Ted Kooser is in town. That sounds kind of like announcing the arrival of some gunslinger that just rode in. But he is here, or at least will be by tonight. I'm going to see him at Rockhurst University and I'll take my copy of The Poetry Home Repair Manual for him to sign. I mean after all, he is the U.S. Poet Laureate and he has won a Pulitzer... I mean I might as well have the thing signed.
I got a kick out of Emily Lloyd's post yesterday about Kooser and I have to give serious thought about the implications of shambling up to him afterwards and asking him to sign my copy. Will my shamble mask the truth (that being that I already partake of and write poetry) and give him the false pretext of another convert? Or perhaps my shamble will in fact be lame. Maybe he can spot a fake shamble a mile away. In which case he might say something like, "Nice try with the shamble bit... how long have you really been reading and writing poetry?"
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Two Links I Recommend
Today, I'm focusing on links to two other sites.
I recommend reading a piece in today's WSJ.com by Michael Judge on the late Frank Conroy. Judge relates some of his own personal memories of Frank Conroy from his school days... but mostly he recalls Frank dealing with the myths surrounding creativity and mental illness.
Conroy had vast exposure with mental illness, both on a very personal level as well as a professional level. As such, his acknowledgement of it within the creative arts community is significance. He had a refreshing balance of reality without romanticizing it. The story Judge relates concerning Robert Lowell is priceless.
On another note - I read a heart warming story about a young lady named Andrea Miller, a 17 year old who lost much of her hearing as a result of chemotherapy for brain cancer as a toddler.
Andrea is a National Honor Society student at Benilde-St. Margaret High School in St Louis. In spite of multiple surgeries and deftness in one ear, Andrea has chosen a proactive course with her young life and inspires others by her own example.
She has created her own foundation which has raised over $27,000 for an orphanage in India. The springboard for raising funds has been offering prints of a painting called "The Elephants of Kerala" and a recently published book of her own though-provoking poetry.
Andrea's website is linked here.
I recommend reading a piece in today's WSJ.com by Michael Judge on the late Frank Conroy. Judge relates some of his own personal memories of Frank Conroy from his school days... but mostly he recalls Frank dealing with the myths surrounding creativity and mental illness.
Conroy had vast exposure with mental illness, both on a very personal level as well as a professional level. As such, his acknowledgement of it within the creative arts community is significance. He had a refreshing balance of reality without romanticizing it. The story Judge relates concerning Robert Lowell is priceless.
On another note - I read a heart warming story about a young lady named Andrea Miller, a 17 year old who lost much of her hearing as a result of chemotherapy for brain cancer as a toddler.
Andrea is a National Honor Society student at Benilde-St. Margaret High School in St Louis. In spite of multiple surgeries and deftness in one ear, Andrea has chosen a proactive course with her young life and inspires others by her own example.
She has created her own foundation which has raised over $27,000 for an orphanage in India. The springboard for raising funds has been offering prints of a painting called "The Elephants of Kerala" and a recently published book of her own though-provoking poetry.
Andrea's website is linked here.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Whirlygirl
One of my poems was posted this week at Prosperos Book Site. Prospero's is a local Open Mic venue in the Kansas City area that I have read at a couple of times now. They selected a poem that Will Leathem of Prospero's & Unholy Day Press referred to as "much fun, lots o sass"...
Accessable Poetry Sonnet
(another google poem... Just for fun. This time a Sonnet)
Version of All Shakespeare Sonnets
in a free encouraging friendly Others
apc 57 jimi 57 sonnet 57 97027cps 57 savers
Scrapbook Alpha - on subjects
accessoir,2 - Shakespeare,
rate the poetry higher on He's
form - young Will begins to write
should be accessable to all and
is now becoming more accessable to
it in accessable modes. maybe i need
form, it is now becoming more
and hope that you can get back to
Asshole which begins "Dark and wrinkled"
Sonnet 73" (Shakespeare
Version of All Shakespeare Sonnets
in a free encouraging friendly Others
apc 57 jimi 57 sonnet 57 97027cps 57 savers
Scrapbook Alpha - on subjects
accessoir,2 - Shakespeare,
rate the poetry higher on He's
form - young Will begins to write
should be accessable to all and
is now becoming more accessable to
it in accessable modes. maybe i need
form, it is now becoming more
and hope that you can get back to
Asshole which begins "Dark and wrinkled"
Sonnet 73" (Shakespeare
Dance Of The GOP Puppets
The following was created with the help of Get A Google Poem and a thanks to Christine for the link to get this rolling.
Dance Of The GOP Puppets
by the
nation's top GOP spin-nurses in an incredible show of chutzpah on ...
To the
puppets writing for the mainstream press, this signals she may be ...
... is the
beginning of a hostile take over of our University system by the
GOP....
along with Hannity, is just one of Murdoch's dime-a-dozen meat puppets. ...
comment: Wilson showed a clip of GOP Allen asking his question, ... Layers of
puppets. Jerk the
string at the
top, and all of the
levels start to
The
GOP’s champions of this war had a hard time finding their own way to the
battlefield ... ,
White Boy, .
I suddenly really want some Pocky ...
... He's innocent, and the
is guilty
nothing more than ... This time, ol'
BartCop let you
f easy. Next time, you'll dance. ...
... act in Bush’s Theater
Pain starring helpless Democratic puppets. ...
…and the masquerades as the
party
fiscal sanity that must be kept in ...
... wouldn’t gamble and could never, ever be caught – God forbid – dancing. ...
Can the
GOP keep
the puppets under control? Stupid is as stupid does ...
Dylan - Master
Puppets (Metallica - Master
Puppets) ... They ripped
a page from the
old GOP
playbook as they ripped
the no-tax-but-still-spend ...
Because puppets are better. You can control a puppet. ... pledge that had to
be drafted, then redrafted to the specifications of
the GOP
leadership. ...
... Existential puppets contemplate the mysteries of
animation Dead Puppet Talk...
Genre Fluent in British Dialect Produces Paranoid Pleasures ...
... blurring of
the issue by the GOP
in the 2000 and 2002 campaigns. ... about foreign
intervention by making Iran's liberals look like Western puppets. ...
... A New Kind of
Dancing in Iraq: from Occupation to Guerrilla War ... opened a
warehouse for building puppets, attracted puppet builders from all over...
... But polls suggest the GOP's Clinton blame-game will have some resonance ...and we think that if he learned to do it with dueling sock puppets,...
-driven musical to the all-American songs of Billy Joel. ...
Dance Of The GOP Puppets
by the
nation's top GOP spin-nurses in an incredible show of chutzpah on ...
To the
puppets writing for the mainstream press, this signals she may be ...
... is the
beginning of a hostile take over of our University system by the
GOP....
along with Hannity, is just one of Murdoch's dime-a-dozen meat puppets. ...
comment: Wilson showed a clip of GOP Allen asking his question, ... Layers of
puppets. Jerk the
string at the
top, and all of the
levels start to
The
GOP’s champions of this war had a hard time finding their own way to the
battlefield ... ,
White Boy, .
I suddenly really want some Pocky ...
... He's innocent, and the
is guilty
nothing more than ... This time, ol'
BartCop let you
f easy. Next time, you'll dance. ...
... act in Bush’s Theater
Pain starring helpless Democratic puppets. ...
…and the masquerades as the
party
fiscal sanity that must be kept in ...
... wouldn’t gamble and could never, ever be caught – God forbid – dancing. ...
Can the
GOP keep
the puppets under control? Stupid is as stupid does ...
Dylan - Master
Puppets (Metallica - Master
Puppets) ... They ripped
a page from the
old GOP
playbook as they ripped
the no-tax-but-still-spend ...
Because puppets are better. You can control a puppet. ... pledge that had to
be drafted, then redrafted to the specifications of
the GOP
leadership. ...
... Existential puppets contemplate the mysteries of
animation Dead Puppet Talk...
Genre Fluent in British Dialect Produces Paranoid Pleasures ...
... blurring of
the issue by the GOP
in the 2000 and 2002 campaigns. ... about foreign
intervention by making Iran's liberals look like Western puppets. ...
... A New Kind of
Dancing in Iraq: from Occupation to Guerrilla War ... opened a
warehouse for building puppets, attracted puppet builders from all over...
... But polls suggest the GOP's Clinton blame-game will have some resonance ...and we think that if he learned to do it with dueling sock puppets,...
-driven musical to the all-American songs of Billy Joel. ...
Monday, May 16, 2005
Monday Malaise
Ugh! I had a ton of e-mail awaiting me today. I was not on the computer at all this weekend. I've used the handy delete key on a good deal of it that was obvious of no import. That however was just the one e-mail act.
I was hoping for more feedback from Friday's post on attention deficit disorder, but not really surprised that it has not elicited more response.
Met with my writers group Sunday afternoon and it was really a good session thought I was not prepared to present. After the featured work was presented and completed, I did offer a poem I wrote last week that was in a first draft/with last minute scribbled changes. I knew it was really roughed and did not even read it well. I only was looking for a general feel for what I was trying to do and the feedback was positive. However, I have since come to the conclusion it needs major changes beyond what I was thinking because the ending is too personal to a broader readership awareness of what it implies. In some respects I'd be inclined to toss this one back into the lake, were it not for the fact that I have a larger idea that this poem would fit nicely into if I can only get it together in a way that holds the general idea that is very personal and at the same time meet a more universal paradigm.
I'm still feeling less than 100% which is getting old. Hell, I don't think I'm even up to 75% and given how long it has been since I felt really good, this is draining both in a physical and emotional way.
I was hoping for more feedback from Friday's post on attention deficit disorder, but not really surprised that it has not elicited more response.
Met with my writers group Sunday afternoon and it was really a good session thought I was not prepared to present. After the featured work was presented and completed, I did offer a poem I wrote last week that was in a first draft/with last minute scribbled changes. I knew it was really roughed and did not even read it well. I only was looking for a general feel for what I was trying to do and the feedback was positive. However, I have since come to the conclusion it needs major changes beyond what I was thinking because the ending is too personal to a broader readership awareness of what it implies. In some respects I'd be inclined to toss this one back into the lake, were it not for the fact that I have a larger idea that this poem would fit nicely into if I can only get it together in a way that holds the general idea that is very personal and at the same time meet a more universal paradigm.
I'm still feeling less than 100% which is getting old. Hell, I don't think I'm even up to 75% and given how long it has been since I felt really good, this is draining both in a physical and emotional way.
Friday, May 13, 2005
ADD or AD/HD Poets
Need a little help here. I am interested in information on established poets who have Adult -Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or AD/HD. I'm also looking for feedback from anyone who is actively writing poetry, about how you believe it impacts your work and if you find differences in your ability to express yourself verbally in conversation as opposed to the creative processes of putting words to a page.
As Adult ADD is historically, somewhat a young condition (it's recognition) I'm sure that information on the affliction within the poetry community is limited.
My interest relates to a better personal understanding of what I perceive as impact to myself and the experiences others may have.
Anyway.... your posts are welcome or e-mail me directly if you would prefer. E-mail-Michael Wells
As Adult ADD is historically, somewhat a young condition (it's recognition) I'm sure that information on the affliction within the poetry community is limited.
My interest relates to a better personal understanding of what I perceive as impact to myself and the experiences others may have.
Anyway.... your posts are welcome or e-mail me directly if you would prefer. E-mail-Michael Wells
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