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…

On a Personal Note: Continued

Well, for now it looks like the internet will stay on because we've decided not to buy the house we were looking at. The realtor had shown it to us in the midst of renovations and assured us the price would be much lower than the final asking price turned out to be from the seller. While we were sent into a scramble to try and figure out the financing at this much higher price we stood teetering on the edge of potential financial ruin and realized this is similar to how the housing market crashed. So we backed out.

My husband's hours are still short. He is an auto mechanic who gets paid per car, not by hour, and people haven't been as eager to get necessary repairs done or pay for quality work when they could get it done cheaper and faster elsewhere but with far less trained technicians. The auto shop he works in specializes in correcting other shops' mistakes and fixing problems that dealerships can't figure out. Right now, those specialties seem to fall on deaf ears of the folks hoping to just get something done cheap or not at all and I can't blame them when so many people are out of work or struggling to make ends meet. We're right there with them.

In the meantime I am still here pursuing poetry and promoting poets themselves in the hopes of a brighter future for all of us.

I should have all regular posts up starting Monday and hope you'll drop in again soon, thanks for your support and kind words...

A Review of Edgar Allen Poe by David Rosenthal

This week I have been saved by Mr. Rosenthal of the Baltimore Sun!

While I don’t have a review for this week, David Rosenthal of the Baltimore Sun found I had mentioned Edgar Allen Poe for readers timid in poetry and provided a link to his review in the Baltimore Sun about a new book Poe: A Life Cut Short by Peter Ackroyd for those of you who love to read and want to find out more about Edgar Allen Poe.

Also, David Rosenthal provides an excellent interview with Marilyn Robinson commemorating the 200th Anniversary Celebration of Edgar Allen Poe, also here at
The Baltimore Sun site. I love the emphasis on the words having an impact on Marilyn Robinson’s writing. Yes, Poe wrote great poems and stories but the words individually and aligned in sentences have such an impact that they make Ms. Robinson think about her own choice of individual words in her own writing.

Please click the links within the paragraphs to find out more.

Thanks for stopping by, I will have regular posts up next week...

On a Personal Note

I haven’t found time to ready the posts for this week because my husband and I are about to draw up a contract for a house and we are first-time home buyers. As a result we have discovered that we really can’t afford a house in this economy since we have now faced the reality that he is in danger of being laid off or the business he works for may close since work has been so slow. His paychecks have become increasingly unsteady and we have decided he needs a second job or a new full time position. This has all been discovered in the past 48 hours and I have not had the willpower to set up posts for this week.

I will be working on posts for next week but thought that I’d fill you in on a slice of my life that may eventually affect this little blog. I’d like to think we will be able to make enough money to allow for continued internet access but that will be one of the first things we trim from our budget if we don’t find second jobs soon enough. For all of you in the same boat I wish you luck and good fortune in the near future.

Please stop by next week and thanks always for reading…

Poetry Tips: Interpreting a Poem for the Timid

When I was in school there was always that moment in the classroom where my English teachers would say “What do you think this poem means? There are no wrong answers!” and of course when I’d raise my hand to give my opinion I was always told “no, that’s not what it’s about…” I have never understood this trait in English teachers.

So for those of you who are new to interpreting poetry let me tell you this much: If you enjoy a poem, be happy with it.

After that, it is a matter of figuring out what the poet is trying to say by means of their language or references. Some poets say exactly what they mean, others reference great literature or moments in history. Short of utilizing a dictionary or searching your shelves for former literary greats you may find better luck using on-line resources such as The Poetry Foundation or Poets.org for insight into poems you find difficult to understand—if they have the particular poet within their collection. These sites feature essays on poets and can break down the poem into what the poet was referring to. Then there is also the plethora of books presenting criticism of particular poets who can help you understand a poet whose work you enjoy but don’t always “get.” These are often available in the library and if not, you can always ask the library staff if they can order some for you.

Then there are poets who throw in words from other languages within the frame of their poem and you may need to use an on-line dictionary to translate those words into English. If you don’t have regular use of the internet there is always your local library which should have various dictionaries that translate other languages into English.

The bottom line is to try to understand a poem you find interesting and difficult or frustrating. It doesn’t mean you have to know the literary greats, be able to speak French, etc., all it means is that you liked the poem enough to want to figure it out. The more you figure out, the wider your repertoire in poetry can become.

I, myself, enjoy Pablo Neruda because his poems are presented in both English and Spanish so that I can try to read the original, beautiful language but then read it in English for a full understanding.

For any regular readers who have any particular resources they know of that I haven’t mentioned specifically, please add them in the comments section for the benefit of all, and thanks.

Thanks for stopping by, please visit again on Monday for another featured site…

Cafe Review Open Submissions

You may send three poems along with a $1.00 Submission fee which goes towards the production of the publication along with a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope to:
The Café Reviewc/o Yes Books589 Congress StPortland, ME 04101

To inquire about dead-lines you may send an e-mail to: cafereveiweditors[at]mailcity[dot]com
*Note that no submissions are taken on-line and please use the link below to explore their wonderful site and get a feel for what they publish.

http://www.thecafereview.com/Submissions.html

Good Luck to all who try, and thanks for dropping in! Please stop in tomorrow for more Poetry Tips...

Poems Found by Poet Hound

http://poems.com/poem.php?date=14267
“Night” by Dana Roeser

http://poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=177116
“The Orange” by Wendy Cope

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

Donald Revell's A Thief of Strings

Donald Revell was born in 1954 and has ten collections of poetry thus far and has won many prizes for his poems such as the PEN Center USA Award and the Gertrude Stein Award. I picked up his most recent collection A Thief of Strings, published by Alice James Books in 2007, at the local library. I have links at the end for you all to learn more about Mr. Revell, it is a shame that the poems I want to share with you aren’t also available on these sites but at least there are plenty of poems to read through and enjoy.

One of the first poems I enjoyed in this collection is “Storks.” Obviously this poem is centered around storks but it also has the recurring theme of healing the sick or the broken-hearted. “Reading,/I find myself/Praying for animals/One hundred years gone/” leads me to reminisce about the characters of my own beloved books who I wish were living or were still alive. “Choirs of children/Gather to sing to heal/The white storks ailing in the steeples,” is a stanza I just love. Can’t you picture a large church and choir singing to storks, or any other bird, as they roost in the steeple? “The children’s song is human/But unconcerned with the affairs of men.” Throughout the poem there is also the mention of advocacy and charming and finally at the end you learn more about the real theme of the poem when Mr. Revell reveals “I was reading when my father died/Who could not read,” and goes on to say “I prayed and listened./I prayed and hear/Nothing concerned with men, including my father./He wanted nothing to do with them either./” The very last two lines are the most beautiful: “Once he said/My eyes and my sister’s eyes were brown like those of deer.” While the title is “Storks” it could just as easily be titled “Souls” since this seems to be what he is essentially referring to and the poem is just beautiful if you get a chance to read it yourself. I cannot do it justice.

Another poem I enjoyed was “Just in the Morning, In Memory of Robert Creeley, 1926-2005.” This is another beautiful poem for which I cannot do justice but I shall share some lovely lines with you: “There are no clouds./Pink or purple, in a terrible wind…But the ground dark somehow, as though clouds were passing./Absent or present, death slips beneath.” Then Mr. Revell reminisces about Creeley’s afterlife with the lines “Who’s to say there is no one/Already building a fire in the cabin…On the mountaintop beside one tree?/The wind seems not to reach that high./Smoke from the chimney goes straight up.” I think this is a wonderfully tender way to picture Creeley’s home in the afterlife, a soul content in a cabin whose sign of life is the smoke rising from the top.

There are many poems I enjoy and I believe you will not be disappointed if you happen to pick up his collection. As mentioned earlier, I have links you can click below to learn more about Donald Revell and read his poems.

http://poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=5662

http://poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/856
Thanks always for reading, please click in tomorrow for more Poems Found by Poet Hound…

Blackbird On-line Journal

Brought to you by the Department of English at Virginia Commonwealth University, this is a site full of wonderful poems and stories. Please check it out at:

http://www.blackbird.vcu.edu/

Thanks for dropping in, please drop by tomorrow for another featured poet…

Poetry Tips: Poets for the Timid

Having made some connections with some shy and timid poetry readers I thought this post would be appropriate for them and anyone else out there reading this blog who wants to believe in the idea of “loving poetry” but hasn’t quite reached it yet.

There are some poets with broad appeal and I will mention a few names that can be easily found in the local libraries here in the U.S.:

Mary Oliver—known for a simple love and appreciation of nature, her poems can be spiritual, loving, and very approachable to read.

Dorothy Parker—best known for her dry sense of humor and life, her poems say what they mean.

Billy Collins—known as “mainstream” for people who read poetry, his poems are very accessible, full of wit and everyday life experiences.

The Classics:

Emily Dickinson—her poems about nature, life, love, and death are also accessible but with words you may have forgotten are in the English language such as “diadems.” She can also seem hard to pin down rhythmically because she almost rhymes at time and her lines can end abruptly. She is my personal favorite.

Edgar Allen Poe—who doesn’t remember “The Raven” when learning poetry in grade-school? He is dark and mysterious, and well worth revisiting if it has been a while.

William Shakespeare—an obvious choice but he can be difficult to read as a result of an older language. He is a challenge worth taking if you love his plays and especially if you love romance.

These are just a very few of the many suggestions I could make. I urge my regular readers to post their own recommendations in the comments section with a brief description for those new to poetry or rediscovering their enjoyment of poetry.

Thanks always for dropping in, please visit on Monday for another featured site…