Good - Bad

"If good poetry is to be written, enormous amounts of bad poetry must be written too, if only because it is important for a serious poet to know what it is she/he is trying not to do." ~ Germaine Greer, The 
Independent on Sunday, 7 May 2000

Confession Tuesday - Poet Crush List Edition

May Day, May Day! 

Dear Reader:

Can you believe it’s May first already? It’s been a week since my last confession and I have no idea where time is flying to this year.  Let’s get started.

So Poetry Month has come and gone.  I confess that I did not write a poem a day.  But I didn't fall off the NaPoWriMo band wagon because I never really go on it.  Let's say I wrote a number of poetry drafts - some of which are keepers and I avoided the stress of the Poem-A-Day Rat Race.  I confess that I have no shame about my approach this year.

It’s been about six months since I’ve done a Poet Crush list so today’s confession is a good point in which to reassess the members of my ten person list.   (see last list here) I’ve actually given this some thought for several days now. The thought process goes something like this…

·        If I’m stuck in a writer’s funk, who are the poets I go to over and over and read for a jump start with some inspiration?

·        What poets am I likely to find on my night stand on any given night?

·        Who do I often refer to persons who ask, “Who should I read next?”

·        Whose body of work do I most like to read for shear enjoyment?

·        What poets would I like to pick their brain over lunch or dinner?

·        If I hear the word poet or poetry who are the first to come to my mind?

Invariably application of the above will produce repeat poetry practitioners and those ten who most often repeat in these categories represent my poetry “crushes.”

I would say this list is often in flux.  I suppose I could reassess monthly its members but I think a six month checkup is probably often enough.

So here it is… I confess these ten poets currently comprise my Poet Crush List.

1.      W.S. Merwin

2.      James Richardson (new to list)

3.      Sharon Olds

4.      Kelli Russell Agodon

5.      Dean Young (new to list)

6.      John Ashbery

7.      Mary Biddinger (new to list)

8.      Charles Simic

9.      Ada Limon

10.   Beth Ann Fennelly

Note:  these appear in no special order - Also , these are all living poets.  I could do a dead poet crush list too, maybe I will.

So who are your poet crushes?

Journal Bits 4-19-2012 to 4-17-2012

Spring showers falling today. I've been inside - cleaning and thought I'd take a break and post some Journal Bits...

Since April 19th, 2012


4-19-2012 "Went out and got dinner for us last night to rent two movies for us last night and strawberry shortcake dessert. Rented two movies for us to watch and they were bombs..."


4-20-2012  [Copied this from a post by Kelli Russell Agodon... made me smile though seriously I think some truth lies therein... I believe that poets simply have their own humor that almost no one else gets. It just goes with the territory.]  "Sometimes being a poet feels as if you're in your own comedy."


4-20-2012 Reading at Crossroads Tonight:  I read, The Geese Returned Today, Whirly Girl, If I may Ask and I Offered You Wine.


4-22-2012  "unconsciously you stunk/in right field and something/about your shirt - your non-regulation//It all came to a head/when you were pulled/after too many errors/too much pic-neck/maybe too many Brauts//finishing out the game on the pic-neck table bench/and the search for your glove/ someone said they thought/someone put it in a trash can."


4-24-2012 Listening to Madeline Albright on Morning Joe talk about here heritage as well as her new memoir, Prague Winter. Fascinating stuff. I want to read this book.


4-27-2012 "why is it that things/mattering seem such a loss/that mattering seems beyond control/like you are urinating/down your pants legs/that it's just happening/that's all there is.//Your pissed on legs don't move/they don't run to hide/they don't seek fresh trousers/they just stand/without a care.

Our Modern Culture

"I think that one possible definition of our modern culture is that it is one in which nine-tenths of our intellectuals can't read any poetry." ~ Randall Jarrell

Late for Confession Tuesday

Dear reader:  It's late, I know. But I'm here just the same. It's been a week and a day since my last confession. I'll be very up front with you, I'm a little testy as I've been to both the dentist and an ENT specialist. You know the scope thingy down the nasal passage? Not so fun.

I confess that I had not been to the dentist in quite a while.  I will be making another trip back in May. {Sigh}

I confess that I started reading a new book today. Remembering Randall ...  a memoir of poet Randall Jarrell. Yes, that would be the same Mr. Jarrell who's quote resides up just under the blog title. I'll let you know what I think of it when I finish it.

I confess there seem to be more birds in and around our yard lately. Did someone tell them I was bird watching this spring as ask them to drop by? It's like they are hosting a Meet Up! right here. I confess this is kinda enjoyable.  If I have to start cleaning white wash off my car windshields soon I may rethink that.

One of our dogs brought  a cousin of Alvin to our back door this past week. I refuse to accept that it was more then a very distant relation of the famed Chipmunk. I confess this is not viewed on the same level of the many birds.

Well that's the best this cranky man can do for today.  Have a great week!

Good Time for creative endeavors

Based upon my bio-rhythms for today:

You are in good shape. This period is favorable for creative endeavors. Rest and idleness should not be indulged, as this is a good time to start a new business, expand your sphere of influence, or make new acquaintances. You have a positive influence on people and situations. You'll be able to prove yourself easily. Use this time productively.

Physical state: Positive

Emotional state: Positive

Intellectual state: Positive

Intuitive state: Negative

The Economics of Art

Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen write anthems about the travails of the working man; we line up for the revival of “Death of a Salesman.” John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson hold festivals and fundraisers when farmers suffer. Taxpayers bail out the auto industry and Wall Street and the banks. There’s a sense that manufacturing, or the agrarian economy, is what this country is really about. But culture was, for a while, what America did best: We produce and export creativity around the world. So why aren’t we lamenting the plight of its practitioners? Bureau of Labor Statistics confirm that creative industries have been some of the hardest hit during the Bush years and the Great Recession.

When reading an article on Salon by SCOTT TIMBERG I was struck particularly by the above paragraph.  I know it's easy to look at artists (in their many forms) and pooh-pooh the notion that they are importantly contributing to society.  But let's explore a list of some that represent art in society.  Yes, there are painters and sculptors, but also musicians, writers (of all types). Producers, photographers, camera men, people in a variety of film and stage productions working in lighting, set design are all artists as wells as architects, actors, entertainers of all kinds. Publishers, dancers and choreographers. I could go on and on but you start to see that without these people life as we know it would get rather dull. No pictures, no movies, no theater or television. No music to listen to in drive time. Soon it would simply be be eat sleep and work... repeat.  No libraries to visit. No books of any kind  to read. Seriously folks, I'm getting pretty depressed just thinking about a world without these people.

So how bad is it for artists?  How many are we talking about? For the answer to this I turn to the Artists In The Workforce Study -  the first look at 21st century labor trends among working artists.

Some interesting facts:

• Artists represent almost 2 million people. One of the largest segments of the workforce... only slightly less then active duty military that are at 2.2 million and comprise about 1.4 % of the total workforce.
• Artists earn an aggregate income of about $70 billion annually. 
• Between 1970 and 1990 the number of artists nearly doubled.
• Between 1990 and 2005 the number slowed to a growth of about 16% which was comparable with the rest of the workforce.

• Some gender figures as they relate to the artist workforce - Men outnumber women in architecture, announcing, music, production and photography while women outnumber men in the fields of dance, design and writing. Yes, women outnumber men in writing. 
• Artists are entrepreneurial. 3.5 times more likely to be self employed.
• Artists tend to be underemployed and only work part of the year.
• Artists tend to earn less then workers with similar levels of education. In 2005 the median income from all sources was $34,800 only slightly more then the $30,100 median income for the total labor force but less then the $43,200 median for all professionals. 
• Artists are twice as likely to have a college degree then the rest of the work force. 

Perhaps if more people were aware of some of these factors there would be less of the "oh he/she is just a writer" mentality at work when people think about artists.