"Life is short, the art long, opportunity fleeting, experience misleading, judgment difficult. The practitioner must not only be prepared to do what is right himself, but also to make the patient, the nurses, and the patient's family cooperate."
_Hippocrates

“I have just read the immortal poems of the ages and come away dull. I don’t know who’s at fault; maybe it’s the weather, but I sense a lot of pretense and poesy footwork: I am writing a poem, they seem to say, look at me! Poetry must be ... more »

"Life is short, the art long, opportunity fleeting, experience misleading, judgment difficult. The practitioner must not only be prepared to do what is right himself, but also to make the patient, the nurses, and the patient's family cooperate."
_Hippocrates

“I have just read the immortal poems of the ages and come away dull. I don’t know who’s at fault; maybe it’s the weather, but I sense a lot of pretense and poesy footwork: I am writing a poem, they seem to say, look at me! Poetry must be forgotten; we must get down to raw paint, splatter...”
_Charles Bukowski

Slapstick humor for intellectuals is philosophy for others.
~gonzodave

Reality to one is unknown to another. Now that's reality!
~gonzodave

"It follows, according to Adorno's most notorious statement, that "To write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric". Under the spell of today's world most people, poets included, are unable to comprehend why." "

"There is an old quarrel between philosophy and poetry."
_Plato

"And the days are not full enough
And the nights are not full enough
And life slips by like a field mouse
Not shaking the grass"
_Ezra Pound

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A project *in progress* intended as a resource for Simply Poetry VII-IX skill level participants.   The following CAUTION applies:

*PC Free Zone* Warning! Danger!

This is a completely personal perspective.  Which means it is diverse, complex, and idiosyncratic.  Therefore, SP VI is not a WTF,  I think differently platform.  Anyone who is a rabidly contagious member of Harold Bloom's termed "School of Resentment" will need to remain in quarantine to self-serve their own diversity cravings.

http://www.mindingthecampus.com/articles/

Responding to or consideration of opposing ideas is not the aim of this project or the concern of my postings here.  If you have a differing opinion - Great! 

My gallery of poems:

http://www.webook.com/project/Gonzodaves-Cantered-Tales-and-Poetry


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A collection of entries from my daily digs into the arts and crafts of poetry and that which, in my opinion - influences my poetry.  I hope you can find much to appreciate in this view from a low rent, seedy hotel room filled with cheap (free) old dog-eared pages about FACT and SYMBOL. Fact and symbol collected from the different order of realities held by old and new artists, critics and scientists. A mix-matched quilt of logic and sentiment that comprises literature and it's affinity to my life and yours.

If you are a _Simply Poetry IX_ Studied poet participant you will have an invitation to submit your own essays about poetry to _Simply Poetry X_.


"People today are still living off the table scraps of the sixties. They are still being passed around - the music and the ideas"
_Bob Dylan.

Bookcover mock-up photo: Grateful Dead - 710 Ashbury, San Francisco, Summer of LOvE 1967


Don't destroy
Make more poetry
Not war
Please enjoy,

~g

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It's perhaps safe to say, the old Pied Piper tune of group poetry projects and a webooking member, a project leader, who receives the largest share for publishing, as tweeted by WEbook in the past, is no longer a working model.  WEbook is now the Project Leader of 'WEbook Sponsored Anthologies' as advertised in the new wording on the Front Outside page of WEbook.

More importantly, the webooking poet has a platform here at WEBook to collaborate, make friends, and stretch their poetry writing and reviewing skills.

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This _Simply Poetry Series of Seven Sister Projects_ can provide a defined place to do just that -- 3 Poetry Skill Level projects (SP VII-IX); 1 review practice project (SP V); 1 poetry article reading project (SP VI); and 1 project for Simply Poetry IX - Skill Level 3 participants to write their topical essays about how their poetry studies benefit them (SP X).  And, lastly, the final 7th project _Simply Poetry XI - Tips, Tricks, and Thoughts About Poetry_ is open to everyone for posting what they would like to share concerning poetry.
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What is the difference between a beginner and a studied poet?  A brief analogy:  Beginners are using naturally available resources for constructing their poetry - sticks and straw.  The practicing poet is learning to recognize the need to turn the straw into bricks; use the sticks to fire and harden the bricks; and to collect and crush stone for mortar.  The studied poet is creating designs for using these bricks and mortar to construct their poetry. 

A studied poet will be able to grasp and appreciate most literary papers on the subject of poetry.  A studied poet can pursue the study of poetry on their own.  The Studied Poet is able to read a map and road signs to chart their own course in the world of poetry.  That is the goal of this _Simply Poetry Series of Seven_.

Simply Poetry VII - Poet Skill Level 1 of 3 - Beginner:  http://www.webook.com/project/Simply-Poetry-VII-Poet-Skill-Level-1-of-3-Beginner
Simply Poetry VIII - Poet Skill Level 2 of 3 - Practicing: http://www.webook.com/project/Simply-Poetry-VIII-Level-2-of-3-Practicing
Simply Poetry X - Essays on Poetry by Studied Poets: http://www.webook.com/project/Simply-Poetry-X-Essays
Simply Poetry XI - Tips, Tricks , and Thoughts About Poetry:  http://www.webook.com/project/Simply-Poetry-XI-Tips-and-Tricks

As in any discipline there is theory and praxis.  Simply put, how aware you are of poetry and literature in general is a fair gauge of your skill level - not your level of natural talent.  I expect a degree of 'vetting' or evaluation by reviewers participating in this _Simply Poetry Series of Seven_  will help you determine which level you should be submitting to.  However, there is surely a degree of overlap from one level to the next. 

Submit to whatever level you are comfortable and use the resources to grow your skills into the next level.  If you use and absorb all the resources that I've offered in this _Simply Poetry Series of Seven Sister Projects_ you will be a Studied Poet (autodidact - self taught).  The final level will be an invitation from me, to submit your essays to Simply Poetry X.  There, you can use your knowledge to write essays on the why and how your choice of studied influences benefit your poetry, so that other poets may in turn - learn from you.  In the final project, the open community _Simply Poetry XI - Tips, Tricks, and Thoughts About Poetry_, is where all webookers can voice their knowledge and opinions about poetry.
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I have constructed two training projects for the interested poet.  Simply Poetry V - Converse is a project where one can learn the art of basic poetry critique (evaluation not subjective critical opinion) and thereby the need for skill with the bricks and mortar of poetry.  Simply Poetry VI - Arts and Crafts is a multifaceted and highly varied introduction into the craft and artistic literary aspects of poetry.  I'm not smart enough or predisposed to create one from a general point of view.  Do you need to be an 'English Major' like those on the PBS weekly _Prairie Home Companion_?  No, but it can't hurt - can it?

Simply Poetry VI Arts and Crafts:  http://www.webook.com/project/Simply-Poetry-Arts-and-Crafts
Simply Poetry V - Converse:  http://www.webook.com/project/Simply-Poetry-V-Converse ;



My kind regards,

~gonzodave  Less