I
Now memory resound and unfurl
with resilience like bell of prayer bowl
across time's space continuum!
I may hover at her attic window
or dwell near an earth scented coffin
seducing me to burrow closer.
Yet the border remains porous
between girlhood ruin and
grace of acceptance
These shards of unrequited possibility
cease to be ghosts of samsara bound tragedy
but playing cards of sage scented cinder
I pick one, knave of spades lets say,
and in its powdery wake
a tine white blossom endures.
II
Now wind resound and unfurl
with resilience like passage of prayer bowl
across time's space continuum!
I may hover at her sorrow's window
or dwell near an earth scented cloud
seducing me to burrow closer.
Yet the city remains porous
between girlhood break and
despair of acceptance
These shards of unrequited possibility
cease to be ghosts of samsara bound tragedy
but playing cards of sage scented smoke
I pick one, knave of spades lets say,
and in its powdery wake
a tine white open(ing) endures.
Welcome to the BFA Workshop in Poetry at ACA, 2015 This guided workshop will be both generative and critique-based; we’ll be looking at past work, learning methods of revision, and writing new poems from prompts and exercises. Poets should bring seventeen copies (each) of three poems they would like the group to read and critique. A blog will be set up to help us to prepare in advance, to aid us in communicating between our meetings, and to foster our community after we leave the retreat.
Friday, January 9, 2015
Hello fellow and fella poets and writers,
In the swirl of notes from Paris, the pounding of the surf outside my window here in New Smyrna, I cannot muster the creation of a documentary poem. I value the form and so appreciate Ann's post.
Thank you all for an amazing week. You have brought so much with you and shared generously. I am grateful and grateful for vehicle with which to stay connected. I hope we will.
Thank you and best to each of you.
You would all be welcome guests in Asheviile.
Alida
In the swirl of notes from Paris, the pounding of the surf outside my window here in New Smyrna, I cannot muster the creation of a documentary poem. I value the form and so appreciate Ann's post.
Thank you all for an amazing week. You have brought so much with you and shared generously. I am grateful and grateful for vehicle with which to stay connected. I hope we will.
Thank you and best to each of you.
You would all be welcome guests in Asheviile.
Alida
You Are Not Lost
Permutation on a Forche
This filed of memory takes me
across your sorrow-
a passage of blossoms
that lifts me beyond
the childhood
where you once lived
and I tended
a garden of leaves
blown in by seasons of light.
Now is the night of
your becoming.
I cannot find you.
You are not lost.
Grace will find you in the end.
This country of ice takes me
after your light into
a music of forgiveness
that breaks me beyond
the childhood
where you once lived
and I tended
a garden of cinders-
cinders left from fires I also tended.
You walk through the fire
I cannot see you.
You are not lost.
Despair will find you,
wrestle you from
clouds and, like Jacob,
bring your angel.
Permutation on a Forche
This filed of memory takes me
across your sorrow-
a passage of blossoms
that lifts me beyond
the childhood
where you once lived
and I tended
a garden of leaves
blown in by seasons of light.
Now is the night of
your becoming.
I cannot find you.
You are not lost.
Grace will find you in the end.
This country of ice takes me
after your light into
a music of forgiveness
that breaks me beyond
the childhood
where you once lived
and I tended
a garden of cinders-
cinders left from fires I also tended.
You walk through the fire
I cannot see you.
You are not lost.
Despair will find you,
wrestle you from
clouds and, like Jacob,
bring your angel.
From the notebooks
From the notebooks
" I Am Open To All Annunciations"
Sleep writes itself on the backs of my eyelids Outside, the ocean catches the moon.
"A falling star is God's eye, drawing closer to earth so as to see better." AK
All night the wind pounds the palmettos, surf boils the moonlight
taking her deep below the surface.
In the morning, the moon slightly torn,
sails casually south over buildings as though protecting herself
from the north winds. Sands stings my face, my legs. Who knew there were
so many shades of gray?
Sea foam peels itself from the dark sand, floating...
My stomach turns with the force of the storm, jolted by the unease of your silence.
"All is ok, Ma." You text. I feel your distance as you move into your own dark journey, where
I cannot go.
"Love never loses its way home." Tattooed on my ankle before you left for Africa.
The wind continues to rip the sand from the beach. It is 0 degrees in Boston. Terror strikes Paris.
Center, center. I am here.
"Where do your fears nest? Do your hungers enter your throat? Does the spoon of hunger moan, your funny hares, your timid fawns, your quiet doves, where do they sleep? The planet dropped from your hands. All your paths in a single pocket." Anna Kemienska
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Hi everyone,
I am trying to treat myself to one early night this week, before heading back up north to regular life schedule, so I am attaching a documentary poem I have already written. I am a big fan and always have been of mixed media creations. This is a form that fits me and some of my objectives. Please note that I cannot get 1909 picture that should appear with caption: "Little Spinner" to upload.
I have enjoyed thinking, creating, socializing, and psychic-alizing with all of you this week. Thank you for your input. I hope a bit of mine has proved helpful. I look forward to reading more of your work. My best for all hopes and endeavours.-Ann
I am trying to treat myself to one early night this week, before heading back up north to regular life schedule, so I am attaching a documentary poem I have already written. I am a big fan and always have been of mixed media creations. This is a form that fits me and some of my objectives. Please note that I cannot get 1909 picture that should appear with caption: "Little Spinner" to upload.
I have enjoyed thinking, creating, socializing, and psychic-alizing with all of you this week. Thank you for your input. I hope a bit of mine has proved helpful. I look forward to reading more of your work. My best for all hopes and endeavours.-Ann
Birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution
Slater Mill is accredited by the American
Association of Museums and is the cornerstone of the Chafee Blackstone Valley
National Heritage Corridor. It is of exceptional value in illustrating the
heritage of the United States of America. The Site was designated a National
Historic Landmark District by the Secretary
of the Interior and the National Park Service. Reservations are not
required during museum operating hours.
THE MISSION OF SLATER MILL
A National Historic Landmark, Slater
Mill preserves, interprets and researches the birthplace of Industrialization
in America and its collections for the benefit of all. The Mill develops an
informed understanding of American heritage in innovative economic, industrial,
cultural, artistic and social terms. Slater Mill provides high quality,
relevant experiences designed to educate,
entertain and inspire.
entertain and inspire.
symptoms include: breathing
difficulties chest tightness wheezing coughing, lung scarring, death
US Department of Labor, OSHA
Textile industries involve diverse operations including fiber
synthesis, weaving, manufacturing, dyeing and finishing. One of the oldest
industries, textile operations have been studied extensively and many workplace
standards exist.
There are numerous health and safety issues associated with the
textile industry. They include: chemical exposure from the processing and
dyeing of materials, exposure to cotton and other organic dusts,
musculoskeletal stresses, and noise exposure.
Textiles are addressed
in specific standards for the general industry.
Take a step back in time and live in
turn-of-the-century surroundings that have been updated into incredibly chic
apartments and amenities
Workers who are involved with spinning cotton
are exposed to cotton dust as well as particles of pesticides and soil.
Exposure to these elements is known to lead to respiratory disorders among the
workers. The fatal condition known as brown lung is prevalent in this industry
and is caused by excessive exposure to cotton dust.
The Slater Mill was
the first successful water-powered cotton-spinning factory in America. Because
of its success, numerous mills were developed in nearby areas that copied its
style and management protocols, including the construction of “mill villages,”
and the employment of entire families as mill operatives. This became known as
the “Rhode Island System” of manufacturing.
Over a long period of time,
exposure to noise has been known to cause damage to the ear drums as well as
hearing loss. Noise has also been known to cause fatigue, anxiety and a lack of
productivity. High levels of noise have been documented within the textile
industry.
You will love the aged brick and rugged
appearance of the sturdy timber framing. The oversized windows flood our
apartment homes with sunshine and warmth
symptoms include: breathing
difficulties chest tightness wheezing coughing, lung scarring, death
In
1909, workers appeared to be twelve years old or less. Usual report of hands
and fingers severed by the machinery, insufferable heat, dust inhaled causing
the fatal condition brown lung. Laws were
rarely enforced, and small children in the factory were explained away to the
inspectors - they were visiting the mill to bring meals to their parents (meal totters), or helping but not on the
payroll (helpers). Wages were good:
$2 a day in the mill v. $0.75 on a farm. In the south, Blacks were not allowed
to work inside a mill; had they been the need for child labor would have been
eliminated. Child labor stopped due to the change in the machinery brought by
the Great Depression, which required greater height and skill.
symptoms include: breathing
difficulties chest tightness wheezing coughing, lung scarring, death
Original
reclaimed wood floors add to the charm of Slater Cotton Mill apartments,
providing the perfect blend of modern convenience and luxury loft style living
A little spinner
1909
“Just happened in”.
Repeat. Mills full of youngsters who “just happened in,” perhaps to “help
sister.” Witness: Sara R. Hine
in the early 1900’s children were working 54-hour weeks
Issues
such as unstable furniture, bad lighting and poor ventilation have been noticed
in the textile industry of developing countries. These units provide a
workspace that is dangerous and unhealthy for workers. They are at risk for
occupational disorders such as musculoskeletal disorders.
you
will love calling Slater Cotton Mill your home
Multiple area air
samples were analyzed for total elutriated dust concentration (range: 0.15 to
2.5 mg/m3) and endotoxin (range: 0.002 to 0.55 microgram U.S. Reference
Endotoxin/m3). The cotton worker population was stratified by current and
cumulative dust or endotoxin exposure. Groups were compared for FEV1, FVC,
FEV1/FVC%, % change in FEV1 over the shift (delta FEV1%); prevalences of
chronic bronchitis and byssinosis. Linear and logistic regression models were
constructed. No dose-response relationships were shown comparing dust
concentration to pulmonary function or symptom variable. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3800146
symptoms include: breathing
difficulties chest tightness wheezing coughing, lung scarring, death
And don’t forget, Slater Cotton Mill is a pet friendly community
too
Gram-negative
bacteria and their endotoxins are present on all parts of the cotton plant and
occur in large numbers after rain or frost. Endotoxins activate pulmonary
macrophages that then recruit neutrophils into airways. Platelets accumulate in
pulmonary capillaries. These cells allows for the initiation of acute and
chronic inflammation. Dose-response relationships have been shown between
endotoxin and fever, chest tightness, and bronchoconstriction in cotton
workers. Data suggest that after cotton dust exposure, airway hyperreactivity
and chronic inflammation, are also related to the endotoxin exposure. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3324755
Byssinosis:
also called "brown lung disease" or "Monday fever”, is an
occupational lung disease caused by exposure to cotton dust in inadequately
ventilated working environments.
addendum: the term "brown
lung" is a misnomer, as the lungs of affected individuals are not brown
Rents
range from $1025-$1825 per month. Subject to Change
Space Fans -- Updated launch info.
The SpaceX launch is now scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 10 at 4:47 a.m., so you'll have to be a true fan to catch it! My husband assures us it would be worth seeing a 20-story high rocket full of space station resupply materials lift off into the sky. I rather agree.
On documentary
Dear Poets,
I realize that the Page for Documentary Poetry is fairly detailed, and might be sufficient. It is impossible to really produce a documentary poem in one night, but it is something to think about, and perhaps you can do a page or so on a subject that is important to you, mixing quotes, poetry lines, information gleaned from various sources, etc. See what you can do. We can talk about this a bit more tomorrow.
Best wishes,
Carolyn
I realize that the Page for Documentary Poetry is fairly detailed, and might be sufficient. It is impossible to really produce a documentary poem in one night, but it is something to think about, and perhaps you can do a page or so on a subject that is important to you, mixing quotes, poetry lines, information gleaned from various sources, etc. See what you can do. We can talk about this a bit more tomorrow.
Best wishes,
Carolyn
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