- Reports of chicken wing shortages this weekend baseless (story)
Wings, which in my view are the best part of the chicken are evidently not in short supply for the weekend.
Technorati Tags: Chicken Wings,Thumbs up
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Azar Nafisi at the Plaza Library on Feb 3
The Kansas City Public Library welcomes international bestselling author Azar Nafisi for a presentation based on her new book Things I've Been Silent About - the follow up to the acclaimed Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books - on Tuesday, February 3, at 7 p.m. in the Truman Forum at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.
A master of the modern memoir, Nafisi describes her formative years as part of a prominent family in Things I've Been Silent About. Her disappointed and frustrated mother created mesmerizing fictions about herself, her family, and her past - which hid as much as they revealed. Her father offered narratives of another kind, enchanting his children with classic tales like the Shahnamah, the Persian Book of Kings. This unforgettable portrait of a woman, a family, and a troubled homeland is a deeply personal reflection on how Nafisi found inspiration to lead a different kind of life.
Nafisi is a visiting professor and project director at JohnsHopkinsUniversity's School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C., where she teaches courses on culture and politics.
The event is co-sponsored by Rainy Day Books. Nafisi's books will be available for sale, and she will sign copies purchased during the event.
Admission to the event is free. Call 816.701.3407 to indicate your interest in attending or you may RSVP online.
Technorati Tags: Azar Nafiai,Kansas City Public Library
Sunday, January 25, 2009
It Looks like it Snow Melt fell out of the Sky
Listening to: Under Attack by ABBA
Lots of writing this weekend. Also just finished up some work I brought home from the office.
I'm booking a flight tonight to visit my two daughters in Phoenix. Will be able to catch the Giants in Spring Training too!
God I've been missing Giants baseball.
We had geese wonder across the street from the ball field this morning to our front yard. They are way cool.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Reaction to Inaugural Poem
On Tuesday I joined a host of others from my office and a couple of individuals from other departments in our conference room where all eyes and the TV set were tuned into the Inauguration of our 44th President of the United States. There was a keen respect by all for what was happening before our eyes.
When the President had finished his address and the podium was handed to Elizabeth Alexander, the poet chosen by the President to offer a poem written specifically for the occasion, a significant portion of those in the conference room rose and left amid groans at the mention of the word poem. I suppose I should not be at all surprised by this reaction, but what was more disturbing was the fact that those who remained largely talked over the reading. At one point I sensed that only myself and one other individual were actually listening. But at some point, the party of the second part (I being the first) said aloud, "What? Oh wow, this is bad." I was difficult for me to even attempt to enjoy the remainder of the reading.
When the room had cleared, I had to admit, the talking over the poem had made it difficult to potentially enjoy or at least appreciate the poem. What I recalled hearing of it actually impressed me more that I thought it might, but sadly I felt I needed to see the poem in print for myself and re-read it to really conclude anything about it.
Later in the afternoon, I approached the individual who expressed the feeling that the poem was bad and asked her what she heard. I was not surprised to learn she could not recall much of what was actually said. She did tell me that she though Ms. Alexander had jotted it down that very morning before the event.
I have wondered if others have had feedback from non-poets that they have talked with. Please share your stories in the comments.
And for the sake of everyone who has not seen/heard it, or like myself needed to see it again, here it is....
Praise Song for the Day
A Poem for Barack Obama’s Presidential Inauguration
Elizabeth Alexander
Each day we go about our business,
walking past each other, catching each other’s
eyes or not, about to speak or speaking.
All about us is noise. All about us is
noise and bramble, thorn and din, each
one of our ancestors on our tongues.
Someone is stitching up a hem, darning
a hole in a uniform, patching a tire,
repairing the things in need of repair.
Someone is trying to make music somewhere,
with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum,
with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.
A woman and her son wait for the bus.
A farmer considers the changing sky.
A teacher says, Take out your pencils. Begin.
We encounter each other in words, words
spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed,
words to consider, reconsider.
We cross dirt roads and highways that mark
the will of some one and then others, who said
I need to see what’s on the other side.
I know there’s something better down the road.
We need to find a place where we are safe.
We walk into that which we cannot yet see.
Say it plain: that many have died for this day.
Sing the names of the dead who brought us here,
who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges,
picked the cotton and the lettuce, built
brick by brick the glittering edifices
they would then keep clean and work inside of.
Praise song for struggle, praise song for the day.
Praise song for every hand-lettered sign,
the figuring-it-out at kitchen tables.
Some live by love thy neighbor as thyself,
others by first do no harm or take no more
than you need. What if the mightiest word is love?
Love beyond marital, filial, national,
love that casts a widening pool of light,
love with no need to pre-empt grievance.
In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air,
any thing can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp,
praise song for walking forward in that light.
Copyright © 2009 by Elizabeth Alexander. All rights reserved. Reprinted with the permission of Graywolf Press, Saint Paul, Minnesota. A chapbook edition of Praise Song for the Day will be published on February 6, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
MLK Day - Poetry Submission Day
I've taken the time off of work today to work on poetry submissions. Yeah! (I'm pretending there are cheers in the background).
It probably should not have to come to using a work holiday to crank out submissions, but whatever it takes. I did get some out on the 5th of January so I guess I'm not exactly procrastinating. I did fall off in my submissions in 2008, so I am determined to keep up with new submissions monthly this year. I guess a way to look at it is I only have 11 more months to go this year.
Technorati Tags: submissions,a day in the life of a poet
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Hard Times for Poetry Too
As difficult as it is for me to think ahead to 2010 I suppose when planning for an event with a $1.3 million price tag it's not all that early. For 12 times dating back to 1986, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation has funded a biannual Dodge Poetry Festival in New Jersey but sadly the event which drew 19,000 people last year has been scrapped for 2010.
This is not my first blogging on hard economic times for poetry/arts, and I'm relatively certain it won't be my last. Still, I am honestly a little surprised by it, even though It probably didn't require a crystal ball or tarot cards to see it coming.
The Dodge Festival has been sort of the Woodstock of poetry and regularly draws from the ranks of the well established poets. Names like Stephen Dunn, Sharon Olds, Gwendolyn Brooks, Ruth Stone, Mary Oliver, Theodore Weiss, Stanley Kunitz, Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, Amira Baraka, and Kenneth Koch to name a few. And that is only some from the first event. Since that time, there have been many more including:
- William Stafford
- W. S. Merwin
- Carolyn Forche
- Richard Wilbur
- Li-Young Lee
- Naomi Shihab Nye
- Joy Harjo
- Philip Levine
- Rita Dove
- Jane Kenyon
- Donald Hall
- Adrienne Rich
- Robert Bly
- Robert Creeley
- Paul Muldoon
- Robert Pinsky
- Edwasr Hirsch
- Heather McHugh
- Billy Collins
- Franz Wright
- Jorie Graham
- Ted Kooser
- Robert Simic
Those are just a few of the names, the list of participating poets is enormous and covers a broad spectrum of poetic voice. Perhaps the only name I think missing from the list that surprises me is that of John Ashbery.
My point in listing the names is simply to underscore the magnitude of what was been lost by the cancellation of the Festival.
It's hard to argue with the decision by the foundation. David Grant the CEO for the foundation lists a decline of 30% in the assets of the endowment from a year ago.
For the short term this is a blow to public support for poetry. The good news is that Grant says the foundation will continue to work to bring poetry to schools. He did not rule out a return of the festival in some form if not the same after taking a two year cycle off. Keep your fingers crossed.
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