MARVIN BELL (Poet)

                                      

                               Marvin Bell was born August 3, 1937. 

                       He died in 2020 after publishing over 20 books.

                      The first Poet Laureate of Iowa gave me a cento 

                                            through lines appearing

                                              in his 1984 collection: 

 Drawn by Stones, by Earth, by Things that Have Been in the Fire.

(Antheneum, New York)

        The Literary journal Vita Poetica recently published my Marvin Bell poem

                               "Putting Words Next to Silence."

                    You may read/listen to this cento poem at 

          https://www.vitapoetica.org/poetry/putting-words-next-to-silence

                                    (With thanks to all at Vita Poetica.)  

        "Being a grownup means knowing that things end."

                                                                                                               -Marvin Bell

                                                                (2018 Interview The Rumpus)

                                                  

E. B. White

 On this day in 1899  E. B. White was born.

In a letter to the poet Philip Booth, Mr. White said that a good poem is

like an anchovy: it makes you want another right away and pretty soon

the tin is empty and you have a bellyache or a small bone caught in your

throat or both.

Makes me smile! (and if you're a poet) you wish you might be as true 

and clever and original as Mr. White.

        Now why place an Agapanthus (Lily of the Nile) right in the middle
       of good stuff about E. B. White. Well, our sidewalks are leaning with
       an abundance of these flowers  and one can hardly get by without
       knocking the neck out of them. And I have another little story about
       our New Yorker essayist, which has to do with sidewalks and a comment
       from one of his friends.

               I trust that you will spare the reading public 

          your little adventures in sidewalk contentment. 

       With deep gratitude to E.B. White for all his stories.

         

                                             

Missed moments

On this special day . . . 

             I greet you once again with an image and a thought. 

                                   Do you see what I see?

Last night I captured this moment in a firework display. When it

came out of the camera, I saw our flag. I'm wondering if any of

my neighbors saw it for that instant in the sky. 

How many of us miss "moments" because we are looking for the

next big event in our life?

Blessings of Liberty and Justice 

                   for All 

     on this day of celebration!

Hints of Fall

California has wind and heat and fires in the Fall. 

However, sometimes we're lucky enough to see hints 

that Autumn is near in the Golden State.

A Ground Squirrel's Squeal

     A Curious Cat (not quite all black)

Then through the trees and in the heart

that feeling that only this time of year

can bring.

Let's slow down and enjoy 

before it is gone

Blessings This Fall 

The New Seekers - I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing 1972 with Lyrics

Harmony In Our World

As world leaders meet . . .

Let's hope for togetherness, oneness, kinship--

In another word like that beautiful song from

The New Seekers in 1972: Harmony.

Surprise

Daily we must remind ourselves 

that surprises happen when we 

least expect them. The secret: 

be alert and ready to embrace them.

          Black-crowned Night Heron 

                     
. . .And for the artist to happen onto something
beautiful is a true gift.
     Be prepared.
     Be attentive.
     Be generous--share the gift.

And in light of the word SHARE.
Here is a link to the latest issue of the CRESSET.

http://thecresset.org/index.html

http://thecresset.org/2019/Trinity/Gunton_T19.html


(Yours truly is proud and honored to have one of
her cento poems published in this literary review
that hails from Valparaiso University.)

                      Peace