[stylist] Poem - "Ode to Coffee" - Final Draft (Maybe)

Sat Jul 11 17:44:40 UTC 2015

Bill,
What a unique way to portray our writing efforts. An otter on a water slide!
It sounds delicious in this Arizona heat.
Lynda recently described her version of the "erasure poem" which did what I
did. Remove what one wants from someone else's creation, and make your own.
Part of this is not to use more than 50% of the original and give full
credit. I wonder, also, if every borrowed word should not be italicized. 
At any rate, when I hear a name I spell it phonetically, and that makes me
spell your name Millhouse which I know is not correct. William  L. Houts is
right? My hearing fouls me up often when trying to critique things. I
usually have to spell out many names and words. Your writing is a challenge
in that respect. But your word play makes it worthwhile.

Jackie Lee

Time is the school in which we learn.
Time is the fire in which we burn.
Delmore Schwartz	 

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of William L
Houts via stylist
Sent: Friday, July 10, 2015 2:58 PM
To: stylist at nfbnet.org
Cc: William L Houts
Subject: Re: [stylist] Poem - "Ode to Coffee" - Final Draft (Maybe)

HI Jackie,

Your "Ode to Bill" is charming and very, very flattering.  What you're 
doing, I'd say, is very gamelike, and games are very important to me.  
As I think I wrote this morning, writing poetry for me often consists of 
playing games with words, ideas, the very act of writing.  I'm not 
sayhing that I always win --whatever that would mean-- but it has 
something to do with the way I go from the initial line or phrase to the 
endgame, when I've, hopefully, written ten or twelve lines which speak 
meaningfully to the reader about some object or idea.  I think I relate 
to our beloved English language the same way you might relate to slides 
at a water park.  There's enormous fun to be had with all of the 
surfaces and contours of the language, and I try to play on / in / with 
them all. I'm not saying that this always leads to successful work, 
whatever that would mean--  but it seems to get me places. And that's 
exactly what you've done, using my ppoem as a kind of literary water 
slide. Welcome to your otterhood, Jackie Lee, LOL.

--Bill

On 7/10/2015 11:49 AM, Jackie Williams via stylist wrote:
> Bill,
> Will you please write out your last name for me. I cannot find it in your
> e-mail.
> Your evented words totally inspire me. My poetry teacher often assigns a
> random word poem to us, and we have to pass a dictionary around, each one
> pointing to a word and we have to use it in a poem. We can take a few
> liberties after it is done, but we must address the word in some way in
the
> poem.
> Your poem inspired me to do the same using some of your unusual words and
> phrases, to write whatever came to mind.
> Please keep in mind that when I do a cut and paste, the italic feature
> usually does not work, and often the format is changed. I do not know how
to
> change this. So I will attempt to attach it also.
> I hope you take this effort as a compliment as that is what it is meant to
> be. I could never come up with as original words as you always
effortlessly
> seem to do.
> Needless to say, My morning mug of coffee breaks all of my rules for
> Barrett's Esophagus, but I have it anyway. And perhaps one or two more
> during the day.
>
> A Random Word Poem
> after Bill
>
> Instead of randomly picked from the dictionary, these words and phrases
are
> from a poem about coffee, by Bill
>
> font, wizard  sun, mystic kiss, starlike, lightning now,
> shockwitch, ever devil, bejazzed, lying skag,
> hags of drain, prayed your rosy beans, begetting thusly printed suns,
> novels raining sane, on desert dire fire, weaving weird unlikely,  sage,
> somber dreams
>
> A Circle of Survival
> 	after Bill M________
> 	"An Ode to Coffee
> My fruitful font is for the blind,
> depending on that mystic sun,
> imagined Wizard's kiss.
> It chases shockwitch, ever devil
> that otherwise pursues my every day.
>
> I praise your rosy beans of thought,
> begetting thusly printed poems.
> But night will come with bejazzed dreams,
> lying skag, and hags of drain.
> Lightning now yet  starlike comes.
> Poems raining sane, on desert dire fire,
> are weaving weird unlikely  sage.
>
> But not before that steaming cup
> of acid biting brew, as black as an Eritrean
> escaping his own war-torn night.
> My oft-drained cup releases soggy dreams,
> vibrates the visions for this coming day.
>
>
> Jackie Lee
>
> Time is the school in which we learn.
> Time is the fire in which we burn.
> Delmore Schwartz	
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of William L
> Houts via stylist
> Sent: Friday, July 10, 2015 9:28 AM
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List
> Cc: William L Houts
> Subject: [stylist] Poem - "Ode to Coffee" - Final Draft (Maybe)
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Good Morning, Gang,
>
> Here's a poem I wrote maybe two years ago.  It makes sense, I think, in
> an abstract sort of way.  It's clearly what the title says, but there's
> a lot of word play and general hijinks here, and some readers may come
> away ready to light torches, leash some dogs and lead a party to burn
> down my castle.  That's all right, I'm used to it, ha.
>
> --Bill
>
>
> ---
>
> *Ode to Coffee *
>
> Steaming font of wizard  sun;
>
> Black, you bring this mystic kiss
>
> of starlike lakes, you lightning now,
>
> shockwitch full of morning bless!
>
> You shake us clean of soggy dreams,
>
> those fleas, those frogs from ever devil
>
> jungle night. This  song I write
>
> bejazzed with juices dark and wild
>
> though milder than your cokes, your cakes
>
> of lying skag, those hags of drain.
>
> Balzac, frantic, prayed your rosy beans,
>
> begetting thusly printed suns,
>
> his doctor novels raining sane
>
> on desert dire fire minds:
>
> we follow suit, weaving weird unlikely,  sage.
>
> while time pursues, that perfect hound:
>
> behold a poem, a prayer, a page!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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-- 

"Oh, Sophie!  Whyfore have you eated all de cheeldren?"

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