Bettering American Poetry – Volume 3
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AMERICAN PASTORAL – WORKSHOP
Bodies inhabit landscapes, are part of the landscape, and often the traditions and behaviors of specifically-identified bodies define the landscape.From Hesiod to Patricia Smith to Billy-Ray Belcourt to Ocean Vuong, we’ll interrogate what it means to be a body, to belong, to be scrutinized geographies, and to inhabit the late-capitalist American landscape. Our poems will…
POETS FOR LIVING WATERS READING @ CUNY GRADUATE CENTER
Join poets Nicole Cooley and Tonya Foster, poets and editors of the Poets for Living Waters initiative Amy King and Heidi Lynn Staples, and guest readers Jan Heller Levi,Marcella Durand, Julian Brolaski, Ana Bozicevic, Joanna Hoffman, and Brenda Iijimafor an evening of poetry and eco-poetics in the wake of large-scale catastrophes in the Gulf and the surrounding regions. The online poetry forum and activist group Poets…
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What BP Isn’t Doing, But Could
The Secret, 700-Million-Gallon Oil Fix That Worked — and Might Save the Gulf May 13, 2010 at 6:46AM by Mark Warren There’s a potential solution to the Gulf oil spill that neither BP, nor the federal government, nor anyone — save a couple intuitive engineers — seems willing to try. As The Politics Blog reported on…
Not Your Usual Media “Coverage”
Poets for Living Waters – New Statements / Poems I don’t have the answers. I barely have the questions. But I’m not egotistical enough to imagine I can come up with a solution or complete understanding on my own. I also don’t think sitting in front of the TV, feeling angry and impotent, is the…
Not My Pelican!
More Gruesome Shots Here What’s BP Oil doing about the effects of filling the Gulf and Atlantic Oceans with their oil? What two things can you do? 1.) British Petroleum (BP) rep Randy Prescott made a comment, “Louisana isn’t the only place that has shrimp.” His office number is (713)323-4093 his email is randy.prescott@bp.com .…
BP Oil Spill, REM & Your Part
“This isn’t a movie we can turn off and walk away from…” Ana Bozicevic and I just drove across the Cuyahoga River in Ohio two days ago, thinking about the water, the oil and this song. More fitting now than ever. Press play, sit back, take it in. Time to own this and do…
I Dunno
ABOUT THIS DEMOCRATIC VOTING SYSTEM, BUT YOU KNOW, GIVE IT A GO? TELL SOME BLOKES? STUDENTS? ‘RENTS? EXES? SOMEBODY? HERE ARE SOME FAMOUS PEOPLE TO MOCK YOU: IF IT’S GOING TO BE A CLOSE ELECTION, WELL, YOU ONLY HAVE A COUPLE DAYS LEFT TO REGISTER. I GUESS. ~~~~~~~~ Just a few link updates too. And…
Another One Bites the Dust
That is, another fellow city dweller, poet and Tarpaulin Sky publisher, Christian Peet, jumped the ship of Brooklyn long before I did for gorgeous Vermont and has recently taken up the rickshaw as a means of fighting big oil and making a nickel here and there for supplies. A note from his site, “My best…
Awesome. Period.
In May 2007, Greensburg, Kansas was leveled by one of the largest tornados in U.S. history. Very few structures remained in the aftermath of the deadly EF5 tornado, and the town lost everything. Inspired by the desire of the townspeople to rebuild ‘green,’ Planet Green, along with executive producer Leonardo DiCaprio, is chronicling the rebuilding…
If You Don’t Support Gay Marriage, Don’t Get One!
California’s Top Court Legalizes Gay Marriage SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California’s Supreme Court declared gay couples in the nation’s biggest state can marry — a monumental but perhaps short-lived victory for the gay rights movement Thursday that was greeted with tears, hugs, kisses and at least one instant proposal of matrimony. “Essentially, this boils down…
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
Currently reading Barbara Kingsolver’s brilliant new book, ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE. A series of quick excerpts from the first chapter to whet your appetite and inspire: A profit-driven food industry has exploded and nutritionally bankrupted our caloric supply, and we long for a Food Leviticus to save us from the sinful roil of cheap fats and…
“When you feel helpless, help someone.” –Aung San Suu Kyi
Yes, I want to help children and families in Myanmar. Myanmar junta hands out aid boxes with generals’ names State media say 23,335 people died and 37,019 are missing from Cyclone Nargis, which submerged entire villages in the Irrawaddy delta. International aid organizations say the death toll could climb to more than 100,000 as conditions…
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“Dear Jay Leno…fags…I think you can do better”
“Get ready for another economic shock of major proportions — a virtual doubling of prices at the gas pump to as much as $10 a gallon.” —The Sun ~~~~~ From: “Jeff Whitty” Date: April 21, 2006 To: (Tonight Show email address) Subject: For Mr. Leno Dear Mr. Leno, My name is Jeff Whitty. I live…
Happy Earth Day!
Things the U.S. Government wants you to believe (& thus prevent you from making that call): The Bush Administration is focused on achieving meaningful results – cleaner air and water, and healthier lands and wildlife habitats. The nation’s air is much cleaner today than it was in 1970 and progress will continue. The trend of…
The Continuing Collapse
Global Warming: These Are Things That Are Not Re-forming A chunk of Antarctic ice about seven times the size of Manhattan has collapsed, scientists said Tuesday, putting an even greater portion of glacial ice at risk. Such occurrences are “more indicative of a tipping point or trigger in the climate system,” said Sarah B. Das,…
What Would Jesus Drive?
This semester, I’ve shown the films, “Who Killed the Electric Car?” (trailer above) and “An Inconvenient Truth” (good curriculum materials on that site too) to several sections of my basic writing classes. Shockingly while Generation Y cares about the environment and wants to take better measures than their predecessors did to protect it, most of…
Make More Lungs
Let’s play more than politics now – and hope that Bloomberg’s proposals, such as the million trees project, will see the light of day. The first tree was just planted a few hours ago in the Bronx, with only 999,999 more to go (by 2017)! Mayor Bloomberg and Bette Midler planted the Carolina Silverbell themselves!…
The Environmentalist?
Does the poem below evidence Günter Grass’s predilection for the environmentalist movement? Finnish librarian, Petri Liukkonen, has curated and written the Pegasos Authors’ Calendar (Kirjailijakalenteri) for many moons now, a spot I go to for succinct author, theorist, & philosopher introductions. The following was lifted from said spot: [Günter Grass] has once said, that writers,…
I Don’t Have Kids
And it doesn’t look like I’m going to have them anytime soon. I can live for me, me, me, which means I can consume, consume, consume! Maybe I’ve got a good fifty years left on this planet, so should I be concerned with the condition I leave it in when I’m stardust? I’m not leaving…
Remember That Time?
Hey Michael Lauran, Remember the time all five of us went to Vieques, Puerto Rico, and Jen Demartino and I narrated every move you made as you made it? Remember how our narration took the form of nostalgic questions? Remember how we drove you crazy? Remember when we all went rafting and swimming in the…
Mr. Rogers for Adults
Unfortunately, the video is gone, but this old news is worth noting: What Will You Do With the Mad in You? ~~~~~ We’re off school for the week. A friend left his better-car-than-mine for me to take on road trips upstate & escape the city, but instead, I find myself thinking about things at home.…
Still Sore
My throat is worse, and no one seems to be able to bring hot soup. Woe is me, really. Bed all day yesterday, enough awareness for a comatose version of t.v. watching today. Any remedy suggestions? We are updating over here this weekend. Enjoy reading. I did. And here’s a new review: OCHO or MiPO?…
Really? Really, Really?
Daryl Hannah and Her Biodiesel El Camino (w/silly intro) Someone on the LUCIPO listserv challenged my idealistic notion today of exploring biodiesel fuels by claiming it’s akin to converting to a biodiesel car and installing a solar panel on my house, which in turn, is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Nice metaphor…
Spring
Warmer weather nears — time for some backyard cheer! I plan to play some games, sit and read, barbeque, but first, will rake up the sticks from the crazy ocean wind that topples our lovely trees! Am I becoming suburban just because I long for this? A book — and drink — in hand …
A Little Credit
Let’s face it: actors don’t have to do doo-doo. I mean, they have to pose and supply our pop-culture-hungry minds with enough visual fodder & personal drama to destroy small forests for Hollywood rags, and they act on occasion — but there’s no contractual agreement that requires them to also be socially-conscious citizens who will…
AMY KING 