Jason Magabo Perez on Being San Diego Poet Laureate
"Poetry was, I guess in Marxist terms, it was the cultural work. It was just important to the movement and I come from communities that are both within the Filipino community, but broader, expansive coalitions where we know that art and literature are a significant part of what we do. So, it just happened to be the place where I wanted to spend my energy."
via THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE |
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What Sparks Poetry:
Melissa Kwasny on "Sleeping with the Cedars"
"Most of us are frightened of the future and grief stricken at what humans have done to the earth. As I see it, one of the unique tasks of poets, especially at this time, is to be in imaginative relation with the Earth. And to use language as a tool toward that effort. To have an imaginative—as opposed to an abstract or intellectual—relationship with the earth is to be in attendance to what Denise Levertov called 'other forms of life that want to live.'" |
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Write with Poetry Daily This April, to celebrate National Poetry Month, we'll share popular writing prompts from our "What Sparks Poetry" essay series each morning. Write along with us!
Read Martin Carter’s poem, "This is the Dark Time My Love," before you sleep or while you take a rest break (the hour on the clock does not matter), paying special attention to the phrase “my love.” When you wake, or in a later rest break, write (without thinking too much about it) a short response, no longer than Carter’s own poem, as if you were the beloved. Do this as often as you can, during two weeks. Then discard your drafts without reading them over. Write an entirely new poem about a personal or political crisis in your life. Vahni Capildeo |
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