St. Lawrence Area Poets

Well, we are back from our week-long trip to the sandy shores of Myrtle Beach in South Carolina.  The type of weather was...unexpected, over the first few days--violent wind & heavy rain.  We took advantage of the meteorological dampness & made our annual pilgimmage to Books-A-Million.  We spent $185 dollars on books, about $10 less than last year.  We were even cashed-out by the same guy, a black fellow named Darwin w/ lengthy dreadlocks & a friendly manner.  He's originally from Saginaw, Michigan.  Got that?

Anyway, two of the books I picked up were "Ballistics" by Billy Collins & "When I Was A Poet" by David Meltzer.  Collins was Poet Laureate of the USA from 2001 to 2003 & Poet Laureate of New York State from 2004 to 2006.  I generally like his work & was quite floored by "Ballistics," published in 2008 by Random House.  It's a great book, filled w/ excellent poems, funny, sad, casual, surprising.  Simply marvelous work. He makes it all look so easy.  In the late 1950s, David Meltzer was a member of the San Francisco Beat scene & hung around w/ people like Allen Ginsberg, Jack Spicer, & Robert Duncan.  He was also a member of the 60s weird folk-rock-poetry band The Serpent Power.  I have their record, a 33 LP, carefully preserved over the years.  "When I Was A Poet" (2011, City Lights) is a very effective collection of autobiographical poetry.  Meltzer's work is direct & actually friendly; it's more obviously gritty than Collins's, less cerebral, more visceral.  I like the attitudes of both poets.

Then when we arrived home I read "Horoscopes For The Dead," Collins's 2011 collection, published in hardcover by Random House.  I bought this one back in August, at the Borders in Watertown as they were going under.  I found this book to be on a much lower level than "Ballistics."  The poems had a weary tone, trudging word after word from beginning to end, offering no surprises & not much strong emotion.  Generally an uninspired book, sad to say.

Anyway, the next Poetry For Peace reading will be held on Monday, November 14th @ 4:30, at the Brush Art Gallery on the SLU campus.  No theme that I know of.  Bring a poem & a friend, & share.  I'll be there.

That's it.  Bye until next time.

beverage: none

soundtrack: none

weather: dark & chilly

for fun & metaphysical profit contact John at ataraxia1114@aim.com