Thought for the Day

Loss is the self emptying back into silence.

~ David Wevill

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Quoted from David Wevill, "In the Jardin des Plantes" in A Christ of the Ice-Floes (Macmillan, 1966; Tavern Books, 2016), page 83 (Wevill is a marvelous poet but, I would hazard, largely unfamiliar to many readers of poetry. The Tavern Books reprint offers an excellent first-experience of his work. Also see the reprints of Wevill's Where the Arrow Falls and Collected Translations, both part of Tavern's The Living Library; see, in addition, To Build My Shadow a Fire: The Poetry and Translations of David Wevill (Truman State University Press, 2010), edited by Michael McGrieff.

David Wevill, Award-Winning Poet, Translator, Editor, Retired Teacher (University of Texas at Austin)

Thought for the Day

. . . community builds when a kindness is given

and a voice is heard, and when something is built 

together that can't be built alone.

~ Mark Nepo

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Quoted from Mark Nepo Interview, "A Conversation with Mark Nepo About His New Book, More Together Than Alone: Discovering the Power and Spirit of Community In Our Lives and in the World" (Atria Books, July 17, 2018) 

Mark Nepo, Poet, Spiritual Writer and Guide

Mark Nepo on FaceBook

New Artist Watch Feature at Escape Into Life

Mark R. Pugh, Boy at the Edge of the World, 2018

Oil on Panel

30" x 48"

© Mark R. Pugh

PLEASE DO NOT COPY IMAGE

I'm delighted to introduce in today's Artist Watch column at Escape Into Life the award-winning painter Mark R. Pugh.

Born in Utah, Mark, who holds a bachelor's degree in psychology, works full-time as an artist. Instructed in art at the Bridge Academy in Provo, Mark has developed a style that, in his words, draws from both realism and surrealism to create a dreamlike aesthetic. His work continues to betray his early interests in, indeed a passion for, fantasy and illustration.

In addition to showcasing nine images of Mark's strong work, today's Artist Watch includes Mark's Artist Statement and a brief biography. Enjoy!

Thought for the Day

. . . When you build a wall between yourself and others,

you are basically saying that you have stopped listening

and seeing. You have cut off contact. And how can there

be understanding without contact?

~ Helon Habila

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Quoted from Helon Habila, "The Separation Wall" in Kingdom of Olives and Ash: Writers Confront the Occupation (Harper-Perennial, 2017), Edited by Michael Chabon an Ayelet Waldman (This is an excellent, eye-opening series of essays.)

Helon Habila, Award-Winning Novelist, Editor, and Publisher (Cordite Books) of African Crime and Detective Stories

Helon Habila's books include Oil on Water, Measuring Time, Waiting for an Angel, and, most recently, The Chibok Girls: The Boko Haram Kidnappings and Islamist Militancy in Nigeria.

Saturday Short

Today's Saturday Short is a video of poet Dana Gioia reciting his poem "The Stars Now Rearrange Themselves", from Daily Horoscope, Gioia's first poetry collection, which was published in 1986. (Additional poems from that collection and other books can be read in the Poems section of Gioia's Website.)

The video was made by Blank Verse Films, which produces a new poetry video weekly.

Dana Gioia on FaceBook and Twitter

Dateline: Syria (Poem)

Dateline: Syria, June 25, 2018

how to explain
with unwilling lips

how to un-see
the flies still harvesting

the boy being raised
from the indelicate balancing

of body meeting metal


first there is the turning away
the fire on soft skin spreading

and the quickening cold
of two small hands

insufficient protection
against what rains

from the war zone's drones


amid this indecent violence
comes love of the father

for his only son


the child who one last time
returns home

wrapped in a blanket
strapped to the handlebars

too wide to hug close
what remains

behind stone-black motorcycle exhaust

© 2018 Maureen E. Doallas

This poem is my response to a deeply moving photograph out of Syria of a father attempting to maneuver his motorcycle while trying to balance on the handlebars the body of his preschool-age son. During a bombing by Assad's military forces, the boy sustained injuries so great he could not be helped by medics in the area, who lacked any of the necessary supplies to even attempt to save his life.

Thought for the Day

Every author does not write for every reader.

~ Samuel Johnson

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Quoted in Jane Yolen's Take Joy: A Writer's Guide to Loving the Craft (Writer's Digest Books, 2006)

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), English Poet, Essayist, Editor, Critic, Lexicographer

Jane Yolen, American Writer of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Children's Books, and Poetry

Thought for the Day

Why do you stay in prison /

when the door is so wide open?

~ Rumi

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Quoted from Rumi's Poem "A Community of the Spirit", Translated by Coleman Barks

Read the text of the poem at The Line Break blog. The poem is included in Poetry of Presence: An Anthology of Mindfulness Poems (Grayson Books, 2017), edited by Phyllis Cole-Dai and Ruby R. Wilson. (Watch the trailer for the latter, which is a particularly lovely collection of poems. Also see Poetry of Presence Website.)

Rumi Profile at Academy of American Poets