Optical Phantasma

Moved from the Metaphoratorium Gallery:

The optical confusion obscuring this 2005 winter view of my front door, easily lends itself to metaphor. I took this shot from the living room window, through double-pain glass. I like the little light ghosts that resulted. Like everyone else, my view of the world can be distorted by phantasms: of imagination, personal history, assumption and unfortunate but transitory conditions inside the cranium.

---- Mar Walker

In From The Cold at the Bowery Poetry Club 1/1/2004

New Year's Day at the Bowery Poetry Club
-- an old post moved from the Metaphoratorium

With hundreds of involved and expectant listeners, a backdrop of floor to ceiling artwork draped over raw brick walls, and a crop of wild-eye poets reving with no holds bared - The 10th Anuual New Year's Day Alternative Poetry/Performance Extravaganza held this year at the Bowery Poetry Club, was a marvel! Called "In From The Cold" it featured hunderds of poets.Each reader had three minutes before some flag waving and electronic noise kicked in to limit the selections to the alloted time. Readings began at 2:30PM and ran until midnite. Many thanks to Bob Holden of the Bowery Cafe for this wonderful event. It was video taped and there was a book table at the back.

The Ct delgation included Dasha Walters (above, photo by the Sampsons), Robin Sampson, Eli Cleary, Sandra Ebner, John Jeffrey, John Basinger, Faith and Peter Vicinanza, Alice-Ann Harwood, me (Mistryel aka Mar Walker) and possibly some I have missed. For an additional account of the event go to: http://www.poetrycentral.com/cold.html

In addition let me make a plug for the Bowery Cafe. What a fabulous place. Walking in, I felt at home immediately. The people were eclectic and interesting and welcoming. There is a coffee/food bar and a lliquorbar so all manor of persons can get their chosen libations without difficulty. (The coffee bartender read a very gripping poem mediating peace between the Jewish and Muslim traditions.) Try this open mike. It's worth the commute. http://www.bowerypoetry.com/

2002 post on Billy Collin

Moved from the original metaphoratorim:

In 2002 Billy Collins filled Ives Hall at WCSU in Danbury

by Mar Walker

It was like a reunion. On a Monday evening, Oct. 7, 2002, wild poets of all ages and philosophies came down from the hills, from area academia, from the kitchens of suburbia, from Waterbury and Weschester to hear the poet laureate of the United States. Some hadn't seen each other in years. Not only was the lower floor of Ives Concert Hall crowded, the balcony also harbored a hundred or so listeners.

After a short introduction, Billy Collins read for an hour. His low-key reading style offered a human vision replete with backhanded Bob Newhart humor. His voice sounded familiar, like a favortie uncle telling stories on the porch. After the reading, he answered questions then patiently signed books for a long line of admirers, which took over an hour. He was not able to attend the post reading reception, held in the downstairs bandroom behind the auditorium.

Most loved it, a few were looking for political passion. Gerard Brooker, a co-host with the Bethel Art Junction's Wednesday night Poetry series, asked Mr. Collins if, as a poet laureate, he didn't feel some obligation to write a poem about the "situation" with Iraq. Mr. Collins said he believed that the term political poetry was something of an oxymoron, (an opinion shared by former poet laureate Stanley Kunitz). He referenced Yeats (something about a poem being a very little thing, and who is a poet to inform a diplomate.) He added that good political poetry was extremely difficult to write.

In response another question, Mr. Collins said that a poet laureate 's life involves a lot of traveling and official functions, which leave little time for pondering or writing. A very young poetess asked Mr. Collins where he got his ideas. He replied with an example. After sitting on a park bench and noticing a white chess piece, a knight, lying in the grass alone, he pondered about the other pieces and where they might be. He read the poem to illustrate how a simple observation had grown into something more.

The reading was video taped by arts afficiando and video-wiz Gregory Davis, and may be broadcast on Charter and or Comcast stations. Call your local public assess channel for information.

---- Mar (Mistryel) Walker