BOOK REVIEW: 187 Reasons Mexicanos Can’t Cross The Border (0)
Posted 28 February, 2009 in Poetry, Politics & Activism
Poet, teacher, author and Chicano activist Juan Felipe Herrera has collected some of his most provocative and autobiographical writing in this volume. These “undocuments” chronicle Herrera’s travels in the U.S. and Mexico, and his relentless search for the soul and story of a people.
Herrera’s poetry is shouted with an upraised fist at one moment, intoned with a somber brow the next. He has no illusions, but his best work is powered by a grand vision of the past and the future.
Some of the work is helped by a knowledge of Spanish, which I don’t possess. Even so, I had no trouble being caught up in the sound and spirit of Herrera’s writing.
We need more documentary poetry like this to capture the real history of this country, and of the peoples and cultures within it.
Highly recommended.
BOOK REVIEW: The Wild Party (0)
Posted 28 February, 2009 in Book Reviews, Poetry
Joseph Moncure March wrote this tale of debauchery and deception in rhyming couplets in 1928, just before the world descended into the depths of the Great Depression.
Decades later, artist and author Art Spiegelman (of MAUS fame), found a copy in a used bookstore and fell instantly in love with the darkness and depravity of March’s lost classic. In 1994, nearly 70 years after the publication of The Wild Party, Spiegelman published this illustrated version.
March’s short, taut thriller beautifully captures the grim determination of a group of down-but-not-out actors, dancers and vaudeville performers as they use drink and sex to mask the depression of their everyday lives. Spiegelman’s woodblock-style illustrations add the perfect touch of dark sensuality that at times turn to stale, harshly lit reality. The poem builds to an inevitable climax of violence that nevertheless leaves the reader sitting up straight and waiting for the end.
William S. Burroughs said of The Wild Party: “It’s the book that made me want to become a writer.”
Highly recommended.
Cubicle workers of the world — unite! (0)
Posted 25 February, 2009 in Labor movement
I don’t work in a cubicle, but I am a fan of the labor movement and thought this ad from ThinkGeek was funny:
Fellow cubicledwellers, join us in solidarity against The Man. OfficeMax estimates there are 80 million cubicle workers worldwide. And they’d know, cause they’re trying to sell them all one of those mousepads that stinks. Imagine the collective bargaining power of 80 million people crying out for one thing: doors.
Plumbrick for Poet Laureate! (0)
Posted 24 February, 2009 in Poetry
Book Review: Quiet, Please (0)
Posted 23 February, 2009 in Book Reviews
Scott Douglas’s memoir of his life as a librarian is hard to put down. So hard, in fact, that I took some additional bathroom breaks at various points just to keep reading.
Douglas loves libraries, but not for the reasons you might think. In fact, this look behind the curtain shattered many of my notions about who librarians are and why they choose to be librarians. (Hint: It’s not about the books.) I appreciated Douglas’s look at his profession as an example of public service.
Douglas is skilled at allowing his personality to come through without it taking over the story completely. Case in point: I was very surprised when he identified himself as a conservative Christian about halfway through the book.
Because the book is nonfiction, several of the storylines had less-than-satisfying conclusions, at least from my “Hollywood ending” point of view. That made the stories feel more real, though, even if they left me a little sad by the end of the book.
Douglas’s writing is fresh and fast-moving, and certainly worth reading for anyone interested in the secret lives of librarians.
Recommended.
Bill Moyers interviews Nikki Giovanni (0)
Posted 20 February, 2009 in Poetry
Poet Nikki Giovanni was on Bill Moyers’ Journal last week talking about her new book of poetry, Bicycles. She also talks about bicycles as a metaphor for life and reads her poem, “Bicycles.”
POEM: It isn’t merely the fashioning (0)
Posted 19 February, 2009 in My poems, Poetry
It isn’t merely the fashioning
of new meanings from the threads and whisps,
rather it is the intention, the
unsounded affirmation of a
relationship, woven into each
chosen strand and intricate pattern.
Pearls uncovered in the depths, the craft
rows back to shore, where it is met by
the warm wool and the gathering in.
One must take stock in it, and accept
the gift for what it is, speech rendered,
unspoken, as textile manuscript.
Lincoln jailed my cousins (0)
Posted 12 February, 2009 in Family, Genealogy, Labor movement, Podcast
Today is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, which seems like a good time to mention that back during the Civil War, two of my cousins were jailed by Abraham Lincoln for sedition. You can read the entire story in the March 2006 issue of Flanders Family News. (This links to a PDF file. The story starts on Page 9.)
Enjoy!
By the way, lest you interpret this the wrong way — I’m a big fan of Lincoln. But how could I pass up this story?
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