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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2019)
18 // COASTWEEKEND.COM Poetry is where you fi nd it It’s that month again By EVE MARX FOR COAST WEEKEND O ne of my favor- ite quotes about poetry is by James Tate who said, “Poetry is everywhere; it just needs editing.” April is National Poetry Month, a celebration intro- duced in 1996 and orga- nized by the Academy of American Poets. Poetry has long gotten a bad rap (though rap is a form of poetry). The fi rst poem I tasked myself to learn was “The Village Blacksmith” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I remember memorizing it and reciting it in front of my fourth-grade class. The teacher seemed alarmed by my recitation. She had no idea I’d chosen it because it Eve Marx You can fi nd poetry everywhere, even on public utility boxes was a poem about a black- smith and therefore related to my obsession with Seaside AAUW Scholarship Foundation presents: MOVIE DOLLARS for SCHOLARS Raising money for women of all ages who want to go to college or continue their college education horses, which was already out of hand. Under a spreading chest- nut tree The village smithy stand; The smith, a mighty man is he, With large and sinewy hands; And the muscles of his brawny arms Are strong as iron bands. By high school I had moved on to the poetry of Langston Hughes and Nikki Giovanni. I read Syl- via Plath. In college I dis- covered James Dickey and Raymond Carver, although I always admired Carver’s short stories more than his poetry. My English major friends introduced me to the poetry of Denise Levertov and LeRoi Jones. I had a friend who exclusively read William Carlos Williams. In a structured college setting I read Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Wallace Stevens, Robert Frost and T.S. Eliot. After college and grad school I forgot about poetry. By then I was employed 40 hours a week in a nonfi ction publishing house and, after that, editing magazines. I had no time or interest to read anything that wasn’t on my desk. Any free time I had was spent in art muse- ums where I could stand in front of an original Picasso, or Pollock, or Rothko that spoke to me more directly at the time than poetry. Poetry didn’t re-enter my life until years later when I started cleaning horse stalls. This was during a period when I was profoundly unhappy. The barn man- ager, a moody if undeniably attractive man 15 years my junior, was a poetry major in college. He was a big fan of the Irish poet Seamus Heaney. Since the barn man- ager was not just reading, but also attempting to write poetry, I accompanied him a few times to an open mike poetry slam at a local café. My intention was to give him moral support, but he even though he wrote his name on the sign-up sheet to read, he never did. These days, if I feel like reading a poem, I turn to the work of Charles Bukowski. He gave readings on college campuses where he stood at the podium with a couple of six packs of beer close at hand. He steadily drank while he read, and if anyone in the audience ticked him off, he hurled empty cans at them. My favorite Bukow- ski poem is “Slim Killers.” Copyright laws prohibit Wikimedia.org Charles Bukowski. me from posting it in its entirety, but it begins: “There are 4 guys at the door All 6 feet four And checking in at Around 210 pounds, Slim killers. Come in, I say, And they walk in with their drinks And circle the old man — So you’re Bukowski, eh?” In the poem, they pro- ceed to get drunk and pass out on the fl oor. Bukowski gives each of them a pillow and a blanket. He observes in the morn- ing they are just big kids, heaving in the bathroom. Then they’re gone. Bukow- ski ends it with the lines, Readers of my poems I can’t say that I disliked them. Read a poem this month, why don’t you? CW Astoria Warrenton Crab, Seafood & Wine Festival Presenting Sponsor Academy Award BEST PICTURE Enjoy a GREAT movie, popcorn and a soft drink with friends and family! Wednesday, April 24 th , 2019 at 4pm • $ 30 Times Theater, 133 Broadway, Seaside Advanced tickets available at the Times Theater Box Office Checks or Cash only please Celebrate the delicious bounty of the Oregon Coast April 26, 27 & 28 at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds! Friday: 4 - 9pm · $15/Adult Saturday: 10am - 8pm · $15/Adult Sunday: 11am - 4pm · $10/Adult AstoriaCrabFest.com Live music on two stages! Entertainment Sponsor Visit website for more pricing info, shuttle routes, list of vendors, volunteer sign-up and more. Nekst Event 175 14th St., Suite 100 (Foot of 12th) Astoria, OR. 97103 Please use waterfront back-in parking Chef Chris Holen • 503-298-0838 chefholen@nekstevent.com Only onsite private event space