Michael Poage's Blog, page 7
March 2, 2013
WORD WITH SPIRIT!!!
In my opinion, many African American preachers and gospel music, as well as jazz, proclaim the spirit with words using words with spirit!!! Listen to some of THAT poetry – James Weldon Johnson, Thomas A. Dorsey, Yvonne Delk (google her!!!), Etta James,…then look at/read out loud, your own just-written (or thirty year old) poem. Just like anyone in the zoo, poets need to be fed, and, sometimes, we need to just lie in wait for our prey (Stafford’s “bonus of the world”) and at other times we need to be more aggressive in our hunt for the SPIRIT that enables the word to speak with surprise, love, death, hope, despair, (some would say “truth” but I say whose “truth”), hate, anger, passion (sexual and otherwise), compassion, peace, war, birth. I urge myself and other writers to be AWAKE and OPEN to the o-so-wild-spirit that rolls over in front of us or that we must spring upon without hesitating – even if we make a mistake – that’s why you might want to write with a pencil!!! And remember lines like: “At the river I stand, guide my feet, hold my hand.” – Thomas A. Dorsey
WORD WITH SPIRIT!!!
In my opinion, many African American preachers and gospel music, as well as jazz, proclaim the spirit with words using words with spirit!!! Listen to some of THAT poetry – James Weldon Johnson, Thomas A. Dorsey, Yvonne Delk (google her!!!), Etta James,…then look at/read out loud, your own just-written (or thirty year old) poem. Just like anyone in the zoo, poets need to be fed, and, sometimes, we need to just lie in wait for our prey (Stafford’s “bonus of the world”) and at other times we need to be more aggressive in our hunt for the SPIRIT that enables the word to speak with surprise, love, death, hope, despair, (some would say “truth” but I say whose “truth”), hate, anger, passion (sexual and otherwise), compassion, peace, war, birth. I urge myself and other writers to be AWAKE and OPEN to the o-so-wild-spirit that rolls over in front of us or that we must spring upon without hesitating – even if we make a mistake – that’s why you might want to write with a pencil!!! And remember lines like: “At the river I stand, guide my feet, hold my hand.” – Thomas A. Dorsey
February 1, 2013
MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE
Congratulations to Bethel College (in North Newton, Kansas) for
presenting the play: MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE. I saw the
excellent production tonight (Feb. 1) at the college. It is a one woman play
about the life and death in Gaza of a young American woman working
with an NGO trying to make life as tolerable as possible for the Palestinians
in the Rafah region of southern Gaza. She was killed in March, 2003, by
an Israeli bulldozer as she put herself between the machine, operated
by an Israeli soldier, and the home of the Palestinian doctor's family
she had been living with. An amazing young actress, Renee Reimer,
played Rachel, and the play was professionally directed by
Megan Upton-Tyner of Bethel. The original play was taken
from the writings of Rachel Corrie, edited by Katharine Viner and
the well-known actor Alan Rickman. I worked in Gaza this past
April with Physicians for Social Responsibility, so Ms. Reimer had me in
tears several times in her 90 minute passionate and realistic portrayal
of Rachel and the horrors of life in the Gaza Strip. There is even some
well-placed humor which keeps hope alive for many of the earth's oppressed
and terrorized people including the 1.6 million living in the world's
largest outdoor prison, the Gaza Strip. Many thanks to Renee, Megan, Bethel
College, and, most of all, to Rachel Corrie for their courage, life, and art.
presenting the play: MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE. I saw the
excellent production tonight (Feb. 1) at the college. It is a one woman play
about the life and death in Gaza of a young American woman working
with an NGO trying to make life as tolerable as possible for the Palestinians
in the Rafah region of southern Gaza. She was killed in March, 2003, by
an Israeli bulldozer as she put herself between the machine, operated
by an Israeli soldier, and the home of the Palestinian doctor's family
she had been living with. An amazing young actress, Renee Reimer,
played Rachel, and the play was professionally directed by
Megan Upton-Tyner of Bethel. The original play was taken
from the writings of Rachel Corrie, edited by Katharine Viner and
the well-known actor Alan Rickman. I worked in Gaza this past
April with Physicians for Social Responsibility, so Ms. Reimer had me in
tears several times in her 90 minute passionate and realistic portrayal
of Rachel and the horrors of life in the Gaza Strip. There is even some
well-placed humor which keeps hope alive for many of the earth's oppressed
and terrorized people including the 1.6 million living in the world's
largest outdoor prison, the Gaza Strip. Many thanks to Renee, Megan, Bethel
College, and, most of all, to Rachel Corrie for their courage, life, and art.
MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE
Congratulations to Bethel College (in North Newton, Kansas) for
presenting the play: MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE. I saw the
excellent production tonight (Feb. 1) at the college. It is a one woman play
about the life and death in Gaza of a young American woman working
with an NGO trying to make life as tolerable as possible for the Palestinians
in the Rafah region of southern Gaza. She was killed in March, 2003, by
an Israeli bulldozer as she put herself between the machine, operated
by an Israeli soldier, and the home of the Palestinian doctor’s family
she had been living with. An amazing young actress, Renee Reimer,
played Rachel, and the play was professionally directed by
Megan Upton-Tyner of Bethel. The original play was taken
from the writings of Rachel Corrie, edited by Katharine Viner and
the well-known actor Alan Rickman. I worked in Gaza this past
April with Physicians for Social Responsibility, so Ms. Reimer had me in
tears several times in her 90 minute passionate and realistic portrayal
of Rachel and the horrors of life in the Gaza Strip. There is even some
well-placed humor which keeps hope alive for many of the earth’s oppressed
and terrorized people including the 1.6 million living in the world’s
largest outdoor prison, the Gaza Strip. Many thanks to Renee, Megan, Bethel
College, and, most of all, to Rachel Corrie for their courage, life, and art.
presenting the play: MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE. I saw the
excellent production tonight (Feb. 1) at the college. It is a one woman play
about the life and death in Gaza of a young American woman working
with an NGO trying to make life as tolerable as possible for the Palestinians
in the Rafah region of southern Gaza. She was killed in March, 2003, by
an Israeli bulldozer as she put herself between the machine, operated
by an Israeli soldier, and the home of the Palestinian doctor’s family
she had been living with. An amazing young actress, Renee Reimer,
played Rachel, and the play was professionally directed by
Megan Upton-Tyner of Bethel. The original play was taken
from the writings of Rachel Corrie, edited by Katharine Viner and
the well-known actor Alan Rickman. I worked in Gaza this past
April with Physicians for Social Responsibility, so Ms. Reimer had me in
tears several times in her 90 minute passionate and realistic portrayal
of Rachel and the horrors of life in the Gaza Strip. There is even some
well-placed humor which keeps hope alive for many of the earth’s oppressed
and terrorized people including the 1.6 million living in the world’s
largest outdoor prison, the Gaza Strip. Many thanks to Renee, Megan, Bethel
College, and, most of all, to Rachel Corrie for their courage, life, and art.
In Memory of Anselm Hollo
La Noche
by Anselm Hollo
the wind let loose in the dark
and the lights of the city moving
the city is a great dragon it is a procession
it is on the move
but the curtains are drawn
the music unheard
see men and women preparing themselves
for the long journey across a room
by Anselm Hollo
the wind let loose in the dark
and the lights of the city moving
the city is a great dragon it is a procession
it is on the move
but the curtains are drawn
the music unheard
see men and women preparing themselves
for the long journey across a room
January 20, 2013
January 1, 2013
GRABBING POWER (of the lyric)
The first book of poems I ever actually bought was the Modern Library edition of the Collected Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. During the same wild spending spree I also bought, The Interpretation of Dreams, by Freud. Within the same general time frame I went to the local (Oceanside, California) library and checked out a book entitled something like, The Gospel of Matthew, more or less. Poe won!!! I read and re-read those poems. I was somewhere along the high school journey but the lyric was something I could take into my introverted (and shy) self, enjoy, and not tell anyone else. I couldn’t tell anyone else!! I was a male, in high school, a shy distance runner, and the mystery and POWER of the lyric (song) Poe presented was a wonder. I loved running (it was technically an obsession, I suppose), can’t do it anymore because I did too much of it in my life – you can take that as a metaphor if you wish – but still love to watch runners…the flow, the magic of human movement, the legs, the arms, like bits and pieces of the lyric poem. I read Poe and found bits and pieces of my body embracing and feeling empowered. I have nothing against the epic, narrative poems, but I am thankful to Poe and the other writers over the years who have empowered my imagination and grabbed my throat with lines like: “…come celebrate/with me that everyday/something has tried to kill me/and has failed.” -- Lucille Clifton
