Early morning. Dew gathers on each bentwood chair, on round tabletops near the swept sidewalk. Insects are beginning to saw minute music.
Their tunes buzz in early urban air, not yet drowned by the metal whines of traffic. A striped awning over a glass door. Coffee offerings in chalk
lean on slates near the entrance, work their magic, entrance us in, as if by chance, and we talk after silence not so companionable. Not that we bare
our souls, nothing like that. Maybe we just wake up a little more to each other, to who and what we are, exhale our nocturnal worrying, refuse miasma and mild panic.
We perk up at the scents of cold milk and rich, dark brew. We’ll come back for lunch. Maybe the stew? For now, Salut!
All through last night, despite a pleasant evening and dropping right off to sleep, I found myself tossing and turning, worried that I would not find any poems this April to share during the National Poetry Writing Month challenge.
Insistent Bliss
It latches on like an infant. I cannot help but cradle it, this desire, my best intent to discover insight or wit,
to write a line that sings the blues, the purples, greens, resplendent golds, and fire-spun red or pink-sparked hues that flash, ink-drawn, as night unfolds;
and, sometimes, even wisdom comes, surprises me, like shafts of light that break through scenic tumbled clouds and pierce my heart with wild delight;
this comes despite coronal flare of fear, to comfort and repair.
Leslie Schultz
This morning, I found I did find something that took me by surprise and that I wanted to share. Will that hold true each April morning? The truth is, I have no idea. Inspiration is mysterious. All I know for sure is that I plan to knock on its door each morning, not sure if it will open or, if it does, what will be on the other side. If there is nothing? Then I will share that.
Thank you for joining me in this uncertain but interesting journey through the days ahead! We’ll see what we get.
If you would like to read other poems composed in the moment this month, do check out the mother ship, the NaPoWriMo website, where there are links to the personal websites of hundreds of participating poets. If you’d like to try your hand at a poem, the NaPoWriMo site offers daily prompts. And if you are taking up the month-long challenge this year (and plan to publish your poems in real time), then consider registering your website with them.
For me, January is the time when I most appreciate reliable pleasures. Now on New Year’s Day 2020, I am glad to have had the leisure to spend time with the latest issue of Third Wednesday Magazine which reliably offers both pleasure and a sense of fresh discovery.
Commencing with the Winter 2020 issue, as it begins its thirteenth year, Third Wednesday has an appealing new format for its print edition and a generous new policy of offering its digital edition for no charge. The paper edition is available for only $6.00 on Amazon. And you can download the digital version for free by going to thirdwednesdaymagazine.org.
Here’s what it looks like, with a magnificent cover by the late artist, John P. Loree.
This issue features the winning and honorably mentioned poems from the most recent One-Sentence Poetry Contest, as well as other poems (containing two or more sentences), some splendid art and photography, and fiction that made me sit up and take notice. (What can I say? I have once again been bitten by the novel-writing bug. More on that in another post.)
My own poem in the issue is called “Bitten.” I wrote it under the influence of the late lamented Mary Oliver. And yet, it is in many ways the inverse of her own work which draws transcendent insight from the natural world. My own poem is all set indoors but I do see it as set in the music of the natural world and also as transcendent. If you read it (through one of the links above) you can see what you think of that assessment, and of how the image of the glass cherry (below) features in it. You can also see a splendid line drawing in graphite and ink, of forest tree trunks, by the cover artist, John P. Loree. The drawing would, I think, meet with Mary Oliver’s full approval.
As usual, I have read the entire issue, and below I mention a few of my favorites. Also as usual, it was hard to choose which to pull out for special mention.
Several poems in this issue are ones I plan to read again. I feel certain that you will find your own favorites, but consider taking a look at “A Killing Frost Suddenly” by Marge Piercy; “Driving My Daughter to School” by Sarah Russell (a One-Sentence Poetry Contest Winner); “Indian Creek Trail” by Stephen Croft (a One-Sentence Poetry Contest Honorable Mention); “The Kahler Grand Hotel” by Jane Blanchard (a sonnet that tackles the differences between Georgia and Minnesota accents with a poignant twist at the end); and “There is Fire” by Eric Blanchard (for the way the last line is both a perfect fit yet still a surprise.)
In this issue, all the photography worked for me and gave me new ideas for taking my own photographs. To mention just one, which you really have to see for yourself, I nominate “Sand Fortress, St. Petersburg, Russia” by Diane Martin of Bangor, Maine.
The highly engaging short story, “Antumbra,” by Joel Fishbane gave me a new way to think about the ideas of the alter ego and the road not taken. It also taught me a new word–I love when that happens!
This year, more than 400 sonnets were submitted from poets from all over–many from the Mississippi River region, many from across the U.S., and each year more and more from abroad–this year submissions were received from nine countries outside the United States.
If you click on the link above, you’ll find a list of winning sonnets as well as poets’ names and home towns. I was quite surprised — and very pleased! — to learn that one of my own submitted sonnets, “Zebras in Sunlight,” is in the list. I was very pleased (and not at all surprised) that a fine sonnet by a poet-friend, Scott Lowery, was in the highest winners’ circle!
As an aside, I have realized that since the time I first learned of this sonnet showcase in 2013, I have truly begun to “think in sonnets.” I have written poems in this form for many years now and then, but I just did a loose count and realized that in the past six years I have written more than 100 new sonnets. I know for certain this would not have happened without this annual nudge from my friends in Winona. Thank you!
But I digress! The prelude to the event was music by the ensemble, Flutistry. This group of five flutists–Janet Heukeshoven, Heidi Bryant, Arlene Boll, Lisa Ramsey and Amanda Wenzel–wove the sonic spell that prepared us all for the music of the sonnets to come. Their program for the day ranged from a composition by William Byrd–a contemporary of William Shakespeare–to more modern works. All were rendered with verve and panache, as you can sense from the inset video clip, primitive though my videography skills are.
Valsette, J. Anderson Ashokan Farewell, Jay Ungar Mississippi Rag, W.H. Krell Earl of Oxford's Marche, William Byrd Fascinating Rhythm, George Gershwin Summertime, George Gershwin
After the music, everyone headed in to the theater.
Many thanks to all the people who have made this event a summertime essential for so many of us: present and past Winona Poet Laureates Ken McCullough, Emilio DeGrazia, and James Armstrong; readers from the GRSF acting company, including Artistic Director Doug Scholz-Carlson; Heidi Bryant, webmaster; the musicians of Flutistry; the hundreds of poets who submit work each year; and especially Ted Haaland, who supports this annual celebration of new poetry as a living memorial to his beloved late wife, Maria W. Faust.
If you know the river town of Winona, Minnesota, you know it is pulsing with exciting arts opportunities, spectacular natural beauty, and delicious opportunities for snacking and dining. In fact, their motto is “Surprisingly Weird, Incredibly Entertaining.”
If you fancy a scenic drive to this part of the state, I would like to suggest two poetry-rich dates for your calendar. The first is 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 9, 2019 at the Blue Heron Coffeehouse, when I will be reading from my collection, CONCERTINA.
The second event is later in July, on Saturday the 20th at 10:30 a.m. on the Winona State University Campus. Each year, Tim and I like to hear the winning sonnets of the annual Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest read expressively by members of the Great River Shakespeare Festival. (The link above has more details on the 2019 capstone event as well as postings of the winning sonnets from past years.)
We will probably also visit the gardens and paintings at one of our favorite museums, the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, located right on the Mississippi. I am especially keen to see the exhibition up by justly celebrated photographer Alec Soth called “Sleeping by the Mississippi.”
Hoping to see you there, once or even twice! Happy summer travels!
