Curtains

adapted from the work by Nicholas Prior- Title: Untitled - #26

[The following poem was a draft I wrote based upon this picture I say at the Kemper Museum of Art here in Kansas City.]

Quiet are the surroundings
lost in the enigmatic confines.
The boy is not there
in its protective arms
his back to the door
his knees crossed yoga style.




A four legged table
nearby, stoic its top veiled;
a byzantine respect to the lad,
knowing his child's mind
is in communion
with something bigger
beyond the sheer curtains
of a world stage.




No adult is near.
No adult could know.
Someday he too will
enter such a room
and be oblivious.

Art Date

Taking advantage of the day off and the nice weather I took myself on a trip to see two art exhibits today The first was The Poetics of Space which remains at the Kemper Museum until March 14th, 2010. The exhibit is based upon the French philosopher Gaston Blanchlard's 1958 book, La poetiique de' l'espace. The collection of work focuses upon the spatial dynamics of our architectural and natural surroundings.  There were three pieces from this collection I especially liked.


• Isabella's two chairs
• Untitled #26 from The Age of Men
• Wave Rock

I'm working on poems that are based on the first two above.  More on these in a later post.
The second exhibit was at Kemper at the Crossroads.  It's Keltie Farris's Man Eaters.
She uses formalist strategies and materials to create enigmatic and visually seductive abstractions.

Both of these exhibits had my mind stretching like taffy.  Curiosity and bubbling over like a pot of water. A little steam just to throw in a little mystic smoke.

Police Photos & Poetry Calendar

 HOW COOL IS THIS.........   

Maine's largest police department is releasing a second calendar that features poetry and photographs taken by members of the city's police force. The 2010 Portland Police Department Poetry & Photo Calendar features works by the assistant chief, detectives, sergeants and patrol officers that primarily focus on what's it's like to be an officer. The calendat is part of an project called Art At Work, and aims to improve municipal government through the arts and give city employees outlets for their creative sides. The calendars cost $15 and are available at local book sellers and here.

"Stop,don't do it!"

One woman examines our future in Afghanistan through an unlikely window.  She recalls a Sharon Olds poem titled, I Go Back to May 1937.  As America awaits the next move on the Afganistan front from the President, Carla Carlisle is asking some very good questions.  Read Story Here

Poetry Series Spurs Debate on the Use of an Old Slur Against Latinos

Poetry Series Spurs Debate on the Use of an Old Slur Against Latinos


By DAVID GONZALEZ

The word sounds retro, but its corrosive power lingers. Once a cruelly common taunt that mocked the way Spanish speakers pronounced “speak,” it set off fights, shattered friendships and trampled feelings.

Now that word forms the title of a poetry series — “Spic Up/Speak Out” — at, of all places, El Museo del Barrio in East Harlem, on Saturday.

Organizers say that the provocative title is intended as a postmodern take, inviting dialogue and debate over issues of identity. Some of the participating poets have embraced the title as a symbolic inversion of the word, that neutralizes its sting. But others are not so sure.  Read story here.

Talk On Wallace Stevens' Poetry At Tunxis Campus Farmington, CT

 

This looks really interesting, if anyone is close to Farmington, CT on December 3rd it might be worth taking in.

If any readers make it to this, I’d love to hear from them about it.

Submitted by Melissa Lamar, Tunxis Community College, on 2009-11-23.

The public is invited to attend "Philosophy of the Supreme Fiction: In and Beyond the Metaphysics of Wallace Stevens," a free talk by James Finnegan at Tunxis Community College on Dec. 3, from 1-2:30 p.m., in Founders Hall. Lunch will be provided.
Finnegan will explore the common ground of poetry and philosophy, with Wallace Stevens as a guide and muse. Hartford's most noted poet and once one of its more prominent insurance executives, Wallace Stevens has often been studied for the philosophical character of his work. Considered a true American heir to the English Romantic poets, he was also influenced by philosophers as diverse as Nietzsche and such pillars of American pragmatism as Ralph Waldo Emerson and George Santayana. With verse so invested in the problems of epistemology and metaphysics, Stevens' poetry has been freshly examined in the light of current philosophical trends with each new decade. However, the unique way he explores the interaction between imagination and reality resists dissection by logicians and diehard rationalists.
Finnegan is a poet, thinker, and founder of The Friends and Enemies of Wallace Stevens, a Hartford area arts organization that supports the cultural legacy of Wallace Stevens and promotes poetry in the community. With Dennis Barone, he edited "Visiting Wallace: Poems Inspired by the Life and Work of Wallace Stevens" (University of Iowa Press, 2009). Finnegan's poems have appeared in Ploughshares, Poetry East, The Southern Review, and The Virginia Quarterly Review among others. He is a senior vice president at Lee & Mason Financial Services, Inc.
The lecture is one of a two-part "Proof & Possibility" series of talks on philosophy and the history of ideas. For more information, call 860-255-3623 or 860-255-3500, or e-mail jabbot@txcc.commnet.edu. Visit Tunxis at tunxis.commnet.edu. Tunxis is located at the junction of Rtes. 6 and 177 in Farmington.

Technorati Tags: Tunxis Community College,Wallace Stevens quote

 

My recommended poet for the week

I wanted to recommend a poet to read this week that some of you may not be familiar with.  I always enjoy it when someone else pointed me in the direction of a poet that is new to me. If their writing hits the spot with me it’s like finding a four leaf clover or a great Chardonnay that is new  to me.
I’ve read Cecilia Woloch and I love the genuine nature of her writing. You get the impression that she confronts herself when she writes and I feel this allows her the write from a read position of strength.  Her book Late is among my favorite of contemporary poets and while I’ve not yet purchased a copy of her newest book Carpathia, there are two poems in particular that I’ve read that confirm for me this book too is going the be a keeper.
Fireflies which can be found here is a recitation of vices that anyone could get snared by and say, “that’s me!”  I love the admissions of among other things,
“driving too fast and not being Buddhist
enough to let insects live in my house”
In the title poem Carpathia, which can be found here,  Cecilia has a tremendous knack for interweaving history with the contemporary.   Her poetic voice in this poem spans a wide range.  She’s like singer hitting notes octaves apart!

Technorati Tags: Cecilia Woloch,Late,Carpathia,Fireflies