Jan Steckel's Blog: Horizontal Poet Sings Bidyke Blues - Posts Tagged "joie-cook"

I'm not an atheist, but I'm not a believer, either. Nor am I an agnostic, if you take the definition of agnostic to mean someone who believes it's impossible to know if God exists or not. I just know that I personally don't know if God exists. I don't have any problem with other people's beliefs in God. Evangelical, militant atheism mildly annoys me.

Nor do I find it as important to be sure about God's existence as many people do, because I'm pretty sure that the humanistic morality my parents taught me leads me to behave in the same way as I would if I were sure about God's existence. Don't treat others the way you wouldn't want to be treated, as Hillel put it. Safer and less prescriptive than the Golden Rule,

Want a quick turnaround time for a poem, essay or story to be published? I woke up to find four poems I had submitted last night to The Eloquent Atheist were posted this morning! The last poem in the group is about Joie Cook, one of the best performers and poets I know personally. She's another Zeitgeist Press author and lives in San Francisco.

http://www.eloquentatheist.com/2012/0...

What is the basis of your conscious behavior and morality, whether you believe in God or not?

Joie Cook was a San Francisco performance poet and a friendly acquaintance of mine. I heard her read a few times and had one glorious dinner with her, her husband David, and a few old beaux of hers, during which we polished off an entire pitcher each of margaritas and mojitos. We staggered onto the street arm in arm, pledging eternal love, mad admiration, etc., and never saw each other again.

Joie died Sunday night at her Oscars-watching party. Among those with her were her husband David and her friend and former love Richard Stone. Ill with complications of hepatitis C, Joie had made herself DNR (Do Not Resuscitate), so 911 was not called. Within an hour, her daughter Jessika arrived to be with her mother's body and take her place among the bereaved.

Zeitgeist Press, DesertedX and Manic D Press published Joie's poetry. I loved Joie's poems and personality. Her life was a magnificent performance.

Here are some links to poems of Joie's:
http://rustytruck.wordpress.com/categ...
http://www.sfheart.com/sfpoets/joie_c...

Here's a poem I wrote for Joie a few years ago. It first appeared in The Eloquent Atheist.

Joie’s Poems

She’s eating hummingbird hearts
for appetizers, drinking the Salton Sea
for a cocktail. She’s doctor bitch to you,
matey, so look seaworthy.
Inch-long nails, vinyl skin, elbow hicky,
teased hair with a dyed pink streak.
She’ll take that plunging neckline,
let the girls out to say hello.
She’s thinner than a flimsy excuse,
frailer than tornadoes,
richer than creosote,
inimitable, indescribable, delicious.
I’d give my supernumerary nipple
for a taste of that. She makes us rise
like bread, a fish belly-up, the sun.