Here’s a pretty lame attempt at E.E. Cummings-style wordplay from what seems like a century ago. Surprisingly, it was published in a local publication (Camens Expeditus) at the time. Obviously meant to be tongue-in-cheek (no pun intended) it was just a fun little number, not unlike Steve Miller Band’s “Hot Chili”, except you can;t really dance to it…
Category Archives: Poetry
Bachelor Days
This is another ‘early’ entry. My pale imitation of a ‘Beat’ poem. Or is that ‘Poem I should be beaten for writing’?
For Brautigan
This one is for Richard Brautigan (1935-1984) – King of Zen Comedy Poet Lit.
“Rommel Drives On Into Egypt” opened my eyes to a whole new world of poetic possibilities.
“In Watermelon Sugar” showed me how the lines of genre, literature, prose and poetry are only small-minded categorizations in a vast Universe of storytelling.
Go find his books and let him tear away the thick black curtain of redundancy that keeps you from seeing the true nature of literature.
The Goatsingers Retreat
Many years ago, whilst attempting to further my Post-Secondary Edumacation, I took an Ancient History class that dealt, in part with the Ancient (obviously) Greeks. During this course I was introduced to the idea of the Goat Singer or “tragos-oidos”, a term that would eventually become the English term “tragedy”.
The Goat-Singers were a wild rumpus party dance troupe during early Dionysian Bachannals. They would cavort and frolic to the rythms of the parade band while wearing Goat skins to represent Satyrs (Mythical Man/Goats who partied with Dionysus).
Eventually this became a little stale and an enterprising young Attican poet convinced the leader of the Goat Singers to perform a pre-written dialogue with the band leader, which he would do, gesticulating and hamming it up for the crowd. This was the birth of ‘acting’.
As we all know, the Greeks developed a great love for the theatrical arts that they had developed, and “tragos-oidos” became the term used for the serious (tragic) actors that would stand naked in the Palladium baring their souls for the gathered masses, reciting epic poetry and enacting tales of Gods and Men.
This inspired me to write the following poem, The Goat Singers Retreat, which has become not only one of my favorite poems, but one that I would consider a ‘signature’ work. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
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