A Poem by David Solway

AEGEAN

In certain lakes an inch is twenty feet.
The fish beneath their camouflage of scum
confirm their Darwin undistractedly;
snailshells sink into a fathomless abyss
though crunching underfoot, and pebbles fall
and fall into that murky shallowness
there's no getting to the bottom of.

The sea is no less clear for being deep,
twenty feet's an inch. The studded urchin
zooms it bony colors to the eye and
every pebble slingshots into prominence;
the distant fish so near they make the sea
intelligible, or flash like metaphors
discretely intimate, endlessly approaching.

~from his book, Mephistopheles and the Astronaut

Future of Librarians - an article by Will Sherman

as some people may know, i am applying to do a masters of information and library science at western in january. whenever i bring this news up in conversation i am fronted by questions on the importance/necessity/value of librarians and libraries amidst such a rapidy growing digital information age, and i'm not sure i've been responding so well to them.

i love libraries - always have, always will kind of thing - i love going there, searching for a book, getting it off the shelf and holding it in my hands as i sit to read. however, my love for libraries (as beautiful as i think it is) does not address the issue of their continuing relevance, which is something i need to look into as i consider a career as a librarian. as a result, i have made time this morning to read about this issue and have learned a lot about both sides; librarians as a lost profession and librarians as more important than ever.

here is a segment from an article that i found most interesting (you can click on the title of this post for the whole thing) and that highlights interviews with twenty-seven librarians and thinkers in its exploration of the future of both librarian and libraries.

~

"One must remember that the cultural changes brought about by the Gutenberg press were extraordinary, and fueled not only by a sudden surplus of content, but also by a new way of interacting with that content. What seems unique about our age, however, is that social interaction is a form of content itself, and it’s up to librarians to take an active role in the creation and collaboration within this ethereal “user generated content.” It's more than just guiding patrons, but making this guidance contribute to the new substance of interaction." (Will Sherman)

[i drew myself]

i drew myself
into your bath, with a blue
crayon. let my hair
stick to your soap,
sipped ginger tea
from the mug with
its eyes
closed

your cat
tightropes the tub's
ledge, whiskers me
while Jill's silk tongue
spins in the kitchen.

i save your
spices under my
nails, soak in the dark
with your rice. i
roll your image
until it's green, then light it
between my lips
when you're not
here.

Poetry London

as some people may know, i am part of poetry london - which is a group that offers a reading series and poetry workshops from september to april each year in london at the landon branch library.

as we are preparing for the new season, i thought i would create a post and direct anyone interested to our new webpage (if you have any comments/suggestions about it, please share).

there are some exciting poets coming to read and we are having a poetry contest. so, if you are at all interested in checking it out just follow the link (by clicking on the title of this post or going to the links section of my blog and clicking on Poetry London).

thanks for staying tunned, and here's to the remainder of the summer!

pass it on

"The only way you can write the truth is to assume that what you set down will never be read. Not by any other person, and not even by yourself at some later date. Otherwise you begin excusing yourself. You must see the writing as emerging like a long scroll of ink from the index finger of your right hand; you must see your left hand erasing it.

Impossible, of course.

I pay out my line, I pay out my line, this black thread I'm spinning across the page."

- spoken by Iris from Margaret Atwood's "The Blind Assassin"

(passed on to me from Caleb)

The Invisible Truth

here is a message from a friend who emailed me the other day

Are you a writer or photographer who needs more exposure to an international audience? Or do you just appreciate the finest examples of literature in English? Either way, come visit this blog to peruse the finest in new Canadian poetry, flash fiction, and photography. The Invisible Truth is now accepting submissions (.doc for word files, .jpegs for images)! Get your work out there!

so, here's the link - check it out! (ie. click on the title of this post)

both sides, now - by joni mitchell

both sides, now

rows and floes of angel hair
and ice cream castles in the air
and feather canyons ev'rywhere
i've looked at clouds that way

but now they only block the sun
they rain and snow on ev'ryone
so many things i would have done
but clouds got in my way

i've looked at clouds from both sides now
from up and down, and still somehow
it's cloud illusions i recall
i really don't know clouds at all

moons and junes and ferris wheels
the dizzy dancing way you feel
as ev'ry fairy tale comes real
i've looked at love that way

but now it's just another show
you leave 'em laughing when you go
and if you care, don't let them know
don't give yourself away

i've looked at love from both sides now
from give and take, and still somehow
it's love's illusions i recall
i really don't know love at all

tears and fears and feeling proud
to say "i love you" right and loud
dreams and schemes and circus crowds
i've looked at life that way

but now old friends are acting strange
they shake their heads, they say i've changed
well something's lost, but something's gained
in living ev'ry day

i've looked at life from both sides now
from win and lose and still somehow
it's life's illusions i recall
i really don't know life at all

í've looked at life from both sides now
from win and lose and still somehow
it's life's illusions i recall
i really don't know life at all

~(from Joni Mitchell: The Complete Poems And Lyrics, 1998)