Clever Fake BP T-Shirt: "We're bringing oil to American shores."

Oh my...how true.  This shirt is available from Dispair Wear

Unconscious Mutterings - Week 381

You say.... I think:

• 1.Labor ::  pool
• 2.Sweater ::  cardagan
• 3.Five minutes ::  drill
• 4.Treatment ::  center
• 5.Eyebrows ::  dark
• 6.Awake :: laying
• 7.Salmon ::  spawning
• 8.Red ::  snapper
• 9.Hospital ::  medical
• 10.Midwife ::  delivery

get your own list here

Poetry in the News

Gregory Cowles blogs in the NY Times on Poetry

 Does Poetry Matter?

Sometimes the planets align and you start seeing the same idea discussed by different people everywhere you look, as if your brain had stumbled late at night across a niche cable station broadcast by the universe itself. For me lately the show has been all about the relevance of poetry, as in: Is poetry relevant? Even among poets there seems to be a nervous consensus that it’s not.

~0~
 
I'm glad the poetry sidewalk public works venture is still thriving in St. Paul, Minnesota 
 
St. Paul Public Works officials Wednesday announced the winners of the 2010 Sidewalk Poetry Contest. The city annually replaces approximately 10 miles of sidewalk as part of its regular maintenance program. To date, 26 different poems have been stamped into 260 locations around the city


~0~


Ask the Experts: Carmen Gillespie on poetry

This week, we asked Professor of English Carmen Gillespie to talk about the importance of poetry in our daily lives. Essence recently named Gillespie one of its "Forty Favorite Poets" in honor of the magazine's 40th anniversary. Gillespie was recognized for her poem, "Lining the Rails," about her maternal family.


~0~

Just the Fact, Ma'am: The Statistics of a Manuscript shared by the poet author

The first poem mentions crumb cake and the penultimate poem mentions crumb cake. I cannot tell you the last lines in the collection as that will hopefully be a gift to you when/if you read it, but I can tell you the first and last poems mention "passion" (not the Mel Gibson movie) and have references to Alice in Wonderland in a couple ways along with Emily Dickinson if you're paying attention. ;-)

Spins

The knots are tight

laced lies that hug

her waist

she sees them
for what she wants
to make of them

one day blunders
another she blames
on her genes

Rainy Day

The rain slipped past us

like a line cutter

and puddles glare upward

frown and all

It was a day that stuck me

in the eye

with the tact of Donald Trump

and plagiarized my distaste

Across the Walkway

Thoughts are the shadows of our feelings - always darker, emptier and simpler.  ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Unconscious Mutterings - week 380

You say, I think:

• 1.Rock n Roll :: Hall of Fame
• 2.Be with you :: together
• 3.Richard :: Simmons
• 4.Hair ::  piece
• 5.Police :: Cop
• 6.Experience :: job
• 7.Father figure :: Cosby
• 8.Nice ::  day
• 9.Switch :: light
• 10.Appearance :: guest

Get your own list here

Confession Tuesday - White Fudge Almond Divinity Edition

Oh Dear…Another Tuesday has arrived and time to head to the Confessional… so let’s get started.

Dear Reader I believe there must be another commandment that was somehow lost from the original stone tablets. The 11th commandment I'm pretty sure must have instructed us not to covet all of the Wells’ Blue Bunny White Fudge Almond Divinity Ice Cream. I must confess that I am very guilty of this 11th commandment. I not only covet all of it that comes into our household, but I want all of it that is produced. I want it… I want it… I WANT IT! I will confess this is a seriously sinful gluttonous want. (Unless this was not already obvious).

While we are talking about excesses… this month I managed to win six poetry books from the Poetry Month Book Give-a-way. I confess I feel a little guilty about this, like I should not have been so lucky… but they are poetry books. I mean can anyone get too many poetry books? Really?

This must be the week of excesses. Thanks for listening… may all your excesses this week be good ones.

Overdue Journal Bits

  I’m a little overdue for a for a posting of journal bits so here goes. The following are a sampling of my recent journal writings.

I keep a common journal. It includes journaling about life, writing drafts, quotes I find that strike my fancy. And occasionally one of my completed poems after many rewrites

May 8 – [observation]  While labels are necessary to the existence of language, they also have the potential to be a detriment to mankind.

May 6 - [observation] Last nights Mary Oliver reading got me to thinking about my place in the family of things.

May 5 – the room swings / an awkward stroll through the park / the windows dance on the walls

the bed is a boat afloat / that I am at a loss to reach

May 3 – I was not good to writing over the weekend. I neglected it and did not especially realize it until today.

April 29 – pushed back from the walls / an echo rebuking me / when I wanted to walk away but did not

April 26 – Macaroni and cheese must be the ultimate comfort food of my generation. I think there is a poem somewhere here.

 

Technorati Tags: journal bits

Times for Poetry to Thrive

 

‘The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be.'’  ~Paul Valery

When I was maybe 7 years old and thought about the future my recollection is I recall it involving space exploration. Not my personal future mind you, but in the broadest sense, the future of mankind. At that tender age, it even seemed believable. You see, as far away as the future seemed to me, there was a level of expectation involved in it.

Not all my expectations of the future seemed to be positive or exciting. At age 8 to 9 I also lived as many at the time did in fear of nuclear warheads dropping out of the sky. This fear of course had a far greater rational aspect to it at that time then my thoughts of exploring space and even visiting the moon. And this latter threat was at that time as much about the present even more that the future. As the Cuban Missile crisis ended, the threat of future nuclear war did not. It remains a possibility today and in fact seems even more likely from a rogue entity  then any foreign nation.

There are so many aspects of changes in society today that demonstrate the remarkable rate of new advances in medicine and technology that make thinking about future advances a mind spinning exercise. This gives credence to Paul Valery’s quote… the future is just not what it used to be.

It was not all that long ago that Sarah Palin was being introduced to a crowded convention hall in Denver, Colorado and the rest of the nation as the Republican Vice Presidential Candidate.  That night she brought the people to their feet with signs and chants of “Drill-Baby-Drill,” a slogan that would spill over into rallies around the country that lasted well past the election and continued until recently and now we only shake our heads over a different spill over into the gulf region that is slowly trying to regain some measure of what it was before hurricane Katrina blighted the region.

We are more interwoven into the economic fabric of the rest of the world that things can happen overnight on the other side of the globe and we find ourselves dramatically impacted by it.  You are no doubt wondering where if anyplace I am going with all this. If you were expecting solutions, I am sorry, I have none to offer. These  are painful times for many and sadly for many, they are paying the price of a greedy few. I could tell you that I believe I see some positive signs by our government, but as the Old Breton fisherman’s prayer that John F. Kennedy liked to quote goes, "Oh God, Thy sea is so great and my boat is so small." I do however believe that for the rest of us, these are the times best made for poetry. Times when we need things to bind us together. Things we hold in common like language.

It was at the Mary Oliver reading this past week that this remarkable lady who is not a world leader, not a legislator, not a religious figure, not even an editorialist, but rather a simple poet; quite likely unknowingly instilled a degree of peace and spirituality upon us that I’m sure made that short period of time together worth much more than any of us might have imagined in advance.

I hope throughout this year already filled with much uncertainty, poets will write and readers will read and we will all be blessed by poems that touch that place where our hearts and minds meet.

Technorati Tags: poetry now more than ever

What I'm Reading...

Presently I have two new poetry books on my reading stack. They are Circle by Victoria Chang  and Thirst by Mary Oliver.   I addition, I have several other poetry books that are coming my way so I will be busy with new material for a few weeks.

I've previously read Salvinia Molesta by Chang and I'm excited to be reading Circle . When I've finished I'll post my review of it.

Oliver Reading Wednesday Night

Wednesday evening I drove to Lawerence, Kansas after work to hear Mary Oliver read at the Leid Center for Preforming Arts. I suppose my only dissapointment of the evening was that I was unable to use the camera on my new Blackberry as it was announced that Ms Oliver had requested no photos be taken. Therefore, I cannot take credit for the photo at the left.


Leid Hall is a marvalous venue for arts. Modern, accustically sound, physically comfortable in seating. I have no idea for certain what the attendence was but it was easily 400 or more.


This was my first live contact with Mary Oliver and I came away with a few thoughts about who she is and how that informs her work.  She appears to me not at all a very complex person. She did not impress me as someone who carries the real her inside a fake facide but rather is transparent.  I think you pretty much get the genuine Mary Oliver right away.
I would describe her in these words:

• humble
• peaceful
• spiritual though not perhaps not religiously traditional
• a naturalist
• accessible (a word that causes me to cringe)
• private

Much of what Mary Oliver read to us was captivating in that she either prefaced each poem with a related story or the poem itself would tell a story. Not necessaraly with some deep moral or philosophical meaning, as was with the case of the poems she read about her dog Percy, but there were others in which the poems would raise questions... not necessarly answered.  So her poetry  tended to be bathed in subtle humor or invite questions... on or the other.


There was at the center of this reading, a person at profound peace with herself. So much so that I could not help but feel the presence of peace. I enjoyed the reading atmosphere which was quite different from what I normally attend. I picked up a copy of her book Thurst.  There were newer ones that looked especially interesting but this book had some poems that I felt my wife might enjoy as well. There is always hope. ;)


After I've finished it I will review it here.

Just a Thought...

I want to do to you what spring does with the cherry trees.  ~ Pablo Neruda

Confession Tuesday

Tuesday is here… time for me to unburden myself with all the stuff I need to confess, except I’m not especially feeling like a pack mule today so I’m not sure where this is leading. Anyway, to the confessional…

Dear reader…

I do have to confess that I have not really written this weekend or even last night. I’ve had only a few sentences of jottings in my journal, but nothing like what I am accustomed to. The weekend was busy though not especially in a productive sort of way. The lack of creativity has left my brain feeling a little numb on one side. I will have to nourish it better these next few days.

Last night as I pulled into the drive I saw two doves in our walkway between the drive and steps. I love to watch doves. I don’t recall seeing any in our neighborhood since we moved out here (about 10 years ago) but my daughter and I used to watch them from out door when we lived over in the city. It also seemed odd that they were out and about at 6 p.m. – we always used to see them in the early morning. I confess that as I attempted to capture them on my Blackberry camera I was totally inept. I’m still trying to get used to the change of phones and this has resulted in accidentally dialing my mother late at night, calling my daughter and confessing that I was not really trying to reach her, being stuck trying to close down Pandora on my phone, and sending an unfinished (like three word) email to another poet.

I must also confess that I have been lax lately in blogging. Aside from last nights quick post about the Mary Oliver last night I have not posted since the 29th of April and that is a big lapse for me. Even last the Oliver post was basically a quick cut and paste of information to quickly get the world out as it suddenly hit me that it had been rescheduled and was almost here. I will try and do better.

Last night I mowed our lawn which I swear I could hear growing this past week. The Iris pictured above was in our yard and was taken with my Blackberry phone. This is not a confession – just a statement of fact. ;)

I would be remiss if I did not confess my excitement and gratitude for winning some poetry books in the Poetry Month Book Give-A-Way.

Thanks everyone for indulging me - now go have a good day!

Mary Oliver Event Rescheduled for Wednesday…

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT

POET MARY OLIVER RESCHEDULED FOR MAY

LAWRENCE – The Hall Center for the Humanities is pleased to announce that Mary Oliver’s visit has been rescheduled. Celebrated poet and winner of the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, Mary Oliver will visit KU as part of the Hall Center for the Humanities’ 2009-2010 Humanities Lecture Series. Best known for her poetry’s lyrical connection to the natural world, Oliver will do a reading and take questions from the audience on Wednesday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m. at the Lied Center. This free event, supported by the Sosland Foundation of Kansas City, is open to the public. Kansas Public Radio is a co-sponsor.

The public will have a second opportunity to visit with the poet during “A Conversation with Mary Oliver,” which will take place at the Hall Center Conference Hall on Thursday, May 6 at 10:00 a.m. The author of 18 collections of poetry, most notably the Pulitzer Prize-winning American Primitive (1983) and New and Selected Poems, Volume One (1992), which garnered a National Book Award, Oliver is firmly established among the most accomplished of American poets. She is especially renowned for her evocative and precise imagery, which brings nature into clear focus, transforming the everyday world into a place of magic and discovery. Her most recent collections are The Truro Bear and Other Adventures (2008), new poems and beloved classics about creatures of all sorts, and Evidence (2009). Red Bird (2008) was an immediate national bestseller.Mary Oliver has received the Lannan Foundation Literary Award, the New England Booksellers Association Award for Literary Excellence, and the Poetry Society of America’s Shelley Memorial Award, among others. In 1980, her creativity and skill were recognized with a Guggenheim Fellowship. Oliver attended Ohio State University and Vassar College, then a women’s college. Over the past two decades she has taught at various colleges and universities – Case Western Reserve, Bucknell, Sweet Briar College, the University of Cincinnati and Bennington College in Vermont.

Founded in 1947, the Humanities Lecture Series is the oldest continuing series at the University of Kansas. More than 150 eminent scholars from around the world have participated in the program, including author Vladimir Nabokov, painter Thomas Hart Benton and author Aldous Huxley. Recent speakers have included Samantha Power, Michael Chabon, and T. R. Reid. Shortly after the program’s inception, a lecture by one outstanding KU faculty member was added to each year’s schedule.

For more information, please contact the Hall Center at hallcenter@ku.edu or call (785) 864-4798.                   # # #

Technorati Tags: Mary Oliver,Poetry

April is going…going…almost gone

It’s the eve of the final day of National Poetry Month. I’m conflicted as I write this tonight because I have been somewhat remiss personally in making the most of this month. I started NaPoWriMo and regular readers will already know, I bailed on it last week. For the past three years I’ve printed nicely produced broadsides to give away, but I departed from that this year, largely as a cutback in spending. In past years I’ve done other things- such as daily quotes by poets or favorite poems. For Poem-In-Your-Pocket day (today) I did carry a favorite W.S. Merwin poem on small slips of paper that I gave out to some of the people I cane in contact with. I carried this out with a sense of duty to inflict poetry on others.  ;)
Still, there have been remarkable things happen this month.  I participated in a 120 hour poetry filibuster reading to set a new record for continuous poetry reading passing the old record of 56 hours and 25 minutes set in 1978. We were successful in reaching the 120 mark and it was all documented in video.Also on the personal front, I had two poems accepted for publication this month.
I noted today that until mid-night tonight you can cast your vote for the Poet Laureate Of The Blogosphere. This is the 5th year I believe that this annual vote has been held.
Poet Kelli Russell Agodon has orchestrated the participation of some 55 poets and publishers all giving away at least 2 poetry books each in drawings this month. If you’ve not entered, you can find the list on the sidebar of her blog and quickly enter them, but time is running out. Each of the poets and publishers participating obviously are a important part of making this awesome April event – but Kelli has been organizer, solicitor and cheerleader as the event has grown to what it has become. Over 110 books – can you believe it?!! Kelli tirelessly has been promoting poetry – but then she seems does this year round. 
Has poetry month been good to you or challenging? Tell me about your Poetry month activities. 

Technorati Tags: National Poetry Month,NaPoWriMoiMo,Kelli Russell Agodon,Poet Laureate of the blogosphere,poetry filibuster

Confession Tuesday - The Trash Edition

If tomorrow is trash day… this must be Confession Tuesday. Come with me to the confessional.


Dear Reader~


If I may speak of trash day for a moment… I confess to having missed paying the trash bill. This of course leads to no trash pick up. We should be good tomorrow, but the trash man will get an extra dose of trash. ~0~


The yesterday in a conversation with a co-worker there was a discussion of food people stay away from. I confess, as I did then, that there are a number of food items I will not eat. To name a few, mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise (don’t even like to say that word… it creeps me out) to name a few. I don’t do toad stools – they are fungus for God’s sake. There are more, but you get the picture. I confess that I may be an OCD food person. Let me go further on this point. When eating food on my plate, I will often stick to finishing on dish before moving on to the next. Especially if there is something I’m crazy over on the menu. If this is the case, I confess that I don’t want to share my taste buds with anything but that food. I will often save it till last and not for example meander all over the plate, a bite of corn, a taste of roll and then onto another. I prefer not to commingle my food that way. Odd, I know. ~0~


Feeling the obligation to speak of poetry here, and since I am confessing, I am a NaPoWrMo failure for 2010. I’m raising my hand as I confess so that all may see. (Woof whistle) “Yeah, over here, I’m talking about ME!” Last week I threw in the towel and said f*** it.


You see, I had gotten behind a day and continued running behind a day for about three days and was not happy with what I was writing anyway, so I just decided the world was not going to end if I stopped. Little did I know, my wife was going to miss reading them. She sent me an e-mail to that effect and I then stopped and wrote one and sent it to her.


I’ve written since, I just am not following the prompts from “poetic asides” which I was not as impressed with this year as last. It seemed like everything was something (filling the blank) or (fill in the blank) something. I’m not trying to blame the prompt maker for my failure; I’m just saying this didn’t add much extra incentive to remain committed to the write.


So there you have it… standing bare before you… you see me as I am.

Unconscious Mutterings Week 378

You Say.... I think:

• 1.Hell :: go to
• 2.Scott :: Dred
• 3.Dominion :: over earth
• 4.Stunt :: driver
• 5.Cougar :: wild cat
• 6.Columbia :: sportswear
• 7.Gasp :: surprised
• 8.Cancerous :: cigarettes
• 9.Bitty :: Beans
• 10.Quit :: fed up

Get your own list here

Dogs Dream in Splotches

Dogs dream in splotches
all my dreams are linear

I wish for them the color
of my dreams—  but I want novellas
not epics.


I want my dreams to stay in one place
for a while—  my mind is weary
of the night time journeys;


I long for one that cuddles up to me
not orders me to march in night madness
bayonet at my back across continents
for years on end...   Just a little smudge will do—
till morning comes.

The Darnedest Things

The rain seems to have settled in for a spell. Ominous looking sky moved in and had sort of frozen in place like it moved in to stay. When I was out earlier it was a bit muggy but inside there is the chill that one normally associated with a damp chilly day and there seems no in between.

My daughter called from Arizona and asked if I saw their Governor on the news.  If you’ve caught any news in the past 24 hours you’ve probably seen her, Governor Jan Brewer. My daughter’s voice wasn’t beaming with pride in the Governor but rather embarrassment maybe…

The law essentially instructs local law enforcement to seek out illegal immigrants in the state. It establishes an authority for them to ask for documentation where they believe the person appears to perhaps be an illegal (undocumented person) in this country. Interestingly enough the Governor believes that while she doesn't  know what an illegal looks like, she is pretty confident others in the state do. Listen to the video clip below.

 

Oh… I also fount this hysterical… The Sue Lowden Health Care Plan.  Sue is running for Senate against Harry Reid in Nevada.  Anyway, time to get back to my regularly scheduled weekend.

Technorati Tags: Governor Jan Brewer,Arizona,Sue Lowden Health Care