The above is the opening line from Vow to Poetry. I love it in connection with poetry. It seems to me that poetry is in fact a good deal like "self medicating" and in this instance, I don't think that is half bad.
My profession in life, involves mental health issues. Self medication is a concept I am quite acquainted with, and it usually has negative implications. However, to actually "vow to poetry" is interesting in that to me, it conceptually commits one to self discovery and rediscovery.
In a session at a writers conference this weekend I was blessed to hear a woman of color named Bonnie Lynn Tolson. Bonnie is the author of a poetry book entitled Naturally Nappy. Of her work in the book, Bonnie shared that "this is where I was then." This comment underscores a point I believe is valid in terms of any commitment or vow to (write) poetry. By dedicating oneself to writing poetry, you are putting yourself in a position (like it or not) to find out things. To discover... More importantly self discovery. It can be scary but it can also be a very cleansing action in life.
I'll have a hot dog
then go off to a cave... Is this what we do when we don't write? When we refuse to medicate ourselves with poetics... or get in touch with our deepest insights? Yes, just like blogging, I've had those days I just fluff it off. Take my non-functional self to the caves... Or is poetry the real life, and going to the cave is the real self-medication. Equal to all the negative stereotypes associated with normal self medication. Either way, in the end the fact remains... poetry feeds the soul.
Monday, October 06, 2003
Sunday, October 05, 2003
Weekend Wrap Up...
The Weekend is nearly over. The focal point of it was the Maple Woods Writers Conference.
I have to say that Friday and Saturday's writers conference was well worth the money and time invested. Presenters were for the most part excellent. Everyone was good... Most reached above the level of expectation I had.
I was disappointed that we did not have more opportunity to here Gloria Vando - her presentation was cut short by another presenter running over. She is local and the opportunity to exposure to her again is good, so I have tried not to stress too much about this.
My hats are off to the administration of Maple Woods - this is their 20th year and they did a bang up job.
Friday night - there was a special event off campus where Naomi Shihab Nye, poet and essaiest spoke. She is a remarkable woman with a world of contacts in poetry.
Saturday I met with an agent from NY and had a brief discussion of my Candlestick Park book project. More presenters Saturday and finally - (sigh) I was able to catch up on my San Francisco Giants, who were eliminated in divisional play after a wild ride in first place in the NL West from opening day to the last, winning 100 games and the NL West Division Championship.
You must know that I live for these games. I often score the games - so I am into every detail. Being out of the loop Friday and Saturday was killing me, and their whole post season now seems surreal to me. It's almost like it never happened.
I will have much more to say about Naomi Shihab Nye. Perhaps more about the conference too over the next few days. Plus I have some other blog reading to catch up on. Right now, I need to head to bed.
I have to say that Friday and Saturday's writers conference was well worth the money and time invested. Presenters were for the most part excellent. Everyone was good... Most reached above the level of expectation I had.
I was disappointed that we did not have more opportunity to here Gloria Vando - her presentation was cut short by another presenter running over. She is local and the opportunity to exposure to her again is good, so I have tried not to stress too much about this.
My hats are off to the administration of Maple Woods - this is their 20th year and they did a bang up job.
Friday night - there was a special event off campus where Naomi Shihab Nye, poet and essaiest spoke. She is a remarkable woman with a world of contacts in poetry.
Saturday I met with an agent from NY and had a brief discussion of my Candlestick Park book project. More presenters Saturday and finally - (sigh) I was able to catch up on my San Francisco Giants, who were eliminated in divisional play after a wild ride in first place in the NL West from opening day to the last, winning 100 games and the NL West Division Championship.
You must know that I live for these games. I often score the games - so I am into every detail. Being out of the loop Friday and Saturday was killing me, and their whole post season now seems surreal to me. It's almost like it never happened.
I will have much more to say about Naomi Shihab Nye. Perhaps more about the conference too over the next few days. Plus I have some other blog reading to catch up on. Right now, I need to head to bed.
Thursday, October 02, 2003
Thursday Thoughts...
Can one carry the weight of endless suffering of the world in it's entirety upon his or her shoulders... And then actually sleep? Thanks Alli Warren for a sleepless night.
Michaela Cooper, had forsaken her fans for LA (good lord [spoken in my best San Francisco Giants fan voice] what of value exists in LA?) but alas has returned, along with some of her brain cells. This is evidenced by her role as promulgator of Blake on matters of "sexual love".
For those who are wondering "what the hell men are thinking"? - try this site.
I'll close with a poem I did maybe a month ago...
TWO DOGS
two dogs at feet
begging attention
ancy
dancing
craving treat
reward in had
wants no part
Michaela Cooper, had forsaken her fans for LA (good lord [spoken in my best San Francisco Giants fan voice] what of value exists in LA?) but alas has returned, along with some of her brain cells. This is evidenced by her role as promulgator of Blake on matters of "sexual love".
For those who are wondering "what the hell men are thinking"? - try this site.
I'll close with a poem I did maybe a month ago...
TWO DOGS
two dogs at feet
begging attention
ancy
dancing
craving treat
reward in had
wants no part
Wednesday, October 01, 2003
The Wit and Lack of Wisdom of Donald H. Rumsfeld
I've seen this book at B & N and chuckled a few times. Then it sunk in that this man is dead serious.
Bly & Bly
And so it came to pass, that I spent a good deal of yesterday on a bus with my youngest daughter and many of her classmates on a trip to Hutchinson, Kansas to visit the Cosmosphere. First of all, let me say that if the Cosmosphere was not in Hutchinson, there would be no real reason for Hutchinson to exist. Truly, it may not, because of course Kansas is only a theory at this point.
The space museum was awesome. Unfortunately it took longer to make the trip there and back than we had time to spend in the museum itself. I spent a good portion of the trip commute reading from Robert Bly's Morning Poems. I didn't ignore my daughter. We actually read parts of it together. She particularly enjoyed (as did I) his poems, Bad People and The Old Woman Frying Perch. AKA - The Cat in the Kitchen.
One of the things I am discovering that I like about Robert Bly is the vast usage of commonplace words to develop his poetry with topics that range from his childhood to thoughts on writing itself. He definitely stretches the imagination, but not completely out of the cerebral cavity, if you know what I mean.
Ha! Who says you can't combine science and culture?
The space museum was awesome. Unfortunately it took longer to make the trip there and back than we had time to spend in the museum itself. I spent a good portion of the trip commute reading from Robert Bly's Morning Poems. I didn't ignore my daughter. We actually read parts of it together. She particularly enjoyed (as did I) his poems, Bad People and The Old Woman Frying Perch. AKA - The Cat in the Kitchen.
One of the things I am discovering that I like about Robert Bly is the vast usage of commonplace words to develop his poetry with topics that range from his childhood to thoughts on writing itself. He definitely stretches the imagination, but not completely out of the cerebral cavity, if you know what I mean.
Ha! Who says you can't combine science and culture?
Sunday, September 28, 2003
Weekend ditty...
Ah... Surely I must have something to say.
This weekend has not been exactly what I hoped for so far. Aside from the San Francisco Giants posting their 100th win today, for which I am both elated and saddened, the times since I left work Friday has not exactly been productive or satisfying.
Friday's poetry reading was canceled by the local B&N. (sigh) No warning.. No discussion, they simply shut down. I'll have more to say about this when I'm more rational about it. (that could be weeks - Ha!)
Aside from the Friday night disappointment at B&N, it is not that the weekend has been bad, it just hasn't been anywhere close to the potentially productive and satisfying kind of weekend I enjoy. There is still tonight. (last ditch effort to taunt myself into a positive mood)
The end of the regular baseball season is always a downer for me. My family and friends joke that I supper from a seasonal adjustment disorder between the end of baseball season and the beginning of the next one. I'm not certain it isn't true. Anyway, there is post season play and the Giants will again be in the picture!
The Great genre debate continues to rage...
I've given a great deal of thought to the arguments that are being presented on several sites. Ron Silliman's and Chris Murray's Text files among others.
This has been a most interesting topic of discussion and I'm not sure I see any particular definitive answers yet myself. I see a lot of interesting energy generated on this topic. I'm hoping to see more give and take on it. I suppose for myself, I even vacillate on the value of the focus on genre at times. Right now, I see it as significant, sometimes though I catch myself feeling that it is burdensome and too distracting to consider it against the backdrop of the work itself. Sort of a schizophrenic view, no doubt.
Off to write! I have to make something of this weekend yet!
This weekend has not been exactly what I hoped for so far. Aside from the San Francisco Giants posting their 100th win today, for which I am both elated and saddened, the times since I left work Friday has not exactly been productive or satisfying.
Friday's poetry reading was canceled by the local B&N. (sigh) No warning.. No discussion, they simply shut down. I'll have more to say about this when I'm more rational about it. (that could be weeks - Ha!)
Aside from the Friday night disappointment at B&N, it is not that the weekend has been bad, it just hasn't been anywhere close to the potentially productive and satisfying kind of weekend I enjoy. There is still tonight. (last ditch effort to taunt myself into a positive mood)
The end of the regular baseball season is always a downer for me. My family and friends joke that I supper from a seasonal adjustment disorder between the end of baseball season and the beginning of the next one. I'm not certain it isn't true. Anyway, there is post season play and the Giants will again be in the picture!
The Great genre debate continues to rage...
I've given a great deal of thought to the arguments that are being presented on several sites. Ron Silliman's and Chris Murray's Text files among others.
This has been a most interesting topic of discussion and I'm not sure I see any particular definitive answers yet myself. I see a lot of interesting energy generated on this topic. I'm hoping to see more give and take on it. I suppose for myself, I even vacillate on the value of the focus on genre at times. Right now, I see it as significant, sometimes though I catch myself feeling that it is burdensome and too distracting to consider it against the backdrop of the work itself. Sort of a schizophrenic view, no doubt.
Off to write! I have to make something of this weekend yet!
Friday, September 26, 2003
Whyte In Review
David Whyte's reading and lecture last night was an evening well spent.
I found his overall presentation a positive plug for poetry as an intricate part of our lives. There was a soft sell of the spirituality of poetry. Not surprising in that he was brought in Unity Church. Still, his poetics is driven by a nourishment of the inner-self and that is hard to separate in at least some minute context from a spirituality of sorts.
He set about as defining poetry as the art of hearing yourself say something you didn't know that you knew. In that conceptual model - poetry is a searching and discovery vehicle. To this, I whole heartedly agree. This has been my own observation, at least to the extent of my experience.
Whyte's work emphasizes mans need to drop the shroud of protection we wrap ourselves in and push ourselves to the edge of who we are. Believing there is an important place for each of us the this universe, and it is only there that we have the courage and the qualities of engagement necessary to respond fully to life's call.
As a reader, Whyte was pleasing to listen to even as his English accent required attentiveness. His voice both quietly tranquil and robust enough to be heard. I found myself not wanting to miss a single word.
Most of his readings were completely from memory and his animation of hands were like an great conductor directing. He often repeated lines... with a slow precision to remind us what he just told us.
His work was perhaps not as metaphorical as much of today's poetry. There was plenty of vision and feel. Some metaphor, but his work tends to lead or pull you in a direction.
I plan to spend some time with more of his works. I'm hoping to order a book or two of this soon.
I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has spent any time with his works or heard him read in the past.
I found his overall presentation a positive plug for poetry as an intricate part of our lives. There was a soft sell of the spirituality of poetry. Not surprising in that he was brought in Unity Church. Still, his poetics is driven by a nourishment of the inner-self and that is hard to separate in at least some minute context from a spirituality of sorts.
He set about as defining poetry as the art of hearing yourself say something you didn't know that you knew. In that conceptual model - poetry is a searching and discovery vehicle. To this, I whole heartedly agree. This has been my own observation, at least to the extent of my experience.
Whyte's work emphasizes mans need to drop the shroud of protection we wrap ourselves in and push ourselves to the edge of who we are. Believing there is an important place for each of us the this universe, and it is only there that we have the courage and the qualities of engagement necessary to respond fully to life's call.
As a reader, Whyte was pleasing to listen to even as his English accent required attentiveness. His voice both quietly tranquil and robust enough to be heard. I found myself not wanting to miss a single word.
Most of his readings were completely from memory and his animation of hands were like an great conductor directing. He often repeated lines... with a slow precision to remind us what he just told us.
His work was perhaps not as metaphorical as much of today's poetry. There was plenty of vision and feel. Some metaphor, but his work tends to lead or pull you in a direction.
I plan to spend some time with more of his works. I'm hoping to order a book or two of this soon.
I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has spent any time with his works or heard him read in the past.
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