Learning from the arts

"I learn as much from painters about how to write as from writers. You ask how this is done? It would take a day of explaining. I should think what one learns from composers and from the study of harmony and counterpoint would be obvious." - Ernest Hemingway

This quote reminds me of the importance of listening to a poet. Of seeing for that matter. In each instance it is a keen awareness as to the patterns and layers of art or life.

With attention deficit disorder - listening is especially challenging. I have found that this is not all bad. I can for example often pick up a wide range of audio feedback... the difficulty is in not allowing one tiny speck of it to become larger than the rest. From a purely artistic point of view this is helpful.. I may discern something that the majority of the people listening to do not deem important or are not even tuned into. So from an artistic standpoint - this can be really positive. In practical adult - one on one communication, it might become problematic and frustrating to both parties.

In poetry as well as music, harmonizing your work or making it multi dimensional can greatly enhance it. The ability to nicely layer one's writing takes great effort and maturity of craft. I can certainly agree with Hemingway that we can learn a great deal that will improve our writing by experiencing with great openness the other arts.

Herald Sun: Anti-war playwright awarded Nobel [14oct05]

Herald Sun: Anti-war playwright awarded Nobel [14oct05]


To some he is one of Britain's greatest living playwrights. To others, he is an outspoken critic of the Iraq war... and no fan of Bush or Blair.

So now that he has won the Nobel prize for literature, 75 year old Harold Pinter is thinking less about plays these days. "I think the world has had enough of my plays by now. But I think I shall certainly be writing more poetry and certainly remain deeply engaged in the question of political structures in this world."

An Otherwise Normal Day

Paranoia sprinkles
Like the Sand Man's dust
Upon me ~

The metamorphosis begins-

All I can say....

Honestly I am speechless...

It's potpourri Wednesday....

I've had a habit of blogging about a variety of things on Wednesdays in the past. Nothing set in stone, but for some reason... middle of the week or whatever, I often talk about little tid-bits here and there on this day. So I have decided that Wednesday should be potpourri day. So I'll throw a mixture of fragrance out into the blogisphere.

According to the Voice of America - (isn't that kind of like our version of Pravda?)
Shiite and Kurdish leaders hope an 11th hour breakthrough will lead to Sunni support
at the polls for the Iraqi draft constitution. I'm trying to picture us here in America going to the polls in two days to vote on a document that people are still changing. Would that be like the ultimate example of blind faith?

~o~

So reporter Juddith Miller makes a second appearance before a Grand Jury [according to Reuters] to testify about her conversation with Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis Libby. Her notes taken of the conversation reference Joseph Wilson, covert CIA operative Valerie Plame's diplomat husband. My guess is they have broken out the Church fans at the White House.

~o~

Last night - KC Metro Verse met at the WriterHouse - Eight local poets - a lot of poems - Apple Crisp - coffee - did I mention Apple Crisp? We had a newbie show up - that is always nice.

~o~

My wife is like this marvelous bead artist - I've had pictures of her work here before. Oh hell, it is worth another look:




That is one I especially like.

Anyway I told her yesterday that I had a dream the night before that we collaborated on a poem. She smiles and said that was not a dream that was a nightmare. Badaboom!

~o~

Stick Poet's most recent stats suggest we have a very nice international following.

57.45% United States
14.94% Norway
11.49% Canada
3.45% United Kingdom
3.45% India
2.30% Australia
2.30% Poland
2.30% Unknown *
1.15% Germany
1.15% Georgia **

* someone is flying under the radar
** I am guessing this is the Georgia that was formerly a part of the Soviet Union.


~o~

Quote for the Day

"I write to understand as much as to be understood. Literature is an act of conscience. It is up to us to rebuild with memories, with ruins, and with moments of grace." - Elie Wiesel

This I Believe

I believe everyone should believe in something, which is why I believe in myself.
I believe war is a byproduct of people who give up too easy.
I believe barbecue is all that!
I believe everyone should be educated – even if that requires teaching yourself.
I believe people should always be able to buy a book they want.
I believe poetry and baseball are both religious experiences.
I believe the best armies are ones with no weapons.
I believe a woman should be president someday - soon.
I believe resisting war is a higher calling than fighting one.
I believe football should be played by refrigerators.
I believe all vegetarians secretly dream of growing up to be meat eaters.
I believe children of Democrats play with Tinker Toys, while children of Republicans play with Lincoln Logs.
I believe no one should have to whisper in a library.
I believe the designated hitter should be outlawed.
I believe if you are good, you go to Starbucks when you die.
I believe no one should be indifferent to indifference.
I believe they should let Charlie Brown pitch for Christ's sake – just for the other team.
I believe women should wear high heels with dresses if they want to… and they should all want to.
I believe the fact that my coffee cup is secure is proof enough the earth is flat.
I believe self indulgence is very self-indulging.
I believe coffee is a food group.
I believe kisses should be long… really long.
I believe Diet Coke is the Real Thing.
I believe everyone should be able to take three mental wellness days from work or school each month.
I believe anyone who fails to use all three mental wellness days in a month should have them roll over into sick days and be taken immediately, for they must be sick.
I believe that love not only makes the world go round but also keeps us from crashing into other planets.
I believe we all should be afraid of Virginia Woolf – Really afraid!
I believe Chardonnay is another food group.
I believe somewhere there is an unpublished Robert Frost poem, “Freezing Your Ass off On A Snowy New England Evening.”
I believe in God and I believe I am a testament to his sense of humor.

Poetry god - with a small g

I was reading this weekend and something jumped off the page at me. A translation by Mlymori Asataro of the Japanese poet Ochi-Naobumi 1861-1903:

"When I wake up alone
at dead of night
and muse on verse-making,
Even I am god"

At the risk of sounding both sacrilegious or egocentric, (neither a condition I feel at home with) I do indeed feel that I have experienced this myself and can totally understand how other poets including the author, could grasp this concept. Yes, I have at times waken up in the dead of night with some creative birth pains crying to be released onto a page. I think most of us have all learned it best at these times to at least make some note of the thoughts least they be lost forever in the tangles of life the next morning.

Occasionally I have set about flushing out the thoughts into form on a page in the night. I may not be physically alone... Cathy asleep next to me in the bed, but I will ever so quietly (as you do not dare wake the Mrs.) pick up my journal an pen
(usually on the floor or stand next to the bed) and write by the dimmest of light from the nightstand. It is at these times I am that poet alone with creation. It is at these times even I (the poet)am/is god.


poetics