Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Wednesday April 27th, 2005 - 4:54AM

So the pattern seems to be now that after class on a Tuesday night, these Cave Canem clowns all conspire to make me drink. Thgis time we were at Gatsby's discussing everything from the sorry state of the majority of the poetry to be heard at the National Poetry Slam to how many songs folks have actually been able to fit on their iPODs. This class continues to be really good for me as the exercises are giving me more and more new poems. The latest one i'm working with is one in which we write the poem of our death beds. I couldn't find an in into the poem until i walked out the house this afternoon and there was a van parked utside the florist's down the block. The back door was open and a man was loading funeral wreaths into it, but the most festive meringue was blaring from the back and i figured this was my in, so we'll see. i should have a first draft by tomorrow.

Meanwhile, i'm gearing up for Masquerade again. We're talking July here folks and i can't figure out for sure how to make it better than the last time, but of course part of my ego-trip/personal drama is that i feel it has to be better than the last time or it's a failure. So i'm going back to the writing and hopefully i can show something at east a shade better than we saw last time.

It'll also be interesting doing it in the peak of summer as opposed to fall and winter. It's about to be on... like socks..

By the way, i just got done reading Martin Espada's "A Mayan Astronomer in Hell's Kitchen" and it is as expected - phenomenal. Get it. I'm also still reading "Pathologies of Power" and what it exposes about U.S. policies vis a vis foreign countries and regimes that are dictatorships in other places is horrific and is the kind of thing that should be the focus of 60minutes and 20/20 features, because U.S. policy actively promotes poverty and death and poor health care in other countries in order to keep particular regimes in power and to further America's own profit and political motives. What we're not allowed to know about Haiti and Cuba and Nicaragua and Russia would make many of us cry to know that our tax dollars have contributed to this. If you are a student of global politics and care at all about understanding the truth about how power works (or doesn't) for poor people in the world go get Paul Farmer's "Pathologies of Power".

Okay. I'm done preaching, but this book hurts.

Later.

4 Comments:

Blogger Patrick said...

"these Cave Canem clowns all conspire to make me drink". for a poet, you could do better with accuracy of language. let's do this again: who made whom drink?

that farmer book is on my wish list and you got to share some o' dem exercises from the wkshp-- please.

7:55 AM  
Blogger Amanda Johnston said...

Yes, sharing is good. The poetry you've been posting is really pushing the limits. It’s nice to see your juices flowing. Also, just a general comment, I rode a greyhound to a gig in Nashville, just 2 1/2 hours from Elizabethtown, KY. I have a WHOLE new respect for you! I didn't fully understand when reading your tour blogs about you on the bus. Wow, greyhound ain't no joke. Best line picked up from the bus was from the driver, announced over the intercom, "Please hold a whistling until Nashville."

7:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

it's that b-boy that you met at Piscataway high school...
I used to write poetry and everything.. but then i stopped for quite a while...
I used to do good in english and everything.. but then i gave up
jus know that you've inspired me... to keep on breakin and maybe to even pick up a pencil and start writing again... thanx Mr. Bonair-Agard... oh yea... i can't read your handwriting haha... so i have no idea what you wrote on my packet

10:27 AM  
Blogger Roger Bonair-Agard said...

Hey Trung:

glad you could get back into some writing brotherman. use it to help you focus on your classwork some more and see what happens. feel free to e-mail me too if you want tips to get you writing. keep b-boying too. there is much culture and learning and social understanding to be gained from the pursuit of the form.

11:45 PM  

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