Take a Poem, Leave a Poem II

It's time for another Take a Poem, Leave a Poem segment on the blog. To show you how it works, my first Take a Poem, Leave a Poem post is below:


I've been inspired by the "take a penny, leave a penny" jar at the local deli. 

Poems in the jar today:

"Arf" by Jack Myers
Naomi Shihab Nye reading her found poem "One Boy Told Me"
"Con el dolor de la mortal herida" or "Love Opened a Mortal Wound" by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, translated by Jaime Manrique and Joan Larkin
"In Praise of Noise" by James Arthur
"A Coin-Operated Railroad" by Mary Biddinger 

Please take at least one, and please leave a story or a poem in it's place in the comments section.

Happy reading! Andrea

Arizona's Banned Books

Last week was the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week. Coincidentally, Librotraficante's underground library was set to open at the main YWCA branch here in El Paso this past Saturday. The American Library Association states that "while books have been and continue to be banned, part of the Banned Books Week celebration is the fact that, in a majority of cases, the books have remained available. This happens only thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, students, and community members who stand up and speak out for the freedom to read."

I'm proud to have witnessed such efforts this weekend in my hometown. The vision and dedication of Tony Diaz from Librotraficante and Cemellí de Aztlán and Sandra Braham of the YWCA is inspiring.  People were moved to tears during and after the organizers and guests spoke about the importance of saving our books for future generations. The company producing Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima as a movie (release date is September 21, 2012), donated 40 copies of the book, 20 in English and 20 in Spanish. I watched a woman brush away tears while signing out one of these copies and will never underestimate the power of a book again.


If Arizona is banning Mexican-American studies and confiscating books as if they're illegal drugs, what is going to happen to the education and supporting literature of other cultures, the very cultures like our own who helped define America over the past decades?

How can we help save these books? Donate a book, read one of these books and share it with a friend or family member, host a book club, help sponsor an upcoming event, just go out and witness an event such as this in your local area.

"I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples." - Mother Teresa

For more on the Librotraficante movement:

Activists defend Chicano literature - El Paso Times, February 2012
Librotraficante: On the way to Arizona - The Texas Observer, March 2012
El Paso library to fight bans on books - El Paso Times, September 2012
The Battleground for America's Narrative: An Annotated Bibliography of 80 Banned Books in America - Compiled by Elaine Romero, located on Librotraficante's website

Why Do You Write?

Purpose has been on my mind lately. Passion has been on my mind lately too. I'm working on my statement of purpose and a few critical essays for the upcoming MFA application season. After reading too many essays and comments about the "To MFA or not" debate, my mind's become a little foggy. What is it really that I'm seeking? Why am I wanting to pursue my MFA? One answer: To become a better read and writer.

I came upon this essay by Junot Díaz yesterday afternoon: "Becoming a Writer." To quote from his last paragraph: "...a writer is a writer because even when there is no hope, even when nothing you do shows any sign of promise, you keep writing anyway."

The fog is beginning to clear, and I'm still writing. I hope you are too.

P.S. If you're a fan of Junot Díaz's work, his new book This is How You Lose Her hits bookstores on September 11th.

Take a Poem, Leave a Poem

I've been inspired by the "take a penny, leave a penny" jar at the local deli.

Poems in the jar today:

W.S. Merwin reading "Yesterday"

"Wondrous" by Sarah Freligh

"Crush" by Ada Limon
Saeed Jones reading "The Blue Dress in Mother's Closet"

Please take at least one, and please leave a story or a poem in it's place in the comments section.

Happy reading! Andrea

A Found Poem Inspired by Elvis

Yesterday marked 35 years since Elvis' untimely passing. I know I'm a day late, but what better day than a Friday to celebrate The King? Here's a found poem I wrote comprised entirely of titles from a good number of his songs:

You don’t have to say you love me

            a found poem crafted from titles of songs Elvis Presley sang

Apron strings, a pocketful of rainbows,

the grass won’t pay no mind.  Baby, let’s play

house. A boy like me, a girl like you, even the bullfighter

was a lady.  How would you like to be rubberneckin’

in blue Hawaii while little sister is shopping

around?  There ain’t nothing like a song wearin’

that loved look.  The wonder of you, your blue

suede shoes, it’s impossible to make the world

go away.  I want you, I need you, I love

you, and though it’s a sin, kiss me quick

in the Kentucky rain.  I’ve never been

to Spain, I didn’t make it on playing guitar. Write to me

from Naples, surrender until it’s time for you

to go. It’s now or never in this heartbreak hotel,

just let me make believe for a while.  Suspicious

minds, don’t be cruel, even a house that has everything

is a house of sand, and now and then

there’s a fool such as I.  

- 

I'd love to hear your Elvis memories!

Small Talk about Heavy Petting

If you haven't read Gregory Sherl's poetry collection Heavy Petting from YesYes Books, you need to put it on your reading list. Even if you're not a huge fan of poetry. I'm enamored with it. I take baths with it. I sleep with it on my back lawn. I brush my teeth and stare at it longing for my hands to be free so I can read it some more.

When I found out I won this book thanks to the great people at YesYes Books, a friend mentioned that this book was her boyfriend for a good while. Now I know what she meant. And yesterday, I came across the poem "Opening Credits" and my lust level reached a new height. I'd fall in love with the man who wrote me a poem with lines such as these:

I'm glue residue 

on your fingers. I'm hair and you're a Bon Jovi cover band.

Let me stay in the morning and I'll read you the backs of cereal boxes.

This book is a wild ride through obsessive-compulsive disorder about the little things in life that thrill us like cereal, Crystal Light, cookies, TV, nostalgia for our youth, and the larger things in life like love, sex, and fear. It's an oxymoron that keeps you coming back for more.

Some links for you:

Three poems from Heavy Petting

"Sestina for Your Dead Heart" (text and audio) - from Heavy Petting

Interview with Gregory Sherl at Monkeybicycle

What have you been reading?

Imaginary Lives

I'm working through The Artist's Way a little more slowly than I would like thanks to a hectic work schedule and the travel that comes along with it. After being gone from home for a little over two weeks, it was nice to sit down for my morning pages and ponder this question: "If you had five other lives to lead, what would you do in each of them?"

My answers:

1. Travel writer
2. Novelist/Poet
3. A mom
4. A singer/songwriter with a devoted little following but not enough of one to make me "famous"
5. An anchor alongside Diane Sawyer

What five other lives do you imagine yourself living?

I'll conclude with the lovely little poem Dreams by Langston Hughes.