Don't Piss it Away

The last speaker of the IAM Encounter weekend was Dana Gioia. I've tried to read his poetry before and enjoy it, to no avail. But when he gave voice to it himself, I was quite taken. It made me glad that I'd at least purchased his book Can Poetry Matter? before the bookstore had packed up and disappeared.

And I have to say that it is Gioia's particular words, "don't piss it away," that have stuck with me. Imagine, a whole conference come to that simple conclusion.

For me, the conference had been going in a distinct direction: beauty, which I'd recently suggested might be my point of activism.

This is perhaps a "soft" thing that isn't always seen as important for business and success. Yet I'm coming to see it as absolutely essential. Because without beauty, we are droids or zombies or maybe remote-control cars— capable of power and activity in their way, but probably not transformative in the true sense of the word.

Some of the beauty that lives inside me has yet to be given voice. I felt that keenly after this conference. Some of the beauty that lives inside me simply needs to be owned and defended. And some of it is yet to be discovered.

How about you? What is still waiting to be given voice, owned, or discovered? Gioia has four simple words for you and me: don't piss it away.

On, In and Around Mondays: Encounters are Generative

We walked North, kept the river behind us, or to the left. We spent a brief evening eating tortillas, beans, rice, salsa. And we talked.

It was the last night of the Encounter conference, and we had... an encounter. I know that, because when you have an encounter, something is always born. Bonnie loves poetry and Brooke sings it.

So it only seemed natural that out of our encounter... some poetry was born...


One for the Boys

You shut the doors
on me,
turned knobs
against night,
against how I sang
our blue-plucked
song.


Night Tune

to Bonnie and Brooke

Cry for me softly,
boys, open the doors
I'll sing of oaken trees

felled for a melodied
striptease of slatted floors
I'll sing of oaken trees

danced like Penelope
near thresholds of worlds
cry for me softly

sing back and echo me
as a river moves towards
I'll sing of oaken trees

girls strumming quietly
memories in minor chords
cry for me softly

hills upon lighted hills, or
faces past this old porch
will sing of my oaken trees,
cry for me softly.


---

On, In and Around Mondays (which partly means you can post any day and still add a link) is an invitation to write from where you are. Tell us what is on, in, around (over, under, near, by...) you. Feel free to write any which way... compose a tight poem or just ramble for a few paragraphs. But we should feel a sense of place. Would you like to try? Write something 'in place' and add your link below.

If you could kindly link back here when you post, it will create a central meeting place. :)

<a href="http://seedlingsinstone.blogspot.com"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5083/5217906589_c7120874ca.jpg" width="308" height="69" alt="On In Around button" />

This post is also shared with Laura Boggess, for...

Beautiful Empire State

How long have I lived here and never bothered with you? Empire State, building of movies, dreamers... marker of the night sky. I see you when I fly home from the West, when I remember to look.

And you watch out over my city, ever tall against the wind.

On this night, with Alissa Wilkinson, Caleb Seeling, Jeffrey Overstreet, Ron Kelsey, Christina (is that right? did I get that right? you, the sweet actress who welcomed me with your smile and your spirit?) I finally ride to the top. (We try to go to the IAM space and that doesn't work out; you are Plan B.)

It's so cold I don't want to be this high in the sky, but oh the lights, the rivers of lights, blues and yellows, whites. Is that Long Island I see? And now New Jersey.

Tell me again why I never bothered with you?







Empire State Building photos, by L.L. Barkat.

Live from NYC (yesterday :)

I took a train into NYC. Looking out the window, I could see the Hudson crushed up against her shores, like huge shards of glass. So cold here. So, so cold.




But I didn't mind. I was going to meet Brooke Campbell for the first time.




Sorry, Brooke, first the restroom in the IAM space. Priorities, see? :)




I read poetry, she played guitar. And we shared a bag of honey-roasted peanuts I brought from home. (Did you finish the bag? I don't remember. :)




Brooke takes things with a grain of salt, I think. And she sings about sugar spoons. Beautifully.

Want to see the whole program? Slide over to about the 2 minute/30 second point to avoid the ... two minute/30 second lag time! :)


NYC, IAM Space and Brooke Campbell photos, by L.L. Barkat.

Reading with Brooke Campbell

What are you doing on January 29, 2010? If you like poetry and folk/blues/jazz, maybe you'd like to join us in New York City, from 7-9 pm at the IAM Space, 38 West 39th Street, 3rd Floor. No worries if you can't come in person. It's going to be live-streamed. (I hear Kelly might even bring her baby, in the comfort of her own home!).

And hey, you could tweet about it if you want, using the hashtag #LLBrooke (then I could see what kind of party you had during the party. :) Let me know ahead of time if you have any requests, and I'll see what I can do.

Okay, you know me, but who's Brooke Campbell? Here's a blurb from her promo stuff...

Brooke Campbell is a unique and charismatic singer and songwriter. Her original music is a skillful blend of acoustic/folk, pop, and bluegrass. Brooke's soulful songs are smart and poetic, and masterfully merge raw melodies with perfect wordcrafting and keen intelligence.

She was signed to the Arch Music Group in 2000 and has toured extensively as a solo artist. Always willing to damn convention for the sake of creativity, “Brooke is one of those rare talents who manage to outrun the trends and force the rest of the world to keep up”. For more, go to Brooke Campbell.

If you plan to come to NYC, please RSVP to rsvp@internationalartsmovement.org. The space holds about 60 people maximum.

Photo montage: LL Barkat, excerpt of InsideOut poem 'In Your Dream', and Brooke Campbell. By L.L. Barkat.

RELATED:
HighCallingBlogs She Sings the Truth About Life and Love: an Interview with Brooke Campbell

Two in One Writing

The twin realities of suffering and life.

In her IAM Conversations podcast, Christy Tennant asked me to talk about the way my writing weaves these themes together. Upon introducing the question, she referred to a poem I'd written for someone it turns out is a mutual friend of Christy's and mine. Small, small world.

Anyhow, I'm not sure I answered Christy's question. But I remember talking about a Walter Wangerin essay, in which he realized that the good-evil construction of fairy tales did this for him... enabled him to somehow live with the tensions of wickedness and loveliness (in Wangerin's case, as they existed in his own mother— violent by day and tender when she tucked him in at night).

InsideOut has its share of such twin-themed poems, especially in the Winter section. But it's got a good dose of love and whimsy too. After all, Spring and Summer asked for them.


New 'World Trade Center' design, by Sara. Used with permission.

It's Here

And I am smiling. Smiling!

Many, many thanks to International Arts Movement, for believing in this project.

If you would like to order a signed copy directly from me, the full cost including shipping will be $17.00. Just drop me a note at llbarkat[at]yahoo[dot]com. Or you can put it on a wish list or purchase it at Amazon Retail.

Which Cover Speaks to You?

Take a stroll with me, and I will listen. The woods are quiet and we can take our time.




When you come to a clearing, look up and think. Is this the place? Is this how you feel when you are in my poems?




Maybe a darker scene will do? How does it feel? Right for the words you are used to from me?




Or perhaps this is a better place? Does it evoke the voice, as you remember it in my poems?

You might think about it this way too: which would you prefer to set on your bedside table, or hold in your hands? Tell me your thoughts, and I will listen. The International Arts Movement, as publisher, will listen too. Come stroll with me...

POETRY FRIDAY:
Tweetspeak's The Walled Garden of Spices & Herbs

Surely This Moment

Just accepted a "Staff Writer" designation at a very cool on-line art magazine. Curator. This is a great fit with my art pilgrimage. And a delightful writing opportunity in general. (Look for my first piece this coming Friday.) Thanks International Arts Movement!

But first things first. Surely this moment deserves chocolate.


Godiva Sales Case photo, by L.L. Barkat.