Thought for the Day

Is the world to be thought / a greater scandal / to God / 

than to us?. . .

~ Rev. Daniel Berrigan

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Quoted from Daniel Berrigan's Poem "Creation" in And the Risen Bread: Selected Poems, 1957-1997 (Fordham University Press, 1998), page 414

Daniel Berrigan (1921-2016), American Jesuit Priest, Peace/Anti-War Activist, Poet, Author, Playwright

New Artist Watch Feature at Escape Into Life

Peter Clark, Bullie for You, 2019

Mixed Media, 41" x 41"

© Peter Clark

PLEASE DO NOT COPY IMAGE

If you are sweltering through our August Dog Days (or is that Daze?), take a moment to get out of the heat and power up your computer to see my new Artist Watch feature at the online arts magazine Escape Into Life. There you will find some very cool and altogether unique collages — of dogs, of course — by full-time artist Peter Clark.

Peter, who is based in London, England, travels the world in search of source materials for his exquisitely crafted and much-sought-after collages. Everything from wrapping paper to musical scores finds its way into his beautiful and witty work.

Today's Artist Watch showcases eight of Peter's full-of-character collages, an Artist Statement, and a brief biography, as well as links to his Website and Instagram account. If you still need cooling down, stay with your computer and click on the links for Portland Gallery and Gilman Contemporary, where you can see additional images of Peter's work.

Thought for the Day

. . .  And death is this thread of spider's web snapping. . . .

~ T. Crunk

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Quoted from T. Crunk's "Twilight" in New Covenant Bound (The University Press of Kentucky, 2010), page 48

T. Crunk, American Poet, Fiction Writer, Children's Books Author; 1994 Winner of Yale Series of Younger Poets Prize

Crunk's collections include Living in the Resurrection, Parables and Revelations, and To His Son.

See "Kentucky Poet Tony Crunk Sounds a Voice for the Uprooted".

Name and Remember Them

Gerhard Richter, Candle

Requiescat in Pace

Dayton, Ohio, August 4, 2019

Megan K. Betts, 22

Monica E. Brickhouse, 39

Nicholas P. Cumer, 25

Derrick R. Fudge, 57

Thomas J. McNichols, 25

Lois L. Oglesby, 27

Saeed Saleh, 38

Logan M. Turner, 30

Beatrice N. Warren-Curtis, 36


El Paso, Texas,  August 3, 2019*

Jordan Anchondo, 25

Andre Anchondo, 24

Arturo Benavides, 60

Leonard Campos, 41

Angelina Silva Englisbee, 86

Maria Flores, 77

Raul Flores, 77

Jorge Calvillo Garcia, 61(Mexican National)

Adolfo Cerros Hernandez, 68 (Mexican National) (Married to Sara Esther Regalado)

Alexander Hoffman, 66

David Johnson, 63

Luiz Juarez, 90

Maria Eugenia Legarreta Rothe, 58 (Mexican National)

Maribel Loya, 56 

Gloria Irma Marquez, 61 (Mexican National)

Ivan Filiberto Manzano, 45 (Mexican National)

Elsa Mendoza de la Mora, 57 (Mexican National)

Margie Reckard, 63

Sara Esther Regalado, 66 (Mexican National)

Javier Amir Rodriguez, 15

Teresa Sanchez, 82

Juan de Dios Velazquez Chairez, 77 (Mexican National) 

* Washington Post dated August 6, 2019.

Gilroy, California,  July 28, 2019

Trevor Irby, 25

Stephen Romero, 6

Keyla Salazar, 13

Thought for the Day

. . . If we live by holding onto stories too much[,]

we don't meet life in the moment, nor can we

meet each other with openness. . . .

~ John Siddique

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Quoted from John Siddique, "Love Is Now", The Mindful Living Show, June 13, 2019

John Siddique, British Spiritual Teacher, Poet, Author; Creative Producer, Mentor, Consultant; Founder, Authentic Living

John Siddique on FaceBook and Instagram

Videoblog

A Little PR

It is with gratitude that I give a shout-out to the following editors, who selected a poem of mine to include in their recently released anthologies:

★ Diane Lockward, Editor and Publisher, Terrapin Books

Diane released A Constellation of Kisses earlier this month. Editor of the volume, she selected more than 100 poems, each one about kisses. Lee Upton, who wrote the wonderful Foreword, describes the anthology as "an inspired collection" in subject and range. It is certainly that, and a fun read as well. (Don't forget to pick up a copy to save for Valentine's Day.)

Front Cover

I am proud to share space in the anthology with such poets as Kelly Russell Agodon, Nin Andrews, Ellen Bass, Denise Duhamel, Tami Haaland, Dorrianne Laux, Marjorie Maddox, Susan Rich, and Baron Wormser. Here's the complete list of poets (click on the image for a better view):

Back Cover

Follow Terrapin Books on FaceBook, where Diane is featuring poems from the book.

★ Janette Schafer, Cedric Rudolph, and Matthew Ussia, Editors, Social Justice Anthologies, Publication Affiliate of Beautiful Cadaver, Project Pittsburgh

A chance happening on FaceBook introduced me to the wonderful Beautiful Cadaver project, which published in February 2019 The Dreamers Anthology: Writing Inspired by the Lives of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Anne Frank. Celebrating the 90th birthdays of these revered historical figures (both were born in 1929), the anthology presents work by more than 50 poets and prose writers from five countries. Given my deep interest in social justice issues, I am especially proud to be included in "Voices", one of five sections in the anthology. My poem is about Anne Frank.

Front Cover

Back Cover

Beautiful Cadaver on FaceBook

I'm delighted to note that another of my poems will be published in Beautiful Cadaver's second publishing project of 2019, Is It Hot In Here, Or Is It Just Me? Women Over 40 Write on Aging. That anthology, to be published later this year, will include poems, essays, and dramatic works from women or female-identifying writers. 

Also see my post of July 29, 2019, in which I share the link to one of my current-event poems that appears at Poets Reading the News.

Poem Published at Poets Reading the News

My gratitude to Poets Reading the News, which published this afternoon my poem "A Taste of Garlic" — my response to the sickening news of yet another shooting in America, this one at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California. The shooting took the lives of at least three persons, aged 6 (Stephen Romero), 13 (Keyla Salazar), and specified only "in his 20s" (Trevor Irby), and wounded at least 12 others, some of whom remain in critical condition, according to the most recent news stories. Note: At the time I wrote the poem, it was reported that 11 persons had been wounded (subsequently, that number increased) and only Stephen Romero had been identified.

Read "A Taste of Garlic".

The poem also can be found on social media, including the publisher's FaceBook and Twitter sites.

Poets Reading the News on FaceBook

The Washington Post on the Gilroy Shooting 

Thought for the Day

The face you look out of

is never the face

your lover looks into.

~ Jim Harrison or Ted Kooser*

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Quoted from Selection of Poems from Braided Creek: A Conversation in Poetry in Jim Harrison: The Essential Poems (Copper Canyon Press, 2019), page 150

* As explained in a note to this section of The Essential Poems, Braided Creek, comprising more than 300 poems, was co-written with Ted Kooser and does not identify who wrote which poems. None of the poems is more than five lines long.

Jim Harrison (1937-2016), Poet, Novelist, Essayist

Ted Kooser, Poet; Presidential Professor, The University of Nebraska; Editor, "American Life in Poetry; United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, 2004-2006

Thought for the Day

. . . Trust the heart's forgotten language /

to teach you. / . . . . //

. . . Trust moments of peace to surprise you. //

Trust love . . . /

. . . as you trust wounds /

to heal from the inside out, // . . . .

~ Nancy Paddock

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Quoted from Nancy Paddock, "Trust" in Perfect Dragonfly (Red Dragonfly Press, 2011), pages 250-251

Nancy Paddock, Poet and Memoirist

New Artist Watch Feature at Escape Into Life

Melissa D Johnston, reach, 2019

Digital Art

© Melissa D Johnston

PLEASE DO NOT COPY IMAGE

Venturing into the digital, this month's Artist Watch spotlights the work of Melissa D Johnston, who studied literature, philosophy, and theology in undergraduate and graduate school before turning back to her other passion, art.

An emerging artist who has been working with her iPhone and iPad to create her art, Melissa has exhibited both in the United States and Canada.

Today's new Artist Watch feature at Escape Into Life showcases eight of Melissa's dream-like images and includes her Artist Statement and a brief biography, as well as her Website and social media addresses.