SNOW MAKES THE MAD GIRL ALMOST SUICIDAL
how it glazes,
seals what’s a stain
in like dirt under poly
so each foot print upstairs
glides over scars. The
cold drifts, makes a
maze of walks, tunnels
where knives could be
pointed like icicles over
the door way. No ballet
dancer with electric
pointed shoes, or a tutu
of fleece could warm
her. So slippery, her ankle
snaps while in the night
diesel trucks collide
with over turned 12
wheelers under her hair,
their undersides twitching
in smoke like zapped wasps
SNOW MAKES THE MAD GIRL SUICIDAL
gerrymandering what’s slippery into space she can’t
avoid, every part of her’s a junkie going
cold turkey, starved for heat. She shakes, a
blue spreads over her. She dreams
of bougainvillea, gardenia, figs. White’s
the color bandages, diapers, feet of the dead.
She wants jades, tourmalines, sapphires, rubies
jags of flame and teal, a gypsy swirl, castanets.
No more colorless dirge of snow burying, disguising,
but heat, a jungle rain where skin smells like
skin and locusts hum toward dawn, a gladiolus
wind, thighs luminous as bones dipped in
tinsel and glitter
SNOW MAKES THE MAD GIRL SUICIDAL
fangs of ice, too cold
for even blues to breathe.
White suffocates, a town
buried behind her wrists.
Roofs collapse, cars under
mounds like bodies the
ground was too hard to dig
into left on battlefields.
Ice crystals freeze in the air,
a halo of edges, a tilt to one
side, a falling into the daze,
into the flare of light as
glass splatters, could
blind her for good
SNOW MAKES THE MAD GIRL SUICIDAL
possibilities, freeze dried,
zapped, trapped like crystals
poisonous as HIV virus twisted
to a halo. She moves and it
moves with her, a too heavy
cologne heavy as guilt. Ease,
already frayed, freezes in the
shape of splinters. She feels
that brittle, feels herself running
toward a fire only her feet are
glued to glass. She’s a spun glass
rose bud vase in the car for days
hot water is poured into and
she cracks
SNOW MAKES THE MAD GIRL SUICIDAL
isolates, a moat of
colorlessness, barb
wire of ice. She tried
to pull from the house
of cold, but the cold
seers, burns where
she’s pressed. Scars.
The snow terrifies.
Where she stands,
too slippery to hold
her and the roof’s
about to bury her in
bed, catch her screams
like lips in lava
Lyn Lifshin has published over 140 books and chapbooks and edited three anthologies of women’s writing including Tangled Vines that stayed in print 20 years. She has several books from Black Sparrow books. Her web site, www.lynlifshin.com shows the variety of her work from the equine books, The Licorice Daughter: My Year with Ruffian and Barbaro: Beyond Brokenness to recent books about dance: Ballroom, Knife Edge and Absinthe: The Tango Poems. Other new books include For the Roses, poems for Joni Mitchell, All The Poets Who Touched Me; A Girl goes Into The Woods; Malala, Tangled as the Alphabet: The Istanbul Poems. Also just out: Secretariat: The Red Freak, The Miracle; Malala and Luminous Women: Enheducanna, Scheherazade and Nefertiti. web site: www.lynlifshin.com
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Key of Mist. Guadalupe Grande.Translated.Amparo Arróspide.Robin Ouzman Hislop
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Poetry Life & Times
Who’s Texting Who. A Poem by Blanca Alicia Garza
We live in such a strange
and unkind world.
Where you can stand
beside a thousand people
but feel completely invisible.
Where a cold shiny screen
can make you feel close to
those who are far away,
but make you feel far away
to those who are closer.
Where conversation turns
into text, relationships are
just a status and friendship
a rivalry.
Where we live to work
and not work to live.
Where people are like zombies
staring at their phones and
completely ignoring all that
happens around them.
Where you can take a picture of
food while ignoring an image
of a starving child.
Where Family turns into strangers
and strangers into family.
This world is falling apart
under our own feet
Full of hatred but empty of love.
Welcome to the 21st Century,
where technology has
surpassed humanity.
(Initially published on Tuck Magazine)
Bio: Blanca Alicia Garza is from Las Vegas, Nevada. She is a nature and animal lover, and enjoys spending time writing. Some of her poems are published in the Poetry Anthology, “Moonlight Dreamers of Yellow Haze”, now available at Amazon.com. Blanca’s published work can be viewed at The Poet Community, Whispers, The Winamop Journal, Indiana Voice Journal, Tuck Magazine, Scarlet Leaf Review as well as Birdsong Anthology 2016, Vol 1.
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Key of Mist. Guadalupe Grande.Translated.Amparo Arróspide.Robin Ouzman Hislop
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Video Poem Tony Martin Woods & Robin Ouzman Hislop read Key of Mist by Guadalupe Grande
Life, Books and Songs
30 Mar 2017 6pm – 10pm
Poet, editor and translator Robin Ouzman Hislop will recite poems from his volume “All the babble of the Souk” (2016, Aquillrelle) and from “La llave de niebla” (Litterae Calambur, 2003)-, a book by Spanish writer Guadalupe Grande translated into English by himself and Amparo Arróspide, “Key of mist” (2016, Aquillrelle).
Poet Antonio Martínez Arboleda will read Grande’s original poems in Spanish as well as his own poems in Spanish from “Los viajes de Diosa” -“The travels of Goddess”- (2015 Diego Marín) and from various publications in English.
After an interval, the Leeds band “The Blacksocks” will play a dozen of songs, including “Take us”, “Mañana”, “Lágrimas negras” and “Monsters of Pop”. The Blacksocks are Dave Hall (vocals), Pete Denton (guitar), Deryk Isherwood (drums), Len Forbes (guitar) and Antonio Martínez Arboleda (bass).
Editors note:This video was recorded at the Casa Colombiana Restaurant Leeds UK in May 2017 on its upstairs floor, unfortunately a little white noise permeates the backround from the diners below – but lets say it all adds to the joi de vive. it will also feature in the YouTube Poets TV Pilot project to be edited & published by Sara L Russell.
Tony Martin-Woods started to write poetry in 2012, at the age of 43, driven by his political indignation. That same year he also set in motion Poesía Indignada (Transforming with Poetry), an online publication of political poetry that he edits. Tony is a political and artistic activist who explores the digital component of our lives as a means to support critical human empowerment. He is also known in the UK for his work as an academic and educator under his non-literary name. He writes in English and Spanish and has published his first volume of poetry Los viajes de Diosa (The Travels of Goddess) 2016.
GUADALUPE GRANDE
Madrid, 1965.
She has written the following books of poetry: El libro de Lilit (1995), La llave de niebla (2003), Mapas de cera (2006) and Hotel para erizos (2010).
She has been translated into French in the book Métier de crhysalide (translation by Drothèe Suarez and Juliette Gheerbrant (2010) and into Italian, in the volume Mestiere senza crisalide (translation by Raffaella Marzano (2015). She made the selection and translation of La aldea de sal (2009), an anthology of Brazilian poet Lêdo Ivo, together with poet Juan Carlos Mestre.
Her creative work extends to the territory of photography and visual poetry.http://guadalupegrande.blogspot.com.es/
Amparo Arróspide (Argentina) has published five poetry collections: Presencia en el Misterio, Mosaicos bajo la hiedra, Alucinación en dos actos y algunos poemas, Pañuelos de usar y tirar and En el oído del viento, as well as poems, short stories and articles on literature and films in anthologies and international magazines. She has translated authors such as Francisca Aguirre, Javier Díaz Gil, Luis Fores and José Antonio Pamies into English, together with Robin Ouzman Hislop, who she worked with for a period as co-editor of Poetry Life and Times, a Webzine. Her translations into Spanish of Margaret Atwood (Morning in the Burned House), James Stephens (Irish Fairy Tales) and Mia Couto (Vinte e Zinco) are in the course of being published, as well as her two poetry collections Hormigas en diáspora and Jacuzzi. She takes part in festivals, recently Transforming with Poetry (Leeds) and Centro de Poesía José Hierro (Getafe).
Robin Ouzman Hislop is on line Editor Poetry Life & Times, his recent publications include Voices without Borders Volume 1 (USA), Cold Mountain Review (Appalachian University, N.Carolina), The Poetic Bond Volumes, Phoenix Rising from the Ashes (an international anthology of sonnets) and The Honest Ulsterman. His last publications are a volume of collected poems All the Babble of the Souk & Key of Mist, a translation from Spanish of the poems by the Spanish poetess Guadalupe Grande, both are published by Aquillrelle.com and available at all main online tributaries. For further information about these publications with reviews and comments see Author Robin..
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Key of Mist. Guadalupe Grande.Translated.Amparo Arróspide.Robin Ouzman Hislop
goodreads.com/author/show/Robin Ouzman Hislop
http://www.aquillrelle.com/authorrobin.htm
http://www.amazon.com. All the Babble of the Souk. Robin Ouzman Hislop
www.lulu.com. All the Babble of the Souk. Robin Ouzman Hislop
https://www.amazon.com/author/robinouzmanhislop
Dear Voyage. A Poem by Brian Batchelor
Editor’s Note: Brian Batchelor is a prisoner serving a life sentence without parole, his poem Dear Voyage was First Prize in the 2015 Pen America Prison Writing Competion. The original website where this poem appears is also included below together with further information & Bio.
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Key of Mist. Guadalupe Grande.Translated.Amparo Arróspide.Robin Ouzman Hislop
goodreads.com/author/show/Robin Ouzman Hislop
http://www.aquillrelle.com/authorrobin.htm
http://www.amazon.com. All the Babble of the Souk. Robin Ouzman Hislop
www.lulu.com. All the Babble of the Souk. Robin Ouzman Hislop
https://www.amazon.com/author/robinouzmanhislop
JAZZ Don’t Mean A ‘Thang’ if Rhythm and Blues Ain’t Got that ‘Swang’ A Poem by: Author Renee’ Drummond-Brown
Saturday
the dusk
of dew;
63.
~~~
Naw cuz,
‘twaz’
1961
~~~
or
‘wuzn’t’ it
62?
~~~
‘Anywho’
>>>
skipped us
‘sum’
SERIOUS
school.
<<<
Mabey
it twas’
afternoon?
In the
black
Southern
comfort sun.
Or
‘wuzn’t’ it
Southern comfort
us ‘wuz’
‘drankin’ on?
???
WHO KNEW?
we’d
beg
borrow
an’
stole
us
some fun?
Down
at the
Juke joint;
‘smokin’
on
tobacco,
‘eaten’
‘dem’
pork ‘rhymes’.
Naaa!
‘Dats’
a lie!
We ‘wuz’
‘chewin’
on
‘sum’
fried CAT.
Fish
‘dat’
‘IZ’???
Chitterlings
an’ OH’ kale,
mustard greens
naw
dayze’ steamed,
ham hock
neck-bones
‘wit’ them
negro beans
an’
simply red
rice.
Spinach AIN’t there!
Now
‘dats’
mighty fine of you
and
‘sum’
cornbread
sounds
‘kinda’ nice.
~~~
Might add…
~~~
Christianly
too.
Grease ‘poppin’
foot ‘stompin’
shaking off
calories
and
them there blues.
‘Groovin’
to sounds of
herbie hancock
muddy waters
little walter
miles davis
louis armstrong
dizz gillespie
duke ellington
john coltrane
an
lest we forget
charlie parker
too.
ROLL CALL:
They don’t get A capitol?
‘Naw’
daze ain’t
hardly
‘IMPO’TANT’
just ‘acktin’
‘sum’
black fools!!!
But
‘dayz’ ‘due’
~~~
THIS TIME
~~~
get a pass;
~~~
unlike,
~~~
Me
an’ You!!!
Aw,
now ‘dat’ there’s
‘sum’
Cannon
‘kinda’
“Good News”
“be for real”
JAZZ, Rhythm, and Blues!
Oh my!!!
Naw,
dorothy and toto
‘wuzan’t’
hardly
there too.
There’s no place like home though
or
‘skippin’ us
‘sum’ school;
cross
the railroad tracks,
back
in
the neck of the woods
AKA
OZ
and/or
DA’
Juke Joint.
UNDERSTOOD?
harold melvin,
&
the blue notes
‘WUZ’ THEY THERE TOO?
Alright; alright
If you don’t know me
by now
You ‘betta’ ask ‘sumbody’
bout my poetry~~~
RENEE’S POEMS WITH WINGS ARE ‘FOREVA’
WORDS IN FLIGHT!!!
‘IZ’ ONE
JAZZY BABE,
and yezzz’
JAZZ
don’t mean A ‘thang’
if
Rhythm and Blues
ain’t got
that ‘swang’!!!
Dedicated to: You ‘betta’ ask ‘sumbody’ ‘bout’ my poetry~~~
RENEE’S POEMS WITH WINGS ARE WORDS IN FLIGHT!!!
A B.A.D. Poem
Other books by Renee’ Drummond-Brown:
~A B.A.D. Poem
~The Power of the Pen
~SOLD: TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER
~Renee’s Poems with Wings are Words in Flight-I’ll Write Our Wrongs
And
~e-Book: Renee’s Poems with Wings are Words in Flight
No part of this poem may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission from the author. All Rights Reserved. Copyrighted material@ April 9, 2017.
Biography
Renee’ B. Drummond is a renown poetria and artist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is the
author of: The Power of the Pen, SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER, Renee’s Poems with
Wings are Words in Flight-I’ll Write Our Wrongs, and Renee’s Poems with Wings are Words in
Flight. Her work is viewed on a global scale and solidifies her as a force to be reckoned with in the
literary world of poetry. Renee’ is inspired by non-other than Dr. Maya Angelou, because of her,
Renee’ posits “Still I write, I write, and I’ll write!”
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Key of Mist. Guadalupe Grande.Translated.Amparo Arróspide.Robin Ouzman Hislop
goodreads.com/author/show/Robin Ouzman Hislop
http://www.aquillrelle.com/authorrobin.htm
http://www.amazon.com. All the Babble of the Souk. Robin Ouzman Hislop
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http://www.innerchildpress.com/robin-ouzman-hislop.All the Babble of the Souk
Wata (Prod.Mo. Laudi. Mix. Drum) Hip Hop Rap Poem by Kwame Write
The Title Piece is a selection from the Audio Album Bloodlines listed below, Kwame Write was one of our earliest contributors at PLT, more of his works can be found in Catagories under Kwame Write – PLT wishes him all success with his new album debut. Editor’s Note
Bloodlines serves as a revo poetry with music data stream treating a nation like an organ, a continent like a body and the globe like soul. An uncut splurge of visual metaphors forged into recited poetry, ‘some singing’ and fast paced rhythmic rap in fusion with Ghana’s Ebo Taylor and Alhaji K. Frimpong’s highlife chops cooked by ProdbyYungFly and Drumnayshin(who mixed and mastered all the pieces except Woyaaya), live taps by Burkinabe genius Lasso, alternative EDM influenced tapes from Euiv’s Baltimore den and afro house plugs from South African sounds king Mo Laudi by way of Paris. The themes are one and all – based on blessing of earth, water, wind and fire. The artist rants out some social commentary concerning black world modern slavery, water pollution, illegal mining and plastic waste. Also, there’s some folk storytelling and groovy wordplay pieces in there.
https://kwamewrite.bandcamp.com/album/bloodlines
BIO:
Strategic multidisciplinary event manager, poet/spoken word artist, blogger and content creator with the passion for writing; poetry, children’s literature and documentaries mostly. Kwame’s word art has earned him several online publications like http://www.artvilla.com/plt/thats-why-i-write-poem-kwame-write-aidoo/, http://www.kalaharireview.com/fictionpoetry/2013/6/25/not-just-dream.html and http://thejrshow.net/2014/03/06/motion-of-destiny/, , a nomination for International Best Amateur Poet by World Poetry Organisation in 2003, an award from the Scrabble Association of Ghana and the stage name “Write”. He believes that poetry is an underestimated tool for education, passing down history, entertainment and inspiration for/by his generation.
Born on the 25h of October, 1986, Charles “Kwame Write” Aidoo earned a BSc in Biochemistry and Biotechnology from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology in 2009, and currently runs Inkfluent; a poetry/writing event, record production and social media hub which produced Vocal Portraits I: https://soundcloud.com/vocalportraits; a spoken word compilation that brought together 3 continents and currently working again with spoken word artists across the globe on the soon to be released Vocal Portraits II. He also works as a co-ordinator of Ehalakasa; Ghana’s mother poetry movement/platform. A fufu addict though open to try new dishes, he’s learning to use a few instruments and languages.
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Key of Mist. Guadalupe Grande.Translated.Amparo Arróspide.Robin Ouzman Hislop
goodreads.com/author/show/Robin Ouzman Hislop
http://www.aquillrelle.com/authorrobin.htm
http://www.amazon.com. All the Babble of the Souk. Robin Ouzman Hislop
www.lulu.com. All the Babble of the Souk. Robin Ouzman Hislop
https://www.amazon.com/author/robinouzmanhislop
http://www.innerchildpress.com/robin-ouzman-hislop.All the Babble of the Souk
Almost. Video Poem by Candice James.
A Video Poem by Candice James for the You Tube Poets TV Pilot Project to be Edited & Produced by Sara L Russell
for more information check http://www.artvilla.com/plt/you-tube-video-poets-sara-l-russell/ submissions welcome
Candice James is a poet, writer, visual artist, musician, singer-songwriter in her 2nd three year term as Poet Laureate of New Westminster, She is Royal City Literary Arts Society Director and founder and Past President of both Royal City Literary Arts Society and Federation BC Writers; She is also founder of Poetry In The Park and founder of Poetic Justice. She is a featured poet, keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, presenter and event hostess. Candice is also a full member of League Canadian Poets; a member of The Writers Union Canada and is the author of nine poetry books: the first book of poetry published was “A Split In The Water” (Fiddlehead Poetry Books 1979); and the most recent is “Merging Dimensions” (Ekstasis Editions 2015). She is the 2015 recipient of the prestigious Bernie Legge Artist Cultural Award and also the recipient of the Pandora’s Collective 2015 Citizenship award. Further information can be found on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candice_James and www.candicejames.com
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Key of Mist. Guadalupe Grande.Translated.Amparo Arróspide.Robin Ouzman Hislop
goodreads.com/author/show/Robin Ouzman Hislop
http://www.aquillrelle.com/authorrobin.htm
http://www.amazon.com. All the Babble of the Souk. Robin Ouzman Hislop
www.lulu.com. All the Babble of the Souk. Robin Ouzman Hislop
https://www.amazon.com/author/robinouzmanhislop
http://www.innerchildpress.com/robin-ouzman-hislop.All the Babble of the Souk
RICARDO’S FATHER. A Poem by John Grey
Hair crowded his body:
facial hair, chest hair,
hair through the back of his hands.
He was always a frozen transformation scene
from “The Wolf-Man.”
He had so little skin.
How do you love a man
who sprouts more than he towers,
like loving Renoir for the paint
Bergman for the celluloid.
My own father
would shave in the morning
and be done with it.
Hair was easily contained.
I could make connection
between his cheeks and mouth arid chin..
His chest was brown and clear
from working in the sun.
And I could see the strength in his hands,
felt what lifted me.
Ricardo confided in me
that his father could not find work,
and I figured it was because
no one would ever hire such a jungle.
He added that his parents were separated,
Once again, how do you love
the camouflaged man?
He said he saw him just on weekends,
looked forward to
those bright, sunny Saturdays.
He spoke of razors of warmth and light.
John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident. Recently published in New Plains Review, South Carolina Review, Stillwater Review and Big Muddy Review with work upcoming in Louisiana Review, Cape Rock and Spoon River Poetry Review.
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Key of Mist. Guadalupe Grande.Translated.Amparo Arróspide.Robin Ouzman Hislop
goodreads.com/author/show/Robin Ouzman Hislop
http://www.aquillrelle.com/authorrobin.htm
http://www.amazon.com. All the Babble of the Souk. Robin Ouzman Hislop
www.lulu.com. All the Babble of the Souk. Robin Ouzman Hislop
https://www.amazon.com/author/robinouzmanhislop
http://www.innerchildpress.com/robin-ouzman-hislop.All the Babble of the Souk