Message From Sam Hamill & Poets Against The War

February 12 is the first anniversary of the White House Symposium on Poetry that prompted us to form Poets Against the War. It is therefore altogether fitting that we should celebrate that date with poetry readings across the United States (and indeed around the world) once again.

We are asking poets everywhere to join with us to note that date and to include poems by Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson and Langston Hughes in public readings and discussions. These were the poets the White House attempted to co-opt for their symposium, which we successfully brought to a close.

We think it entirely appropriate that wherever possible these readings be held in our libraries to acknowledge the thousands upon thousands of loyal librarians who have refused to comply with the unAmerican aspects of the Patriot Act that would turn librarians into de facto agents of Homeland Security and infringe upon every citizen's right to read in private.

Please contact your local public library, or college or university library, and initiate an afternoon or evening of poetry and political straight talk to counter the lies, deceptions, and unAmerican activities of this administration. We ask each of you to consider what Whitman, Dickinson
or Hughes might have said in response to the Patriot Act, to the proposed Patriot Act II, and to this administration's cynical efforts to spread fear and intimidation and to silence its detractors.

We look forward to hearing from you, and we hope you will join us in designing an effective 2004 campaign to regain our Constitutional rights and re-establish a democratic government in these United States.

-- Sam Hamill and the Board of Poets Against the War

Vote Early And Often For Your All-Star Baseball Teams

Thanks scoreboard for the help withe this task here

Sunday

Lots of writing yesterday.... rewrites mostly.

Northland Writers group meets this afternoon.

Had yummy waffles for breakfast - courtesy of my daughter Shannon.

Saturday afternoon

Worked on some writing today, did some blogshare transactions. Teetering just below a $billion in my portfolio (yes I'm hooked).

Need to run some errands in a few and then settle in for some reading.

Oh - a poem I did on a Poetry bash at Poetry.com was on of the finalists this week. They do parings of 4 each with 64 poets - each time advancing the top two from the four group paring till they are down to four.

I'm hung up one something I've been writing this week and I need to step back from it. I hate when I need to do that...

Oh, BTW - George Bush sucks as a President. I just had to say that today. I feel better. No safer, but better. :)

Friday... sigh

This weekend is needed. I am glad that Friday is here, yet I can only hope that the weekend is a good one. Relaxing, yet productive. I need to clear myself of a lot of emotion and garbage.

Write ~ Read ~ Write ~ Read. Then Write some more!!!

I need to stretch my legs and get some exercise as well.

Am I starting to sound needy?

Orwell's 1984 & Bush Ideology

I stumbled upon a most interesting comparison between Bush ideology and the Orwellian premise of 1984. Take a look at Verne Mcdonald's piece here.


Also of interest:
Poetry a diversion for attorney.... here

Reality

"In an age of synthetic images and synthetic emotions, the chances of an accidental encounter with reality are remote indeed." -Serge Daney


Happened upon it once; I thought,
but not certain for its' being
I auctioned it off to the high bidder
(likely a fool) taking my chance
at another spin. Besides,

my pockets were full of icons
and one can never be certain when
you'll have to lighten the load
as there are many artifacts left

along life's traveled paths.
The ruts wide and deep from
the burden others felt. In
their abandon did they discard

reality? Was theirs the "Real McCoy"?
Plastic bottles, Coke cans, CD disks, and
AOL Frisbees clutter my path. Once I saw
an Eight Track-something-or-other and wondered,

What's up with that? Preacher can you tell me
is this sinful? Should I feel guilt or sorrow
or both? Can you hear my confession and is
my emotion genuine? How about your absolution?