Note: About 4 months ago, poet and commentator Charles
Orloski and I posted some of our e-mail exchanges in an article we called Poets
Talk.
At that time, we
had been exchanging e-mails for a little more than a year, and had expanded our
initial musings about the state-of-the Arts in America to include social,
political, economic, philosophical, and religious and moral questions, too; in
other words--the whole cultural shebang!
"A word spoken in
due season, how good is it!" the Book of Proverbs tells us, and since we
had some good reports on our first endeavor" we have decided to endeavor once
again.
Soren Kierkegaard
thought that the poet's mouth was shaped in such a way that when he or she
opened it to speak, a sad but beautiful sound came forth. I have long thought that poets talk to
themselves so that others want to overhear them. Orloski puts it plainly:
"Good thinkers
require & deserve good questioners. It's important for me when you question
my points, and vice-versa. When readers encounter challenges in that which they
read, authored by artists who are observably challenging one another, there
emerges a 3rd person, and THOUGHT expands. That is good, and I do not believe Poets Talk goal is to
tell anyone HOW to think. It HELPS perhaps in our country's most
severe deficiency -- the education process."
And here we begin. "
GC: Chuck, you
recently posted a poem at CounterPunch, commemorating the 1-year
anniversary of the passing of poet Leonard Cirino. Soon after he died, I know that CounterPunch's
Poets' Basement devoted a few pages of tributes to Leonard--from you and
others--as well as reprising some of Leonard's poems. Now, before we get into any back-and-forth
about our corrupt political scene, let's talk a little about the Arts (in my
mind politics and the Arts are inextricable--all part of our Kulturkampf--, but what I want to know is,
Why Leonard? What turns you on about his
work?
CO: I will tell you something which some may find an
exaggeration, but I experienced an epiphany almost every time I read a Leonard
Cirino poem. Yes -- its a church word, but I do mean epiphany!
GC: Well, that's fine. And, I'm
glad for you. But, for people who are not familiar with LC's work--well, they
need to know more than that. Can you be
a little more specific, play literary critic, perhaps?
CO: Naming 1 or 2 of my
favorite Cirino poems is like naming 1 or 2 of my favorite Beatle songs.
It's difficult, but come tomorrow, I will.
Also, tomorrow, I will photocopy & scan my choice(s), and email them
to you. And indicate WHY they are favored.
In general, I have not lost sight of Poets
Talk goal. It's very worthy to try and have a goal-focused
conversation that others presumably WANT and never get from oft well-known
egotists, narcissists.
GC: May we never be "well-known" as "egotists and narcissists"! (We'll keep that part to ourselves!)
The following day.
CO: I just looked-up the poem, "Blitzkrieg Poetics," where
Leonard states, "I want poems that combat the obvious." It's from O mphalos: Poems 2007.
GC:
Not bad. " But, isn't that what most good poets/artists are trying to do? Trying to be original--not "combat the
obvious"?
In response, CO sends the following:
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