The Guerilla Poetics Project has blogged on Poetry Live & it is worth taking a look at quickly - Like before it goes away!!! It is a nicely put together site and merits the attention of the poetry community at large.
Here is a really cool site. If you enjoy awesome photos - check this out: street:haikuby an xiao. I'd love to do some collaborative writing with photos like these.
Only recently I've been turned on to Charles Simic. How he had slipped under my radar I cannot say. Here is one of his poems to enjoy: My Noiseless Entourage
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Bokhara pays tribute to Anna Akhmatova
Bokhara pays tribute to Anna Akhmatova: “The themes of Akhmatova’s works were ‘love’ and ‘separation’ which can be seen as a philosophical expression of her surroundings during her life in the Soviet Union. Akhmatova’s poems were rooted in her personal bourgeoisie and romanticism which later turned into a type of social romanticism."
The Iraq War Experience
An Op-Ed piece in the L.A. Times by CHRISTOPHER J. FETTWEIS (assistant professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College) provides some interesting insight to the complexities within society of losing a war.
Fettweis writes in his piece titled Post-traumatic Iraq syndrome of the lasting impact the earlier Soviet war in Afghanistan had on the Soviet Union and societal effects of defeat linger to this day in our own country as a result of Vietnam.
While Fettweis talks of the finger pointing from politicians on all sides, he acknowledges that the American people as a whole see this war pretty much as it was.... "The American people seem to understand, however — and historians will certainly agree — that the war itself was a catastrophic mistake. It was a faulty grand strategy, not poor implementation. The Bush administration was operating under an international political illusion, one that is further discredited with every car bombing of a crowded Baghdad marketplace and every Iraqi doctor who packs up his family and flees his country." Did you catch that? Our troops did not fail us, the war itself was a mistake.
Like Vietnam, which clearly divided my own generation- Iraq syndrome will be no different.
Fettweis points out that while Vietnam was far more costly in American lives, in the end it was strategically irrelevant. While Saigon fell, there were no dominoes that followed, and in the years that followed, communism became less relevant to to the power structures of the world, not greater. He is correct to point out that the situation in Iraq perhaps could be more costly. Iraq could soon collapse into an uncontrollable, lawless, failed state that destabilizes the region.
So the cost of this mistake could be far worse than that of Vietnam.
In spit of this, Fettweis suggests there is an outcome which will not have made this all have been in vain. Read his Op-Ed piece and see for yourself [ Post-traumatic Iraq syndrome ]
Fettweis writes in his piece titled Post-traumatic Iraq syndrome of the lasting impact the earlier Soviet war in Afghanistan had on the Soviet Union and societal effects of defeat linger to this day in our own country as a result of Vietnam.
While Fettweis talks of the finger pointing from politicians on all sides, he acknowledges that the American people as a whole see this war pretty much as it was.... "The American people seem to understand, however — and historians will certainly agree — that the war itself was a catastrophic mistake. It was a faulty grand strategy, not poor implementation. The Bush administration was operating under an international political illusion, one that is further discredited with every car bombing of a crowded Baghdad marketplace and every Iraqi doctor who packs up his family and flees his country." Did you catch that? Our troops did not fail us, the war itself was a mistake.
Like Vietnam, which clearly divided my own generation- Iraq syndrome will be no different.
Fettweis points out that while Vietnam was far more costly in American lives, in the end it was strategically irrelevant. While Saigon fell, there were no dominoes that followed, and in the years that followed, communism became less relevant to to the power structures of the world, not greater. He is correct to point out that the situation in Iraq perhaps could be more costly. Iraq could soon collapse into an uncontrollable, lawless, failed state that destabilizes the region.
So the cost of this mistake could be far worse than that of Vietnam.
In spit of this, Fettweis suggests there is an outcome which will not have made this all have been in vain. Read his Op-Ed piece and see for yourself [ Post-traumatic Iraq syndrome ]
Monday, June 11, 2007
Okay peeps...
I've had no takers yet on a "Stick Poet Superhero" poem. Don't make me plead.... it's undignified. ;)
Monday Meanderings
Excellent editorial by George Wallace, former Suffolk poet laureate & my appreciation to Jilly - I have to give her credit as my source for finding it. By the way congratulations for her nomination for Thinking Blogger Award.
Few notes about some poetry I read this weekend [here]
VALPARAISO The spring/summer edition of the Valparaiso Poetry Review, Valparaiso University's online journal of contemporary poetry, is now available online
Powell Calls for Closure of Military Prison at Guantanamo
And finally, I find Sen. Joe Lieberman more than a little disturbing these days.
Few notes about some poetry I read this weekend [here]
VALPARAISO The spring/summer edition of the Valparaiso Poetry Review, Valparaiso University's online journal of contemporary poetry, is now available online
Powell Calls for Closure of Military Prison at Guantanamo
And finally, I find Sen. Joe Lieberman more than a little disturbing these days.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Disc Golf - What Fun!
I've wanted to play disc golf for some time now. I've picked up some equipment at a local DG store. I think this is something my wife and I can do together outside. Fun!!!
It is actually become a really big thing over the years. There is a professional disc golf association and the 25th Annual Kansas City Wide Open tournament is coming up on June 22 - 24th. What fun!
What has any of this got to do with poetry? Not a damn thing. I just didn't want people to think I was one dimensional. ::grin::
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