Klaus had a birthday yesterday....

The birthday boy and his brothers enjoyed a home cooked meal for a change. K gets so freek'n excited when we sing happy birthday to him. The shot at the right was taken last night at the dog park where they romped and attempted to prove their dominance over the world. All except Barry... he just hangs and and tries his best to stay out of the fray.

Yesterday I started putting on paper some of my thoughts about revisions. The formation of a post is coming along. I've been thinking a lot about many aspects of this.

Yesterday I read Jilly's blog. Our Internet had been down and I was kind of behind on things. Se had several really interesting things worth noting. All of these links I owe to her:

• Poetry as Right-Hemispheric Language
• Poet recounts Polish couple's heroism in WWII
• In the line of fire

Couple of Quotes on Writing

If the doctor told me I had six minutes to live, I'd type a little faster.

Isaac Asimov

~0~

Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you're doomed.

Ray Bradbury

supersized sigh

I am mulling over in my mind a number of questions relating to poem revisions. I am not sure if I will be finished with this and ready to post over the weekend or not, but just to alert you, I hope that when I do, it will be something that will create further discussion.

Is is Friday isn't it.... yep! [supersized-sigh]

I looked at the Fred Thompson campaign site yesterday. Very nicely put together and very void of specifics on issues. I guess he believes people will just like his down home style and to hell with where he would take us. Do I sound cynical yet?

This is good news: Judge Rejects Parts Of New Patriot Act
The government investigators must have court's approval to order businesses such as internet service providers and telephone companies to turn over records without telling customers.

The court found that government orders must be subject to meaningful judicial review and that the recently rewritten Patriot Act "offends the fundamental constitutional principles of checks and balances and separation of powers."

For John Ashbery fans: check out-> Perennial Voyager

Review of the Dana Goodyear Event

Last night I joined a full house in the Helzberg auditorium in the Central branch of the Kansas City Public Library to hear Dana Goodyear, poet, staff writer and senior editor at The New Yorker.

My previous exposure to Goodyear was limited to a handful of poems and an essay or two. The poems tended toward the edgy side and often melancholy, something I am often drawn to.

She read from her first book, Honey and Junk as well as a couple of newer poems and to my delight, what she shared proved my earlier samplings of her work did not deceive me, she is a poet of immense depth and talent. Her voice commands a sense of frankness and is not without the capacity for wit.

If there was any surprise in what I saw, it was a young woman that was quite capable of an exuberance that transcends the more staid side often seen in her poetry.

She took questions after reading and her responses revealed much about her approach to poetry as well as her career as an editor. An enjoyable evening overall. Oh, did I mention the wine and cheese?

Should We Laugh Or Cry?

Loose Nukes: Warheads in the Sky: story

You Can Tell It's Matel, It's Leaded: story

Bukowski's Poetry & more

• Interesting take on the prolific Bukowski - Don't blame Bukowski for bad poetry.
• Collection of previously unknown poems by a young WH Auden found - Auden: The lost poems .

Quote for the day....

"It is not easy to see how the more extreme forms of nationalism can long survive when men have seen the Earth in its true perspective as a single small globe against the stars." ~ Arthur C. Clarke

Tuesday & the times they are a changing...

• At the center of each poem is a mystery - Mark Strand on poetry [here]
• Poet's Choice - Robert Strand examines a James Hoch poem [here]
• Poems analysed in search of clues to suicide [here]
• Poets on Prozac: Mental Illness Treatment and the Creative Process - [here]
• Songwriter and protest icon embraced and taught in British schools as poetry - [here]