Wednesday, November 1st @ 6 pm:
I will be reading at Robin's Bookstore in Center City (108 S. 13th St.) in an event titled 30 Poets Reading for Peace and Change, presented by Peace/Works & The Mad Poets Society, and featuring a stunning lineup of Philadelphia poets.
Friday, November 10 @ 7 pm:
I will be reading at the Big Blue Marble Bookstore in Mt. Airy (551 Carpenter Lane - Philadelphia, PA 19119) in another round of Philly Poets for Peace, with 5 other wonderful local poets.
For more details, please check out the listings at the PhillyPoetry calendar. I hope you can make it!
Ashraf
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Sunday, October 22, 2006
The Orgy of the Bards
The 18th edition of the Ringing of the Bards—poetry carnival—is here, and it's a special one! It is being hosted by the six "sexual deviants" of WetPoems© (may not be suitable for the workplace), and only "poems of the naughtiest nature" were considered. The challenge was to "unleash the fiercest pheromones" on the Ringing public, making it "the tastiest ringing to date"!
Due to the nature of this Ringing, the members of WetPoems tried to be especially accommodating to the participating blogging poets: "We realize that not everyone is ready to acknowledge their inner naughtiness, but we hope that by providing the option to anonymously submit to this ringing we give all of your inner sexuality and sensuality some room to play."
And so it was, a veritable orgy of poetry, that yours truly was certainly excited (and proud) to be part of! The poems are listed anonymously, but I would be more than happy to reveal, at a later date, which is mine. Till then, happy guessing!
PS: There is a new entry on Poetship, as well, that touches on the subject of eroticism in poetry.
Due to the nature of this Ringing, the members of WetPoems tried to be especially accommodating to the participating blogging poets: "We realize that not everyone is ready to acknowledge their inner naughtiness, but we hope that by providing the option to anonymously submit to this ringing we give all of your inner sexuality and sensuality some room to play."
And so it was, a veritable orgy of poetry, that yours truly was certainly excited (and proud) to be part of! The poems are listed anonymously, but I would be more than happy to reveal, at a later date, which is mine. Till then, happy guessing!
PS: There is a new entry on Poetship, as well, that touches on the subject of eroticism in poetry.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Pretenses
Her letter lay on the table, unopened still, for the third day in a row—
I can always pretend it took a few days longer in the mail.
Peace,
another word to ruminate over,
chew on it like cud, and regurgitate.
No, I won’t tell you what it is;
one of those things you know only when you lose,
like life, like happiness,
like your keys.
We were walking 'round the neighborhood when the weather started to shiver,
looking inside houses, cloaked in the night—
if people knew how much their chandeliers told about them, they’d lose them.
I was savoring the cold like I do my sadness—
silently, with nostrils open, and a smirk on the inside of my mouth.
I was pretending, when we buy a house, I can invite my family over some time.
But the thought got stuck, there, on a wooden bench near the back entrance,
damp with the evening’s breath, fibers gaping, ready for the frost.
Peace.
Should the peaceful even be allowed to talk about it?
If we could only will it, we wouldn’t be here.
Yes, let’s pretend.
Pretense,
that’s how people wait for peace, pretending that it was there.
And in the meantime, there are fridges to be cleaned.
We celebrated our seventh anniversary in front of the TV—no sex, just apple pie.
Our faces were beaming in the glow of having said it all,
or just enough—the rest is too boring anyhow.
These days I can pretend to devour him—he doesn’t even need to know.
Peace.
It’s like nothing, the anticipation of pain—
is good the absence of evil?
Abundance, time, they cost.
One of those things you forget about.
I can always pretend it took a few days longer in the mail.
Peace,
another word to ruminate over,
chew on it like cud, and regurgitate.
No, I won’t tell you what it is;
one of those things you know only when you lose,
like life, like happiness,
like your keys.
We were walking 'round the neighborhood when the weather started to shiver,
looking inside houses, cloaked in the night—
if people knew how much their chandeliers told about them, they’d lose them.
I was savoring the cold like I do my sadness—
silently, with nostrils open, and a smirk on the inside of my mouth.
I was pretending, when we buy a house, I can invite my family over some time.
But the thought got stuck, there, on a wooden bench near the back entrance,
damp with the evening’s breath, fibers gaping, ready for the frost.
Peace.
Should the peaceful even be allowed to talk about it?
If we could only will it, we wouldn’t be here.
Yes, let’s pretend.
Pretense,
that’s how people wait for peace, pretending that it was there.
And in the meantime, there are fridges to be cleaned.
We celebrated our seventh anniversary in front of the TV—no sex, just apple pie.
Our faces were beaming in the glow of having said it all,
or just enough—the rest is too boring anyhow.
These days I can pretend to devour him—he doesn’t even need to know.
Peace.
It’s like nothing, the anticipation of pain—
is good the absence of evil?
Abundance, time, they cost.
One of those things you forget about.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
miporadio
My poem, "A Dozen", is now featured on miPOradio's EPISODE 16 of THE COUNTDOWN, with Bob Marcacci as P.J. (podcast jockey). The episode is now online for your listening pleasure: "For your poetry fix. For your (h)ears only." Listen to it on iTunes, or if you must on ODEO.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Readings
I will be reading at Ursinus College's Literary Society tomorrow, Thursday, October 5 at 7 pm at Zwingli Java Trench. The formal address is 620 E Main St, Collegeville, PA. The Literary Society is an informal poetry group of the creative writing program at Ursinus. The reading will be followed by an open mike for students. I look forward to feeling older than I should be!
On Sunday, October 8 2006, I will be participating in the Schuylkill Valley Journal contributors' reading at the Manayunk Arts Center. The reading will be from 3:00pm to 5:00pm, and the address is 419 Green Lane (rear) Philadelphia PA 19128.
I will also be reading at Robin's Bookstore with Israeli poet, Hanoch Guy, on Thursday October 19 at 7 pm. The event is titled "Peace Through Poetry". I hope you can make it!
On Sunday, October 8 2006, I will be participating in the Schuylkill Valley Journal contributors' reading at the Manayunk Arts Center. The reading will be from 3:00pm to 5:00pm, and the address is 419 Green Lane (rear) Philadelphia PA 19128.
I will also be reading at Robin's Bookstore with Israeli poet, Hanoch Guy, on Thursday October 19 at 7 pm. The event is titled "Peace Through Poetry". I hope you can make it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)