Poet introduction (3)

I'm a Northerner. My immigrant roots are Northern European (Dutch + English). "North" the word comes from old English "north" and sounds similar in Dutch "noord." I've always lived in states that border Canada -- New York, Montana, now Washington.

Thinking about being a Northern American I realized in North America I was actually a Centralist.

This shift in thinking from American to North American gives you a different perspective. It opens you up to a wider world.

Today's poet enriches our perspective of being North American.

Raul Sanchez ...

Input (v)

Reading: Some of the alphabet by Ron Silliman (Demo to Ink, Toner, Xing); "Paterson" by William Carlos Williams.

DVD: The Deadliest Catch.

Download: Husker Du "Warehouse: Songs and Stories."

Poet introduction (2)

"Public" comes from the Latin populus for people. Public are activities done for the people, in front of the people, publicly.

"Pub" is short for public drinking house -- a place where people can talk publicly, discuss public matters. I imagined the People's Party was started in a pub. When I check Wikipedia, I found it's not true but did find that the third governor of Washington state elected in 1897 was a member of the People's Party. Mostly a Western states movement, members of the People's Party were known as Populists.

Populists appeal to the common public and not established interests. Today's poet's appeal is his poetry -- what people are concerned with, not what the establishment expects.

Cody Walker ...

Input (iv)

Reading - "Dharma Bums" and "Desolation Angels" Jack Kerouac; "Collected Works" Lorine Niedecker.

Movie - "Rocker Girls."

Download - "Heretic Pride" The Mountain Goats.

Poet introduction (1)

Humor -- it can be awkward as in laughing at the wrong time or being the only one laughing in the movie theater; it can be therapeutic as in laughing until you cry.

It's interesting to note that humerus is its homonym; humerus being the long bone in your upper arm. Perhaps that's the true funny bone.

Our poet today uses humor as a way to the truth. Her work is humorous (funny not the bone) because we see ourselves -- or someone we know -- in her poems.

Alexandra Oliver ...