30 Habits of Highly Effective Poets #24: Antonio Blunda on Music

Antonio Blunda is an Italian poet, living in Palermo. We have begun a friendship, after we both participated in the 2011 event, 100,000 Poets for Change.

I know that Antonio loves coffee (he talks about it all the time on Facebook.) He is also a music aficionado. Although both play a role in his writing life, Antonio's habit for this series on writing is listening to music.

I get too distracted if I listen to music while I'm writing. I usually prefer quiet. The only exception is if I'm working on a period piece. Then, I find the music helps my mind-set.

I am very excited to share a poem of Antonio's in English and in the original Italian. The subject of Antonio's poem, the ocean, lends itself to musicality because of its natural rhythm and onomatopoeia.

Here's Antonio:

Hi, Laura. Very often the music -- I like all: new age, new classical, classical, jazz, fusion, etc. -- every kind of music opens the mind. Now, for example, I'm listening this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi_0wdXg4Y.

(That's the love theme to the science fiction movie Blade Runner. Great choice.)

I AM THE SEA
by Antonio Blunda

This night has followed me
like a stranger

a foreign spy

I put up a defensive distance

Frisian horses
walking suddenly faster
after crossing the city

All strangers
of a strange land,
strange houses whose insides I cannot read

the prospective dead and the lovers
on a sidewalk
like crushed walnuts

strange souls from hell
on a bus from purgatory
that got a hold inside me
on the sands
on the déjà vus
on the tent of the stars

and in every place anyway
(but have I ever been here?)

This night they were following me
like a dog of this earth
 

what do they clench to themselves?
 

Forgive me, I do not want to understand.

I am the sea
with my usual job
for sailors and guardians

I am the sea,
I am nothing but the sea.
 

A companion
of that pale
eye that is on me.
 

a Rachmaninov melancholy

cooling down
to the right side of dirty windows

a breath
without a strong noise

(Translation Ute Margaret Saine)

IO SONO IL MARE

Questa notte mi ha seguito
come una spia straniera

ho messo una distanza di difesa

cavalli di frisia
aumentando il passo
subito dopo una città

Tutti stranieri
d'una terra straniera,
case straniere che non leggo mai dentro

gli aspiranti morti e gli amanti
su un marciapiedi
sono noci schiacciate

anime d'inferno straniere
su un bus di purgatorio
che si tengono in me
sulla sabbia
sui dejavu
sul panno di stelle
e comunque da qualche parte
(ma io son già stato qui?)

Questa notte mi hanno inseguito
come un cane di questa terra

cosa stringono intorno?

Perdonatemi, io non voglio capire.

Io sono il mare
con il mio solito mestiere
per naviganti e guardiani

Io son il mare,
non sono altro che il mare.

Un compagno
di quell'occhio
pallido su di me

Io sono il mare
una malinconia di Rachmaninov
che si raffredda
sulla destra
dai finestrini sporchi

un respiro
senza rumori forti 

Antonio Blunda was born in Erice and lives in Palermo, where he practices as a lawyer. Among his passions are literature, poetry, fiction, quantum physics, history, philosophy. Among his literary prizes are "Encyclopedia of the Italian Poets Emerging" 2002-2003 published by Publisher Aletti and first place in the 2004 "Prize for Peace" organized by the Culture and Society Studies Center of Turin. He blogs at: www.antonioblunda.com

30 Habits of Highly Effective Poets #9: Lisa Vihos on Practicing

I "met" poet Lisa Vihos through 100 Thousand Poets for Change, a global poetry initiative begun by Michael Rothenberg. You can read my interview with Michael here.

A 2011 100 TPC poster.

Lisa was enthusiastic about sharing her story -- how a long period of regular writing practice eventually paid off for her -- because it's so encouraging. If you believe in Malcolm Gladwell's theory that it takes 10,000 hours of practice before one achieves mastery in a skill or art form, Lisa's writing habit makes sense.

The 10,000 hours theory appears in Gladwell's book Outliers.

I "tested" the 10,000 hour theory on my own writing life. Although I don't have an official log of hours spent writing, I guess-timated how much time I spent writing each year, from the time I finished graduate school to the time my first book came out. It's right around Gladwell's mark.

Here is Lisa: Prepare and Set Aside

For many years, I danced around my poetry, trying various literary avenues: children’s book writing, art writing, short story writing, journaling. Nothing blossomed and whenever I met a published writer, I broke out in an envious sweat. I was troubled.

Then, something like a small miracle occurred. After participation in a workshop with poet Philip Dacey at the 2007 Great Lakes Writers Festival at Lakeland College, I felt as though a faucet had opened up in my head. Poems started to pour out. I knew I needed a goal to sustain the flow. In January 2008, I determined to write a poem every week and email it to a small circle of family and friends. I did not expect commentary, just eyes and minds to engage in the work. One friend asked, “do you really think you can write a new poem every week?” I had no idea. But, I had to try.

Eventually, my distribution list grew to over 200 people. I never missed a deadline in three years and three months of Sundays. Not every poem was stellar, but most of the poems were pretty good, and certain people always let me know when something touched, tickled, or confused them. One of my readers is a widely published poet who eventually suggested that I cut back my frequency in order to better hone my craft. I liked this idea, and in March 2011, I started to send a poem only on the first of the month. I think about potential poems all month long, but I often don’t start writing until just before my deadline. I’ve always worked best under pressure.

In her April 1st blog post, Laura shared a recipe for an inspiring green tea shake that involved organic pecans being prepared the night before and then set aside. Likewise, a poem (or even a whole lifetime of poetry?) benefits from being left to marinate. But don’t put it on hold forever. Return with fresh eyes as soon as you can and write more. If I learned anything in my three-year apprenticeship, it was to develop a practice of mind and to think as a poet. To collect details, connections, snippets; to steep them, savor them, and eventually turn them into poems.

My favorite Poem of the Week comment came from a neighbor who said, “Thank you for your dedication. You have inspired me to revisit my songwriting.” A comment like that makes my heart sing. That is what poetry is for, in my opinion: to move and inspire, to point out that which would otherwise go unnoticed. On that note, I’d like to share the poem with which Poem of the Week began on a winter day in 2008.

Advice from the Snow

by Lisa Vihos

When you fall, fall as I do

soft as feathers or a baby’s sleep.

With a light hand, spread an ocean of diamonds.

Make no sound as you blanket the earth.

Reflect light back upon the looker

orange and pink at morning, deep mauve at dusk.

Simply by your presence, round out flat places

and outline beauty that otherwise goes unnoticed.

And when I call you, do not be afraid to lie down

to bring forth an angel; an image of you in me.

How successful has Lisa been since her three year weekly-poem project? "Advice from the Snow" was published in the 2011 Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets poetry calendar. Lisa’s poems have also appeared in Big Muddy, Goose River Anthology, Lakefire, Red Cedar, Seems, Verse Wisconsin, and Wisconsin People and Ideas. She has one Pushcart Prize nomination and one chapbook, A Brief History of Mail (Pebblebrook Press, 2011). Her second chapbook, The Accidental Present is due from Finishing Line Press in June of this year.

Tomorrow is Tuesday. Stop by each Tuesday during National Poetry Month for a prompt related to writing habits.

Poetry Friday: Spring and All

Happy spring everyone! This week was the Vernal Equinox. Have you ever tried balancing an egg on the first day of spring? It works.

Soon it will be April -- National Poetry Month 2012! This year, my blog project is 30+ Habits of Highly Effective Poets.

If you'd like to sign up to share  your writing habits or rituals (the odder the better, I always say) OR if you'd like to write a short piece on another famous poet's strange or practical writing rituals, visit yesterday's post for details or send me an email at mrspoems@gmail.com. I've got some exciting children's authors and poets, willing to expose their secret rituals! My list is filling up, so sign up ASAP if you'd like to join in.

There's still time to order your free NPM poster at www.poets.org.

Meanwhile, I'll be in the garden. I have pruned the roses, hydrangea and buddleia, cut back the beautiful clematis vines that flower all over our deck, planted forsythia and begun weeding. I got my love of gardening from my mother, whose birthday is today!

There is something meditative about being in the garden. The poem I'm sharing today captures how I feel about gardening. Working the earth feeds something deep in us.

Upon the Morning

by Susan Hendrickson

I saw a woman
half submerged in the ground
sitting in the comfort of weeds
nibbling on some timothy.

She ran her teeth, berry-stained,
over the translucent green stems
entered into the sweetness of the world
that sky-bright moment.

Within her solitary warren
hugging the mysteries of the day
to herself, I knew she was me
and I knew she woke me up.

Read the rest at Pudding Magazine. I'm swept away by the poem's beautiful concluding lines.

My daughter's Rose of Sharon shrub.

Mary Lee at A Year of Reading is hosting Poetry Friday today. It looks as if her American Red Bud tree is a few days ahead of mine -- ready to bloom. It's my favorite flowering event of the year.

2012 National Poetry Month Project

Every year I -- and many other Poetry Friday bloggers -- celebrate National Poetry Month with an April blog project.

You can order a free poster at www.poets.org

In 2010, I went around the country (virtually) and visited most of the state poets laureate.

In 2011, I featured the work of 30 poets from Maryland, where I live.

This year, I am doing something different. You've heard of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. At Author Amok, we will explore 30+ Habits of Highly Effective Poets.

I am inviting poets (this means YOU) to join in. Here are the details:

In 500 words or less, describe a writing habit -- your own or that of a writer you admire (or avoid). Tried and true methods, such as William Stafford's habit of  rising at 4 AM every day to write, are welcome. Flagrantly odd, unique, weird and wacky habits are highly encouraged -- whether they are yours or you are tattling on a(nother) famous writer. Check out this post, where I learned that William Wordsworth enjoyed reciting drafts of poems to his dog. And here is a post about famous fiction writers and their habits. Disappointingly unweird.

If you would like to include a poem with your write-up, please do so. Previously published is fine, just let me know where. It must be high school friendly. Poems appropriate for younger children are also welcome. An accompanying poem is  not required.

I'm excited to say that children's authors Laura Purdie Salas (also a PF blogger) and Justine Rowden have signed on already.

Leave a comment if you're interested in participating. Counting the days to NPM!