David Anthony Sam's Blog, page 140
July 18, 2019
“Moonscaped” a published poem of mine was written to honor Buzz Aldrin.
A published poem of mine was written to honor Buzz Aldrin. You can read “Moonscaped” at the Summerset Review.
July 17, 2019
The 2019 issue of Artemis contains my poem “Nejma- Last Passage”
The 2019 issue of Artemis
(“Women hold up half the sky”) contains my poem “Nejma- Last
Passage”–a poem about visiting the grave of my father’s mother. Nejma
Daoud came to the US as a teenager to be married to Elias, her name then
changed to Starr Sam.
This poem is included in my unpublished collect, Geographies of the Dead.
July 16, 2019
One of my favorite moments–the honor of meeting and fist-bumping Buzz Aldrin!
One of my favorite moments–the honor of meeting and fist-bumping Buzz Aldrin!
July 15, 2019
The latest issue of The Magnolia Review includes six of my poems.
The latest issue of The Magnolia Review (vol.5 issue 2) includes six of my poems.
Thank you Editor, Suzanna Anderson, for continuing to give my work a place to be read.
Campus at night by Riku Ylönen
July 14, 2019
Review: Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt
Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt by Arthur C. Brooks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Arthur Brooks writes a much-needed and
accessible book for the individual seeking to be part of the solution to
the canyons of mutual disregard that divide us, canyons widened by and
for the powerful in media, politics, and anger.
I
recommend it heartily. Brooks is a business conservative, a religious
man, a humanist, and a rebel. In sum, he is a man in full who takes his
own medicine.
He offers the following:
How each person can help make national healing happen:
1. Find a friendship with someone you can have productive, respectful disagreements.
2. “Don’t attack or insult. Don’t even try to win.”
3. “Never assume the motives of another person.”
4. “Use your values as a gift, not a weapon.”
P. 185-199
Five rules to subvert the culture of contempt:
1.
”Stand up to the Man. Refuse to be used by the powerful…. [B]e the
person who gently defends those who aren’t represented, even if you
disagree with them.”
2. “Escape the bubble. Go where you’re not invited, and say things people don’t expect.” Seek common ground. Tell your story.
3. “Say no to contempt. Treat others with love and respect, even when it’s difficult.”
4. “Disagree better. Be part of a healthy competition of ideas.”
5.
“Tune out: Disconnect more from the unproductive debates….Obliterate
your silos by listening, reading, and watching media on the ‘other
side.’ Get rid of your curated social media feeds….Resolve to pay
attention to ideas, not just politics.” P. 201-212
July 10, 2019
My poem is included in Issue #63 of Haiku Journal, available now.
My poem is included in Issue #63 of Haiku Journal, available now.
July 9, 2019
Review: Pentimento
Pentimento by Alysse Kathleen McCanna
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Alysse McCanna’s chapbook, “Pentimento” sings
with the true songs of a poet who has lived and paid attention. Having
experienced life’s tragedies, she is without self-pity but not hard
hope. While the poems are very personal, as is true of good poetry, the
human experience that we all live in our own journeys shines through.
July 8, 2019
My sixth collection of poetry, Dark Fathers, to be published by Aldrich Press of Kelsay Books now has a tentative issue date of August 2020.
My sixth collection of poetry, Dark Fathers, to be published by Aldrich Press of Kelsay Books now has a tentative issue date of August 2020.
July 7, 2019
Haiku Journal will publish one of my poems in its next issue
Haiku Journal will publish one of my poems in its next issue.
July 6, 2019
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule – Hannah Arendt
“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction (i.e., the reality of experience) and the distinction between true and false (i.e., the standards of thought) no longer exist.” Hannah Arendt
