Pandemic antidotes--a year for poetry

It's been a year of poetry in my pandemic reading, as I look back over the 49 books attempted.

Seven of them were complete books of poetry, with selected portions of other books.

Ray Bradbury said to read poetry every day because it stretched muscles not ordinarily used. I didn't make every day, but this has been a year of quarantine, or stress, trials and more, when stretching muscles, especially mental  and spiritual muscles, is essential to mental health.

Four of the books are from three friends and Okie poets. The most recent was a rereading of Benjamin Myers' Black Sunday, a collection of sonnets, no less, and a short story, all about a few Okies surviving the Dust Bowl. Stories of people with grit, applicable today.

Two new ones by Nathan Brown are like reading a day-by-day diary of the pandemic. His Pandemic Poetry Project contains a poem a day, by date, beginning in March, suggested by sponsored prompts from his readers. 

In the Days of Our Seclusion  (March-May) and In the Days of Our Unrest (June-August). One poem in the second book was my prompt, "back roads." It's about a lonely highway in New Mexico. But most are wrenching reality and insights into our 2020 journeys. You can buy them direct from him, $15 plus shipping. Brownlines

He has two more books continuing the series forthcoming. You can listen to him reading from the poems in his periodic "FirePit Sessions" on his Facebook Page. 

Ken Hada's Sunlight and Cedar. I reviewed in August on this blog. You can read about that earth-deep poetry here. A Geography of Pandemic Poetry

Actually, you can order from Ken and Ben directly as well. Contact them: Ken Hada or @BenMyersPoet on twitter. Or at bookstores of course, but if you want yours inscribed....

These are all mind- and soul-stretching antidotes for the messes we're in this year.

The other books: Mary Oliver's Devotions; Mary Ruefle's Dunce and Charles Bukoski's Betting on the Muse.

The partial readings? A closing poem in Wendell Berry's The Art of Loading Brush--a collection of agrarian writings, and then skipping around in The Big Red Book by Rumi, and another poet I know you've heard of, David, in Psalms.

A Geography-- Pandemic poetry-3

Into Autumn--
   "I am falling
    into the whirlpool
     of Time." --Ken Hada
Pick up this book for a journey into a geography of passing time, of living, of aging, of insights from landscapes and wildlife.
It's taken me almost a month to write that sentence about Okie Ken Hada's new book, Sunlight and Cedar, I suppose because it seems so personal. Poetry, and art, are more needed than ever  as an antidote to these chaotic times, to keep us sane, and human. 
  (Before I tell you more, let's get this out of the way to begin with--you can order it on Ken's website, $18.00 including shipping.  https://kenhada.org/ )
I expect most of these 80 poems in 103 pages were written before the pandemic since the book came out in May. But his words, imagery, and ability to transform an everyday topic into something timeless seems more important. 
Landscapes? Where would you like to travel on a new map? A donut shop? The zoo? Lake Eufaula? Oklahoma, Texas, Michigan, Boundary Waters, Chicago, Milwaukee?
Live Oaks of Texas--
  "They welcome, They invoke.
   A confessional, a shrine,
   they balance a world
   that doesn't always turn just right."
Wildlife? What would you like to see through new eyes? Badgers. bobcat, wolf, coyote, deer, sheep? Birds? Loons, hawks, geese, ducks, juncos, cardinal, pheasant?
Approaching Geese--
   "Clamoring, you hear
   them long before they
   appear." 
They're all here, and more, whether about playing dominos with  his father, or the magic of dawn or memories of a table.
Because I am aging, I think the dominant theme of this book has to do with passing time and aging, which I'm aware of every day. But that doesn't mean it's depressing. It's far more about living, surviving.
A review should entice readers, not bore them with long paragraphs and fancy words, especially when writing about the sparse language of poetry. The best way to do this is to offer you some snippets from Ken's poems. (By the way, all these lines and poems are copyrighted).
Time:
Chicory in the Ditches--
"We are made for the morning.
Starting over is something
we should get right."
Tomorrow--
(driving to play dominoes with his father on Christmas eve)
"Thoughts of holidays past
will come and go, fleetingly,
like birds at the feeder 
hanging just a few feet
from our game...."
"Tomorrow is a pensive word.
Both restless and hopeful."
Passing Solstice--
"...when you have passed the point of no return
you can tell yourself new lies,
making up new truths 
to keep the calendar moving."
Leafless Trees--
"Each winter
seems a bit longer." 
Peshtigo River--
(This is one of the most lyrical in the book)
"Slow me down, Peshtigo
Slow me down.
Let the current flow
past undisturbed."

Black Badgers--
"Everywhere I look, fall confronts me
The human scar-tainting this work,
this place I try to lease destiny"
Sepia--
"We are headed for that time
when color abandons us....
"Sepia is for memories--
a time before."
A Table--
"A table tells so much:
"...A table keeps the secrets of Time."
And if He is Lucky--
"...the rust of life..."
Other images:
Allegory in Blue--
"...like sausage sizzling
in a skillet on a sunny morning."
Frosty Morning--

"Without sun
      there is no shadow;
Without shadows,
     we are never whole." 
Reward--
"From where I sit
a jet flies through the Big Dipper
but nothing spills."
Donut Shop--
--"words
kneaded like dough
hand-stretched
just enough to hold
some flavor."
Morning Hawk--
"...she stalks death in the shadow of morning."
++
That's enough. Ray Bradbury wrote that poetry exercises muscles we don't use. It also helps us see. Ken Hada's poetry does that.
P.S. To read more of his poetry, click on my review of The River White , his book with his watercolor artist brother,  Duane. 

On the Llano Estacado

"Llano Estacado," 6 1/2 by 10" watercolor, 140 lb d'Arches cold press pape

"This jagged landscape filled
with harsh formations
rising in rugged
abrupt relief
is beautiful."
     --From "Llano Estacado," in Sunlight & Cedar, --Ken Hada

Llano Estacado. The "Staked Plains" of the Texas Panhandle and Eastern New Mexico...where flat is deceiving.
A place of magic, of history, unless you had to walk the interminable flat land  like Coronado and the Spaniards looking for gold, or rode horses across them like the U.S Army looking for Comanches 300 years later, instead of speeding along at 75 mph on an Interstate today.
Even today, people seem to think they're boring, featureless, something to get across as quickly as possible. And they're not all flat. They're a land of extremes, of weather, and of geology.
You haven't looked? Or dodged huge thunderstorms, survived ice storms and hai, and blizzards, weathered continual winds, watched for tornadoes, experienced the dust storms, or discovered the canyons and caprock. 
(I've driven them often, especially these recent years when my daughter and son-in-law and grandchildren have moved outside Canyon, 10 miles south of Amarillo. Todd is an MD in the Texas Tech system in Amarillo, and Dallas, besides being a full-time mommy, operates two indie bookstores, Burrowing Owl Books in Canyon and Amarillo.)
That is an aside to the story of today's painting. As with anyplace that still has wild in it, and wide open spaces, there is to me always poetry.
And Ken's poem inspired today's painting. Those verses above are just the opening. If you want the rest, buy his book, or wait for me to review it.
I've had his new book since it came out in July, intending to review it, and that is coming soon. But it takes me time to stew on choosing paints and words especially in dealing with poetry. Ken lives in Ada, and is nationally recognized. Sunlight & Cedar is his eighth poetry collection. The cover carries a photo I expect was taken somewhere along the edges of the Llano in West Texas. 
Today's painting is more impressionistic than two dimensional  as fits the poem and the spirit of the Llano, and I've found that poets think in several dimensions. 
By the way, don't expect the rest of Ken's poem to be flat as the llano. Like the landscape, there are always twists and surprises.

Beans, leaves, poetry and art

This artist, Sam Echols,  at Beans and Leaves on North Penn is painting a former student of mine, Sara Cowan. Many years ago, she game me the Clark's Coffee can you see pictured at the top of the sidebar on this blog, thanking me for believing in her. His portraits line the walls this month and he's doing them for $60 if you're interested. Contact the coffee shop 604-4700 for details.

I saw this as I walked in the door today  for the poetry reading by Ken Hada (see my review http://clarkcoffee.blogspot.com/2012/01/rhythm-of-water-review.html ) and many other poets. There seems to be a growing poet population in the state, along with a creative energy in other art that is blossoming. Appropriate it is in the 100th year of Woody Guthrie.  Even this Jake leg journalist stood up and read two poems, but mine aren't new.

The coffee shop is abuzz with activities including open mic and live music throughout the week, has art hanging on the walls, friendly owners, and is the epitome (Been wanting to use that word) of the changes in Oklahoma City. Thanks to poet and publisher Dorothy Alexander for helping organize this, the first First sunday Poetry Reading, attended by about 30-40 people.

Red canoe thoughts

Down the creek (river) with a paddle

A few summers ago with Susan and then Mark Hanebutt, on the North Canadian near El Reno, first day of what turned out to be a two day trip to Lake Overholser. I've since sold my canoe for lack of use and convenient places to escape. It was 15'8" long and weighed 80 pounds. Notice my Grizzly Bear paw on the bow. On the stern was an EarthFirst! decal.

Brought to mind by Ken Hada's poetry khada@ecok.edu and Duana Hada's watercolor http://rivertowngallery.com/ in "The River White," http://www.mongrelempire.org/Mongrel_Empire_Press/Poetry.html in Northwest Arkansas where there is a lot more canoe water. See my review http://clarkcoffee.blogspot.com/2012/01/rhythm-of-water-review.html 

Duane Hada, Parker Bend, Beaver Tailwater

Ken's words: 

"So much depends on red

canoes,..."

It was a fantastic canoe trip...sometimes walking in shallow water pulling the canoe...down below the sounds of traffic. Lots of birds--owls, egrets, hawks, even two very lost Rosetta Spoonbills, turtles, and more. Having to stop after noon, tie the canoe up, climb steep banks and walk a mile to find a phone for a ride because we'd tipped the canoe and ruined a cell phone. I've notice when something unexpected or problems arise on a journey, those are the trips you remember...not where everything goes smoothly.

The rhythm of water--a review

The rhythm of clear water moving over smooth stones, shining in the sun or lost in fog, filling your senses with sight and sound and memories.

How else to describe the new book with a unique pairing of watercolors and poetry, "The River White,"  by brothers Duane and Ken Hada? 

This graceful 104-page  volume from Mongrel Empire Press mongrelempire.org  is a work of art in itself in design along with 46 poems and double the number of watercolors tracing the White River for 700 miles, from source in Northwest Arkansas to the Mississippi. The title of each poem is a location on the river. It and a small watercolor on the right pages face a full page watercolor on the left.  Twin brush strokes--words and color. A masterpiece of publishing and talent.

Poetry and watercolor have much in common--Economy of brush and pen stroke and words, vivid imagery, and emotion and meaning beyond the surface. But less is more. It may be a small book, but the poems reach deep and the paintings shimmer. How better to capture the spirit of a river and its wildlife and a humid atmosphere than with transparent watercolor?  On the back cover, there's a photo of the two brothers as kids in 1970 along the banks of the river, a creel and fresh caught fish in front. Today Ken's a professor and poet in Ada, and Duane a watercolor artist and fisherman in Mountain Home, Arkansas. I expect they've been working on this book all their lives.


There's more than a touch of literature in Ken's words. 
A touch of William Carlos Williams' "Red Wheelbarrow"--Ken's words in Parker Bend, Beaver Tailwater: 
"So much depends on red

canoes, on water

purling past white rock."

A touch of Shelley-- Ken's words in Rosey:

"If winter always comes

do we not feel certain

our bareness is destined?"

There's outright Zen in the closing lines of the opening poem The Source at Boston:

"You cannot see

700 miles  until you

muse the bubbles

before you. Truth 

more than what is,

but also, what

likely will be."

There's more than a touch in the entire book of John Graves' "Goodbye to a River," though Graves was looking backward as he floated the Brazos, and the Hadas are looking inside themselves and downstream in life.

Obviously I'm hooked. I'm not a fisherman, though  there's a forward by a fisherman. But as a watercolorist, once a canoe paddler with a red Old Town canoe, a traveler of rivers and backroads and a lover of being alone, the book takes me on journeys.

It'll take you on journeys too, especially if you're an aging male, I suspect. The brothers are a little young, I think, to feel the mortality flowing in this book, but going down a river will do that, awaken and feed the muse. If there's an underlying theme, I suspect this is it. It's not morbid though--it is full of life. You can't escape that theme with the quote from Norman Maclean in "A River Runs Through It" on the opening page.

Some favorite excerpts (already underlined in my twice-read copy) follow.

From Headwaters Near St. Paul:

"Often we need 

to  be reminded of

depths below the surface."

This book does this on every page.

My favorite--Duane's painting of Morning Fog: State Park
Some of Ken's words on the opposite page:

"Be honest now-you

feel what you cannot name,

you fear to articulate what you feel--"

Partee Shoals:

"We're just wildflowers

blooming on a

sandy bank."

Cotter bridge:

"Dreams, like rivers, are forged

in valleys of desire."

Poetry and painting...the confluence

"the rhythm of water"

Shipps Ferry:

"...ferries

were used by men

to transport their

economy

as bards float words

but in truth it

is the river

that moves us...

so much more than metaphor."

Upper Boswell:

"Do you see the tracks 

in the soft shallows'

where life has preceded

you?"

Boswell Shoals:

"I am shadowed

though I bathe in sun. 

We live the rays between

pigments of history."

The Bend at Oil Trough:

"I have journeyed far,

my life's canoe seems

spent, feels flexed, old

But an end is not yet.

These tired oars, scarred by

use, rise and dip in

disciplined measure."

Newport Bridge:

"If you go with me far enough

you will recognize yourself

swinging through the coils of 

time--…."

Jacks Bay:

"There is one current

 in us, keening

beneath various faces."

I had one wish as I read the book--that the authors had included a rough sketch map of the river and the location of the paintings and poetry. I grew up with National Geographic and love maps, and Graves' book also had sketched maps. So I started pulling up maps from the Internet, trying to find them all. Alas.

Then I remembered Ken's words in Rim Shoals:

"I always feel

like I'm on top

of a world here

like teetering 

at the edge of 

things unnamed

a place unmapped."

Maybe you can't map the emotions in this book, except with poetry and watercolor..

In View from the Mississippi, he writes

"…I

cannot imagine life

without a journey."


I'm ready to go. You will be too, and the book will take you on unexpected journeys as well. You can order it signed by Ken Hada at his email, from Duane's gallery website,  or from Amazon.I'm getting two copies for friends and relatives who know the river and live not too far from the headwaters. I've reviewed his earlier poetry on this blog if you want to sample his prolific work, just search his name.


Thank you, for the adventures.


khada@ecok.edu 
http://rivertowngallery.com/