Thursday, June 14, 2012

Poetry Friday Roundup is Here




HOW TO BE A POET
by Wendell Berry


    (to remind myself)

i

Make a place to sit down.
Sit down. Be quiet.
You must depend upon
affection, reading, knowledge,
skill—more of each
than you have—inspiration,
work, growing older, patience,
for patience joins time
to eternity. Any readers
who like your poems,
doubt their judgment.

ii

Breathe with unconditional breath
the unconditioned air.
Shun electric wire.
Communicate slowly. Live
a three-dimensioned life;
stay away from screens.
Stay away from anything
that obscures the place it is in.
There are no unsacred places;
there are only sacred places
and desecrated places.

iii

Accept what comes from silence.
Make the best you can of it.
Of the little words that come
out of the silence, like prayers
prayed back to the one who prays,
make a poem that does not disturb
the silence from which it came.




We'll have to delay our practice of the middle part of Mr. Berry's poem as we share and enjoy our poems via electric wire, communicating quickly, gazing at screens.

Leave your links in the comments. I'll round up periodically, and in between times, I'll find some silence and write some poems.

If you're interested in hosting a Poetry Friday roundup in June-December 2012, the place to sign up is here. There are only six dates left, so don't delay! (Yes, I'll go back later today and add the blogs and links for some of the ones that are incomplete. Bad planning to do the roundup and the call for hosts on the same Friday...)

*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

Steven Withrow, at Crackles of Speech, shares an original poem about his Maine Coon Calico, Muffin.

Lucky for us, Tara, at A Teaching Life, continues to investigate and explore the new Poet Laureate's poetry.

Meandering is the mode of the day with Robyn Hood Black, at Read, Write, Howl.

Violet, at Violet Nesdoly / Poems, meditates on the meaning of a metronome.

Charles Ghinga (Father Goose) has an original moon poem for us this week.

Book lovers and independent bookstore lovers, head over to Jama's Alphabet Soup for a wistful remembrance of bookstores and booksellers.

Julie Larios, at The Drift Record, shares a poet with us, rather than a poem. Check out his rakish pose. (Some whimsical eye candy for Jama's blog?) And definitely follow the link to the new book on Frost and his poems. I'm predicting that sales will jump today.

Douglas Florian, at Florian Cafe, treats us to another poem from his baseball collection POEM RUNS.

Iphigene, at Gathering Books, has a "remembering home" poem that reminds me a bit of Jama's. Just a bit.

Check it Out. That's Jone's blog and what you should do. On Wednesday, Jone interviewed Susan Taylor Brown. ( I have serious office envy.) Today, Jone is sharing an original "Lily" poem by Susan.

Linda, at TeacherDance, has written an original Father's Day poem for her husband, a great father and grandfather.

We have another meandering post from Renee, at No Water River. She takes us from bales of hay, to a dairy farm in Iowa, to a "plowboy" farmer who loves cowboy poetry, to a silly rendition of a classic poem about a dairy cow. MOO!

Laura, at Author Amok, writes in response to current events in Syria.

Tabatha, at The Opposite of Indifference, shows us a different side of the Boogieman.

Katya, at Write. Sketch. Repeat., found a fascinating book/poem connection.

Ed DeCaria has a new gig writing baseball poetry for The Hardball Times. He uses one by Marianne Moore to convince readers that baseball and poetry can harmonize, and he follows that with an original sudoku haiku.

Diane triples with her Poetry Friday posts every week! She has FOUR offerings this week:
At Random Noodling I have Rita Dove's poem "Daystar." Kurious Kitty celebrates Father's Day with a poem by Peter Markus from the anthology, Fathers. And, over at Kurious K's Kwotes' is a quote by Peter Markus. The Write Sisters has a father poem by Seamus Heaney, "Digging."

Doraine, at Dori Reads, has a post full of laughter and joy.

At Writing the World for Kids, Laura has some thought-provoking lyrics, and lots of people took part in her 15 Words or Less prompt for this week. (I need to get back in the habit of participating...)

Debbie shares a J. Patrick Lewis cat poem with fun plays on words this week at her blog Debbie Diller: A Journey in Learning.

Amy, at The Poem Farm, says goodbye to a beloved pet bunny.

Donna, at Write Time, wrote a Father's Day poem for her sons (about their father) that will bring tears to your eyes.

At Mainley Write, Donna feels the tug of tides in her original poem.

Andi, at A Wrung Sponge, had an urban fox sighting just after reading a poem about urban foxes in a new book by Marilyn Singer.

Marjorie, at Paper Tigers, shares a poem from Talking with Mother Earth/Hablando con Madre Tierra, a collection of poems by Salvadoran poet Jorge Argueta.

Liz, at Growing Wild, has an original poem about the summer swimming pool that is simply PERFECT!!

Anastasia shares THE CONSTRUCTION CREW by Lynn Meltzer (Author) and Carrie Eko-Burgess (Illustrator) at Booktalking.

Need a poem for Father's Day? Sylvia has a list of poetry books about fathers at Poetry For Children.

Carol, at Carol's Corner, is trying hard to savor the last year before both of her boys leave the nest. Her poem choice today is perfect for savoring and noticing small moments.

Elaine is sharing an original memoir poem at Wild Rose Reader today. More savoring!

Pentimento shares a poem about the long healing that comes after the loss of an infant.

Rena, who is On the Way to Somewhere, shares an original poem about a sock monster.

(Now it's time for lunch, and then I'm going to make the birthday cake for my mom's 85th birthday tomorrow. I'll be back to round up a few more posts when the three chocolately layers are cooling!)

Ruth has arrived at her motel after a day of traveling and shares with us a poem about having two homes. Even her blog's name seems to be a comment on the theme of place -- There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town.

Janet, at All About the Books with Janet Squires, shares a Lee Bennett Hopkins anthology about the wonders of museums.

Lorie Ann Grover writes, "At On Point I have Memory's Shimmer, and at readertotz we have How Doth the Little Crocodile."


43 comments:

  1. Thanks for hosting, Mary Lee! I love Wendell Berry's poems.

    Today at Crackles of Speech I have an original poem about a cat titled "Maine Coon Calico": http://cracklesofspeech.blogspot.com/2012/06/poem-maine-coon-calico.html

    Steven Withrow

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  2. Thanks for hosting, Mary Lee! These lines, I have decided, are ones I am going to commit to memory:
    There are no unsacred places;
    there are only sacred places
    and desecrated places.
    And here is my contribution...I have become obsessed with our new poet laureate:http://tmsteach.blogspot.com/2012/06/poetry-friday-natasha-tretheway-native.html

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  3. Thank you so much for hosting, Mary Lee, and for rounding up hosts all year! Love the poem, especially
    "make a poem that does not disturb
    the silence from which it came" -
    beautiful.

    I'm fresh from a "Show Don't Tell" writing retreat and with thoughts that go back a few centuries via a Ben Jonson poem:
    http://www.robynhoodblack.com/blog.htm?post=859859

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  4. Yes, the part of Mr. Berry's poem about avoiding screens and electric wires made me smile... considering how all of us are enjoying his words. I love that poem. It makes me feel like slowing down.

    Thanks so much for hosting, Mary.

    I am sharing a personal poem called "Metronome." It is here: http://vnesdolypoems.wordpress.com/2012/06/14/metronome/

    Violet

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  5. Thank you, Mary Lee.
    "Mother of the Night"
    watches over her children at
    The FATHER GOOSE Blog

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  6. Wow, love Wendell Berry. Hope something meaningful emerges from the silence for you. :)

    At Alphabet Soup I'm sharing a James Tate poem about bookstores:

    http://jamarattigan.com/2012/06/14/friday-feast-looking-for-a-home/

    Thanks for hosting and have a good weekend!

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  7. "Stay away from screens," Berry says. Oh-oh. Today over at The Drift Record I have a rakish photo of Robert Frost, well-known for his rakishness. Also, a link to a great review of the new book, THE ART OF ROBERT FROST by Tim Kendall.

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  8. Enjoyed the Berry poem. I've got a baseball poem, Catcher, at The Florian Cafe. http://floriancafe.blogspot.com/
    Thanx for hosting, Mary Lee.

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  9. Anonymous11:44 PM

    Hi Mary Lee, thanks for hosting. I love the poem you have here. I especially love the last stanza. It does capture the essence of writing as it comes in silence.
    Here's our contribution: http://gatheringbooks.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/poetry-friday-postcards-for-home/

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  10. Oh I love Wendell Berry. Thank you for hosting. I have an original poem from Susan Taylor Brown whom I interviewed on Wednesday.
    http://maclibrary.wordpress.com/2012/06/14/poetry-friday-5/

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  11. I think we might have to ignore Berry's advice in the first verse too, Mary Lee, to doubt judgement, at least publicly. Thank you for hosting and for sharing this poem. It's new to me-terrific. My post shares an original poem in honor of my husband for Father's Day.

    http://teacherdance.blogspot.com/2012/06/read-between-lines.html

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  12. No screens? My life is over! Love today's poem choice, Mary Lee.

    Today I'm in with another Kids' Classic with a very silly performance of "The Moo Cow Moo" by Edmund Vance Cooke, circa 1903.
    http://www.nowaterriver.com/poetry-monday-kids-classics-the-moo-cow-moo-by-edmund-vance-cooke/

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  13. Good morning, Mary Lee. Every time I read the Berry poem, I notice how it begins with slowing the breath. Beautiful.

    I have an original poem about current events in Syria. It's also a parenting poem: "Robotics."

    http://authoramok.blogspot.com/2012/06/poetry-friday-in-news.html

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  14. Hi Mary Lee! That's a beautiful reminder from you and Wendell Berry. Thanks.

    I've got something a little unusual about the Boogieman today: http://tabathayeatts.blogspot.com/2012/06/boogie-harmonizing-with-boogie.html

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  15. Good morning, Mary Lee! I love Wendell Berry, thank you for sharing that poem.

    Over at Write.Sketch.Repeat. reading Maze Runner reminded me of an Emily Dickinson poem.

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  16. Hi, Mary Lee! I'm back at Poetry Friday, but in an unusual place today. I have a new gig writing baseball poetry for a popular baseball website, The Hardball Times. Check out my debut: it's a sudoku haiku!

    http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/welcome-to-tht-poetry/

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  17. Berry nailed it with "live a three-dimensioned life"--it's the key to so many things!

    At Random Noodling I have Rita Dove's poem "Daystar."

    Kurious Kitty celebrates Father's Day with a poem by Peter Markus from the anthology, Fathers. And, over at Kurious K's Kwotes' is a quote by Peter Markus.

    The Write Sisters has a father poem by Seamus Heaney, "Digging."

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  18. Thanks for hosting, Mary Lee. This is a beautiful poem.

    I'm in today with an Inuit poem and laughter.
    http://dorireads.blogspot.com/2012/06/joy.html

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  19. Anonymous7:44 AM

    Hi Mary Lee--thank you for hosting. I love the ending of that first stanza. I wouldn't want to be a member of any club that will let me in and all that:>)

    I'm in with some poetry song lyrics today, "World," by John Ondrasik, at http://laurasalas.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/world/

    And 15 Words or Less poems are at http://laurasalas.wordpress.com/2012/06/14/lighthouse/

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  20. Anonymous7:45 AM

    Good morning and happy Poetry Friday! Today I have the poem Tom Tigercat on my blog. Enjoy!

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  21. Thank for hosting and for this poem, Mary Lee. I needed it today.
    "--more of each
    than have"
    So true.
    Today at The Poem Farm, I have a little goodbye haiku for our oldest pet - Irwin the bunny. http://www.poemfarm.amylv.com/2012/06/goodbye-irwin.html

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  22. Hi Mary Lee, I'm in today with "A Father's Day Poem for My Sons." I hope you're summer is off to a great start!

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    Replies
    1. Found you too!!
      http://lindakulp.blogspot.com/2012/06/fathers-day-poem-for-my-sons.html
      Love it!

      Delete
    2. Thanks, again, able assistant!

      Delete
  23. I know I should have done a father's day poem...but the boats and tide drew me in...
    http://mainelywrite.blogspot.com/2012/06/tugging-of-tides.html is where you will find my poem today.

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  24. I do love that Berry poem, but have to disagree about the electric wires. In moderation screens are a great advantage!! It's a question of balance...

    I am reviewing a poetry book by Marilyn Singer today, with a fox sighting thrown in. Thanks for rounding us up today!!

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  25. Thanks for hosting, Mary Lee. Your poem made me smile - yes, we are very screen dependant. It's a timely reminder to get out and smell the roses.

    My PF post focuses on Jorge Argueta's beautiful Talking with Mother Earth/Hablando con Madre Tierra.

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  26. Hi Mary Lee,
    Thanks for hosting. School is over and we're swimming! So I've posted an original poem addressing the pool at http://www.lizsteinglass.com/
    Happy Poetry Friday!
    Liz

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  27. This poem is great life advice as I stare at a computer screen. Thank you for sharing!

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  28. Anonymous9:46 AM

    Thanks for hosting, Mary Lee. At Booktalking I'm sharing The Construction Crew by Lynn Meltzer (Author) and Carrie Eko-Burgess (Illustrator) http://wp.me/pa8jB-1s1

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  29. Hi, Mary Lee, thanks for hosting once again. My post today is a list of poetry books about fathers in honor of Father's Day. Sylvia
    http://poetryforchildren.blogspot.com/

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  30. Thanks for hosting Mary Lee. And for that picture of the Colorado sky and the gorgeous reminder poem. Today I'm sharing "Knoxville, Tennessee," a perfect poem for savoring on a summer day.

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    Replies
    1. Here's Carol's link for Knoxvill, Tennessee: http://carolwscorner.blogspot.com/2012/06/poetry-friday.html
      Found you!!!

      Delete
    2. Thanks for the detective work, Donna!

      Delete
    3. Actually, it's a rare Colorado-ish Ohio sky!

      Delete
  31. Mary Lee,

    Thanks for doing the roundup this week. Love your poem selection!

    At Wild Rose Reader, I have an original memoir poem titled "Picking Strawberries."

    http://wildrosereader.blogspot.com/2012/06/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none_15.html

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  32. Thanks for hosting. Here is a poem about coming to terms with the loss of a child.

    http://pentiment.blogspot.com/2012/06/poetry-friday-majority.html

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  33. Thanks for hosting. I like the line "live a three-dimensioned life." Here is a poem about the mysterious sock monster http://www.renajtraxelblog.com/2012/06/poetic-captions-sock-monster.html

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  34. http://thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com/2012/06/poetry-friday-two-places.html Hope I'm not too late to be included! I've been traveling all day and this is the first thing I'm doing at the motel...

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    Replies
    1. It's never too late! Poetry Friday is honored that it is the first thing you think of after a day of travel!

      Welcome home...to one of them!

      Delete
  35. Thanks for hosting.
    My selection is "Behind the museum door: poems to celebrate the wonders of museums" written by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Stacey Dressen-McQueen

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  36. Loved the poem you posted. Thanks for the inspiration!

    At On Point I have Memory's Shimmer, and at readertotz we have How Doth the Little Crocodile. Thank you for hosting!

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  37. Patience, slowing down, and silence...nice wisdom here. I don't have a poem this week, daughter had her tonsils out Friday! I am thinking this experience will percolate a poem for sure, OUCH! Thanks for hosting.

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