All great truths begin as blasphemies.
George Bernard Shaw
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There is nothing to read here. The content is over there, to your right.
I may, however, at some point, put something here. Some day. Eventually. No pressure.
I want to hear a poem about revolution
"[...] I want to hear a poem where ideas kiss similies so deeply that metaphors get jealous;
where the subject matters so much, the adjectives start holding pro-noun rallies at city hall.[...]
"[...] Because I want to guess your favourite colour and craft rhyme schemes out of thin air;
I want to hear a poem about why the statute of limitations for rape is only five years.
I want to hear a poem.
I want to feel a poem.
I want to taste a poem.[...]"
-from "I Want to Hear a Poem" by Steve Colman.
I fell in love with this a couple of years ago and was so pleased to find it again. It is powerful and is an example of poetry as something to be heard and not just read. Poetry as performance art. And one of my favourite pieces that has not lost it's charm with repeated listenings.
Discussed with a friend whether this (not just this poem but slam poetry in general) is a legacy of the Beat poets, and in particular, Ginsberg's "Howl". It's a stretch, I know. You can read "Howl" a thousand times but until you hear Ginsberg reciting it with that montone-monotone-monotone almost sermonesque quality until part II when he begins the rant of Moloch.. Not until you've heard that do you fully appreciate his words, the structure of the poem.
(At least I didn't and I had adored the poem for ages before I listened to it. Perhaps that's just me?)
Regardless.
I've set up "I Want to Hear a Poem" for download here if you'd like to have a listen yourself. It's about 1.6MB, relatively small.
*if that link expires, comment or email and I'll happily reseed it for you.
If, on the other hand, you want to hear Ginsberg reading "Howl", I can upload that as well.. it's closer to 10 MB though, so depending on your connection.. whatever.
You want it? I got it and it's no problem to get it to you, just let me know: email, comment, IM.
There's so much more I want to say about poetry.. the Beats, the Babarians, the Renegades, the Slammers..
Maybe it's too late already.
Instead, I'll leave this for now:
The Saddest Man on Earth...
ignored how the rain felt
as he left home
for the last time
Wore down
his boot heels
searching for the woman
of his dreams
but never understood
that life is a woman
Lived in a town
where sadness was illegal
and where grinning
cops ticketed his face
so often
that he lost his license
to cry
The saddest man
on Earth
tuned guitars
but couldn't play them
cheated the IRS
of his own refund
fathered a child
who thought she saw
him in perfect strangers
yet didn't recognize
him face to face
I met him once
in a bar
toasting the mirror
with his stare
He had come
south to start
life over
He was a
Mozart of silence
-Alan Kaufman
soundtrack: The Beta Band - "Dry the Rain"
where the subject matters so much, the adjectives start holding pro-noun rallies at city hall.[...]
"[...] Because I want to guess your favourite colour and craft rhyme schemes out of thin air;
I want to hear a poem about why the statute of limitations for rape is only five years.
I want to hear a poem.
I want to feel a poem.
I want to taste a poem.[...]"
-from "I Want to Hear a Poem" by Steve Colman.
I fell in love with this a couple of years ago and was so pleased to find it again. It is powerful and is an example of poetry as something to be heard and not just read. Poetry as performance art. And one of my favourite pieces that has not lost it's charm with repeated listenings.
Discussed with a friend whether this (not just this poem but slam poetry in general) is a legacy of the Beat poets, and in particular, Ginsberg's "Howl". It's a stretch, I know. You can read "Howl" a thousand times but until you hear Ginsberg reciting it with that montone-monotone-monotone almost sermonesque quality until part II when he begins the rant of Moloch.. Not until you've heard that do you fully appreciate his words, the structure of the poem.
(At least I didn't and I had adored the poem for ages before I listened to it. Perhaps that's just me?)
Regardless.
I've set up "I Want to Hear a Poem" for download here if you'd like to have a listen yourself. It's about 1.6MB, relatively small.
*if that link expires, comment or email and I'll happily reseed it for you.
If, on the other hand, you want to hear Ginsberg reading "Howl", I can upload that as well.. it's closer to 10 MB though, so depending on your connection.. whatever.
You want it? I got it and it's no problem to get it to you, just let me know: email, comment, IM.
There's so much more I want to say about poetry.. the Beats, the Babarians, the Renegades, the Slammers..
Maybe it's too late already.
Instead, I'll leave this for now:
The Saddest Man on Earth...
ignored how the rain felt
as he left home
for the last time
Wore down
his boot heels
searching for the woman
of his dreams
but never understood
that life is a woman
Lived in a town
where sadness was illegal
and where grinning
cops ticketed his face
so often
that he lost his license
to cry
The saddest man
on Earth
tuned guitars
but couldn't play them
cheated the IRS
of his own refund
fathered a child
who thought she saw
him in perfect strangers
yet didn't recognize
him face to face
I met him once
in a bar
toasting the mirror
with his stare
He had come
south to start
life over
He was a
Mozart of silence
-Alan Kaufman
soundtrack: The Beta Band - "Dry the Rain"
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