Chapbook Festival

Calling all writers and poets; Don't forget the NYC/CUNY/ CHAPBOOK FESTIVAL starts tomorrow.

For all the information go to www.chapbookfestival.org. 

Writing As Therapy

When I was a tutor, I encouraged my students to keep a journal to record their thoughts, frustrations, concerns, dreams, etc. One student later shared with me tat he felt much better after following this advice.

As a writer I always carry a pen and pad to record thoughts and ideas for future projects. Today I thought of the fact that we need the arts more than ever. I began writing stories when I was a teen and it helped me to express my thoughts. It helped me to open up. Could you imagine if troubled kids are able to express their thoughts? Education is supposed to be a time to explore, to be creative. Have we as a society succumbed to the business model rather than to educate our students? 

I can see senior citizens recording their thoughts in journals. I would love to listen to their stories. I believe that many of them would open up if they recorded their thoughts. 

It's been proven that music therapy does help emotional and injured patients, so does writing. I encourage teachers, medical, and professional personnel to encourage their charges to write. My overseer once said that everyone has a story to tell. I believe the same thing. I would love to read the stories of these dear people.

D.C. Poetry Festival

For my fellow poets and artists in the Washington D.C. area, starting tomorrow will be the Split This Rock Poetry Festival. The festival runs from March 27-30. For more info, go to:


 www.splitthisrock.org

Rainbow Book Fair This Saturday

The 6th annual Rainbow Book Fair will be this Saturday. I have attended in the past and it's a good place to purchase books, listen to panel discussions and poetry reading., and get information about books, publishing houses, and chat with some of the authors. If you are in the midtown area, drop by and visit. There is a suggested donation of $3 dollars.

www.rainbowbookfair.org 

Words Of Wisdom

Poetry is finer and more philosophical than history, for poetry expresses the universal, and history only the particular.


~Aristotle, Philosopher (384 BC-322 BC) 

A Story At The Bus Terminal

This past Saturday I spent a couple of hours at the bus terminal here in New York. I wasn't going anywhere; I wanted to feel the environment that I was in. I believe that there is a story wherever we are. I wrote a poem about the terminal a couple of years back. 
                                                                             
I stood in the upper promenade and observed the scene around me. Homeless people are still there but not nearly as bad as in the 1980s. It reminded me of my youth and my travels. It also demonstrated to me that there's more miles to go. The people I observed were a mix of harried, wearied, wondering what life had to offer, and 'can't wait to get to where I want to go'. It's amazing how ideas for a story or poem can be created. It also shows how interconnected the author is with whatever world he/she may currently be in. 

                         

                                                      
                                                                 Empty Terminal 

                                       

The corridor is empty 
All the shops are closed 
There are no crowds rushing everywhere
I pirouette on the waxed floor
The race which began many miles ago
Has finished in this deserted terminal
My sojourn has brought me back to the starting line again.

Today's Word

LIGATURE

1. Something that binds or ties
A thread used in surgery esp, for tying blood vessels

2. A printed or written character consisting of two or more letters or characters united. 

Words Of Wisdom

Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understand.


~T.S.Eliot, Poet (1888-1965)

Today's Word

ARS POETICA

Treatise on the art of literary and especially poetic composition.

Bob Kaufman

Bob Kaufman (1925-1986) was associated with the Beats, which included Jack Kerouac and Allan Ginsberg, and others in that group. He is the least remembered of the Beats but still made his own mark. Kaufman spent much of his life in San Francisco where he was known as a street poet. He adhered to an oral tradition where he would recite poems to total strangers.

I'm attracted to quirky individuals and Bob Kaufman is certainly different. Still he made his own mark with his jazz inspired poems and resonates with Beat fans to his day.


O-Jazz-O

Where the string
At
some point,
Was umbilical jazz,
Or perhaps,
In memory,
A long lost bloody cross,
Buried in some steel cavalry.
In what time
For whom do we bleed,
Lost notes, from some jazzman's
Broken needle.
Musical tears from lost
Eyes.
Broken drumsticks, why?
Pitter patter, boom dropping
Bombs in the middle
Of my emotions
My father's sound
My mother's sound,
Is love,
Is life.








Sources:
www.poetryfoundation.org 
www.english.illinois.edu

Local Writers Are Good, Too

I never realized the number of local authors until I began to write poetry. Going to readings and recitals have put me with such diverse talent and passions that it encourages me to keep writing and growing and expanding my horizons.

Only a handful of authors get to become world famous. That doesn't mean that there is a shortage of fine authors and poets.  I'm mulling over the idea of featuring some authors on this blog. I also like to read about writers and poets who are obscure. I'm just thinking out loud right now. 

The Sign Of Spring

Today was a mild day so I hug out at Washington Square Park for a while. During the late 1960s and early 1970s I hung out here as a young man. Back then there were people playing guitars, bongos and banjos. There were people reciting poems and political oratories. There was dance, theater, and classical music. What I remember most was talking with strangers as if we knew each other. It was very communal in that we are more alike than we realize.

Washington Square Park has been remodeled but the same fare is still evident now as it was back then. I took some pictures to show what I viewed and experienced today. I thought about it later said that all forms of art were performed in the same park. People of all ages and races sat on benches and took it all in.

As I left the park, a wave of sadness swept over me;so much so I nearly wept right there on the street. . Places where people can express themselves through the arts are disappearing. Informal gatherings are what make my time and life worth living. Here I am this quiet and shy person who feels invigorated by such settings. Washington Square Park has always been a place for such things. I pray that it is not taken away through repression and suppression of the communal spirit.

Words Of Wisdom

You have to imagine it's possible before you can see something. You can have the evidence right in front of you, but if you can't imagine that has never existed before, it's impossible.

      ~Rita Dove, Poet (b.1952) 

The New Higher

  by John Ashbery

You meant more than life to me. I lived through
you not knowing, not knowing I was living.
I learned that you called for me. I came to where
you were living, up a stair. There was no one there.
No one to appreciate me. The legality of it
upset a chair. Many times to celebrate
we were called together and where
we had been there was nothing there,
nothing that is anywhere. We passed obliquely,
leaving no stare. When the sun was done muttering,
in an optimistic way, it was time to leave that there.

Blithely passing in and out of where, blushing shyly
at the tag on the overcoat near the window where
the outside crept away, I put aside the there and now.
Now it was time to stumble anew,
blacking out when time came in the window.
There was not much of it left.
I laughed and put my hands shyly
across your eyes. Can you see now?
Yes I can see I am only in the where
where the blossoming stream takes off, under your window.
Go presently you said. Go from my window.
I am in love with your window I cannot undermine
it, I said.

Tomorrow Night at Film Forum

In the continuing series of Alfred Hitchcock's classic films, Rear Window is one of the greatest mysteries he directed. Starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly, this film has many elements that makes a great mystery: suspense, many twists and turns, and characters (especially Raymond Burr) who fit their roles very well. 

Film Forum
209 West Houston Street  Tues. March 11   1:30, 3:45, 8:50
New York, NY
212-727-8110

www.filmforum.com 

Lily*

Lily* was found dead on the street
Only fifty, she had been crushed 
By a life of hardship and despair.
Who was Lily?
Did she have a family? 
Was she married?
Did she have any children? 
What caused Lily to live a life
That would eventually destroy her?
As the summer warmth gives way
To fall's chill, I think of others like her.
When the rains and snow come,
I have a warm, dry place in which to go.
Lily didn't. Only the cold hard concrete
Gave her some semblance of security
Her soul was taken from her.


*not her real name

Symphony Space

Located on the Upper West Side, the Symphony Space has been a fixture here since 1978. 

It features literature operas, musicals, plays and concerts. Symphony Space survived some tumultuous  times of the late 1970s and 80s and  is now a beacon to a neighborhood once in the throws of despair and addiction. For information about activities go to www.symphonyspace.org

Following Your Passion

I have a belief that if more people followed their passion there would be more folks who are happy with their professions. I also told my son whatever your passion is, follow it. I have developed a passion for writing, so much so that I will pursue a master degree in creative writing. 

I've written since I was fifteen or sixteen. I was fascinated with authors and poets but always wondered if I could make a living as a writer. It's something that kept me from pursuing it. Only a handful of writers really score big but it should not be the reason that a person writes. I write because I enjoy it. If notoriety comes, I'm grateful but it's not the thing that rocks my world.

Now that I write poetry and seems to have found my niche. I'm working on having my first chapbook published. I love the written word and playing with them. It invigorates me and I love the challenge. It's my passion (among many) and I am pursuing a dream of mine.

Open Mic at Poetry Project

On Monday I went to the monthly open mic at Poetry Project. There was about 50 people in attendance. Ages, races, and genders were various. Poems were recited, a few songs were sung, and stories shared. I was checking out to see if I would be interested in reading here in the future. I believe that I will next month.

Words Of Wisdom

To live in this world, you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go.


                                    ~Mary Oliver, Poet (b.1935)            

Bought More Books

My wife and I purchased a number of books this past weekend. We hung out at a local bookstore where we are active. We recite poetry and read stories there. On Saturday we went to Barnes & Noble. I've read The Colossus but not the other titles. I read a bio of H.P. Lovecraft and find him interesting. I will read one of his horror stories this week.