R.M. Engelhardt's Blog: Burn Brightly, page 17

Early 21st Century Poetics

 
 
 
“For me the poem and the poetry open mic isn’t about competition and it never will be. Honestly? It’s wrong. The open mic is about 1 poet, one fellow human being up on a stage or behind a podium sharing their work regardless of what form or style they bring to it. In other words? The guy with the low slam score is more than likely a far better poet-writer than the guy who actually won. But who are you? I ? Or really anyone else to judge them? The Poetry Slam has become an overgrown, over used monopoly on American literature and poetry and is now over utilized by the academic & public school establishments. And over the years has sadly become the “McDonalds Of Poetry”. We can only hope that the same old stale atmosphere of it all eventually becomes or evolves into something new that translates to and from the written page and that gives new poets with different styles & authentic voices a chance to share their work too.” 
 
~  R.M. Engelhardt
 

Hell?

What is hell to a writer? Hell is being too busy to find the time to write or being unable to find the inspiration. Hell is suddenly finding the words but being away from your notebook or typewriter. Hell is when the verses slip away through your fingers and they never return again.

~ R.M. Engelhardt

L I F E

“Life moves on, whether we act as cowards or heroes. Life has no other discipline to impose, if we would but realize it, than to accept life unquestioningly. Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy, and strength, if faced with an open mind. Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.”






~
Henry Miller

What She Said

 

She said;

“If you ever tell me that you love me I’m afraid that I’ll have to leave.”

So not wanting to ever lose her he bent down, got close and softly whispered in her ear,

“Lust…..Lust…..Lust”

 

~ R.M. Engelhardt

I believe that if life gives you lemons, you should ...

 

 

I believe that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade… And try to find somebody whose life has given them vodka, and have a party.

~ Ron White

PRETEND IT’S FICTION

…if you are bothered by the idea of this being real, you are invited to do what the author should have done, and what authors and readers have been doing since the beginning of time:

PRETEND IT’S FICTION.

~  A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, [Acknowledgments section], by Dave Eggers

Knowing …

“It has always seemed strange to me…The things we admire ...

“It has always seemed strange to me…The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling, are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest, are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second.”

~ John Steinbeck

 

SOBRIETY

photo by terrance stamp, 1967

“Something can (has) been said for sobriety, but very little.”





~ 
John Berryman

BOWIE

I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.”
~ David Bowie