Katey Nicosia - Up and Coming Poet

If you have been a reader of Stick Poet Super Hero for any length of time, Katey Nicosia likely needs no introduction to you. She has been the winner of the Stick Poet Top Five Weekly Blogs more often than any other poetry blogger. In fact her blog One Good Bumblebee (formerly Chewing On Pencils) reigned at the Number One spot for five straight weeks.

Katey is a Texan. A young energetic woman who hardly shows any restraint of her high energy level when it comes to writing.

One of the reasons Katey's blog has continually ranked so high on my list is the excellent mixture of personal poetic works, serious discussion of poetics and a number of entertaining links that just allow for plain old enjoyment.

She is refreshingly honest and open. This made my task of interviewing her very easy.

It is my hope to bring you a series of interviews over the next few months. No all will necessarily be bloggers. They will all have some connection to poetry or writing in general. It seemed to me selecting Katey for the first interview was a no brainer. I hope you find it as interesting to read as I did to put together.

Interview of February 2004 with Katey Nicosia:

SP: First off, I'd like to ask you what initially sparked your interest and love of poetry? I assume you love it, it would seem like it has become a major force in your life.

KATEY: I've always enjoyed creating things, and I've always been in love with words, but the actual writing of poetry never occurred to me until college when I enrolled in a creative writing class and was forced to write it. Immediately, I fell in love with the medium of words and being able to shape something with language. The tangible, yet simultaneously intangible aspect of poetry fascinated me.

SP: Any particular individuals really push or direct you in this regard?

KATEY: My father is a photographer, and there's a very strange connection between photography and poetry...the quick capture of a moment, an image, and so, I think that relationship also pushed me into the mysterious realm of poetry. I ended up taking an advanced creative writing class which was formatted much the same way as a workshop, and all we did was write poems. At the end of the semester my professor asked me if I was planning on applying to graduate schools, and he encouraged me to do so. That's when I started taking writing more seriously. He is the one person that really pressed me and urged me to pursue poetry, and I have ever since.

SP: And how long have you been seriously writing?

KATEY: I've been writing seriously for about 2 1/2 years. I'm still a newborn!



SP: I'd like to know a little about the process you go through to get a poem from your head to a piece of paper. That would include rewrites. Do you tend to stick with one piece through the various drafts till complete, or do you keep coming back over a period of time? Try and walk me through your normal writing process. What do you think is the longest you spent on a single piece of poetry?



KATEY: OK...here's how it goes: First of all, I never "plan" to write, because the second I tell myself, "I'm going to sit down and write a poem right now," I lock up and can't write at all. There's too much pressure in that for me. I usually just sit at my computer and write. Most of the time I write in paragraphs and then craft them into lines...into a poem, because when I write, I don’t like to think about anything but moving my fingers. There are really three parts of creating a poem. The first is what I usually call "the explosion," where I just type whatever is in my head. The second part is the crafting of the explosion...this is the part that requires the most focus, it requires that zone, that frame of mind in which I forget where I am and all I know is the poem. There's a type of tunnel vision involved, it seems. This is the part where I figure out what the poem is trying to do, and where it wants to go. Then when I'm finished with the second part I usually get the poem critiqued by one of my poet-friends, which is a very important part of the process for me. Then comes the third part, which is revision...where I fix things. I change words or clean up line breaks. I switch up the perspective or change the title. I fine-tune the poem. Then, I send it off to publishers. But a poem is never finished for me...there are too many choices and too many paths in creating a poem to say that a poem is finished. However, I usually consider a poem finished if someone I admire says it's perfect (but that’s never happened so…) or if it gets published, but not always. I have about 40 poems that I'm working on right now. There's no way I could focus on one poem at a time. I'm always re-writing. I think I re-write more than I write. Some days I'll just sit down and go through a few of my poems and rework them one after the other.


SP: Categorize for me what school or style of poetry you would hope others view your work as. Much of your work that I have seen has a fun side to it.

KATEY: I'm not sure if there's a particular style that I'd hope others would view my work as, but there are poets who I'd like to be compared to. I like invention and wit in poetry. I like a poem that can make me laugh. I also admire poets who use everyday language and simple words that create potent poems. A perfect example is Richard Brautigan or even Billy Collins. I guess I'd have to say I happen to lean towards a surreal style. I think this is a result of my approach to poetry. I try not to hold back and control too much of what the next line will say. This usually creates odd, bizarre poems, but somehow they work, I think. I also happen to be a huge fan of surreal art. Magritte, mostly. In a strange way, I feel that Magritte has influenced my writing, or at least the way I view things, so that I can find poetry in ordinary objects. A perfect example of surreal poetry, to me, would be Russell Edson or James Tate, both of who are poets that I can't get enough of. I've noticed that I'm a true sponge, in that whatever I read, I tend to soak up drops of the poet’s voice, and I think my writing shows this.

SP: Do you find it hard to write in a confessional style?

KATEY: Yes, I find it extremely difficult to write confessional poetry, and there are reasons for that. I find confessional poetry rather boring, much like listening to someone complain. People always seem to think that poetry should be dark and depressing, but that's not true. Some of the best poems are about ordinary life, and that’s what I like to write about. Not about death or my terrified soul or my broken heart. Poetry lurks everywhere, so I’ll let everybody else write confessional poetry while I write about a gravel driveway or something. I just think confessional poetry is a bit antiquated if you know what I mean. It's almost become cliché. I have a feeling some people are going to hate me for saying that. Oh phooey.

SP: What form is most challenging to you?

Katey: What form is most challenging for me?

Sonnets are difficult, but I think they’re fun to write. I like flipping through my rhyming dictionary and counting the iambs on my fingers, which I’m sure is entertaining for anyone who’s willing to watch me write one.


SP: What role do you see for poets and poetry in terms of social issues or concerns? Are you turned off by any particular subject matter in poetry? Religion? Politics? Erotica? Anything?

KATEY: I'll read poetry about anything. But I think the most successful poems are those that don't try to make a huge statement about an issue or about religion, politics, etc, but that just are. I like poems that stay close to home, poems that are windows into someone's house. I'd like to read one that shows a bedroom, or a messy closet, a woman pouring a glass of orange juice. I like poetry that celebrates the mundane objects or aspects of life.


SP: As an individual, do you consider yourself to be more settled in or energetic and changing?

KATEY: Right now, I am definitely energetic and changing just because I'm still learning so much. I am perhaps overly passionate about poetry. I eat it. I get overwhelmingly giddy when the newest issue of The Paris Review comes out or when I read a great poem by a poet I'd never heard of before.

SP: How would you say this relates to the nature of your work?

KATEY: All of that adds up to an energetic me!

SP: You have indicated that you are afflicted with ADHD. You may not feel comfortable discussing this and I would understand. However, if you don't mind, I'd be interested to know if this poses any extra special challenges for you in writing? Are there any therapeutic benefits?

KATEY: This is very complicated and confusing. I don't mind talking about it at all; I just have a hard time figuring it all out for myself. But, here's my situation: I am ADHD and I take adderall. (I know some people don’t “believe in ADHD” but whatever. I have it.) Without the adderall, I have no inhibitions and I usually write my best poems this way. This is going to sound strange but without Adderall, I feel almost like I’m drunk. I am very silly and creative without it, but there's another side to this. Without adderall, I have a hard time sitting down. I find writing to be quite scary, as well, and it's very difficult for me to write without adderall because my emotions flow and I tend to avoid writing all together. However, when I do take my adderall, I have overwhelming urges to write, and I do. But for some reason the medicine hinders my creativity with language a little. I become more linear and left-brained. But at the same time I have such a drive to write, that something worthwhile is usually created. All in all, I find it best to write on adderall and force myself to let go and not worry about "the rules" of poetry. It's a little more complicated than all of what I just told you but that's the gist.

SP: Your recent post related to Donald Murray's book Crafting a Life you discuss the danger of reaching for "rhyme" and ending up with words that dilute or distort I believe you said, the meaning. What do you feel are the advantages, if any of the more traditional rhyme in poetry?

KATEY: Sound. Pure sound. Poetry is about sound as much as it is about images. Although I don’t write poems with regular rhyme schemes, I’m constantly striving to create sounds including all types of rhymes, alliteration, consonance, assonance, etc.

SP: Where do you fall in your thoughts about surrealism in poetry?

KATEY: I think I already answered this, but I love surrealism in poetry. I have an interest in poetry that on the surface doesn’t make “sense,” but for some reason the poem works deep down below somewhere. Again, Russell Edson and James Tate are perfect examples.

SP: Off the cuff, who do you consider the five individuals to most significantly influence American Poetry in the past fifty years?

KATEY:
1. William Carlos Williams
2. Charles Bukowski
3. Elizabeth Bishop
4. Ezra Pound
5. T.S. Eliot

SP: Who do you like the most of new, up and coming writers that have not already made a name for themselves?

KATEY: Will Roby. He was born to be a poet. He has a rare talent with language that tingles off the page. He reminds me of a combination between Rita Dove, Tate, and Brautigan. He’ll be huge someday. Guaranteed.

Rick Lupert. He’s the owner/editor of The Poetry Superhighway so he’s sort of made a name for himself, but I think he should be bigger. He makes me laugh a little too loud sometimes. He writes poems that make me want to hang out with him. He writes poems about things that people think about but never mention out loud. He’s the Jerry Seinfeld of young poets.



SP: I believe I saw where you indicated that you felt Louise Glück was difficult to understand. I don't want to put words in your mouth, assuming this is true, how well do you believe a poet of this nature can adequately promote the cause of poetry as poet laureate?

KATEY: No, I don’t think she’s difficult to understand. I just don’t particularly enjoy the type of poetry she writes: confessional. I know she’s a good poet, but there are so many types of poetry, and she falls into a category that I don’t attend to much. I think she’ll do a fine job as poet laureate, but I think I remember reading somewhere that she’s not planning on actually doing anything. Whereas Billy Collins did the Poetry 180 project and the airline poetry. So, I don’t know. I guess it’s good that we have a range of poetic talents as laureate.

SP: "How important do you believe formal education is to successfully writing poetry?"

I think about this a lot as I am preparing to apply for an MFA soon. I think it all depends on the person. Some people feel that school can get in the way of creativity and so on. I feel differently. Right now, I want to go back to school not just to get a degree in poetry but because I want to know more about it. I want a community where I can write and be forced to write. I'm comfortable in a formal setting of education. I remember when I'd go to my creative writing classes as an undergrad, there was never a time that I left class without a new, inspired motivation to write. Every time I left the classroom, I fell in love with poetry all over again. I think the sustained reinforcement that the poetry classroom lends would be very beneficial in my success as a poet. I crave the classroom. I crave that group of people who sit around and do nothing but talk about poetry. I don't see how that could get in the way of creativity. Laundry and grocery lists gets in the way of my creativity, not discussions on the subject of poetry. But, still, it depends on the writer.

SP: I see you have some responsibilities associated with some online literary sites. Can you tell me about those and what those experiences lend to your overall growth as a writer?

I co-edit Word Riot (wordriot.org) with Will Roby. He asked me to be his “assistant” (ha ha) and of course I said yes. I think the best part of editing Word Riot is being able to see the other side of publishing. It makes rejections easier for me because I know what editors go through to find the poems they want to publish. I’ve probably rejected heaps of poems that were actually quite great, but for strange reasons, I didn’t feel they fit the magazine or they didn’t hit me the right way. I’ve learned that rejection doesn’t mean I suck as a poet, it means I submitted to the wrong place or at the wrong time.

I’m also an administrator at Enter the Muse (enterthemuse.com) which is a critical forum for writers. It has been amazingly significant in my growth as a writer. I’ve learned so much from receiving critiques and from communicating with a tight knot of people that share my interests in writing. I don’t think I’d be writing today if it weren’t for the critiques and advice I receive from the members.

SP: Katey, where would you like to see yourself five year from now in terms of writing?

All I know is I better have a book or at least a chapbook within the next five years. (I just laughed out loud after writing that.)

SP: Fifteen?

KATEY: In fifteen years I’d like to see myself married with children and with an MFA in poetry. Oh and a few books of poetry. I’d also like to see myself signing autographs on the streets of some big city. I’d like to have a dog and a cappuccino maker. Maybe a fish tank too.


SP: Katey has been a great sport about this, though I am not surprised. As I said at the beginning, I find her to be very open and engaging in her work, it should not surprise me for her to be no different under questions. I want to express my sincere thanks for being my first victim here and hope it was relatively painless for her.


Interview by Michael Wells / Stick Poet Super Hero

No One Listening (v.2)

I want to dance
though my feet have no special steps.

I want to shout
though I have nothing distinguished to say
only a desire to be heard.

I can taste the grape exalted
to its supreme perfection
dry and with a hint of oak.

It is the water passing swiftly in the narrow stream that
travels so far with so little, and
I look inward and see in myself a raindrop that wishes
beyond all hope to travel half as far in my quest. Sometimes
the desire is far greater than purpose.

I wonder is something missing?
Is this why no one is listening?

I build a fire out of doubts and questions and douse it with
the enthusiasm that seems misplaced. I have no need for it.
At least I will be warm.

Stick Poet Invetview Coming Saturday

Katey Nicosia Poet, Student and Blogger on One Good Bumblebee is the subject of my interview which will appear as a Saturday post. Katey has been featured too many times to count on the Stick Poet's Top Five Weekly Bloggers List, including a stretch of 5 straight weeks at number one.

I greatly enjoyed learning a little more about Katey and hope you will too when you read the interview.

Subliminals

1. Dragon:: Tower
   
2. Molecule:: Atom
   
3. Tire:: Rubber
   
4. Mighty:: Mouse
   
5. Octane:: High
   
6. Troll:: Little
   
7. Atmosphere:: Air
   
8. Guide:: TV
   
9. Leash:: Dog
   
10. Dustmite:: Pillow
    

Interview Coming......

Stay Tuned.... Stick Poet will post an Interview with a previous Stick Poet Top Five winner this weekend.

I know you are all dying to know.

Even Being At the Top Can Be Tough For A Writer

"I thought I should do something to celebrate, have a glass of wine or something. But all I could find in that house, a friend's, were some cookies from America, some awful chocolate cookies- Oreos, I think- so I ended up eating two of those. And that's how I celebrated winning the Pulitzer Prize." -- Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979)

Ever thought how you would celebrate if you learned tonight that you won the Pulitzer Prize? Come on... tell us in the comments below.

Robert Bly Reading - Plymouth State College - NH

March 7 Plymouth, NH
Poetry reading, Plymouth State College, Sunday 3 p.m., admission free
Contact: 603/535-ARTS

Busy week

Let me whine just a bit. I've had a busy last few days. Writers workshop and Thursday and again on Sunday. Last night a meeting of one of my writers groups. And Snow... yes snow again, though it was not in the forecast this time.

I am working on a interview that I will get pulled together and posted this week come hell or high water. I'm not putting out any details just yet, but I think it will be an interesting piece. Maybe I'll break the news tomorrow... Or, maybe I won't. Ha! You'll have to come visit the site to see.

In the meantime, if you haven't signed up for my newsletter - do so in the yellow box at the upper left. Also, check out the "Stick Poet Super Hero" Gear:

Post cards, Greeting cards, Shirts, Cups, Journals, Boxers, etc.


Ok.... Yes, the official "Classic Stick Poet Super Hero Thong" can be seen here!

Glad we cleared that up!

No Top 5 Tomorrow

The Stick Poet Top Five is taking a vacation tomorrow. In Fact, I am taking a three week vacation from it while I work on catching up some writing projects of my own.

I know you can all survive. Drink lots of coffee or caffeinated Coke and you'll do just fine.

I actually have a series of Interviews I am planning on featuring here starting with the first one sometime next week. I think you will enjoy them and they will give us lots more to explore.

Paying For The Gas That Killed Sylvia

Elizabeth Sigmund, confidante and perhaps one of Sylvia Plath's closest friends recounts her memories of Sylvia and Ted and their tragic lives. "The academic research will go on because Sylvia Plath was a very important poet. But I think it would be far better if the personal details of Ted's and Sylvia's life were let be, because what good can it do, bringing it up again?"

The Call

Looney tunes
Everyone looks about
Chattering birds oblivious
On an invisible telephone line

Thanks to Jilly... for the link.

I'm terza rima, and I talk and smile. Where others lock their rhymes and thoughts away I let mine out, and chatter all the while. I'm rarely on my own - a wasted day Is any day that's spent without a friend, With nothing much to do or hear or say. I like to be with people, and depend On company for being entertained; Which seems a good solution, in the end. What Poetry Form Are You?

There is a Poem Somewhere Here

Just give me a little time... **grin**

Thank You George W.

Meet the Press on Sunday cleared up one thing for certain. My previously held assumptions about the President are right on the mark.

Subliminals

1. Identity:: stolen
   
2. Reveal:: expose
   
3. Live:: moving
   
4. Attitude:: stubborn
   
5. Night:: nocturnal
   
6. Nevada:: gambling
   
7. Weekend:: fun
   
8. Write:: poetry
   
9. Friend:: companion
   
10. Seventeen:: youth
    

Cold

The young boys face
stung with the bite of the icy wind
but he said noting.
His mother's flesh was no different
than his. They waited for the bus
knee deep in the road waste piled
at the bus stop by plows.

Newsletter

For those would like a taste of Stick Poet in the mail boxes from time to time, you are free to sign up in the yellow box at the upper left of the blog (just below the masthead). I promise you will not be subjected to massive amounts of e-mails.

Stick Poet Top 5 Blogs of the Week

It's Friday and I am on time - hooray!

No. 5 Ivy Is Here [First time on the list]

No. 4 One Good Bumblebee [Also No. 4 last week]

No. 3 The Poetry Hut [Also No. 3 last week]

No. 2The Chatelaine's Poetics [Last week's No. 1 on the list]

No. 1 Awake At Dawn on Someone's Couch [First time even on the list]

No One Listening

The glum will surely fade
and I, I can taste the grape exalted
to its supreme perfection
dry and with a hint of oak.

I want to dance
though my feet have no special steps
I want to shout though I have nothing distinguished to say
but only a desire to be heard.

And you, like so many others look at me and wonder.
It is the water passing swiftly in the narrow stream that
travels so far with so little,

And I look inward and see in myself a raindrop that wishes
beyond all hope to travel half as far in my quest. Sometimes
the desire is far greater than purpose. Then I too wonder
is there something missing? Is that why no one is listening?

I build a fire out of doubts and questions and douse it with
the enthusiasm that seems misplaced. I have no need for it.
At least I will be warm.

"Free The People"

"Free the people." he said
and took a walk along the shore.

Too many black clouds
and the hatchet men.

Oh you say we must provide affordable health care
by eliminating lawsuits that hurt good doctors...
but good medicine is the best remedy for eliminating lawsuits.

"Free the people." he said as he drove the truck into town.

Too much at stake
too many out of work.

You say we are at war with terrorism.
Why do you terrorize us?

"Free the people." He said to the teacher
as he left his daughter at the school playground.

You read to a class and tell us to leave no child behind.
Then pile a debt to leave behind for the children.

"Free the people" He said to his neighbor
standing in line at the polls.
The neighbor nodded.

Minute Memo

EILEEN TABIOS, one of this past week's Stick Poet Top Five will not blog for the rest of the week as she is leaving for New York where as she puts it, "I'll be creating mischief."

Actually I believe that mischief will come in the form of poetry readings. Best wishes to her in the Big Apple!

Jilly why NASA hasn't got at least 512MB. Good question!

No Women Need Apply

"Keep Women Out" I heard him say
and then he went off to play.
What's Gregory fear of the little dears...
That they may actually play up to par?

Monday Madness

Weather sucks here in river city... but not bad enough to shut down work.

I mentioned this weekend that Love During Wartime has a new look. Let me go a step further and say that it agrees with me. I think it is a real improvement.

The second issue of Plum Ruby Review is posted. I have not had a chance to read it yet... but hope to maybe later today.


Poetry in the air... Thanks to Laurable for this find.

Forecast Factors

Prognosticator's wiggle room
three to six inches
rain or freezing rain changing to snow

Radar tracking
information lacking
will it turn
we'll wait to learn

The sky looks bad
feeling stuck and sad

FYI

New Look for Love During Wartime

Stick Poet Gear Now Available

Top Five Poetry Blog List for the Past Week

Thank you all for your patience this week.
The winners are....


No. 5 The Blue Kangaroo (welcome back after falling off the list last week)

No. 4 One Good Bumblebee (Last week's No. 2)

No. 3 The Poetry Hut (Last week's No. 2)

No. 2 Love During Wartime (Last week's No. 3)

No. 1 The Chatelaine's Poetics (Moving up from No. 4 Last Week)


I enjoyed this weeks readings.... Everyone have a great week ahead!

NOW YOU CAN BUY YOUR OWN STICK POET SUPER HERO GEAR

Stick Poet Super Hero Gear - cards, journals T-shirts and more available here

Top Five

Sorry Folks... It's been a long day. I'm not up to the task tonight. I'll post this weekend. Thanks for all your patience.

Recovering

Transformer reformed, given a second chance to be prodigious.

Tuesday Tid-Bits

Thanks to Jilly for her link to this Annie Sexton piece.

This is how you rewrite history: White House emissaries head abroad to recast war

Carl Sandburg Remembered (note - the writer and I are not one-in-the-same or related)

Katey have some cool fin links lister. Check them out.

Subliminals

You say... I think:

1. Political:: Party
   
2. Concentration:: Camp
   
3. Fish:: Blue Gill
   
4. Lunacy:: Mind
   
5. Red:: Blood
   
6. Imply:: Accuse
   
7. Recognize:: See
   
8. Sexist:: Pig
   
9. Commercial:: Shop
   
10. Stricken:: Sea
    

Always fun to do these and see what others responses are.

squawking hawq

one good bumblebee

Top Five Explanation

James is frustrated... "But I'm also a tad frustrated, because I don't know what I did this week that made the space better than it was last week."

Let me shed a little light on my selection process.

First, I read a good number of blogs each week. Many are not poetry related. There are some great ones, but they have to touch on the core subject of poetry and poetics to be able to count in my Top Five list.

Next, I like to see some poetry itself. It isn't a mandate, but poetry or poetic discussions put forward by the bloggers themselves are helpful at gaining my attention.

I would like to see balance. If I wanted to focus on a strictly serious academic blog of poetics, Ron Silliman (hypothetically of course) would win each week. I like a balance of humor, other items the blogger has found interesting and linked to, quotations that expand the mind and to a lesser degree, the aesthetic appearance of the blog. The latter I usually only go to if I am having to decide between two blogs that are otherwise scoring a tie with me for that week.

As for James, or anyone else that feels like the won one week with a weaker (or about the same) blog that say they had the previous week... they must understand that some weeks the overall competition is tougher than others.

Yes, James the weekly top five is labor intensive on my part. I have a number of projects that I am working on besides my own poetry. The major one being a book about the San Francisco Giants home for forty years, Candlestick Park. I am reaching a point where this project (to stay on deadline) may cause me to rethink the Weekly Top-Five List.
Posting the results are not the biggest time consumption part of the process. Reading and notating or scoring the blogs themselves is the biggest consumption of time involved. I do feel I benefit from the exposure to the blogs so it is a positive experience. It is also in this context that I feel the Top-Five List provides others who have worked hard on their posts with some acknowledgement and kudos.

My site meter suggests that each week we have new readers. If I can point a few people to other interesting blogs that they may not have seen before, then everyone involved gains.

I hope this gives some clarity to my process of selection.

Stick Poet Top Five Blog List for the Week

It's that time again. These are the five most impressive poetry blogs I've read this week.

No. 5 Craig Hill's Poetry Scorecard (repeating at No. 5 from last week)

No. 4 The Chatelaine's Poetics (repeating at No. 4 from last week)

No. 3 Love During Wartime (previous winner back on the list again)

No. 2 One Good Bumblebee / previously known as Chewing On Pencils (No. 1 on the list for five weeks in a row)

No. 1 Poetry Hut Blog (moving up from No. 2 last week)

Congratulation to all... I enjoyed this weeks reads.

Beyond Decent Poets

Katey(One Good Bumblebee / formerly Chewing on Pencils) reports on her disagreement with a fellow poet in AIM over the significance of the meaning of a poem. The argument is not a new one but I have to say that I believe the real issue is not the importance of the meaning but rather how important is it that the meaning of the writer and the perception of the reader be one in the same.

First of all, none of us share the same life experiences. Because of that, our exposure to concepts and even reality is limited to our own personal sphere of influence. What we have seen, read, felt, smelled, experienced in any of a number of ways. Most of us are not going to look at any three words paired together and necessarily come to the same point.

I believe both Katey and I for example have posted the subliminals on our blogs. We likely don't often match the same words. Much in this same way, we may read the same poem and find vastly different meaning. After all, of all literary forms poetry is the most compact usage of language and therefore the most introspective.

Katey's AIM friend suggests that this will not happen if the poet is a decent poet. May I politely suggest that this is a pile horse crap! By this fellow's standards, a lot of poets just fell from grace. My assessment is that poetry is for the most part a collaborative between the writer and the reader. As a writer my own feeling is that as soon as I put something out there in the public view, be becomes subject to collaborative views of the readers.

What the hell is a"decent" poet anyway? One fully clothed?

Bolivia Postcard Poems

My first real contact with postcard poems came from an NPR broadcast which touched on the process of exchanging post cards with short poetic verse and how one such exchange produced the words of Wyn Cooper "Fun" that turned into Sheryl Crows 1993 Grammy-winning son, "All I Wanna So."

My next intro to postcard poems was via the collaborations between Cassie Lewis and Del Ray Cross that started I believe in 2001 and resulted in a chapbook. Another collaboration between Stephanie Young and Cassie Lewis was also published in a chapbook.

The whole concept of postcard poetry is very interesting to me and so I was anxious to see yet another example of this form of poetic exchange.

Bolivia Postcard Poems by Linda Pope and James A. Collins is a 34 page work that is the result of their longest separation to this point, a week that Linda spent on a Mission trip to Bolivia.

I was impressed with the raw honesty of feeling that seemed to leap from the print as I read through the chapbook. Even in anticipation of the departure Linda's gummy bears... Oklahoma air and the scent of jac's body fresh from the shower provide a very intimate image.

Linda shares the stage with physical feelings (sickness) as well as emotional. She puts it all out there including the manner in which the native people touch her life.

James prayerful in verse... I get the feeling that he finds some comfort and solitude in nature through Linda's absence. In some way, it feels like that perhaps rather than a substitute for her, it brings him closer to her.

One of my favorite verses... "and the rain came / to wash away the night / van winkle's bowlers / scored strikes til 4 a.m."

In Linda and James collaborative effort I see a personal dynamic that send a strong message about the comfort of poetic expression that gives a great deal of relevancy to this medium in today's society.

Many of you may know James through his blog: Love During Wartime which won the Stick Poet Blog Sweeps this fall.

Copies of Bolivia Postcard Poems are available E-mail James

Fair and Balanced

blisterpacks protecting environmental issues
from unsightly blemishes

war and rumors of same
are fought with an antidote of strong black coffee
and prozac

while embedded reporters sleep with sheep
and other neurotic high ranking officials
in cozy quarters
free of the pressures of truth

This Past Weeks - Top Five Poetry Blogs from Stick Poet

No. 5 Craig Hill's Poetry Score Card (new this week)

No. 4 The Chatelaine's Poetics (last week No. 3)

No. 3 Blue kangaroo (last week No. 3)

No. 2 Poetry Hut Blog (two weeks in a row at No. 2)

No. 1 Chewing on Pencils (five weeks in a row at No.1)

Some great blogging this week!

Thanks to Jean!

I now know what normal is.

I also know it is Friday and time to call it a day.

Day!

I have to satisfy my readers with this weeks top five petry blogs - but that will come later this evening.

Wine & Poetry

"I'll drink to that!" - Stick Poet

Subliminals

Thought associations...

1. Mitchell:: Martha
   
2. Mercury:: dime
   
3. Cycle:: moon
   
4. Engagement:: wedding
   
5. Alternative:: music
   
6. Gang:: bang
   
7. Emotional:: moody
   
8. Skinny:: svelte
   
9. Hypochondriac:: complain
   
10. Insecure:: lacking

Tuesday Morn - I'm here

The Blue Kangaroo has been quite inspiring of late. Jean's computer has not been very cooperative in this venture. I hope all is back to normal. By the way... anyone know what normal is?


A thought...
"When in public poetry should take off its clothes and wave to the nearest person in sight; it should be seen in the company of thieves and lovers rather than that of journalists and publishers." - Brian Patten

Credit Katey with this link - and the other two Quizilla's from yesterday

You are Poetry.
You are often the most emotional of the arts. You
are introverted, in that you tend to let people
come to you rather than trying to get their
attention. You get along well with Music and
Literature.


What form of art are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

The Stick Poet Top Five Of The Week

Once again folks... It's that time. Week seemed to really roll by fast this time. My top five poetry blogs for the week are as follows:

No. 5 Mikarrhea (back after an absence for a while)

No. 4 Blue Kangaroo (another from a past list)

No. 3 The Chatelaine's Poetics (two weeks in a row at No. 3)

No. 2 Poetry Hut Blog (moving up from No. 5 last week)

No. 1 Chewing on Pencils (four weeks in a row at No. 1)

Great Week Of Blogs!!!

Really?

You are Anne Sexton - a sensual, wild person with a
taste for adultery. You prey on lesser
talents, luring them into your bed and into
your poetry. You are the Venus Fly-Trap of
confessional poets.


Which Dead Poet Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

My Alter Poet?

Your alter poet is Allen Ginsberg. Quick, go nuts,
because THIS IS GOOD FOR YOU!


Who is Your Alter Poet?
brought to you by Quizilla

untitled

awaken
this, another day enslaved
in gray
no black
no gray

make up your mind lad
what shall it be
if it matters

i can't even turn off the lights
and be alone in my darkness

it's not bright enough
but too bright to hide the dark
i can't even pretend

though it may pass
it surly will come again
with it's sharp blade of steel
touching my back
a prick of red
but only a drop to remind me
of mortality

and i shall shiver and protest the
harshness of this sentence
but upon deaf ears

Tuesday - Meanderings

Ah, Michaela Cooper speaks! I have to hand it to her, the layout she has created for a web site is truly rich! I love it!


This reminder - Robert Bly This Thursday...
Jan 8 San Jose, CA
Poetry reading at San Jose State, Thursday 7 p.m.
Contact: Nils Peterson, 408-378-7536


Postcards From Mars

Good Words / Bad Words:

Katey lists favorite words and ugliest words

Subliminals

1. Vintage:: aged
   
2. Longing:: desire
   
3. Specimen:: sample
   
4. Mock:: taunt
   
5. Shit:: defecate
   
6. Friday:: survived
   
7. Cruel:: mean
   
8. Insufficient:: lacking
   
9. Pessimistic:: negative
   
10. Grin:: smile
    

Ok, that finished, I must say that defecate will no doubt bring some interesting google searchers to this site.

This Past weeks Top Five Blog Reads

Ok - These are the Star Studded Blogs of my reading this past week.

No. 5 - Poetry Hut Blog (debut)

No. 4 - Elsewhere (debut)

No. 3 The Chatelaine's Poetics (debut)

No. 2 The Well Nourished Moon (debut)

No. 1 Chewing On Pencils (repeating at No. 1 three weeks in a row)

Four made the list for the first time this week. These blogs are not totally new to me, but they did catch my attention this week.

Top Five Blogs

Stick Poet's top five blogs will appear here later today. Unfortunately I could not log on to blogger yesterday for some reason unknown to me. I suspect I irritated my dear muse and she was getting back at me.

I have to run... things to do thins morning. Check back later today. Useless there is otherwise some divine intervention, I'll post the lucky winners at that time.