"Is getting well ever an art / Or art a way to get well"
~Robert Lowell
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Trophy
A face awash in white
Veins drained of the fervent red
Trunk drawn into fetal form
Mock, mock, it is written in the air
Its taste, dingy rock salt
And perfume, essence
of nothing-
Consideration, not withstanding
The evident, apart from a picture window
Saturated in transparent misdirection,
Hard as granite, a place to rest your laurels
A baton with which to bruise
A trophy to hold
*note / original title The Air
Veins drained of the fervent red
Trunk drawn into fetal form
Mock, mock, it is written in the air
Its taste, dingy rock salt
And perfume, essence
Consideration, not withstanding
The evident, apart from a picture window
Saturated in transparent misdirection,
Hard as granite, a place to rest your laurels
A baton with which to bruise
A trophy to hold
*note / original title The Air
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Monday, March 06, 2006
A Full Weekend
Saturday, My wife and I and "race-cycling crazy" daughter, Meghan, drove to Lawrence, Kansas for a race. Meghan "The Beast" is seen here in pre-race warm-up (I use the term warm loosely). She placed - which made her very happy. She'll be back at it again next weekend.I was able to craft a couple of decent poem drafts Saturday and Sunday. I've got several pieces now that are in Multiple draft stages.
My wife and I started to watch a movie Saturday night - Weatherman staring Nicholas Cage. The movie is presented as a comedy but it is one of the most depressing things I've watched. I can do dark comedy, even enjoy it. There was nothing amusing about this movie. We could not finish it. It sucked! Normally I really like Cage in movies and Gone in Sixty Seconds is one of Cathy's favorites.
I am guessing that Stickpoet will hit the 20,000 unique visitor mark sometime today (Monday) and I'm excited about that. It has also been fun taking note of some of the far away places some of the readers have some from. Besides a healthy dose of local (Kansas City area) readers, they have been coming from California to New York and places between. There are often Canadian readers, several that check in from Great Britain, Australia, China, India, Germany, Poland, Italy, the list goes on. Thanks to all of you, the near are the far. It is always great the get comments from readers as well.
I'll close today's post with a poetry quote from Marianne Moore -
"I am governed by the pull of a sentence as the pull of a fabric is governed by gravity. I like the end-stopped line and dislike the reversed order of words, like symmetry."
Friday, March 03, 2006
Life Distilled: Four Decades of U.S. Poet Laureates
Life Distilled: Four Decades of U.S. Poet Laureates
SPECIAL SERIES ON PUBLIC RADIO
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Many casual fans of poetry do not know who the U.S. poet laureate is or, for that matter, what the poet laureate does. Who appoints the poet laureate? What are his or her official duties? More importantly, why should you care? New Letters on the Air, a nationally syndicated literary arts program, answers those questions and more with the series Life Distilled: Four Decades of U.S. Poet Laureates.
This special five-episode series of one hour programs features readings and conversations with 16 of the U.S. poet laureates, using archive interviews from one of the longest-running literary shows in public radio, thanks to a reversioning grant from the Public Radio Exchange (http://www.prx.org/). The series spans over four decades of poet laureates, from the late Howard Nemerov, who held the position in 1963, to the current laureate, Ted Kooser.
Many poets laureate have used the position to expose new audiences to poetry. Billy Collins discusses his Poetry 180 program for American high schools. He says, “I picked 180 poems that I think are clear and interesting and smart and contemporary, and I encouraged high schools to have the poem read as part of public announcements every day. So you don’t have to respond to the poem at all. You just have to listen to it.”
Life Distilled: Four Decades of U.S. Poet Laureates also includes former laureates Rita Dove, Robert Pinsky, and Maxine Kumin, who read some of their most famous work and give insight into the creative process that drives them to write. James Whittemore, William Stafford and Stanley Kunitz talk about the political power of poetry, while Joseph Brodsky explains how poetry helped keep his mind active while serving time in a Soviet prison. Gwendolyn Brooks recalls meeting Langston Hughes as a young girl and recollects his encouraging words that inspired her to continue writing. In a rather cantankerous interview, Howard Nemerov reads “On the Occasion of National Mourning,” a poem about the space shuttle Challenger disaster, as well as some humorous poems about his dog.
Even if listeners don’t think they’re into poetry, this series has something to offer. “Most people have a creative streak, whether they’re interested in writing or not,” says Angela Elam, host of New Letters on the Air. “I hope by exploring the writer’s process and hearing work that captures the essence of life, this series will inspire listeners to do something creative in their own way,”
The shows will be available for preview at www.prx.org beginning in March. Individuals interested in hearing the series should contact the program director of their local public radio station, and ask if the series is airing for National Poetry Month in April. For more information about the series, visit the New Letters homepage at http://www.newletters.org/ or call toll-free (888) 548-2477.
Tags: Poetry poets Poet Laureates
SPECIAL SERIES ON PUBLIC RADIO
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Many casual fans of poetry do not know who the U.S. poet laureate is or, for that matter, what the poet laureate does. Who appoints the poet laureate? What are his or her official duties? More importantly, why should you care? New Letters on the Air, a nationally syndicated literary arts program, answers those questions and more with the series Life Distilled: Four Decades of U.S. Poet Laureates.
This special five-episode series of one hour programs features readings and conversations with 16 of the U.S. poet laureates, using archive interviews from one of the longest-running literary shows in public radio, thanks to a reversioning grant from the Public Radio Exchange (http://www.prx.org/). The series spans over four decades of poet laureates, from the late Howard Nemerov, who held the position in 1963, to the current laureate, Ted Kooser.
Many poets laureate have used the position to expose new audiences to poetry. Billy Collins discusses his Poetry 180 program for American high schools. He says, “I picked 180 poems that I think are clear and interesting and smart and contemporary, and I encouraged high schools to have the poem read as part of public announcements every day. So you don’t have to respond to the poem at all. You just have to listen to it.”
Life Distilled: Four Decades of U.S. Poet Laureates also includes former laureates Rita Dove, Robert Pinsky, and Maxine Kumin, who read some of their most famous work and give insight into the creative process that drives them to write. James Whittemore, William Stafford and Stanley Kunitz talk about the political power of poetry, while Joseph Brodsky explains how poetry helped keep his mind active while serving time in a Soviet prison. Gwendolyn Brooks recalls meeting Langston Hughes as a young girl and recollects his encouraging words that inspired her to continue writing. In a rather cantankerous interview, Howard Nemerov reads “On the Occasion of National Mourning,” a poem about the space shuttle Challenger disaster, as well as some humorous poems about his dog.
Even if listeners don’t think they’re into poetry, this series has something to offer. “Most people have a creative streak, whether they’re interested in writing or not,” says Angela Elam, host of New Letters on the Air. “I hope by exploring the writer’s process and hearing work that captures the essence of life, this series will inspire listeners to do something creative in their own way,”
The shows will be available for preview at www.prx.org beginning in March. Individuals interested in hearing the series should contact the program director of their local public radio station, and ask if the series is airing for National Poetry Month in April. For more information about the series, visit the New Letters homepage at http://www.newletters.org/ or call toll-free (888) 548-2477.
Tags: Poetry poets Poet Laureates
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