The Reckoning

That I became a poet at all remains a big surprise to me. Poetry to me was a silly thing--especially as a lifelong pursuit. What poetry I had written in college, as a drunken student, was dark and foul stuff. The kind that took itself way too seriously, that tried way too hard to be "deep" and meaningful, to get at the dark soul of life.

Looking back now what surprises me most is that I have so many poems to my name and that they come in so many styles, voices, and topics.

I never had any intention of ever becoming a poet at all. Playwright, yes, screenwriter, too, maybe one day a novelist, but never a poet.

It all started out so innocently. I had some musicals I wanted to write, but who would write the songs? My one effort at collaboration had been woesomely inadequate.

"What about me?" I asked myself. "Perhaps I could be the one to put the rhyming words down, and perhaps even one day to apply the music to them." That's how I started writing lyrics.

Attending an open mic with hopes of kicking off my songwriting career, I hated so much when the M.C. introduced me as a "poet". I informed the audience--which included musicians--that what I was reading to them were "pre-songs". Maybe one of them would see the great wisdom in providing the music.

The M.C. laughed with seemingly everyone else at my goldfish song ditty. He said I might have future in radio advertising. But he also said my longer piece sounded like it should be a poem. God how I hated to hear him say it; me a potential songwriter, not a poet.

But his gnawing guidance sent me off on a poetry-writing tear. First narrative poems, the long ones that tell a story. Then sonnets on a variety of topics. They appealed to my more intellectual, philosophical, try-to-make-a-point-stick mentality. Then quatrains on life and love and wheels et cetera.

I even took a detour into what I call beat poems; "street beat", that is, what some would call "slam". That opened up political rants--politics being something I'd been trying to keep out of my art.

I'd like to think I innovated two types of poetry, the sentence poem and the word poem. I've yet to be contradicted on this point, but expect to be someday soon.

All in all I've now written something on the order of 500 poems. And all of it a surprise.

I Wonder If They Heard Me

I walked by the Embassy of Sierra Leone today near Dupont Circle and they had workers all over the place painting window trim et cetera. Maybe somebody read them my rant. Seems likely, Google being what it is these days.

Vinyl Records for Sale

All in VG condition or better (as marked). From early '60s unless otherwise noted.

Classical
BEETHOVEN, Symphony No. 9 "Choral"; Vox Productions, Inc. (in wrapper).
BEETHOVEN, Symphony No. 3 in E Flat Major, Op. 55 ("Eroica"), Josef Krips and the London Symphony Orchestra; Everest Records, © 1960.
BEETHOVEN, Symphony No. 5, Overture King Stephen; Otto Klemperer, Philharmonia Orchestra; Angel Records, © 1960.
Trumpet Concertos, various including Mozart and Vivaldi; Philips 'World Series'.
BEETHOVEN, Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral"; Monteux/Vienna Philharmonic; RCA, © 1964.
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, Scheherazade, Mario Rossi conducting The Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera; Vanguard Everyman Classics.
WAGNER: The Ring, Orchestral Highlights; Munich State Opera Orchestra, Franz Konwitschny, Conductor; Volume One; Connoisseur Record Corporation.
MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR, "Joy to the World"; Columbia Records.
--Plus others.


Opera
JOAN SUTHERLAND, French Opera Gala, London Records, Inc., two volumes with book.
JOAN SUTHERLAND, The Golden Age of Operetta, New Philharmonia, conducted by Richard Bonynge; London Records, Inc., two volumes with book.
MARIA CALLAS, Sings Great Arias from French Operas; Angel.
BEVERLY SILLS, four different albums.

Miscellaneous
ZERO MOSTEL reads "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" by Dr. Seuss; Random House, Inc., © 1975 (never opened).
BARBRA STREISAND, "My Name Is Barbra, Two . . ."; Columbia Records.
"A Time to Keep: 1963 -- Voices and Events of the Year", narration by Chet Huntley and David Brinkley; an NBC News production.
ROBERT FRANCIS KENNEDY: A Memorial; Columbia Records, two-record set.
JUDY GARLAND, "Judy at Carnegie Hall" (Judy in Person), recorded live and complete at Carnegie Hall, Sunday, April 23, 1961; Capitol Records, two-record set.
JUDY GARLAND, "Judy at Carnegie Hall" (Judy in Person), recorded live and complete at Carnegie Hall, Sunday, April 23, 1961; Capitol Records, two-record set. (two copies)

Please contact for more information or to make offer.

For valuations see here.

The Best Thing I Ever Did . .

. . was to write a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that redesigned the executive and legislative branches, along with the related electoral processes, to get us fully into this modern world we supposedly lead. We won't lead it for long if we don't revamp our system. I'd had a redesign in mind since I majored in comparative politics at Georgetown University. Working for many years as a management consultant, with an M.B.A. from the same school tossed in, gave me the impetus to get it done.

My Last Poem

While writing Bellerophon, I thought it might be my very last poem. I got a couple of verses in and it just sat there; no driving force to carry it through. I didn't really think my poetry career was over. Not for good anyway. I'd been at this point before, only to find more ideas flowing from somewhere (God knows where, I should say). As it is I add Bellerophon to my Greek Mythology poems, which have recently hit the d.m.o.z. "open directory project", meaning they're all over the internet. That might be reason enough to keep attacking my list of other ideas I got from reading Robert Graves' The Greek Myths, a thoroughly classic tome.

I got a couple of Greek myth quatrains, too, e.g., A Bronze Statue of Hercules and Selene Loves Endymion, for example.

The Real Story Here

1. Logistically: the rescue effort was lost before it began. The people of New Orleans, who have knowingly lived under sea level protected only by levees since the 1700s, needed information on what to do in a flood emergency, they needed emergency equipment on hand, they needed stores of food and water, and they needed to be drilled regularly to make sure everyone knew what to do and had on hand what was needed to survive. None of this was done.
   
2. Racially: the black mayor who left the poorest of his people exposed to the ravages of flood, then blamed it on the white man.
   
3. Liberally: the female governor who did nothing to save anyone.  She's in the vanguard of numerous such public officials picked for critical positions because of their claim to victimhood, not because they can get anything done, meaning more will die across the country when crisis hits.
   
4. Catastrophically: while all eyes are on the almost biblical destruction of a major darling city, Alabama and Mississippi, who've also suffered an enormous, unprecedented blow, go largely unnoticed.
   
5. Futuristically: W. will be known as "The Man Who Rebuilt New Orleans". End of story.
   
6. Technologically: in the rush to rebuild New Orleans, all emphasis will be on a whiz-bang, high-tech, show-off levee system, which cannot be made 100% fail-safe, while the low-tech, retro-tech, informational, emergency equipment, safety pack, regularly-drilled people stuff needed to keep the masses from harm will be ignored (again).

To Fix Georgetown:

Make Wisconsin pedestrian-only (as in no cars) from "R" street down to "K". Run two free trolley cars that entire length, one climbing when the other descends. Make "M" street pedestrian-only from Key Bridge to 28th street (where Pennsylvania Avenue starts). Run two free trolley cars that entire length, also, one going west when the other heads east. Lay some nice material down on the streets for foot-traffic, maybe looking like the old cobble stones, deciding whether to go with horse-drawn vehicles only or to make it comfortable for bikers, roller bladers, skateboarders, Segway riders, etc. THAT would make a destination. Hollywood (and the world) would want to make movies there. It would be the best neighborhood sight in D.C.

My solution to the Iraqi Mess . .

. . has one teensy, weensy problem: it could trigger World War III. But as the continued military skirmishes there hold the very real risk of bringing the whole world in anyway, a daring solution may be required. I say . .

1. send in 150,000 Russian soldiers;
2. 150,000 Chinese soldiers;
3. 150,000 Indian soldiers; and
4. maintain U.S. troop levels at 50-80,000.

The U.S. would pay for them; at much lower rates than for Yankees. Russia can't support its army as it is. The other two could use the hard currency. This gets the troop levels up to what's needed to keep things stable--as agreed by numerous experts, and argued before the invasion. And everybody knows you don't mess with the Russians, the Chinese, or the Indians. If you do you get what's coming to you and much more. Americans are boy scouts in comparison.  Russian and China might be able to send a number of Moslem troops, if this would help (and if they would go).  The Russians had oil industry contracts with Iraq before the war; they know how to get oil flowing. They are a major oil power themselves. The Chinese and the Indians desperately need the oil. In fact, their energy demands likely contributed to the decision to invade. Let the three of them work it out, with the U.S. forces there to see that they don't take each other out. There's the rub. They've had antagonistic relations over the years, and nobody wants to see them in a position of world power. With world stability on the line perhaps it's time. We need them. They need the oil. It's the only way out of this mess.

Lancing the Boil

As I drifted in-and-out of sleep this morning, I thought of my bandaged thumb as my set of "Choose Life" poetry I recently published at my site. The night before I'd taken the advice of several folk, mostly women, who determined collectively that I had an infection right where the nail passes under the skin. The whole thumb was getting angrily red, and a white spot was forming. I planned to operate. Heading to CVS I bought a needle, which I burned to disinfect. I bought some Neosporin, the pain-killing kind. I bought some "finger bandages", waterproof. I was ready to lance the boil. Thinking so much more in allegory, metaphor, and analogy now that I'm a poet (of sorts), my mind couldn't help draw the connection--especially in the semi-conscious state of early-morning slumber. Writing so much poetry on so many topics over the past few years has let the bad stuff out and given my body chance to heal. The thumb, and whole hand, are much better this morning. I lanced the boil.

What the Democrats Need in 2008

1. A Karl Rove. No more skirts who lose. No more glorified secretaries who leave $14 million unspent. A seriously competitive Rasputin to go up against the best the other side has to offer. Like Politically incorrect James Carville. A white Southern male who talked funny. They won twice with him running the war room. You can promote diversity all you want to, but you have to win the White House first.
   
   
2. The right words on abortion. Take what Hillary says on the topic and bottle it. Or ask her husband. The South, the Midwest, most of this country saw Kerry and Edwards as a bunch of baby killers. Get real on abortion. Square up with the country on this point or lose again (and possibly forever).
   
   
3. A state strategy. Select candidates with a regional base and a message designed to go after 3-4 new states, while keeping the states traditionally won by Democrats (including those that got away).  One or two net states added to your column and you win (judging by the last two elections). Going for a couple extra plays it safe.

One state strategy would aim at extending the blue streak down from the Northeast into Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina (being sure to fight like hell for Ohio and Pennsylvania). This could be aided and abetted by Mark Warner, governor of Virginia, John Edwards, vice-presidential candidate last time out, and maybe even Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia.  An Hispanic strategy designed to grab Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and Colorado (perhaps getting Florida in the bargain with Jeb off the scene) might hinge on governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico (half Hispanic).

A Mississippi strategy would focus on the states all up and down America's fulcrum river. This would likely be the best long-term strategy, and a way of becoming a truly national party again, but who the candidates would be is hard to say.  Maybe one from up north, the other from down south. The blue counties along the Mississippi, Democratic support split by the river-as-state-border, indicates the potential for a regional strategy.  The northern states generally go blue.  Some that should did not by a very slim margin.  Some of the southern states, like Louisiana, can be considered "in play" (with out without Katrina).  Clinton-Gore showed it could work coming as they did from states bordering the Mississippi.  Truman was from Missouri.

Move the operational capital of the U.S. to St. Louis (the population center of the country) and Missouri goes Democratic forever.  A move like this, argued for years for convenience reasons, might become a necessary element of reducing government expenditures and increasing security.

(a "cartogram" of 2004 election data proportional to county population size, as provided--and explained a whole lot better--by these guys)

"Choose Life"

In honor of the Supreme Court selections ongoing, I've put all of my Choose Life poetry in one section and published it at my site. Some might call this verse "pro-life" (too political), or "anti-abortion" (we have another word for that). Whatever you call it, it says "Please stop the killing!" over and over again.

"Living In New Orleans"

"City of New Orleans" by Steve Goodman
"Down in New Orleans" by John Kay
"Planet of New Orleans" by Dire Straits
"Battle of New Orleans" by Jimmy Driftwood
"Queen of New Orleans" by John Bon Jovi
"Walking to New Orleans" by Fats Domino
"Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" by Eddie DeLange, Loise Alter
"House of the Rising Sun" (traditional)
"I Wish I Was in New Orleans" by Tom Waits
"New Orleans Rag" by Bob Dylan
"Year Down in New Orleans" by Nanci Griffith
"I Got a Man in New Orleans" by Josephine Parker
"New Orleans" sung by Toby Keith
"Living in New Orleans" by Michael J. Farrand

The Sentence Poem

What drove me to start writing "sentence poems" I can't really say; nor can I say which was my first one. I only started including dates with my poems sometime in 2003, so I'd have to consult my notebooks. It likely extended from my move into freer verse, or what I call "beat" poetry. Whatever drove me to it, I don't see the "sentence poem" mentioned in any discussions of poetic styles. Does that make me the inventor? Please prove me wrong and post your examples.

Reflections on a Scam

My first encounter with the International Society of Poets came almost by accident. I somehow got caught up in answering one of those endless online surveys so I could win something or other. I foolishly provided my information to a number of groups, buying their promises. As a result I have an endless stream of junk e-mail to my primary e-mail account. I also received a "free" cellular phone that actually cost $600 "but only if you cancel". And somehow these guys coaxed me into posting my poem Now That I've Beheld You as part of an ongoing poetry "contest".

When they did send me my "galley proofs" for their new book, my poem peaking out of the left side of the envelope, it was an interesting experience. I'd just been asked that first and only question any woman poses when she hears you're a poet: "Are you published yet?" So I come home to this letter, and in a way I was because they said I would be, whether I chose to buy the book or not.

Just good enough of a scam that the part of you that wants to believe wars with the part of you that recognizes it for what it is. Just close enough to get you.

Apparently they do trick an enormous number of people, too. I've met at least two, one of them telling me about another two--her mother and her best friend "who ironically got published in the same volume!"

Then the other day, the weekend they had their "convention" in D.C., I saw a young black guy walking up Connecticut Avenue holding a silver cup that looked familiar. It looked like the "trophy" these scam artists wanted me to buy from them. They had my name digitally etched into it so it looked like it was sitting there waiting for me.

I asked him what the trophy was for, and sure enough . . "And", he said hopefully, "we get the prizes tomorrow. $30,000 for the grand prize winner, $20,000 for the winner . ."

I discovered a real poetry contest who calls for entrants to write the very worst drek they possibly can, get it published at one of these scam outfits, then submit. I was hoarse from laughing at the winners.

Best to stick with legitimate markets for your poetry, and don't give anyone too much money.

"Killing Fields"

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters)-- Officials in Pennsylvania are investigating the discovery of some 400 unborn children found in a garage that once belonged to a funeral home director under contract with a local hospital to cremate them.

If they weren't people, why must they be cremated?

Most of them were preserved in embalming fluid inside plastic contaners that were labeled, and officials plan to notify the hospital patients involved, once all the remains have been identified, officials said.

If they weren't living beings, why are there 'remains'?

. . .

Most of them were less than 16 weeks old, the point below which an unborn child is treated as a "surgical specimen" and is not legally required to be reported to the police or coroner, said Dr. Cyric Wecht, coroner for Allegheny County.

. . .

Would a funeral home director feel driven to embalm and preserve 'surgical specimens'?

We have another word for that.

As reported in The Washington Times, August 31, 2005.