by phillipw | Apr 8, 2020 | GR, PO
Primal ………. “As early as 500 BC, if we credit the images on Greek pottery, Homer and other poets were being read, not merely performed, by individuals.” ~ Michael Schmidt, The First Poets,7 When poetry existed in the mind And air and...
by phillipw | Mar 22, 2020 | DE, LI, PO
Éminences Grises The lines go on and on, so distant that They seem much farther from their readership Than Beacon Hill is from Medicine Hat. Such writing comes about through leadership Of theoretic minds as cool as crabs In Arctic zones. A Wallace Stevens,...
by phillipw | Mar 21, 2020 | MU, PO
Cacti and Porcupines “fixing emblazoned zones and fiery poles” ~ Wallace Stevens in “The Idea of Order at Key West” If I composed in music, I would fix Its tones like amber set on fire and launch The rhythms into space. The notes would mix With flames at...
by phillipw | Mar 21, 2020 | AN, GR, PO, SA
Seance from Vellum “When we listen to the verse phrases and whole poems that have made that hard journey through time, space and language, … we are enthralled as much by what we cannot know as by what we hear.” ~ Michael Schmidt, The First Poets We read...
by phillipw | Mar 17, 2020 | AE, BE, PO
An Absolute Poem “Its evocation will not be toward decoration or amusement, but rather toward a state of consciousness, an ‘innocence’ (Blake) or absolute beauty.” ~ Hart Crane, “Aims and Purposes” We dream of promenading streets of gold, A gold so perfect...
by phillipw | Mar 17, 2020 | AE, BE, ES, PO
Glory, not the Mundane Why let the facts invade the realm of beauty? The truth is not the point, or rather Truth Is sovereign. It is the poet’s duty To cut through ugliness to regal youth And highest glories, not to serve glib facts. The loveliness of lively...
