Seems like everyone I know is scrapping the bottom of the barrel where money is concerned right now. Very few American poets make enough money from their poetry to live on, maybe none, except for the teaching, speaking and other writing they do. Putting on a Poetry Festival requires money and doesn't bring much in. Guess that leaves love of poetry as the main motivation, but wouldn't it be a great civilization that supported poets.
Poetsville
Job description
Must be a spell binding
truth telling word wielding
sloppy dresser somewhat
geekish with an uncanny
desire to disturb the
peace of those in power
In addition please be
willing to set the
record straight
make children dance
and grandmas giggle
make soldiers lay down
their arms or use them
for hugging and please
use your creativity to
pour golden vitality
into our beloved language
taking back war talk
and recovering the universal
language of all people
amore.
Salary:
Commensurate with a non-competitive
decent standard of living wage.
Benefits..honor and respect
from the citizens of this nation.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Breeding Poetry
I love poetry that breeds poetry. That's what happened with Kory's butt shaking piece from October 18th. Julie another Sparrows fan has given us her version you can see here. Also there has been a discussion on a poetry circle that I subscribe to that is asking basically, "How do we help change the languagethat has us and our land and our people in thrall?" My response is a poem that I'll also post here. Keep the poetry coming. Love it!
Scattering Seeds
-after Kory by Julie
I don't want to butt shake in the kitchen
I want a good old fashioned butt shaking to happen in the street
near the neighbors xeriscaped garden
she waters it every other day
and when I confront her
with the meaning of
xeriscape
she bends over
butt in the air
pulls out thistle and bindweed
from in between the sandstone walkway
one day I hit the metal edge separating my grass from her mulch
broke my lawnmower
created a sharp edge
my dog tends to prefer pissing on one plant near the sharpness
I stuck an old sign there to protect his feet
my other neighbor
the man
points to the sign says
she lost you know
and I say
Haven't we all?
Haven't we all
don't we all lose the battle with weeds is what I mean
Rain or water comes every other day and
I can almost hear the seeds popping
like snap rockets in the street
on the fourth of july or Mexican independence day
that's what's happening this week in
living rooms across the country
seeds being scattered
some sprout in to gardens and others in to weeds
I want to do what my neighbor does
I want to bend over in the garden
butt shake
and pull
How to Change the World in Word
by Jude
perhaps a let it rip session
in loud voice now and then
but all praise as in Sherman
Alexie's most beautiful poem
about the saving of his child
or perhaps a loud open lunged
singing in the woods with no
human to hear a halleluiah chorus
of trees, bugs, land and me
how about listening to the language
of children and learning how to speak
simply again or silence how is tares
away the pretense of the well spoken
passionate words as in the search we
make for endearments for lovers whose breath
makes us too grateful for words
or the music of sirens the invention
of new meanings reclaiming the language
of war as in wage peace or poetry or love
made up word sounds that carry meaning just
in the curl of the tongue and the lips around them
singing everything for a day as children do when
they're riding in cars and alone with the godfilled
fantasy that says they really are the center
of the universe, not i'm the only one, but there
is no place or person that is not that center
maybe cultivate words for each person on
earth as in a name with meaning that might
change at any time or the adam action a reaction of
letting eve name animals this time and take
away some scientific, wasteland thought and
replace it with something dark, gooey with
scent and color take away the keys for a week
and see what a beautiful tree free piece of paper
asks of the perfect pen and in usage
a new word everyday to place on the
earth as a love offering something to
pass on to our children's children that
says more, not less and why not two by two
or ten by ten why should scientists be the ones
to invent new words and not poets rise
up with me and sing meaning into this
vast land and don't say waste or want say
ravish me, say fecund, say mudlefrucker
say amen.
Scattering Seeds
-after Kory by Julie
I don't want to butt shake in the kitchen
I want a good old fashioned butt shaking to happen in the street
near the neighbors xeriscaped garden
she waters it every other day
and when I confront her
with the meaning of
xeriscape
she bends over
butt in the air
pulls out thistle and bindweed
from in between the sandstone walkway
one day I hit the metal edge separating my grass from her mulch
broke my lawnmower
created a sharp edge
my dog tends to prefer pissing on one plant near the sharpness
I stuck an old sign there to protect his feet
my other neighbor
the man
points to the sign says
she lost you know
and I say
Haven't we all?
Haven't we all
don't we all lose the battle with weeds is what I mean
Rain or water comes every other day and
I can almost hear the seeds popping
like snap rockets in the street
on the fourth of july or Mexican independence day
that's what's happening this week in
living rooms across the country
seeds being scattered
some sprout in to gardens and others in to weeds
I want to do what my neighbor does
I want to bend over in the garden
butt shake
and pull
How to Change the World in Word
by Jude
perhaps a let it rip session
in loud voice now and then
but all praise as in Sherman
Alexie's most beautiful poem
about the saving of his child
or perhaps a loud open lunged
singing in the woods with no
human to hear a halleluiah chorus
of trees, bugs, land and me
how about listening to the language
of children and learning how to speak
simply again or silence how is tares
away the pretense of the well spoken
passionate words as in the search we
make for endearments for lovers whose breath
makes us too grateful for words
or the music of sirens the invention
of new meanings reclaiming the language
of war as in wage peace or poetry or love
made up word sounds that carry meaning just
in the curl of the tongue and the lips around them
singing everything for a day as children do when
they're riding in cars and alone with the godfilled
fantasy that says they really are the center
of the universe, not i'm the only one, but there
is no place or person that is not that center
maybe cultivate words for each person on
earth as in a name with meaning that might
change at any time or the adam action a reaction of
letting eve name animals this time and take
away some scientific, wasteland thought and
replace it with something dark, gooey with
scent and color take away the keys for a week
and see what a beautiful tree free piece of paper
asks of the perfect pen and in usage
a new word everyday to place on the
earth as a love offering something to
pass on to our children's children that
says more, not less and why not two by two
or ten by ten why should scientists be the ones
to invent new words and not poets rise
up with me and sing meaning into this
vast land and don't say waste or want say
ravish me, say fecund, say mudlefrucker
say amen.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
WAGE POETRY
Wage Poetry is the theme for SPARROWS 2007. Judyth Hill, who will be on Sparrows main
stage this year, coined the phrase, "Wage Peace," right after 9/11. It has caught the imagination of the anti-war movement. People wear it on T-shirts, etc. Wage Poetry is a poet's call to change the world in Word and Deed. Can't wait to see how this year's poetic voices help us transform the world through the power of poetry.
stage this year, coined the phrase, "Wage Peace," right after 9/11. It has caught the imagination of the anti-war movement. People wear it on T-shirts, etc. Wage Poetry is a poet's call to change the world in Word and Deed. Can't wait to see how this year's poetic voices help us transform the world through the power of poetry.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
New Poetry
Sorry it's been a while. The Sparrows Board is working hard to create Sparrows 2007.
The blog is getting some great poetry from Sparrows fans, so wanted to post them out here. This one is from Kory Ford who will be perfroming at Sparrows 2007.
A Soul music morning
for me, please.
One that starts early,
sounds funky
and lets you butt-shake
through the kitchen
while you put the coffee on.
One that invents
new pet names for you,
sugar dumplin'
while the morning sun
pours in
a color somewhere between
whiskey and honey.
It's fun to iron your shirt
on a Soul Music morning,
and the shower is just right.
The toothpaste explodes
minty freshness and
obliterates morning breath
and guys like
Shuggie Otis and
William DeVaughn
remind us to be thankful for what we got.
Diamond in the back,
sun roof top,
diggin' the scene
with a gangsta lean
oooohhh-hooooo!
And here's a great one from our
Coordinator for Sponsors, Connie
Sun Showers
by Connie Kaye
I forgot all about sun showers.
I was so busy moving against the squall
parading my bravado in the face of hurricanes
protecting my heart from drowning in the
torrential downpours of a tempestuous existence
that I forgot about the gentle tickling of
springtime rain.
Sun showers are
flirtatious, they’re like
handholding, they’re like
the intimacy of a long-term friendship.
They are
first kisses and
smiles from across the room…
Hearts a-flutter and sometimes
your breath grows heavy and a little
deep, like sleeping in a hammock
outside a cabin on a Hudson River morning, like
wildflowers covering the landscape on
Cascade Creek or
a skinny-dipping sunset
on Lake Louise.
It has to do with virtues such as
Peace
Respect
and purest Love.
It has to do with gifts freely given and
accepting the offerings of a generous creation.
It has to do with
unconditional passions,
forgiveness
and grace.
I forgot about sun showers all this time…
until one summer afternoon
a sprinkling rainfall stopped by to visit
and I remembered its name.
The blog is getting some great poetry from Sparrows fans, so wanted to post them out here. This one is from Kory Ford who will be perfroming at Sparrows 2007.
A Soul music morning
for me, please.
One that starts early,
sounds funky
and lets you butt-shake
through the kitchen
while you put the coffee on.
One that invents
new pet names for you,
sugar dumplin'
while the morning sun
pours in
a color somewhere between
whiskey and honey.
It's fun to iron your shirt
on a Soul Music morning,
and the shower is just right.
The toothpaste explodes
minty freshness and
obliterates morning breath
and guys like
Shuggie Otis and
William DeVaughn
remind us to be thankful for what we got.
Diamond in the back,
sun roof top,
diggin' the scene
with a gangsta lean
oooohhh-hooooo!
And here's a great one from our
Coordinator for Sponsors, Connie
Sun Showers
by Connie Kaye
I forgot all about sun showers.
I was so busy moving against the squall
parading my bravado in the face of hurricanes
protecting my heart from drowning in the
torrential downpours of a tempestuous existence
that I forgot about the gentle tickling of
springtime rain.
Sun showers are
flirtatious, they’re like
handholding, they’re like
the intimacy of a long-term friendship.
They are
first kisses and
smiles from across the room…
Hearts a-flutter and sometimes
your breath grows heavy and a little
deep, like sleeping in a hammock
outside a cabin on a Hudson River morning, like
wildflowers covering the landscape on
Cascade Creek or
a skinny-dipping sunset
on Lake Louise.
It has to do with virtues such as
Peace
Respect
and purest Love.
It has to do with gifts freely given and
accepting the offerings of a generous creation.
It has to do with
unconditional passions,
forgiveness
and grace.
I forgot about sun showers all this time…
until one summer afternoon
a sprinkling rainfall stopped by to visit
and I remembered its name.
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