Huffington Post Reader 'picodegallo54' Gets My High-Five for 'Comment' Poem

The Huffington Post carries a feature article "A Quick Guide to National Poetry Month" by John Lundberg, well worth reading, that elicited a response from picodegallo54 in the Comment Section a la poem:

my generation

they call us boomers
and we go boom
throw ourselves
on the floor
hold breath
turn blue in face
get our way
with our dollar
and our vote

we don't die and refuse to get old
we hold on tight and won't let go
this land is our land
not your land
this land is our land

[...]

You can read the rest of picodegallo54's poem here, near the top of the Comment Section.

I glean several layers of meaning here.. heh heh.. so kudos and a cartwheel to picodegallo54 from Poetmeister !

Why The Young Men Are So Ugly by Tony Hoagland

The following is one of my favorite poems by Tony Hoagland, Poetry Professor at the University of Houston who just won the Jackson Poetry Prize, an award of $50K "for writers of great talent, but less fame.. he risks wild laughter in poems that are totally heartfelt, poems you want to read out loud to anyone who needs to know the score," wrote the judges, who included poets Philip Levine, Robert Pinsky and Ellen Bryant Voigt. Continued here.

Why the Young Men Are So Ugly

They have little tractors in their blood
and all day the tractors climb up and down
inside their arms and legs, their
collarbones and heads.

That is why they yell and scream and slam the barbells
down into their clanking slots,
making the metal ring like sledgehammers on iron,
like dungeon prisoners rattling their chains.

That is why they shriek their tires at the stopsign,
why they turn the base up on the stereo
until it shakes the traffic light, until it
dryhumps the eardrum of the crossing guard.

Testosterone is a drug,
and they say No, No, No until
they are overwhelmed and punch
their buddy in the face for joy,

or make a joke about gravy and bottomless holes
to a middle-aged waitress who is gently
settling down the plate in front of them.

If they are grotesque, if
what they say and do is often nothing more
than a kind of psychopathic fart,

it is only because of the tractors,
the tractors in their blood,
revving their engines, chewing up the turf
inside their arteries and veins
It is the testosterone tractor

[...]

You can read the remainder of Tony Hoagland's poem here.

Autism's Special World Experienced through Insightful Poetry

Sometimes I come across a poetry site that moves me in such a way that I can't help but share it with others. Such a site is Poetry by Stacey , poetry that will put you through an emotional stew with a myriad of ingredients; humor, wit, spit & fire with delicious poignant tidbits that let you know you've just enjoyed a spicy & delectable meal! Such is Stacey's poem entitled His Special World, a poem written through the eyes of a child with Autism. It's uncanny in its telling of the world an autistic child deals with on a daily basis. What's so striking is the depth of understanding Stacey exhibits and an ability to express it in poetry that makes it truly special to me.

His Special World

Hurt and anger that comes from inside,
Frustration confusion that can't subside,
Trying to comfort but pushed away
A blank look upon his face.

Our world is so different within his eyes,
Words that are spoken not recognized
People around him are pushed away,
Being alone is part of his day.

Senses much stronger than yours and mine,
From a touch in his hand to hearing a noise.
A taste on his tongue and different smells
Just adds confusion within his world.

[...]

You can read the remainder of this poem at Poetry by Stacey here.

If You Dig Slam Poetry.........this is 4 U!

I had to chuckle when I came upon an article about National Poetry Month activities which included a plug for "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Slam Poetry" by Marc Kelly Smith and Joe Kraynak. I grinned - finally! - someone's read my thoughts! Not thoughts that I have about slam poetry but that I'm an idiot, and someone's finally given me recognition for it!! Until I read further that it was Marc Kelly Smith who actually invented Slam Poetry in 1984 - at which point I bowed in reverence to the man who jump-started a resurgence of poetry readers and writers as well as branded poetry into the nation's conscience. Well, that might be an exaggeration, but probably not by much.

"Slam poetry attempts to invigorate poetry by giving equal weight and integrity to the poetry and the performance," stressed Marc Kelly Smith. In his book he goes about explaining the concept and gives up the skinny on how to go about it. Cool!

Other National Poetry Month Happenings!

At Poets Who Blog, Sara says you can submit a poem to her National Poetry Month Project where she will be featuring no less than 1 poetry blogger's poem for each day of the month. Way to go! and thank you, Sara, for your event to promote National Poetry Month! where she will be featuring no less than 1 poetry blogger's poem for each day of the month. Way to go! and thank you, Eureka Books , of Eureka, CA, will celebrate National Poetry Month by offering illustrated poetry broadsides of internationally known writers like Pulitzer Prize winners Seamus Heaney and Philip Levine, as well as local poets. Broadsides have become very popular because many of them are signed by the poets and are very affordable [starting at 10 dollars] according to Jack Irvine, owner of Eureka Books.

Thought you'd never see something like this, huh, folks - but I'm really happy to tell you that Virginia Military Institute will be holding its first Poetry Symposium April 4-5. Yes. You read it correctly. Friday evening's "The Power of Poetry" will be kicked off with a reading by 2006 Pulitzer prize winning poet Claudia Emerson and poet and Vietnam veteran Bruce Weigl. The Symposium will take place in the Nicholas Engineering Building auditorium at 7:45 pm and is free and open to the public. Even though some will think VMI and poetry is incongruous, there have been "memorable readings at the Post by Allen Ginsberg, Elizabeth Seydel Morgan and Iraq War veteran Brian Turner." Way to go! VMI, get your poetry ON!

Interested in film? For National Poetry Month, the Poetry Foundation, in collaboration with WGBH/Boston and docUWM at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, will be presenting Poetry Everywhere, a series of 32 short poetry films. The films can also be seen at the new PBS website, and - get this! - on Transit TV, a network that runs their programs on LCD screens in public transportation systems in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Orlando, and San Diego. This is phenomenal! I didn't know such a thing existed. [my bad]

Baker Books, of Dartmouth, MA, in honor of National Poetry Month, is sponsoring a children's poetry contest, open to children from kindergarten through 8th grade. Submission deadline is April 19th. Submission form can be obtained at the bookstore or online. According to the SouthCoastToday.com: The Chronicle, "Over the past 11 years, Baker Books had contacted dozens of schools in the New Bedford and Fall River area to encourage teachers to utilize the contest as a way of inspiring local young people to explore the creative and expressive possibilities of poetry." Good on you, Baker Books!

Barnes & Noble of 392 State Rd., Darmouth, will also be sponsoring a poetry contest for student poets in grades 9-12 and the winner will receive a 25 dollar Barnes & Noble Gift Card.

To be continued..

2008 Poet Laureate of the Blogosphere

BloggingPoet.com is announcing its 2008 Poet Laureate of the Blogosphere Election - with nominations to begin on April 1, 2008. The BloggingPoet.com has hosted the Election for the last 4 years and stresses the Poet Laureate of the "Blogosphere is the only laureateship chosen by readers." Here are the Rules for Nomination of Poets as per BloggingPoet.com:

1. Those nominated must have a history of posting poetry to their blogs for a period of no less than 1 year prior to March 1, 2008.
2. Anyone can nominate their favorite poetry blogger.
3. Nominations will begin on april 1st and will end on April 20th.
4. Voting will begin on April 21st and will end at 12:00 midnight on April 29th.
5. The winner will be announced on April 30th.
6. As in years past, Billy Jones, a.k.a Billy The Blogging Poet, will not be nominated because he is hosting the event.
7. English language only.
8. Previous winners can not be nominated.
9. All decisions by the Judge, that would be Billy The Blogging Poet, will be final.
10. All nominations must be made in the form provided on April 1st. E-mail, write-ins, protests and other means to nominate will not be accepted.

Prior Poet Laureates of the Blogosphere are Amy King, Ron Silliman, and Jilly Dybka.

All you wonderfully talented poets, and you know who you are [ ALL OF YOU!], please tell your readership, friends and ezine memberships about this wonderful opportunity to become the Poet Laureate of the Blogosphere! Spread the word like wildfire! [You might even burn up your competition in the process! heh heh. er, ahem, that didn't make sense, did it? But I hope it made you laugh..]

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.