other members of your family, which could suggest a conflict of interest or be a possible source of embarrassment to you, your family, or the Governor” and “Is there anything in your or your spouse’s background that might become an embarrassment to you if it were to become public? Please consider carefully any letters to the editor, blog posts, etc., which you or your spouse may have authored, even anonymously.” It also asks about associations with other individuals which might be a source of embarrassment. I’ve not personally seen applications used in other states, but according to a January 2nd Columbia Tribune article, “Application forms for poets laureate in other states do not ask similar questions.” The same article notes several individuals have expressed disappointment about such approach to the search and at least on poet with national accolades that said he was not interested in applying with these terms.
The outgoing Poet Laureate Walter Bargen, said he was not asked to fill out an application but he and his wife did agree to a State Highway Patrol background check. He was asked if there was anything they should know about. Bergen to them, “I grew up in the ‘60s,” and that he once used the world “nipple” in a poem.
Friday, January 01, 2010
VISITOR # 50,000
It seems a nice way to kick off the new year is to make it with this site having been visited by its 50,000th unique visitor. Yeah! An thank you to all 50,000 peeps.
A new year and a new book in my reading stack. I’m not only working through Winter Pollen - (writings and essays by Ted Hughes) but I picked up a copy The Shadow of Sirius by W.S. Merwin today. This book was published by Copper Canyon Press and I’m always impressed with the quality of their books. I’m anxious to share my thoughts on this book once I’ve read it. Merwin is among my favorite poets.
I kind of like that I’m kicking the year off with a male poet as I tend to be drawn disproportionately to the work of female poets. This isn’t a complaint, just an observation.
Who’s on your reading table at the moment?
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Happy New Years!
The final hours of the decade are slipping by… I made a run to Taco Bell on the spur of the moment and then stopped off for a bottle of Chardonnay. The traffic was frantic. I sensed many are anxious to get this decade over, as if they could grease it and slip out of it a bit ahead of time.
So many are writing about the decade past or future expectations. Lots of New Years Resolutions. I’ve made some, though I normally take a dim view of the practice, something has driven me to do so this year. I’ve committed them to a page in my journal and I’m not going into them here, not now. There are a litany of bad things to say about the past ten years. I could repeat many I’m sure you’ve heard or can recount all to well from personal experiences. That is not what I want to do here. Instead I want to point out a positive story I read this evening. It even relates to poetry!
Christine Klocek-Lim blogs at November Sky Poetry and she writes poetry. I’ve followed her blog for a while now as well as read her on-line journal Autumn Sky Poetry. Still, I learned more about Christine in post from today then I ever knew about her. She writes about her metamorphous as a poet over the past ten years and it’s a story of challenges and successes. It’s a positive story and I think it’s a good way to pass out of this decade and into the next. Read and enjoy Christine’s story – Ten years of internet poetry (is poetry dead?) It’s a good note to end the year on.
Have a safe, a prosperous and a joyous new year!
Technorati Tags: Christine Klocek-Lim,November Sky Poetry
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
The Scavenger : GPS locates water, offers poetry for illegal immigrants crossing desert
I ran across this story tonight and had to share it.
Here's how the tool works. The phone, loaded with free GPS software, displays a digital compass that locates water stations installed by John Hunter, founder of the Water Stations project. Stations that are too far will not be displayed. The phone pinpoints "safety sites" -- such as Border Patrol station, a clinic or a church -- and includes poetry written by Amy Carroll to "welcome you to the U.S," said Dominguez. Encrypted to avoid detection by authorities, phones are $30 and should be available by summer.
CLICK BELOW TO READ THE FULL STORY
The Scavenger : GPS locates water, offers poetry for illegal immigrants crossing desert
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Saving our forests is in / Tiger Woods is out
You know how you see something out of the corner of your eye and you think it says something but on closer look, it says something else. I saw this link Couple Following GPS Get Stranded for 3 Days but on first glance I would have sworn it read, Couple Following GOP Get Stranded for 3 Days. I mean I can see how they could have gotten lost.
This has been a crazy year for politics at home and around the world. The Republicans eating their own, so to speak; Democrats finding even with a majority it is difficult to rule. In Iran, the people decry a what they believe a stolen election and the ruling government finds an enemy not from the west, but right there at home.
As is often the case with a year passing we see things some things that follow it out the door and new things or at least different things become vogue. My in and out list:
This has been a crazy year for politics at home and around the world. The Republicans eating their own, so to speak; Democrats finding even with a majority it is difficult to rule. In Iran, the people decry a what they believe a stolen election and the ruling government finds an enemy not from the west, but right there at home.
As is often the case with a year passing we see things some things that follow it out the door and new things or at least different things become vogue. My in and out list:
- Phone applications are in / Land lines are out
- Hybrid Vehicles are in / The Hummer is a bummer (out)
- Collaboration is in / Competition is out
- Staycation is in / Vacation is out
- More tasks on the job is in / Bonuses to executives is out
- Saving our forests is in / Tiger Woods is out
- Staying put is in / Moving is out
- Main Street is in / Wall Street is out
- Saving is in / Investing is out
- Paying online is in / mailing the bills is out
- Sarah Palin is in / Governor Palin is out
- Keith Olbermann is in / Sean Hannity is out
- Reading is in / Jay Leno is out
- Project Runway is in / Dancing with the Stars is out
- Starbucks Coffee is back in / McDonalds Coffee is out
- News online is in / Newspapers are out
- Screaming at your Congressman is in / Writing your Congressman is out
- Afghanistan is in / Iraq is out
- Twitter is in / IM is out
- Texting is in / Calling is out
- Value is in / Price is out
Technorati Tags: In & Out List for 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Search for Missouri's Next Poet Laureate
Governor Jay Nixon has signed an executive order establishing the procedure for selecting Missouri’s second poet laureate. The new laureate, who will replace Walter Bargen is to be named in January.
Nixon has an advisory committee that includes three representatives from the Missouri Center for the Book and two individuals named by the Governor. This committee of five is charged with soliciting, publicizing and encouraging nominations for the post. They will develop additional selection criteria, [minimal criteria established by the executive order: resident of state, a published poet, active in the poetry community, be willing and able to promote poetry in the state throughout the two-year term], reviewing and evaluating the nominations, and recommending candidates for appointment to the Governor.
The committee is comprised of: Thomas F. Dillingham, Associate Professor of English at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri; Kris Kleindienst, co-owner of an independently owned bookstore in St. Louis; Carl Phillips, Professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis; Kevin Prufer, author of a number of books of poetry and winner of three Pushcart prizes as well as an National Endowment of the Arts fellowship, from Warrensburg, Missouri; and Cheryl D.S. Walker, poet, lawyer and native of St. Louis.
I’m delighted to see the Governors approach to this appointment. Given this is nearly the end of December I would have hoped the committee would have had a little more time to give to the process. Those named to the panel appear to be reasonable choices for the search; I am however disappointed that the five member panel has a heavy St Louis tilt.
It would be nice to see at least one Kansas City area person on that panel.
A copy of the application for for consideration can be found here.
Nixon has an advisory committee that includes three representatives from the Missouri Center for the Book and two individuals named by the Governor. This committee of five is charged with soliciting, publicizing and encouraging nominations for the post. They will develop additional selection criteria, [minimal criteria established by the executive order: resident of state, a published poet, active in the poetry community, be willing and able to promote poetry in the state throughout the two-year term], reviewing and evaluating the nominations, and recommending candidates for appointment to the Governor.
The committee is comprised of: Thomas F. Dillingham, Associate Professor of English at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri; Kris Kleindienst, co-owner of an independently owned bookstore in St. Louis; Carl Phillips, Professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis; Kevin Prufer, author of a number of books of poetry and winner of three Pushcart prizes as well as an National Endowment of the Arts fellowship, from Warrensburg, Missouri; and Cheryl D.S. Walker, poet, lawyer and native of St. Louis.
I’m delighted to see the Governors approach to this appointment. Given this is nearly the end of December I would have hoped the committee would have had a little more time to give to the process. Those named to the panel appear to be reasonable choices for the search; I am however disappointed that the five member panel has a heavy St Louis tilt.
It would be nice to see at least one Kansas City area person on that panel.
A copy of the application for for consideration can be found here.
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