The Life of Poetry

The poet often taps into what Jung called our collective unconscious, giving voice to our humanity and meaning to our struggles.  A good poem, therefore, tells us something we already know. When we read it or hear it we say, “Ah, yes.” An exceptional poem tells us something we are on the verge of knowing. When we read it or hear it, we say, “Oh my!”                                                     
                                                                                                          ~ Charles Kinnaird

Consider Poems for Hungry Minds, available at Amazon. Perhaps some of the poems will make you say, “Ah, yes.” Maybe you will say, “Oh my!”

From the Preface:

This anthology gathers the voices, wisdom, community, fellowship, and longing for a better world through awareness, deep examination, and the joy of poetry. The HIGHLAND AVENUE POETS are a long-standing community of southern poets meeting monthly to workshop, edit and collectively refine their work.

Poetry slows the urgent world and grants a focus on life within it. The discipline practiced by these authors has occasioned a kind of communal joy - poems that reflect a community of compassion for the world.

You are invited within.

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To take a peek at the first pages, check out the Amazon site here. 

Books may also be purchased at Barnes and Noble here.

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Poems for Hungry Minds

       “I first met poetry as a warm starry night –
             and cloudless.
       Wordless joy, both dazzling and calm,
       steadfast and ever-moving.
       No desire to leave.
       She was a quieting immensity.”
 
                                              ~ Charles Kinnaird

To read more about the wonders of poetry, the marvels of life, or the complexities of relationships from the varied angles of several fine poets, consider opening the pages of Poems for Hungry Minds.  The book is available now on Amazon or at Barnes and Nobel.

From the Preface:

This anthology gathers the voices, wisdom, community, fellowship, and longing for a better world through awareness, deep examination, and the joy of poetry. The HIGHLAND AVENUE POETS are a long-standing community of southern poets meeting monthly to workshop, edit and collectively refine their work.

Poetry slows the urgent world and grants a focus on life within it. The discipline practiced by these authors has occasioned a kind of communal joy - poems that reflect a community of compassion for the world.

You are invited within.

*    *    *

To take a peek at the first pages of our volume, check out the site at Amazon here.

Books may also be purchased at Barnes and Noble here.

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North/South Appalachia: Poetry and Art

I just learned that three of my poems were selected for North/South Appalachia’s anthology, Poetry and Art, Volume 2. The concept is to hear from the varied and diverse voices within Appalachia’s long and borders that extend from the southern part of New York State to the northern portions of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.

“The richness of Appalachian culture, especially iits literature, is often misunderstood when it is considered at all. The poets of this collection, which spans the breadth of the complex and deeply diverse region known as Appalachia, paint vivid portraits of real lives lived in hill and dale, valley and holler, city street and urban neighborhood. Familiar and new voices sing together to celebrate the ongoing story of the Appalachian Renaissance.”

                                                 ~ Dr, Christina Fisanick,

                                                    President of the Writers Association of Northern                                                    Appalachian Writers (WANA)

 

Available on Amazon, proceeds go to the nonprofit organization, Reconnecting McDowell, to improve educational opportunities in West Virginia.

Poetry & Art from Appalachia. North/South is an inclusive periodic print & electronic publication by @studioappal & @watershedthe

After the War (from Poems for Hungry Minds)

   A Ukrainian serviceman walked amid the rubble of a building heavily damaged by multiple Russian bombardments
near a frontline in Kharkiv, Ukraine (Photo by Felipe Dana/Associated Press)

     

The world watches, the free world hopes for Ukraine's freedom from struggle against its oppressor.  The following poem is one of my contributions to the new anthology, Poems for Hungry Minds. - CK

After the War

The time will come when we will be able to sleep,

but it will be after the war, after the victory.

                                 – Ukraine President Voldymyr Zelenskyy

  

When things get quiet again,

we will take a walk.

We’ll find a street

like that one off Weldon’s Circle,

with the coffee shop

next to the record store

where we first heard Tuxedo Junction

sung by The Manhattan Transfer.

Surely, there will be a street

like that one again.

 

We will remember a time

when the pieces fit –

when we could imagine

building a home of our own.

 

I took those years for granted

until they stretched into a decade

of dull routine –

the everyday greyness

of riding to work,

shopping for groceries,

watching the Nightly News.

 

We could numb ourselves

to rumors of war

until the missile strikes lit the night.

Crumbled concrete cascaded

from buildings to sidewalk

and into the streets.

Roadways crowded

with newly awakened refugees –

homebodies turned migrants.

 

Twisted bridges

bombed out buildings

neighborhoods in rubble –

we had seen it before on the Nightly News,

always in some distant land

until the war machine shattered our lives.

 

Baldwin Street! That was it –

The one off Weldon’s Circle.

The one with the record store.

We’ll find it again

after the war.

 

                       ~ Charles Kinnaird

  

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Poems for Hungry Minds, by the Highland Avenue Poets, is available on Amazon and at Barnes and Nobel.

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"Defiance" A New Poem from Poems for Hungry Minds

"Poetry slows the urgent world and grants a focus on life within it. The discipline practiced by these authors has occasioned a kind of communal joy - poems that reflect a community of compassion for the world."

My friend, Tom Gordon, reads one of his poems from our new anthology, Poems for Hungry Minds, by the Highland Avenue Poets.

    Sometimes, I have something to say, and poetry is a way for me to say it.

                                                                                                        – Tom Gordon

 

"Poetry slows the urgent world and grants a focus on life within it. The discipline practiced by these authors has occasioned a kind of communal joy - poems that reflect a community of compassion for the world."

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Poetry During the Pandemic

What a year this has been! But I don't have to tell you that, do I? Back in August, I shared a poem, "Turning Under" which spoke of some of the harrowing days we have been experiencing, including the COVID-19 pandemic. 

I would like to take a moment to remind you that I  have some other poems included in a new anthology, The Social Distance: Poetry in Response to COVID-19. The book has received many compliments from readers and is available on Amazon.  The poets featured are from different walks of life and their words offer a meaningful examination of how we make our way through these unusual times.

At $9.95, this handsome volume makes a fine gift for any thoughtful reader or poetry enthusiast. You can order a paperback copy from Amazon here. 

I was pleased that Alabama's poet laureate, Jennifer Horne, read one of my poems from the book for her Midweek Poetry Break. You can enjoy that reading here. 

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The Social Distance: Poetry in Response to COVID-19

An Anthology by the Highland Avenue Eaters of Words

Poetry and photographs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, sheltering in place and related trials. The poets, who include doctors, lawyers, journalists, and other professionals open themselves up in non-sentimental, beautiful, and often painful verse that seeks to capture these odd and often difficult times. This book is for those who want to keep a reminder of what "social distancing" was like and to experience how others dealt with isolation and fear. Although engaged in other vocations, the contributing poets include experienced writers who are the winners of local and national contests. Several of the poets have written other books of poetry, essays, and fiction as well as numerous articles and contributions to professional publications.

Available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Social-Distance-Poetry-Response-COVID-19/dp/1098317092

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The Social Distance: A New Book

I have some poems in this new anthology that some friends and I have put together, The Social Distance: Poetry in Response to COVID-19. This collection gives voice to our struggles, questions, and hopes as we make our way through this pandemic.

The paperback comes out in September, but you can pre-order now. Check it out at Amazon.

Poetry and photographs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, sheltering in place, and related trials. The poets, who include doctors, lawyers, journalists, and other professionals open themselves up in non-sentimental, beautiful and often painful verse that seeks to capture these odd and often difficult times.














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