its a conspiracy I tell you....
Ok, things are fixed, though some things in between may have been lost. I gotta change one core part of the silly system. Thanks to people who e-mailed me to give me a heads up.
Me aka Niki,
I like your blunt, Hemingwayesque style. You cut to the heart of the matter with a minimum amount of cant and bullshit. All poetry should be like this. Flowers belong in vases...not poetry.
Whew! Thought my sonnets were goners.
Thank God for that. The world would be a poorer place indeed without Misti's sonnets. Kirk, I like your 'Test' piece. Reminds me in an odd way of Pound's 'In the Metro'. Very Eastern...very Bashovian...very Zen. Misti's laughing at me so it's time to go now.
ah i find my self in full agreement with chris ....kirk *test* what can i say , i am not dry of eye right now , this has touched me deeply as i am sure it has others who have watched their poems flash before their eyes
in so few words you have brought joy to so many
what more can a true poet wish for
thanks again kirk for this wonder of wonders
.................................standing in so much awe.............
...............................................jack
Chris with all due respect, flowers belong in vases? Thats bullshit.
Not all poetry has to be angst ridden and bitter to be good.
How flowery and diplomatic, Deevaa.
I don't think Chris said anything about poetry having to be bitter and angst-ridden, did he? Anyway, I agree with him. Flowery poems suck. Poems can be positive and ebullient without being flowery and trite.
aye, this year is a year of jumping down throats, isn't it....and I say this only as a casual observor, as I have chosen to be nothing more.
2 Chris~ I'm happy you like my way of writing!
Thank you!
But what poem did you like in particular? of did you just mean in generaL?
lots-a-luv
OK...look...all I meant to say was that even though there are so few 'shoulds' in this most subjective of art forms, each poem SHOULD be something affirmative, something urgent, something that grabs you in the first line. Poetry: a life-or-death proposition. Bluntness helps...hiding behind metaphors doesn't.
Niki~
I was talking in particular about 'It Hurts'. I just like how you convey that emotion in a raw, matter-of-fact way--the way pain should be conveyed. You don't cover it up with flowery frills & poetic doublespeak. Simplicity is 9/10s of good poetry. Just my opinion.
So we all have our peeves of what we don't like to read. I personally don't like all the endless droning of every last detail of why he did not speak, listen, kiss, fart, to me, give me flowers anyday over that. But the point here is that the page is free and there are different generations and different voices here THANK GOD,the page is FREE, or so I thought.
Yeah, you're right. Good point.
Yeah, it's not like a circus or cinema, where you have to buy a ticket.
...people can submit/post whatever they want, obviously. The strength of this site is not in the community or the mixture of horrible, mediocre and excellent poems. This is the only poetry site I know of that allows you instant gratification with the poems you submit. Everything that's truly great about the Blender of Love is because of Kirk's ingenuity and dedication. The price of having a free and open site is having to muddle through the mediocrity. I don't make any money as a poet but I think I should. Damn it.
OK...everyone send Misti money and gifts. I know I'm biased, but, c'mon...the woman should be on postage stamps already! Maybe a new dollar coin...at least a statue on the Mall in DC. She needs to be a star, dammit. Look at all the no-talents out there--Britney Spears, Madonna, Jewel, Cher, Kate Moss, Nicole Kidman, etc., etc. Even after she loses the ten pounds she wants to, she'll always be an intellectual heavyweight to me--and pretty soon the world. Or else.
The strength of this site is it's community of poets that allow one another space to use their own voices and not tell each other what or how to write. There is room on the page for anything regarding love as long as it's not too terribly offensive to the community. The freedom here is what makes this place the best. Ask Sarah and others about another site that will rip you to shreds in a heartbeat, just for the fun of it. This one is mild compared to that.
bk
Chris~
We're legends in our own minds. Our arrogance astounds me! We'll be like Sonny and Cher or Captain and Tenille someday. Or at the very least Damon and Affleck. Yes, yes, the world should adore us but it doesn't. So let's go find jobs, already.
Please understand that this is all tongue-in-cheek. We really do need to find jobs. We really are broke. Bye!
Actually, I'm serious (about Misti's talent), but her modesty is good. BK, you're absolutely correct. I would never dream of attacking a particular writer--I'd just say nothing at all. Manners DO matter. However, a board is the kind of place where aesthetics and the various nuts-and-bolts questions regarding poetry should be discussed. I think at its best a community of writers encourages and brings out excellence in its members.
Chris & Misti: Chris, I agree which is another reason this place is wonderful. But some people see through what I call funnel vision. There is only one way for them, their way. So much varitey out there and who knows when you might open up the page and discover something that will as Emily Dickinson says, make sparks fly out the top of your head. The anticipation of that brings me back here every day. I look for sparks the same way I can put bluegrass, opera, rock and roll and folk or whatever together in a cd player and push---mix it up and enjoy every bit of it. Diversity is something we need more of here.
bk
ahhh, nice to know I can still stir a conversation while I sleep.
h: 'it must not snow,' darn your hyde, I've just put on make up to go to the bank and you made me cry it all off. That was beautiful..thanks,more please.
Slug: woman, ditto the above, been wondering where you were, missed you around here. If spring does not get here soon, its been a miserable winter for sure.
deevaa: ahh you enjoy a good controversey, admit it.
Niki~ Your recents subs. are awesome!! Great job!
Terry~ Write something, Dammit! Please?!?
Scorpion~ I liked 'Your Love'...it was good...
H~ 'It Must Not Snow' was so wonderfull...WOW! I love it!
Love and Smiles, Ali
so the 'flowers belong in a vase' business was all tongue in cheek? Or does anything that *doesn't* ooze from its own rawness really suck?
-james dean
Back from shopping: Just bought everything that's waterproof in the way of eyemakeup. LOL So go ahead you blooming poets, give it your best shot now...HA
Scorpion: 'Love,' and 'Your Love,' are both beautiful. More please.
Sarah: I loved 'Vase,' as well.
bk
Kirk---Any chance of divulging IP source addresses from your cgi log? I've received some harrassing emails and i'm looking to compare the header IP traces. I completely understand if you don't want to give out the info, but I thought i'd ask.
gup
James~
Don't be confused! Yes, it's all tongue-in-cheek. I'm a cheeky chick, what can I say.
~Marilyn Monroe
thank you, bK - our weather here has been teasing spring - 75 and sunny today, 50's and rainy tomorrow. argh. i wish it would just get sunny and hot and be done with it. (this is texas, though, and sunny and hot soon enough.) i've been awfully busy and bogged down with work to write- but i've been reading. it's been fabulous. i just wish that people would stop arguing about the poetry they want to see and enjoy what's here. my two cents. there's been entirely too much strife these past few weeks.
anyway - love your poems! keep writing!
also - delighted that jack is back :-)
James:
Well...uh...actually...86.5% of it is tongue-in-cheek...ha...
(Misti generalizes.)
Misti
Thanks for clearing that up.
People tend to take what is said around here too literally sometimes (and it works both ways). And we end up with the Poetry Nazis vs. The Cultural Revolution (a.k.a. the Vanguard of the Poetic Proletariat). Too much bloodletting going on around here. Seems like Hollywood in the Fifties.
A word to the unwise:
Harassment through email is a federal offense. As such, it falls under Title 47 of the United States Code, Section 223, meaning it is legally the same as telephone harassment. Offenders are punishable under Title 18 of the US Code, AND can be imprisoned for up to two years.
translation: leave the guppy alone.
Mr. Dean~
Here, here! I agree entirely. Cultural guardians--no matter what it is they're guarding--are almost always worse than their supposed 'enemies'. All courts need jesters. Ed Abbey: 'The distrust of wit is the beginning of tyranny.' Viva la Vanguard de la Poetic Proletariat!
*screams*
Its the Chris&Misti MONSTER!
RUN!
Run, while you still can!
Run! Hide! Call the cops! Unless you (gasp!) stop reading Board posts and our submissions, there is no escape! The Chris&Misti monster is here to stay, boys and girls!
Dear Blender of love,
Hello! I would like to know if you have any nice appreciation poems for a grandmother. My family is throwing my grandmother a surprise appreciation party!Can you respond as soon as possible,before March 3, 2001.
Thank You,
Artavia Washington
My, i do think the Board is finally achieving a sense of humor at long last (and good use of irony too....lol).
t.
terry - sunset is beautiful - it left me breathless. just beautiful.
Thanks slug....that was a five minute improv challenge I did today. Loved 'kissy face' btw....
t.
Chris & Misti: Must be some pretty powerful cactus juice you all are drinking down there. You are about as scarey as a fuzzy dust remover...LOL
terry: Beautiful Darlin, just beautiful. Glad I had the waterproof eyes for that one.
Hey Gup: Sorry to hear about your intrusions. I hope that
someone catches the rats patotie and throws the book at him.
BK~ Thank you Darlin'...i shall ever bow to your pen.
t.
Terry~ I must agree, 'Sunset' was beautiful, indeed...you never do cease to amaze me, you know that?
Love and angels, Ali
Misti- I have been reading and submitting to the Blender for over a year now. I have my favorite writers and styles of writing, and you are one of them. I am going to college in the fall and majoring in Film and Television, as I want to be a director. I've been involved in acting and directing for 6 years now, it's my passion. If you are interested, could you give me your e-mail address, and maybe we could work on something for one of my student films. I have been looking for a writer for awhile, and you have some way with words. Thanks, Ashley Skye
Ashley Skye~
Wow! I'm way honored. Sure, I'd love to work with you! E-mail me at my hotmail address anytime.
:)Misti
Ali~ My thanks.....your words honor me.
t.