Guano Dribblings…

Wrasslin’ with submittals for our humble little publication, Cheap Seats Ticket to Ride, we “editors” come again and again to the conundrum: what is poetry? What is currently acceptable, accessible, pleasing in rhythm to the ear and presentation to the eye? Tactile, ephemeral, esoteric subject matter? This could become quite a list…

Those who blithely profess to be “poets” or those who have the so called “ability” by virtue of  academically bestowed laurels (bestowed by those who wouldn’t know a couplet from a wood louse) to adjudicate others’ “poetism” will claim: poetry is what the writer wants it to be—no rules, no criteria, whatever dribbles from the inky end of a pen. Well, this just sounds like so much lazy socialist manure…and yet, indeed, it must be considered, because there is (in other than the pointless, frustrated rantings and wailings of poetry societies) no guidelines for what is, acceptable writing—what is truly “poetry.” Sure glad there’s a level of competence required for my plumber…

So…writing “poetry” ends up being a wandering, ego-stroke, pass-time of no apparent value; which it has obviously shown itself to be, more and more over these last many decades.

To rise above the hemorrhoidal discomfort of sloppy writing, the acceptance model of any chicken scratchings as “poetry”—and publication by most (unqualified) ‘zines of any and all of these guano dribblings that flow into their mail box?…stay tuned and we’ll explore the becoming of an accepted, real-deal poetry student.

Max tdc

Slip-Note Seasoning

Late night, relaxed with Lucky-cat; Mtn. Dew and seasoned nori stips—nori for both. Luck’ loves it. Nothing on the television—can always count on PBS…A fund raiser featuring a montage of Glen Campbell’s music career; focusing primarily on the ’68-’72 Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour. Sit back, heavy eye-lids, and relive…

In one particular segment, a duo with Ray Charles: Charles playing a country piece, resorts to that old Floyd Cramer specialty, the country piano slip-note. (Off-key notes slipped in, building [bridging back] to the key line—hey, cannot read a note of music, that’s the best explanation I can scrape together.) Those occasional bright, slip-note embellishments “color points” enliven just about any, otherwise fairly white-bread score, with ease, and without overt frosting.

Mentally reviewing the “poetry,” this old fuzzy grey-matter will recall: I begin to connect a few poems that stand out with those country slip-note piano riffs. Those verse writings with the unexpected, yet appropriately applied “color points” seem to be the most recallable—to me the most enjoyable.

“Color points:” Not necessarily spectrum based, would be written embellishments, 

not slavishly added adverbs and adjectives! sparkles that allow the piece to pop, draw it from the ordinary flat-line construction and allow it to stand a bit more enchantingly proud.

Why: ”bang” instead of “crash, throb, thwack, wallop, thunder.”

Why: “red” instead of “vermillion, rubine, cinnamon; “green” instead of “tart-apple, new, spring, leaf-green…” Note: flowers of red, yellow and blue (not only a really—really boring description, do not exist as such—except in lazy writing.) “Red, yellow and blue” are actually (“primary”) color categories; citrine, mauve, turquoise…are the descriptive touches that make a piece jump up and say howdy!

   As long as the sound, texture, smell or color descriptive is an appropriate one or applied in a metaphorically sound manner, it will succeed. Example, a color: let’s say “xanthos,” can indeed screech into ones face or cause one’s teeth to grate. “Blush” allows one to relax, use imagination.

   For another time: proper grammar. But just a short dash, here:—proper word use, usage that exhibits (see: could’ve used “shows”) a modicum of intellectual application. “Pleaded”—WTF is this! The more appropriate usage would be “pled.” Pled” has been the mainstay for centuries. Just because some stacked blond bimbo news anchor is an idiot and thinks “pleaded” is ok…don’t get sucked in. Yes, “pleaded” is colloquially used by the post-literate masses drooling along Broadway—but the key is, post-literate.

Is it then correct to use ”bleeded, treaded, feeded”? A few others: who, whom, lie, lay, laid and lain. Just a bit of introspective forethought can elevate a commonly acceptable piece without jamming it up into the avoid-at-any-cost “academic drivel” category.

Enuff for today. Write well…and I does mean, well.  Max tdc