The Power of the Poetic: Poet Laureates Local & Global

FRIDAY NIGHT  LIGHT

It came in the mail today and I'm listening now to my newest Dylan CD, The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert! (Exclamation point in the title.) It has become apparent that with the Nobel Prize announcement everything Mr. Dylan has ever done is being revisited and being amped up in importance. 2016 is the 50th anniversary of a major year in the young poet performer's life. From a marketing point of view, one could not possibly ask for a more powerful endorsement of one's career than the Nobel Prize which was announced in October, to be celebrated next weekend.

The Wall Street Journal today published a front page story about this event with the title Bob Dylan Is Blowin' Everybody Off, But Minnesotans Don't Mind.  I like the way they used the word Blowin' which hearkens back to Mr. Dylan's second album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan and its opening cut "Blowin' in the Wind."

This alone shows the power of Dylan's music and influence. Can you imagine a Wall Street Journal article in the 1960's that would headline a story with the slang Blowin' or Changin' or anything so anti-establishmentarian?

Dylan has spent a lifetime knocking the masters of war, haranguing the rednecks who pummeled Emmett Tell, denouncing the pathetic murderers of Medgar Evers and Hattie Carroll... and has now been endorsed and recognized as an important voice for our world in our time.

In Our Time was the title of Ernest Hemingway's first published book of short stories, another American winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Whatever people think of the man himself (he has his detractors) his influence and impact on the direction of literature is indisputable. For me personally, In Our Time was a life-changing experience. In the same way, as has been previously noted by John Bushey and many others, Dylan had a similar influence and impact on rock and roll, the signature sound of the Sixties.

All this to say, yes, Mr. Dylan is worthy of this recognition and honor. He has been more than a songwriter, more than a performer. His presence has made a difference that will extend far beyond his moment in time.

* * * *

In our local community poetry has emerged to become a surprisingly vibrant feature of the Duluth arts scene. That a Nobel Laureate was born here may be a contributing variable in the equation, or maybe there's just something in the water.

This Sunday there will be a ceremony and inaugural reading by the incoming Duluth Poet Laureate Ellie Schoenfeld at the Peace United Church of Christ. I for one have been a longtime fan of Ms. Schoenfeld's pointed and inventive turns of phrase.

Here's a piece from her most recent collection titled The Dark Honey.

Taking It Off

Some years are just
one hair shirt layered onto another,
each one doing its best
to fuse with skin.

Now is the time
I will finally peel them off,
a slow psychological striptease.
I examine each one only briefly
then throw it
onto an enormous fire,
that original bonfire
fueled by grace and forgiveness,
by the bones
of a thousand other troubles.
Its tongues of flame
sing torch songs and the blues, praises
for every dull, flawed, and disastrous thing.
Its flames lick and illuminate wounds,
leave smoke and spark and new mirrors.


Finally the last one comes off.
I stand here
naked and perfect.
Just like you.
Just like everyone.

* * * *

Meantime, life goes on all around you. Open your eyes.

Local Art Seen -- Duluth Art Institute Reception for the Tim White Exhibit In & Out of Focus

The current exhibition of photographs by Tim White now hangs in the John Steffl Gallery on the balcony level of the Great Hall in the Depot. The juxtaposition of photography and text created impressions that enhanced the power of the imagery, an almost chimerical sensation that at times produced an unexpected, beautiful melancholy.   A few photos taken during Thursday's opening, which also included a Family Art Night Out for the community.

You go round and round

Keep falling on the same hard ground

Brush the dirt off of your knees

Someone call the doctor please

And heal those deep bruises, deep

~Rachel Kilgour, from "Deep Bruises," 2015

The weak

the feel a growing ditance 

between themselves and what they love

Ryan Vine, from "Rule 19", Revolver, 11.13.2012

You are just under the surface

of my restless sleep.

I hear your ardent whispers

in these howling winds

that blow in my ears, 

tell me stories

I cannot repeat.

~Ellie Schoenfeld, from "The Equator is Only an Imaginary Line," the dark honey, 2009

the last word out of my mouth was "happy"

and we drifted off to sleep

two friends, wind chime nymphs

licking dry time, rhyme water and flame

~Mary Bue, from "Slander Stallion," Where the Monarchs Circle, 2000

Ever simple

but we often miss, 

all our chaos

can be pared down to this, 

pared down to this

moment of bliss.

~Gaelynn Lea, from "Moment of Bliss," Imperfecta, 2012

Note: the new Lakeside Gallery is opening this Saturday the 25th.
4431 East Superior Street, Lakeside
Look for Grand Opening details here on their Facebook Page.

Poets of the North Country: Introducing Jim Johnson and Ellie Schoenfeld

One of the many events I'm looking forward to during next week's Duluth Dylan Fest will be Poets of the North Country at the Underground on Wednesday, may 25. Four guest panelists will have an extended time to share in the first portion of the program followed by readings from a number of local poets including Gary Boelhower, Michelle Matthees, Julie Gard, Liz Minette, Jan Chronister, and others.

The four panelists include Duluth's first Poet Laureate Barton Sutter, Minnesota author and publisher David Pichaske, author of Song of the North Country, and the two people I'm introducing here today, Jim Johnson and Ellie Schoenfeld.

Jim Johnson is Duluth's current Poet Laureate. I asked him several questions about how he came to be interested in poetry, who have been his influences and why poetry is important. And naturally I asked about Dylan.

Jim Johnson: I became interested in poetry when I attended UMD. After college I participated in a workshop led by Sigurd Olson. I was inspired and wanted to write about plants and animals of the North Country, only I wanted to write poetry. I later wrote about the Finnish immigrant experience and about labor and political issues, especially pertaining to the people of our area. My books are titled: Finns In Minnesota Midwinter, A Field Guide To Blueberries, Wolves, The Coop Label, Dovetailed Corners, Driving Gravel Roads, The First Day Of Spring In Northern Minnesota, and Yoik. That probably gives you a list of my themes, or obsessions as I call them.

While at UMD, I listened to Bob Dylan and read Dylan Thomas. I was inspired by both, even though I don't remember which one was the first. I loved the way Dylan Thomas used words and the way Bob Dylan used ideas I had thought about. BD is a wordsmith as well, but his social concerns are very important to me. Songs like "Blowin In The Wind," "Who Killed Davy Moore," "The Walls Of Red Wing," "I Shall Be Released" have the same concern for humanity as the great poets like Whitman and Neruda. People often ask if BD is really a poet. To put him in the company of Neruda or Whitman is to say he is not only a poet but a great poet.

Feelings are important. Poetry is about feelings. Therefore poetry is important. It will continue even if the forms change.

Here's one of a pair of poems Jim submitted to me, the second was called Rutabagas.

Rock Tripes

Rock tripes are lichen, like an old couple

who depend on each other to live

out their black and white lives. Though

neither will ever admit it. He

traipsing all over the rock they live on. She

cooking up greens for eons.

But O how they liked to polka.


* * * *

For near two decades one of my favorite poets has been former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins. In a 2009 blog post I wrote of him, "There's a down-to-earth whimsical quality to a lot of his work." I share this because reading Johnson and Schoenfeld gives me that same sense of pleasure as the works of Collins who repeatedly brings an original angle to the most ordinary moments.

Of the four I'm most familiar with Ellie Schoenfeld's work, having first met her through the Poetry Harbor group when I came to Duluth three decades past and having heard her read on numerous occasions including this evening in 2014. For the longest time The Dark Honey, her award-winning book of "new and used poems," lay next to my easy chair along with a few other favorites to dip into on occasion at the end of a day. Poetry makes a nice nightcap.

Here's a typical piece that takes one to unexpected places that you might enjoy.

Patriotism
by Ellie Schoenfeld

My country is this dirt
that gathers under my fingernails
when I am in the garden.
The quiet bacteria and fungi,
all the little insects and bugs
are my compatriots. They are
idealistic, always working together
for the common good.
I kneel on the earth
and pledge my allegiance
to all the dirt of the world,
to all of that soil which grows
flowers and food
for the just and unjust alike.
The soil does not care
what we think about or who we love.
It knows our true substance,
of what we are really made.
I stand my ground on this ground,
this ground which will
ultimately
recruit us all
to its side.

"Patriotism" by Ellie Schoenfeld, from The Dark Honey. © Clover Valley Press, 2009. 
Published here without permission at the moment, but keeping my fingers crossed.

* * * *

Poets of the North Country will be a catered event that begins with an opening reception at 5:30. Readings by featured poets will start at 6:00, with an afterparty at Karpeles Manuscript Museum Library, music by Cowboy Angel Blue. Details here. The Underground Theater is located in The Depot, adjacent to the Train Museum. Note: This event is Free and open to all.

Join us.

Ellie Schoenfeld's Barbie Poems (Open Mic Poetry Night @ Beaners)

Last night's Open Mic and Poetry Night at Beaners Central proved to be entertaining and fun this week. Organized by Tina Marie Higgins, the event takes place on the third Thursday of each month.

Featured poet Ellie Schoenfeld was slated to start at eight with the first hour open for anyone who desired to read. The coffeehouse was relatively full of people who'd come out, and there was a lot of respectful appreciation shown to the readers.

Tina welcomed us, serving as master of ceremonies and game show hostess, as she wove trivia questions throughout the evening. With the theme being 1980's sitcoms or something on that order, it seemed silly for me to even compete, but inasmuch as it was multiple choice, the odds were one-in-three for each question, so....

But I was there for the poetry, as well as to read a little, though I was especially interested in hearing Ellie Schoenfeld whose delivery is so natural, her humor wry, her verses pointed and overall effect entertaining.

A tall slender fellow named Jesse (I believe) read a couple pieces. He opened with Robert Frost's Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening. This was followed by something of his own regarding "aborticide" and "abortion." He seemed uncomfortable, but the crowd applauds everyone who makes an effort, so he was able to share from his heart.

Another woman read some very amusing poems that she had written. It's a high stage and she needed assistance making it up, but she'd prepared somethings and the pieces were fun. I especially enjoyed one that ran along these lines, sort of. "They say you may have to kiss a lot of frogs // before you find a prince..." But in the end, you might find out that you simply enjoy kissing frogs. It was a clever twist on a classic fairy tale theme.

I myself read a set of short verses, which some may have found enjoyable, after which I read my short story "Duel of the Poets" from my book Unremembered Histories. It's a personal favorite because after posting it on my website in the mid-90's a poetry site in Croatia contacted me to request using it as the centerpiece for their poetry forum. My first story translated into another language.

After more trivia questions Schoenfeld took the stage and share for perhaps a half hour. She brought a few loose sheets of new work but also read from a couple of her books including, I believe, her award-winning volume titled The Dark Honey (New and Used Poems). Her poems are always lively, often accompanied by plenty of wordplay.

She read poems with titles like Day of the Dead, Pumpkin, The Last Gold, Richard Braughtigan's Teeth, a new untitled poem about our bad poems, Potholes, Papparrazzi, Naming the Stars, Sometimes, and The Hawks. Her Barbie poems have been especially popular so she read a few of those as well including Barbie Disappeared One Day, which you can find at this link sandwiched between two other Barbie poems.

If you see a poetry reading taking place and Ellie is on the bill, you might want to give it a whirl.

Meantime, this is a great town for all kinds of creative expression. Get out there and drink it in.