a companion to 30 in 30

[champagne1982]

GM! Welcome to the party. Everyone is writing stuff I love reading. It's inspiring.

Seconded. And yes the short poetry forms are great to kickstart a poem. I have been trolling Wikiquotes and Wikipedia random pages, inspiration. It's tough for ideas to keep coming day after day.
I may start an ekphrastic series soon. I love using art to shake the words loose.

 

[legerdemer]

#Angeline

Daddio swings! it snaps, crackles and pops, too.

 

[Angeline]

Daddio swings! it snaps, crackles and pops, too.

Thanks. That was the intention so it's good to hear!

 

[Trixareforkids]

Neonurotic, Upskirt made me laugh. Nice one.

 

[Neonurotic]

Neonurotic, Upskirt made me laugh. Nice one.

Ha, thanks! This video inspired it. I'm sure she got nabbed later, but it made me laugh and I saw at the time I was writing a 30 in 30.

 

[Senna Jawa]

A 1-18

Angeline--cute, interesting, nice, I like it (the one about birds).

 

[Angeline]

Angeline--cute, interesting, nice, I like it (the one about birds).

Thanks SJ. It's true, too. I read it in the news a few weeks ago.

 

[Angeline]

PS Senna, have you listened to this? It's wonderful!

 

[legerdemer]

#greenmountaineer

I need to ask, regarding your What Depression Is? Poem for today: at first I was thinking in "medical" terms, but the second stanza made clear it's 1929 terms. The latter more than the former? And both? That last stanza is like a knife that twists.

 

[greenmountaineer]

I need to ask, regarding your What Depression Is? Poem for today: at first I was thinking in "medical" terms, but the second stanza made clear it's 1929 terms. The latter more than the former? And both? That last stanza is like a knife that twists.

I like that you thought both, legerdemer, because that was my intent. My father was a high school senior in 1929 when the Great Depression hit. In addition to his studies he worked long hours bagging groceries at the A&P, a supermarket chain in the greater New York metropolitan area, and gave all of his earnings to his unemployed father. I'm not sure if the term is used today because I haven't heard it in a long time, but he suffered what we used to call a "nervous breakdown" at 19. Fortunately, he healed relatively quickly, but the whole experience affected his view of the world thereafter, sometimes not in a healthy way.

The anger projected towards the parents in the poem is poetic license. I never heard my father speak poorly of them.

 

[greenmountaineer]

Angie,

As my wife and I were reading your poems about jazz, she Googled a few times and came across this which you may already know:

"Jazz: an African wording meaning sex. A unique music style developed in New Orleans from the fusion of African Voodoo polyrhythms, call and response, improvisation and satire with late 19th century instruments and compositions. Emerging as a sound in Congo Square it developed into a popular style in the bordellos of Storyville."

ref. http://www.voodoomuseum.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=36

I'm working on something remotely similar that includes voodoo.

 

[Senna Jawa]

"Jazz: an African wording meaning sex.

The same for rock'n'roll, meaning that in the old days rock'n'roll used to stand for sex.

 

[greenmountaineer]

Angie,


"Jazz: an African wording meaning sex.

The same for rock'n'roll, meaning that in the old days rock'n'roll used to stand for sex.

I remember watching Elvis Presley, Senna, on the Ed Sullivan Show when the camera showed only his face from the shoulders up while he sang and danced for the very same reason.

 

[Angeline]

Angie,

As my wife and I were reading your poems about jazz, she Googled a few times and came across this which you may already know:

"Jazz: an African wording meaning sex. A unique music style developed in New Orleans from the fusion of African Voodoo polyrhythms, call and response, improvisation and satire with late 19th century instruments and compositions. Emerging as a sound in Congo Square it developed into a popular style in the bordellos of Storyville."

ref. http://www.voodoomuseum.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=36

I'm working on something remotely similar that includes voodoo.

Hi GM.

I'm quite flattered that you and your wife are reading my jazz poems. Thank you for that. I've heard the story your wife found on the meaning of the word "jazz," and also that it was originally "jass." If you haven't seen the Ken Burns jazz documentary (which is great), they also reference some of this info there.

I really like your poem today. Are you planning on writing a group of them on the theme? I feel like what I have in the 30/30 thread right now is kind of a mess, but I hope to have a book's worth of these poems within the next month or so and then will work on editing them and trying to get them in a reasonable sequence. As you can see, they are based around the theme of movement and travel and the idea of musicians coming together across America to create what is (to me anyway) America's classical music.

Oh and here is an earlier poem of mine that references Congo Square (and sort of fits with your theme, too).

Night Tripper

So good to be reading you here and thanks again.

 

[Senna Jawa]

I remember watching Elvis Presley, Senna, on the Ed Sullivan Show when the camera showed only his face from the shoulders up while he sang and danced for the very same reason.

GM, I am talking about times when nobody heard about Elvis yet. Blacks in their songs were very graphic and funny. I don't know if there are any recordings like this, I doubt it. I was fortunate to listen to those oldies but only in 1982. The later stuff by Elvis was for children.

Best,

 

[greenmountaineer]

Hi GM.

I'm quite flattered that you and your wife are reading my jazz poems. Thank you for that. I've heard the story your wife found on the meaning of the word "jazz," and also that it was originally "jass." If you haven't seen the Ken Burns jazz documentary (which is great), they also reference some of this info there.

I really like your poem today. Are you planning on writing a group of them on the theme? I feel like what I have in the 30/30 thread right now is kind of a mess, but I hope to have a book's worth of these poems within the next month or so and then will work on editing them and trying to get them in a reasonable sequence. As you can see, they are based around the theme of movement and travel and the idea of musicians coming together across America to create what is (to me anyway) America's classical music.

Oh and here is an earlier poem of mine that references Congo Square (and sort of fits with your theme, too).

Night Tripper

So good to be reading you here and thanks again.

I like the immigrant theme, ie. coming to America, whether in the contemporary sense or, as many of us who grew up in the NY metroplitan area are familiar with, the 19th century. The U.S. is viewed by many as the land of milk and honey when the reality is more often than not harsher. That, of course, is relative. My first work experience after college was as a Spanish-speaking caseworker for mostly Puerto Ricans who actually improved their lives by moving to New Jersey and going on welfare.

I've written a few and have edited them, in some cases significantly, but if I understand the 30-30 guidelines, they shouldn't be posted here because the original versions were previously posted.

I liked "Night Tripper" very much BTW.

 

[legerdemer]

bowing out of 30 in 30

Unfortunately, I have to drop out of the 30 in 30 - work has started furiously, and I just can't keep up.

I look forward to reading everyone else's poems, and post elsewhere when my own inspiration has the time to take hold.

It's been very fun, though!

 

[Angeline]

Unfortunately, I have to drop out of the 30 in 30 - work has started furiously, and I just can't keep up.

I look forward to reading everyone else's poems, and post elsewhere when my own inspiration has the time to take hold.

It's been very fun, though!

It has been a pleasure reading your poems! I'm barely hanging on myself as my allergies have been wild the last few days. Either way we'll both be back, right?

 

[champagne1982]

Unfortunately, I have to drop out of the 30 in 30 - work has started furiously, and I just can't keep up.

I look forward to reading everyone else's poems, and post elsewhere when my own inspiration has the time to take hold.

It's been very fun, though!

It has been a pleasure reading your poems! I'm barely hanging on myself as my allergies have been wild the last few days. Either way we'll both be back, right?

There's always another day! or week or starting point. I am determined to work through my droughts and bad poetry days. LOL no one said every poem you produce has to be good. It's just nice if they are, nu? I'm happy if only one in a stretch is worth keeping for ausperity... woohoo! should there be more.

 

[Angeline]

There's always another day! or week or starting point. I am determined to work through my droughts and bad poetry days. LOL no one said every poem you produce has to be good. It's just nice if they are, nu? I'm happy if only one in a stretch is worth keeping for ausperity... woohoo! should there be more.

Absolutely. I go into that thread now, not with the idea that I'll produce 30 completed poems. I just want to write every day and, after that month, sort through what I wrote and go from there. And I'm finding it helpful to stick (mostly) with a theme. I learned that from Tzara.

Oh and I love it when you talk Yiddish to me, nu?

 

[legerdemer]

It has been a pleasure reading your poems! I'm barely hanging on myself as my allergies have been wild the last few days. Either way we'll both be back, right?

Very kind of you. And yes, I need to learn not be too disappointed/embarrassed by my efforts. (Poems are sometimes hugely harder than stories.)

I look forward to coming back when there's more time.

Mazel tov, all!

 

[legerdemer]

#greenmountaineer

ur x y zzz is bot very fun and very funny!

tho I think you might have meant the following:


a little sex
about the time
it takes to p
before I zzz.

instead of

a little sex
about the time
it's takes to p
before I zzz.

an easy fix

 

[greenmountaineer]

ur x y zzz is bot very fun and very funny!

tho I think you might have meant the following:


a little sex
about the time
it takes to p
before I zzz.

instead of

a little sex
about the time
it's takes to p
before I zzz.

an easy fix

Good catch. Damn auto-correction. Either that or my hand shakes too much from having slept alone too long. LOL

(Not true. I have the sexiest 59 year old wife in New England and take every opportunity to say so.)

 

[legerdemer]

(Not true. I have the sexiest 59 year old wife in New England and take every opportunity to say so.)

Good for her, and good for you! How nice to hear when romance survives!

 

[greenmountaineer]

2-23, Neo, Wow. I read it over and over. Powerful.