POETRY ON THE WEB * WRITERS ON THE WEB * NEWSLETTER

"Out flew the web and floated wide
The mirror cracked from side to side"
.... Tennyson

7-3-97

Welcome to the first issue in many months & thanks for going through all the rigamarole to get on the new mailing list. It may have been a slight hassle for you, but it will make life around here much easier - which means a better frequency.

You'll notice MAJOR changes at the powwow web site: http://www.oocities.org/Paris/1416 - the links all worked as of 7/1/97. Of course, that may change, as 70% of the links we posted last year were dead. Poetry, however is NOT dead. Just check out the May releases in the WWW Poetry Bookstore. You can access it at http://www.soos.com/poetpark/books. Also, as I write this, issues #6 & 7 of powwow are posted on-site.

If you have sent a link & do see it anywhere, please be patient & please don't re-send it. One reason I stopped powwow for a few months was after the last newsletter we received over 2000 sites to list!!! I still have them all!!! I will go through them - in the order in which they arrived. I'm also checking that they're still active. All the sites below were active yesterday.

Please stop by the powwow website soon & let me know if you find any mistakes. The construction site should be down, but some folks are still getting to it, so there's a link I missed somewhere. All the links should work.

Again, please do not re-send links. However, feel free to send news! Send all correspondence to powwow@soos.com - that will keep you from having to deal with the robot. Now, onto the goodies =:-)

Announcements:

Illiterati, the print division of Menace Publishing (Alexandria Va.) has released "Between Absolutes" a collection of works by David Hunter Sutherland. Order On-line

The newest issue of Pif is now on-line: http://www.dimax.com/pif/

For those interested in issues for Eastern European (underground) writers, here is a shameless plug for a book now out from Northwestern University Press: Eros, Magic and the Murder of Professor Culianu. It's the true story of a 1991 campus murder of a University of Chicago religion scholar and fantasy writer named Ioan Culianu. Young, popular, engaged to a graduate student, the Romanian born expert on Renaissance magic is believed to be the victim of the first political assassination of a professor on an American campus. I admit it, I'm the author. -Ted Anton (tanton@condor.depaul.edu)

nfoZine, Kansas City's Digital Magazine, http://www.infozine.com is accepting submissions from Midwest writers for digital publication only, in it's new Fiction/Poetry Section. Sorry no pay at this time. A possible Digital Anthology in future. Submissions by Email Text to: ed@infozine.com

I'm editing a new poetry magazine at San Diego State University called Poetry International. It will be published in paperback with some material online. http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/press/poetry.html - Fred Moramarco (fmoramar@mail.sdsu.edu)

I am seeking creative writing and poetry to showcase at my web site gallery, a Room without Walls. Please contact me at ted.warnell@bbs.logicnet.com -Ted Warnell ~ http://www.logicnet.com/ted.warnell/

The Julie Hill Alger Writing Room Project is encouraging posting and discussion on our online bulletin board - http://www.julie-hill-alger.com

Web Sites not yet listed on Poetry On The Web:
m=magazine p=personal x=misc

Review:

The Stream and the Sapphire & The Life Around Us
by Denise Levertov
New Directions (1997)

This set of books frighten me. Both are powerful and wonderful and deserve your immediate and lasting attention. The poems are not new, they are a themed selection. Interestingly enough placed in separate but equal volumes.

The Stream and the Sapphire is a selection of poems that elucidate the growth of Denise as a Christian. And an exciting growth it is. My favorite of the moment are words I use as prayer: "How can I focus my flickering, perceive at the fountain's heart the sapphire I know is there?"

The Life Around Us is subtitled "selected poems on nature". In "A Reward", we live a harried day with the narrator and watch with her as "the heron, unseen for weeks, came flying wide winged toward me."

What is probably a marketing tool, a most wise one by the publisher, is what scares me about these two volumes. In theme, the power of God is told in lush detail in both volumes. The heron in the nature selection is the holy spirit of the religious selection, and in our natural state both can and will be the same. Those brief moments of recognition of something outside ourselves.

So with these two volumes to recommend, why should I be tendentious? The marketing folks know us so well, and as poets we cannot overcome the marketing department. "Christians" are right winged slobs that grow fat and salute the flag and make fools of themselves on TV. They have absolutely no regard for nature because they are Republicans bound and determined to destroy the rainforest. Friends of the natural world cannot be interested in true spiritual life because they worship nature, and are Democrats, and would not consider a Christian a person. A nature person is good and upright and has never done wrong, and therefore has no need of the "crutch" of Christianity.

Crass? Yep. That's why I'm scared of these two books. Because it brings out the crass nature of our commercialized economy. Everything is cut and dry - a cookie cutter product determined and produced by a media that thrives on exacting stereotypes. I can hear the salesman now walking into the Christian bookstore pitching the blue book; and the same salesman walking into the New Age bookstore pitching the green book. I'm saddened and scared that it's come to this - even in poetry. It's been with us in every other aspect of life for so many years now that I guess it had to be inevitable.

Truth is, most Christians live in a more calm life than the wild-eyed frothing at the mouth pentacostal, or the bomb-throwing fanatic at an abortion clinic. It may be surprising to those who only read newspapers and watch tv to find out that many Christians believe God commanded them to take care of the planet. And vice-versa. Not all nature lovers worship the earth as God. Not all folks who are concerned with the environment are anti-Christian. Surprisingly to the media-fed public is the fact that there are many people who love the outdoors who feel abortion is just as wrong as shooting a bald eagle or a snowy songed owl.

Not all republicans are anti-abortion; not all democrats are pro-abortion; and not all those who could care less about politics have no opinion either way. There are many varieties of individuals; and within most of us, I believe strongly, there is a wonderful mixture of all the above. Let's face it, when confronted with a child molester who just raped his child, the strongest anti-abortion catholic would probably much rather kill the man as see him live, even if only for a brief moment. Why? Because we are human.

Which brings this around from a silly sermon back to the issue at hand - Denise Levertov celebrates our humanity. We see Thomas - in some circles known as the twin brother of Christ - struggling with his doubts. We hear in other places the voice of the poet struggling with questions and wandering doubts. In the nature series we hear the narrators of the poems finding a deep peace - if only momentary, a solace - a knowledge. Read together we find these powerful insights are all one insight into our inner selves.

And, slyly, in selecting the poems, Denise was able to confound the marketing department. From the nature series: "God is imaged as well or better in the white stillness resting everywhere, giving all things an hour of Sabbath." And from the religious series: "Dull stones again fulfill their glowing destinies, and emptiness is a cup, and holds the ocean." Why not combine these two sections of poems into one fine volume? Marketing. Sad, but true. Recently, ND published Robert Duncan's selected - 170+ pages for $12.95. By separating Denise's poems for a perceived dual market (and unfortunately the perception is probably true), the sales force is able to sell the two slender volumes for $8.95 apiece. A few extra bucks - and because of the targeted audience - a lot more sales!

My recommendation? Confound the marketing department. Buy both books! Praise both books. And praise Denise for giving us such interesting meditations on life. If you can, then read or re-read her past volumes and experience her growth in a more natural form; but if you are in a position of experiencing her poetry for the first time, these two small volumes will be an appetizer that will send you searching to experience the flavors of The Jacob's Ladder, Evenings In Babylon, Evening Train, and quite a few more.

Order from http://www.soos.com/poetpark/books/

Question: Do you have an average or suggested donation/subscription price for the POWWOW Newsletter? -Maddoc (jeglaser@inst.augie.edu)

We will always accept donations; but we don't expect them. Last year we had 80,000 subscribers, and 4 wonderful folks sent a check to help out. We recently went into partnership with Amazon books - which means if everyone makes a commitment to buy one book (amazon has discounts on most titles) then we'll all benefit. We get a small cut of something you're deriving pleasure from. Of course, direct payment is fine - and appreciated - so whichever is best for you is fine with us. The newsletter and the link pages are all "free". Thanks!

Question: I am interested in submitting to Poet's Park. Are there any guidelines, etc.? Jonathon Hawkins (jhawk@mtsu.campus.mci.net)

Answer: simply send one poem to poet@soos.com - if we want more, we'll contact you when review for the next issue.

News: Write poetry that can be put to music? See http://www.soos.com/mall/songwriter.html and explore the possibilities. This unsolicited comment came in: "wow, man, your voice is better than ever, guitar pickin too! always so honored for you to do my songpoems, especially so this time! "midnight blues" features that great blues voice of yours. man, this is one of the greatest blues vocals of all time! sung the way i wrote it,man, uncanny! the leaps and turns of your voice on this one just unbelievable! "you remind me of the blues" is a perfect complement to "midnight blues," make a good pair, also features an astounding blues vocal! i still can't believe your uncanny feel for the words, the rhythms, the notes, the inflections- just amazing! "baby, i call your name" is a fun fun fun number! great fun! man, i'm glad you included your version of "crazy" on this tape. another uncanny vocal! so much soul! wow, "a love supreme" is a great jazz number. love the whole concept and again just the way i wrote it to be sung! a gorgeous interpretation! maybe the most catchy of all the numbers, really irresistible! great jazz voice! but my favorite of the bunch (tho i love em all) is "i want to be a voodoo king." where'd you get that guitar riff? so damn sinister. and combined with the gutbucket voice, makes this a lowdown mojo thing that throws out all the voodoo magic that one can hold! where'd this come from? well, i guess i dreamed it this way. dark. illuminating in its darkness. yeah, this thing is pure black cat bone juju! i've listened to it about a hundred times. it kicks ass every time! man, it's one i'll play over and over again." -Tony Moffeit (MOFFEIT@uscolo.edu)

To send press releases, etc: send an e-mail with the words "news powwow" in the subject area to powwow@soos.com

Thanks! -Rich