WORDS OF WISDOM

 

OBSCURE POET

 

SEKOU SUNDIATA (1948-2007)

Poet, performer, teacher

Folk-rock Ani Di Franco and alternative rocker Mike Doughty were two of his students.

Recorded a number of works

The Blue Oneness of Dreams (1997) nominated for Grammy.

TALKING WALLS

Whenever I see an empty building I wonder what life was like when folks lived or worked there. Some buildings I pass have been empty for years. Why doesn't anybody fix them up and rent the apartments or create offices. 

I wish the walls could talk. There may have been some interesting conversations in those places. Maybe I could hear the noise of partygoers or the happy voices of children. Maybe I would hear fighting or yelling. Who knows what else those walls would say. 

Would make sure I have a notebook handy so I could record all this. I probably be writing like a mad person hoping to get everything down. This reminds me that ideas are all around and can pop up anywhere. 

NEW WORD

EUPEPTIC  adj.

Relating to or having good digestion or a consequent air of healthy good spirits.

WORDS OF WISDOM

 

ACTING

I never considered acting as a career.  I have acted in a few plays in the past. I particularly enjoy the stage. Interacting with the audience is exhilarating.

Just like writing and  spoken word, acting requires discipline and focus. If I had to do it again I would have tried my hand as a professional actor. I'm a septugenarian who likes new challenges. Maybe I can take a couple of acting classes. Don't know if I'll ever act in a play again but it would fun.

SYNONYMS

 

TRUE

 

NEW WORD

IMPERMANENCE  n.

The state or fact of lasting for a limited period of time. 

OBSCURE POET

WILLIAM HALL

English poet, antiquary (1748-1825)

Grew up poor

gozzard- breeder of geese

Book: The Chief of St. Athans

WORDS OF WISDOM

 

BEING OPEN TO SOMETHING DIFFERENT

It's amazing how many ideas come to mind while I'm writing. That's why I keep a notebook nearby. On occasions I stopped writing the story I'm doing and start another. Staying focused is important. Sometimes a better idea will come to mind so I change something. 

I can't tell you how many times I've changed or rearranged words or sentences or whole paragraphs. Many times it made the written piece better. The point is to be focused but not rigid. I'm always looking to make the piece better.    

NEW WORD

BOLIDE,  n.

A large meteor which explodes in the atmosphere.

OVERCOMING FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN

One obstacle I've had to overcome was fear. It wasn't the fear of writing, but putting on paper some of my deepest and darkest feelings. 

As I have progressed, I have written about wontedness, nudity, aloneness, ambiguity, and the desire to travel dark roads. As a writer I must do this. In the darkest of places I see redemption, discovery, a light, a place of respite. This is a never-ending journey, perhaps to find out aspects of my life that are repressed or hidden.

JUST WRITE WHATEVER COMES TO MIND

 

WRITERS WHO STRUGGLED WITH MENTAL ISSUES

Some of my favorite authors struggled with mental health issues. Edgar Allan Poe, Sylvia Plath, and Virginia Woolf are a few. Delmore Schwartz, an extraordinary poet, was an angry man bordering on insanity. 

I wonder what kind of work they would have produced if they had resolved their mental problems. Sadly, all the above people self destructed. 

WORDS OF WISDOM

 

WORDSMITH

 

NEW WORD

RESIDUUM  n.

A substance or thing that remains or is left behind, in particular, a chemical residue.

INDEPENDENCE DAY

 

WORDS OF WISDOM

You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.

~Ray Bradbury, Writer (1920-2012)

ON THIS DAY IN 1971

 

Jim Morrison, the iconic front man of 5he 1960s rock group. The Doors, died in Paris, France at the age of 27. The band rivaled the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in popularity. Morrison recited poetry during his concerts. At heart, he was a poet. I have a copy of his book, American Wilderness.

POETS/WRITERS BORN IN JULY

John Ashberry

Jean Cocteau

Hart Crane

Eric Jerome Dickey

Ernest Hemingway

Herman Hesse

Dean Koontz

Pablo Neruda

Francesco Petrarch

Marcel Proust

Ann Quindlan

Susan Rich

Wole Soyinka

Wislawa Szymborska

JULY FIREWORKS