At Long Last

the semester ends. the magazine beat goes on. for anyone interested in a story of an awkward ending to an weak poetry workshop, check out this post. something like that.

may x-mas not be killing you all. at least not as much as the pink-freeze that has been this December so far in Chicago. just a bit unseasonable.

in honor of closure & hope in poetry:

Taught. As a wire which reaches. A silver wire which
reaches from the end of the beautiful as if elsewhere. A
metaphor. Metaphors are not for humans.

The wires dance in the wind of the noise our poems make.
The noise without an audience. Because the poems were written
for ghosts.

The ghosts the poems were written for are the ghosts of the
poems. We have it second-hand. They cannot hear the noise
they have been making.

Yet it is not a simple process like a mirror or a radio. They
try to give us circuits to see them, to hear them. Teaching an
audience.

The wires in the rose are beautiful.

--- Jack Spicer, "4" from "A Textbook of Poetry"

Wolves at the Door

Has it been a month?! Apologies to anyone who’s been here recently expecting some fresh verbiage. So where to begin? Mi madre sometimes sends me newspaper clippings she thinks I might find interesting (which rarely is the case). You can imagine, then what I thought when I saw “Dear Abby” atop her latest selection. In any case, it was more note-worthy than usual & thought I might share—


Dear Abby:

Please warn your readers that their Web pages & blogs could stand in the way of securing a job! Just as employers have learned to read e-mail & blogs, they have learned to screen candidates through their sites.
Many people in their 20s & 30s wrongly believe their creations are entertaining & informative. Employers are not seeking political activists, evangelizers, whiners or tattletales. They do not want to find themselves facing a lawsuit or on the front page of a newspaper because a client, patient or parent of a student discovered a comment written by an employee.
The job market is tight & job seekers must remember their computer skills can either help them land a position or destroy a job prospect.— Chicago Employer


I suppose such things are to be no surprise in our Patriot Act age. I do like the part about “evangelizers” though. What did Ben Franklin say about those willing to sacrifice freedom for safety? Anyway, I welcome all readers, come what may. If what I have to say didn’t put me at risk, it wouldn’t be worth saying. Just keep in mind, true believers, that when you come here to visit me, you are in fact in the Inferno. Just a head’s up.

With that, I’ll desist with a parting question: what do people think about the idea of poetry in crisis? There’s been so much said for & against the idea the poetry, or any art, is best created when the poet is in some form of crisis, be it personal or global in scope. Berryman advocated this frequently & much of Milosz deals with conflicts both he as an individual & human beings were facing throughout his life. So, how about you? Do you need tragedy to assist in creating art? What do you want &/or need to propel your creativity? I’m dying to know, but I won’t die to find out, if you follow.

O yeah, here are a couple of those “(Your Name) needs” Google search ditties, one for me & one for Kate. Thanks, as usual, to Woody, for being alert. Be well & warm…

Best, r collins

Kate so needs to get burned.
Kate needs to have her wings clipped.
Kate needs a shave.
Kate needs to be hooked up!
Kate needs our help.
Kate needs crew & projectors.
Kate needs to talk about the colour of paint.
Kate needs to go to rehab.
Kate needs to leave this homestay by herself.


Ryan needs special care.
Ryan needs a bra. Fast.*
Ryan needs a room.
Ryan needs your advice.
Ryan needs backers to go forward.
Ryan is cool.
Ryan needs a history lesson.
Ryan needs a caretaker.
Ryan needs to go sleep on some train tracks.


* in reference to Meg Ryan, the so-called actress.