Arts Kaleidoscope: Room for one more rider

BUMPING UP THIS NOTICE:

I've organized a carpool from Indianapolis to Muncie on Oct. 4 for the Arts Kaleidoscope poetry/arts colloaboration.

Richard Pflum and Rohana McCormack are riding with me, and I have room for one more rider. We plan to leave in the morning for the all-day event and won't be back until an after-dinner poetry reading.

If you're interested in making the trip with us, shoot me a message at jl.kato@sbcglobal.net.

Music Monday: 'A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall,' by Bob Dylan

I’ve often heard the adage that “bad poets borrow, but great ones steal.” I don’t know who said this originally, but the saying also applies to songwriters. Case in point, Dylan’s anti-nuke song that echoes the 17th-century Child ballad “Lord Randal.” Compare Dylan’s song with the poem, (link posted below).



"Lord Randal" (Child ballad)

Do you have a song that can be connected with poetry? You are invited to share your comments. For previous posts on this topic, just click on Music Monday label (below).

Masterpiece in a Day results

Winners in the Sept. 27 Masterpiece in a Day contests:

Art competition:
Best of show: Jay Parnell
Other art winners:
Street Art: Mike Altman
Traditional: Orlando Burgos
Off the Wall (sculpture): Chad M. Campbell
On the Wall (hanging 2-D work): Quincy Owens

Writing competition:
Prose:
1. Merelaine Hasket
2. Cindy Long
3. Katie Bussell
Poetry:
1. Brian Kern
2. Mary Sexson
3. Lylanne Musselman

My poem translated into Japanese

I received the Japanese publication Poetry and Thought (No. 265, Vol. 3), which contains a translation of my poem "Festival of Dolls." The magazine was sent Aug. 7 via sea mail and just arrived today (Sept. 25).

An essay by Noriko Mizusaki accompanies the translation, on Pages 83-85. Of course, I can't understand a single word. Ah, wait, I see "JL" in English on the title page. Perhaps I can find someone who can read the rest for me. In other words, I need a translator for the translation. I would like to hear how the poem sounds in Japanese.

As soon as I can arrange some decent lighting that won't blur the lettering, I'll take some photos and post them here.

Ichabod's Sketchbook: New literary journal

This is from Lylanne Musselman:

Ichabod's Sketchbook invites you to submit to our inaugural issue. The literary journal comes out of Irvington, an area of Indianapolis rich in the arts, and is open for submissions from established and emerging poets/writers who live in Indiana. The deadline for work is December 15. Reading fee: $15 for three poems (up to 30 lines each) or two short prose (up to 1000 words each). Fee entitles poet/writer to pick up one copy of Ichabod's Sketchbook at a launch party at Bookmamas in Irvington in April 2009. For more information or to submit: ichabodssketchbook@gmail.com. The journal will be sponsored by Bookmamas and is being published by New Century Publishing.

Masterpiece in a Day: Confessions of a former winner and judge

This Saturday (Sept. 27), I plan to participate in the writing competition during the Masterpiece in a Day activities in Fountain Square (Shelby and Prospect streets at Virginia Ave, Indianapolis. If you're doing an Internet map search, try 1043 Virginia Ave. as a reference point.) For information about the day's events, visit http://bigcar.org.

The only time I entered the competition, in 2005, I won. In 2006, I was asked to be a judge. Because of a potential conflict of interest, I had to sit out the 2007 event, but I spent the day in the neighborhood and hobnobbed with fellow writers while I cheered for members of my family. One of my daughters and her then-fiance entered the writing competition. Another daughter vied for glory by taking paintbrush in hand to create her masterpiece. And a son-in-law played guitar in the music competition.

First, the neighborhood. As a boy, I spent a lot of time in Fountain Square. I attended Emmaus (pronounced E-MAY-us) Lutheran School at Orange and Laurel streets from second through eighth grades, and in general just hung around the neighborhood after school. My family shopped at Murphy's Department Store (in the arts building that now bears its name). In fact, most of anything we didn't eat came from Murphy's: shoes, pants, beauty supplies (for my mother, not me), an Easter chick (yes, my parents gave me one), records, Christmas presents, school supplies. To me, Fountain Square was the only universe I needed. Then, in the late '60s, I-65 was built, and it destroyed the neighborhood. I witnessed the slide into blight, with its cheap rentals and abandoned businesses. Meanwhile, my family moved to the Eastside, and I lost touch with Fountain Square.

I reconnected with the neighborhood when, in 2001, I began attending Richard Pflum's Poetry Salon, a writing workshop and conversation group that then met in the Wheeler Arts Building on Sanders Street. A wonderful bookshop on Virginia Avenue called Six Dogs introduced me to several local poets whose titles were sold on consignment. A growing arts community and some fine restaurants (yes, I'm talking Santorini) led me to revisit the neighborhood more frequently.

When I entered the Masterpiece in a Day poetry competition in 2005, I wandered the area's alleys for a couple of hours, which brought back memories--good and bad--about my old stomping grounds. Those memories inspired my poem "The Old Neighborhood." I remember that after I had printed out what I thought would be my final version, I re-read the piece. That's when I decided to grab the judges' attention with an arresting first line, the one about overhearing a bedroom conversation from an open window while walking down an alley. Originally, it was two-thirds of the way into the poem, but I moved it up.

After I had won the top prize of $1,000, it occurred to me that the sum was ridiculously high. Even more so, considering it was for a first draft. How unfair that completed poems, crafted over long periods of time, were published in serious literary journals and compensated with contributor's copies, if not a few bucks. That revelation, however, didn't stop me from cashing the check. (Since then, the top prize has been scaled back. This year's winner will receive $600--still an obscene amount, but one that should attract attention.)

In 2006, I was one of six judges in the writing competition. All the entries were submitted to the judges without the writers' names. Imagine my surprise when my daughter placed third in the contest. During the judges' deliberations, there was a discussion on whether her poem or another entrant's deserved to be awarded second place. I voted for third! Because of the short time frame for judging, we quickly scanned the entries. If the poem didn't grab our interest and compel us to read it all the way through, we quickly went on to the next entry, which validated my suspicion that the first line has to hook the reader.

In 2007, I soaked in the atmosphere, unencumbered by a merciless deadline. I treated myself to a tenderloin sandwich at Peppy Grill, bought a brat and beer on the Fountain Rooftop, playfully heckled my daughter's painting, sucked down drinks from Cognizant Coffee (now closed), listened to my son-in-law help compose the song he and another musician would play later that day, and chatted with other poets all scurrying to write their poems. Among them were Shari Wagner, Mary Sexson, Scott Brewer, Lylanne Musselman, my award-winning poet daughter and her fiance. I snapped photos of the day's events. One of the photos--of a microphone on the small window-front stage in Cognizant Coffee--appeared in the Tipton Poetry Journal (thanks Barry Harris!).

So, this year, I'll enter. I don't expect to win (one never does), but at least I'll write something that might develop into a decent poem one day. And for the first time, my award-winning poet daughter will have the opportunity to best Dad! (Sadly, the two-time defending champ, Shari Wagner, is not planning to enter this year's contest, or so she told me earlier this week. Here's hoping she'll read this and reconsider.) Michael Strosahl, come on down.


NOTE: If you're planning to participate this Saturday, why don't we compare our poems in an impromptu reading after the winner is announced? (I know, I know, it's not an impromptu event if it's planned, but you know what I mean. Besides, no official readings are on tap that day, so we can do it and keep in the spirit of the day.) If you're not entering the contest, come and read anyway. Just remember to bring your good stuff. (You know, the poems on which you slavishly perfected and sent out to journals that will pay only in contributor's copies.)

David Shumate

A reminder:

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 24
7 p.m. David Shumate will read from Floating Bridge: Prose Poems (published by University of Pittsburgh Press) in the Indianapolis Art Center Library, 820 E. 67th St. Indianapolis. Book-signing will follow. Free. Sponsored by the Writers' Center of Indiana.

Shumate teaches writing at Marian College. His first book of prose poems, High Water Mark (University of Pittsburgh, 2004), won the Agnes Lynch Starrett prize and the 2005 Best Books of Indiana, poetry category.

Music Monday: 'Richard Cory,' written by Paul Simon, performed by Simon & Garfunkel

The first time I associated popular song lyrics with poetry was when I heard this Simon & Garfunkel song. I was familiar with the source material, the Edwin Arlington Robinson poem, thanks to my freshman high school English teacher.




A reading of the Edwin Arlington Robinson poem by blackacidlizard on YouTube:


Do you have a favorite song that can appreciated as poetry? You're welcome to be a contributor to this feature.

For previous Music Monday posts, just click on the "Music Monday" label below.

Jared Carter

Jared Carter will be reading his poetry Oct. 24, the opening evening of the Indiana State Federation of Poetry Clubs' Fall Rendezvous, at McCormick’s Creek State Park. Details to come.

Q&A with Sherman Alexie

This article will run this weekend in the Indy Sunday section of The Indianapolis Star, or you can read it online at Indy.com:

http://www.indy.com/posts/11737

It's only words

Talk about 9/11 and security measures reminded me of a recent conversation I had with a postal clerk. I was paying the postage for a batch of poems in a 10-by-12 inch envelope. He eyed the package and asked me if it contained any prohibited items. As he went through his list, I smiled and said, "This package contains the most dangerous weapon of mankind: words."

Submission notice: nonfiction

Southern Indiana Review presents the Mary C. Mohr Nonfiction Award

First Prize: $1000
Second Prize: $250
Third Prize: $100

Judge: Susan Neville

Deadline: October 1, 2008

Entry fee of $15 (include $5 for each additional essay submitted) includes a copy of the spring 2009 prize issue. All entries will be considered for publication. Send submissions to Mary C. Mohr Nonfiction Award, Southern Indiana Review, University of Southern Indiana, 8600 University Boulevard, Evansville, IN, 47712. Complete guidelines available at www.southernindianareview. org.

James Whitcomb Riley Festival

In Greenfield Oct. 2-5. A preview:

James Whitcomb Riley Festival


For complete schedule, go to http://www.rileyfestival.com/schedule.html

Best American Poetry 2008

The book is out and features a number of poets from Indiana. This year's editor is Charles Wright, and among his selections are poems by Butler University professor Chris Forhan ("RockPolisher"), Notre Dame's Cornelius Eady ("Handymen"), IUPU-Fort Wayne's George Kalamaras ("Francis Pong Is On Fire") and New Castle native Laura Cronk ("Entering").

Former IU professor Kevin Young is represented with an excerpt from his "Book of Hours." On Oct. 29, Young will be a guest of the Kellogg Writing Series at the University of Indianapolis this fall.

Frank Bidart is represented by his sestina, "If See No End In Is", which he read at Butler University this Tuesday (Sept. 16).

Postscripts about Young and Kalamaras.

I don't know if Young knows this, but in 2006, he was being investigated for a MacArthur Foundation fellowship, commonly referred to as a genius grant. I know, because the foundation contacted me seeking information about his work. Presumably the group ran across my reviews of his volumes Jelly Roll: A Blues and Black Maria.

I don't know if Kalamaras knows this, but I've been asked to read the ekphrastic poem he wrote for the Arts Kaleidoscope project, "I Wore Monk Hair," in Muncie on Oct. 4. I've never met the man, except through his writings, and I am happy to lend my voice to his poem.

Music Monday: 'We Can Be Together,' written by Paul Kantner and performed by Jefferson Airplane

The power of juxtaposition.

As a 14-year-old who spent hours copying rock lyrics into notebooks in an attempt to understand their "messages," I was knocked out because the banality of the words were transformed into a visceral, powerful communication through the juxtaposition of of sweet, idyllic lyrics followed by venomous calls to violence. It taught me that writers don't need big words to impress. They just have to know how to use the language.
Warning: Language advisory.

Do you have a favorite song that can appreciated as poetry? You're welcome to be a contributor to this feature.

For previous Music Monday posts, just click on the "Music Monday" label below.

Masterpiece in a Day 2008

The arts competition in the Indianapolis historic district Fountain Square is back, with a few changes.

The free registration is from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Writers this year will be awarded $600 each in the prose and poetry categories. Second- and third-places are worth $250 and $100. Contestants are expected to turn in their work at 3:30, with the judges' decisions announced at 4:30.

This year's judges include poet and IUPUI professor Mitchell Douglas and Travis DiNicola, writer and executive director of Indy Reads.

Defending champion (for two years in a row) is Shari Wagner.

The musical competition has been scrapped this year, but musicians are invited to perform in the area.

For details on the writing competition, plus changes in the visual arts categories, visit http://bigcar.org.

Why do you write?

This morning, during my short commute to work, I listened to the Writer's Almanac and heard Garrison Keillor read this scornful, but funny, indictment of poets whose ambitions exceed their talents: "poetry readings," by Charles Bukowski.

That reminded me of a post by local blogger Patrick Kanouse, who a few days ago wrote about
Writing and Fame … or… More Importantly …

Now, nearly every writer will tell you that he or she writes to satisfy an inner need. But they'd be lying if they said they would loathe fame and the supposed comfortable income that comes with it. I admit it. If I could manage a modest living through my writings, I'd quit my well-paying day job in a second. And if I had the means to live off royalties and reading fees, then I sure wouldn't be giving it away at open mics. But I enjoy sharing. I enjoy hearing and reading others who share their works (even if it means I might be envious now and then). I enjoy their company, and I enjoy being a member of a community.

How about you? Are you satisfied with hoarding your talent, or are you inspired by the give and take of a writing community? Are you a loner, or does communion with other writers inspire you?

Poem for Sept. 11

Dispersion

Particles of paper,
concrete,
flesh
drift from Manhattan,
diffuse in the air.

Lodging in my lung,
a speck of bone,
from which a molecule
absorbs into blood,
sticks to underlining of skin
of a wrinkled face,
rinsed with the same rain
that falls of a bearded man,
who, one day, licking his hands,
might taste salt
from my eyes.


This poem, written by me, appeared in the April 17-24, 2002, edition of Nuvo Newsweekly as the winning entry of the Authors Here at Home contest.

A review of George Kalamaras' 'Gold, Carp, Jack, Fruit, Mirrors'

Click here for


“Teetering on a Necessary Boundary”: Tony Trigilio's review

Published by The Bitter Oleander Press ($18)

Inner Act (open mic) returns

NEW OPEN MIC EVERY THIRD TUESDAY OF THE MONTH.


Inner Act, an open mic, at Cosmo Knights Club, 3338 N. Illinois St., Indianapolis. Free. Must be 21 to enter. Host: Mijiza yaa Soyini. For information, call 317-524-6951 or 317-925-6275 and ask for Allen. Sponsored by Etheridge Knight Inc.

Music Monday: 'You're the Top,' by Cole Porter

David Barber, the poetry editor of the Atlantic Monthly, makes the case for Cole Porter, wordsmith.

"You’re the Top":



Do you have a favorite song that can appreciated as poetry? You're welcome to be a contributor to this feature.

For previous Music Monday posts, just click on the "Music Monday" label below.

Haven Kimmel in Indiana

Haven Kimmel: The author of A Girl Named Zippy and The Solace of Leaving Early, Something Rising (Light and Swift), The Used World and Iodine is touring Indiana this week. You can catch her at
■6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept 11, at Big Hat Books, 922 E. Westfield Blvd., Indianapolis (in Broad Ripple). Call 317-202-0203 to register and pre-order Iodine.
■Noon Friday, Sept.12, at the Friday Forum Luncheon,Ball State University E.B. and Bertha C. Ball Center, 400 W. Minnetrista Blvd., Muncie. (765) 285-8975.
■10 a.m. to noon Saturday. Sept. 13, at the Booklovers Brunch at Hussey-Mayfield Public Library, 250 N. Fifth St., Zionsville. Includes a continental breakfast. Autographed copies of her books will be on sale courtesy of The Mystery Company, Carmel. Registration required. (317) 873-3149, ext. 11600 or www.zionsville.lib.in.us.
■You can read her lively, funny and opinionated blog at http://havenkimmel.wordpress.com.
■‘Iodine' presents a darker change of pace for ‘Girl Named Zippy' author

Tipton Poetry Journal, No. 10

The Summer 2008 issue (No. 10) of the Tipton Poetry Journal is available. The issue includes 45 contributors. Poets with Indiana ties are Roxana Cazan, Terry Cunningham, Doris Lynch, Bonnie Maurer, Rohanna McCormack, Kelvin McKelvey, Tracy Mishkin, Cheryl Soden Moreland, Miranda Morley, James Murdock, James Owens, Richard Pflum. Each copy costs $5. (Subscriptions: $16 for four issues). To order, go to http://tiptonpoetryjournal.com.

Poetry Garden, Issue 1

The inaugural issue features 34 poems by 17 poets and is for sale for $5. To purchase a copy, or for submission guidelines, contact editor Michael Rogers at mikerogersciwa@aol.com or Parkside Publications, 328 E. Southern Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46225.

Writers' Center classes and workshops

For information, call 317-255-0710 or e-mail The Writers' Center. A list of fall offerings here: Writers Center Classes

Richard Cecil on 'Writers Almanac'

Richard Cecil of Indiana University had one of his poems read this morning on Garrison Keillor's Writers Almanac. It was "Evolution in Indiana," from his volume Twentieth First Century Blues. If you're in the Indianapolis area, you can hear the poem shortly after 7 p.m. today (Sept. 4) on WFYI-FM (90.1). If you missed it, read it here: http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2008/09/04


The current day's entry is:
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/

Cecil was my workshop leader during the 2006 IU Writers Conference. He has a tremendous sense of humor, and he was one of the few who said he liked my use of humor in my poems -- what others frequently label as "smart-ass" comments.

Music Monday: 'Tangled Up in Blue,' by Bob Dylan

The imagery, metaphors, complex narrative and shifting points of view remind me of movie flashbacks and fade-outs that blur the sequence of events – yet the overall effect is crystal clear. It’s a song of despair, disconsolation and a little bit of hope.



Do you have a favorite song that can appreciated as poetry? You're welcome to be a contributor to this feature.

For previous Music Monday posts, just click on the "Music Monday" label below.