POWER OF POETRY #34: “Some Slightly Connected Thoughts on Crafted Vulnerability, Stage Fright, Beauty, and Gratitude” – STEVIE EDWARDS
I am trying to write poems that stand inside of uncertainty and still find things to praise. And I don’t think it matters if I praise my sore legs that keep walking me home from work each night, or if I praise the relief of night rain in my first Carolinian July, or if I praise an idea of a home I miss, or if I praise the mild infection in my right nipple for not being cancer, or if I praise my friend who has stomach cancer but keeps living beyond the rational limits doctors have suggested—it is all praising living. It is all beholding the terrible beautiful uncertainty of being human and saying thank you. I don’t think there’s anything more beautiful than gratitude, and poetry helps me to access it.
REVIEW: EIREAN BRADLEY – the little BIG book of GO KILL YOURSELF
Let’s get real for a moment: we have all had dark thoughts. Sometimes those dark thoughts overtake us for a while, and we have an essential need to either act … Continue reading
INTERVIEW: Ryems, Rappin’ His Way Out of High School … Hopefully
Ryean Brock, who goes by the name Ryems, has been rapping for less than two years, but has already made a name for himself in the local NW scene. He … Continue reading
What’s Wrong With a Little Plath vs. The Stove Humor?
Sylvia Plath is in my top 5 favorite poets. I find her life story to be incredibly intriguing, and her death beyond tragic. That being said, Ariel, her book of poetry, … Continue reading
Save Your Quarters and Dollars.
Suicide’s Note The calm, Cool face of the river Asked me for a kiss. –Langston Hughes A poem simply needs to say enough to leave the reader thinking. Langston Hughes’ … Continue reading
Kurt Cobain: Twenty Years and Counting
I remember the Kurt Loder news report like it was yesterday. As a 12-year-old, Cobain meant everything to me. He was the reason I decided to put down the viola, … Continue reading →