… Wise men tried to convince me otherwise. They explained that men were made in the image of God. We must live godly lives. God never had orgasms. Neither should I. … (16)
– from “The Quest”, The Book of Orgasms, Bloodaxe edition, 2003.
And One More Wallace Stevens
Summed up, our position at the moment is that the poet must get rid of the hieratic in everything that concerns him and must move constantly in the direction of the credible. He must create his unreal out of what is real.
If we consider the nature of our experience when we are in agreement with reality, we find, for one thing, that we cease to be metaphysicians. (58)
– Necessary Angels, 1942
Using The Book of Orgasms to prop open Necessary Angels…
Wallace Stevens
The philosopher proves that the philosopher exists. The poet merely enjoys existence. The philosopher thinks of the world as enormous pastiche or, as he puts it, the world is as the percipient… But the poet says that, whatever it may be, la vie est plus belle que les idées. (56)
– Necessary Angels, 1942
Last One from Addonizio Today
Maybe you’re one of those people who writes poems, but rarely reads them. Let me put this as delicately as I can: If you don’t read, your writing is going to suck… If you just want to be a poet the way some people want to be rock stars without actually learning the guitar, playing scales, and practicing–then you are free to fantasize.
– Ordinary Genius, 2009
More Kim Addonizio
It is hard, if not impossible, to describe things objectively. And objective description isn’t the task of poets. We aren’t surveyors, measuring the terrain and reporting numbers. We’re looking for the essence of the land.
– Ordinary Genius, 2009
Time Lapse of the Stars
This video has been making the rounds lately, put together by photographer Daniel López, and recently featured at NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day site. It’s one of those things which creates wonder about the universe we find ourselves in, and at the same time, influences our cosmology.
I could watch this over and over. Even though it seems like we stand at the center of all those stars, we know it’s an illusion. Even though we feel like we’re alone, many of the stars shown have their own planets, many possibly harbor life. It’s amazing.
Can this be captured in words? Maybe… Maybe some facets, maybe elements. Maybe hints.
If we know the known universe does not center on our tiny little planet and our tiny little existences, can we also realize that for our spiritual lives? Might we not value each other, our humanity and individuality and worth, if we know we’re in this together? That we’re stuck with each other somewhere in this vastness? Questions that continually move through my brain…
For Those Wondering
The images in the header were downloaded from one of the following sites:
or
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Archive
I re-sized and cropped the images to fit in the header area.
Kim Addonizio
Poems aren’t products, anyway. Poems are what you make when you experience life in a certain way. Alive to yourself in the world, observant of inner and outer reality, and connected to language.
– Ordinary Genius, 2009
Finally a President who can read poetry.