SAMPLE OF MAYA ANGELOU'S BOOKS

Angelou, M. (2008). Letter to my daughter. New York, NY: Random House.
Angelou, M. (1993). On the pulse of the morning: Inaugural Poem. New York, NY: Random House.
Angelou, M. (1994). Phenomenal woman: Four poems celebrating women. New York, NY: Random House.
Angelou, M. (1993). Wouldn't take nothing for my journey now. New York, NY: Random House.

WE LOST OUR VOICE TODAY

Dr. Maya Angelou is at rest,
Her powerful voice quieted.

Soulfully narrating her 86 years,
She also narrated the lives of everyone.

Beacon for African American women:
Gwen and her daughters and nieces,

Nikki Giovanni, Alice Walker, Opra Winfrey,
Gayle King, Toni Morrison, bell hooks;

For women of color, all women,
For all men, indeed for all people.

She accepted the Presidential
Medal of Freedom in the name of

All immigrants, listed by country
Of origin, encompassing all

People who were violently stolen
Or escaped poverty and oppression.

She included all of us in her
Words and in her loving arms,

Gave voice to every human moment,
Celebrated Clinton's inauguration.

At Seattle's Paramount Theater,
Being in her splendid presence,

Tears streamed throughout
Her speaking, singing, and poeting.

In her radiating regalness, she spoke
Plainly and directly to each of us.

One side of the same coin:
Eloquent and accessible;

Suffering and laughing;
Humble and courageous;

Affectionate and blunt;
Gregarious and solitary.

Maya already abides in Heaven,
Awaiting any and all who make the cut.

We lost our voice today.

Ann Beth Blake
(c) May 28, 2014

Renowned poet Seamus Heaney, 1939-2013

Newspapers alerted the world that Seamus Heaney, world-renowned Irish poet, died at 74 years of age. Mr. Heaney is hailed as one of the most important international literary figures in the last century, held in esteem by Ireland with Yeats, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, and Geroge Bernard Shaw. His poetry was both universal and specific, describing daily life in the context of politics and historical/contemporary events. Born in rural County Londonderry, his work first focused on his roots and later extended to classic themes. He had academic positions at Harvard and Oxford.

Prizewinning poet Sean O'Brien described Haney's contribution as follows. "We have lost our senior representative, one who embodied and sustained the value of the poetic art." "He showed that poetry, it's music in the ear, the mouth and the imagination, remains the most potent form of the examined life."

SUMMER 2013 PILGRIMAGE

As part of my annual quarter away from teaching at Antioch University Seattle, I am taking a 9-week trip to a variety of European countries. In support of discerning the focus and direction for the last third of my life, I will begin my summer travels by walking El Camino de Santiago de Compostela (The Sacred Way of St. James) in northern Spain with my Swedish brylling (cousin) Karin. We will walk for 35 days between early July and early August, 2013, planning to complete the 450 mile/790 km from St. Jean Pied-de-Port in southwestern France (near Biarritz) to Santiago in northwestern Spain (about 50 miles east of the Atlantic Ocean). Karin and I have been talking about walking a pilgrimage since first meeting each other in 2007. Our trip begins by crossing the Pyrenees Mountains—nothing like leaping headfirst into the deep end of the pool!

The impetus for the timing of this trip is my attending The International Jungian Congress in Copenhagen (Köpenhamn) in mid-August. http://cg-jung.dk/en/welcome-to-the-iaap-congress-in-copenhagen/

After the Congress, I will meet a friend in London. We will first complete a 5-day trek in Wales: The Pembrokeshire Coast Path. http://nt.pcnpa.org.uk/website/sitefiles/nt_page.asp?PageID=2

After our hike, we will return to London see the jolly old sights.  http://www.gps-routes.co.uk/routes/home.nsf/RoutesLinksWalks/jubilee-walkway-walking-route

I will write now and then as I walk the Camino. I will access the internet occasionally when I am able to keep my eyes open after a long day of hiking. Blog address: abbelcamino.blogspot.blog

¡Buen Camino! Ruega por nosotros, por favor.

Bra Camino resa! Be för oss, tack.

Good Camino! Please pray for us.

Delisa's Sang

La oss alle sammen synge

vaar Delisas egen sang.

La den lyde, gamle, unge,

kjekt og fritt og uten tvang.

La den til de gamle minne

tid som svant i ungdomslag.

Fra det gangne vi skal vinne

arbeidshug til fremtids dag.

Vaar Delisa er vaar norne,

nu vi synger hennes sang.

Nutid, fremtid og det forne,

folge skal vi hennes gang.

Carlsson, K.A. (1951).Delisas Blaa Bok. Chicago, IL: Dalkullan publishing and importing company.

Photo Credit: Google Images. 

Poetry Magazine turns 100!

Excerpt borrowed from poetryfoundation.org:


Founded in Chicago by Harriet Monroe in 1912, Poetry magazine began with the “Open Door”:

May the great poet we are looking for never find it shut, or half-shut, against his ample genius! To this end the editors hope to keep free of entangling alliances with any single class or school. They desire to print the best English verse which is being written today, regardless of where, by whom, or under what theory of art it is written.

In its first year Poetry published William Carlos Williams and William Butler Yeats; Joyce Kilmer’s “Trees” and Ezra Pound’s “In a Station of the Metro”; and introduced Rabindranath Tagore to the English-speaking world just before he was awarded the Nobel Prize.
The magazine has since published a new issue every month for one hundred years. Perhaps most famous for having been the first to publish T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (and, later, John Ashbery’s “Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror”), Poetry also championed the early works of H.D., Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Marianne Moore. It was first to recognize many poems that are now widely anthologized: “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks, Briggflatts by Basil Bunting, “anyone lived in a pretty how town” by E.E. Cummings, “Chez Jane” by Frank O’Hara, “Fever 103°” by Sylvia Plath, “Chicago” by Carl Sandburg, “Sunday Morning” by Wallace Stevens, and many others. Poetry’s pages have also seen Elizabeth Bishop, Charles Bukowski, Raymond Carver, Allen Ginsberg, Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, and Tennessee Williams, to name just a few.
Today, Poetry regularly presents new work by the most recognized poets, but its primary commitment is still to discover new voices. In recent years, over a third of the poets published have been new to the magazine. Annual translation issues deepen readers’ engagement with foreign-language poetry, and regular Q&A features present conversations with poets about their work. Poetry is also known for its enlivening “Comment” section, featuring book reviews, essays, notebooks, and “The View from Here” column, which highlights artists and professionals from outside the poetry world writing about their experience of poetry. Recent installments have included pieces by actor Lili Taylor, web guru Xeni Jardin, the late columnist Christopher Hitchens, novelist William T. Vollmann, musician Neko Case, cartoonist Lynda Barry, and the author of the “Lemony Snicket” children’s series, Daniel Handler.
The entire one-hundred-year run of the magazine is available free online, as are related audio, video, and monthly podcasts in which editors Christian Wiman and Don Share discuss the current issue, talk to poets and critics, and share their poem selections with listeners. In 2011Poetry was awarded two National Magazine Awards: for Best Podcast and for General Excellence in Print. As critic Adam Kirsch says, “Poetry has done what long seemed impossible . . . it has become indispensable reading for anyone who cares about American literature.”

Click the link to poetryfoundation.org for more information about the history of Poetry Magazine: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/history
Images  borrowed from static.tumblr.com and poetryfoundation.org

April is National Poetry Month!

The Academy of American Poets website suggest the following ways to celebrate National Poetry Month! How will you celebrate?

 http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/613

	Poem In Your Pocket Day: Thousands of individuals across the U.S. will carry a poem in their pockets on April 26, 2012.
	Poetry & the Creative Mind: Each April, The Academy of American Poets presents a star-studded celebration of American poetry.
	30 Poets, 30 Days: Throughout each day during National Poetry Month, a selected poet will have 24 hours to post on Tumblr an array of ephemera—in the form of text, images, audio, and video—before passing the baton.
	Poem-A-Day: Great poems from new books emailed each day of National Poetry Month. Sign up for your daily dose of new poems from new spring poetry titles.
	Spring Book List: Check out the new books of poetry available each spring.
	Poem Flow for iPhones: Available through the iTunes store, this innovative mobile app features daily poems presented as both fixed and animated text.
	National Poetry Map: Find out what is happening in your state by visiting our redesigned and updated National Poetry Map. Photo Credit: Borrowed from Google images.