Comments on The Burd Report: Guess who's coming to dinner, and all day too, tom...

A Charles Bukowski poem for Merkly Unmuffled: BEE...

2010-08-14T09:02:22.611-04:00

A Charles Bukowski poem for Merkly Unmuffled:

BEER
from: Love is A Mad Dog From Hell

I don't know how many bottles of beer
I have consumed while waiting for things
to get better
I dont know how much wine and whisky
and beer
mostly beer
I have consumed after
splits with women-
waiting for the phone to ring
waiting for the sound of footsteps,
and the phone to ring
waiting for the sounds of footsteps,
and the phone never rings
until much later
and the footsteps never arrive
until much later
when my stomach is coming up
out of my mouth
they arrive as fresh as spring flowers:
"what the hell have you done to yourself?
it will be 3 days before you can fuck me!"

the female is durable
she lives seven and one half years longer
than the male, and she drinks very little beer
because she knows its bad for the figure.

while we are going mad
they are out
dancing and laughing
with horney cowboys.

well, there's beer
sacks and sacks of empty beer bottles
and when you pick one up
the bottle fall through the wet bottom
of the paper sack
rolling
clanking
spilling gray wet ash
and stale beer,
or the sacks fall over at 4 a.m.
in the morning
making the only sound in your life.

beer
rivers and seas of beer
the radio singing love songs
as the phone remains silent
and the walls stand
straight up and down
and beer is all there is.

Carlyn Smart is a Facebook Friend. Her poetry is v...

2010-08-14T08:58:28.342-04:00

Carlyn Smart is a Facebook Friend. Her poetry is visceral. I like October

Women is a book I will look into. Quite adaucious for Bukowski to title a book thus, but it is in keeping with his ouevre, which appeals to me.

Also his attitude appeals to me. Returning to Cobourg, I find so many pretentious people in the arts scene here, who have amazingly thin skin compared to Bukowski's thick hide.

There is the Better Poems & Garden set, and then there are real people.

Nice to know that you are a fellow traveller.

If you haven't, you should read Bukowski's...

2010-08-13T23:45:04.042-04:00

If you haven't, you should read Bukowski's book "Women", I think you'd like it. . .my personal favorites of his are "Blue Bird" and "The Great Escape". His collection of poems "Love is a Mad Dog from Hell" was the first book of poems I ever bought.

You also may like Carolyn Smart:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolyn_Smart

I studied with her at Queen's, she taught me the difference between raw poetry and teenage angst :-)

The Quinte Hotel by that beer swiller Purdy. It was a privilege to share the stage with him in Belleville. He lifted a pint, I lifted a reefer.

Since we're already miles away from a discussi...

2010-08-13T14:20:14.098-04:00

Since we're already miles away from a discussion about Young Trudeau anyway, I will risk Wally's wrath by picking up on Merk's comments about the Quinte Hotel and the basement Green Room.

Having lived in Belleville myself in the early 70's I remember the place too. It was there I saw my first and only real exotic dancer, bath tub full of bubbles and all. She didn't take it all off and this was before the trashy pole dancing era; she was an artist.

Anybody else remember the Crystal Hotel over on Front? Across the street was a pool hall with a flat top grill at the front. For 35 cents you could buy a fantastic Yotsi Burger with fried onions, made by the guy it was named for.

I still remember how good they were, and for 40 cents you could get 2 drafts over at the Crystal. Just don't forget, Ladies and Escorts on one side, Men's room on the other.

Merk: do you have stories about the Docters Hotel across from the Belleville train station? It always seemed mysterious in some way and looked closed all the time even though it wasn't.

May I ad to your 'slum' cannon, Wally? A...

2010-08-13T09:31:54.119-04:00

May I ad to your 'slum' cannon, Wally?

Al Purdy's 'At The Green Door' always appealled to me -especially since, as a young CN freight brakeman I spent many a dismal layover at The Quinte Hotel in the 1970's and once actually chatted with Al Purdy ensconsed at the bar of The Green Door -the Quinte's notorious basement tap room. The Green Door wasn't known for the poet(s) that frequented it; it was known for Labatt's 50 on tap and celophane wrapped Chuckwagon Sandwiches that pre-dated the reign of George Hees.

Unfortunately I found that my links in the above c...

2010-08-12T16:10:28.732-04:00

Unfortunately I found that my links in the above comment resulted in failure. Here is a more competent linkage for those wishing to indulge in the finer literary slums, instead of the pristine freshness of the Better Poems & Garden set.

1. Bukowsku's poetry = http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/to-the-whore-who-took-my-poems

2. Cynthia Gould = http://poetency.blogspot.com/2008/10/free-speech-breaks-out-at-canzine.html

3. Susan Cisneros = http://www.sandracisneros.com/major_works.php?work=loose

4. To The End of YES = http://poetency.blogspot.com/2010/06/to-end-of-yes.html

5. Sun Love = http://poetency.blogspot.com/2010/06/sun-love.html

Spineless, er, uh, Anonymous spilled their beans, ...

2010-08-12T13:13:41.898-04:00

Spineless, er, uh, Anonymous spilled their beans, “what the hell's the weed for, Wallace? ya don't smoke, as far as yer previous posts indicate. Can't trust anybody to tell the truth anymore.”

Please provide the quote wherein I assert that I have never smoked marijuana in my life. With the assistance of a refresher reading and comprehension course, you might be able to ascertain the precision of my previous comments. We certainly can’t trust Anonymous for their semi-literacy – musta been educaded in Ontario’s secondairy schkool cistern.

Mrs Baker ... Yes, I have read some of Bukowski’s poetry. It appeals to me very much. I regret that I came upon him rather late in my life.

In return, let me recommend Cynthia Gould, who grew up in Cobourg and went to the wicked city to form High Heels Lo Fi. It was my privilege to be introduced by her at a poetry performance I did at Art Bar in Toronto. Scroll down the article to read her wonderful poem,. Gutter Stars.

My other favourite poet is Sandra Cisneros. I especially recommend her collection, Loose Woman with poems entitled “I Am So Depressed I Feel Like Jumping in the River Behind My House but Won't Because I'm Thirty-Eight and Not Eighteen” She is described as “Chicana feminist, poet, and novelist, Sandra Cisneros, has been described most recently as "frankly erotic" (New York Daily News) and as a writer "whose literary voice is a deluge of playfulness, naughtiness, heartbreak, and triumph" (The Miami Herald). On the cover of her latest volume of poetry, Loose Woman, Time magazine describes her as "a unique feminist voice that is at once frank, saucy, realistic, audacious." Cisneros would likely agree with her critics—for she, herself, rounds out this R-rated collection with a fierce and powerful self-assessment: "I'm Bitch. Beast. Macha."

For my own part, I recently posted a few poems on my blog, Poetency & Apoetasy. Raw poetry, visceral poetry, can still disturb people. The example is the reaction I received for posting TO THE END OF YES which garnered 48 responses. Interestingly the vast majority of comments were by women, pro and con. I wouldn’t call it a great poem. However, I do feel comfortable with SUN LOVE and if it effective, you may never look at a sunset in the same way again.

what the hell's the weed for, Wallace? ya don&...

2010-08-12T09:57:36.601-04:00

what the hell's the weed for, Wallace? ya don't smoke, as far as yer previous posts indicate. Can't trust anybody to tell the truth anymore.

On an unrelated note. . . Wally, you kind of remi...

2010-08-12T08:45:43.784-04:00

On an unrelated note. . .

Wally, you kind of remind me of Charles Bukowski. . .Have you read his poetry at all? If you haven't you should, Bukowski is awesome.

He drank, smoked and fucked his way through life. Then he wrote some poetry about it.

"Why, Wally? Because maybe it's more p...

2010-08-11T19:39:27.910-04:00
"Why, Wally? Because maybe it's more productive than sitting in stir."

Agreed.

"Maybe it's more rehabilitative than cranking a speedball."

Agreed

"Maybe it's more theraputic to the thousands of mentally ill currently warehoused in our federal prison system than forced oral sex."

Agreed

"Maybe fresh air beats solitary.

Agreed

Maybe individual human beings should be treated like individual human beings.

Agreed

"What do you want, Wally? Poetry workshops instead of animal husbandry? Explorations milking the meanings of Ezra Pound and T.S. Elliot 'fighting in the captain's tower' as opposed to getting up at 5 and milking the cows? Honestly, Wally -what does your supposed, alleged, tossed off question mean? What kind of answer are you seeking?"

Sheesh, I just asked a question, that's all, a single word question. Poetry workshops are nothing more than a means for a very few people to convince themselves that they are poets after they pay a poet to pretend that they have any talent. One is a poet or they are not. I can take a lifetime of singing lessons and there is not a chance that I will sing anywhere near as good as Jay Leno. I don't conduct poetry workshops because I can't bring myself to waste the time.

Perhaps I asked the question to ascertain whether you had a better idea than a prison "farm" program. Perhaps carpentry programs, brick-laying, plumbing, trades programs -- that will satisfy all of the concerns you laid out above. But better than a retrograde FARM program. Well, we know how many ex-cons when they are released flock to their local farms for work. Bullshit -- they go to urban centres.

So again, why is the Prison FARM program so valuable to get arrested for, when other programs might be better to entertain.

"And what kind of world do you want exactly?"

Free weed and 72 sluts.

Why, Wally? Because maybe it's more productive...

2010-08-11T17:37:56.913-04:00
Why, Wally? Because maybe it's more productive than sitting in stir. Maybe it's more rehabilitative than cranking a speedball. Maybe it's more theraputic to the thousands of mentally ill currently warehoused in our federal prison system than forced oral sex. Maybe fresh air beats solitary. Maybe individual human beings should be treated like individual human beings.

What do you want, Wally? Poetry workshops instead of animal husbandry? Explorations milking the meanings of Ezra Pound and T.S. Elliot 'fighting in the captain's tower' as opposed to getting up at 5 and milking the cows?

Honestly, Wally -what does your supposed, alleged, tossed off question mean? What kind of answer are you seeking?

And what kind of world do you want exactly?

"...save the federal prison agriculture pr...

2010-08-11T12:30:50.800-04:00
"...save the federal prison agriculture program?"

Why?

Why wasn't young Mr. Trudeau at the demonstrat...

2010-08-11T09:34:10.586-04:00
Why wasn't young Mr. Trudeau at the demonstration in Kingston to save the federal prison agriculture program? Why wasn't Michael Ignatieff there getting himself arrested along with an 80-year old woman and a 14-year old girl? Where is Bob Rae and Gerrard Kennedy? Or Kim Ruud? There's about a million dollars in free publicity out there. All you have to do is take a principled stand and get arrested along with a whole lot of other people who just want the long, dark nightmare of Stephen Harper's Handmaid's Tale to end.

But no. We'll do backyard barbecues instead. How utterly pathetic.

Nothing says openness and transparency like having...

2010-08-10T22:53:54.852-04:00
Nothing says openness and transparency like having someone in for no less than 3 invitation only events in 1 day! It is nice to see that there is 1 public event, the less than 24 hour notice really makes it convenient for people to come out and see the visitor to our riding.

Is this the sort of openness we can expect from Kim Rudd and crew if elected?

Wanna see how far I'll go to get a ticket? J...

2010-08-10T19:50:51.286-04:00
Wanna see how far I'll go to get a ticket?

Just watch me.