Review of "The Barnacle and the Gray Whale" by Cecilia Llompart

"The Barnacle and the Gray Whale" by Cecilia Llompart was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 28, 2014.  A link to the poem, including the poet's notes, may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23893?utm_source=PAD%3A+The+Barnacle+and+the+Gray+Whale+by+Cecilia+Llompart&utm_campaign=poemaday_022814&utm_medium=email.

Cecilia Llompart received her MFA from the University of Virginia.  Her first book of poetry, The Wingless, will be published in 2014.  Additional information about this up-and-coming poet may be found here:  http://www.inknode.com/users/ceciliallompart.

The poem is arranged in two parts, with seven stanzas in each.  Each stanza consists of one or two lines.  The first part is devoted to an anthropomorphized barnacle marveling at a whale.  The second part is the whale's response to the barnacle.

The poet reveals in her notes that this is one of a series of poems inspired by the Deep Water Horizon disaster.  She thought the poems would be filled with anger.  Instead, they turned out to have a quiet, contemplative, dreamy quality--an interesting comment on the process of composing poetry.

Review of "To My Oldest Friend, Whose Silence Is Like a Death" by Lloyd Schwartz

"To My Oldest Friend, Whose Silence Is Like a Death" by Lloyd Schwartz was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 27, 2014.  A link to the poem, including the poet's notes, may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23891.

Lloyd Schwartz (b. 1941) (pictured) is the Frederick S. Troy Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts in Boston.  He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1994.  He is the author of three published books of poetry.  Additional biographical information, as well as links to other poems by the same poet, may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/688?utm_source=PAD%3A+To+My+Oldest+Friend%2C+Whose+Silence+Is+Like+a+Death+by+Lloyd+Schwartz&utm_campaign=poemaday_022714&utm_medium=email.

The poem is presented in thirty-four lines of free verse divided into couplets and singlets, mostly couplets.  The singlets tend to be shorter and used perhaps for emphasis.

Parentheses are used twice:  once within a line, and once bracketing a singlet.  The reason for their use is not clear, as the bracketed portions do not come across as asides or really any different from the non-bracketed portions.

The title summarizes the theme nicely and is a kind of short form poem in itself.  Ironically, Ezra Pound, whom Schwartz quotes, probably would have edited out the entire rest of the poem.

New Poem: "Look on My Works"

"Look on My Works" is an autobiographical lament about what little respect I in particular and by inference medical doctors in general receive in the age of corporate medicine.  Whitman's "Song of Myself," which I re-read recently, certainly influenced its free flowing form.  Yawp!  A little bit of P. B. Shelley, too.

Review of "Costumes Exchanging Glances" by Mary Jo Bang

"Costumes Exchanging Glances" by Mary Jo Bang was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 26, 2014.  A link to the poem, including the poet's notes, may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23890.

Mary Jo Bang (b. 1946) is a Professor of English and the Director of the Creative Writing Program at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.  She is the author of seven published books of poetry and the recipient of many prestigious literary awards and honors, including a Pushcart Prize and a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship.  Additional biographical information as well as links to additional poetry by Bang may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/548?utm_source=PAD%3A+Costumes+Exchanging+Glances+by+Mary+Jo+Bang&utm_campaign=poemaday_022614&utm_medium=email.

The poet reveals in her notes that the Russell to which she refers is Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970) (pictured left).  Additional information about this Nobel Prize winning philosopher may be found here:  http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1950/russell-bio.html.

Bang further reveals that the "they" in her poem is the German Jewish philosopher and literary critic Walter Benjamin (1892 - 1940) (pictured right).  Additional information about this short lived, enigmatic figure may be found here:  http://www.egs.edu/library/walter-benjamin/biography/.

"Costumes Exchanging Glances" is presented in nine lines of irregular free verse.  The first line is indented for reasons which are unclear.  The poem begins with a metaphor comparing the light of rhinestones to pretend stars.  The theme of light is continued in the fifth line, where light and its after image are used as metaphor for the fleeting uncertainty of life.  Quotes or paraphrases from Russell and Benjamin feature prominently.

Silver Blade Publishes Translation of "Cuando entre la Sombra Oscura (When the Dark Shadow Falls)" by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer

Editor's Note:  If you saw my translation in Silver Blade prior to February 25, 2014, I beg you to return for another look http://silverblade.silverpen.org/?p=2624.  There were several glaring issues with the original presentation that have since been corrected.  My Silver Blade editorial counterpart graciously included an apology that accompanies the corrected presentation, and the original poem, my translation of it, my translator's notes, and my biography have now been presented as they should have been.

I am pleased to announce that my translation of "Cuando entre la Sombra Oscura (When the Dark Shadow Falls)" by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (pictured) appears in the February 2014 issue of Silver Blade.  A link to the poetry, including my reading of the poetry in English and Spanish, may be found here:  http://silverblade.silverpen.org/?p=2624.  Also included is a brief biography of Bécquer.

Translation of poetry is a related but quite different work of art compared with composition of poetry.  I comment extensively on my translation process in my accompanying translator's notes.

Review of "In the Happo-En Garden, Tokyo" by Linda Pastan

"In the Happo-En Garden, Tokyo" by Linda Pastan was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 25, 2014.  A link to the poem, including the poet's notes as well as links to other poems by the same poet, may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23889.

Linda Pastan (b. 1932) was the Poet Laureate of Maryland from 1991 - 1995, and served as a staff member for the Breadloaf Writers Conference for two decades.  Additional awards of which she was the recipient include a Pushcart Prize, and a Dylan Thomas Award.  She is the author of many published books of poetry.  More biographical information may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/749?utm_source=PAD%3A+In+the+Happo-En+Garden%2C+Tokyo+by+Linda+Pastan&utm_campaign=poemaday_022514&utm_medium=email.

The title refers to the Happo-En Garden (pictured) of Tokyo, Japan.  Happo-En means "garden of eight views."  The poet reveals in her notes that when she visited this garden, the myth of Eden and Eve immediately came to mind, and she was inspired to write the poem.  Additional information about the Happo-En Garden may be found here:  http://www.happo-en.com/english/garden/.

The poem is presented in five quatrains of irregular free verse.  A Japanese version of the myth of Eve in Eden is told.  The clear images and precise, sparring word choices are evocative of short Japanese form poetry.

New Poem: "Snow White"

What Snowetry collection could be complete without a poem about Snow White?  My version is a thirty-two line traditional rhyming ballad that blends Grimm's version with the Greek myth of Oreithyia, Boreas, and Khione, with a little Gothic twist.  The poem works as a genre or mainstream piece.

Review of "Postcards" by E. Ethelbert Miller

"Postcards" by E. Ethelbert Miller was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 24, 2014.  A link to the poem, including the poet's notes as well as links to additional poems by the same poet, may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23888.

E. Ethelbert Miller (b. 1950) is the Founder and Director of the Ascension Poetry Reading Series, and the Director of the African American Resource Center at his alma mater, Howard University.  He is the author of several published books of poetry and the recipient of prestigious awards and honors.  Additional biographical information may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/485?utm_source=PAD%3A+Postcards+by+E.+Ethelbert+Miller&utm_campaign=poemaday_022414&utm_medium=email.

"Postcards" was meant to be deeply personal, as the poet's notes reveal.  However, the message is obvious to the point of being cliché.  The final line deviates significantly from the otherwise fairly uniform free verse for reasons which are unclear, and ends with a preposition.

Review of "On Arranging a Bowl of Violets" by Grace Hazard Conkling

"On Arranging a Bowl of Violets" by Grace Hazard Conkling was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 23, 2014.  A link to the poem may found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23894?utm_source=PAD%3A+On+Arranging+a+Bowl+of+Violets+by+Grace+Hazard+Conkling&utm_campaign=poemaday_022314&utm_medium=email.

Grace Hazard Conkling (1878 - 1958) taught at Smith College, which now awards a poetry residency in her name.  She was the author of several books of poetry.  Additional biographical information may be found here:  http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/grace-hazard-conkling.

The poem is a variation on the traditional ballad form.  It is presented in two quatrains, with six feet per line, and a rhyme scheme of abab baba.

The first stanza recalls the pleasure of viewing violets that are growing outdoors in spring.  Arranging them in November brings fond memories to the speaker, presumably the poet.  In the second stanza, the second person singular appears to refer to the violets themselves--an unusual use of personification.

Review of "At the Touch of You" by Witter Bynner

"At the Touch of You" by Witter Bynner was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 22, 2014.  A link to the poem may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23896?utm_source=PAD%3A+At+the+Touch+of+You+by+Witter+Bynner&utm_campaign=poemaday_022214&utm_medium=email.

Witter Bynner (1881 - 1968) was the author of several books of poetry.  His early work mocked the Imagists.  His later work was influenced by Chinese and Japanese forms.  He taught at the University of California at Berkeley from 1918 - 1922.

Bynner moved to New Mexico in 1922 where he lived out his life with his partner Robert Hunt.  The poem was published in 1917, during which time he was in Japan with his partner in crime, Arthur Davison Ficke, with whom he spoofed the Imagists.  One wonders whether it was Hunt, Ficke, or someone else entirely who inspired Bynner to compose "At the Touch of You."  Additional biographical information about Bynner may be found here:  http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/witter-bynner.

The poem is presented in two tercets of irregular free verse.  The theme is romantic love.  The imagery in the first stanza is evocative of Greek mythology.  The second stanza uses the image of a waterfall to create a beautiful metaphor.

"Observations on Human Pastimes: A Robot's Perspective" Is Published

My poem, "Observations on Human Pastimes:  A Robot's Perspective," a series of linked senryu, was published in the February 2014 print edition of Scifaikuest, Volume XI, Number 3.  Editor Teri Santitoro chose it as her "favorite poem" of the issue.

Scifaikuest is published by Alban Lake Publishing.  The print edition, which is different from the free on-line edition, may be purchased for about $6.00--see www.albanlake.com for details.

"Observations" was inspired by the work of Ross Balcom, which has appeared regularly in Songs of Eretz.  Mr. Balcom's work also appears in the same issue of Scifaikuest, as does the work of Songs of Eretz contributor Guy Belleranti.

Review of "Song for Future Books" by Joanna Fuhrman

"Song for Future Books" by Joanna Fuhrman was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 21, 2014.  A link to the poem, including the poet's notes as well as links to other poems by the same poet, may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23887?utm_source=PAD%3A+Song+for+Future+Books+by+Joanna+Fuhrman&utm_campaign=poemaday_022114&utm_medium=email.

Joanna Fuhrman (b. 1972) has taught writing at Rutgers University and in public schools for the Teachers & Writers Collaborative.  She is the author of four books of poetry.  Additional biographical information may be found here:  http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/joanna-fuhrman.

The poem is presented in free verse and divided into irregular stanzas of one to three lines.  The poem begins by describing an interesting, futuristic glass book, but then veers into squirrelly territory--literally and figuratively.

Review of "On the Gallows Once" by Kofi Awoonor

"On the Gallows Once" by Kofi Awoonor was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 20, 2014.  It was reprinted with permission from the University of Nebraska Press, from the forthcoming The Promise of Hope:  New and Selected Poems, 1964 - 2013 by Kofi Anwoonor, with an introduction by Kwame Dawes.  A link to the poem, including a note about it by Kwame Dawes, may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23881?utm_source=PAD%3A+On+the+Gallows+Once+by+Kofi+Awoonor&utm_campaign=poemaday_022014&utm_medium=email.

Kofi Awoonor (pictured) was born in 1935.  He was killed in a terrorist attack in Kenya in 2013.  He was born George Awoonor-Williams in Ghana.  His parents were Ewes, a regional ethnic group, and much of his poetry was influenced by Ewe culture.  In addition to several volumes of his own poetry, he published novels, plays, essays, and poetry translations.  He served as a diplomat and professor.  More biographical information may be found here:  http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/kofi-awoonor.

The poem is divided into four irregular stanzas.  The title is a metaphor for death or looming death.

The first stanza contains many metaphors for death:  crossing rivers, the cry of mourners, the cooing of an African wren (which is interesting, because wrens are only found in North America and Europe), dusk, and the lack of laughter.  The second stanza is a single line and continues the death metaphor motif.

The third stanza is a metaphor for the promise of heaven and perhaps finding it lacking.  The final stanza begins with a litany of man's inhumanity to man.  The poem ends with the truth that death is inescapable, whether one actively attempts to outrun it or whether one calmly accepts it.

New Poem: "Oreithyia"

"Oreithyia" is a 5-7-5 speculative haiku that will join my growing Snowetry collection.  In Greek mythology, Oreithyia was the "wife" of Boreas, the North Wind, and by him the mother of Khione, the goddess of snow.

New Poem: "crocodile blood"

"crocodile blood" is a science fiction 5-7-5-7-7 tanka inspired by Kim Stanley Robinson's Blue Mars.  The piece is a poetic expression of how crocodile blood genes might be fused into human hemoglobin via the immortality treatment, resulting in humans being able to tolerate the high CO2 Martian atmosphere.  KSR describes the process as follows.

Crocodiles could hold their breath for a very long time underwater, and the CO2 that should have built up in their blood actually dissolved there into bicarbonate ions, bound to amino acids in the hemoglobin, in a complex that caused the hemoglobin to release oxygen molecules.  [Blue Mars, p. 410]

So, by genetically altering human hemoglobin with crocodile hemoglobin, the humans populating the Mars of KSR's universe were able to breath the terraformed Martian air, that still contained CO2 at levels normally toxic to humans, without using carbon dioxide filters.

Review of "Holding Pattern" by Timothy Liu

"Holding Pattern" by Timothy Liu was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 19, 2014.  A link to the poem, including the poet's notes, may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23884.

Timothy Liu (b. 1965) is an Associate Professor at William Paterson University.  He has published several volumes of poetry, and is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including Best American Poetry in 2002.  Additional biographical information may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/114?utm_source=PAD%3A+Holding+Pattern+by+Timothy+Liu&utm_campaign=poemaday_021914&utm_medium=email.

The poem is arranged in eight quatrains of free verse followed by a singlet.  Travel by airplane is used as a conceit for the relationship between lovers.  The last two lines may be an oral sex reference, but perhaps I just have a dirty mind.

Review of "Mozart" by Caroline Knox

"Mozart" by Caroline Knox was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 18, 2014.  A link to the poem, including the poet's notes, may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23883?utm_source=PAD%3A+Mozart+by+Caroline+Knox&utm_campaign=poemaday_021814&utm_medium=email.

Caroline Knox has published numerous books of poetry.  Among her many awards and honors are a visiting fellowship at Harvard, and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.  Additional biographical information may be found here:  http://www.wavepoetry.com/products/caroline-knox.

The poet reveals in her notes that her poem is an attempt to demonstrate Mozart's genius by noting "stunning and paradoxical facts" about the composer.  She includes a quote from Mozart's The Magic Flute in her otherwise free verse, non-rhyming poem.

Review of "Why is Quiet 'Kept'"? by Paul Hoover

"Why is Quiet 'Kept'"? by Paul Hoover was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 17, 2014.  A link to the poem, including the poet's notes and links to other poems by the same poet, may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23886?utm_source=PAD%3A+Why+is+Quiet+%22Kept%22%3F+by+Paul+Hoover&utm_campaign=poemaday_021714&utm_medium=email.

Paul Hoover (b. 1946) is a teacher at San Francisco State University.  He has published over twelve collections of poetry, including numerous translations.  He is the recipient of many awards and honors, including the PEN/USA Translation Award,  and a fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts.  Additional biographical information may be found here:  http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/paul-hoover.

The poem is arranged in thirty-two lines of free verse divided into ten irregular stanzas.  The poem begins with a reference to "they," presumably not the poet or the reader.  The second and third stanzas refer to "we," presumably the poet and those readers perceptive enough to follow the poet's train of thought.

In the fourth stanza, the speaker appears to lose his train of thought.  Instead of continuing the intellectual conceit of the previous stanzas, he engages in a playful word association game.

The fifth and sixth stanzas at first appear to be continuing the playfulness of the fourth.  However, the words may be a warning about the federal government's infringements upon free speech and the use of drones to spy on the citizenry.

The seventh, eighth, and ninth stanzas return to the playfulness of the fourth, perhaps in a effort to bury the dangerous message of the fifth and sixth stanzas.  However, the final couplet may refer to the members of the liberal media who "walk the walk" and "talk the talk" of the fascist federal government, "blackening the day with news."

New Poem: "Qanisqineq"

"Qanisqineq" is the latest additional to my Snowetry collection.  "Qanisqineq" is the Inuit word for "fallen snow floating on water."  I find it fascinating that there is a single word for that.  As I contemplated the word, a mostly pastoral poem resulted, really five mini-poems, as each stanza turned out to be a 5-7-5 haiku.  One stanza waxes scientific as it comments on the state of chemical equilibrium between snow and water that must occur with qanisqineq.

Review of "Preparation" by Effie Waller Smith

"Preparation" by Effie Waller Smith was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 16, 2014.  A link to the poem may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23878?utm_source=PAD%3A+Preparation+by+Effie+Waller+Smith&utm_campaign=poemaday_021614&utm_medium=email.

Effie Waller Smith (1879 - 1960) (pictured) was the daughter of former African American slaves.  She attended Kentucky State Normal School for Colored Persons and published three volumes of poems.  Additional biographical information may be found here:  https://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/appalachian_heritage/v036/36.3.engelhardt.html.

The moral lesson of "Preparation" is expressed simply, perhaps starkly, in rhyming iambic pentameter.  Those not born to lives of leisure, and perhaps even those, prepare all their lives for what they really want to do, only to find that their lives are too soon over and not well-lived.

Review of "Thoughts" by Walt Whitman

"Thoughts" by Walt Whitman was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 15, 2014.  A link to the poem may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23703.

Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892) (pictured) is widely considered to be one of America's most important poets.  Songs of Eretz has done reviews of and made reference to his extraordinary body of work on many occasions; and, as previously announced, I am presently enjoying an edX MOOC on Whitman.  A brief biography of his interesting life and career may be found here:

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/126?utm_source=PAD%3A+To+You+by+Walt+Whitman&utm_campaign=poemaday_122513&utm_medium=email

"Thoughts" is divided into seven numbered parts.  Long lines of free verse are employed, typical of this poet.

In part 1, Whitman muses about the outward appearances of his fellow beings, not only how they appear on the surface but how they are underneath.  Whitman concludes that there is beauty even in ugliness; that the famous and unknown are equally to be valued; and that ultimately, anyone is capable of being as wise a a judge or as vile as a criminal--even the President.  Whitman uses anaphora to drive home these points.

In part 2, Whitman experiences what I like to call a fourth dimensional moment.  He ponders the byways and ecosystems of the earth and finds that life moves ever forward and will continue to do so.

In part 3, Whitman derides people who are full of themselves over their own good fortune, wealth, or education.  Far from being superior to their less fortunate fellows, Whitman sees these elitists as vile, "full of the rotten excrement of maggots."

In part 4, Whitman comments on ownership, equality, and justice.  Here we see Whitman the Herald of Democracy as he praises Natural Law and equality of opportunity (not of outcome).

In part 5, Whitman recalls the tragic sinking of the SS Arctic (pictured), an event which shocked and captured the imagination of the nation in 1854.  About 350 souls were thought to have perished at sea--an appalling number for that time.  Worse, with the exception of the brave and heroic Captain Luce, the crew acted despicably in the emergency, saving themselves and allowing almost every passenger, including every woman and child, to perish.  Additional information about the fate of the SS Arctic may be found here:  http://history1800s.about.com/od/steamships/a/wreckofarctic.htm.

In part 6, Whitman engages in his typical braggadocio, boasting that his poetry will outlast nations, heroes, and even history itself.  History may be written, rewritten, or even lost, but Whitman believes he will endure.

In part 7, Whitman acts as an impartial observer of the behavior of the masses.  The masses, he observes, follow and put their faith in leaders who do not value them as men.  Sadly, this tendency has not changed.

New Poem: "Winter Breath"

"Winter Breath" is the latest addition to my Snowetry collection.  I was doing some research into snow and came across a fascinating article about how snowflakes are formed.  The article described the water cycle and mentioned that even the water vapor from our own exhalations enters the cycle.  This caused me to think about how romantic it would be were the breath from my body to turn into snow.

Review of "Love's Philosophy" by Percy Bysshe Shelley

"Love's Philosophy" by Percy Bysshe Shelley was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on Valentine's Day 2014.  A link to the poem may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19399.

Percy Bysshe Shelley (pictured) was born in 1792 and died in a tragic boating accident in 1822, just shy of his thirtieth birthday.  He began writing poetry at Eton College at the age of sixteen.  In the remaining years of his short life, he produced an immense volume of work.  Additional biographical information may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/179?utm_source=PAD%3A+Love%27s+Philosophy+by+Percy+Bysshe+Shelley&utm_campaign=poemaday_021414&utm_medium=email.

"Love's Philosophy" is a ballad presented in two octets rather than four quatrains.  Its rhythm is iambic tetrameter with a deliberate absence of the final foot every fourth line--a common poetic technique used as a cesura and for emphasis.  Both octets have the same rather obvious romantic message.

"Plan Bee" Receives an Honorable Mention

My 1,300-word flash piece, "Plan Bee," placed 5th in the February 2014 Spinetinglers Contest.  An honorarium of 25 British Pounds and publication on the Spinetinglers website are awarded.  The story may be read here:   http://spinetinglers.co.uk/ReadStory4226.aspx.

Story Summary:  Mr. Apibus has his revenge when a home owners' association denies his request to keep bees on his newly purchased property.  While partially based on true events, the story is a work of fiction--vengeful, spiteful fiction.

New Poem: "Of Ferns and Frost"

"Of Ferns and Frost" is the latest addition to my Snowetry collection.  I found myself thinking about the beautiful, feathery pattern that frost makes on a windowpane.  This caused me to think of ferns and then of ferning.  "Ferning" is the feathery pattern that dried amniotic fluid makes, when viewed under a microscope.  Checking for ferning is used to determine whether or not rupture of the membranes of pregnancy has occurred.  I see the hand of God in this feathery pattern that is found in animals, plants, and inorganic ice crystals.

Review of "a woman peeling apples, with a small child" by Pattie McCarthy

"a woman peeling apples, with a small child" by Pattie McCarthy was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 13, 2014.  A link to the poem, including the poet's notes, may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23863?utm_source=PAD%3A+a+woman+peeling+apples+with+a+small+child+by+Pattie+McCarthy&utm_campaign=poemaday_021314&utm_medium=email.

Pattie McCarthy teaches at Temple University.  She is the author of four books of poems.  Additional biographical information may be found here:  http://www.apogeepress.com/authors_mccarthy.html.

This ekphrastic poem refers to and appears to be inspired by the domestic genre paintings of the relatively obscure Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer (1632 - 1675), specifically by a Vermeer painting of the same title as the poem (pictured).  Extensive information about this contemporary of Rembrandt may be found here:  http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/verm/hd_verm.htm and here:  https://www.artsy.net/artist/johannes-vermeer.

The poem takes the form of a slice (or perhaps a peel) of domestic life.  There is definite rhythm to the first stanza, as though timed to the peeling of an apple.  The extra spaces inserted within the lines may represent the pauses between acts of peeling.

Review of "My Childhood Home I See Again" by Abraham Lincoln

"My Childhood Home I See Again" by Abraham Lincoln was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 12, 2014, the 205th anniversary of his birth.  A link to this poem with further links to others by the same poet may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23102?utm_source=PAD%3A+My+Childhood+Home+I+See+Again+by+Abraham+Lincoln&utm_campaign=poemaday_021214&utm_medium=email.

The poet Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865) is best known for his work as the sixteenth President of the United States.  Lincoln wrote most of his serious poetry in 1846, but began reading poetry at an early age and writing poetry in his teens.  His last documented poem was written in 1863 just after the Battle of Gettysburg.  Additional information on Lincoln the poet may be found here:  http://www.poemhunter.com/abraham-lincoln/biography/.

In 1844, Lincoln travelled to Indiana in an effort to help Henry Clay carry the state in the presidential election.  Lincoln made a side trip to visit his childhood home and was inspired to compose the poem.  The poem is in the form of a traditional ballad and is straightforward enough.

Review of "Auld Lang Syne" by Jennifer L. Knox

"Auld Lang Syne" by Jennifer L. Knox was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 11, 2014.  A link to the poem, including the poet's notes, may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23862?utm_source=PAD%3A+Auld+Lang+Syne+by+Jennifer+L.+Knox&utm_campaign=poemaday_021114&utm_medium=email.

Jennifer L. Knox has taught poetry and writing at Hunter College and New York University.  She has three published books of poetry to her name.  Additional information about her may be found here:  http://www.jenniferlknox.com/bio.html.

"Auld Lang Syne" is a poignant prose poem about the poet's father.  Her father suffered from Parkinson's Disease.  Parkinson's can sometimes cause dementia and is often associated with depression.  Her father's mood improved with antidepressant therapy, but his memory remained impaired.  The style of the poem is reminiscent of Gertrude Stein's.

Short Story Showcase Discontinued

Dear Friends of Eretz,

I have decided to discontinue the Short Story Showcase in order to concentrate exclusively on poetry.  I wish a heartfelt thanks to all of you who participated in and enjoyed the feature.

My short stories are still available for individual sale ($1 for flash pieces, $3 for regular length short stories).  Interested parties should contact me directly via email at SWGordonMD@gmail.com.

Kind regards,

Steven Wittenberg Gordon, MD
Editor

Review of "Chorus of the Mothers-Griot" by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

"Chorus of the Mothers-Griot" by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 10, 2014.  A link to the poem, including the poet's notes, may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23861.

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (b. 1967) is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Oklahoma.  She has three published books of poetry to her name.  Additional biographical information may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/439?utm_source=PAD%3A+Chorus+of+the+Mothers-Griot+by+Honorée+Fanonne+Jeffers&utm_campaign=poemaday_021014&utm_medium=email.

The poem is dedicated to Phillis Wheatley (c. 1753 - 1784), the first African American woman to publish a book of poetry.  Additional biographical information about her may be found here:  http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/phillis-wheatley.  One of her more famous poems was reviewed in Songs of Eretz on September 15, 2013 http://eretzsongs.blogspot.com/search?q=Phillis+Wheatley.

"Chorus" was inspired by the accomplished poet Lucille Clifton (1936 - 2010).  Biographical information about this poet may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/79.

Jeffers reveals in her notes that a "griot" (pictured) is a sort of West African bard.  The poem represents "encapsulated bits of language"that female black slave speakers might recall from their original African culture.  The bracketing of the lines may indicated that each line is a separate woman's voice.

The poem is arranged as and possibly works as a triptych.  It also is arranged as five separately titled smaller poems.  Read in its entirety, the poem seems disjointed.  Perhaps this is deliberate, meant to represent that only disparate fragments of the lost African culture remain.

Review of "Poetry" by Amy Lowell

"Poetry" by Amy Lowell was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 9, 2014, the 140th anniversary of her birth.  A link to the poem may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23860.

Amy Lowell (1874 - 1925) was an outspoken proponent of the Imagist Movement which was founded by Ezra Pound.  She believed that poetry should be "hard and clear, never blurred nor indefinite."  She was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize the year she died for her collection What's A Clock.  Additional biographical information may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/435?utm_source=PAD%3A+Poetry+by+Amy+Lowell&utm_campaign=poemaday_020914&utm_medium=email.

Lowell's poetry was influenced by Keats as well as Chinese and Japanese forms.  These influences are obvious in "Poetry."  The poem has sixteen syllables, nearly the same number as an haiku, and forms an immediate, crisp image.

New Poem: "Eskimo Pies"

"Eskimo Pies" is the latest addition to my Snowetry collection.  The Algonquians used to call the Inuit "Eskimos," a derogatory term which means "eaters of raw flesh."  I wonder if the makers of Eskimo Pies are aware?

Review of "Looking Back in My Eighty-First Year" by Maxine Kumin

"Looking Back in My Eighty-First Year" by Maxine Kumin was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 8, 2014.  A link to the poem may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/20085.

Maxine Kumin (pictured, photo by Sara Barrett) was born in 1925 and died two days ago.  She published numerous books of poetry, including Poems of New England for which she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1973.  She served as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, a position that later became Poet Laureate of the United States.  She also served as the Poet Laureate of New Hampshire, and as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.  Additional biographical information may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/94?utm_source=PAD%3A+Looking+Back+in+My+Eighty-First+Year+by+Maxine+Kumin&utm_campaign=poemaday_020814&utm_medium=email.

The poem opens with a quote by writer and novelist Hilma Wolitzer, known affectionately as "The Great Middle-Aged Hope."  Additional information about Mrs. Wolitzer may be found here:  http://www.hilmawolitzer.com.

The second stanza refers to the University of Grenoble, an institution of higher learning in France.  Additional information about the university may be found here:  http://www.grenoble-univ.fr/76867170/1/fiche___pagelibre/&RH=GUGIP&RF=GUGIPEN.  Further reference is made to Stendhal, pseudonym for the French author Marie-henri Beyle (1783 - 1842), and to his unfinished autobiographical work, Lucien Leuwen, published posthumously in 1894.  Additional information about Stendhal may be found here:  http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/565258/Stendhal.  Additional information about Lucien Leuwen may be found here:  http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/350590/Lucien-Leuwen.

The third stanza refers to the Cunard White Star, a British luxury cruise service.  Additional information may be found here:  http://www.cunard.com/cruise-ships/cunard-experience/white-star-service/.

On the surface, the poem is about a long life well lived but not without a tiny regret.  The poet wonders if she had taken that once-in-a-lifetime trip, would she still have married the man with whom she spent sixty happy years?  Her husband said he would have waited for her, but the truth is one never knows.

I too married relatively young and never did (and never will do) certain things in my life that I otherwise would have done.  I have no regrets.  Sometimes, love cannot wait. The real take home message of "Looking Back" is not how much the poet regrets never having taken that trip.  The real message is about how sad she might have been had she taken that trip and, by doing so, lost her true love--now THAT would be something to regret.

New Poem: "fire from ice"

As I was doing some research for my "Snowetry" collection, I came upon an illustration of an ice lens (pictured).  This cleverly fashioned piece of ice may be used to start a fire in the same way that a magnifying glass may be employed.  A haiku-like poem resulted.

New Poem: "That Snow Lie"

"That Snow Lie," another "snowetry" poem, explores literal and some of the figurative meanings of "snow."  It is a sonnet consisting of seven rhyming couplets.

Review of "Onomatomania" by Thomas Lux

"Onomatomania" by Thomas Lux was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 7, 2014.  A link to the poem, including the poet's notes, may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23856.

Thomas Lux (b. 1946) is the Bourne Professor of Poetry and Director of the McEver Visiting Writers Program and the Poetry at Tech Program at the Georgia Institute of Technology.  He has numerous published books of poetry to his name and has received many prestigious grants and fellowships.  Additional biographical information may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/115?utm_source=PAD%3A+Onomatomania+by+Thomas+Lux&utm_campaign=poemaday_020714&utm_medium=email.

The poem is presented in twenty-seven lines (including the title) of irregular free verse.  The poem begins by defining "onomatomania" as "the word for the inability to find the right word."  However, Wordsmith.org's A.Word.A.Day defines it as "an obsession with particular words or names and desire to recall or repeat them" http://wordsmith.org/words/onomatomania.html.  After providing this questionable definition, the speaker, presumably the poet, goes on to "self diagnose" himself as an "onomatomaniac."  Further down, the poet proves that he is at least a "maniac" when he equates Mahatma Gandhi with Joseph Goebbels.  After that, I must confess, I stopped reading in disgust.

Review of "White Days" by Priscilla Becker

"White Days" by Priscilla Becker was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 6, 2014.  A link to the poem, including the poet's notes, may be found here:

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23855?utm_source=PAD%3A+White+Days+by+Priscilla+Becker&utm_campaign=poemaday_020614&utm_medium=email

Priscilla Becker teaches poetry at the Pratt Institute and Columbia University.  Her poems have been published in many prestigious journals, and she has three published poetry collections to her name.  Additional information about Becker may be found here:  http://priscillabecker.wordpress.com.

Herman Melville believed that there was a special horror associated with whiteness--hence his choice of color for his demon whale.  Becker captures some of this feeling in her poem, but also embraces the feeling as something that reminds one that one is alive.

Review of "The Life So Short…" by Eamon Grennan

"The Life So Short…" by Eamon Grennan was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 5, 2014.  A link to the poem, including the poet's notes, may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23853.

Eamon Grennan (b. 1941) is a Dublin native and Irish citizen living in Poughkeepsie, New York.  He taught at Vassar College until his retirement.  He has numerous poetry collections to his name and is the recipient of many prestigious awards.  Additional biographical information may be found here:

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/824?utm_source=PAD%3A+The+Life+So+Short...+by+Eamon+Grennan&utm_campaign=poemaday_020514&utm_medium=email

The poet reveals in his notes that the poem is based on his observations of wildlife during a walk in Connemara in the west of Ireland.  He introduced the kite into his poem, in parallel to its real-life reintroduction into Ireland in 2007, in order to add a little edge to the otherwise peaceful, pastoral scene he was painting.

Essay: "Whitman's Use of Apostrophe"

Editor's Note:  This essay was submitted in fulfillment of the "open discussion" requirement for week 1 of the edX MOOC Poetry in American:  Whitman offered by Harvard University.  The following poems were studied:

"To a Stranger" http://www.bartleby.com/142/52.html
"Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/20006
"Song of the Broad-Axe" Sections 9 - 12 http://www.bartleby.com/142/81.html

Whitman's Use of Apostrophe

Whitman’s poems contain seemingly contradictory possibilities.  Strangers are intimate acquaintances.  Being part of a crowd results in meaningful chance encounters.  Noisy, busy activities create a shared experience.  Anonymity creates a sense of solidarity and fellowship.  Whitman’s use apostrophe allows him to combine these otherwise disparate elements. 

The use of direct address makes the reader, the crowd, and even the entire world part of Whitman’s conversation.  For example, “To a Stranger” begins by directly addressing a “passing stranger” in a crowd.  Once directly addressed, the stranger becomes more of an acquaintance, the setting more of a shared experience.  Yet, the stranger is still a stranger and part of the crowd, representative of all strangers.  The same phenomenon occurs when Whitman directly addresses “crowds of men and women” in “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry.”  The crowds are anonymous, yet when directly addressed in this way become part of a shared experience.  A sense of fellowship is created.  Section 9 of “Song of the Broad-Axe” opens with bold apostrophe:  “America!  I do not vaunt my love for you; I have what I have.”  Here, Whitman addresses America directly and, in doing so, addresses every American directly.  His love is given to America and to each American at once.

Review of "The Whole World Is Gone" by Jennifer Grotz

"The Whole World Is Gone" by Jennifer Grotz was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 4, 2014.  A link to the poem, including the poet's notes, may be found here:

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23852?utm_source=PAD%3A+The+Whole+World+Is+Gone+by+Jennifer+Grotz&utm_campaign=poemaday_020414&utm_medium=email

Jennifer Grotz, MA, MFA, PhD (b. 1971) teaches creative writing at the University of Rochester and the Warren Wilson College MFA Program.  She also serves as the Assistant Director of the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference.  She has two published collections of poetry to her name.  Additional biographical information may be found here:  http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/jennifer-grotz.

The poem is presented in seventeen lines of ragged free verse.  The first several lines appear to contain four irregular feet per line, but then the rhythm itself becomes irregular.

The first eleven lines vividly describe the sensation, or lack thereof, that one perceives when driving at night through an unlit countryside.  The remaining lines evoke a lover and speak to the residual sensual feelings that exist in his absence, using the prior lines as metaphor.  The final line reveals that this is a sensation that the speaker, presumably the poet, enjoys and even seeks.

Review of "Imagine" by Kamilah Aisha Moon

"Imagine" by Kamilah Aisha Moon was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 3, 2014.  A link to the poem, including the poet's notes, may be found here:

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23851?utm_source=PAD%3A+Imagine+by+Kamilah+Aisha+Moon&utm_campaign=poemaday_020314&utm_medium=email

Kamilah Aisha Moon's poetry has been published in many distinguished journals.  She once held teaching positions at Medgar Evers College--CUNY, Drew University, and Adelphi University.  Additional biographical information may be found here:  http://www.kamilahaishamoon.org/bio.php.

The poem begins with a quote from W. S. Merwin.  William Stanley Merwin (b. 1927) (pictured) is an American poet, prose writer, dramatist, and prolific translator of poetry.  A practicing Buddhist, he lives on a pineapple plantation in Hawaii that he has painstakingly restored to its natural state.  A central theme of his poetry is the danger of mankind's separation from and lack of empathy with nature.  Additional biographical information about Merwin may be found here:  http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/w-s-merwin.

"Imagine" is about the death of a little "brown" girl and how her death puts a chill over the Christmas celebration of her surviving family.  More importantly, as the final stanza reveals, the poem is about the lack of empathy or even sympathy of the world at large over the death of the little girl.  The poet seems to be saying that race is a factor in the world's ambivalence.

Snow is used in this poem in several interesting ways.  Its use weaves coldness throughout the poem--literally as in winter snow, and figuratively as in coldness toward the death of the child as well as the chill casting a pall on the Christmas celebration.  Snow is also used as a kind of whitewash which makes the snow covered wealthy sections of town appear the same as the poor sections after a blizzard--a racial metaphor may be in play here as well.

New Poem: "Pingo"

As the winter weather here in Kansas has grown to resemble more and more the winter weather I remember from when I was a boy in upstate New York, I have been thinking more and more about cold and ice and snow.  I may even write a series of poems upon the subject--snowetry if you will.

I decided to do a little research into the various words for snow that the Inuit use.  In doing so, I came upon the word "pingo."  What an interesting thing a pingo is!  It's a kind of like a volcano, only with a core of ice instead of magma.

"Pingo" is a rhyming sonnet in the shape and color of a pingo--green on the outside, white and icy in the core, and with a clear blue crater lake on top.  The word-painting aspects were fun.

Review of "The Bee" by James Dickey

"The Bee" by James Dickey was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 2, 2014, the anniversary of the poet's birth.  A link to the poem may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23859.

James Dickey (1923 - 1997) (pictured) was a writer, guitar player, athlete, war hero, hunter, and woodsman, perhaps best known for his novel, Deliverance (1970), which was made into a major motion picture.  However, it was his role as a poet that was personally the most important to him.  He served as the Poetry Consultant to the Library of Congress from 1966 - 1968, a post that later became the office of the Poet Laureate of the United States.  He read at President Jimmy Carter's inauguration in 1977.  Additional biographical information may be found here:

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/363?utm_source=PAD%3A+The+Bee+by+James+Dickey&utm_campaign=poemaday_020214&utm_medium=email

"The Bee" is dedicated "to the football coaches of Clemson College, 1942."  Dickey played varsity football at Clemson College, but left prior to graduating in favor of enlisting in the Army Air Corps in 1942.  Also in that year, Frank Howard Field at Clemson Memorial Stadium (pictured) was dedicated http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Stadium,_Clemson. 

The "son" in the poem refers to one James Dickey's own sons, Kevin, and the poem was inspired by an actual incident that happened when Kevin was six years old.  In a presentation at Clemson College in 2004 http://www.clemson.edu/cedp/cudp/scr/articles/scr_37-2_dickey_poet_persp.pdf, Kevin Dickey revealed that a bee came out of the woods, scared him, and that he reacted by running into a street where, were it not for the quick reflexes of his father, a truck would have hit and probably killed him.

The poem is about the superhuman powers that fathers possess in the minds of their young children.  It is also about the expectations that coaches have for their charges and the disappoint experienced by both parties when those expectations are not or cannot be met.  Also present is the concept of sports as a metaphor for life.

Review of "In Louisiana" by Albert Bigelow Paine

"In Louisiana" by Albert Bigelow Paine was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 1, 2014.  A link to the poem may be found here:

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16520?utm_source=PAD%3A+In+Louisiana+by+Albert+Bigelow+Paine&utm_campaign=poemaday_020114&utm_medium=email

Albert Bigelow Paine (1861 - 1937) is best known as the author of the authorized biography of Mark Twain.  He spent most of his life in Europe.  The French government was so impressed with his work that he was awarded the title of Chevalier in the Legion d'honneur.  Additional biographical information may be found here:  http://www.poemhunter.com/albert-bigelow-paine/biography/.

"In Louisiana" is a ballad in iambic tetrameter comprised of three quatrains with an abba cddc effe rhyme scheme.  Having lived in Louisiana for about half a year in 1995, I can personally attest that the moss and swamps there at that time still met the description given by this poem, which was published almost 100 years earlier.