Bright Star puts Sexy back into Poetry

I know it’s a period piece, but the reviews circulating in print this week are calling Bright Star a hit…  it lets us rediscover the thrills of poetry, played with mesmerizing vitality and heart-stopping grace by Abbie Cornish and exhilarating, and deeply pleasurable.

Bright Star is the story of the intense love affair between the young poet John Keats and his younger neighbor, Fanny Brawne.  Their story is a love story of non-traditional sorts. Keats after all, is an impoverished writer who has contracted tuberculosis. Their love is never consummated, and Keats will ultimately die at the young age of twenty-five. His love for Brawne inspires some of his greatest poetry.

You can check out the official movie site here.  I’m anxious to see this movie.

Technorati Tags: Bright Star,John Keats,Fanny Brawne

Off the beaten path..

As I sat down to write last night, I went to an epigraph I lifted from another poem that I had thought about for a while and started to write. Beyond the fist line of my own (not the epigraph) it stopped working. I tried forcing it. The old I’m going to pound this square peg into the round hole if it’s the end of me method of writing. Well, it was the end of me writing anything worthwhile for the evening. It ended badly as these things usually do when I’m in that mode of operation. I become a poet wondering in the desert. Lost.




Perhaps the poet will find his way back onto the page today.

This is so Incredible

I heard about this on our local NPR station today.  KCUR 89.3 FM
Isn’t the human creative capacity awesome…

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

Perhaps only a musician could see this photograph of birds on wires as notes on a musical staff. 
Brazilian composer Jarbas Agnelli saw a photo in a newspaper of birds sitting on five parallel wires, and was inspired to treat their positions as avian sheet music. He interpreted what he saw as music and orchestrated the tune.     [Source]

Technorati Tags: Birds on the Wires,Jarbas Agnelli,NPR,creativity

Wasn’t the smartest thing to do…

 

This morning I sent an e-mail from my smart phone to another poet.  Later in the day I received a reply. The response was concise and indicated the sender understood what I had sent.  Of course along with the reply was my original message embedded in the text.  Seeing the message I had sent I was horrified. It contained a significant number of errors. I was both embarrassed and amazed that the recipient could even understand what I said.  I felt compelled to sent another e-mail with explanation and I did as follows:   

Oh My God!  Seeing this ( my original note) underscores why I should never be allowed to type e-mails on my smart phone.  No matter how smart the phone is, if my big fat fingers don't hit the right key I'm going to look pretty dumb.

How did you ever read it?

So totally embarrassed!

The reply that came back read in part:

The brain is a magical thing, it makes meaning where there is none.  ;-)

Technorati Tags: smart phone,e-mail

Two You Don’t Want to Miss

It’s late, but I wanted to call attention to a couple of notable blog posts on Friday. Brian Brodeur’s blog. How A Poem Happens is a great read.  It features various poets discussing the development of a particular poem and thus gives some insight into what goes on in a poet’s head as he or she uses their creative prowess to write a poem.

Today a new post is up and it features Idra Novey discussing her poem Trans. Novey  is the winner of the 2007 Kinereth Gensler Award as well as awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Society of America, and the PEN Translation Fund. 

Of course you can still find older posts where many other poets have  done the same with their own work. You can find Brian’s blog by clicking here.

Another blog post worth reading is Kelli Russell Agodon’s post on the subject of Creative Clusters.

I’m calling it a night! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Technorati Tags: Brian Brodeur,How a Poem Happens,Idra Novey,Kelli Russell Agodon,Creative Clusters

Local Poet Highlighted in The Examiner

Robert Fisher’s voice is deep and husky. I’ve heard him read at various venues in the Kansas City metropolitan area in recent years. If he isn’t reading, it’s not uncommon to see him at readings by others at the Writers place or any of a number of other open mics. It was nice to see Adrianne DeWeese’s article in the local Examiner newspaper on him.  article link

Technorati Tags: Independence,Missouri poet,Robert Fisher

Civility Lacking During President’s Message to Congress a Sad Sign of the Times

You lie!" Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., shouted from his seat, jabbing a finger in the air. This in response to the President remarks in his speech, "The reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally."

Sen. John McCain, (R- Arizona)  called Wilson's actions "totally disrespectful.”

I can recall a day when civility was a part of congressional code and while on the House and Senate floor this would not be tolerated between members much less the president. 

Digressing from the issue of civility it should be noted if Mr. Wilson would read the bills presently before House committees there is in fact specific language that excludes those who are in this country illegally. But I doubt that the Congressman is really unaware of this. I suspect that he has chosen to propagate this information, for what reason, I can only guess.

All I can say is that this is sad that the level of discussion about something as significant as reforming our health care delivery system is reduced to this level.  With 12,000 people losing their health insurance daily, our representatives owe us more than this.

Technorati Tags: Republican Congressman Joe Wilson,health care reform,President Obama speaks to Joint Session of Congress