Writing the Life Poetic

The Poetics of Community: Is the Poet Inherently Dissident?

By Christopher Luna

"Instead of trying to escape reality, plunge into the flesh of the world." -- Lawrence Ferlinghetti, "Poetry As Insurgent Art"
 
Traditionally, many poets have seen themselves as dissidents. Many American poets have written about the promise of America, and its failure to live up to this ideal. Walt Whitman wrote prophetic poems about the liberation of the individual, and unflinching descriptions of what he saw as a nurse to wounded soldiers during the Civil War.
 
Kenneth Patchen courageously lamented the futility and meaninglessness of armed conflict during World War II. Later, Allen Ginsberg wrote poems in favor of psychedelics, gay rights, and peace. In addition, Ginsberg and others including Ed Sanders and Denise Levertov became directly involved in the anti-Vietnam movement. Amiri Baraka has written great poems about racism and the damage caused by American capitalism.
 
Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the former poet laureate of San Francisco and founder of City Lights book store in San Francisco, encourages poets to see themselves as dissidents. In "Poetry As Insurgent Art," Ferlinghetti answers the question "What is the use of poetry?" with aphorisms intended to provoke and inspire: "If you call yourself a poet, don't just sit there. Poetry is not a sedentary occupation, not a 'take your seat' practice. Stand up and let them have it."
 
In other countries, poets are regarded as statesmen and spokespeople for the populace. Poets including Julie Patton have returned from their travels with tales of poetry readings attended by thousands of enthusiastic listeners. Why doesn't this happen in the United States? Why are most poetry readings attended primarily by other poets? Why is our work devalued? How did we become marginalized? Is it because the politically conscious poet's existence represents a threat to the status quo?
 
Anne Waldman has written about an outrider tradition in American literature, which "rides through the chaos, maintaining a stance of 'negative capability', but also does not give up that projective drive, or its original identity that demands that it intervene on the culture. This is not about being an Outsider. The Outrider might be an outlaw, but not an outsider. Rather, the outrider is a kind of shaman, the true spiritual 'insider'. The shaman travels to zones of light and shadow. The shaman travels to edges of madness and death and comes back to tell the stories." In this culture, we become outriders simply by daring to bear witness.
 
In the 1960s, it was said that the personal is political. If this is true, then every poem is political. Each line is poised to move someone, convince them that they are not alone, or persuade them to take action. Once one fully groks the inevitable ripple effect that one's words create, it is difficult to look at one's writing, or one's place in the community, quite the same way again. One of my favorite poems by Allen Ginsberg addresses this belief quite eloquently:
 
"Well, while I'm here I'll/ do the work-/and what's the work?/to ease the pain of living./Everything else, drunken/dumbshow"
 
Everything we engage in, from readings to workshops to encouraging emerging writers, has the potential to make a positive impact on someone else's life. Poetics can be a utilitarian, healing practice that has the potential to unlock people's hearts and minds. This makes it a crucial tool of self-liberation.

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Christopher Luna is a poet, editor, artist, teacher, and graduate of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. Publications include Cadillac Cicatrix, eye-rhyme, Exquisite Corpse, and the @tached document. Chapbooks include tributes and ruminations, On the Beam (with David Madgalene), and Sketches for a Paranoid Picture Book on Memory. GHOST TOWN, USA, which features poems and observations of Vancouver, WA, is available through Cover to Cover Books  and Angst Gallery, or from the author.

POETRY AVAILABLE ONLINE
Poem in Exquisite Corpse
Poem in For Immediate Release
Profile for Here Comes Everybody: Writers on Writing

Email: christopherjluna@gmail.com
Blog: www.christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com

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The Poetics of Community: Finding a Poetic Soulmate

By Christopher Luna

Is it possible to find a poetic soulmate? A trusted friend who knows your work so well that he or she can give you solid advice that takes your overarching concerns and aesthetic into account? I’m here to tell you that, though it may be as elusive as the ideal of a romantic soulmate, it is possible.  

In order for a person to be your poetic soulmate, he or she must first read enough of your work to understand What It Is You’re Trying To Do. If we think of a poet’s work as a kind of autobiography, or at least a narrative that takes an entire life to complete, then it can be helpful to receive critique from someone who understands the big picture of who you are.  

Often people join critique groups looking for such a partner. These groups can be useful if they are constructed carefully. Groups that consist of random people who are not familiar with each other’s work do not always gel. I am fortunate enough to be part of a small group of five people who are not only friends but who respect one another’s work. When you go over your poetry line by line with people on a regular basis, they begin to get a sense of your aesthetic.  

But in my case, my poetic soulmate turned out to be a fellow alumnus from Naropa. While we were friends when we were classmates, it was not until after we graduated that we realized that we had this affinity. My friend David Madgalene is an excellent writer who also happens to be a prolific correspondent. When I send him one letter, he responds with three. He sends me huge envelopes filled with books, zines, and clippings to inspire and amuse me. He also sends me his stories, novels, and poems, although not always for critique. We are very clear with one another about when feedback is sought.  

The mutual respect that David and I have for one another has led us to collaborate on several poems, a chapbook, and a forthcoming book art project. We have performed together on several occasions, many of which occurred during my yearly visit to California to visit him and his family.  

David knows more about what I am trying to do than anyone. Therefore, when he makes a comment or a suggestion, I am sure to take it seriously. Similarly, he knows that he can trust me to be honest with him. While both of us publish or perform our work regularly enough to have had the experience of being praised, even sincere compliments do not tell a writer what he needs to do to improve his work. When I have a tough question about a poem, or just need someone to give it to me straight, I can count on David.  

Have you found your poetic soulmate? If not, what kind of person might be a fit for you? What are you doing to find him or her?

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Christopher Luna is a poet, editor, artist, teacher, and graduate of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. Publications include Cadillac Cicatrix, eye-rhyme, Exquisite Corpse, and the @tached document. Chapbooks include tributes and ruminations, On the Beam (with David Madgalene), and Sketches for a Paranoid Picture Book on Memory. GHOST TOWN, USA, which features poems and observations of Vancouver, WA, is available through Cover to Cover Books  and Angst Gallery, or from the author.

POETRY AVAILABLE ONLINE
Poem in Exquisite Corpse
Poem in For Immediate Release
Profile for Here Comes Everybody: Writers on Writing

Email: christopherjluna@gmail.com
Blog: www.christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com

* * * * *

View all "The Poetics of Community" columns.

View the entire Writing the Life Poetic zine archive.

By Christopher Luna

Is it possible to find a poetic soulmate? A trusted friend who knows your work so well that he or she can give you solid advice that takes your overarching concerns and aesthetic into account? I’m here to tell you that, though it may be as elusive as the ideal of a romantic soulmate, it is possible.  

In order for a person to be your poetic soulmate, he or she must first read enough of your work to understand What It Is You’re Trying To Do. If we think of a poet’s work as a kind of autobiography, or at least a narrative that takes an entire life to complete, then it can be helpful to receive critique from someone who understands the big picture of who you are.  

Often people join critique groups looking for such a partner. These groups can be useful if they are constructed carefully. Groups that consist of random people who are not familiar with each other’s work do not always gel. I am fortunate enough to be part of a small group of five people who are not only friends but who respect one another’s work. When you go over your poetry line by line with people on a regular basis, they begin to get a sense of your aesthetic.  

But in my case, my poetic soulmate turned out to be a fellow alumnus from Naropa. While we were friends when we were classmates, it was not until after we graduated that we realized that we had this affinity. My friend David Madgalene is an excellent writer who also happens to be a prolific correspondent. When I send him one letter, he responds with three. He sends me huge envelopes filled with books, zines, and clippings to inspire and amuse me. He also sends me his stories, novels, and poems, although not always for critique. We are very clear with one another about when feedback is sought.  

The mutual respect that David and I have for one another has led us to collaborate on several poems, a chapbook, and a forthcoming book art project. We have performed together on several occasions, many of which occurred during my yearly visit to California to visit him and his family.  

David knows more about what I am trying to do than anyone. Therefore, when he makes a comment or a suggestion, I am sure to take it seriously. Similarly, he knows that he can trust me to be honest with him. While both of us publish or perform our work regularly enough to have had the experience of being praised, even sincere compliments do not tell a writer what he needs to do to improve his work. When I have a tough question about a poem, or just need someone to give it to me straight, I can count on David.  

Have you found your poetic soulmate? If not, what kind of person might be a fit for you? What are you doing to find him or her?

* * * * *

Christopher Luna is a poet, editor, artist, teacher, and graduate of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. Publications include Cadillac Cicatrix, eye-rhyme, Exquisite Corpse, and the @tached document. Chapbooks include tributes and ruminations, On the Beam (with David Madgalene), and Sketches for a Paranoid Picture Book on Memory. GHOST TOWN, USA, which features poems and observations of Vancouver, WA, is available through Cover to Cover Books  and Angst Gallery, or from the author.

POETRY AVAILABLE ONLINE
Poem in Exquisite Corpse
Poem in For Immediate Release
Profile for Here Comes Everybody: Writers on Writing

Email: christopherjluna@gmail.com
Blog: www.christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com

* * * * *

View all "The Poetics of Community" columns.

View the entire Writing the Life Poetic zine archive.

The Poetics of Community: Poetic Lineage and the Saturation Job

By Christopher Luna

I have been a writer for as long as I can remember. When I was eleven I received a typewriter for Christmas and immediately began banging out imitations of Stephen King and Rod Serling. Later I drifted toward poetry, music, and film. Eventually, in my twenties, I discovered two books that changed my life: Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass and Allen Ginsberg’s Collected Poems. I read both books cover to cover, and knew immediately that this was what I had to do.

Walt Whitman wrote about the promise of America and described a New York long-gone, yet familiar. He wrote about the beauty in all things, and the beauty in himself, and the importance of both loving and celebrating it all. Although his book had been written more than a century before I sat down to read it, I felt he was addressing me directly.

Allen Ginsberg wrote about the promise of America in its mid-Twentieth Century downturn. Democracy was threatened by McCarthyism, consumerism, nuclear weapons, and the war in Vietnam. More importantly, many Americans suffered from a lack of imagination. Ginsberg’s sexually precocious, righteously indignant, stream-of-consciousness poems represented freedom. His words pointed toward The Possible. And whatever it was, The Possible was definitely more exciting than life in the suburbs. 

When I was a student at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, Anne Waldman introduced me to the concept of poetic lineage. Those who take the study of poetry seriously find that they are part of a poetic family tree that stretches back generations. Once you have discovered your poetic lineage, and have a sense of where your work fits into that history, you have a homework assignment for life akin to what Charles Olson referred to as a “saturation job.” In his essay “A Bibliography on America for Ed Dorn,” Olson wrote: “Best thing to do is to dig one thing or place or man until you yourself know more about that than is possible to any other man. . . . One saturation job (it might take 14 years). And you’re in, forever.”

What will become your saturation job?

Poets refer to our poetic elders by their first names. This is because we have spent enough time with their words to feel a certain familiarity. It is because they are our family and friends.
 
One can also learn lessons about how to live from our poetic elders. In my case, Whitman taught me that one can decide to dedicate one’s working life to jobs that are related to writing: teaching, publishing, journalism. Allen Ginsberg provided a model of generosity that is still unmatched. Despite being our first (and perhaps only) poet to enjoy the same popularity as a rock star, Ginsberg provided support to many of his friends and followers. As Ed Sanders points out, Ginsberg even stormed the offices of publishers, insisting that they publish his friends, unknowns who would come to be regarded as some of the most important writers of our time. Don’t you wish you had a friend like that? How would your life be different if you aspired to emulate such generosity?

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Christopher Luna is a poet, editor, artist, teacher, and graduate of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. Publications include Cadillac Cicatrix, eye-rhyme, Exquisite Corpse, and the @tached document. Chapbooks include tributes and ruminations, On the Beam (with David Madgalene), and Sketches for a Paranoid Picture Book on Memory. GHOST TOWN, USA, which features poems and observations of Vancouver, WA, is available through Cover to Cover Books  and Angst Gallery, or from the author.

POETRY AVAILABLE ONLINE
Poem in Exquisite Corpse
Poem in For Immediate Release
Profile for Here Comes Everybody: Writers on Writing

Email: christopherjluna@gmail.com
Blog: www.christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com

The Poetics of Community: The Importance of Gathering with Likeminded People

By Christopher Luna

A column dedicated to Stan Brakhage and Allen Ginsberg, poetic elders whose generosity gave others permission to explore and blossom. 

How does one find community--and why is it necessary to a poet? Where does it begin? The poet is both an observer and a participant; writers are social beings, and their work exists in a particular socio-cultural context. We need other writers with whom to share ideas.

If you spend every waking moment pondering how you can achieve the sublime by capturing the perfect image, if you're addicted to the beauty of the language, if you're willing to study hard and share what you've learned, welcome to the community. Poetry-and the people who depend on it as you do--will sustain you through your darkest hours.

Growing up on Long Island, I sometimes felt completely alone. It seemed highly unlikely that there were others who shared my interest in the arts, and less likely that I would meet anyone else who had chosen the same path I had, the path that had chosen me: writing. But slowly, over time, it happened. In my twenties, I worked in a head shop, where I came into contact with the first of many musicians with whom I would collaborate. Because the store attracted members of various subcultures, I had daily opportunities to converse with likeminded people.

Later, I became part of the community of writers associated with the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, founded by Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman, two poets who spent decades publishing, performing, teaching, and community-building.

For nearly twenty years since my first collaborations, I have engaged in the alchemy of community. When I found myself in the Northwest several years ago, many miles from home and feeling melancholy, I was reminded of the refrain that I knew to be true: "find my tribe." In 2004 I founded an open mic reading in Vancouver in order to create a safe, supportive, fun environment in which writers could gather, share information, and try out new work. Then I started sending out a monthly email newsletter and blogging to inform poets about events in Portland and Vancouver.

There is a glorious anarchy in coming together with other poets. I am continually awed by the talent, wisdom, and luminous intelligence of my fellow seekers. We have so much to learn from one another. Many of our poetic elders are first recommended by friends, for example, and many publishing and educational opportunities are passed on by others. Why not find a local reading event or writer's group and give it a try? Just talking to or listening to the poetry of one other poet could take your life and your writing in a new direction. And if you can't find such an event in your community, you can do what I did: start one.

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Christopher Luna is a poet, editor, artist, teacher, and graduate of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. Publications include Cadillac Cicatrix, eye-rhyme, Exquisite Corpse, and the @tached document. Chapbooks include tributes and ruminations, On the Beam (with David Madgalene), and Sketches for a Paranoid Picture Book on Memory. GHOST TOWN, USA, which features poems and observations of Vancouver, WA, is available through Cover to Cover Books and Angst Gallery, or from the author.

Email: christopherjluna@gmail.com
Blog: www.christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com