Brrrr...

Single digit temperatures and -0 wind chill, this was my view leaving work yesterday. Each day we seem to be redefining cold here in the Midwest. Tonight is supposed to be a new low. Given how things look, this weekend should/could be a great weekend for writing.

I've drug out my copy of The Artist's Way again and decided it's time to re-examine what I'm doing for the sake of creativity.  Especially since I feel like I'm in a somewhat conflicted state at the moment. I'm trying to look at it positive and a growing place but frustration isn't affording me any particular comfort. Basically I'm trying to project a different style of writing but I'm less satisfied with the results (more often then not) and it wants to pull me back to a more abstract approach. I'm thinking what I really needs is to be someplace between the two. I'm feeling as I move away from the abstract my voice becomes bland. There are other poets I admire who can do this well- I know it can be done.

Attention Metrophobics

"Does the thought of poetry make you nauseous? Does it trigger a dry mouth and clammy hands? Does your heart feel like it’s going to pound right out of your chest? Do your legs turn to rubber bands?" If so, help is on the way. For only $147 you can get a Home Study program of CDs and a Work Book or if you prefer, for the paltry sum of $2497 you can get one-on-one Private Sessions with Board-Certified Specialist to help you eliminate your underlying fear. This according an internet site that can be found here.


I’m so glad there is hope for people suffering from metrophobia. It seems there are so many metrophobics out there. Some of my own family may be metrophobic. This of course causes me to wonder why or how I escaped the condition? Is there a genetic predisposition towards this condition? If so, perhaps we can isolate the gene that controls our poetic responses and tweak it a bit to make poetry a little more palatable. Of course, if such therapy became possible, poetic gene therapy could put the previously mentioned site out of business.

A bit overdue for Journal Bits

A few journal bits from recent writings-

Dec. 15th “and now I / Foam to wheat, glitter of seas / The child’s cry [from Ariel by Sylvia Plath]

Dec. 15th when your room is a town / and the hallways a thoroughfare / to climb into your own bed is trespassing

Dec. 16th What is it that keeps us focused and what are the things that derail us?

Dec. 22nd Trying to expose the soul is like catching carp with bare hands. If a soul wanted to be seen and recognized for all that it is it would show a little leg.

Dec. 24th Silence is the reversible side.

Dec. 24th. Guilt creeps through superficial cracks…

Dec. 26th I failed miserably.

Dec. 26th I don’t choose them; they find me (morning thoughts)


Dec 27th What does one have to do to get a glass of plain water?

Dec. 27th “The poet’s only hope is to be infinitely sensitive to what his gift is, and this itself seems to be another gift that few poets possess.” [Ted Hughes – London Magazine Vol. 1 NO. 2 1962]

Dec. 29th “pulp non-fiction / outdated upon arrival”

Jan 1st “I see the pox / on the old man’s face”

Jan 4th We’ve evolved into a voodoo age… Our current socio-political climate is so amerced in a high voltage hate that most Americans are of a mindset that they whish harm to come to those who are of a different (and usually believed inferior) view then themselves.

Unchopping A Tree

Artist and architect Maya Lin has produced a video which is inspired by a W.S. Merwin poem of the same name and focuses on how we would feel if deforestation came to the city parks that we love the most. It’s a quietly powerful piece that I hope many people have an opportunity to see.

 

Maya Lin - Unchopping a Tree from What is Missing? Foundation on Vimeo.

Technorati Tags: Maya Lin,W.S. Merwin,Unchopping A Tree

A Thought for the week

The concept that an artist would be revered by popular culture is an immediate dismissal of his relevance as an artist. ~Thomas Kinkade

Unconscious Mutterings - Week 362

You say - I think:

1. 365 :: days

2. Tombstone :: pizza

3. Dumb :: luck

4. Intrusive :: government

5. Fat :: cat

6. Axe :: Lizzy Borden

7. Planned :: vacation

8. Spike :: Lee

9. Bleach :: stain

10. Shopkeeper :: Clerk

get your own list at Unconscious Mutterings

There are Consequences

Feline steps are deliberate
cautious intermittent pauses-
to allow for adjustments.

No one expects life
to be without recalculations
or changes.

It is our prerogative
to make u turns
even if the law doesn't allow

for it, the road itself will
not hinder us
or the police that follow.