Myth of Arrival

Poets seem to have unending advice to give. Not all of it is good or interesting or timely, but when it rings with you it tends to change your way of thinking.¹ Or perhaps I should say this a little more personally; when poetry matters to me it is because it has changed my world forever. War also can do that. Ditto with love. A letter from Sam Hamill arrived earlier today. It reads in part:

Does anyone wish to offer a few polite remarks to Henry Kissinger? Among his many accomplishments besides Viet Nam, the Nobel Peace Prize winner gets credit for overthrowing the duly elected government of Salvador Allende in Chile on September 11, 1973.

On March 10th and 11th this year the fourteen Presidential Libraries and the National Archives will host a conference at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston on "Vietnam and the Presidency." Many of the leading U.S. "decision makers" of that war will be present , including former Secretary of State, and National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, who rarely makes such public appearances. Unfortunately, perspectives will be limited, as will access to the conference: currently no seats are available. In an effort to address these issues, across the road at the University of Massachusetts Boston, the William Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social Consequences will host a series of events offering those who have lived the consequences of these decisions to make their own testimonies and present their perspectives. In an effort to provide individulas unable to attend the same opportunity we are offering to deliver letters and emails directly to the conference, and to Mr. Kissinger. We ask these letters be addressed to Mr. Kissinger, personnally, since he will be the chief architect of the war who will be present. In a time when the same issues of Presidential power and the abuse of that power we saw in Vietnam are again in the air, we feel this conference offers a unique opportunity to deliver a message. email may be addressed to

I mention this partly because this news needs to get into the right hands and you are them. Also, because I cannot think of Mr. Kissinger without humming Monty Python's ode:

Henry Kissinger, how I'm missing ya,
You're the doctor of my dreams,
With your crinkly hair and your glassy stare
And your Machiavellian schemes
I know they say that you are very vain
And short and fat and pushy, but at least you're not insane
Henry Kissinger, how I'm missing ya,
And wishing you were here.

Henry Kissinger, how I'm missing ya,
You're so chubby, and so neat,
With your funny clothes, and your squishy nose
You're like a German parakeet,
All right, so people say that you don't care,
But you've got nicer legs than Hitler,
and bigger tits than Cher,
Henry Kissinger, how I'm missing ya,
And wishing you were here.

And yes, I mention all this because March 10th is also my birthday. I love birthdays.

1. For example, this quote from the 1855 preface to "Leaves of Grass" by Walt Whitman will be buried in my grave with me. It simply is:

   Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown, or to any man or number of men-go freely with powerful uneducated persons, and with the young, and with the mothers or families-re-examine all you have been told in school or church or in any book, and dismiss whatever insults your own soul; and your very flesh shall be a great poem, and have the richest fluency, not only in its words, but in the silent lines of its lips and face, and between the lashes of your eyes, and in every motion and joint of your body …

   [back]

You might not know this, but of the few dreams I have one of them is to go to South Africa's Dyer Island and go diving with the largest colony of Great White sharks in the world. Just wee Zachary surrounded by a dozen or so 10 foot long sharks. What fun! I was thinking about this because my latest edition of SharkDiver magazine just arrived. And this being Friday¹ I can spend a little time fantasizing about all the things I might do, but probably won't. There is no shame in that, is there?

Like washing, shampooing, laundry!

How can one go scuba diving with the lords of the oceans if laundry is a pressing issue (no pun, folks)? I think I recall that I once wrote this: Today I have been thinking about the term "las lavanderas," the washerwomen of the world. And I am still thinking.

Here is a new version of Castellanos' Lavanderas del Grijalva. Here is the Grijalva river in Chiapas, Mexico. Something to look at while you read this since I was not happy with my old translation.

1. I wrote to a friend today the following: Ah, Friday! I used to feel sorry for Fridays because they had to carry so much expectations, the weekend! Everyone would think: Time to relax and have fun … or go out dancing … or find a new lover … or go on an adventure. Tuesdays and Sundays don't suffer like Friday, well maybe they do? Now I think of it I work on my Fridays so they don't have the same responsibilities as they used to. In fact, Sunday and Wednesday being my days off now, I guess Tuesdays and Saturdays have to work a lot harder for me. How strange, treating days of the week like beasts of burden? I wonder if that is still true? [back]

Wolfgang Saxon wrote a nice memorial in the NYTimes for Canadian poet Irving Layton. It goes as follows:

Irving Layton, a Canadian poet as quirky as he was prolific, died on Jan. 4 in Montreal. He was 93.

The death was announced on his Web site. Press reports from Montreal said the cause was Alzheimer's disease, diagnosed in 1994.

Foreign-born, though barely so, Mr. Layton became a national celebrity with an oeuvre of more than 40 volumes of verse and prose dating to the mid-1940's. He was both influential and controversial in Canada for decades. Admired by nobody more than himself, he also had his admirers in Europe and Asia, particularly in Italy and Korea.

In the United States his following was mainly confined to niches, like the school of Black Mountain poets, a leading forum of experimental verse, to whom he became a mentor. These poets, including Robert Creeley, could respond to Mr. Layton's idiosyncratic approach and use it in their innovative yet disciplined verse forms.

Abrasive by nature, living an often flamboyantly unruly existence and seemingly enjoying his rambunctious reputation, he poured out verse that could be gritty, satirical, belligerent, acerbic or erotic. He described himself as "a quiet madman, never far from tears." Others thought of him as the combined Picasso and Mae West of Canadian poetry.

His air of self-importance and misogynous undertones put off some readers and may have contributed to his relative obscurity in the United States. But critics generally recognized him as a unique and earthy presence in Canadian letters who managed to bring poetry into contemporary affairs, and vice versa.

Irving Peter Lazarovitch - a surname later changed - was born in a small town in Romania and taken to Canada as an infant; the family eventually settled in Montreal. His first poem, dedicated to a teacher, was written in the sixth grade and included in a collection of love poetry published in 1986, "Dance With Desire." He graduated from Macdonald College in 1939 and, after serving in the Canadian Army artillery in World War II, received a master's degree from McGill University in 1946.

His first published volume of poetry was "Here and Now" in 1945. Subsequent volumes in the 1950's defined his voice as a literary figure, as did his voluminous correspondence with Creeley and the Canadian writers Cid Corman and Jonathan Williams. He lectured and taught as a professor and poet in residence at a number of Canadian colleges and universities into the late 1980's.

Mr. Layton was married five times, most recently to Anna Pottier in 1984. According to his Web site, his other survivors include his two sons, Max and David, and two daughters, Nao and Samantha.

Iowa State University is proposing a rather interesting literary anthology. Their flyer looks a little like this:

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Ever since Eve ate from the apple of the tree of knowledge and was forced from the Garden of Eden, humans have been tinkering with the science of creation and dealing with the consequences of it. Genetics is the science of heredity, and the modern application is the field of genomics — the science of DNA sequencing and the technologies associated with understanding and manipulating the genetic code. Today scientists are sequencing the genomes of many species, including the chimp, dog, cow, chicken, pig, mouse, and even the human. Understanding the underlying DNA or genetic code offers the opportunity to revolutionize medicine and alter the animals that are our companions as well as the animals we depend on for food.

However, just as science has advanced, so have our concerns as humans about the role science plays in our lives. Contemporary writings, such as Ira Levin’s Boys From Brazil, Roger Shattuck’s Forbidden Knowledge: From Prometheus to Pornography, Matt Ridley’s Genome, and films, such as The Fly and Attack of the Clones, have addressed the human ability to clone individuals and manipulate the genetic code, often producing less than desirable results. Human involvement in the science of genomics also requires a principled approach to the ethical, legal and social implications (ELSI) inherent in the field.

The proposed anthology will explore through a body of creative work how the science of genomics overlaps with social values. The project is intended to be an expression of how scientific discovery — and practices — can inspire and energize the ideas of writers, artists, and thinkers in the 21st century.

DEADLINE: April 1, 2006 (receipt deadline)

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Submissions for this anthology should address or be inspired by the impact of genetic and genomics research on all aspects of animal and human life and culture. The editors are soliciting poems, short stories, essays, and works of creative nonfiction that respond to the role of human and animal genomics in society and the outcomes and concerns such research produces. Both traditional and experimental writing will be considered for inclusion.

All submissions should be typed in a 12-point font with double line spacing. Attach a cover sheet that includes the author's name, address, daytime phone number, and email address to the first page of each work. Submissions should not exceed 30 manuscript pages; for poetry, please send no more than 5 poems.

Submissions should be original, unpublished works, although in rare circumstances the editors may choose to reprint an exceptional piece. For submissions of previously published work, provide full bibliographic information for the original publication as well as contact information for the rights manager.

Submissions should be accompanied by a brief cover letter that includes a one-paragraph author bio.

Mail two copies of materials to:

Diana L. Boeckmann, Editor
Genome Literary Project
Iowa State University
Center for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities
171 Carver Hall
Ames, IA 50011-2060

Also, please email the same submission materials in a Word document to Ms. Boeckmann at .

Works will not be returned. Authors and poets will be contacted by email in early spring regarding the results. The speed with which decisions are made will depend largely on the number of submissions received.

“The future of this world lies in the relationship we have with it. Poetry helps develop an understanding and appreciation of and a connection with the world around us.” — Kate Barnes, former Maine Poet Laureate.

Calling all poets with a bone for nature, here is a January contest you need to submit to. Their flyer reads:

Poems are invited for the 2006 Friends of Acadia Poetry Prize competition. The three poems judged best of entries will be published in the Friends of Acadia Journal (print and online), and awarded cash prizes by category.

Guidelines: Nature-based poems of 30 lines or fewer. A cover sheet is required, which states author’s name and address and poem title(s). Do not include author’s name on manuscript(s). Only three poems per author accepted. Entries must be original, unpublished, and not submitted elsewhere. There is no fee to enter.

Deadline: January 30, 2006.

Send to: Editor, Friends of Acadia Journal, P.O. Box 45, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, . Poems will not be returned.