April PAD (Poem-a-Day) Challenge: Day 30 “Death, an Echo”

Today is the last day of National Poetry Month. This is the first time I’ve participated in a writing challenge like this, and a challenge it has been. Whether or not any draft I’ve written this month is worth further development remains to be seen, but even if none is, I think that the practice will yield only positive results in a more general sense.

The last prompt is “write a fade away poem. I’ll let you decide how to interpret what a fade away poem might cover.”

“Death, an Echo”

As I stand at the edge
of his open grave, I hear
his voice from within and
know that he ceases not.

10 National Poetry Month Activities
April PAD Challenge: Day 1 “Scenes Shot in Super 8″
April PAD Challenge: Day 2 “Adobe Café”
April PAD Challenge: Day 3 “Confession Booth”
April PAD Challenge: Day 4 “100% Juice”
April PAD Challenge: Day 5 “Uncle Harry”
April PAD Challenge: Day 6 “Hide ‘n’ Seek”
April PAD Challenge: Day 7 “Political Discourse”
April PAD Challenge: Day 8 “Heart 2.0″
April PAD Challenge: Day 9 “Yoga Class”
April PAD Challenge: Day 10 “Holly Bushes”
April PAD Challenge: Day 11 “Spring”
April PAD Challenge: Day 12 “Something Wrong”
April PAD Challenge: Day 13 “Tough Luck”
April PAD Challenge: Day 14 “Sundays in Oklahoma”
April PAD Challenge: Day 15 “Persona”
April PAD Challenge: Day 16 “There’s Been a Mistake”
April PAD Challenge: Day 17 “To Boldly Go”
April PAD Challenge: Day 18 “Watermelon”
April PAD Challenge: Day 19 “Her Bra”
April PAD Challenge: Day 20 “Let’s Remain”
April PAD Challenge: Day 21 “Vast Universe”
April PAD Challenge: Day 22 “Judge Not”
April PAD Challenge: Day 23 “A Valediction Forbidding Morning”
April PAD Challenge: Day 24 “Memory”
April PAD Challenge: Day 25 “Tennis”
April PAD Challenge: Day 26 [wolf haiku]
April PAD Challenge: Day 27 “The Trouble is Within”
April PAD Challenge: Day 28 “Proxima Centauri”
April PAD Challenge: Day 29 “The Dance”

Friday Favorite: Mark Doty

Mark Doty is a highly accomplished contemporary poet, but there’s a distinct lack of pretension in his work. His poems suggest a mind that is always surprised and elated by life’s experiences. And he invites us to appreciate life with him. Here’s a 2009 reading at Cornell University:

Poetry: Suggested Viewing

If you read my post, Poetry, an Oral Art, you know I’m keen on the public reading of poetry. Unfortunately, I can’t attend all the reading I want to. Good thing I have lots of interwebz at my disposal. One source I turn to often to watch poetry readings is the UC-Berkeley channel on YouTube. They have a program called Lunch Poems where they bring a poet to campus once a week during, well, lunch hour. They record the readings and post them on YouTube. Here are a few of my favorites:

UC-Berkeley isn’t the only source of good poetry readings online. Look around. Feel free to share your favorites with me.

Poetry, an Oral Art

Before there were literary journals, Norton anthologies, and fantastic writing blogs like this one, poetry was an oral art. Beowulf was recited by memory for hundreds of years prior to being put to paper (possibly in the 9th Century A.D.). At 3182 lines, that’s quite a task; it certainly puts my high school task of memorizing Hamlet’s “To be, or not to be” soliloquy to shame.

Unfortunately, we no longer embrace the oral aspect of poetry as much. We have public readings and open mic nights, but these are often seen as special events instead of a core part of the experience of poetry. Poetry has become an only individual experience. We read it alone in the dark corners of our personal space, and I bet that most readers consume it silently.

I’m not saying that poetry isn’t personal, but it should be a personal experience that we have together. It should be, as it has been previously, an art that shows us that our most intimate, most alone thoughts are not lonely thoughts. I think this turn away from oral poetry has alienated many readers. Many think of reading poetry as a purely academic task, and they are turned off when they don’t “get it” in the same way that the university English department gets it. Poetry is filled with layered meaning and the complexities of rhetorical devices, but we who appreciate those aspects should not create an artificial distance between ourselves and other readers. Experiencing the poetry orally allows each of us to meet the poem where we are; it makes poetry a democratic experience.

What’s to be done about this seemingly hopeless situation?

Go to the readings that are happening. Any city large enough for a coffee shop or two surely has an open mic night where poets and musicians can share their arts. You don’t have to be a participant to enjoy yourself. If your local cafe doesn’t have these or other poetry readings, ask them to. If you write, ask to read your own work. Some places have Slam Poetry readings and contests. Though this style of poetry is not for everyone, these events are a beacon of hope for poetry as an oral art. Professional poets often tour, so go to these readings, too. Local universities are often the hosts to these events.

Read aloud at home. Read poetry to your kids, your roommate, your significant other, your cat, whomever. Invite friends over, and tell them you’d like to share a few poems you’ve been reading. And ask them to share with you. In my opinion, this could be much more fun than just discussing your favorite sitcom at your dinner parties.

I have a few ideas as to how I’ll help the cause. As soon as I can find my computer mic, I’ll be adding readings of my own poems as I publish them here. I don’t know if my netbook’s internal mic is up for the task. I’m working with Ida Red on organizing a monthly poetry reading here in Tulsa that will feature local poets for more time than what we get at open mic. More details will be shared as we work them out.

Happy reading, friends.

p.s. For my deaf friends, I hope I haven’t alienated you with my praise for the auditory experience. We can all benefit from the public personal experience I described, though your medium of expression will be different.

Twittering Away: How Twitter Has Affected My Writing

When I joined Twitter, I wasn’t thinking of how it would impact my writing. I joined ’cause I kept hearing friends have conversations that included things like, “Did you see so-and-so’s tweet about…?” Even though I’m an introvert, I like to know what’s going on in certain social circles (does that make sense?), so Twitter started as a social tool (and I’ve gained many new local friends). Then I began following news agencies and a few celebrities (mostly funny ones), which made Twitter a source of information of varying levels of importance. It’s been quite recent that Twitter has begun impacting my writing.

I started following a few publishers and literary magazines and noticed one of them mention #poetparty, which I soon learned is a Twitter chat that happens every Sunday at 9pmET/8pmCT. Regular attendees of the poet party represent a wide spectrum of poetic expertise and success. There are new poets and seasoned poets, unpublished and published, young and not quite as young :-p. Sometimes there’s a certain topic proposed by the moderator, @32poems. Sometimes there is a feature poet who is interviewed both by the moderator and by other users who have questions. Other times there isn’t a set topic, but we always find something to talk about. Here is how chatting on Twitter works.

The #poetparty immediately led to new followers and followees (is that a word?), which increases my opportunity for daily interactions with creative types, but, more importantly, some of those followers have become what I would call friends. A few are people whom I can email a new draft and expect a detailed critical response. And I of course would return the favor. Having a group of readers who are also writers is important for a poet. Though the commentary of a non-writer has value, fellow poets have a unique perspective gained from developing their own craft.

Twitter is also where I learned about the online arts community One Stop Poetry (@onestoppoetry) which is a group that, in addition to other art and poetry related things, hosts One Shot Wednesday. On each Wednesday, poets post poems on their own blogs then share the link on the One Shot Wednesday blog. We read other poets’ work and offer criticism and support. This is also a chance to get non-poet readers to read samples of our work.

This new attention on my writing motivates me to write more. I can’t make up excuses or flippantly claim writer’s block when there is a deadline to meet and expectant readers waiting. I do better with a little pressure.

Writers, has Twitter affected your writing? How?

Readers, has Twitter affected how much you read? Who you read?

What about Facebook? you may well ask. I post links, but there isn’t the natural flow of conversation that Twitter has.

Crosswords, an Addiction

Hi, I’m Randall, and I’m addicted to crossword puzzles.

I was sitting in a cafe earlier doing some work. A guy came in, purchased today’s Tulsa World, and asked if he could sit in the empty chair next to me. I welcomed him. We sat in silence as he read the paper and I searched online job ads (my job is to help other people find jobs). He eventually noticed a seat open up farther from the door and having grown tired of the cold draft, he moved. As he got up, he tossed a section of the newspaper on the table beside me. It was the “Scene” section, which contains the comics (the most insightful page of the paper) and two crossword puzzles. I don’t know why he chose to leave this section behind. Maybe he has no interest in local food and music scenes, or he noticed, via ESP or something, that I was looking for a fix for my addiction. Either way, I’m thankful.

This won’t fix me for long, though. The Tulsa World crosswords, provided by the NEA and King Publishing, aren’t very good. They have a difficulty level that is usually a couple steps shy of a Monday New York Times puzzle, and the clues are often poorly written. Also, they don’t progress in difficulty like the Times. It’s fun to start with the ease of Monday and work through to the more challenging puzzles of the week. Monday puzzles usually take me 10-20 minutes, and Friday and Saturday puzzles may take me hours. Then there is the grand Sunday puzzle, what a jewel!

Crosswords puzzles are an appropriate addiction for a writer, I think, and especially for a poet. They are great for all writers, or anyone who wants a better vocabulary, because the solver must find the perfect word for the meaning that is implied in the clue. Sometimes a clue has a relatively easy answer, but the first answer that comes to mind doesn’t fit. We must then search the thesaurus of our minds for the correct synonym.

I say they are especially good for poets due to the mathematical processes of crossing certain words. This mode of thinking helps me see the meter of my poems better. If I need to count iambs, syllables, or rhyme scheme to fit a poetic form, I need to think both mathematically and creatively. Even free verse has a certain rhythm rooted in mathematics. Pardon the pun.

So if I ever tell you I’ve been sober from crossword puzzles for any length of time, stop calling me a poet. I am no more than a sad man.

Argument

This semester I am taking Advanced Comp II, which focuses on written arguments. Arguing is nothing new to me (I enjoy debating politics and theology with friends, especially after a few drinks), but I haven’t spent much time studying this mode of discourse. When I argue, I try to follow a logical progression in presenting and defending my ideas. I think studying this topic further will increase my ability to do this both orally and in writing.

Obviously, the most direct impact of this course will be on my academic writing. A lot of writing that English majors do is argumentative. We must read and interpret works of literature then write about our interpretations. Our audience is usually a mix of professors and fellow English majors, people who will quickly notice any holes in our arguments.

I wonder how learning more about argument theory will affect my non-academic writing, my poetry and prose. I suppose it will have an impact in helping me write about certain themes. My poem, “On the Closing of Rec Center at Owen Park,” certainly makes an argument about the value of recreation centers in communities, which is both a values argument and a political one.

Political poems aren’t common for me, but there is always a theme or themes in need of support through my use of content and metaphor. Perhaps studying argument will make more more aware of how my content relates to those themes. I hope, though, that I don’t become too didactic in my writing. There’s a difference, I think, between expressing a theme, even one side of a divisive one, and moralizing to your audience.

Now I’m thinking about what role a writer should have in defining morality in society. People do look for expressions or denials of social values in writing, but I think that’s different than what I called “moralizing” to an audience. When I say moralizing, I’m thinking of something like Puritan writing. I’m not really sure I have a conclusion to make about this concept. When I do, I’ll write a fantastic argument about it.

Well, it’s back to the homework.

Reading: Li-Young Lee

My latest order from Amazon came in the mail yesterday. It was for 3 new books, all by one of my favorite poets, Li-Young Lee. The books are Rose, the city in which i love you, and Book of My Nights. I’ve read most of the poems individually. It’ll be nice to have them all together in their proper volumes.

I first read Lee in an American Lit class a few years ago. We read “Persimmons” and “This Room and Everything in It.” Both poems talk about his father, which was something I needed to see. I didn’t know how to write about people close to me at that point (and have only improved this skill marginally). I learned from him not to try too hard to write about someone. Don’t force a theme based on a personality trait. Just write about them honestly and simply. Write about instances that may seem insignificant. It’s in the little glances at a person that we see the big ideas.

His use of language is another remarkable feature. His diction is simple and straightforward , but don’t let this fool you into thinking that the poems are simplistic. Easy words form complex metaphors.

I could probably continue writing about him, but I want to get to reading these books. Here is a video of Li-Young Lee reading for UC-Berkeley’s Lunch Poems program:

“Some things never leave a person:
scent of the hair of one you love,
the texture of persimmons,
in your palm, the ripe weight.” -from “Persimmons”

p.s. In other book news, I ordered the Poets Laureate Anthology from Barnes & Noble the same day; it finally shipped this morning. I’m mildly annoyed, but it was free to me because I had a gift card (not entirely free…gift card for $25; priced at $27.68, so I paid $2.68)