David Sanders kindly has offered to lead the discussion, using poems about Spring by Robert Frost.
A Boundless Moment by Robert Frost
Mending Wall by Robert Frost
The Pasture by Robert Frost
Spring Pools by Robert Frost
In Hardwood Groves by Robert Frost
Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost
Friday, April 19, 2019
Poems for April 17-18
Post Impressions (VI) by E.E. Cummings
Dislocations— Seven Scenarios by Adrienne Rich
The Solitary Reaper by William Wordsworth
Pinned in Place by Thomas Reiter
The first poem is an ekphrastic poem responding to a Stuart Davis painting, Report From Rockport. We have at the MAG another lively work of his— eye-popping color, a sense of humor as he plays with what seems to be familiar, but painted in as improbable unless having
a surrealist dream.
Landscape with Garage Lights by Stuart Davis (1894 – 1964)
Gretchen Schultz provides us with eye poetry. Her adjectives are lively, sensual and unusual. Like the art.
The Cummings poem also had a playful tone… but addressing the “strenuous briefness” of life before the final “solongs and ashes” — where the word “dashes” is unmistakable…enthusiastic statement about the varied nature life. or challenge conventions? and how ? His use of colors also a painting. like entering an impressionist painting.
Is he mocking convention? weddings and the “I do” world…? How about the many different meanings of the title? Post Impressions (VI) — A fence, telephone post, after the fact impressions (is he writing this after he has died?), part of the post-impressionist movement?
The wit is rich and the reward is the constant revelation of surprises… but not without some work.
interpolated dichotomies. Cheerful + darkness. painting strenuous briefness of life; speaking back to life after he’s dead. truly Post. even though anti-semitic , married 3 times including Scofield Thayer’s wife (a complicated and complicit arrangement of his good friend, and editor of the Dial Magazine w/ James Sibley Watson. which is why Cummings, E. E. may my heart always be open to little (p. 2-3)is on Poets’ Walk.)
Adrienne Rich: Dislocations in 7 scenarios
Philosophy in Aden by Paul Nizan
SOURCE: Nizan, Paul. Aden, Arabie; translated from the French by Joan Pinkham (New York: Columbia University Press, 1987), pp. 126-131. (French original published 1960, English translation published 1968).
“A thought wants something. It desires a concrete end
So life is reduced to the shallowness of the past and the dust of a future made up of habits and systems, the madness that combines the elements of poverty and excludes melons in bottles, seasons in hell, and free women. A chess match in which the living lose to the dead.
The demands of man are simple
An allusion to a popular French anecdote that tells how Columbus used an egg to confound envious critics who said it had taken no great wit to discover the new world. It had been a simple matter, they declared, the only trick was to think of looking for it in the first place. Columbus is supposed to have replied by taking an egg and asking which of the company could make it stand on end. When everyone objected that the feat was impossible, Columbus crushed one end of the egg just enough to flatten it and stood it on the table, rebuking his enemies with the words, “That too was simple—one had only to think of it.”
Rich ends up there in the 7thscenario… Simple…
Many ideas of this seem to be in Adrienne Rich’s poem,
Dislocations: Seven Scenarios
I. What is this word, “Home”: What it is like to be an immigrant, homeless…
II. a sense of “law of the jungle”. tiny mandibles of rumoropen and close
III. city as “infection” like an alcoholic drinking what it can… then wanting stronger stuff //sucks at the marrow of selves
IV. the shrinking lines… For recalcitrancy of attitude/ the surgeon is transferred
to the V.A. hospital
to the V.A. hospital
V. look at the scars
reality’s autographs
reality’s autographs
VI. you can turn a blind eye… but can you afford it?
VII. and home no simple matter
of hearth or harbor
bleeding from internal wounds
of hearth or harbor
bleeding from internal wounds
From a poem rife with details of the world and it’s messy undersides of injustice, crooked solipsists and corrupt governments… a lovely lyric moment with Wordsworth:
Solitary : a favorite word. Alone is not bad… the reaper sings… and the idea of a song, produced by working that speaks of universal sorrow, welcome, although the details are not known… He only hears the voice, but does know the subject…
voice reminds him of what it is like to be human.
Invitation to do that… empathy for another person’s sorrow…
snapshot of an experience? or just showing how he brings attention to his day.
Making up a story from diary from Thomas Wilkinson.
Delight of “Pinned in Place” — days of yore… playing games..
“Could anyone make it through those days
untouched?
untouched?
Haunting last lines.
running with bed sheets in their arms,
running like firemen rescuing children.
All night those sheets lay draped
over furniture, as though we were leaving
and would not return for a long time.
running like firemen rescuing children.
All night those sheets lay draped
over furniture, as though we were leaving
and would not return for a long time.
Kathy brought in a beautiful book, Lost Words: a spell book From bestselling Landmarks author Robert Macfarlane and acclaimed artist and author Jackie Morris, a beautiful collection of poems and illustrations to help readers rediscover the magic of the natural world. To find a word, like bluebell… first you find the letters, in blue, that spell it.. then turn the page to see an illustration
of a field of bluebells… To think that 23 words were taken out of a dictionary because they weren’t pertinent in reflecting the way language is used…
Bramble, acorn, kingfisher, otter, raven, willow, wren… not necessary????
A fun picture from the Washington Post
speaking of Laundry…(for the last poem, “Pinned in Place”
April 10-11
Taking Turns byJeanie Greensfelder
Bracken by Kai Carlson-Wee
Emily Dickinson: #67 Presentiment is that long shadow on the lawn
" " 1016: The Hills in Purple syllables
" " 89 Some things that fly there be, —
" " 69 Low at my problem bending,
May will mark the Bicentennial of Whitman !
“The grandiose does not appeal to me. I dislike the simply art effect— art for art’s sake, like literature for literature’s sake, I object to, not, of course, on prude grounds, but because literature created on such a principle (and art as well) removes us from humanity, while only from humanity in mass can the light come. ”
Bracken by Kai Carlson-Wee
Emily Dickinson: #67 Presentiment is that long shadow on the lawn
" " 1016: The Hills in Purple syllables
" " 89 Some things that fly there be, —
" " 69 Low at my problem bending,
Emily Dickinson # 514 (Her smile was shaped like other smiles)
I Don’t Want to be a Spice Store by Christian Wiman
Dor by Nathalie Handal
May will mark the Bicentennial of Whitman !
“The grandiose does not appeal to me. I dislike the simply art effect— art for art’s sake, like literature for literature’s sake, I object to, not, of course, on prude grounds, but because literature created on such a principle (and art as well) removes us from humanity, while only from humanity in mass can the light come. ”
The poems this week indeed call on our humanity—however, Whitman would be pleased that the craft involved is secondary to the delivery of snapshots of how it is to be human.
In the first poem, “Taking Turns” Ted Kooser explains, “I like this poem for the way it portrays the manner in which we study the behavior of others and project our own experiences onto their lives. It seems to be a simple poem. Two stanzas. The first assumes someone else’s position. The poem itself, fulfills the title, takes a turn to retell the story. The fact that the woman “holding the sorrow” is sitting near a cairn, or trail marker has a small unspoken subtext of someone pausing on a journey. Comments from the group:
David: transactional exchange: (your anxiety is filling the room…has a toxic effect vs. asking someone if they’d like to talk about how they feel…) Being aware, allows us more choices in how to behave. Martin (as Jungian psychologist) believes that empathy is inborn and natural to want to see how another sees… Bernie remarked on the use of the definite article where Joy and Sorrow are just part of the permanence of living as universal elements, not individual.
The admission (and turn) I’m wrong, allows the reader also to consider how the writer arrived at the idea that someone was actively searching for an antidote to sadness. Allows the space to arrive at a more true idea, that we all have turns dealing with sadness. Mystery of people. Ambiguity: she doesn’t know, nor do we— which leaves us with the feel of having witnessed an authentically real moment.
Monday, April 8, 2019
April 3-4
It’s National Poetry month and the American Academy of Poets has selected a poster that responds to Tracy K. Smith’s poem, An Old Story. If you wish a copy of Julia Wang’s poster, a 10th grader from San Jose, CA ,whose work was selected, you can order here: : https://www.poets.org/national-poetry-month/form/poster-request-form
She uses the last five lines of the poem.
And then our singing
Brought on a different manner of weather.
Then animals long believed gone crept down
From trees. We took new stock of one another.
We wept to be reminded of such color
ELEGY FOR A WALNUT TREE by W.S. Merwin
A Door by W.S. Merwin
An Old Story by Tracy K. Smith*
An Old Story by Tracy K. Smith*
Pieces on the Ground by Marianne Boruch
What Can I Tell Her I have Learned by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha
In a Time of Peace by. Ilya Kaminsky
|
We closed with Hillaire Belloc [month Of] April - and
The spring is sprung, the grass is riz.
I wonder where the boidie is.
They say the boidie’s on the wing.
But that’s absoid. The wing is on the bird**
**
Commentary:
We will miss Merwin... his lines that refuse to be hammered in by punctuation, his unusual thoughts
that allow such titles as "On the anniversary of my death".
Merwin’s strength as a poet is the profundity he creates out of the simplest of words, as in “A Door,” in which “somebody would come and knock/on this air/long after I have gone/and there in front of me a life/would open.” His themes of birth, time, human separation from nature, and the delicate balance of the earth as a human home are rendered in mysterious yet exquisitely clear and exact imagery, as evidenced in the poem below about a walnut tree, trees being one of the great loves of his life.
Merwin’s strength as a poet is the profundity he creates out of the simplest of words, as in “A Door,” in which “somebody would come and knock/on this air/long after I have gone/and there in front of me a life/would open.” His themes of birth, time, human separation from nature, and the delicate balance of the earth as a human home are rendered in mysterious yet exquisitely clear and exact imagery, as evidenced in the poem below about a walnut tree, trees being one of the great loves of his life.
The Elegy for the Walnut tree is such a beautifully crafted tribute to life... and to Merwin, who accepted that this tree became, by his careful attention to how it lived the seasons, the changes, wars, centuries,
becomes the way he sees the world... An elegy can be a a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead. Given Merwin's respect for the environment, it is both. Many people shared other references to trees. Bernie brought up Overstory
A Door is another fabulous image for possibility... where every poem can be a portal... the poem felt to some like an old person saying, “a door will appear for you to walk through that will shape your destiny. Each decision we make is a door. Merwin works the “air” sounds…creates a sense of magic of doors in shadows, like fairy tales which summon the supernatural in a particular way.
An Old Story: + the Poster for National Poetry month from American Academy of Poets
Judges: Naomi Shihab Nye: “We are navigating a deep forest together but there is hope in the grieving, the persistent light, the many colors of thought and being, the shared human responsiveness. We may still be struck awake by inspiration. I felt tears of hope for each word and knows instantly, thanks to a young artist's visionary skill, this was my choice.” The co-judge, Debbie Millman said this. “The integration of message and meaning is wise beyond her years, and the overall sentiment embedded in the illustration is stunning. The response to this year’s student poster competition gives me great optimism for the next generation of poetry lovers, designers and artists."
Maura brought up the children's book As an Oak Tree Grows by G. Brian Karas much on the same lines.
An Old Story: + the Poster for National Poetry month from American Academy of Poets
uses the final lines of Tracy K. Smith’s poem . You can see the image of the vision of
10th Grader, Julia Wang from San Jose, CA here :https://www.poets.org/national-poetry-month/form/poster-request-form. She explains: "Since music (singing) seemed a key part, I wrote the first half of the excerpt onto five lines like those in sheet music, then the second half as well. The music is flowing and passing by, bringing the rain with it. However, the droplets could not only represent rain, but also teardrops. To contrast the dark background, I drew the teardrops with bright colors. The droplets act as a source of light, and their colors radiate and seep into the areas behind them. Combining the light and color of the droplets, the music lines seem almost transparents, like a shimmer of hope. The teardrops light up the bleak forest with light and color, creating a landscape that is quietly beautiful in its tragedy."
Judges: Naomi Shihab Nye: “We are navigating a deep forest together but there is hope in the grieving, the persistent light, the many colors of thought and being, the shared human responsiveness. We may still be struck awake by inspiration. I felt tears of hope for each word and knows instantly, thanks to a young artist's visionary skill, this was my choice.” The co-judge, Debbie Millman said this. “The integration of message and meaning is wise beyond her years, and the overall sentiment embedded in the illustration is stunning. The response to this year’s student poster competition gives me great optimism for the next generation of poetry lovers, designers and artists."
the poem: The use of enjambments is striking: "We were made to be believe it would be/ terrible..
Livid, the land, and ravaged, like a rageful /Dream.
She sums up in a short poem, the volumes of history... and post apocalyptic visions… brings up terrible fears… a long age… passed. (little ice age in 14thc. black plague… ). glibly optimistic…
We wondered, "How would Merwin write this?"
Dalai Lama: Call to revolution for the millennials… avoid pathological individualism…
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/03/25/affect-theory-and-the-new-age-of-anxiety
dystopian literature has gone on forever…
Pieces on the Ground by Marianne Boruch : delightful... but restless.. Wonderful craft, like antinomia-- (crossing:
pause and rush, rush and pause) a hint of Cummings. with "know thing..." and "nothing"... "The remember isn't a road"... the mother "rinsing knife and spoon and the middle of her life."
We discussed the urge to find "meaning" to "peg what a poem is about". Perhaps this one addresses ebb and flow of life… the random thoughts—but there are no overriding concepts…
A hill full, a hole full, you cannot catch a bowlful. FOG… rinsing the middle of the life.
Eliot. measuring your life by coffeespoons…
Am I right if I have the idea… + zen master. throw away the idea.
what is real… philosophy…
What Can I Tell Her I have Learned by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha
a complex poem, as if overhearing a mother and daughter discussing love songs of the Lebanese singer Fairuz. The arabic under the title is something along the lines of “your love is sleeping, I’m afraid, forget me Fairuz” (Lebanese singerhttps://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128431817 All the possible things she can tell her are questions... love, wind, fog, raid,
and then... conclusion in the final stanza:
"That in the eye of an unravelling we’re still singing,
as those before us did, that it buries or sustains us,
we cannot know. "
as those before us did, that it buries or sustains us,
we cannot know. "
In a Time of Peace by. Ilya Kaminsky.
This poem from Deaf Republic follows the events of a small town named Vasenka. Here, the townspeople have chosen to act as though they are deaf as a form of resistance. Kaminsky’s new book begs the questions: in a time of perpetual war, how do we say anything at all? Even worse, why do we stay silent about the commonplace atrocities happening everyday?
The contradictions are so apparent, the choice of dental appointments as part of the everyday "numbing" not a bad choice !
March 27-8
Place by W.S. Merwin
What Was Told, Thatby Jalal al-Din Rumi, 1207 - 1273
Have You Ever Tried to Enter the Long Black Branches? by Mary Oliver
Luxury by Albert Abonado
The Cuttlefish by Maryan Nagy Captan
email : Dear all,
There is no shortage of poems. Below this email, suggestions of new titles from the Academy of American Poets.Kindly mark your calendars: Poet Ralph Black, reading from his newest poetry collectionBloom and Laceration, which received the 2017 Hopper Poetry Prize from Green Writers Press, 2018. Book-signing to follow the reading. Thursday March 28th 2019 at 7:00 p.m. St. John Fisher College https://map.concept3d.com/?id=287#!m/63394In memoriam: W.S. Merwin:Naomi Shihab Nye, referring to Merwin, says. "How is it possible that poems which are a little bit mysterious help us to know so much more about our own lives?” Two articles about his life: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/19/opinion/w-s-merwin-poet-trees.htmlhttps://www.npr.org/2019/03/15/509122300/poet-w-s-merwin-who-was-inspired-by-conservation-dies-at-91"Suddenly using punctuation felt like nailing words on a page… "He was seeking something like the movement and lightness of the spoken word. Then, as he became more involved in the ecological movement, his poems began to root themselves in the Earth. And one of the most amazing things in this work is by the time he became a poet of old age he had sort of morphed into a poet of praise."
Place: (title) could be a noun or a verb. The poem leaves us with a sense of space, simultaneity.. time to reflect. contemplate. cause and effect. Each garden a world. What is the last day of the world? When you die? When our planet dies? … space forces you to slow down… reverently… as if walking in the serenity of the cemetery;
Brought up: *“You have the right to work, but for the work's sake only. You have no right to the fruits of work. Desire for the fruits of work must never be your motive in working.
Bernie: not about his death… but planting a tree… thinking about the end of world. Buddhist… interested in this moment now…
Martin: appreciate the earth now… because it will be gone.
John Weisenthal brought up this video "with the guitar’s greatest poet."
https://youtu.be/8dXID4GM4oQ Go to minute 35: You will hear Segovia say this “folkloric poem”
The sigh told the tongue,
“go and search the words which could say what I cannot.”
a minute before, he explains poetry in Andalusia is a way to express what is felt in the heart.
Rumi: Check Shahin’s translation of the Song of the Reed. Our 20th century nature strives to fulfill its potential. but here in 13th
we have been given the good advice -- be the "what" you are!
Oliver: This poem is like her credo... all that you need to know... with a few chiding remarks, like
Do you think this world was only an entertainment for you? Listen, are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?
In many ways, she is echoing Rumi and Merwin. Lovely poetic phrases, (curl of music) yet accessible.
"To sit down, like a weed among weeds, and rustle in the wind!
and the opening of the window no more difficult
than the wakening from a little sleep."
Diaz: At first, the opening line is puzzling given the title, until the fish metaphor starts to make sense.
Achii Ahaan ;to the true fish. The discussion included:
Juliet about Romeo… Dalai Lama: A call to revolution (of compassion)
2014. Waterways to have rights. Lake Erie… Glen Canyon… River Dam
Why Dam is now a 4 letter word.
Leave it to beavers. video.
Said the River, I gave you…
you damned me…
Albonado: local poet, his poem published in the Colorado Review. Wonderful repetitions, a listing of all he does NOT want to think about (but how can one not)... the luxury of feeling grateful...
Interesting comparison of the three-hearted cuttlefish (octopus family) with being an immigrant...
the third heart being the one who can reconcile the other two from different countries.
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