tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22537908502399591222024-03-21T12:16:37.650-04:00TEMPLE POETRYA BLOG FOR CREATIVE WRITING STUDENTS AT TEMPLE UNIVERSITYAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15656804402068632823noreply@blogger.comBlogger263125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-25590075612806061572012-02-19T17:37:00.003-05:002012-02-19T17:42:03.026-05:00POETRY AND BASEBALL<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last week Al Filreis posted a <a href="http://jacket2.org/commentary/paul-blackburn-1960-world-series" target="_blank">link</a> to <em>Jacket2</em> of Paul Blackburn reading one of his baseball poems, "7th Game: 1960 Series," and it reminded me of a post I made back in 2008 on poetry and baseball, which I'll repost below.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_edsqLqZTrHA/SOpvpxaru_I/AAAAAAAAAPA/wOjRpE24EhA/s1600-h/tinkerf.jpg"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254134678711679986" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_edsqLqZTrHA/SOpvpxaru_I/AAAAAAAAAPA/wOjRpE24EhA/s200/tinkerf.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_edsqLqZTrHA/SOpvyIDtdpI/AAAAAAAAAPI/jiWSC9tj2rE/s1600-h/eversf.jpg"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254134822228293266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_edsqLqZTrHA/SOpvyIDtdpI/AAAAAAAAAPI/jiWSC9tj2rE/s200/eversf.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_edsqLqZTrHA/SOpv4yzB2GI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/EMbPGWcAPuk/s1600-h/chancef.jpg"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254134936780265570" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_edsqLqZTrHA/SOpv4yzB2GI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/EMbPGWcAPuk/s200/chancef.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><br />
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<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_edsqLqZTrHA/SOp-R5kRcbI/AAAAAAAAAPw/PV7rRxmfXMY/s1600-h/rollinsutleyhoward.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254150761256939954" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_edsqLqZTrHA/SOp-R5kRcbI/AAAAAAAAAPw/PV7rRxmfXMY/s320/rollinsutleyhoward.jpg" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">After that double play against the Nationals to clinch the National League East gonfalon (pennant), it's time to rewrite </span><a href="http://www.memory.loc.gov/ammem/bbhtml/bb1.html"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Franklin P. Adams's "Tinker to Evers to Chance"</span></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (spoken in the forlorn voice of a Mets fans):</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />
These are the saddest of possible words:</span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; fontfamily: verdana;">"Rollins to Utley to Howard."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Trio of Phillies, and fleeter than birds,</span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Rollins and Utley and Howard.</span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Making a Met hit into a double--<br />
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:</span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Rollins to Utley to Howard."<br />
</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />
One of the great things about the original poem is how the meter mimics the rhythm of a double play. "Howard" throws off the dactylic meter, but it still turns...two. </span></div><div><div></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Why are there more poems written about baseball than, say, football, basketball, or soccer? There are several anthologies devoted to poetry and baseball, as well as journals such as </span><a href="http://www.cosmicbaseball.com/cba1.html"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><em>Cosmic Baseball Association</em> </span></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">and </span><a href="https://p4.secure.hostingprod.com/@www.efqreview.com/ssl/NewFiles/subscribe.html"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Elysian Fields Quarterly</span></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">. </span><a href="http://epc.buffalo.edu/authors/spicer/"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Jack Spicer</span></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"> loved baseball and wrote many fine poems based on the sport. </span><a href="http://epc.buffalo.edu/authors/williams/"><span style="font-family: verdana;">William Carlos Williams</span></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and </span><a href="http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/96"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Marianne Moore</span></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"> also come to mind as poets who loved the game and wrote fine baseball poems. There are also excellent baseball novels, including Robert Coover's <em>The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop.</em><br />
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But what's the connection between baseball and poetry? Is baseball more "poetic" than, say, football? Is there a connection between American poets trying to locate a national identity in literature and the poem addressed to baseball, "America's sport"? And if the rumors are true about football replacing baseball as America's sport, will there suddenly be more football poems? </span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">My own sense of the connection between baseball and poetry came into focus after overhearing a conversation at the Royal Tavern in Philadelphia, Game 3 of the Phillies-Brewers NLDS on the TV over the bar:<br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Guy 1: Baseball's a thinking-man's sport.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Guy 2: Yeah, you don't have to watch every play.<br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Guys 1 and 2 were trying to persuade Guy 3 of the intellectual virtues of baseball. I'm not sure how thinking and not paying attention go together, but there's something <em>between</em> these statements that has to do with the poetry of baseball as what happens not only during plays, but also between plays. Here, for example, is a favorite baseball poem, from </span><a href="http://epc.buffalo.edu/authors/blackburn/"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Paul Blackburn's</span></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"> "17.IV.71," that gets at this sense of a "between-state" in baseball that may lend itself to poetry:</span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />
Top of the 8th, after</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">four fouled off Gentry, still</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 and 2, a plastic bag</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">blows over home plate, Dave</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Cash of the Pirates steps</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">out of the box, steps</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">back in, after speeding the plastic</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">on its way</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">with his bat, fouls</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">two more off, then 3 & 2, then</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">infield bounce to the shortstop, out at first.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />
The poem reads like a play-by-play commentary on the radio, including all the jargon of pitch counts and so on, but the field of attention isn't simply on the "play," or putting the ball into play (the pitch, the swing, the fielding, and so on). Instead, there's a play of attention between official play ("four fouled off," "fouls/two more off," "bounce to the shortstop, out at first") and unofficial play of a plastic bag blowing "over home plate" and Cash speeding it "on its way/with his bat." Blackburn was a master of the music and rhythm of language. Here, his description of this unofficial play is paradoxically like someone not watching every play: attention in inattention, attention to the unintended and unscripted events that happen between plays. And maybe this is what's "poetic" about baseball--attention to all that happens between plays, like poetry attentive to all that happens between words.<br />
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A couple of other things to note: The structure of Blackburn's poem mimics the temporal cadence of Cash's at-bat. And note the linebreaks--that long last line, for example, where the ball's put "into play," and the indented lines that measure pauses in play (and "in play" in the poem), mimicking, for example, Cash stepping out of the batter's box, then back in. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />
Another favorite baseball poem--Robert Kelly's </span><a href="http://www.cosmicbaseball.com/kellya.html"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"A Pastoral Dialogue on the Game of the Quadrature."</span></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The symmetry of the field (quadrature) and the rules (trinity motif in first, second, third bases; three strikes; three outs; nine innings), on the one hand, and the asymmetry of play itself (endless adjustments, replacements, changes; the caprice of weather), on the other, create a tension not unlike the tension in poetry between structure and chance, and what happens between words. </span></div><div><br />
<span style="font-family: verdana;">*A final note on baseball and the imagination: According to the </span><a href="http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=197104170NYN"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Baseball Almanac</span></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><a href="http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=gentrga01"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Gary Gentry</span></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"> wasn't even pitching on that windy April day at Shea Stadium. The Mets lost 2-0. </span><a href="http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=blassst01"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Steve Blass</span></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"> pitched a complete-game shutout for the Pirates, </span><a href="http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=cashda01"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dave Cash</span></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"> went 1 for 4, as did </span><a href="http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=clemero01"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Roberto Clemente</span></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">.<br />
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So much for poetry as factual document. Then again, there is no record in the Baseball Almanac of a plastic bag blowing across home plate. </span></div></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15656804402068632823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-28145943141249804172011-07-21T16:20:00.013-04:002011-07-21T16:31:50.252-04:00TEMPLE POETS & WRITERS SERIES, FALL 2011<strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">Cecilia Vicuna</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Thursday, October 13, 8:00 pm, TUCC 222<br /></span><a href="http://www.ceciliavicuna.org/en_about.htm"><span style="font-family:verdana;">http://www.ceciliavicuna.org/en_about.htm</span></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Poet and artist, born in Chile, she performs and exhibits her work widely in Europe, Latin America and the US. She is also a political activist and founding member of Artists for Democracy. Since 1980 she lives in New York and Chile. The author of 16 books, her poetry has been translated into several languages. <em>QUIPOem, The Precarious: The Art & Poetry of Cecilia Vicuña,</em> edited by Catherine de Zegher, was published by Wesleyan University Press.<br /><br /><strong>Alice Notley</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Thursday, November 3, 8:00 pm, TUCC 222</span><br /><a href="http://www.griffinpoetryprize.com/awards-and-poets/shortlists/2002-shortlist/alice-notley/"><span style="font-family:verdana;">http://www.griffinpoetryprize.com/awards-and-poets/shortlists/2002-shortlist/alice-notley/</span></a><br /><a href="http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/767"><span style="font-family:verdana;">http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/767</span></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Paris-based Alice Notley is the author of more than 20 books of poetry including<em> The Descent of Alette </em>(1996) and <em>Mysteries of Small Houses </em>(Penguin, 1998). She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Poetry.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15656804402068632823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-84651759608951843992011-05-25T15:13:00.034-04:002011-05-25T15:59:18.318-04:00THIRD ANNUAL STUDENT POETRY READING AT TEMPLE<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiarXclgOlCuqjURgp7ZttsvHtYrhxY9Q-dV39wbYEe59IyJkXkGBXZUO-xr32lZocFGqUH0rShvdUGIkeCTyXE5ueBHgtoK6l2XKC7_gHm1lmyhY4ri6FjHYIoZVLV4_u99-ymU9nOpVjn/s1600/2011+Student+Poetry+Reading+Flier.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 309px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610741993730174402" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiarXclgOlCuqjURgp7ZttsvHtYrhxY9Q-dV39wbYEe59IyJkXkGBXZUO-xr32lZocFGqUH0rShvdUGIkeCTyXE5ueBHgtoK6l2XKC7_gHm1lmyhY4ri6FjHYIoZVLV4_u99-ymU9nOpVjn/s400/2011+Student+Poetry+Reading+Flier.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div></div><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong>Poets:</strong> Anna Windman, Mark Moore, Gregory Weber, Diana Allinger, Madalean Gauze, Julian Galette, Steven Wagner, Kaitlyn Dougherty, Sean X Naughton, Shawn McCourt, John Kennedy, Elisabeth Joyce, Maryan N. Captan, Jen Markert, Ben Norris, Dave Thomas<br /></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOV87sEWNsWmCMAm-zrLcO2ITPAjnqstNbPUK0tSuaA_yS-8o1QPGXNy0DhFMY36xV2lxOlpwPF7sJhVZGN99aSm8G-L1m3JuvL4cVrHok1aNYquSky5xakJzWG9vdst_2YE7vp458ulJw/s1600/photo3.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610738691568938338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOV87sEWNsWmCMAm-zrLcO2ITPAjnqstNbPUK0tSuaA_yS-8o1QPGXNy0DhFMY36xV2lxOlpwPF7sJhVZGN99aSm8G-L1m3JuvL4cVrHok1aNYquSky5xakJzWG9vdst_2YE7vp458ulJw/s400/photo3.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzI0oCiTj10jJVmh-Ox9ZxFEPWVDMftL5bvejKXr96iP2xokalCiiXzBAvzG7Be8rN9r_QCj4nBm-UjAWQUw3szX9OIhkIPseDD2xlTMI8RECrBkqRFxfe_GxDz4to2Z6Rwqe-bsxd6cgI/s1600/photo14.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610740620036316610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzI0oCiTj10jJVmh-Ox9ZxFEPWVDMftL5bvejKXr96iP2xokalCiiXzBAvzG7Be8rN9r_QCj4nBm-UjAWQUw3szX9OIhkIPseDD2xlTMI8RECrBkqRFxfe_GxDz4to2Z6Rwqe-bsxd6cgI/s400/photo14.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik9qh71fE9_i2MDR1WHSi3_mp9pScy_00clXcr8O2kCFm0mvWm69J8OL9aWnZxvrDjLidg54xFu8Mg69-vRchWhuIphAro5CdhpcI3iJPeo5L0_MUHl8l61tYCAyytLaeROX3p3moZoWdH/s1600/photo13.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; 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HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610739827683335042" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirsYEU_4C5se8cPpodQRM9utGhUfknj2CmITfQRfRpyv6EZ1P556_8KEeqi_QdCd5JyVxMXzWLZtOP5ibEq6mZh4JwJkuc2-_fN9yexn6NVnJbfUKXWLETHERaK_QAS173sJeTW3oLsCKd/s400/photo5.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNxipZM8JFw952qhENG5QyRLD2DyfAcfxeFHIzSiYdu-Etctt5q_0NQ1exTOKEs9eaPLTTqqEqRYLM53K1rNOktfCvFtN_He6OVxcwEAAMkHreqUJ5033wP3cyhMgLqkNGF83fILMU5lwM/s1600/photo4.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610739738350509906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNxipZM8JFw952qhENG5QyRLD2DyfAcfxeFHIzSiYdu-Etctt5q_0NQ1exTOKEs9eaPLTTqqEqRYLM53K1rNOktfCvFtN_He6OVxcwEAAMkHreqUJ5033wP3cyhMgLqkNGF83fILMU5lwM/s400/photo4.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzC-aDwPikiktGBcAWWQTnd8JJVCytV8RKNAupV5hIzUyX3qvz3FHbbON1iNYgbvIEalHPRmZZwUo3co2c9nKC5TSWXqpR_UG7UowY07tmwtpZkUQTlNyqUsmqdHyNTQ2BJSPHeYjxmIsF/s1600/photo1.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610739566862681682" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzC-aDwPikiktGBcAWWQTnd8JJVCytV8RKNAupV5hIzUyX3qvz3FHbbON1iNYgbvIEalHPRmZZwUo3co2c9nKC5TSWXqpR_UG7UowY07tmwtpZkUQTlNyqUsmqdHyNTQ2BJSPHeYjxmIsF/s400/photo1.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpWeY1X7udZvdvh86yv3zITzCOXbNwYdQGjS7QJ5Ihrmafq5-6v-VqlyCUYRZSfq7p6LefRDsvhmGr91j7IXHNmqruajJHl99TeGxg32QQFUBTFjTdklzCPTYzv_0PBsqgqlKyGeMu9NpH/s1600/photo.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610739438967652594" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpWeY1X7udZvdvh86yv3zITzCOXbNwYdQGjS7QJ5Ihrmafq5-6v-VqlyCUYRZSfq7p6LefRDsvhmGr91j7IXHNmqruajJHl99TeGxg32QQFUBTFjTdklzCPTYzv_0PBsqgqlKyGeMu9NpH/s400/photo.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg360YgwYW4q9nhKtINytoty2fNdt8ZMxSAHIA7gGLDx4np0S3xVVpp4XxowVYKUje6yTAd4ZldfrzHLRK45jqubH4gZn4Ce4xrlhD2ZUOsmkb0boCGsDyQMhSkznB5-EXXWj7whdhPrbzR/s1600/photo2.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610739286048026050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg360YgwYW4q9nhKtINytoty2fNdt8ZMxSAHIA7gGLDx4np0S3xVVpp4XxowVYKUje6yTAd4ZldfrzHLRK45jqubH4gZn4Ce4xrlhD2ZUOsmkb0boCGsDyQMhSkznB5-EXXWj7whdhPrbzR/s400/photo2.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15656804402068632823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-22506248755145229872010-04-26T19:44:00.016-04:002010-04-28T10:32:48.485-04:00SECOND ANNUAL STUDENT POETRY READING AT TEMPLE<div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv9zl_MXAvhr8HDQH4asrKRqkugPNU9KkwidM733A9HgEWlY8H6k-5XXCv0gBx_D4YKPx-phHg7_L8zQeLBW67tM89Ao4CT0TpKNq1sDxjv49zZCNZOt7cMCwuMNaNqs17I4hUgNzL0yQr/s1600/owl.jpg"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 391px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464597397057716402" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv9zl_MXAvhr8HDQH4asrKRqkugPNU9KkwidM733A9HgEWlY8H6k-5XXCv0gBx_D4YKPx-phHg7_L8zQeLBW67tM89Ao4CT0TpKNq1sDxjv49zZCNZOt7cMCwuMNaNqs17I4hUgNzL0yQr/s400/owl.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">Join us for a Temple poetry reading & open mic<br /><br />Wednesday, April 28, 4:00-6:00 p.m.<br />Temple University Main Campus, Anderson Hall 821<br /><br />Featured poets:<br /><br />Devin Cohen<br />Emily Gleason<br />Elizabeth Kim<br />Justin McGoldrick<br />Hannah McMinn<br />Adler Roseau<br />Brandon Wilkins<br />Andrew Yang<br /><br />Free poetry, pizza, & refreshments!</span></strong></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15656804402068632823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-72294196474939168422009-12-09T13:06:00.023-05:002009-12-09T14:12:20.102-05:00POETRY & COOKIES<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hZUKABCys7o&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hZUKABCys7o&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /></p><p>Thinking about yesterday's poetry-class lunch . . . poetry and eating are linked in the social rituals of many cultures, and many poems have come together in the presence of food as part of prandial rituals and entertainment. There are whole anthologies devoted to poetry and food, and I'm sure an anthology could be put together focusing on just one course (soup poems, entree poems, dessert poems), or the act of cooking, or the companionship--"with bread"--of the table. </p><p>A Cookie Poems anthology could include Cookie Monster's poem (above), which gets interesting for me at the very point where Cookie Monster breaks from the uninspired constraint of cookieless verse, teaching us that hunger has its own rhyme and reason.</p><p>One of my favorite cookie poems:</p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Lines For The Fortune Cookies</strong><br /><br />I think you're wonderful and so does everyone else.<br /><br />Just as Jackie Kennedy has a baby boy, so will you--even bigger.<br /><br />You will meet a tall beautiful blonde stranger, and you will not say hello.<br /><br />You will take a long trip and you will be very happy, though alone.<br /><br />You will marry the first person who tells you your eyes are like scrambled eggs.<br /><br />In the beginning there was YOU--there will always be YOU, I guess.<br /><br />You will write a great play and it will run for three performances.<br /><br />Please phone <em>The Village Voice</em> immediately: they want to interview you.<br /><br />Roger L. Stevens and Kermit Bloomgarden have their eyes on you.<br /><br />Relax a little; one of your most celebrated nervous tics will be your undoing.<br /><br />Your first volume of poetry will be published as soon as you finish it.<br /><br />You may be a hit uptown, but downtown you're <em>legendary!</em><br /><br />Your walk has a musical quality which will bring you fame and fortune.<br /><br />You will eat cake.<br /><br />Who do you think you are, anyway? Jo Van Fleet?<br /><br />You think your life is like Pirandello, but it's really like O'Neill.<br /><br />A few dance lessons with James Waring and who knows? Maybe something will happen.<br /><br />That's not a run in your stocking, it's a hand on your leg.<br /><br />I realize you've lived in France, but that doesn't mean you know EVERYTHING!<br /><br />You should wear white more often--it becomes you.<br /><br />The next person to speak to you will have a very intriguing proposal to make.<br /><br />A lot of people in this room wish they were you.<br /><br />Have you been to Mike Goldberg's show? Al Leslie's? Lee Krasner's?<br /><br />At times, your disinterestedness may seem insincere, to strangers.<br /><br />Now that the election's over, what are you going to do with yourself?<br /><br />You are a prisoner in a <em>croissant</em> factory and you love it.<br /><br />You eat meat. Why do you eat meat?<br /><br />Beyond the horizon there is a vale of gloom.<br /><br />You too could be Premier of France, if only . . . if only. . .<br /><br />--Frank O'Hara</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;">What makes this poem work for me is its formal constraint and innovation: the poem </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">captures the tone, syntax, and declarative rhetoric ("You will," "You are," "You have," and so on) that you find in fortune cookies <em>and</em> replaces the vague/ abstract adjectives and nouns of fortune cookies ("love," "wealth," "happiness," and so on) with specific people, places, and things. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;">The deflations give the poem a humorous tone: not simply fortune ("you will meet an x, y, z person") but also misfortune ("you will not say hello"). And these are sassy cookies that ask tough questions: not "You will find out who you are" but "Who do you think you are, anyway?"</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Try writing a poem using whatever fortune you opened at yesterday's lunch-class as the first line of your poem, or turn the fortune upside down: not "you are an ambitious person" but "you are not an ambitious person" or "you are an ambitious person when . . ." Or misread your fortune: "you are an amphibious person" or "you are an ambiguous person." Or replace the pronouns: "we are an ambitious people." Or turn fortune into a question: "Are you an ambitious person?" Talk to the talking cookie.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Bon appetit!</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"></p></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15656804402068632823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-56940378858291466422009-12-07T22:02:00.003-05:002009-12-07T22:06:43.150-05:00Vegan Chunky Peanut and Chocolate Chip Blondies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhksvu6j65UIuESTVKOpo_dovFPFrmWw3FgKIpl_LcDVHMXxLmc8v8FKkkjbZUqudmG7PSGYGbLF-rlzLRieqauxOqm5MsVJNmh8YemZabbYOi-oOYlUy-tm2nsbI2ebJRH51sX1kSJVbs/s1600-h/1013456.large.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 193px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhksvu6j65UIuESTVKOpo_dovFPFrmWw3FgKIpl_LcDVHMXxLmc8v8FKkkjbZUqudmG7PSGYGbLF-rlzLRieqauxOqm5MsVJNmh8YemZabbYOi-oOYlUy-tm2nsbI2ebJRH51sX1kSJVbs/s320/1013456.large.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412696266252356290" /></a><br /><div>Care2 Recipe for Vegan Chunky Peanut and Chocolate Chip Blondies</div><a href="http://www.care2.com/greenliving/vegan-chocolate-chip-blondies.html">http://www.care2.com/greenliving/vegan-chocolate-chip-blondies.html</a><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-42038376437586348292009-12-03T22:08:00.003-05:002009-12-03T22:16:42.521-05:00Poetics4The "I remember" poem was by far one of the most interesting poems to write and prepare for. Brainard’s book was an interesting read as well as very delightful at how honest it was, sometimes to the point of too honest. When i originally started to write my poem it was going to be about my grandmother that passed away. I finished the entire poem and when i read through it I decided that it was too emotional and there was no way I could discuss something like that in class. So I wrote a different poem and focused on everything I could remember from when I was ten, because for me that was one of those ages that was fun, full of childhood memories, yet an age where you learn a lot of new things. My only diffculty with writing the first and second version of my poems where knowing how much info to put in it and when to draw the line. Otherwise i truely enjoyed going back and sorting through all my memories.<br /><br />(The site was down starting around 8pm and it kept giving me an error when i tried to post. I have been trying literally every ten minutes since then and this is the first time it actually went though, I have no idea why and this has never happened to me before. I apologize for the lateness I understand if I get no cerdit I'm just upset that it happened like this. )Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-91439651811788830972009-12-03T17:49:00.002-05:002009-12-03T18:10:24.823-05:00I remember poemWhen I was thinking about the I Remember poem, the one person I have the most memories with is my older brother so I wrote the poem about our memories together. We have been through good and bad memories, I tried to focus on the good ones, mainly because the good ones completely outweigh the bad ones. However, after reading it and thinking about it I am thinking about adding some negative memories in the revision just because every sibling duo has been through something bad together or had a fight. For example, I remember one time when me and my brother were playing he fell and really hurt his neck, he recovered fine and is perfectly fine now. But being that young and that scared that something bad had happened to your best friend/brother is another side of our relationship I would like to show in the poem. I enjoyed writing this poem this most out of all the assignments because these are memories that I probably would have not thought up ever again if I did not have this exercise and it was really a delight to smile thinking about growing up. It was had to end the poem because we are still growing up together so everyday we make memories and I had twenty years to think about. So I tried to stay in a younger age, but this is definitly a project I would like to add more on to as I get older and we grow up more and go through more together. This poem truly was a pleasure to write. I found myself smiling a lot through out writing it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-45739487094239830092009-12-03T17:09:00.002-05:002009-12-03T17:42:42.103-05:00I RememberThe "I Remember" poem was not my favorite to write but was without a doubt the most thought provoking and therapeutic of the group of poems that we wrote. When I write, especially creative work, I look back at my past and invoke a lot of that emotion into my work but rarely do I ever write about my past. Going about this took a lot of emotional and physical energy out of myself. After reading the book "I Remember" I enjoyed a good amount of the book because it was very personal and you could relate his stories and experiences to your owns. With this personal touch I figured it was about time I write about my childhood and my experiences. In my second draft I would like to add more detail and thought into my poem.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-81246653602227344632009-12-03T16:46:00.001-05:002009-12-03T16:46:25.207-05:00"I remember"Writing my “I remember” poem was an extremely rewarding experience. I was initially inspired to write my poem based on the book we had to read. At first, I was intimidated by the fact that the book was over 200+ pages of every sentence beginning with “I remember”. I could not imagine even reading let alone writing a poem of this nature. That was until I began reading the book. I absolutely loved how raw and fearless the book was. We had a true look into the author’s past, fears, dreams, thoughts and practically every raw emotion a person can feel. When I began writing my poem, the memories literally poured out. I had such a good time reminiscing. Some of my memories were as clear as day and enjoyable; others were very hard to write on paper because of the subject matter. I did not choose to focus on one particular subject rather I started from one of my most vivid memories and let my thoughts flow from there. After I had written the entire poem to completion I felt a sense of calm. It was somewhat therapeutic to write such a poem and I plan on continuing to compose poems just like this one for the rest of my life.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-62545650061539504112009-12-03T14:13:00.001-05:002009-12-03T14:15:00.477-05:00Poetics 4When writing my “I Remember” poem, I decided to use my best friend Selene as the subject. She was killed in mid-October, and since she was someone who I was very close with, I thought that reflecting on our relationship and the things I remember the most about her would be the best thing to use when writing the poem. Brainard’s book was helpful to me writing my poem because even though the events he remembered throughout his life were not in chronological order, they were events that stuck with him, and impacted him in so many ways. This encouraged me to freely write about all the things I remembered about Selene, and why she was so important to me. This poem was different for me than the others written throughout the semester because it seemed more personal. Not only was it something heartfelt, but they were all experiences and memories that I will forever cherish. This poem helped me in some ways with my healing process, and also to further recognize how special she was to me and how blessed I am to have these memories with her. The only difficulty I had in writing my “I Remember” poem was knowing when and where to stop. There were so many things that I wanted to include, but I restricted myself because I didn’t want to impose too much on my classmates. This was my favorite poem by far to write.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-69264153893853518942009-12-03T10:13:00.000-05:002009-12-03T10:14:09.617-05:00Poetics 4Poetics 4<br />This was a very interesting poem to write. I enjoyed Brainard’s book immensely. Despite the monotony each line seems new and fresh and there is something to be learned about the way Brainard writes in such a succinct, matter of fact style. That being said, I took from Brainard’s style while writing my own poem and it definitely helped me formulate my memories in a particular way. This was very different from writing other poems because it followed a very specific formula. There was much less creative freedom as far as word choice and style. While this might sometimes be seen as a bad thing, I took to mean that less emphasis was to be put on creative wording, and more emphasis was to be placed on the memories and the ideas themselves. I was forced to dig deeper than usual, and I learned a great deal from my poem. I learned the power of reflection and the power of sitting down and writing down where your memory takes you. It can be a very emotional experience ranging from tears to laughter but ultimately I think it is a very beneficial experience. As far as memory goes, I’ve learned that it is unpredictable. There is no controlling it. Synapses fire whenever they feel like it. In order to write an “I remember” poem about a clearly defined topic you have to really buckle down and focus on all the memories surrounding a particular person, place, or thing and that can be very difficult. When I was writing this poem, I think that the most important discovery I made was about myself. The topic I chose was something that is very difficult to talk about for me. Through this poem however, I was able to channel those emotions, harness those emotions and write a poem that I believe was very powerful. I also learned that, "I remember" poems are very much written for the authors as opposed to the readers. They are a sort of auto biography or a form of psychotherapy to help deal with problems that are otherwise difficult to talk about. I would highly recommend writing an I remember poem to any new poet!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-14463589744403347672009-12-02T17:45:00.003-05:002009-12-02T18:06:35.703-05:00Divorce and Change- "I Remember" PoeticsWriting the "I Remember" poem was quite an experience for me. I chose to write about my experiences surrounding my parents divorce and my father's struggles with alcoholism. I have never really shared my feelings or thoughts about their divorce with anyone, let alone a class of strangers. This poem was sort of a break through for me because for the first time I understood the power of poetry. Reading my poem evoked real emotions in me and breaking down in class was surprising because I am normally excellent at controlling my feelings or keeping them inside. Poetry was a foreign thing to me at the beginning of this class and while I tried hard to evoke emotions in my other poems this "I Remember" poem was my favorite to write. I have never used writing as a way to express myself or anything like that, which is quite obvious because my grammar is not up to par, but this poem taught me that it can be healing. I felt a calm after writing and re-reading my poem I have never experienced before. I plan on keeping this poem as sort of a work in progress for a long time to help me move on from my past experience with my parents divorce.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-10529173736525912382009-12-02T16:45:00.002-05:002009-12-02T17:10:33.046-05:00Poetics 4In writing my "I remember" poem, I experienced great discomfort. More than that, I actually became quite depressed and lonesome (and very insecure; more introverted too). I found it very difficult to write. I am stuck on a certain kind of style, which lacks the kind of honesty that I really am looking for, in that it (my style) is often nondescript, using lots of mysterious word play and "confident" rhetoric, and involves umbrellas of overarching top/down processing and psychology interests of mine. It (my "style") often lacks imagery, and comes off "text-bookey and intellectual, which is good," (says a friend of mine who is a very talented poetry graduate), "but could use a specific and emotional dimension to it". I tried very hard. But, although I went through a very real and very growing pained experience in doing the poem, I am not entirely so sure that my poem is really all that good (though I have grown to like it more and more as time goes on). However my poem, perhaps, has a certain kind of insecurity about it that alludes to its own fault and lackings; which maybe makes it "clever"(?). Perhaps I have not liked it in part because it is hard for me to see my self so flawed and troubled. I had a bit of a hard time with having to write "I remember" over and over again, but I figured that I should make "lemonade with lemons" so to speak (or at least try). Writing this poem forced me to go back in time to places that I have been so desperately trying to escape from, including (but not limited to) the kind of person that I used to be, and perhaps still am "deep" down. And, another thing (p.s.); for whatever "weird" reason, I have developed the conception that perhaps a great poem is one that is made through an authentic and genuine process and experience of which its result may not even be of importance at all(?). (This poem left me a nervous wreck in shambles).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-15107813007912487042009-12-02T12:19:00.002-05:002009-12-02T12:43:37.347-05:00Poetics 4<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">Writing the "I Remember" poem wasn't difficult for me, because I am usually—subconsciously—reflecting everyday about the past. The in class discussion about Joe Brainard's "I Remember" inspired me, but I knew that I wanted to focus on one specific topic--unlike Brainard's mini biography. I decided to write about my memory of Sunday dinners because they have influenced who I am today, which is kind of pathetic considering my brothers and sister probably never think about Sunday dinners. Although this is a sensitive subject for me, the poem was easy to write. I still have a lot to reflect on, and learn from this childhood experience. </span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-36841479458921199632009-12-01T16:07:00.003-05:002009-12-01T16:14:27.193-05:00Poetics 4For my I remember poem, I knew initially that I wanted it to focus on my relationship with my father due to the fact because of odd dynamics of my fathers relationship with me. At first I simply just sat at my desk, typing up different particular memories i have with my father, but I noticed at first that I seemed to be writing with a muzzle. By that I mean, I seemed to be holding myself back. I typed and typed and deleted until I felt like the emotions I was writing about were vivid and clear. Then I unhappily finished. I was frustrated with the fact that even though the emotion was well conveyed, I had a hard time with grasping details mostly because I was being so overwhelmed by the emotion in which felt at typing it. To be honest the poem was left unfinished because I began to be to bitter and needed to clear my head. Editing my poem will be a bitter sweet moment, because though I am looking forward to really grasping the details I am not looking forward to the bitterness in which I will feel editing it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-89624824992548474212009-11-30T20:31:00.001-05:002009-11-30T20:41:42.544-05:00Poetics 4<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"">Joe Brainard’s book was helpful as a model for both the format and topics I included in my “I Remember” poem. This poem allowed for personal reflection to be used as inspiration, which was more difficult for me to do than in the previous poems about strictly objects or single events. I learned that certain smells, and certain memories of objects are linked and can take you from one memory to the next. The relationship between these memories may not be apparent to the reader, but I think the success of the writer depends on how well the memories are arranged to allow the memories to flow easily on the page. The connections may be obvious, or not so obvious. I appreciate the idea that no memory is insignificant. This encouraged me to write in a stream of thought, where each memory was just as important as the last.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I found it difficult to use Joe Brainard’s poem as a model as well because his book/poem is lengthy, but complete. I struggled with finding a place to close the poem for the sake of the assignment. <o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-83620270549995213322009-11-30T20:19:00.002-05:002009-11-30T20:54:01.458-05:00Poetics 5The "I Remember" poem was both easy and difficult to write. Coming up with memories wasn't too difficult. Once I sat down and started to think about things of the past, memories just poured out. The complication of writing this poem was that I continued to censor my thoughts. I typed out memories and then decided I didn't want to share them. I considered writing about memories of my grandfather who passed away but, I didn't want to write an entire poem about that and share the sensitive memories. Another theme I considered was memories that involved alcohol and drunkeness. That seemed too silly. Also, I am not the type of person who shares my emotions and feelings. I tend to keep things to myself. The result of my personal censorship left me with a "remember" poem that was all over the place. There are memories linked to others and there also memories that are just completely random and lack a central theme. I thought that could be acceptable but, a lack of a central theme tended to be the general criticsm. Brainer's book didn't really help in my process of writing, it just provided an insight as to how detailed and how much are thoughts could vary.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-60795620777801279702009-11-29T22:05:00.002-05:002009-11-29T22:19:55.282-05:00I RememberThis was by far the most complex poem topic to deal with. Dealing with memories can be wonderful and nostalgic, but it can be painful and haunting. I experience the latter. Revisiting topics in one's past cannot always be public, at least until the writer is comfortable. I don't believe it is a mater of maturity, but of time. Remembering times in our lives that make us uncomfortable, or angry, and reflecting on that is what makes us grow into well rounded people. A poem may not be the best way to reflect or grow as a person for all, but for me, I think it may be a start.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-30290184126706487482009-11-29T21:40:00.002-05:002009-11-29T22:02:43.935-05:00Poetics 4Reading Brainard book was a great springboard for writing the "I Remember" poem. I liked his scattered approach, simply following his memories. However, I need structure and organization when writing a piece. I need to be able to look back and know where I cam from, how I got there, and where I ended. I admired Brainard for his free-flow abilities, but I wanted to put my own spin/ style to the piece. Therefore, I wrote about one particular memory. One thing that I didn't like about Brainard book is that there was no rhythm to his writing. I wanted to have some kind of rhythm in my piece. After I chose the memory I wanted to write about, I realized that there was a particular part of that memory that keep resurfacing. I wrote a line on that reoccurring memory and used it as a refrain. I let it reoccur in the poem like it does in my mind. I also that in recalling the memory of that event, the thoughts didn't come to me in sequential order. Instead they came to me schizophrenically- just all over the place and out of nowhere. In my poem, however, I organized them in consecutive order. This, I feel, made it easier for the reader to follow. <div>The hardest thing in writing this piece was knowing that I was going to be sharing my memory with others. I enjoyed this writing exercise. I think I'll keep this up! :)</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-77031814759012908372009-11-29T14:42:00.002-05:002009-11-29T15:34:54.541-05:00Poetics 4The "I Remember" poem was the most introspective poem for me by far. It allowed me to explore the past as well as the connections past events triggered in my mind. It was interesting to see what my mind came up with. Though some of the topics I discussed were obvious memories of Christmas to me, others just came up as I thought from one event to the next. The connection between certain written items seemed to not exist and be random but they are in reality what memory connections produced. The previous poems did not have the same transfer of mind and memories to paper. The structure of this poem was also different and offered a more conversational style of writing as opposed to the other poems. The use of "I Remember" in many lines was difficult to cope with and still have an interesting piece of writing. However, it also offered an easy way to flow through the outpouring of memory that may have seemed disconnected at times. It was the constant. Another difficulty was using language that would keep the poem interesting. The repetition of "I Remember" and openness of ideas made this facet of the writing critical. Brainard's work contributed to this poem greatest in the formatting and comfort with writing ideas that may seem entirely disconnected. His work was a great example of how to comfortably represent your memories on paper. This was a new style I had no previous familiarity with before and enjoyed to learn and to write.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-56704425278859947122009-11-16T23:01:00.004-05:002009-11-16T23:28:43.809-05:00VEGAN THANKSGIVING AT TEMPLE<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVBS_dAvSaqBjy4dkLISxKEZvftpcMDYnGY1-U_f39ReUP_sAfcCsC5ftXsdEusLT2Xg3A7evIqBxcmDtI_peMVz7JR8BcYWsAPRakTgr6CqUbx7Xd8RpJtJWUfpcP8iDeWjH18Px4g-zq/s1600/turkey.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 280px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404913489237771490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVBS_dAvSaqBjy4dkLISxKEZvftpcMDYnGY1-U_f39ReUP_sAfcCsC5ftXsdEusLT2Xg3A7evIqBxcmDtI_peMVz7JR8BcYWsAPRakTgr6CqUbx7Xd8RpJtJWUfpcP8iDeWjH18Px4g-zq/s400/turkey.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">As faculty advisor for <a href="http://www.freewebs.com/temple-paw/">PAW</a> (Promoters of Animal Welfare), Temple's student organization devoted to promoting animal welfare, I'd like to invite everyone in 2196 to PAW's 2009 Vegan Thanksgiving. Details below.</span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Click <a href="http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B8dHVe-zuR6FNWNkMDgwYzctYzM1MS00MGNkLWJlODMtZWI5MGRhOTdjMTE2&hl=en">here</a> for a copy of the November PAW newsletter. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Hope to see some of you there.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><strong>*</strong></span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">Join us on November 18th at 5:15 p.m., Student Center, Room 207, to celebrate PAW’s second annual celebration of Vegan Thanksgiving!<br /><br />Every November, <a href="http://www.chooseveg.com/chickens-turkeys.asp">turkeys are slaughtered in increased quantities</a> to feed America’s tradition of having the bird on the Thanksgiving feast table. Last year, PAW took a stand against the slaughter of holiday turkeys by hosting a Potluck Vegan Thanksgiving Celebration and <a href="http://www.adoptaturkey.org/">adopting a turkey</a> from <a href="http://www.farmsanctuary.org/index.html">Farm Sanctuary</a>. This year, we will continue the tradition and invite everyone—you don’t have to be vegan or vegetarian to come! Last year, we had cornbread, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, homemade stuffing, mashed potatoes, and yes—tofurkey with gravy!<br /><br />The celebration is a potluck and is only successful if everyone pitches it! We request that PAW members bring a vegan dish, a drink, plates, cups, etc. Those who are not members of PAW are not required to bring anything, but are always welcome! </span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15656804402068632823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-3028465802156867212009-11-12T16:37:00.002-05:002009-11-12T16:58:00.063-05:00Poetics 3For my walk poem, I took a stroll through my old neighborhood. It's been a long time since I walked through the neighborhood from my friends house to mine, and its been even longer since I took the time to take in what's around me on such a familiar walk. I walked down the sidewalk with my Blackberry in hand. As I walked, I typed into my phone all that caught my attention. Whatever distracted my eyes or whatever sound I heard, I made a note of. I also included any type of feeling or memory that was triggered by the walk. After I reached my destination, I revised what I had taken note of. I tried my best to write the poem as I walked, however, anywhere I thought I needed a better selection of word choice or just better organization, I made the appropriate corrections. I really enjoyed writing the poem. At first I thought the poem would be difficult and I wasn't sure how to write it. However, after making the desicion to write the poem by walking through my old neighborhood, the poem and the style of writing it just came naturally.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-81623218739677605302009-11-09T11:01:00.009-05:002009-11-09T11:09:36.941-05:00A FEW DON'TS BY AN IMAGISTE<div align="left"><span style="font-family:verdana;">An “Image” is that which presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time. I use the term “complex” rather in the technical sense employed by the newer psychologists, such as Hart, though we might not agree absolutely in our application.<br /><br />It is the presentation of such a “complex” instantaneously which gives that sense of sudden liberation; that sense of freedom from time limits and space limits; that sense of sudden growth, which we experience in the presence of the greatest works of art.<br /><br />It is better to present one Image in a lifetime than to produce voluminous works.<br /><br />All this, however, some may consider open to debate. The immediate necessity is to tabulate A LIST OF DON’TS for those beginning to write verses. But I can not put all of them into Mosaic negative.<br /><br />To begin with, consider the three rules recorded by Mr. Flint, not as dogma—never consider anything as dogma—but as the result of long contemplation, which, even if it is some one else’s contemplation, may be worth consideration.<br /><br />Pay no attention to the criticism of men who have never themselves written a notable work. Consider the discrepancies between the actual writing of the Greek poets and dramatists, and the theories of the Graeco-Roman grammarians, concocted to explain their metres.<br /><br /><strong>Language</strong><br /><br />Use no superfluous word, no adjective, which does not reveal something.<br /><br />Don’t use such an expression as “dim lands of peace.” It dulls the image. It mixes an abstraction with the concrete. It comes from the writer’s not realizing that the natural object is always the adequate symbol.<br /><br />Go in fear of abstractions. Don’t retell in mediocre verse what has already been done in good prose. Don’t think any intelligent person is going to be deceived when you try to shirk all the difficulties of the unspeakably difficult art of good prose by chopping your composition into line lengths.<br /><br />What the expert is tired of today the public will be tired of tomorrow.<br /><br />Don’t imagine that the art of poetry is any simpler than the art of music, or that you can please the expert before you have spent at least as much effort on the art of verse as the average piano teacher spends on the art of music.<br /><br />Be influenced by as many great artists as you can, but have the decency either to acknowledge the debt outright, or to try to conceal it.<br /><br />Don’t allow “influence” to mean merely that you mop up the particular decorative vocabulary of some one or two poets whom you happen to admire. A Turkish war correspondent was recently caught red-handed babbling in his dispatches of “dove-gray” hills, or else it was “pearl-pale,” I can not remember.<br />Use either no ornament or good ornament.<br /><br /><strong>Rhythm and Rhyme</strong><br /><br />Let the candidate fill his mind with the finest cadences he can discover, preferably in a foreign language so that the meaning of the words may be less likely to divert his attention from the movement; e.g., Saxon charms, Hebridean Folk Songs, the verse of Dante, and the lyrics of Shakespeare—if he can dissociate the vocabulary from the cadence. Let him dissect the lyrics of Goethe coldly into their component sound values, syllables long and short, stressed and unstressed, into vowels and consonants.<br /><br />It is not necessary that a poem should rely on its music, but if it does rely on its music that music must be such as will delight the expert.<br /><br />Let the neophyte know assonance and alliteration, rhyme immediate and delayed, simple and polyphonic, as a musician would expect to know harmony and counter-point and all the minutiae of his craft. No time is too great to give to these matters or to any one of them, even if the artist seldom have need of them.<br /><br />Don’t imagine that a thing will “go” in verse just because it’s too dull to go in prose.<br /><br />Don’t be “viewy”—leave that to the writers of pretty little philosophic essays. Don’t be descriptive; remember that the painter can describe a landscape much better than you can, and that he has to know a deal more about it.<br /><br />When Shakespeare talks of the “Dawn in russet mantle clad” he presents something which the painter does not present. There is in this line of his nothing that one can call description; he presents.<br /><br />Consider the way of the scientists rather than the way of an advertising agent for a new soap.<br /><br />The scientist does not expect to be acclaimed as a great scientist until he has discovered something. He begins by learning what has been discovered already. He goes from that point onward. He does not bank on being a charming fellow personally. He does not expect his friends to applaud the results of his freshman class work. Freshmen in poetry are unfortunately not confined to a definite and recognizable class room. They are “all over the shop.” Is it any wonder “the public is indifferent to poetry?”<br /><br />Don’t chop your stuff into separate iambs. Don’t make each line stop dead at the end, and then begin every next line with a heave. Let the beginning of the next line catch the rise of the rhythm wave, unless you want a definite longish pause.<br /><br />In short, behave as a musician, a good musician, when dealing with that phase of your art which has exact parallels in music. The same laws govern, and you are bound by no others.<br /><br />Naturally, your rhythmic structure should not destroy the shape of your words, or their natural sound, or their meaning. It is improbable that, at the start, you will be able to get a rhythm-structure strong enough to affect them very much, though you may fall a victim to all sorts of false stopping due to line ends and caesurae.<br /><br />The musician can rely on pitch and the volume of the orchestra. You can not. The term harmony is misapplied to poetry; it refers to simultaneous sounds of different pitch. There is, however, in the best verse a sort of residue of sound which remains in the ear of the hearer and acts more or less as an organ-base. A rhyme must have in it some slight element of surprise if it is to give pleasure; it need not be bizarre or curious, but it must be well used if used at all.<br /><br />Vide further Vildrac and Duhamel’s notes on rhyme in “Technique Poetique.”<br /><br />That part of your poetry which strikes upon the imaginative eye of the reader will lose nothing by translation into a foreign tongue; that which appeals to the ear can reach only those who take it in the original.<br /><br />Consider the definiteness of Dante’s presentation, as compared with Milton’s rhetoric. Read as much of Wordsworth as does not seem too unutterably dull.<br /><br />If you want the gist of the matter go to Sappho, Catullus, Villon, Heine when he is in the vein, Gautier when he is not too frigid; or, if you have not the tongues, seek out the leisurely Chaucer. Good prose will do you no harm, and there is good discipline to be had by trying to write it.<br /><br />Translation is likewise good training, if you find that your original matter “wobbles” when you try to rewrite it. The meaning of the poem to be translated can not “wobble.”<br /><br />If you are using a symmetrical form, don’t put in what you want to say and then fill up the remaining vacuums with slush.<br /><br />Don’t mess up the perception of one sense by trying to define it in terms of another. This is usually only the result of being too lazy to find the exact word. To this clause there are possibly exceptions.<br /><br />The first three simple proscriptions* will throw out nine-tenths of all the bad poetry now accepted as standard and classic; and will prevent you from many a crime of production. “...Mais d’abord il faut etre un poete,” as MM. Duhamel and Vildrac have said at the end of their little book, “Notes sur la Technique Poetique”; but in an American one takes that at least for granted, otherwise why does one get born upon that august continent!<br /><br />*Noted by Mr. Flint.<br /><br /></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;">—<a href="http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/m_r/pound/pound.htm">Ezra Pound</a> </span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15656804402068632823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253790850239959122.post-9954862940251070602009-11-09T08:32:00.010-05:002009-11-09T08:51:19.465-05:00TALKING THE WALK POEM<span style="font-family:verdana;">I've reposted below some of my favorite passages from your walk-poem poetics. </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">T</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">he following passages are not simply talking about the walk (where I walked, what I saw) but identifying the relationship between walking and writing a walk poem: strategies of perception, including focusing on body movement; using a notebook; focusing not only on vision but also scent, sound, and so on; drawing on "found language" on shirts and signs.<br /><br /><strong>* </strong><br /><br />Instead of describing what was around me, I described movement by describing my pace.<br /><br />I chose to use small sentences and the word "me" a lot in my poem because I wanted to leave room for thought because that is what I was doing on my walk and I was concentrating on how the world was around "me".<br /><br />I took advice from the assignment sheet and brought a notebook with me. On the way I jotted down things that I saw, or phrases that popped into my head when I looked at something. This was incredibly helpful when I sat down because it gave me many different ideas that I could start with.<br /><br />My only challenge when writing this poem was that it took a lot of effort to keep focused on writing about one . . . my many thoughts throughout the walk.<br /><br />It was difficult for me to describe fall without using clichés of fall. I eventually closed my eyes, and this helped me focus only on sound, touch and hearing.<br /><br />I carried a notebook with me on the walk, and jotted down the things I saw that either reminded me of her or the things that were in the “color of the day”- pink, of course.<br /><br />I took several pictures that later helped me write the poem as well. A picture in particular of another team’s shirt, worn by a woman walking in front of me, had on it a list of all the words that were inspiring to me during the walk, including “bravery, heroism, and healing”.<br /><br />I made note of signs along the route of the walk that gave statistics about the number of women suffering with breast cancer today and information on prevention. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15656804402068632823noreply@blogger.com0