Thought For the Day

"I postpone death by living, by suffering, by error, by risking, by giving, by losing." ~ Anais Nin

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Anne Sexton Letters Part I

I can’t recall the last time I received a personal letter from someone.  By letter I mean one of those things that came via the U.S. postal service and landed in my mail box and waited patiently for me to arrive home.  E-mail, I have plenty of.

So there is a real novelty to letters. As I mentioned in and earlier blog post I am reading Anne Sexton A Self Portrait in Letters. I’ve read the published letters of numerous poets over the last few years. Plath, Ginsberg to name a couple. Plath’s Letters Home are remarkable in that they provide a rather contrived communication with her mother.  If you read any of her biographies (I’ve read countless) and or her published journals you will quickly see two Plaths. The one she wanted her mother to see and an altogether different one. It is against that strange paradox that I find Sexton’s letters refreshingly genuine.  She seems to say what she wants and there is little evidence that she tries to control her message. In fact, it is not uncommon for her to follow up one letter with another one with an apology or some sort of disclaimer for something in an earlier note.

Many poets in the 50’s through at least the 70’s were quite prolific writers between friends and peers. One amazing thing I noted about Sexton is how quickly she managed to correspond with significant poets of her time. With barely a year of writing under her belt, Sexton was corresponding with W.D. Snodgrass, Carolyn Kizer, Nolan Miller, John Holmes, etc.  With Snodgrass she corresponded quite frequently and her letters suggest he returned the favor.  Sexton in fact used nick names in her communication with Snodgrass that suggest they developed a significant friendship. “Dearest Snodsy, Dearest De, My dear night clerk".”

With Snodgrass Sexton would discuss poems, things going on in a Masters Class with Robert Lowell, the progress of her manuscript, etc. I suppose it is not surprising that her work was well received  so quickly because she was able to get it in front of people in position to help her very early on.

In her letters she refers numerous times to the fact that she in not a strong speller.  Sometimes her letters meander around. “Christ. I’m off again.” Anne writes to Snodgrass, “Talking in circles. My darling, the peanut butter calls.”  These early letters also detail the toll that the decline of the health of her parents is having on her and reference her therapy as well and Dr. Sidney Martin’s encouragement that she write for it’s therapeutic value.

I loved the bluntness with which she wrote Robert Lowell in September of 1958 about her efforts and desire to enroll in his Masters class and her assessment of how this was viewed by the registrar’s perception of this. “Today, with 90 dollars in my fist,  I called the registrar’s office. However, it seems they are not bouncing with joy at the thought of a “special student” with no particular degrees. A Mr. Wilder said that I would have to wait until after registration and see if there are too many students in the class.”

As I plow onward though this book I will stop from time to time to share things I believe to be of particular significance.

Technorati Tags: Anne Sexton,Anne Sexton A Self Portrait in Letters,Robert Lowell,W.D. Snodgrass

What if Life Really is a Musical?

Today I ran down the street to the Federal building to visit their cafeteria over the lunch hour. Exiting with my purchase, I headed back up the street to my office.  The wind was wicked crazy and it brought with it chimes from the carillons at St. Mary's Episcopal Church across the way. The music from this red brick church daily fills the downtown air. Today it was playing a tune from the Sound of Music… “i simply remember my favorite things and then I don’t feel so baaaad.”  Suddenly I felt like clicking my heels and dancing. This prompted me to wonder, “what if life is really a musical?”

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Local Kansas City Poetry & Arts Scene

• Friday, October 2, 2009 - 7 pm - Poet Richard Newman will read from his new book Domestic Fugues (Steel Toe Books, 2009). The reading at  the Writers Place - 3607 Pennsylvania -Kansas City, Missouri.
• Saturday, October 3, 2009 – 1pm -  African American poet Kimberly Britton reads from newly published work.  Kansas City Public Library, Southeast Branch, 6242 Swope Parkway, Kansas City, Missouri.
• Wednesday October 7, 2009 – Noon - WORKSHOP @ THE LANDON CENTER ON AGING -3599 Rainbow Blvd, Kansas City, Kansas. Free to those 55 and older. "Improve Your Mental Health Through Writing" will be taught by Maril Crabtree.  Call 913-588-3094 to register.
• Friday, October 9, 2009 – 8 pm - Pamela Garvey and Carl Bettis  Riverfront reading series at the Writers Place, 3607 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, Missouri
• Friday, October 9, 2009 –6:30 – 8:00 pm - Art Walk Poetry featuring Glenn North at the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library, 625 Minnesota, Kansas City, Kansas.
• Wednesday, October 12, 2009 5:30 pm - Billy Collins, Former United States Poet Laureate Billy Collins reads at Kansas State University, K-State Alumni Center Ballroom, Manhattan, Kansas.  Contact Elizabeth Dodd, Department of English for details. Tele:785-532-6716.
• Friday, October 16, 2009 – 7 pm - Caryn Mirriam Goldberg, Kansas Poet Laureate -  reads at Border's Books, 91st & Metcalf, Overland Park, Kansas – contact Border's  @ 913-642-3642.
• Sunday, October 18, 2009 8 pm - MAIN STREET RAG
  Hosted by Shawn Pavey with poet Christina Pacosz reading. Writers Place - 3607 Pennsylvania -Kansas City, Missouri.
• Tuesday, October 20, 2009 7 pm - Poets Brian Daldorph and Bill Bauer at  Writers Place Poetry Reading Series @ THE JOHNSON COUNTY LIBRARY - 9875 W. 87th, Overland Park, Kansas.
• Thursday, October 22, 2009 Reception 6 pm & reading 7 pm - Robert Pinsky  guest of the Midwest Poets Series. Poet laureate of the United States from 1997-2000; Rockhurst University, 54th Street and Troost, Kansas City, Mo.  Admission to Midwest Poets Series is $3.  No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
• Monday, October 26, 2009 - 8:00 pm Wriiters Place Open Mic
  Hosted by Sharon Eiker - Writers Place - 3607 Pennsylvania -Kansas City, Missouri.
• Saturday, October 31, 2009 - 10:00 am- 1:00 pm
  The Art of Poetry - This workshop is intended for beginners and others interested in hearing, writing, talking about, and understanding the beauty of poetry. Writers Place - 3607 Pennsylvania -Kansas City, Missouri.

Special Exhibits -  Keltie Ferris: Man Eaters  At Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art- October 23, 2009–February 13, 2010

Keltie Ferris is a post digital painter, employing formalist strategies and materials—oil, acrylic, sprayed paint, and oil pastel—to create enigmatic and visually seductive abstractions.

The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art -   American Art on Paper: Impressions of the Southwest and Mexico  October 14, 2009— April 11, 2010

Technorati Tags: Kansas City Poetry Scene,Sharon Eiker,Shawn Pavey,Robert Pinskey,Brian Daldorph,Bill Bauer,Christina Pacosz,Caryn,Mirriam Goldberg,Pamela Garvey,Carl Bettis,Glenn North,Maril Crabtree,Poet Richard Newman,Billy Collins

Thought for the Day

Saints have no moderation, nor do poets, just exuberance. ~ Anne Sexton

 

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Around the Net This Week

A few things that I found on the internet this week. Some are in the humorous category. Others I found interesting in a variety of ways.  Things I liked, things I learned from, etc.  Anyway, if you missed any of these, then you might want to check them out.

• Death by Bananas.  I found this nifty piece of work by Daniela Edburg on The Big Window. This falls mostly under my Humor Department.  You’ll find a link on The Big Window to a host of other photos by Edburg in a whole “Death By” series.  I was struck by these because they remanded me of some interesting photo shoots that one of my daughters did in college.
• Maya Ganesan it seems, is no average 12 year old writer. Her book Apologies to an Apple (actually written at age 11) is highlighted in a virtual book/blog tour by poet Kelli Russell Agodon, author of Small Knots on her blog Book of Kells.  While I’ve not read Maya’s book yet I hope to. Small Knots I have read, and reread and count among my favorites.
• Joannie Stangeland offers an interest pictorial of fall grape harvest for those like me who enjoy wine. Check out Crushed. Umm…  I’ll have a glass of Chardonnay, thank you!
• Pigs in JPs!!!!  Yes.  This clip is adorable. Thanks Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Technorati Tags: Aimee Nezhukumatathil,Joannie Stangeland,Kelli Russell Agodon,Daniela Edburg,Maya Ganesan

I did the “S” word!

It’s cool here today. Not unpleasantly so, but it is a sign of things to come.

I made a pot of chili for lunch. It seemed like a good day for it.

I’ve read today, written, and yes, the “S” word.  That would be submitted material least you think it is something more adventuresome.  Over the past year, I’ve taken to considering it a burdensome task. It wasn’t that way always, but it has become my least favorite part of writing poetry.

In looking through my material I realized I need to better organize it. By that I mostly mean review my material and decide it some of it perhaps needs to go back into the work folder. I do have a few things that I’ve been sitting on that perhaps are really ready.  I just don’t like to rush them off.

I brought some work home from the office as well this weekend and I really ought to tackle on of those projects tonight… then I won’t have so much to do tomorrow.

I got eaten up on the deck this afternoon, sitting with the dogs. I fear tonight will be a Benadryl night.

Off to make espresso!   My earlier one got pitched while it was cooling down.