Welcome to the latsest and greatest incarnation of the poetry conference137 responses total.
<Responce #1! Wow> Glad to be here. Anybody feel like explaining what this is all about for any newcomers who drop in?
This conference is for all of us budding poets to post poetry for public appreciation and also for critiqueing. As all the world knows, a poem is never really finished, just abandoned. In other words, this conference is the perfect place to post your poetry so that you can get other poet's opinions on them before you decide to "abandon" them. So, no matter whether your poetry is great or not-so-great, post your new poetry here by typing "enter" at the "OK:" prompt, or by clicking the "enter" button in backtalk. Does that about cover it you guys?
Commies are Red, PC's are Blue, i've updated "po_etry", so it points here for you! <i runs away before they can heat up the tar>
<tee-hee>
Couldn't resist being that number 5 is a favorite of mine.
I might suggest that we all introduce ourselves here as well (just for kicks, and so new comers may feel a little more comfortable posting if they know a little about their audience) My name is Joe Parish, I've been on grex for a good long time now (not near as long as some, but longer than others (ok, so about 4 or 5 years now)) and I've been posting to the poetry conf since..ohhh, somewhere around item 80 or 90 of the first conf. I live in St. Joseph MI, which, if you were curious, is exit 27 by way of I-94 and if you have no idea what that means, well, it's in southwest michigan, right on lake michigan.
Oh Kay. I'm Josh Leckrone, I'm a high school senior this year (class of
1999), and will be attending Kendall College of Art and Design next year.
I've been posting almost as long as I've been grexing, which is to say, since
around Item 113 of the last Poetry conf. About a year and a half.
I attend community high school in Ann Arbor, MI.
I'm Dan. I'm a Community High senior, headed for the U of Chicago. I've been grexing since middle school sometime. This is one of the main conferences I hang ou;t in, actually, but you wouldn't guess from seeing how little I post :) My other main interest besides poetry is music, but I guess that's a whole 'nother conference....
John's my monicker. My day job is teaching computer science. I've had periods where I'm inspired to write poetry, interspersed with longer periods where I'm not. When inspired, I post stuff here.
Think Small Why am I told to try and think big when I am only small? You can talk about forever but you won't last that long at all. We try to make big conversation, we imagine worth in complexities but I love it when you talk about nothing; I love it when we're all that there is. I'd rather make noise in the moment and walk away baggage free. I'd rather pretend it was simple and spend my energy on being me.
Hi I am allida :) I was a student in the theatre school of depaul university until november... that is in chicago. i still live in chicago but don' go to depaul. i am planning on starting outas a junior transfer student at the school of the art institue of chicago in the fall... yay dan.. come to my city :) anyway... i am from ann arbor originally and have been grexing about two years... i graduated from huron high school in 1996 uh yeah
Okay... hi. I'm Jessi. I've been hanging around here since about 1995. Right now I'm a music and theater design student at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, though only for a year and a little bit more.
Hi, I'm Erinn (the famous "missing" poetry fairwitness). I'm proud to say that I'm an Interlochen Arts Academy graduate (that's where I found grex with Jessi and the other IAA grexers on that auspicious day in Oct., 1995,) and a Florida State University drop out. Currently looking for work and on a wild goose chase for spiritual enlightenment, I spend too little time writing and even less posting these days. *sigh* (Though once upon a time I was probably posting almost as much as Jenna (she was poetry's 2nd fw, for the uninformed).) oh, and Jessi-rar: I miss you. )'=
I'm Jonathan. I'm a 3rd year senior at CWU (I've been to a couple of schools), and will be switching back to a major in music education after having been an Elementary Ed major. For those of you who are still wondering, I was in music for a semester at a junior college, then I got an A.A., and then I was in Environmental Studies at a private college for a year and a half. I love all the arts although music is my primary focus right now. I've long loved to write poetry and this conference has been a great output although I've had a dry spell of inspiration lately.
I'm Julie, Jonathan's new wife of (as of today) two months and a little. I'm also a student at CWU, currently studying as a theater arts major specializing in Design and Technical aspects. I have been in school on and off before Jon and I were married. I have been writing poetry since I graduated high school. For those of you who are curious, Jon is five years or so younger than I.
I miss you too, Erinn-rar
O.K. I'm trying to find something for the poetry2 login screen....anyone have a suggestion?
You mean a poem. How about something from Shakespeare?
.... let us sit upon the cold ground and tell sad stories about the death of kings .....
That's an interesting one.
That or one of his sonnets maybe.
How about this one?
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove;
Oh, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks uon tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
--Wm. Shakespeare, 1609
Grr. The word "uon" in the sixth line should be "upon"
happy birthday brighn
Oh, hey-- didn't know, Paul-- happy birthday :)
Yeah. Kudos, Paul.
hey, how about the second sonnet: When fourty winters shall besiege thy brow, And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field, Thy youth's proud livery, so gaz'd on now, Will be a tatter'd weed, of small worth held: Then being ask'd where all thy beauty lies, Where all the treasure of thy lusty days; To say, within thine own deep sunken eyes, Were an all-eating shame and thriftless praise. How much more praise deserved thy beauty's use, If thou couldst answer-- 'This fair child of mine Shall sum my count, and make my old excuse--' Proving his beauty by succession thine! This were to be the new-made when thou art old, And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold.
thanks all. =}
Happy boifday ya big galoot.
OKAY KIDS, THIS IS JUST ABOUT IT.. IF YOU ARE GOING TO CONTRIBUTE
ANYTHING FOR HATE, NOWS THE TIME TO DO IT.. I'D LIKE TO GET IT ATLEAST
ALL TYPED OUT BY EARLY MAY SO I CAN GIVE IT TO JOE.. IF YOU WANT
ANYTHING IN IT, SEND IT TO ME OR JOE SO I CAN GET THE MESSY PART OVER
WITH..
THANX FOR YOUR TIME..
ZOE
email: rainyday13@hotmail.com
if you're sending it here, please make the subject "hate stuff" or
something to that effect, otherwise i will probably will look over it..
I know I've proabbly asked this question in the past, but I never claimed to be anything more than an info seive, so her eI am asking again: what kind of stuff would be appropriate to submit for HATE?
I feel like I'm missing something here. What's going on? What's HATE? If I may ask.
just about anything would be appropriate to submit for hate, most of the pieces submitted thus far are all grrrrr angry, but they don't need to be, they just have to be good :) julie- go to: http://members.aol.com/daeddog1/hate.html that's the web version, and the address is about to change to: http://pages.hotbot.com/arts/joeparish/hate.html but I'm done adding the pictures to it yet, so it hasn't moved yet and for anyone who's curious: zoe entered that because she sort of co-piloting this issue with me
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O.K. Folks, I need a little help/advice as it is,on Tues, May 4 I get to go back to the Heidleberg for the semifinals thing, heres the problem, I already know what I"m going to use first, but if I get to the second round I"m mildly stuck. I have 3 pieces that I can't really choose between, so I'd like your oppinions on which I should use, the contenders are: item:poetry2,498 "We run" item:poetry3,8 "Terrified" item:poetry3,75 "Click" any input would be more than appreciated
FYI: I'm ion Ann Arbor. (; (er, in)
Hello. I'm Greg, a recent graduate of the University of Michigan, with degrees in computer science and math. I have been known to write poetry from time to time, but have never posted it. Indeed, this is my first visit to this conference.
Welcome aboard Greg...enjoy the scenery :)
Sarah's back!!! =) I'm Sarah, I'm majoring in English and English History (Arthurian through 1700's) at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. I'm kicking myself for not choosing UofM since 84% of my friends live in Ann Arbor (yes, that's an accurate statistic). I used to post, but I kept losing track since people like Erinn and Jenna turn out poetry at an astounding rate. ;-)
Hello again, Sarah... :)
I'm Julie Pratt, recently married. I'm majoring in Theatre Arts with a Specialization in Design and Technology. I've been writing poetry since highschool and I love my husband.
I never turned out as much poetry as jenna did. these days I go for more quality than quantity if at all possible. I'm also not online as much as I used to be, back in ye ol' days of IAA.
/emote misses the heck outta shade
I got to thinking a bit ago, I'm pretty sure that it would never happen, but at some point I may want to consider trying to get some of my stuff publish and maybe making some money off of it. I'm thinking that it might be a bad idea to have it floating around all over the place if I do. So would it seem overly paranoid of me to go through poetry1 and poetry2 scribbling some of my stuff?
/me hands toking the crayon...
Depends on the context of the comment.
Unless you envision having hordes of fanatical fans who will scour the internet looking for free copies of your work, I doubt it'll be a problem, Joe.
And you should keep in mind that even if you scribble it, it can still be read and downloaded fairly easily.
What ever happend to Jenna anyway? I wrote this a couple weeks ago, lemme know what you think: Song of sad days Towering above us, the wings of dark days Clouding the truth, the truth of our dark ways We said it was for them, when infact it was for us Bodies line the streets, all in the name of trust He would not speak the word, because action must follow Now it is too late, fathers and brothers swing from the gallow We see scenes of shattered souls, a river of tears over the border Still we see nothing, feeling nothing, do nothing but ponder the order
she quit grex entirely I believe pain a new name for an old login?
Yes. I have been grexing for a while. Never got into the conferances much though.
Last I heard, Jenna was finishing her first year at the University of Michigan, fairly far into her sophomore studies.
got email from he rlast week; she appears to be alright, and we might get together to hang out at some point (when I'm not working or otherwise occupied).
all right kids...I don't know...I don't feel like being an fw of this conf anymore, so I sent a mesage to arianna and cfadm saying so. I'm not leaving the conf or anything, I just don't want to be an fw
Hmmm....no response to #52. With a co-fw leaving office, the users of this conference are free to pick a new co-fw to take toking's place, kick around the subject, ask questions, etc. Should i just assume that everyone is cool with the idea of arianna being the sole fw of this cf?
Hm. I guess they are. Only problem here is that I don't have a 'puter right now, so my logins are sporatic at best. Poetry cf can basically handle itself for the most part, which is comforting... But until I get my own machine, grex remains a hit and run activity. (Anyone who has any ideas on how I could get a semi decent 'puter for cheap may feel free to emails me... (; )
(borrowing an ancient toshiba notebook computer that steve gibard lent me -- heh -- it' so old, the screen is orange and black... reminds me of the old days of grexing at Interlochen when all I had was a vt420 piece o' crap to use. (:)
vt420?? Holy cow.. last telnet terminal I used was vt320. Haven't used 420 for a while.
they had 220s as well... I was doing community service stuff with the computer labs whiole I was there -- and consequently got very goosd at assembling broken keyboards and such...
*sigh* (And we call those the good ol' days..... <grin>)
Those were the good old days. Those were the good old days. Time goes on but the memory stays, And those were the good old days.
here's an interesting bit (and it's got me all sorts of warm and fuzzy): From: Steve Marsh <aapoet19@(removed for privacy)> Save Address Block Sender Reply-To: aapoet19@idt.net To: parisj@mindless.com Subject: National Poetry Slam Date: Tue, 03 Aug 1999 09:06:43 -0400 Dear Joe, I sure hope you are coming to the slam in AA tonight. We have had a glitch with the nationals team, I think. No one knows if Jodie Hemingway still exists. You arenext in line for a slot on the team, but I will need to know tonight and it's only available IF Jodie is still unresponsive. Not a very big promise and not a very big window of oportunity. Let me know if you are interested. I'll keep checking my e-mail all day for your response. Thanks,,Steve Marsh From: Steve Marsh <aapoet19@(removed for privacy)> Save Address Block Sender Reply-To: aapoet19@idt.net To: Joe Parish <joeparish@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: National Poetry Slam Date: Tue, 03 Aug 1999 16:57:20 -0400 Joe Parish wrote: > > I would be incredibly interested, but I hadn't planned on being in A2 > tonight...uhmmm, get ahold of me and let me know whats going on...like I > said, I would be incredibly interested > > Joe Parish > Hooray, As I said, IF IF IF Jodie doesn't show up or send word that she wants the slot, it's yours. I forwarded your e-mail to Dan Jacobs. He's coordinating the team right now. His e-mail address is danja@umich.edu We don't have a current phone number for you either. Can you send that back to me? We'll call you tomorrow for sure either way. I'm keeping my fingers crossed right now. The dates are next week. Wed through Saturday. Hope that works out for you. Steve in AA From: Steve Marsh <aapoet19@(remove for privacy)> Save Address Block Sender Reply-To: aapoet19@idt.net To: Joe Parish <joeparish@hotmail.com> CC: danja@umich.edu Subject: Re: National Poetry Slam Date: Wed, 04 Aug 1999 08:03:54 -0400 Joe, I'm headed out to Cedar Point with my family today, so I won't be available to make arrangements. Jodie did not show last night. You ARE ON THE TEAM. Please contact Dan Jacobs (danja@(removed for privacy)) to make arrangements. Let him know a phone number and while you're at it, drop it to me too. It's gonna be an outstanding National Poetry Slam. You are in for a huge treat. See you soon. Steve Marsh
wow! good luck, joe!!!
Having a 'puter at my disposal (for the moment), I'm making an effort to dig up poetry and post it in the cf login -- call it an effort to educate those of you who don't read poetry all that often. (; If you have any poems you like/think everyone should read at leats once/hate/whatever, email them to me and I'll put 'em on the login.
Anything by T. S. Eliot. The man knew powerful prose
for anyone that cares: the A2 team placed second our first bout (between Conneticut in first and Albequerque in third) and second in our second bout (Between someone and someone else, I don't rightly remember who) The national poetry slam has been the coolest damn thing I"ve ever been to.
<jshafer & the former joker enjoyed the first bout...>
<applauds both second places> Did anyone from A2 record the slam? Was that allowed?
I"m not sure that it was allowed, but I"m almost positive that none of us did (you may want to see about picking up a copy of Slamnation though...The A2 team may show up in it a few times, but I"m not sure)
Pity...I've been dying to hear all these other pieces that Natalia's been glowing about...
"I Celebrate Myself" was incredible...truely magnificent. She also did an awesome job with the I am not a beat poet piece.
No, I mean the ones the other teams did. Although I do need to hear the not-a-beat-poet one too.
Hello, how does this shit work?
On the technical aspects, it appears as if you['ve figured that out all on your own. MOre specifically to this conference: You write a poem. You like your poem, and you think you'd like to share it with us. You post your poem (type e at the Ok: prmpt and take it from there). We talk about your poem, giving our opinions and/or insights as we see fit.
unless you're using backtalk, then ignore the bit about OK prompts and click on the Enter New Item button at the conference homepage, but the rest is the same As a matter of curriousity, does it really have to be something you like? I've been amused by posting stuff I've hated.
Post whatever the hell you want Goddess knows I do
Only thing I ask is that you post something pertinent to this conference, something to do with poetry. Otherwise, knock yerself out.
Grocery lists sometimes resemble poetry. Can I post those?
I'd find that intrigueing...
milk, eggs, cheese carrots, tomatoes, peas sugar salt cumin a light bulb to illumine toilet paper baggies rice catfood, starch ice.... *you get the idea*
<remmers is suddenly hungry for iced catfood with starch garnish>
hey, there's an idea!
Hi ! I am Siddhartha Jain from India. I am studying Masters Of Computers Management and here is a small poetry from me. Roses are red, violets are blue, But alas they all fade, so unlike my love for you. ( Cheers Clap Cheers Clap ).
<chuckle> welcome to poetry sj2.
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
I'm just fine
But to hell with you.
? <shakes her head and shrugs>
Hey Erinn, when are you going to change the header? It's definitely autumn now!
JON don't make me go all the way back to Ann Arbor just to beat you, boy. <g>
it's getting to be more and more like winter, actch.
Hi! I'm back and under a different name! I've got just lots of poetry waiting to be posted so look out. Hopefully I've improved a little in my absence. See you an the flip side. Julie Pratt
ack, looks like I just missed her.
For sure.
Err... Just thought I'd let you all know that I still exist, after having finished up my first semester of college, durring which I wrote absolutely _no_ poetry, much to my chagrin. Anyway, I hope to be able to crank something out to you withing a short while.
Nice to see you back.
Josh! You're not dead! I mean, I knew you weren't dead....what with I've seen you since break and all.... But still....wow. :)
I feel like a guest celebraty. No, I'm not dead, 'though I do feel a little like it sometimes...
Well by all means, stay not dead. We like you better that way.
Re #95: Indeed. For one thing, when you're not dead all you need to smell reasonable is hot water and soap, and maybe mouthwash. Making yourself presentable when you're dead is a much more tedious affair. It's so burdensome, I don't know any dead people who haven't gone underground to avoid dealing with it.
Elvis, maybe? Then again, he was always good at covering unattractiveness with glitz.
Hi guys. I'm in need of some assistance: could someone who happens to have a copy of "A Song Sung" by Lorca type it up real quick (it's only like oh, 8 lines?) and email it to me?
A hefty chunk of searching the internet didn't reveal any poems by Lorca whose
titles, either in spanish or english tranlation, resembled "A Song Sung".
'Course, this *could* be due to my extremely rusty spanish....
At any rate, the best Lorca poetry site I found is
http://luis.salas.net/index.htm
If your spanish is much better than mine (not hard to believe...) you may have
more luck than me.
Happy birthday, Brighn!
Hello again! I survived my second semester of college too, and I even have a brand-spanking shiny new poem for y'all!
Tadaa! Nice to have you back.
I'm glad to be back, Dan, nice to see you're still here too.
heya Josh-- welcome back.
Woohoo! 10 points to Erinn for the Joni Mitchell quote. And happy birthday.
Well lessee, good things about being 21: When I finally get a car, my insurance will be lower that it would've been. I can drink alcohol in public without being arrested. (; I'm not a teenager anymore.
You ceased being a teenager at 20.
happy birthday to rar, happy birthday to rar! <jessi does the happy dance>
but 20 is like, being in limbo. it has no real significance. <dances around the room with jessi-rar>
yes, John, but at 20, you're still in your second decade... it's kinda like that 1900s/Twentieth Century thing...
Nope, 20 is the first year of your 3rd decade.
oh wait, you're right. but my explanation sounded good!
it was how I felt, so I appreciate it, brighn. (: maybe we should bequeath the title of "Technicalities Bitch" to John.
hey, it doesn't matter if one's explanation is valid, so long as it sounds good =}
hehehehehehe
I'm so sorry I was otherwise occupied and missed everyone's birthday! Hippo Birdie Two Ewe, Erinn and Jessie!
I think it's only my brithday -- isn't yours in february or something, jessi? (I'm probably horribly off, which I will feel guilty about.)
don't feel guilty, but my b-day is may. The 27th to be precise
well taht was my 2nd guess... [:
I'm sorry that so little has ben happening with poetry cf lately. I'm in the midst of moving and haven't had time to pay appropriate attention to it. However, in the near future (after Monday), I'll be around again and will get around to changing the login screen and maybe starting another game item.
eeeekkkkkk!!! hehe you shoudl paste the into into the web site as well
(happy birthday to me) (:
10 years ahead of myself in my head couch potato reality in my bed i could fight for what i want to be but out of hiding i wouldn't be me i could still kick your ass
welcome to poetry cf, jeff. (:
I came here to day thinking I would try and write something about the 45 minutes I spent yesterday morning. The 45 minutes between the time I remembered that my brother works at the World Trade Center in New York and the time that my mother finally called me back to say that he'd moved across the street and half a block down a month earlier and that it didn't matter because he left at 5am for an early morning meeting.in Philly. I don't think I can. Nothing i could write would adequetly express the fear, the absolute horror of watching the second tower collapse, and remembering at that moment that he worked there. There is no way I coul express the joy and relief i felt when i found out he'd moved offices, not to mention that he wasn't even in town.
I am back, under a new login, since I forgot my old password. Much has changed. Julie is almost 3 mos. pregnant. *sigh* also there are lingering memories of the impression I made while visiting in person. Life is still tough, but I learned much. I hope no ill feelings have remained, although I remember this cf to be a fairly safe place. My Net access is more restricted than ever.. poor and no hardware at home.. so my output will be limited. Don't expect any fancy wordsmithing, either. I've burnt out on that too often, as you can see.
Nice to have you back, lumen.
julie's pregnant?! congrads!
Nice to see you back, lumen. Ragards to Julie. Congrats on the forthcoming kid.
Oops, "regards" not "ragards". Unintended pun.
We have a computer at home now. Julie's at 19 mos. btw, thanks, Erinn, and John. It's been interesting, and I'm sure that it will inspire plenty of new material. still relatively poor, though.
months? um, jon, do you mean weeks?
yes, 19 weeks, sorry. It was late and my brains were a little fried.
Welcome back Julie Pratt wife of the above. I couldn't get "bookworm" back because I've been out for so long. Looks like someone else may have taken it. Anyway, this is me. I'm glad to have more time to be here. I missed you guys. ~Julie Pratt
Welcome back to both of you!
Thanks, John
I know that we're mostly idling, here, but I hought I'd let everyone who's still floating about know: grex has reaped my arianna account. I've alerted staff, but no one's replied. in the meantime, if you're looking for me, please send me an email at erinnstreeter@gmail.com.