Month: October 2009

What is poetry?

how many pull quotes can you possible use to answer whether poetry is poetry, or prose?

Samuel Taylor Coleridge:

The definition of good prose is – proper words in their proper places; of good verse – the most proper words in their proper places. The words in prose ought to express their intended meaning, and no more… But in verse, you must do more; there the words [are] the media…

Housman:

Poetry is not the thing said but the way of saying it.

Frost:

poetry is what’s lost in translation.

Auden:

A poem must be a closed system.

(via)

When everyone is a book critic, no one i

this reminds me that i need to finish writing my book reviews for spr…

What I always say to creative writing students when I talk about book reviewing is that they’re entering a landscape vastly different from the one I entered, and I only entered a few years ago.  Obviously, the Internet has rapidly and irrevocably changed the way  books—and anything—are talked about.  We now live in an age where some large segment of “professional” book criticism takes place in a medium somewhere between the customer comment and the fancy print book review.  Literally, everyone’s a critic, if they want to be and can type. (via)

An argument for self-publishing your poetry manuscript

if you had $2000 to spend on publishing your poetry manuscript, why give that money to 76 publishers?

from the book of kells:

So in total, 76 presses had the opportunity to consider it over 5 years (plus 9 that ALMOST got to consider it…) Don’t do the math on how much it cost me in postage, paper, and contest fees (I’m estimating about $30 a shot) or you’ll end up with about $400 a year on submissions (I’d guess about $2000 total). This makes me a little ill as that’s a lot of money. Thankfully, it was over 5 years, so my family still ate well and was fully clothed while I tried my best to be published. (via)

this is a really good argument for self-publishing your own poetry manuscript… imho… i’m just saying, if i had $2000 to spend on my own book, i’d hire a professional editor, art director, & spend the rest on printing, ad/marketing & distribution.

Field notes

sometimes you just have to take a stand… pick up your junk & walk away…

Field notes

tonight: Natasha Tretheway and Katherine Soniat to read at Posana Cafe at 8 pm.

The Traveling Bonfires

a two-year absence from asheville, THE TRAVELING BONFIRES is back in asheville!

i’ll be reading some poems with other vagrant poets and musicians at firestorm cafe october 31. it’s free. it starts at 8:00 pm.

Civil debate

it is inspiring for me to see public intellectuals debate with reason, civility & wit… also noticed in this sneak peak that dr. marvin olasky (world magazine editor in chief) appears to officiate the debate…

thomasfitzpatrick: Preview of the first 13 minutes of the forthcoming documentary “Collision”. The film follows renowned author and anti-theist Christopher Hitchens and Pastor Douglas Wilson as they debate the topic: “Is Christianity Good For The World?”. (via)

confession: recently, i rode in a shuttle from a hotel to an airport with dr. olasky… but i was too shy to say anything…

(Source: http://player.vimeo.com/)

Field notes

tonight is poetry writing workshop at the flood gallery fine arts center… it’s raining… a prefect evening to soak in poetry & conversation…

Field notes

not sure if it was the two advil, reading zen poetry, drinking herbal tea or taking a hot bath… but the horrible pain of monday is gone…

Field notes

went for a walk into a lovely autumn afternoon & did not take a digital camera to record the fact of what i did…

Field notes

watching a teaching on wisdom from mars hill…

Field notes

to run along the river on a lovely fall morning seems such a simple desire, yet unattainable this morning.

i’m not sure if it’s seasonally allergies or maybe i finally succumbed to the virus the rest of the household has been dealing with all week, but i don’t have the energy to run a few miles on such a beautiful day.

Field notes

been thinking a lot about jack kerouac recently… his life… his work…

Field notes

the only remedy for the loneliness of this job is taking lunch at the fiddlin pig… soon as i walk in the door she has a booth ready for me and he’s got a tall glass of coke waiting at the table… makes me think maybe i should wait table instead of working from this dark cave of an audio bunker…

Field notes

finished producing 120 minutes of audio capture (with various quality issues) in four days… in context, for every 2 minutes of final audio at least 1 hour of production goes into those 2 minutes… it’s been a long week in the audio bunker…

Want to Monetize the Web?

To monetize content requires a shift in thinking because one must move from sticking with the traditional push business model to accepting the web’s “pull” approach…. (via adage)

adage offers three ‘pull’ approaches:

  1. Use content to attract audiences
  2. Create a community to coalesce audiences
  3. Leverage the power of your community to drive revenue

Field notes

two years in a row, edgy mama is featured in the least favorite feature of the mountain x… but edgy mama is in the top three for local bloggers… fickle readership? or poor survey questions?

America is not a Christian nation

America is no longer a Christian nation… that seems to be the top phrase for some politicians today, even with nearly 4 out of every 5 Americans claiming to be a Christian. And of course in Britain, Richard Dawkins helped support a wide-spread advertising campaign on buses, stating there’s “probably no God,” even though a recent census stated that nearly 70% of Britains claimed to be Christians.

[sf]

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poetry writing workshop tonight! drop ins welcomed… bring a notebook & pen… let’s do some poetry…

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listening to ‘the path’ [mp3 podcast]… there’s some really tough stuff in there… i need to listen to it again… the last five to eight minutes hits me in the face like a cinder block…

Simpler Times

i could really use one of these tonight… or maybe two or three… where do i find simpler times around here?

malty: everydaydude: WORD. Simpler Times is the new Pabst. Drink a couple before the hipster kids claim it. joecarryon: Simpler Times: $3 for a six-pack @ Trader Joe’s. The beer is solid, but the price is unfuckwithable. Testify.

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can’t wait to get off work… so i can start freelance work… & then plan for tomorrow night’s writing workshop…

what i learned on facebook today

‘we are one choice from together’

posted on a friend’s status made me say, ‘what the hell?’

found out it’s to some horribly written song lyrics… what? the songwriter couldn’t come up with something better that would rhyme with ‘tonight could last forever’… google it on youtube it and judge for yourself…

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not my day for coffee drinks… first i spill a pumkin spice latte on my white dress shirt… then some pikes peak coffee on my pants…