Happy Valentine's Day

Since so many of you have shared well-wishes with me during these difficult times I thought I’d post a link to Ted Kooser’s interview on NPR from last year’s Valentine’s Day as a way to “share the love” in return. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to him last year and haven’t been able to come up with a decent valentine poem of my own so the best I can do is this:

Valentine's Day with Ted Kooser on NPR

Happy Valentine’s Day and thanks to all of you for your well wishes, supportive comments, beautiful poems, and for visiting my blog.

Take care and please drop in on Monday for another featured site…

Poetry Tips: Happy Friday the 13th

Happy Friday the 13th! Most people find this combination to be a day full of bad luck but for me it’s always been a source of good luck. I challenge you to take this “unlucky” day and use it write a poem or two about superstition, luck, anything that has to do with “Friday the 13th.” For inspiration I have linked some poems below to get you rolling. May you have good luck instead of bad!



http://poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=173577
“Hard Luck” by Edgar Allen Best

http://poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=181439
“Superstition” by Marin Sorescu

http://poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16538
“The Army of Truth” by Henrik Wergeland

Thanks for dropping in and please peak in tomorrow for a Happy Valentine’s Day post…

Gloom Cupboard Print Edition #5 Open Submissions

Richard at Gloom Cupboard is currently accepting submissions for their Print Edition #5 so please send between 3 to 6 poems by March 2009 to aprilmaymarch777[at]yahoo[dot]com.

For more information and to get an idea of poems that are published, visit Gloom Cupboard at:

http://www.gloomcupboard.com/

Good luck to all of you who submit, please drop in tomorrow for more Poetry Tips…

Poems Found By Poet Hound

http://juked.com/2009/02/tea.asp
“Tea in a Bird Cage” by D.W. Tebay

http://jacketmagazine.com/36/oppen-evans-george.shtml
“Pacific” by George Evans


Thanks for clicking in, please stop by tomorrow for more Open Submissions…

Christopher Cunningham's A Sound To Drive Away The Coming Darkness

Chris Cunningham delivers an excellent collection of poems in this chapbook which challenges the idea of “darkness.” While the subjects he speaks of are dark, the poems do not make any subject appear weak or wilting. I have several poems I’d like to share. The last one I will not be leaving any comments with, I think it is a poem that can inspire anyone to run to their desk to create their next piece of writing.

board

we drive along
and
there are many
old buildings
with their
front doors
and
glassless windows
covered
in
heavy
boards.

they wait
a
final reckoning.

gagged and blind
soon
to
fall.

making way
for
progress.

we see this
and
are glad
when
we move past

such grim reminders

that everything
made
must
someday
be

unmade.


Not only does the structure of the poem show the breaking-away of buildings in disrepair it also seems to punctuate each point by providing just one or two words per line as the emphasis for each point. I also enjoy the poem because we are witnessing this in action all over the country as stores close up during this downturn and houses being boarded up because they have sat empty for so long. However, there’s that stanza rising up out of entire poem that says “making way/for/progress.” The poet and his companion(s) are happy to see that these failing structures will someday be replaced with something else, something better. That is better news than what the media posts these days and so I wanted to share this poem with all of you.


nobody does it that way anymore

typewriters and analog tape
cannot compete,
nor
can letters folded
into
envelopes.

smaller footprints
in an overcrowded world
go unnoticed.

a plate of food
near a window
on a saturday morning
in the sunshine.

the
loss
of anticipation.

the discovery
of acceptance.

I sigh after I read this poem. I find it sentimental and truthful because I feel the same way. The small joys in life are quickly disappearing with new technology such as fast computer printers and e-mail, the idea of eating on the run instead of sitting down at the table to chat and dine… All of the things that took thought + kindness to prepare are becoming difficult to hold onto. I have some friends that still send me letters in envelopes decorated with drawings and stickers and I love them for it because they took real time and thought to send me something. I have also always preferred to sit down at a table for breakfast rather than run out the door with a breakfast bar and cup of coffee. How about you? Do you miss being able to slow down and take in the quiet joys in life?


everything beautiful burning to live

a murder
of
four crows
glistening
on a
cold cloudy
day
in autumn

rising

up thru the gloom
like
a
black
sun.


I think the imagery in this poem is fantastic! Crows are often found to be an ominous and dark form but here they glisten and rise like the sun. Instead of a sign of a bad omen, the crows are “rising/up thru the gloom/like/a/black/sun” like a sign of hope. I also love the image of a black sun, it reminds me of a solar eclipse where the sun is still so powerful you cannot look directly at it while it is being blocked. Just a beautiful poem, I have to say.


And this last one I simply want to leave with you without comment because I hope it inspires you to dash to your desk and create your next piece of writing:

the pistol

sits next to
the typewriter.

there is a pen
and sheets of
clean white paper.

the machine hums,

waiting.






I think this is a solid collection of poems which you can purchase for $3.00 from Alternating Current’s Propaganda Press. If you need any further prodding towards Mr. Cunningham’s work or if you’d like to view more poems from this collection, by all means click the link below to Julie Buff’s review featured below:
http://juliebuff.wordpress.com/2009/01/26/christopher-cunningham-a-sound-to-drive-away-the-coming-darkness/


Thanks always for readings, please drop in tomorrow for more Poems Found by Poet Hound…

Poem Monkey

You’ve got to admit, this guy is smart, clever, and hilarious! This gentleman parks himself and his typewriter in public and for $5.00 types out a poem just for you. I’ve heard of some people doing this, I’ve seen people sell their poems on the street for a dime, but I’ve never had the guts to do it myself and I highly respect the ones who do. Check it out at:

http://poemmonkey.blogspot.com/

Thanks for clicking in, please drop by for another featured poet…