Poem Share and Other Good Finds Sunday/Monday

The poem I've selected for this week is Francisco X. Alarcón's "To Those Who Have Lost Everything" and I'm pairing it with the article below.

"Artists React to Mexico's Drug War With Music and Poetry" by Betty Arcos in NPR. Growing up and now again living in a border city, I feel the issues discussed in this article touch upon a familiar reality: violence on the border remains a mute point in today's media. I'm with Lili Downs in hoping "No evil can last a hundred years."

I posted Perpetual Follies' 2012 Pushcart Prize Rankings last week. Here is an article in Luna Park from Travis Kurowski that offers a different perspective: "Is Something Missing from the Pushcart Prize?" What are your thoughts?

Diane Lockward guides us in deciphering when a poem is ready to send out into the world. When do you feel your writing is ready to submit?

If you read anything this week, please read this touching story about stories "passing back through the heart" by Natalia Sylvester on her blog: "The Difference Between Recording and Remembering."

Come across any good reading this past week? What's on your desk for this week?

Wishing you a week full of wonder, Andrea

Poetry, Photography, and a Poem for Memorial Day

Today, I honor those who have sacrificed for my freedom and I thank those who continue to serve this amazing country.  A moving poem (with audio), "Facing It" by Yusef Komunyakaa: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/177382

I feel quite accomplished today.  I've cleaned the house, done a little light bulb replacing and grocery shopping, baked a cake, watched a movie, revised some poems, and worked on a submission packet to Yes, Poetry.  


Now, I'm off to figure out my new Diana Mini camera (one of the most unique and exciting gifts I've received) and embark on my photography/lomography hobby.  I'll keep you updated as I head out to capture the world in a lens. (And check out the cool little lady below!)