…poetry–gee, who would’ve thought? I found this quite fun (it’s a great way to develop density skills) and great practice as I prepare to take on a few new writing projects, one on May Day, where I hope to write a poem every two days, and the other a creative writing writing class where I’m hoping to write some more poetry. All poetry and no play–makes for a stunning lifestyle. I’m dreaming of sunning in the yard with the birds, and lapping away at letters. Do it yourself.

…is something I’ve been thinking about lately–the speed of information, the speed of technology, the speed of the imagination when encountering the speed of information and technology. Of course, it’s almost mind-boggling if you think about it, but I’m fond of the analogy one English professor used this term: existence is like a book, we can assume the whole picture, but we must live one page, one paragraph, one sentence, one word, one letter at a time (well, maybe he didn’t say it quite that way–this is the way my brain stored it). Much like Zeno’s paradox (which we were discussing at the time) even though we’ve read through the words, the paragraphs, the pages, and the story, in the end, we’ll still have lived only one life. (Although if we were the arrow in flight, it might be a different story. Or not).

…really takes on new meaning when listened/watched like this. Or this. Or this (I’m for the saucy postcards. I like postcards. The last one I got in the mail was last week: Picasso’s La Joie de Vivre (thanks Annette)–I tried to get a picture, but unfortunately the flash got in the way of the picture, and I couldn’t get it on camera very well).

Tomorrow night is the final reading from the SWG mentorship program. As an ex-apprentice I enjoy seeing the new apprentices read from their work. It’s an amazing program– I did my mentorship with Judy Krause–her influence has been extensive and invaluable to me.

…seems the reverse of contests that I’ve entered in the previous year (ok, in reality, only one contest called for an interpretation of a postcard and I didn’t win that one); however, it’s an interesting concept nonetheless. Video poetry. I think there may to more to this than meets the eye.

…of what I rummaged up yesterday (the books were very picked over).

Territories–Elizabeth Allen
Blue Windows–Catherine Buckaway
Silence of the Country–Kristjana Gunnars
Cereus Blooms at Night–Shani Mootoo
Dark Halo–Mick Burrs

They were all $1.00 with the exception of Mootoo which was $.50. Sigh. I think I’m almost set for the summer reading frenzy. Or not.

…film by Antonioni was at the RPL recently and I hope to get another chance to see it. I found a review of The Passenger here at Logos. I liked what the review to say about Antonioni and film: “In Antonioni’s words his films ‘are born in the same way that poetry is born for poets’ “.

Jeez, I love those words, not that I have a problem with books, only that people should hang on to such treasures. The Regina Symphony book sale is on at the mall, which is only one block away from my house–the mall incidently that contains the wonderful Winners store, to which I can accredit the 23 skirts in my wardrobe (somehow that sounds worse than it is). So here’s what I found today (the exciting part is each day (much like Winners) there is new stuff, and they keep refilling the shelves from the boxes of donated books–funny (not ha, ha), but people keep threatening to come to my panic room and remove items for said sale, (not)):

One hardback copy (mint condition–no writing within) of The Complete Pelican Shakespeare for my older daughter (15): $9.00
Selected Poems–Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi–$.50
Discourse on Thinking–Martin Heidegger–$1.00
The Story of the Iliad–$.50
Gulliver’s Travels –Jonathan Swift–(an older copy)–$.50
The Kingfisher–Amy Clampitt–$1.00
T.S.Eliot–Critique–T.S. Pearce(for the British boys course in fall) $1.50
Fifty Contemporary Thinkers: From Structualism to Postmodernity–John Lechte–$2.50
The Picador Book of Comtemporary Irish Fiction–Dermot Bolger–(huge)–$3.00
Water is the First World–Susan Andrews Grace–(do I hear gasps?)-$1.00
the breath you take from the lord–Patrick Friesen–$1.00

and one CD of Cole Porter’s hits by various artists–$2.00

Hours of enjoyment–priceless!!!!

Not bad. I can hardly wait to go back tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after. (I hope it’s over by Sunday, but then again, maybe not).

“Happiness is based on a just discrimination of what is necessary, what is neither necessary nor destructive, and what is destructive” Ursula K. LeGuin– from “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”.

Another book purchase: Kenneth J Harvey’s Inside.

…is awaiting; however, this was more fun.

…of cleaning–my house is desperately calling to me through the dust moles and through the piles upon piles of books awaiting the sorting–I’m on the computer in search of poetry. I was at the bookstore today (imagine!) and picked myself up the Portable Hannah Arendt (I think it’s the one on the list for the philosophy class in the fall), but I spied a book by British writer Mark Haddon which I really wanted because (I’m not happy with confessing this) I liked the cover. What a cool cover! Even though there were no french flaps, they weren’t needed. Instead it had one of those circular spinning wheels with pictures to view in cut-outs (I’m sure there must be a name for it, but for the life if me I have no idea what it is). Haddon has his own web page. Also, for those who are like me and love to listen to their favourite poetry John Mackenzie has delightfully shared a few poems in his wonderful voice over the past few days, and my fingers stumbled over this page.