...by having a line from my poem "Chicken Bucket" tattooed on his bicep. I've assured Jonathan that he can come live with us if he gets fired from a job where he has to go sleeveless. It's no one's business what flag his guns are flying [cue: Salt n Pepper's "None of Your Business"].
...for this amazing review! I'm speechless and incredibly grateful!
Last three days to submit your verse to "Poem for the American Crow" at http://www.iowabirdofmouth.com/submit ! December 1, we move onto the Eastern screech owl.
The "Crow" poem is tremendous: shifting and twirling and yelling like a flock of crows itself. Here's a knock-out excerpt, signed by Steve Rose.
THREE CROWS
Three crows flew herd on a broad-tailed hawk
east of Albert Lea, black beaks talking trash
then driven into the hawk’s grey back.
One flies point while the other two harass from
the wings. You’ve seen this in Korea, three MIG’s
shooting down our bomber; or coyotes on a sick cow.
Two hours later across the Iowa border,
a new pecking order: two redwinged blackbirds,
clever as card players, harassing a passing crow.
The crow’s wings, lumbering like sails on a dingy,
drag against the current, while the blackbird
sharks slice the breeze into splinters.
The crow tries a barrel roll to the blackbirds’ delight.
Tufts of coal feathers flutter from his belly. A lone
cedar offers comfort and into its arms the crow falls.
Black feathers, onyx beak and talons sheathed in royal green.
This crow: terrorist, target, stowaway, scavenger,
and for a moment, on that rough branch, King.
Tonight, maybe we can sleep again. Thanks for thinking of me, Russ!
The new Magma Poetry's here with my essay, "I Chose the Poodle: Thwarting Expectations and Shooting Yourself in the Foot with Humour"! That's right, I got two u's in my "humour"! Thank you so much, Ella Frears and John Canfield, for having me. It's an HONOUR!
"Poem for the American Crow" is LIVE on iowabirdofmouth.com! Is there anything these crafty birds can't do? Individuals and groups are welcome to submit verses to this CROWd-sourced poetry project, featuring a different spotlight bird every month.
It was a lot of fun to write my Iowa Arts Council profile. The fellows will be on the road through 2017, sharing our work in communities across Iowa. First stop for me: Osceola on November 5!
I'll be reading with Ryan Collins at 11:30 Prairie Lights Bookstore, followed at 2:30 by a panel discussion, "A Sense of Place," with Henriikka Tavi, Shenaz Patel, Amanah Mustafi and Ryan Collins at the Robert A Lee Recreation Center, Social Hall. Hope to see you there!
Big stuff in IC!
I'm thrilled and honored to have been commissioned to write this poem. I'm a HUGE NPS fan. This year we did Bryce, Zion, The Grand Canyon, and Isle Royale, and today, we're off to the Effigy Mounds! The Imagine Our Parks project by the Academy of American Poets is funded by a National Endowment for the Arts.