Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Sample poems; Purpose-driven poetry


"But it shouldn’t take a scholar to be moved by the written word—great literature has something to offer everyone. All our lives are compelling, full of joys and burdens and profound experiences we should be sharing—and poetry is the most intimate way to share it. When you read a poem, you become the medium; the poet speaks in your voice, paints the canvas of your inner eye."
 - in RATTLE, whose mission is to promote the practice of poetry.

3arabi Song by Zeina Hashem Beck     Kill the Dogs by Heather Bell

Ligatures by Denise Miller     Turn Left Before Morning by April Salzano

The four books above were selected as winners of the 2016 Rattle Chapbook Prize.  Each of them seems to be a very clearly and strongly motivated collection.

3arabi Song by Zeina Hashem Beck is, like the music of Umm Kulthum, Fairuz, or Abdel Halim Hafez, an introduction to the feeling inside Arab hearts and lives. I'm reading some of the poems now.  Here is a sung reading:

Heather Bell's Kill the Dogs, is about women, who are "faced with a choice: kill the dogs or let them eat everything we have ever loved."  Read/listen to “Haircut

Denise Miller's Ligatures wrestles with the language of murders of black people by police.  Read/hear “What I Learned at the Academy: Another Officer’s Confession.”

Turn Left Before Morning by April Salzano is an experience of autism from the point of view of the parent.  Sample

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MUSIC: Boy Talk


Vanilla and Desire, by Odunsi the Engine.

 
The new kid is old-school.

Time flies:
10 years ago I was telling you about a youngster named Banky W.    
Want Girl Talk instead? Download here.
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Friday, July 14, 2017

Saturday, July 01, 2017

Book, Music, Movie


Currently listening to this singer called jazzZ  
What I read at my parents' these days: Serving My Fatherland 
Watching later: two new episodes of Silicon Valley 

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