Thursday, December 31, 2015
Elegy for an Almost Friend
Labels:
elegy,
Elegy for an Almost Friend,
Mark Butkus,
New Year,
poem
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Happy New Year y Gracias to the Writers of Bar None Group for 2015!
Celebrating the launch of "Last Call: Poems, Stories and Art from the Costalegre." |
What an incredible year!
The first moments of 2015 were spent on the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto contemplating a route back to Chicago — the end of a Christmas roadtrip. The last moments of 2015 were spent in Barra de Navidad, Jalisco, Mexico to launch the third volume of the Bar None Group anthologies — Last Call: Poems, Stories and Art from the Costalegre.
We have been fortunate to share the voices of 47 poets, writers and artists who have been touched and inspired by the Costalegre. But my debt of gratitude is not limited to the voices in Last Call, it extends to the other 20 writers we featured online. To all of you who have read and shared the words within the pages of the Bar None Group we are grateful.
Happy New Year to:
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Saturday, December 19, 2015
First Lines Second Thoughts — Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol
First Lines Second Thoughts is a look at the first lines of well known literary works. On second thought, do these opening words stand alone as poetry? Today, in keeping with the spirit of the season we look at the opening lines of Charles Dickens' timeless A Christmas Carol.
Rather than write pamphlets and essays to address the issues of poverty and social injustice in Victorian England, Dickens conveyed his thoughts into A Christmas Carol. A book so cherished that it has never gone out of print since being published this day — December 19 — in 1843.
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Jeff Parker Scores with Book of Found Poetry from the World of Sports
Every once in a while the Bar None Group takes a look at poetry in sports. Whether its a beatnik hockey commercial from a Bruin, a prognostication from The Greatest, a retirement notice from the Black Mamba or the wisdom of Metta World Peace. And with the latter we featured the former Ron Artest's own words poetically assembled by Jeff Parker.
Parker's found poetry poem — Erratic Fire, Erratic Passion also serves as the title of his latest book. Erratic Fire, Erratic Passion is a collection of found poems composed of the words of professional athletes.
Iconoclastic author Chuck Klosterman says, "There are many who refer to sports as poetry in motion, and there are some who argue that all conversation is a living form of poetry. These are both imperfect metaphors. But here is a book that takes the literal language of sports and converts it into the actual structure of poetry, and — sometimes, almost by accident — the result is actual perfection."
Parker's found poetry poem — Erratic Fire, Erratic Passion also serves as the title of his latest book. Erratic Fire, Erratic Passion is a collection of found poems composed of the words of professional athletes.
Iconoclastic author Chuck Klosterman says, "There are many who refer to sports as poetry in motion, and there are some who argue that all conversation is a living form of poetry. These are both imperfect metaphors. But here is a book that takes the literal language of sports and converts it into the actual structure of poetry, and — sometimes, almost by accident — the result is actual perfection."
Monday, December 14, 2015
Remembering Hannah Szenes at Hanukkah
Labels:
Ashrei Ha-Gafrur,
Blessed is the Match,
Hannah Szenes,
Hanukkah,
poem
Quaint Sayings of Uncle Jeff: On Happiness
Uncle Jeff ruminated on thoughts and themes from sorrow to happiness at the turn of the last century. His niece, Iva, noted nine such sayings. As a young woman of 26 in 1929, Iva was determined to collect and write down the quaint sayings of her Uncle Jeff for posterity's sake. She wrote down his homespun adages within the pages of her second-hand copy of Three Centuries of American Poetry and Prose.
Uncle Jeff had this to say about happiness...
Friday, December 11, 2015
Charles Bane Jr.'s The Chapbook — I Must Write
Labels:
Charles Bane Jr.,
I Must Write,
poem,
The Chapbook
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Beyond John
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Remembering John Lennon on a hot day in Mexico, 2015. |
In that difficult weighted heat
of placid summer afternoons
in a tropical country
when the air is so thick that nothing can shift,
and not even a gnat or a mosquito is
buzzing the voice of God
into the sleeping ear
of “Beyond John”
who replaced Jesus
in the second half
of the twentieth century
in a smoky cannabis haze.
I remember, but not that well.
Monday, December 7, 2015
Rain in December
Labels:
December,
Mark Butkus,
Mexico,
rain,
Rain in December
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Kobe Bryant Announces Retirement via Poetry
Two months into the worst season of his 20 year basketball career, L.A. Laker legend Kobe Bryant announced his retirement at the end of the season on Derek Jeter's The Player Tribune website. The announcement itself was not unexpected, nor was the forum. But the form of the announcement shook not just the sports world but the literary world as well because Kobe Bryant announced his retirement in the form of a poem. Dear Basketball.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Is It Too Soon?
Labels:
Christmas,
Is It Too Soon? poem,
Mark Butkus
Monday, November 30, 2015
Library Walk: Quoting Mark Twain's Connecticut Yankee
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Happy Birthday Mark Twain! Born November 30, 1835. |
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is arguably Mark Twain's most famous work after those two boys named Tom and Huck. First conceived within a dream in 1884 and published in 1889, Twain's novel is a time travel romp from 19th century New England to the 5th century court of King Arthur.
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address
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Greetings to the Natural World |
The People
Today we have gathered and we see that the cycles of life continue. We have
been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living
things. So now, we bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and
thanks to each other as people.
Now our minds are one.
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Charles Bane Jr.'s The Chapbook — Untitled #2
Labels:
Charles Bane Jr.,
The Chapbook,
Untitled #2
Monday, November 23, 2015
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Street Poetry of Chicago: The Void by Marwan Fateen
Labels:
Chicago,
ignigma,
Marwan Fateen,
street poetry,
The Void
Monday, November 16, 2015
La Marseillaise
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The Wall for Peace on the Champs de Mars in Paris. |
Allons enfants de la Patrie,
Le jour de gloire est arrivé!
Contre nous de la tyrannie,
L'etendard sanglant est levé, (bis)
Entendez-vous dans les campagnes
Mugir ces féroces soldats?
Ils viennent jusque dans nos bras
Égorger nos fils, nos compagnes!
Aux armes, citoyens,
Formez vos bataillons,
Marchons! Marchons!
Qu'un sang impur
Abreuve nos sillons!
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Marianne Moore and her Poetry Fixation
One of Marianne Moore's most famous poems is appropriately titled, Poetry. It is also the poem that has vexed scholars and readers alike as she repeatedly edited the piece throughout her life. Her definitive version of Poetry — as she saw it — was reduced to three lines in the 1981 re-issue of The Complete Poems of Marianne Moore. It reads as follows:
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
David Williams War Sonnet 1914-1918
Labels:
1914-1918,
David Williams,
Poetry Soup,
sonnet,
War Sonnet,
World War
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Library Walk: Nature, Art and Pablo Picasso
Born this day in 1881, Pablo Picasso was a 20th century Renaissance man. A cofounder of cubism, a poet and a playwright, Picasso was not afraid to share his thoughts on any topic.
The quote that appears on Library Walk is from a collection of thoughts, Picasso on Art: A Selection of Views. It was published in 1972, the year before his death.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Once Upon A Time
Labels:
autumn,
Bourbon Street,
Christmas,
Mark Butkus,
NOLA,
Once Upon A Time,
winter
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Pequot Song of an Initiate
Labels:
autumn,
First Nations,
Native American,
Pequot,
song,
Song of an Initiate
Friday, September 4, 2015
A Poem for Esmé
Labels:
A Poem for Esmé,
birthday,
Esmé
Monday, August 10, 2015
Take Two: A Poem by Denise Chatelain
Labels:
A Poem,
Barra de Navidad,
Denise Chatelaine,
Take Two
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Monday, July 27, 2015
Jeff Seymour's Lessons for "The Real Life Actor"
If you've ever been on a film set one of the first pieces of advice that you are given is, "bring a book." There's alot of down time and reading a book helps while away the hours. Especially if you are background.
Background is just an industry term for being an extra...all those people in the background of a scene that you shouldn't be noticing. This background player has been seen on screen at a bar with a copy of Malcolm Lowry's Under the Volcano, riding the subway with a copy of Lao Tse and this past week walking a downtown street carrying Jeff Seymour's The Real Life Actor.
If you've acted before, Seymour's book will make you rethink your craft. If you are just starting out, The Real Life Actor will open your eyes.
Labels:
acting,
actor,
book,
Jeff Seymour,
The Real Life Actor
Sunday, July 26, 2015
To Theater or not to Theater...
Labels:
Chicago,
El BeiSMan,
Mark Butkus,
poem,
theater,
To Theater or not to Theater
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Charles Bane Jr.'s The Chapbook — Homeless Vet on Congress Avenue
Friday, July 3, 2015
America
Labels:
America,
Claude McKay,
Harlem Shadows,
poem
Thursday, July 2, 2015
On the Road in Texas: The Mariachi of Cibolo
Labels:
El Mariachi de Cibolo,
español,
mariachi,
Mark Butkus,
poesia,
Texas,
The Mariachi of Cibolo
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
The Lost Pencil
Labels:
Bar None Group,
Last Call,
Russell Rosander,
The Lost Pencil
Monday, June 29, 2015
Elizabeth Barrett Browning's A Child’s Grave at Florence
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A. A. E. C. Born, July 1848; died, November 1849. |
Of English blood, of Tuscan birth
What country should we give her?
Instead of any on the earth,
The civic Heavens receive her.
And here among the English tombs
In Tuscan ground we lay her,
While the blue Tuscan sky endomes
Our English words of prayer.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
En el mar de mis sueños
Labels:
Blanca Segura,
En el mar de mis sueños,
español,
Peru,
poesía,
translation
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Juan Felipe Herrara Named First Latino Poet Laureate of United States
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The Library of Congress announced today that Mexican American poet Juan Felipe Herrara will succeed Charles Wright as the 21st Poet Laureate of the United States.
Herrara is currently the Poet Laureate of his home state California and will officially become U.S. Poet Laureate with a reading at the commencement of Hispanic Heritage Month on September 15.
Friday, June 5, 2015
Library Walk: Alfred Kazin and Room 315 of the NYPL
The plaques on Library Way across from the main branch of the New York Public Library grab quotes from history, famous literary works and from the lion of literature — the authors. Alfred Kazin's quote is different.
Kazin's quote is of the library itself. Room 315 in particular — the Main Reading Room.
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Night and Day with Allen Ginsberg and Guerrilla Poetics
"This poem may be the last best hope for real literary art. It is the cave wall where we record our passing."
So begins the bookmark placed inside my recently purchased copy of Allen Ginsberg's The Book of Martyrdom and Artifice. It was "smuggled into this book by one of our Special Operatives" at the Guerilla [sic] Poetics Project.
The Guerilla Poetics Project was a marketing strategy to bring underground poetry to the mainstream by placing broadsides in selected books. From 2006-2008 selected poems of more than 50 poets reached new, unsuspecting audiences in this manner. How the Bar None Group came to stumble upon a broadside at a bookstore in University Village in Chicago in 2015 is somewhat surprising.
Curiously — and probably by happenstance — the broadside which spoke of morning was placed next to a Ginsberg poem which spoke of the evening. Reading the two pieces of poetry together seemed like the proper thing to do...like watching The Wizard of Oz while listening to Pink Floyd. You end up with an inter-generational poetic mash up. One that I am sure Ginsberg would be keen to explore himself.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Teacher Fired over Allen Ginsberg poem Please Master
A Connecticut teacher was forced to resign for reciting the Allen Ginsberg poem Please Master to his class of high school seniors.
One of his students asked to share the poem with the class and after some trepidation, David Olio — a former teacher of the year — recited the poem. Some students were left feeling uncomfortable which in turn lead to parents becoming infuriated that their children were subjected to the poem.
We present Please Master in it's unadulterated entirety for you for the sake of discussion. If you are offended by poetry, art, rights and freedoms then stop reading now because you will no doubt be offended.
Labels:
Allen Ginsberg,
Connecticut,
David Olio,
Please Master,
poem,
teacher
Friday, May 22, 2015
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Tomatoes and Doves
Labels:
Mexico,
Russell Rosander,
Tomatoes and Doves
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Alice Notley Awarded 2015 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
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Award recognizes lifetime accomplishment with $100,000 prize. |
CHICAGO – The Poetry Foundation is honored to announce that Alice Notley has been awarded the 2015 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, which recognizes the outstanding lifetime achievement of a living U.S. poet.
Presented annually to a living U.S. poet whose lifetime accomplishments warrant extraordinary recognition, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize is one of the most prestigious awards given to American poets.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Bendición del hogar
Labels:
Bendición del hogar,
español,
Mexico,
Oración
Monday, May 4, 2015
First Lines Second Thoughts — Finnegan's Wake
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A river runs through it... |
First Lines Second Thoughts is an occcasional look at the first lines of well known literary works. On second thought, do these opening words stand alone as poetry? Today, we look at the opening lines of James Joyce's classic Finnegan's Wake. Published this day in 1939 after 17 years of writing and rewriting.
The first words are a sentence fragment which continues from the book's unfinished last line. This has the effect of making Finnegan's Wake a never-ending cycle.
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