UNITED STATES OF POETRY COMPILATION

What could be more weird than to hear poet reading his own stuff. Honestly, i always held some kind of resentment towards this particular "poet reading poem" voice. It is so unnatural, so forced - i want to throw up. I can't stand it. But there some bright spots here and there.



When i was a kid i was a big fan of United States of Poetry series on PBS. I couldn't stand a word from it but there was something slick in the presentation that made me think it was cool. And since i haven't seen it for a long time - it gained a lot from "plays better in your memory" thing.
It was only years later when i actually got to know most of the names from the series. And it's funny how great this series holds up in these days when poets are underexposed and overexposed in the most surreal ways (think about Hera Lindsay Bird). Here's the selection of my favorite bits

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Leonard COHEN - Democracy

No post without good old Lenny! Anyway, Cohen's contribution to a series is one of his last appearances before going into the seclusion at the Mt. Baldy. The poem itself, "Democracy" is cruel deconstruction of the concept of democracy in the modern world. It is not what it seems, everything is upside down and backwards. You need sunglasses to see through the layers of subliminal conditioning. "It's coming from the feel / that this ain't exactly real, / or it's real, but it ain't exactly there." - no further comments. 

Maggie ESTEP - I'm an emotional idiot

There was a time when Maggie Estep was woman of my dreams. It was short period. Maggie's intense, almost hysterical delivery tells a story inside of a story - you get many details about the character from whose point of view the poem is. The poem itself shows what a mess this person is. Thoughts contradict one another, it just goes on and on. When i hear this poem i think about Bellisario's Maxim "Don't think too hard about it". It's like your usual street apparition - you experience it, walk away and then reflect on it because you have nothing else to do. I miss you Maggie.

Patricia SMITH - Chinese Cucumbers

Remember a time when AIDS was mysterious unstoppable plague? Frenzied search for the cure, having no idea what's going on - desperate attempts. It tells one such story. It is as tragic as it is comic. 

Jimmy CARTER - Considering the Void

I'm not kidding. Never thought there's going to be POTUS in my post, but here it is. Jimmy Carter may be not fan favorite, but here he deliver one fine poem. I mean - there's nothing special about it, it's s simple reflection on being and nothingness, the big stuff every poet loves to tackle with once in a while. It sounds a bit like Kerouac - tone of Carter's voice would fit for Kerouac's writing.

Javier PINA - Bilingual in a Cardboard Box

This is one happened to be here because i'm politically correct. It is more of a Public Service Announcement trying too hard and thus looking a bit awkward. 

John LEGUIZAMO - Seis Milonga

Groovy! John Leguizamo may be better known as an actor and Luigi Mario we deserve, but he's fine stand up comedian too. Check out his 1998 one-man show Freak directed by Spike Lee - awesome-awesome stuff. Here he does what he does best - brings some style. We got cuban merengue-guitar, kaleidoscope of images - you get into the swirl of words and then it's over and you think "Damn! That was cool!". And you listen to it again. The poem is about racial stereotypes and self-labeling, but Leguizamo also touches an issue of accepting those stereotypes and letting them to shape the personality in the most horrendous ways.

Larry EIGNER - What time is it

Eigner is one of the more obscure, mythic figures in American Poetry. He suffered from palsy, overcame it and forged his own unique poetic style. Short, telegraphic, no spare word. Hear it.

Sawyer SHEFTS - Sounds

This childish poem about sounds around is charming and completely useless. That's why i like it. Dog barks, wind blows, snores, plunck, plunck, zzzzzzzzzz, zzzzzzzzzz, ahhhh, ahhh, ahhhhhhh - so many familiar things...

Carla HARRYMAN - Words

Trying to dive deep into the nature of words is something of poets disease. There's no point in trying, aside from failing miserably and feeling nice about it, but everybody wants to do it anyway. Just like there are no other things to do. Looping reflection, trying to move forward, failing, trying again and again and again. Thrilling.

Peter COOK - The United States of Poetry

Poem in sign language! Shut up and take my money...wait, that's kinda advertisement...no way...well...looks fun. The last line was such a turn off...like the concept.

Lawrence FERLINGHETTI - I am Waiting

He waits for something. Something really good and inspiring and so on and so forth. Presumably miracle. Good luck. I'm waiting for the punchline.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti sounds like my grandfather. I think Joe Cocker could do a nice performance out of it.