In honor of the poets of the world, the writers of the Otram Slabess group will read the work of a variety of international poets as well as reading some of their original writing. This event, graciously hosted by gallery owners, Georgia and Sonny Phillips at Charles Street Gallery, will also include an open mic. This stimulating afternoon under the Live Oaks and Spanish Moss in the lovely garden of the Charles Street Gallery will take place on Saturday, April 24, at 4 p.m. Everyone is invited as it is free and open to the public.
The Otram Slabess group currently consists of Warren Slesinger, Quitman Marshall, Teresa Bruce, Steve Johnson, Karen Peluso, and myself–Jacquelyn Markham. You can read more about this event and the group in the The Lowcountry Weekly which begins with an invitation to ”Celebrate National Poetry Month with the Otram Slabess Group at the Charles Street Gallery’s third annual International Poetry Reading.” It continues “Readers include a poet laureate of the state, Warren Slesinger, and other Otram Slabess members. The group takes its name from a 13th-century Persian poet who believed poetry could cause ‘great effects in the order of the world.’ Each poet will contribute a cherished poem or two from the wide world of acknowledged masters and original work.”
Another way to think of this International theme is to think of the relationship between the writer and his or her world, what Denise Levertov has called The Poet in the World in her essay and book of the same title. She believed in the “mutual reinforcement of the meditative and the active,” her idea of “political commitment.” As I see it, our words belong in the world, they are not for our eyes alone. Yet, this coming out into the world with our words is not to be taken lightly. Levertov explains, “when words penetrate deep into us they change the chemistry of the soul” (114).
What do you think about the words changing the “chemistry of the soul?” What are some of the words you hope will “cause great effects …in the world”?
April is National Poetry Month!
Irises
take me home
where canals flow
between iris-banks
H.D.
I peer into this iris mother
center deep with violet
down to succulent stem entrance
to earth nourishment blue perfume
floats to summer days
Michigan cool (more…)
The first wolverine spotted in Michigan in two hundred years
Today, instead of worrying about the mortgage and the stock market, would it be a good idea to do something toward preserving or reclaiming heritage? (more…)
Stan’s homemade bread and Grandma’s wooden spoon
The doorbell woke me this morning after a sleepless night.
I began jangled, but I centered myself on the morning’s pleasures: fresh orange juice in a cut glass goblet, toast from Rosemary bread made by my love, a dollop of yogurt in a rose-colored cup from Portugal, a marigold and zinnia from my summer garden in a tiny vase, my cats romping in the almost cool morning, a deep purple morning glory winding ’round the okra that needs to be pulled, a chickadee in the zinnias.
Let the phones ring! (more…)
Joyful Equinox!
The circle turns and Autumn Equinox is here.
Whether the season brings autumn leaves, more rain, darker nights, or a bountiful harvest, it signifies that shorter days and longer nights are before us. On this powerful day when the sun crosses the plane of the earth’s equator and day and night are equal, I will focus on balance in my life, which means to me, more joy.
We hear of so much sadness and we experience so much stress in today’s world. Tainted food and formula, failing economy, violence, health issues, mortgages, hurricanes, gas prices, unemployment–stop, let’s focus on more joy!
The question I want to ask of you is what simple pleasures in your life bring you joy? (more…)
Greetings!
I am almost finished with my book and its current title is Peering Into The Iris: An Ancestral Journey. It has all been a journey–the writing of it, the collecting of it, and now the desktop publishing part of the book. Oh dear! More computering. With so much work on the computer and at the desk, the wonderful world of herbs, in the garden, in the teapot, and on my neck and temples has come to my rescue. So, I have decided to link one of my favorite businesses to my website: Mountain Rose Herbs! Oh, they are delightful!
I hope you will visit and click into their website from here (after you leave me a comment, of course). As an affiliate, I will benefit from the sales and then, I can keep my blog afloat and continue to share my paintings and poetry with all. (more…)
On March 30th, as a finale to Women’s History Month, I will read my original poetry/prose in a program entitled “Grandmother’s Gold: Her Story, Her Spirit.” The event is important to me because it is an opportunity to read the work that I am compiling in a new book of poetry/prose: Peering Into the Iris.
I have explored my identity through my heritage, especially through my mother, my grandmother and beyond—to ancestors I never really knew—but could only imagine.
Exploring heritage, for me, eventually reached further—to myth and legends of feminine strength and spirit, and remembering my foremothers.
“Remembering” infuses all of my creative work—poetry, prose, and
visual art—because I believe that reconnecting with our past helps us see and know ourselves in the present.
This reading, the project, is deeply spiritual in so many ways: I read my work in reverence to my ancestors, I call attention to Women’s History Month, I read at the Penn Center, and I gather my writings into a book and CD (partially funded by a community arts grant).
Today is Vernal Equinox and I am undergoing a rebirth. I planted a row of Cherokee Trail of Tears beans (Heritage seeds) as the sun went down and the full moon rose. (The gnats biting viciously!)
I am exhuming work from dusty boxes and I’m revising and writing anew. I’m looking at major themes in a new way. My focus on “Exploring Heritage” continues as I expand my writing to music and art. I am not a composer, but I compose melodies to grandmothers and imagined ancestors. I play my flute from the heart. “Legacy Collages” come together from layering of art, photos, poetry, and heirlooms.
All comes together in this new book: Peering Into the Iris.
Painting: “Irises,” 22 x 34, watercolor on Arches paper, copyright 2008, Jacquelyn Markham
Another calendar year passes; another cycle of the seasons as the light returns with each day. January 22 is a winter full moon and so the cycle continues!
So many new and exciting happenings in my life have occurred! I dedicated December to friends and family as so many do. Isn’t that a wonderful tradition? It’s very rewarding when one finally learns to let go of the pressures and enjoy the present with good food, warmth, holiday lights, and flickering candles shared with those you care for and have known forever or with new acquaintances.
Some good news: I have been awarded a modest grant from the local arts council to compile my 20 plus years of poetry and to record a CD of combined spoken word spiced up with my flute solos! Isn’t that lovely? Now, to find the time… I will focus on poems exploring heritage, stories of my ancestors–real and imagined, based on an early collection: China Baby.
Always at this turn of the wheel we meditate, contemplate on our lives. Some make resolutions; others do not. We tend to mark changes by holidays, special occasions, birthdays, but really, life is a continuum. And, I find, when I experience life as a continuum, I feel less frantic, less concerned about the passing of years, the passing of time.
Still, a life unexamined is, a life unlived and I do reflect upon life’s experiences, calling them back: “rewind.” My life, my mother’s, her mother’s and beyond…
Here’s a poem from the collection. I hope you enjoy. (more…)
…every night as autumn comes on
pecans drop plunk on the tin roof
proof another season’s past
time to cut firewood
even though the wind is still
like a summer night…
(more…)
Hello All,
Summer, gardens, family reunions, and teaching–all add up to quiet blog time. I returned from a long, long road trip late last night (about 2,000 plus driving miles) to find this email below from my dear friend, Lori, who like me, has moved many times.
It is timely. My first act this morning–peer out the window at my garden. The second: a cup of coffee. The third: a trip with a wooden bowl and a knife to gather my goodies, one of them a beautiful eggplant. Here’s the email from Lori:
Hi Jackie,
I just spent the past hour tearing up my house in search of your poem about growing eggplants. Alas, too many moves … it is in hiding, I am afraid.
Can you help an old friend and forward a copy to me? It is one of your most memorable for me. Many thanks and blessings to you – Lori
Here’s the poem, I think Lori is asking for: (more…)
