Nature Has Him in Its Sight - Scot Young

Time to share another poet that captivates my attention and admiration every time I land on his blog. This wonderful poet would be none other than Scot Young who graces the pages of Be Not Inhospitable to Strangers: Lest They be Angels in Disguise with some of the most beautiful and provocative poetry on the web today. Scot's range of subjects that he gets into seems to have no limit; he seems to cruise in hyper-vigilance mode and doesn't let much get by him. His ear is to the wind and he eyes things like an eagle. He reminds me of life seen from the aerie's nest. Nature has him in its sight, although he might jest it's the other way around. Ha! Funny how the Great Spirit seeks out its own; taps the shoulder of its earthly manprey to give a flash of intuition or revelation. Here's examples of what I mean. You gotta love'm!

A Haiku Love Sonnet–

–Waiting for the End of Yesterday

sometimes we travel
deep into this naked night
and see yesterday

eager to reconstruct
bits of a fragmented dream
with lost dialogue

wait for fading light
to kiss the soft of angel
wings warmed by the day

not an easy job
turning the orange sky dark
not an easy job

rearranging the planets
hanging a blue moon

Haiku Sonnet: Ozark County

March 18, 2008

hands held on weathered
glades set with yellow primrose
side step cactus that

stair steps down through oak
scattered woods hidden from noon
day tourists lost and

dodging dirt road ruts
this path leads to our hidden
waterfall off that

ridge spilling into
a shaded pool reflecting
soft blooms of dogwoods

in filtered light we
scratch our names on mossy rocks

Summer Morning #2 Haiku

July 12, 2008

summer morning
silence broken by light
rain on a tin roof

Summer Morning #1 Haiku

July 11, 2008

This is the first of three summer morning haiku from our Ozark hideaway.

summer morning–
yellow swallowtails dance on
wild bee balm

Stones

July 3, 2008

I spend my time
collecting stones
large ones for strong corners
flats for the cap
cobbles for plugging
the holes mixed
each day
to hold it strong

I spend my time
collecting stones
working in layers
laying each one to fit
like a puzzle
in this perfect wall
that protects the things
I own
and sometimes own me

I spend my time
collecting stones
set them around this
ancient oak
spreading arching
protects from sun
and storms
built high enough
to dream well under
a marauding moon

I spend my time
collecting stones
my father’s trade
this art passed down
with bleeding hands
fit to chisels
chipping stones
making them fit
sealing it up

I spend my time
collecting stones
but sometimes I
leave one out
of the perfect wall
……..one rock removed just
long enough for you
to slip in
before new mortar
is mixed
I cannot tell you
where it is

run your hand slowly
over the surface
……..there

do you see it?

Reading these few poems ought to make you feel one with nature; like falling on your back into the tall field grass; ready to dive into a fresh, cold, crisp mountain stream; dive off a high cliff on a hang glider or watch an eagle scope the swoop like Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Oh, WOW. I'm having a John Denver moment! You can, too. Now get yourself over to Scot Young's blog posthaste and have yourself a piece of Scot's delicious naturescape!

Scot lives in Missouri with his wife and 3 daughters. He's a high school principal and finds time to teach graduate classes, and a poetry class beginning with the Beats. Scot can be found both on the internet and in print and his poetry credits include publication in The Beat, Spoken Word, Asphalt Sky, Potpourri, Hemingway's Shotgun and Pleiades.

Joe Felso on teaching poetry to high school students, responsibly

Come see with me how a teacher manages teaching his high school students the fine art of writing poetry - along with his students feelings about tackling this much-ballyhooed literature in metrical form. Poetry, defined as "the measured language of emotion." [Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary] Joe Felso, teacher, poet, and artist, takes the reader through the finer moments of Dead Poets Society, the movie in which Robin Williams gave a memorable performance as Mr. Keating, who enumerates traditional rudiments of poetry, then calls the method "excrement" and encourages his students to rip the pages out of the lesson book and throw them to the wind. Felso states that placing poetry on a pedestal of reverence gives students the means with which to cause its fall from lofty heights. He goes on to remind us of Keating's bleating against over-emphasis on analyzing poetry to death, but rejecting analysis of poetry in toto makes it impossible to teach it according to Felso. All of this reminds me of the analysis-paralysis syndrome. I tend to think one can get light-headed and speak in tongues while analyzing everything down to a gnat's eyeball. Moderation in everything is the key.

Felso brings up true misgivings about over-analysis and hints that maybe we shouldn't analyze poetry at all, and just leave the meaning of the poem explicitly to the reader. I can get into that. And, more of his marvelous ideation. But, I don't want to give all the good stuff away in Felso's well-thought out ruminations and beg you to go read his entire post here. But wait, let me leave you with a little tease a la list of Joe's evocative ideas about poetry before you whisk over to his great read:

• So, teaching poetry often becomes an exercise in un-brainwashing.
• No, poetry isn't special, except that it is a form of writing with distinctive and interesting conventions and challenges.
• No, we aren't looking for specific answers in poems as if each were a life or death riddle.
• No, you aren't stupid if the poem doesn't resonate with you. Maybe the next one will.
• No, it is possible to read a poem closely and attentively and still appreciate it (and maybe even enjoy it).
  
• No, poetry isn't always boring, arcane, or snooty.
• No, I won't give up or leave you alone if you play nice during this "poetry unit."
• Yes, I do love to analyze poetry...because it's worth it.
• Yes, I love poetry.

And, yes, it is so worth it to read anything Joe Felso deems worthy of his time to write. He's an excellent innovative writer, poet, and his amazing art work will leave you breathless. Truth.