Wednesday, May 30, 2018

A Poet's Manifesto

Colleen Abel, in the Ploughshares online Reading site, posted an article “The Poet’s Manifesto: Three Ars Poeticas (ars poetica is Latin for “the art of poetry” and is a phrase taken from the ancient Roman lyric poet, Horace). She talks about how art exhibits will usually include and “Artist Statement.” When my daughter set out in the art world with her own exhibits and curating some art shows in town, I became aware of those artist statements myself.

Abel compares the ars poetica to the artist statement, and shares three different poems in which each poet presents their own ars poetica.  I like the concept of “artist statement” being applied to the poetic works, but I like even more the phrase in the title of Abel’s essay: “the poet’s manifesto.”

As I read her essay, I was reminded of another ars poetica, this one by Robert Graves in his short story, “The Shout.” Graves stated that he wrote it to illustrate how disruptive poetry can be to the poet’s domestic life. I first came across the story when I found Graves’ book, Occupation Writer, in a used book shop in Sausalito, California. “The Shout” was one of the stories in that volume, and a film adaptation was done in 1978 starring John Hurt, Alan Bates and Susanna York. The story depicts a man whose life is completely disrupted by a visitor. The visitor was an Englishman who had learned some shamanic practices from an Australian Aborigine.* 

Another thing I was reminded of was my own ars poetica that I wrote in 1980. “Sonnet Concerning Poetic Vision,” was one of my early poems written shortly after I began to take the poetic endeavor seriously. It was among the poems I read at my very first public poetry reading which some friends and I organized at a coffee shop in San Francisco. After that period, I put the poem away and have not read it in any of my public readings since.

I was prompted to revisit the poem after reading Colleen Abel’s essay, realizing that I had my own artist statement, my own poet’s manifesto, and my own ars poetica written at the outset of my poetic endeavors. Upon reading it again, I was not embarrassed (you know how we writers can be when we go back and re-read our early works). I was even pleased with the prescience in declaring that in spite of the travail, poetry instills “wonderment to guide the soul along an unsure path.” In the years that have ensued, I can say that poetry has continued to be a wondrous guide along an unsure path. 

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*See also my essay, “Dylan Thomas and Hank Williams: They Shared Their Art and Died Young.



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Tuesday, May 29, 2018

An Unsure Path



“Sonnet Concerning Poetic Vision,” was one of my early poems written shortly after I began to take the poetic endeavor seriously. It was among the poems I read at my very first public poetry reading which some friends and I organized at a coffee shop in San Francisco. After that period, I put the poem away and have not read it in any of my public readings since.

I recently revisited that poem. In the years that have ensued, I can say that poetry has continued to be a wondrous guide along an unsure path. I have come to see this early poem as my "ars poetica."

Sonnet Concerning Poetic Vision
(with apologies to John Milton)

When I consider how my light has come
Ere half my days in this vast world and wide,
And that one talent which I'd love to hide
Springs forth unmercifully, I ask some
More restful state be given for my home.
Much inward stress is placed on those denied
The convalescence of the blinder side
Of life. For art and vision in a womb
Create travail one soul cannot abide
Alone. My spirit answers that to see
Gives greater satisfaction than to find
A life devoid of wonderment to guide
The soul along an unsure path. To be
Distressed with sight enlarges soul and mind.

3/81                                                              ~ CK



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Monday, May 28, 2018

Monday Music: Africa (Toto)


The meme above may represent misheard lyrics, but from one Toto to another, here is the 1982 hit, "Africa."




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Saturday, May 26, 2018

Dylan Covers: My Back Pages

This week I have been posting videos of other singers performing the music of Bob Dylan, in honor of his 77th birthday (May 24). I have only posted 16 covers out of the many hundreds that are out there.

Dylan said in Martin Scorsese's 2005 documentary, No Direction Home that "an artist has got to be careful never really to arrive at a place where he thinks he is at somewhere. You always have to realize that you are constantly in a state of becoming."

The following video is a one of my favorites. This rendition of "My Back Pages" is from Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary Concert in 1992. It is a veritable Who's Who of musicians on hand to celebrate his music.

This week we celebrate the artist who is "constantly in a state of becoming."





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Dylan Covers: Every Grain of Sand (Emmylou Harris)

In honor of Bob Dylan's birthday this week, I'm sharing some of his songs performed by other singers. Emmylou Harris sang "Every Grain of Sand" at Johnny Cash's funeral in 2003. She recorded the song for her album The Wrecking Ball. Dylan first recorded the song for his Shot of Love album released in 1981.





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Dylan Covers: Boots of Spanish Leather (Nanci Griffith)

In honor of Bob Dylan's birthday this week, I'm sharing some of his songs performed by other singers. Nanci Griffiths has had a long successful musical career that has included country and folk genres. Here is a magical rendition of "Boots of Spanish Leather."






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Saturday Haiku: Summer Waters


an empty rowboat
on the still summer waters
entices dreamers




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Image: "Bathers at La Grenouillere," at the National Gallery, London, UK
Artist: Claude Monet
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Date: 1869



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Friday, May 25, 2018

Dylan Covers: Make You Feel My Love (Adele)

In honor of Bob Dylan's birthday this week, I'm sharing some of his songs performed by other singers.Adele brings her own special touch to this tender love song, "Make You Feel My Love," which Dylan released on his Time Out of Mind album.




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Dylan Covers: If Not for You (George Harrison)

In honor of Bob Dylan's birthday this week, I'm sharing some of his songs performed by other singers. George Harrison included Dylan's "If Not for You" on his first post-Beatles solo album, All Things Must Pass, released in 1970.The song was on Bob Dylan's New Morning album, released in 1970.








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Thursday, May 24, 2018

Dylan Covers: Two from Eric Clapton

Continuing with Dylan covers on Bob's Birthday today, Eric Clapton gives a soulful rendition (with some ethereal guitar solos) of Love Minus Zero/No Limit and Don't Think Twice, It's Alright.






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Dylan Covers: A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall (Jason Mraz)

In honor of Bob Dylan's birthday this week, I'm sharing some of his songs performed by other singers. Jason Mraz offers a very fine rendition of "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall." Dylan first released the song in 1963 on The Free-Wheelin' Bob Dylan.




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Dylan Covers: I'll Remember You (Grayson Hughes)

In honor of Bob Dylan's birthday this week, I'm sharing some of his songs performed by other singers. "I'll Remember You" is from Dylan's 1985 album, Empire Burlesque. Grayson Hughes' version of the song was used on the soundtrack for Fried Green Tomatoes. The song very effectively underscored the emotional impact of that film as the credits began to role at the end. 






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Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Dylan Covers: What Was It You Wanted? (Willie Nelson)

In honor of Bob Dylan's birthday this week, I'm sharing some of his songs performed by other singers. Bob Dylan recorded "What Was It You Wanted?" on his 1989 studio album, Oh Mercy. Willie Nelson included the song in his Across the Borderline album in 1993.





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Dylan Covers: Mississippi (Sheryl Crow)

In honor of Bob Dylan's birthday this week, I'm sharing some of his songs performed by other singers. Sheryl Crow ramps up the pace and give this Dylan number her own flavor.




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Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Dylan Covers: Lay Down Your Weary Tune (Marley's Ghost)

In honor of Bob Dylan's birthday this week, I'm sharing some of his songs performed by other singers. The Northern California group, Marley's Ghost, covered an early Bob Dylan tune on their 1989 album, Haunting Melodies.





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Dylan Covers: The Times They Are a-Changin' (Tracy Chapman)

In honor of Bob Dylan's birthday this week, I'm sharing some of his songs performed by other singers. Who better than Tracy Chapman to perform Dylan's signature song, "The Times They are a- Changin'." This performance is from a celebration of Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary as a recording artist.






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Monday, May 21, 2018

Dylan Covers: Mr. Tambourine Man (The Byrds)

In honor of Bob Dylan's birthday this week, I'm sharing some of his songs performed by other singers.The Byrds used many of Bob Dylan's songs in their early years in rock and roll. "Mr Tambourine Man" was released by Dylan in 1965 on his album Bringing It All Back Home. The Byrds recorded it that same year and helped to launch the folk-rock genre in the music industry.





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Dylan Covers: Blowin in the Wind (Peter, Paul & Mary)

In honor of Bob Dylan's birthday this week, I'm sharing some of his songs performed by other singers. When Peter, Paul and Mary performed Blowing in the Wind in live concerts, Peter Yarrow would introduce the song saying, "This song asks nine questions. The answers to these questions could determine the fate of all of us in this next generation."





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Sunday, May 20, 2018

Dylan Covers: A quoi ça sert de chercher à comprendre (Hugues Aufray)

French singer, Hugues Aufray, has done many Bob Dylan covers translated into French. "A quoi ça sert de chercher à comprendre" is his cover of "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright."





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Dylan Covers: Pressing On (Chicago Mass Choir)

In honor of Bob Dylan's birthday this week, every day I'll be sharing some of his songs performed by other singers. Today, Regina McCrary and the Chicago Mass Choir take "Pressing On" to another level.






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Saturday, May 19, 2018

Saturday Haiku: Domestic Fowl














a brood of chickens
scratching along in the dirt
throughout history


















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Image "Bantam Cock, Hen, and Chick"
Artist: Ohara Koson (Japanese, 1877-1945)
Medium: woodblock print



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Wednesday, May 16, 2018

How Pete Seeger Taught Me about Forgiveness

[Note: the following essay was first posted on February 12, 2012]

I clearly remember the catalyst that moved me to grant forgiveness in my heart. That catalyst came in a single day through two separate NPR broadcasts back in April of 1995. It was on a Good Friday. At noontime I was listening to a portion of a Good Friday service being broadcast on the radio while I was in my car while running some errands. Two of the people reading scripture and offering commentary were Martin Luther King, Jr.’s son (Martin Luther King III) and the Methodist minister from Piedmont, Alabama (Kelly Clem) whose young daughter had been killed in church the year before when a tornado struck. I don’t remember who said what, but I remember the message that came across that there are times when we suffer losses and times when we must forgive those who have wronged us. At the forefront of my thoughts was my own need to forgive that person who had betrayed me some four years earlier.

Later that day, I was driving home, again listening to NPR – this time it was the “All Things Considered” news broadcast. Burl Ives had died and they were interviewing folk singer Pete Seeger, talking about Burl Ives’ life. Pete Seeger made the comment that when he thought of Burl Ives, he thought of that clear, strong, beautiful voice of his. The interviewer wanted to probe more deeply into Seeger’s thoughts. What about that time during the McCarthy Red Scare, when there were hearings in Washington, D.C. before the House Committee on Un-American Activities? Burl Ives had testified before the committee, exonerating himself and implicating Pete Seeger, resulting in Seeger being blacklisted along with other folk singers of the day. Seeger’s career was severely affected by that awful reactionary time. Seeger’s response to the interviewer was, “Sometimes you just have to forgive and move on with your life.” He spoke with such conviction and serenity. I was moved by that interview. I said to myself, “If Pete Seeger can forgive Burl Ives, then I can forgive ______.”

It didn’t happen in an instant, but I made that my discipline for the Easter season that year. I know that my own health and well being were positively affected by my move to forgive and get on with my life. I should hasten to add that this lesson is not a one time thing. Since that day, there have been other occasions where I have struggled to forgive and move on. 

I should also add that I have at times been the one who needed to be forgiven. Furthermore, I have no doubt that because of the nature of human interaction, there have been people who have had to forgive me for things I was not even aware of doing. Living with others always leads to hurt and offense. If we are aware, we sometimes realize the hurt we have inflicted and can ask forgiveness. Other times, we are not aware until it is brought to our attention. There are still other times when, just as we must forgive and move on, someone else finds the grace to forgive us and move on – even when we are too blind to realize the hurt that we caused. 


Monday, May 14, 2018

Monday Music: Do Re Mi (Bob Dylan, Ry Cooder, and Van Dyke Parks)

Next week, I'll be featuring Dylan covers all week in honor of his birthday (May 24). We'll be hearing other people play Bob Dylan's songs.

Today, we have Bob Dylan performing Woody Guthrie's song, Do Re Mi, at the Malibu Performing Arts Center in January 2009. Dylan shares the stage with two other renowned musicians/composers Ry Cooder and Van Dyke Parks.




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Saturday, May 12, 2018

Saturday Haiku: A Red Evening Sky


shrimp boat comes to shore
under a red evening sky
time to celebrate




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Image: Sunset on Dauphin Island (Alabama)
Photo by Joy Harper Hartley Russell



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Wednesday, May 9, 2018

They All Had Names

Photo by Charles Kinnaird

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice opened in Montgomery, Alabama on April 26, 2018. Last week, my daughter and I toured the new memorial which is known as “the lynching memorial.” The day we went, it was well attended, with about an even number of black people and white people present.

During the time between Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement, many thousands of African Americans were lynched, and those lynchings served to preserve white supremacy – to assure that blacks “knew their place,” as the saying went down here in the South. It was a time of systemic terrorism aimed at black citizens whereby lynching served to instill fear and subjugation. The National Memorial for Peace and Justice is intended to be a legacy for those African Americans who were “terrorized by lynching,” and “humiliated by racial segregation.”

Confronting Our Past

Most whites, by virtue of their innate societal privilege, had no awareness of the fear and oppression that blacks lived under for 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Yes, those of us who grew up in the South knew about the boundaries: the segregation, the separate water fountains, the impoverished black neighborhoods. But most of us did not understand the fear, the terror, and the sheer danger of being black in America.

At the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, the Equal Justice Initiative has collected some 4,400 names of people who were lynched. Those names are engraved onto 800 corten steel monuments, each steel structure representing a county where lynchings took place. We learned that lynchings occurred between 1877 and 1950 to terrorize the black population and keep Jim Crow laws enforced.  The most recent lynching date I saw occurred in 1948. The farthest place north that I saw represented was Duluth, Minnesota. 

By confronting our past and its continuing legacy, the memorial can serve as a catalyst for reconciliation and healing.

Reactions to the Memorial     

My first reaction upon entering was to try to read every name. There were too many names to read each one. I then began looking at the counties where lynchings occurred and the years that each one took place. I overheard some visitors asking, “Have you found our county yet?” Then I realized there were also too many counties. I decided just to walk around the monument and let the structure speak.

In one section of the memorial, one can read the stories behind some of the lynchings that occurred. There was the prosperous farmer in 1948 who was lynched because he went to the polls to vote. There was the woman lynched because she protested the lynching of her husband, and the young man who was lynched simply because they could not find his relative who was the one they intended to lynch. The magnitude of the atrocities that our society condoned was incredible, but they all had names, and they all had a story to tell. Perhaps we can finally hear those names and those stories.

The most moving moment for me was when I had come through the display of names to a wall over which water flowed down (justice rolling down like waters?). It was there that I saw a young lady sitting, with her eyes closed and head bowed, as if in prayer. Tears came to my eyes as I saw her. Was she praying? Was she asking forgiveness? Praying for the victims of systemic violence? Or was she meditating? Perhaps she was bringing herself in touch with the reality of the atrocities represented in the naming of each lynching victim. Or perhaps she was just trying to take it all in.

Photo by Charles Kinnaird
This is indeed one of the values of having such a memorial. It allows all of us to stop and take it all in. We need to acknowledge that these atrocities took place; that this is who we are. We can no longer pass things off by saying, “I’m not responsible for what happened back during the days of slavery.” In order to move forward, we must come to terms with the fact that we grew up in a society where such systemic evil took place. If those of us who are of white privilege feel some inner resistance when we hear the phrase, “Black Lives Matter,” then we must acknowledge that we are still held captive to a legacy of hate and violence.

We Will Remember

By commemorating the incidents whereby terrorism was used to keep blacks suppressed and subjugated, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice brings us face to face with our own history. On their website, the Equal Justice Initiative states: 

A history of racial injustice must be acknowledged, and mass atrocities and abuse must be recognized and remembered, before a society can recover from mass violence. Public commemoration plays a significant role in prompting community-wide reconciliation.

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice provides a sacred space for truth-telling and reflection about racial terrorism and its legacy.

As can be seen in the inscription in the photo below, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice assures that "We will remember."

Photo by Elaine Kinnaird
 
Learn More

Read more about the National Memorial at the EJI website at https://eji.org/national-lynching-memorial.

See the video below, produced by The Guardian in which Bryan Stevenson, founder of Equal Justice Initiative, tells about The Legacy Museum and The National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Then go to Montgomery to see it for yourself. It is definitely worth the trip.







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Monday, May 7, 2018

Monday Music: 500 Miles (Peter, Paul & Mary)

I have heard "500 Miles" all my life, it seems. It was written in 1961 by folk singer Hedy West and quickly became so ingrained into the fabric of our culture that most Americans probably know the song. Sometimes the simplest of songs can become the most enduring and profound.

I gained a new appreciation for the song in 1981 when I went to Hong Kong to teach English for two years. One of my colleagues, Linda Pegram, worked with the Vietnamese refugees. At that time there were large refugee camps in Hong Kong and in The Philippines to aid in the resettlement of refugees from Vietnam to other parts of the world. American folk songs were quite popular throughout Hong Kong, but I learned from my friend, Linda, that among the Vietnamese refugees, "500 Miles" was one of the best loved songs. It, of course, spoke to their own plight of being far from home, with few possessions to call their own. I cannot hear the song today without seeing the images of those refugee camps.

In the video below, live concert footage accompanied by the original studio recording by Peter Paul & Mary make this a stunning offering. Mary Travers is superb -- riveting and captivating with her clear, strong, and plaintive voice.





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Saturday, May 5, 2018

Saturday Haiku: Crossing the waters in Spring








still waters
in the cool valley
spring crossing













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Image: Benkei Bridge
Artist: Tsuchiya Kôitsu (Japanese, 1870–1949)
Medium: Woodblock print



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Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Poetry Out Loud



During the month of April, in celebration of National Poetry Month, I highlighted poetry as an oral art form – the spoken word delivered to an audience. I noted that “the speaking and the hearing of poetry have always been central to its beauty and its effect upon people.”

Throughout the month, I shared video presentations of poets reading or reciting their works as well as other people reading the works of poets. I was able to share oral presentations of nine poets from diverse backgrounds. There were well over 1,000 views of those blog posts. The work of local spoken word artist Michael Harriot, “My Mama's So Black” received the most views, followed closely by Helen Mirren's reading of Tennyson's “Ulysses.”

All of the presentations seemed to be well received. Particularly effective was Bill Murray's reading of “What the Mirror Said,” by Lucille Clifton, and, of course, Maya Angelou's own presentation of “And Still I Rise.” I was glad to hear some Native American perspective with Joy Harjo's presentation.

Some told me that my reading of “Conscientious Objector,” by Edna St. Vincent Millay, was their first time to even hear about that poem. Others remarked that “Digging,” by Seamus Heaney was their all time favorite poem. One of my favorites was to be able to sit and listen to an evening with Coleman Barks reading from his translations of Rumi.

I am happy to have done some small part in presenting poetry in its oral form, and glad to have introduced some new voices as well as some old favorites to the readers of my blog. Thank you all for taking time to appreciate poetry as a spoken art form this month.

In case you missed any of them, you will find them listed below, with a hyperlink to take you to each presentation.










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