April Comes in with an "A" as in Alphabet

NATIONAL POETRY MONTH!


New venues coming for poetry readings! New acceptances of poems at literary journals later this year! Brand new poems being written, and revised, and tussled with, and ironed out. It's a great month to make friends with the written word, folks! 

Mr. Rickles

I spent Friday night watching a legend. I can’t precisely say he “performed,” because he’s 86 years old, and performance is a peculiarly elusive ability at that age. A legendary comedian, he is one of the very last of a generation-honored group of entertainers, which is primarily why I wanted to see him in person.

To my ear, he said two hilarious things over the course of an hour. The first was, after he’d simply entered onstage to a roaring standing ovation and said a few “let me orient myself” comments into the mic, and after he received raucous laughter and applause just for being himself, he turned to his orchestra conductor, pianist and right-hand man, and into the microphone, he said “Are we done yet?” Absolutely priceless. I must’ve laughed a full minute.

The second time, much later in the show, he was telling one of his many “back in the day” stories. This one was about Frank Sinatra. It wasn’t part of a joke or even a punchline. It was just his set-up for his reminiscence. He said, “Through the door walk Frank and his friends, who are, uh, scientists…” and from an audience of 1,300, guess who was laughing so hard the musicians were looking at her? Yep. 

We stood in ovation to that man at least five times. The rest of his onstage performance was unusually tender and meandering. There was a fantastic 13-piece orchestra, who clearly adored him. There was the singing of heartfelt, smaltzy songs hearkening to memories and patriotism. I paid great attention to his presence. I wondered why he would put himself through that series of paces. He had difficulty walking across the stage and handling the mic cord. Of course I know there’s the money, but I wondered if there was something else. Some other reason why a person, particularly at that juncture in life, doesn’t simply cease doing the thing they know best how to do.

I’m thinking about if it’s useful to be puzzled by all this. Diminishment is a worthy consideration. Amplification is a worthy consideration.

Here Comes the Judge

Nothing like a real-life Maricopa County Superior Court Judge smiling and holding up a copy of my book.

This judge happens to be exemplary, righteous and wise. The Honorable Bruce R. Cohen. 

He is the inspiration behind the poetic matter for two poems in THE DAY JUDGE SPENCER LEARNED THE POWER OF METAPHOR: "The Persimmon Can See You," and "Why the Judge's Chambers Can Can-Can."

"Why the Judge's Chambers..." is available to read here. Just scroll down a little bit; this is my book's page on my publisher's website. 

And he does look dashing in black.

Very special. 

AWP Writers’ Conference -- NASCAR Race -- Ten Comments -- You Make the Call

1.  Do not wear chocolate-brown suede boots.  Although they’re gorgeous, they won’t look that way after you’ve trudged a half-mile through a dirt parking-lot to get from, and get back to, your automobile, OR spending a whole day whirling like a dervish darting from book booth to book booth, searching for that elusive golden book-calf. At the car race, you ask yourself, why is the dirt so wet in places? At the conference, why do the eyes of the people get glassier and glassier?

2.  At a NASCAR race, you can see a woman, out in public, in the dirt parking lot, relieving herself in full view, save for her open vehicle door. You will never for the rest of your life forget that image; additionally, you remain bewildered as to how much liquid one woman can literally contain. At an AWP Conference, you can see MFA students euphemistically emptying their bowels upon seeing the famous poet/writer of their dreams at the lectern or sitting at the panel table, or perched upon the hotel barstool. You cannot remember even one of their faces.

3.  You now know why the dirt is wet in the parking lot at a NASCAR race. You still cannot remember a single MFA face.

4.  Everything smells like mustard and wet socks for the first hour of every day. Car race: French’s. Conference: Gulden’s. Socks: not cashmere at either venue.

5.  Essentially, same amount of people.  Car race: 100,000. Conference: 11,000. Big difference: writers move faster, but with unfulfilling efficiency; race audiences, much larger width-wise, but the utilization of any deficits works to their advantage.

6.  A poet or writer would most likely submit later to scientific testing upon their own anatomy by a mad doctor to have an audience of 100,000 listening raptly to him/her read poetry from his/her latest volume. A car race enthusiast drives 95 miles an hour on the freeway just to get to the race on time, and that person is extremely happy not to be noticed by anybody.

7.  You can lose someone in a crowd at NASCAR and you will not locate them again – ever. You can lose someone, intentionally, in a crowd at the AWP conference – but there they are in the elevator, or two rows up at a panel talk. Moreover, they will turn around to look at you.

8.  Liquor. Everybody in the pool.

9.  You will not hear the Blues playing anywhere at a NASCAR race. You will be able to run for your life to at least one Blues club somewhere, within two blocks of your hotel. Memorize that path.

10.  The NASCAR drivers are protected by a high fence and then plenty of pit security. After the race, they are in their giant mobile homes and on the road before you’ve even gotten out of the metal stands. If there weren’t a law against it, you could literally butt foreheads with one famous writer/poet after another until you’ve knocked your own self out. Or gotten so hungry that by then all you want is a nice quiet meal. And a physician.

Bonus material:

T-shirts at a NASCAR race cost $26.00 and other paraphernalia goes up from there in price. T-shirts at an AWP conference cost $26.00 on the first day but by Saturday they’re practically throwing the stuff away. At NASCAR, hope to like anybody besides Number 48, if you’re interested in buying anything. Unless you have two hours to wait in line. Which people do, and God bless ‘em, happily. At an AWP conference, go ahead and like anybody of any number.

Race Pit Row. Phoenix West-Side Hills. Unusually overcast sky.

See you next year in Seattle, AWP!       

NASCAR, that was plenty. And thanks!

11 Things for a Woman to Note While Watching a First NASCAR Race, Start to Finish, on TV

1.   There is a serious amount of praying before the race.

2.   You realize people could lose their lives shockingly suddenly, and perhaps all that praying isn't just a going-through of the motions.         

3.   There is no point to a grass divider between the track and the pit.

4.   A woman behind the wheel races a lime green car; she stays with the top pack for 200 full laps, avoids a series of nasty multi-car crashes and even leads a lap for the first time in history. If you are a woman watching this, no one could ever have convinced you the degree to which your heart would swell with pride.

5.   Just the sight of the M&M’S logo will make you crave M&M’S.

6.   This desire will not happen if you see a logo for a hardware store or network service.

7.   Anything, and that means anything, flying off one of those race cars during the race immediately turns into a piece of shrapnel.

8.   Face it. Men race car drivers look homely and half-baked. How on earth could this ever happen, no one really knows, but their wives are stunning.

9.   What is wrong with a little side bumping occasionally?

10. Ear muffs are not an elective. They do not, however, come in pink or animal print.

11.  Next week, when you are physically at your first NASCAR race, try very hard not to act as if you too, could drive 196 miles an hour, given half a chance. Don’t forget to remind the folks you can’t drive stick; it would have to be automatic. Take note of how far over they bend at the waist, howling with laughter.

"The Next Big Thing" Interview

Cynthia Schwartzberg Edlow 

“THE NEXT BIG THING” INTERVIEW

Author: Cynthia Schwartzberg Edlow

 I have been tagged to participate in “The Next Big Thing” Interview Series. My deepest thanks to the multi-talented and gifted poet Helene Cardona for inviting me to respond to some questions about my poetry collection, published by Salmon Poetry in 2012. Helene is the author of several books, and now currently, Dreaming My Animal Selves, forthcoming from Salmon Poetry in March, 2013. Her Facebook Fan Page is: https://www.facebook.com/HeleneCardonaFanPage?fref=ts

****

TNBT: What is the title of your book of book of poetry?

THE DAY JUDGE SPENCER LEARNED THE POWER OF METAPHOR.

TNBT: Where did the idea come from for the book?

No single idea created this book. The poems here were born from the theater of human behavior I’ve participated in or been witness to for some long time. I’m always aware that my job is to be present, take note and document the findings. The poeticizing of the findings comes afterward, in the working of the craft. These are poems that are placed in personal familial surroundings, work or woodland surroundings, the gravity of courtroom events, the medical examiner’s table, the points of view from birds and widows, and reminiscences of young minds and those more experienced. Most of all, you’ll find the recurring theme of the sometimes bewildering, sometimes soothing, circuitousness of the astonishing qualities of the world’s machinery, no matter how much we as humans attempt to intercede or concoct.

TNBT: What genre does your book fall under?

This is a book of Poetry.

TNBT: What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a move rendition?

Well, let’s see. The Chief Medical Examiner is based on a real person, who himself is brilliant, charismatic, moody and excruciatingly frustrating. So I see Peter O’Toole perfectly fitting that role. All the attorneys and judges are based on real individuals also – so I’d see Mark Ruffalo and Mickey Rourke as attorneys, because they’re great actors and they can turn on a dime from quirky to lethal; Sissy Spacek would play the recurring female attorney who possesses a brilliant mind and some madness in her blood. The judges: off the top of my head, I see Jason Robards wearing a robe, and the exemplary Jack Lemmon, too. And in some of the lust poems, of which there are quite a few, when there’s a steamy love scene ahead, just insert Robert Mitchum, because he’s been my dreamboat since I was 8-years-old – so what point to stop now? Sidney Poitier, love interest fantasy marriage material. Invariable that most of my favorite actors are no longer with us. They really don’t make them like they used to.

TNBT: What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

Life, as we know it, is extraordinary and precious, and a privilege to experience – it is not bestowed to us by right, but by peculiar, engaging and unlikely accident.

TNBT: How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

There never was any “first” draft of this manuscript. I was working on my Master’s Degree in the mid ‘80’s, writing and publishing poems, and I won a very sweet award from the National Poetry Competition Chester H. Jones Foundation during that time. The judges were Robert Creeley, Charles Wright and Diane Wakoski. Shortly thereafter, I had a poem published in The American Poetry Review and I thought surely I was sailing on the poetry river. Soon after that, I completely stopped writing – a cold hard stop – for a period of almost ten years. When I began writing poetry again, around 1998, it was with a more knowledgeable vigor and mature poetic voice. In retrospect, it could not have occurred in a better fashion for me. The time spent away from the page allowed me to truly uncover my poetic self. I was very fortunate. As I began writing again, the poetry came strong and fast, and probably 95% of the poems in the book were picked up by literary journals, anthologies and awards, and I began seeing various themes naturally generate from the work being created. So, the short answer is it took twenty years to write this book. My next collection-in-progress will take three years at the most. That’s called mastering the art of condensing time!

TNBT: Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Of all the questions, this is the most difficult, but satisfying, for me. My primary inspiration is music – soul, rhythm&blues, the blues, rock&roll.  It’s what influenced me before I even knew what poetry was. I was listening to The Coasters, The Temptations, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding and myriad others way before I’d ever heard of Yeats, or Bishop or William Matthews or Sharon Olds. The sound of the music – the voices, the harmonies, the instruments, all combined together – was how I interpreted how my poetry should speak itself and be read. An important thing to mention is, it was also these amazing colorful, potent, imagistic lyrics that just swelled into my heart and mind. So when I turned to my own poetry, it became about infusing specific kinds of rhythm and language forms into each line, each phrase, each image. It’s not about rhyming; it’s about a soulfulness.

TNBT: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Sex galore. And plenty of it. Death galore, at the hands of a master. The trials and tribulations of human beings traversing the battleground of legal troubles. Finding serious love in a world of chance. To use a phrase from my favorite artist of all time, Van Morrison, I hope you feel this book is permeated with “a sense of wonder.” It’s the greatest gift to possess in experiencing this world.

TNBT: Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

The Day Judge Spencer Learned the Power of Metaphor was published by Salmon Poetry Ltd., Ireland’s groundbreaking, independent poetry publisher, and is distributed in the US by Dufour Editions, in the UK by Central Books, London, and in Ireland by CMD Booksource.

Heartfelt gratitude goes to my publisher, Jessie Lendennie, and to Siobhan Hutson, Salmon Poetry’s production manager. It is an honor to be a Salmon poet and affiliated with Salmon Poetry, Ltd.

****

It is with great pleasure and admiration that I introduce the following tagged poets and writers for next Wednesday’s “The Next Big Thing” interviews:

Charles Alexander http://www.chax.org/poets/alexander.htm

David Chorlton https://www.facebook.com/#!/david.chorlton.7 

Beth Copeland  http://bethcopeland-writing.com/about/

Doug Molitor http://www.dougsdozen.com

John Morgan  www.johnmorganpoet.com

****

My "The Next Big Thing" Interview

Just a heads-up: Next Wednesday, February 20th, LitBridge, will be posting my reflective interview about THE DAY JUDGE SPENCER LEARNED THE POWER OF METAPHOR, including some of the aspects that led to the inspiration for writing the book, and even what actors I'd choose for particular characters in various poems. Check it out next Wednesday!

My Queendom for a Broom Closet

 Here's a photo journey while I meandered through the mesmerizing Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix.  I'm actually saving the very best photos for single blog entries. There was so much there that was so gorgeous that I truly felt the need to hide in a broom closet and live surreptitiously in the museum for a solid week.

Leonard Bernstein's baton:

Elvis' cowboy outfit from the film, Charro, and written instructions for the cast to get in their clothes and be at the right location on time. Breakfast on the plane, no fancy stuff. Hey folks, this is show business:

How cymbals are made:

An intricate piano, a guitar-maker's bench, a crazy bird-lute:

Of course, there's the Apollonia organ, still making music, every 2PM, every museum day. The accordians open and close, the bass drum booms, but no one appears to pull out the tenor saxaphones. Nevertheless, it's one hot show:

And the king of all beat:

Simply the best. How I love music.

The Red Hen Press Poetry Award and Me

SENSATIONAL NEWS!!

I have won the RED HEN PRESS POETRY AWARD for my poem “Super Dan Comics Question Box Series #18.”

I am so elated I'm practically speechless. And for a poet, I assure you, this is hardly ever a predicament. I am profoundly beholden to the editors at Red Hen Press for selecting my poem as a finalist, enabling it to be chosen as the winner by the final judge, Cynthia Hogue.  Thank you to Cynthia for choosing my poem for this amazing honor from a powerful pool of entrants that made it to finalist status. This award is especially gratifying because the competition is a completely “blind competition,” from the minute the entries hit the desk at the Red Hen Press offices. A blind competition is important to us in the literary community because it’s immeasurably significant for a poet to know that the poem alone speaks for itself - and nothing else, no identifying authorial information whatsoever, colors its potency. Just the lines on the page. I am over-the-moon with joy that my poetry has impressed the editors at Red Hen Press – bless you!, Editor-in-chief Kate Gale, and Judge Cynthia Hogue. You bet I’ll be thrilled to come out to LA to visit the offices, meet Kate, and the other editors, and staff. Don’t have to ask me twice!

The Los Angeles Review, Issue #14, will publish “Super Dan Comics…#18”, and if I’m not mistaken, also the runners-up, along with a fine collection of wonderful work by other poets and writers.  Please pick up or order a copy! Support the written arts – and welcome to the world a wise alien new to our planet, making his rounds in the “Super Dan Comics Question Box Series.”  Hurrah!

The “Super Dan Comics Question Box Series” is a sequence of poems occupying one section of my new verse collection-in-progress, forthcoming from Salmon Poetry in 2016.

Background on Award:

The Red Hen Press Ruskin Poetry Award is named after John Ruskin, and in honor of The Ruskin Art Club in Los Angeles, CA. The Ruskin Art Club, founded in 1888, is Los Angeles’ oldest cultural association.  Its 1922 clubhouse was declared a Los Angeles Historical Monument in 1997. 

So this is what it looks like on the other side of the moon. Fabulous!

2013 and Ringing In the Brand New

2013. Brand new year. Brand new poetry news. I await the public announcement before I can share this good fortune with all of you. How many times have I said how blessed I feel on this blog? Probably a dozen, by now. And I've only been at this for a year. Every single day is a day of appreciation.








That's how much I feel the spirit.  I know someone who once told me, "If you just don't turn around the other way, you'll get there." Of course, we always hope that to be true. Once in a while, it isn't.  Most times, surprisingly, we get there, if allotted the time and energy to do so. Just don't stop. You'll get there. Why don't we go together?