Subway Ride

A girl is sitting in a boy's lap.
The buzz of quiet convesation
Is drowned out by the rumble of train wheels
On steel rails and the conductor's blaring announcement;
'Next stop, 42nd Street!'
Folks read or listen to music on their Ipods. A few doze off.  
Me? I'm sitting in this subway car capturing to all
And writing about it.

Open MIc Tonight

Bring your poems, songs ,and stories to the open mic at Word Up Bookstore at 2113 Amsterdam Avenue (at West 165th Street). It starts at 7pm.

Word Up Bookstore
2113 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, NY

Subway: C train to 163rd Street
Bus: M10, M2, M3, M5, M100, Bx7

Website: www.wordupbooks.com

Summer Reading

I remember when I was in grade school that I had to read six books for the summer. It was challenge between that, playing softball and basketball, and having fun. I did read the six books and thoroughly enjoyed it.

That summer really stoked my love for reading. Today, I read a least one book per month. My parents were readers and so are my siblings. I enjoy reading non fiction, biographies, history, horror/mystery, prose and poetry.  

Reading is a must for a writer. I have learned much from other authors famous and not so famous. There are published authors here in my own neighborhood and soon hope to join their ranks. The feel of a book in my is one of my pleasures in life. 

My Thoughts About Jim Morrison

 

The 1960s were a great time for musical expression. My mother brought me up listening to all genres of music-jazz, gospel, opera, classical, and rock. The 1960s brought us Motown with acts like the Four Tops, The Supremes, and the Temptations. In rock it was the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and the Doors.  

There were many fascinating characters also. The person who has caaught my interest in recent years has been Jim Morrison (1943-1971), the frontman of the rock group, The Doors. Morrison was a singer, songwriter, filmmaker, and poet. His stage presence was charismatic and charming. He often threw in poetry during the group's sets during concerts. 

Their music was dark and brooding, quite different from the many acts of his time. Jim was wild onstage. Offstage he was quiet and shy. He created his image of 'Lizard King' and 'Mojo Risin' only to later reject it. The more pressures of fame came to him, the more he sought escape through drugs and alcohol.

I read his book of poems,The American Night. Morrison's words were dark, sometimes sexualy explicit, sad, and angry.Though he was one of most popular rock stars at that time, Jim also viewed himself as a poet. He was a rebel, seeking escape from a world he found chafing. He saw the coming of the time when creativity and musical invention would be compromised. I see Jim Morrison as a modern day Hamlet who is caught in between two worlds. He fled toParis, France to recharge and become the poet he felt that he was. He died there in July, 1971 at age twenty-seven.

Jim Morrison was creative, intelligent and sensitive. When high or drunk,  he could be cruel, angry, and vulgar. I watched some of the interviews he had and found him to be reflective and charming. It's sad that he never found the freedom or the peace that he sought so desperately. Along with Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin who died months before his demise, lost were creative, talented, sensitive, and sometimes misunderstand people.

One thing can be said about Jim Morrison is that he never compromised his beliefs. His gravestone aptly reads in Greek 'True to his Own Spirit'.  

WORDS OF WISDOM

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.


~Benjamin Franklin

Writing and Editing

I was busy looking at the poems I have written. I made some corrections along the way while adding or subtracting words/sentences. There's one poem that I've been working on for a year or two and still can't get the way I want it. Such is the life of a writer.

I truly enjoy it, though. Keeps the brain sharp and the creativity flowing. One aspect of being a writer is that you have to read, read and read some more. Writing is always a work in progress. We have to evolve or become stale and irrelevant. Irrelevant is something that does not appeal to me at all.

Queens Noir

This is book I'm currently reading. This is the seventh noir book I'm reading. I'm a short story writer and a lover of mystery so the noir books are right up my alley. I've read the three noir books of Brooklyn, the two Manhattan noirs and New Orleans Noir (hope there will be a second one).

MORE WORDS OF WISDOM

Believe that life is worth living and your belief  will help create that fact.


~William James

Writing Should Be A Joy

Writing should never be an exercise in futility but a labor of love. This is true for any career a person may pursue but I find that this aplies to the writer even more. 

I love to write because its something that I truly  believe I can excel at. Developing characters, forming a plot, and creating a story or poem that will touch your audience is challenging but fun. Currently I am putting the finishing touches on a chapbook and have one other in mind. My wife is a story writer and poet so we may collaborate on a book of short stories.

Research is a part of the writer's life. It's fun to research on a particular city, or era in history, or a group of people. If I had my druthers, I would like to live in a particular place I want to write about as to feel the pulse of the city and the people who live there. New Orleans is a city I'm clamoring to visit. It reminds me of Greenwich Village and the East Village in that it has a avant-garde and quirky aspect to it. I'm a little quirky myself so the Big Easy is right up my alley.

Writers, look at research as walking through a particular time in history. Put yourself in that time period and see if you feel a part of it. It will put a bit of you in your story without the audience ever know that you are there.

WORDS OF WISDOM

Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself.

 

 

~Walter Anderson

Message To The Artist

Write your stories!

Compose your music!

Draw your pictures!

Educate the masses.

Tell them that all is not lost!

Encourage! Challenge!

Deliver your oratories!

HORROR FAN

I have become a fan of horror over the past few years. I love the psychological and mystery stories and films. My favorite horror film of all time is 'Psycho'.

A Lighthouse And a Bridge

I will be purchasing this book later this week. My granddaughter will like this book because there's lots of pictures.

Reviewing Books

I like to find out about many genres coming out or that are out. I first picked up a copy of Rain Taxi a few years ago from a rack in a bookstore. I read a lot of stuff so finding out what's out there is important. I found Rain Taxi, a quarterly magazine, to be thorough yet not arcane, intelligent but not elitist, and I learn new words in the process.

I love the sections on poetry and chapbooks. I'm more of a non-fiction reader and the review about Denise Levertov, a poet I have read, was rather revealing (p.13).  Rain Taxi is chock full of information without bogging you down with useless details. I never heard of most of the authors and have read even less of their work. I don't know how famous they are but their works are worth exploring.   

Rain Taxi is free if you find in bookstores, community centers, or a vestibule in a church. I plan on getting a subscription to the magazine. Along the way I may learn a new word or two.

 

WORDS OF WISDOM

The atmosphere of orthodoxy is always damaging to prose, and above all it is completely ruinous to the novel, the most anarchial of all forms of literature.


~George Orwell

POEM

I meant to write only one poem.
When the penpoint touched  the paper
The word spilled out like sand in a box
Lost in a whirl of metaphors, I rhymed many lines
Some were terse, other tender.
When I finished, five poems were in front of me.
I never thought about what to write
I just let the riverbanks of the heart overflow.

They're Back!

 

 

Word Up Bookstore will reopen this Friday, July 26th at 6PM. A volunteer run community store which opened in 2011, my wife and visited the original store on Broadway near 176th Street. It was the only bookstore that I saw in Washington Heights.

 The community responded to the fledgling store with great interest and enthusiasm. People came there with their creativity in art, children's progams, poetry, plays, music, and recitals. My wife and I have recited poetry and stories on numerous occasions. There are all genres of books at reasonable prices. You can even donate old books.  

Join me this Friday at 6PM and celebrate the re-opening of Word Up bookstore.  

www.wordupbooks.com

Feature Films In The Heart Of Greenwich Village

The IFC Center (formerly the Waverly Theater) is located in the heart of Greenwich Village. This is where I saw my first feature dealing with transgender issues. I have seen a number of documentaries and movies here. Their popcorn is good though a little pricey. The acoustics are comfortable and the location of the theater is close to everything. For more info, go to their website.

www.ifccenter.com
  

WORDS OF WISDOM

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.


~Anatole France

Changes Upcoming

There will be some changes to the site in the near future. I have decided to include other disciplines like art and music.  Right now, I am focusing on how to add more information about shows,artists, authors and more. Stay tuned.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!


BE SAFE

HAVE FUN

REMEMBER WHAT THIS DAY IS REALLY ALL ABOUT

Writer's Bloc? Maybe Not

I noticed that my wife struggled to create a story she could write. For days she kept thinking what to put down and came away with one sentence. Last night, she was finally able to begin a story.

Does this sound familiar? We writers know what this is. Writer's bloc? Maybe, but not necessisarily. It could be that we may need to slow down and take stock. Writing is not a sprint to see how much you can write. It's how you can convey what your story is about to your readers. That's why editing is so important. A misplaced word, sentence, or paragraph can affect the story.

I have been going over some stories I wrote years ago. Some will stay as they are written. Others can be improved upon. I'm always looking for ways to write better. I guess that's true with all writers. The challenge of creating a new piece of writing is exhilerating.

WORDS OF WISDOM

One aspect of a writer is the willingness to be vulnerable. It is being able to put human emotions and feelings on paper.

Favorite Authors

There are many authors I enjoy reading. Some are old, others contemporary. Some I discovered qute by accident. Here is a list of some of them.

FAVORITES
1. Edgar Allan Poe
2. Langston Hughes
3.Herman Melville
4.Sylvia Plath


On My Radar
1. Jack Kerouac
2. Theodore Roethke
3.Delmore Schwartz

My question to you is who are your favorite authors?

WORDS OF WISDOM

When one teaches, two learn.


~Robert Half

Computer Back On Line

I experienced some computer problems but now things are back to normal.

WORDS OF WISDOM

A #2 pencil and a dream can take you anywhere.

~Joyce Meyer

Book Review

Title: Classical Women Poets
Author:Translated and Introduced by Josephine Balmer
Rating: 6.5

It's sad that not much is known about many women poets in Greek and Roman society. I would have loved to know more of the every day woman of that period. What drew me to this book is the fact that I have an interest in ancient Greek and Latin poetry. Ms. Balmer did a creditable job of introducing women who, though marginalized, still had some affect on their society and their circle. 

The book at least introduced me to obscure and skilled poetesses, an area which enthralls me. I hope that Ms. Balmer will writer another book. Hopefully, more facts and works from these women will be found.

Memorial Day

Everyone enjoy the Memorial Day weekend. Remember our men and women in uniform.

WOMEN POETS

This is the book I am currently reading. I have a great interest in ancient Greek poetry. Not too much is mentioned about women poets of that time. The writings of Sappho are probably the most well known    but there were others also. Sadly, much of  their work has been found in fragments or lost altogether.

ART FESTIVAL

The 18th Annual Lower East Side Festival of the Arts will be held on May 24-26, Memorial Day Weekend. There will be performances, films, poetry reading, food, and more. For more information go to:


www.theaterforthenewcity.net  

WORDS OF WISDOM

Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger than your current situation.

~Brian Tracy

Film Fans In LA

For our friends in the Los Angeles area, the annual film festival is coming up June 13-23. For more information, go to

 www.lafilmfest.com

FILM

For those of you who will be downtown in Greenwich Village there's an interesting  film playing this Friday 5/17 called FRANCES HA. For further information, go to:

 www.ifccenter.com

WORDS OF WISDOM

Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.

~Percy Bysshe Shelley

Book Recommendation

Sylvia Plath is one of my favorite authors. I am currently reading Ariel, one of her classics.

Chapbook Festival

My wife and I attended the annual chapbook festival today at the graduate center of the City University. It was my third and her second. We wondered from table to table chatting with the publishers, reading some of the works, and gathering information. I'm strongly considering contacting one of these publishers to publish one of my chapbooks in the future. This is a great venue because it's very difficult for new writers to break in with major publishing houses. 

Chapbook feature not only poetry but prose, non fiction, fiction and novellas. There were workshops that gave demonstrations on how to make chapbooks. There were poetry readings, forums, and panels. I will post a few publishing houses below. All you authors who desire to have your work published, here is a great opportunity.

www.belladonnaseries.com
www.dusie.org
www.eoagh.com
www.uglyduckligpress.com

WORDS OF WISDOM

Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful;
they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.


~Luther Burbank

Upcoming Chapbook Festival

For folks in New York City, there will a chapbook festival this Friday and Saturday, May 3-4. It will start at noon time. I have attended the last couple of years and enjoyed the time. There will be workshops, lectures, readings and the opportunity to purchase some chapbooks. Further information can be found at:

www.chapbookfestival.org

I Greet The Dawn

I am currently reading I Greet The Dawn,  Selected poems by Paul Laurence Dunbar. My wife read the book and loved his poems. I do also and like his dialect poems. I have taken a greater interest in Dunbar and his work. I'm planning on writing an essay about him. 

I first became acquainted with his work a few years ago. I wanted to read more African American poets so I stumbled upon his work. I purchased a small book of selected poems and I enjoyed his use of  English verse. At first, the dialect poetry was a struggle, having never read any work in that language. Dunbar never spoke dialect either but heard it from freed slaves. His sense of hearing and creating beautiful poetry using dialect is really amazing. 

Sadly, Dunbar wasn't given the recognition he deserve regarding his English verse. A few critics pigeon-holed him to the dialect poems, believing that the English verse wasn't his true voice. This really disturbed me because a writer should not be compartmentalized because of perceived notions or the prevailing work of that particular time period. No writer likes that. It's the reason I'll never criticize another author's work.  

Paul Laurence Dunbar is in my top five of favorite authors. His work is part of some English Literature curriculum in high school and college. Dunbar wrote novels, short stories, a play and essays. I highly recommend you read his beautiful poems.

WORDS OF WISDOM

A poet is one who listens to nature and his own heart; and if the noise of the world grows up around him, and if he is tough enough, he can shake off his enemies but not his friends.


~from the poem Let Them Alone by Robinson Jeffers  

Independent Films

If you are fan of independent films, the Anthology Film Archives is one place you can see them. Located in the East Village on Second Avenue and Second Street, it has shown movies, documentaries, and work by new filmmakers since 1970. For more information, go to the website below.


www.anthologyfilmarchives.org  

Castle Fan

I am a big fan of castles. The one pictured above is the Eilean Donan in Scotland. Looking at the topography it could be a great backdrop for a story.

First Chapbook

I have begun putting together my first chapbook. I'm still considering self-publishing it. I'm really looking forward to putting 'Seasonal Journeys' in people's hands.

WORDS OF WISDOM

The true work of the artist is a creation not of hands, but of the mind and soul of the artist.

~Nancy Elizabeth Prophet (1890-1960)

MARCH

MARCH

Trees awaken from winter's slumber.
Silver gray clouds streak cross the blue landscape.
Warm southern winds loosen the grip of winter's chill
March is winter's last hurrah.

Tulips, enchanted by the sun's embrace,
Escape their dark prison
March blasts one last mighty roar
Only to fall silent in spring's serenade.

Taking A Break From Posting

I am taking a break from posting. I'm still active though. I have written a number of poems. I am working on a short story and a prose piece. Last night I read some poems by Robinson Jeffers and will do  more research on his life. 

Looking ahead, April will be an active month as I will concentrate on completing my first chapbook. I'm also considering a number of topic for an essay that I have in mind. I won't be totally absent and I'll keep you posted on my comings and goings.

Reading Other Writer's Work

Reading the work of other authors is a staple part of my education. What I enjoy most is that it draws me a picture of what the particular author's world is. I can't look at the world of Edgar Allan Poe from a twenty-first century mind but from someone who lives in the nineteenth century. 

Each author has his or her own style. I learn something from whoever I read. When I read Theodore Roethke's  poems, I was struck by the clarity in his understanding of nature. His love of nature connected with me personally. In contrast I found the work of Jack Kerouac a bit disjointed. This was how he wrote, yet I find his work invaluable. 

I don't criticize another author's writing because another person may like it. It's important to try and walk in the author's shoes. I did this with Kerouac and came away with a greater understanding of him as a person. Learning from anyone and anything can prove invaluable. 

I suggest that you read as many different authors can you can. Try reading their biography then their work. Try a different genre. I'm sure that your work will benefit from this as mine has.

Much Writing

I have been writing quite a bit the past few weeks. It's mostly poetry but have written a story and articles in between. My wife asks me how I come I can write poems out of thin air. There are ideas all around. I grab them like apples off a tree. I carry a pen and notebook and write them down. Below are a couple of poems I've written recently.



Writing should not be an exercise in futility but a labor of love.


I stopped and listened to the wind whisper in my ear.


EMPTY TERMINAL

The corridor is empty.
All the shops are closed
I slowly pirouette on the slick waxed floor.
There are no crowds rushing everywhere.
The race which began many miles ago
Has finished in this deserted terminal.
My sojourn has brought me to the starting line again.
I walk out, my sandals slapping my souls the only sound. 
  

WORDS OF WISDOM

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.



~Lao Tzu

Classic Movies

I am huge fan of old classic movies. I even like the black and white films of years ago. A theater which features independent films will show two films that I watched. Fritz Lang's M is a moody film, suspenseful with many twists. Peter Lorre is one of the finest character actors of all time, as he played the role of the murderer.

The other movie is Lost Weekend with Ray Milland.  He played the part of an alcoholic writer going through  three days of drinking. This film was made in 1945.

If you are in the New York City, you can get information at:

 www.filmforum.com

Book Of Quotes

I am currently writing a book of my favorite quotes. I never realized that had so many. If so one asked me which is my absolute favorite, that would be very very difficult. There are so people who have so many quotes and others who have only a few. There are those quote which really touch my heart. These are the ones that I'm writing down.


We have not inherited the world from our forefathers-we have borrowed it from our children.

~Kashmiri Proverb

WORDS OF WISDOM

Earth laughs in flowers.


~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Residents Of Inwood

The play 'Showing Up' will be featured the last Tuesday of every month at the Inwood Academy at 108 Cooper Street. For further information check on the website below.






http://uptheater.org/newindex.shtml

I walked past this building last week. It was once the Hotel Marlton, or Marlton Hotel. It was a single room occupancy hotel home to struggling  artists, writers, and actors. One of those writers was Delmore Schwartz (1913-1966), a poet, critic, and teacher. I read acouple of his books of poetry and his novel, Screeno. Today, this building is a dormitory for art student at a nearby art school.

Editing

I have been writing quite a bit this week. Poems, short stories and commentaries.  Each time I edit and review a poem I see ways to make it better. Same goes with the stories and commentaries. We all believe that we can write better.

Editing is very important because we want to connect with our readers. It's amazing how one word or one sentence can change the whole piece of writing. Editing can be painstaking but it's worth it in the long run. The poem in my last posting went through several rewrites until I felt comfortable with it. A piece of writing can be shortened or made longer. It may need a whole rewrite.

The lesson I learn from editing is that of perseverence and patience. More mistakes are made because people are in a hurry. That can mean the diference between a good story and a bad one. A few changes can make a good poem into a masterpiece. It's very subtle but very true.

Finally, look at editing as a vocation. It is another phase of writing that can improve other aspects. For example, when I edit sometimes  refer back to the dictionary or a thesaurus. Some words have many different meanings. I like using a word similar to one most commonly used. As you can see there's value in everything. Editing is one of many.

WORDS OF WISDOM

Poems in a way are spells against death. They are milestones, to see where you were then from where you are now. To perpetuate your feelings, to establish them. If you have in any way touched the central heart of mankind's feelings, you'll survive.

~Richard Eberhart

TODAY'S WORD

WIMPLE, n.

A cloth covering worn over the head and around the neck and chin by women esp. in the late medieval  period and by some nuns.

POEM

Empty Terminal

The corridor is empty
All the shops are closed.
I slowly pirouette on the slick waxed floor
There are no crowds rushing everywhere.
The race which began many miles ago
Has finished at this deserted terminal.
My sojourn has brought me back to the starting line again.
I walked out, my sandals slapping my soles the only sound.

TODAY'S WORD

CHARY,adj.

Sorrowful
1. Cautious, circumspect

2. sparing

WORDS OF WISDOM

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.


~Benjamin Franklin

Dance Performance

Photo: Courtney Krantz

Moriah Evans in collaboration with Alan Calpe

Another Performance

February 21-23, 2013
Thursday-Saturday at 8:00PM
$18 ($12 members)

purchase tickets

member tickets

Choreographer Moriah Evans makes dances to confront questions about performance, gender, and to be in negotiation with visual art and dance history. She initiated The Bureau for the Future of Choreography, which recently wrapped up a residency at The New Museum. A work-in-progress version of Another Performance was shown at Danspace Project’s DraftWork series.

Evans first evening-length work investigates the relation between a “thing” animated into performance and a “body” performing actions. Evans and visual artist Alan Calpe share and interrelate their disciplinary practices in order to probe the force of history, things and materials on bodies as well as the force of the individual person onto things, materials and history

www.danspaceproject.org

RESEARCHING ABOUT A PLACE

Any type of research can be tedious but it's essential to writing. For example if you want to write a novel set in sixteenth century France, much search into that society's customs and people is needed. Accuracy is what's most important because if the audience picks up on a falsehood, it will diminish your work.

I find research interesting because I learn so much about a particular place. It emcompasses customs, people, entertainment, cuisine, and other elements of that society.  I moved to my present neighborhood a couple of years ago. I discovered that it was once a Jewish enclave. I also learned that racoons, deer, and Native Americans once lived here before colonization. The stories here are endless.

Castles are one of my favorites structures. I'm researching about one of them because I wish to write a short story set in one. I am also fascinated with the city of New Orleans. I wanted to visit there prior to Katrina and still wish to do so. I have read about some of the city's unique history. I have to try some of their gumbo when I visit there. Probably the best research is interactiing with the folks that live there. Interviews aren't out of the question.

Research is important to any story or essay. Accuracy is of importance if article or story is to have merit and authenticity. Look at research as being a part of your education experience. Life is like that. You think you've seen it all then, one day, you see something new. If you can visit the place being researched, all the better. Listening to the people who live there share their stories can prove invaluable.

TODAY'S WORD

TAFFETA n.
A crisp lustrous fabric (as of silk or rayon)

WORDS OF WISDOM

flow outwards. So this is how you pray.
Mary Oliver

Pray,Flow,Swim

Writers sometimes give up what is most strange and wonderful about their writing - soften their roughest edges - to accommodate themselves toward a group response.

Any knowledge that doesn't lead to new questions quickly dies out:it fails to maintain the temperature required for sustaining life.


~Wislawa Szymborska, Polish Poet (1923-2012)

Researching About An Author

I realize now that doing research on a particular author can be mindboggling. It's not so much that you can't understand their work as it is to try get into the mind of the person. 

When I first read Sylvia Plath's poetry, it was as if I was from another planet. The metaphors she used in her work were other worldly and mystical. When I read Plath's biography, I gained a much better understanding of her and her work. I learned about how depression ran in her genealogy. I read about her suicide attempts and her constant perfectionist tendencies which made her very self critical.

Research isn't something that you do for a short time for an end of the semester term paper. It takes time, diligence, and perseverance to at least gain a proper perspective about the subject. I find that one needs to leave personal biases out of it because it can cloud one's mind.

I have an affinity for obscure authors. They can be the most challenging to research. While Herman Melville wasn't obscure any any stretch, I see him as an author who did not write in the prevaling ways of his times. A vastly underappreciated writer, he is most remembered for his classic Moby Dick. However he wrote other notable novels such as Typee, Billy Budd, and Bartleby and Benito Cereno. Melville was also an accomplished poet. I recently discovered the work of Delmore Schwartz., a brilliant and troubled writer. I read a book of his poems and Screeno, a book of poems and short stories.

I do not criticise other people's writing because someone else may like it. I had a dislike for Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath's husband, who left her for another woman. After awhile I said that this is wrong attitude for me to have then let it go. There may come a time when I'll research on Mr. Hughes. Having an open mind and heart can open my eyes to aspects of the person that would not see if I festered this dislike in my heart.

The first thing involving research is to have an open mind and heart. You may not like the person but that should not be reflected in the essay or report you are to write. You may also discovery something about the person that you may not have known previously. If others read and unbiased and accurate article it can do more for them-and you-in the process.

Whenever I am in the Tribeca neighborhood, I make it a point to visit Poets House. It is a library which houses 50000 volumes of poetry. Located across the street from the Hudson River, it is a modern structure and an oasis in the middle of high rise apartments. 

I came to Poets House nearly two years ago. As a poet and writer, I found this such a place where connoisseurs of the written word can read, write, take part in a workshop, lecture, and attend a reading or recital. I was mesmerized by the chapbook section, of which I'm particularly interested. The other day, I read   several chapbooks which vary in style and taste. One in particular had the author's own drawings besides his poems. These authors aren't famous or known, but I sense their love of the written word.   

There is virtually every poet's work house here. There are the works of authors from other countries also. There is poetry written by LGBTQ authors too. I was very happy about this.  If you are ever in the area, be sure to stop by.


www.poetshouse.org  

WORDS OF WISDOM

A writer should get as much education as possible, but just going to school is not enough; if it were, all owners of doctorates would be inspired writers.


~Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet

TODAY'S WORD

DUDGEON

n. sullen displeasure; anger; resentment.

DANCE

Douglas Dunn & Dancers

Cassations

February 7-9, 2013
Thursday-Saturday at 8:00PM
$18 ($12 members)



For more information see www.danspaceproject.org

Poetry Magazine

About two years ago, my wife and I stumbled upon a used bookstore in downtown Brooklyn. We  thumbed through some books that were quite old. On the way, we looked through a box of old magazine. I pick a softcover book called Poetry Magazine. We read poetry of local and regional poets. There were soe beatiful poems in the little magazine. Posted below is the website in to which you can find out more information.



http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/

WORDS OF WISDOM

Find a job you like and you add five days to every week.


~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

WORDS OF WISDOM

None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.


~Henry David Thoreau, Author (1817-1862)

POEM

                                       SUBWAY RIDE

A girl is sitting in a boy's lap

The buzz of quiet conversation

drowned out by the train's rumble

along iron rails.

The conductor's scratchy voice on the speaker hollers

Next stop, 42nd Street!  

Folks read or listen music on their Ipods

A few doze off

Me? I'm just sitting here, capturing it all

And writing about it.

Bowery Poetry Club-R.I.P.

Literary East Village Loses Another Longstanding Page

 

 

When the Bowery Poetry Club closed its doors last week, it sent a familiar ripple of dismay through the rapidly gentrifying East Village.

It was the second loss of a neighborhood literary beacon within the past year. Last September, Life Café, a longtime hub for poets and writers on East 10th Street—Jonathan Larson penned "Rent" there—closed after 30 years. Two years before that, Holiday Cocktail Lounge on St. Mark's Place, a favored haunt of W.H. Auden and Allen Ginsberg, closed after 44 years.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443437504577547114169410338.html

Book Of Quotes

I am presently writing my favorite quotes in a notebook. I'm not sure at this time if I'll have it published.

WORDS OF WISDOM

Poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity for our existence. It forms the quality of the light within which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change, first made into language, then into ideas, then into more tangible action.


~Audre Lorde (1934-1992)

Favorite Authors

Over the years I have read the works of many authors. Some have made a huge impression on me so much that they serve as mentors.  I'm sure that you have writers who have influenced you. Here is my list.

Top Five  
Edgar Allan Poe
Herman Melville
Langston Hughes
Paul Laurence Dunbar
Sylvia Plath


On My Radar
Jack Kerouac
T.S. Eliot
Theodore Roethke

POEM

I never traveled this road before
Lined with thick brush and boulders
It looks strange and forboding
There's nothing to guide me.

Each step forward is a step closer
To an unknown destination
What awaits me, I know not
But I trek on.

I'm nudged forward
By an unseen hand.
I turn around and
The footprints of my life are gone.
 

Focus

I have been trying to decide what I should do first. I'm working on 3 short stories, a chapbook of poems, and an essay. I have ideas of writing a play later in the year. I often think faster than I write so I need to remind myself to slow down and focus on one thing. Not always easy but it's necessary.

WORDS OF WISDOM

What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.

~Pericles

Writing and Reading Goals

Every New Year I set new goals in which will be achieved. I have some writing and reading goals in which I am working on.

1. Publish a chapbook of poems. 

2. Write an essay on one of my favorite authors. 

3. Read a biography of one of my favorite authors.

WORDS OF WISDOM

No man ever steps in the same river twice, for its not the same river
and he's not the same man.

~Lucretius, Greek Poet 544 BC-483BC

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

WORDS OF WISDOM

A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight,
and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest
of the world. 


~Oscar Wilde

Reading Life

This year I read twenty one books. I'm not sure it's the most I've read in a year but I'm proud of what I accomplished. I read two books by Jack Kerouac and one by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. These two authors were a part of the Beat Generation of the 1950s. 

I read more poetry this ear than ever before. Theodore Roethke was interesting in that his knowledge of the earth and plants and nature were astounding. It made me think of ways to improve my own writing. Delmore Schwartz' Screeno and Last and Lost Writings kept in line my interest in brilliant but obscure writers.

It's good to read biographies of the poets I'm reading. Sylvia Plath's bio help me comprehend the poignant and tempestuous words she penned. Reading more biographies is one goal I've set for 2013. I have been  challenging myself to be more daring so I'm making an attempt at play-writing.   

HOLIDAY GREETINGS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

WORDS OF WISDOM

A book is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse, a party, a company by the way,
a counselor, a multitude of counselors.

~Charles Baudelaire

Lawrence Ferlinghetti

 I have read some of Lawrence Ferlinghetti's biography and found him fascinating. He worked with such luminaries as Allen Ginsberg, Diane diPrima, Jack Kerouac and Denise Levertov. Ferlinghetti has such a varied life; poet, publisher, painter, activist. This is something that I am striving to do.

I will need to read more of his work. If I ever go to San Francisco, I will visit City Light Bookstore. 

POEM

I read this poem last night which I found revealing and true. It struck a chord with me because I have seen this first hand.


The party hoppers wolfing down the wine and cheese
without a glance at what might be considered art 
At all those Thursday evening openings in San Francisco galleries
And the critics and the crickets and the singles out to score
And the docents of the donor classes
sheath in silk & Christian Dior holding long-stemmed glasses

With the tide of tinkled voices rising
And the painter to one side apprising
the whole uprising as if from a most distant shore
And say to himself Is this what I am painting for?
No wonder then that he adrift in this society
doth drink too much and roll upon the floor?


Poem #37 from 'A Far Rockaway of the Heart' by Lawrence Ferlinghetti