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The DitchRider's Blog (224)

The Sunday Poem: Mary Oishi... i will smoke again before i die

Time to turn on your printer. And you might want to locate a couple of refrigerator magnets. Seriously.

Mary Oishi's first book of poetry, Spirit Birds They Told Me, is being celebrated at a Book Release Party/Birthday Bash next Saturday at the Outpost Performance Space. $20 admission… Continue

Added by The DitchRider on January 23, 2011 at 8:00am — 14 Comments

The Sunday Poem: Jeff Hartzer... Halfway Up the Hill

It happens all the time. Walking in the woods, you come across something abandoned...and suddenly your thoughts careen into a different direction.

Jeff Hartzer is a poet, writer, teacher, artist, and photographer who resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico with his wife, Debra Landau , and their… Continue

Added by The DitchRider on January 16, 2011 at 7:30am — 5 Comments

The Sunday Poem: Dee Cohen... The Part in Your Ex-Wife's Hair

Your husband and a video of his ex-wife stuffing a big holiday bird: well, it certainly sounds festive. Once again Dee Cohen slices off a chunk of life so real you can taste it.

Her work has been… Continue

Added by The DitchRider on January 9, 2011 at 7:39am — 9 Comments

The Sunday Poem: Merimee Moffitt... Dear Michael, Vallecitos, NM 1971

Nobody is better than Merimee Moffitt at taking the reader inside the heart of counter-culture New Mexico during the Vietnam War era. Immigration issues? Try hundreds of long-hairs settling in the rural northern part of our state, refugees from a society whose president called them "punks." It wasn't pretty… Continue

Added by The DitchRider on January 2, 2011 at 7:30am — 11 Comments

The Sunday Poem: Stewart S. Warren... Coziness

Sometimes the last present under the tree is a real treasure. This little poem on the day after Christmas is absolutely perfect.

Stewart S. Warren, writer and performance poet, was born 1950 into the affluent southern society of Tulsa,…

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Added by The DitchRider on December 26, 2010 at 6:30am — 5 Comments

The Sunday Poem: Georgia Santa-Maria... Poetry Salon

Did you see that PBS special on Paris between the wars? The salon scene there fostered a mixing of ideas and an energy that was truly amazing. Today's poem has all of that. It sort of reminds me of what "Land of a Thousand Dances" was to Rock & Roll. It is guaranteed to make you smile and ask for… Continue

Added by The DitchRider on December 19, 2010 at 9:00am — 10 Comments

The Sunday Poem: Kenneth P. Gurney... Hours After Sumter

There it was--that first wave of bravado without regard for the lives and deaths of thousands which would inevitably follow. The Civil War began with brave shouts and cannon fire 150 years ago. The cost of slavery as well as the cost of that war were also inevitable and is still being paid.

Kenneth P. Gurney…

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Added by The DitchRider on December 12, 2010 at 7:29am — 7 Comments

The Sunday Poem: Zachary Kluckman... Reflecting Over Coffee

Those moments are gone. Her lips have left the cup...but the imagined kiss remains. Delicious. Every imagined minute of it.

Zach Kluckman's anthology of New Mexican poets, Earthships: A New Mecca Poetry Collection, was a finalist in the 2008 NM Book Awards. Past publications include the New York Quarterly, Dos Passos Review, Cutthroat and more, as well as several anthologies.

Reflecting Over Coffee

“…ghosts… Continue

Added by The DitchRider on December 5, 2010 at 7:31am — 8 Comments

The Sunday Poem: Dee Cohen... Levitation

Your job, your partner, your child...what is it that keeps you from floating away? This remarkable piece begins in Walgreen's, usually a tough place in which to levitate.

An active DCF member, Dee Cohen is new to the ABQ poetry community. Her work has been published in assorted print and on line journals. Her chapbook Lime Avenue Evening was published by The Laguna Poets group of… Continue

Added by The DitchRider on November 28, 2010 at 7:59am — 9 Comments

The Sunday Poem: Lee Francis IV... Untitled, October 15

As beautiful as this season can be, there is still an undercurrent of approaching winter. And life...well, it has its own seasons.

Lee Francis IV has appeared in Words On A Wire, Moccasin Telegraph, Earthships Anthology and A Bigger Boat. He was a member of the 2006 Albuquerque Slam Team, coach of the 2008 Albuquerque Slam Team and a member of the 2008 LoboSlam National Champion Team. He currently teaches at the Native American Community… Continue

Added by The DitchRider on November 21, 2010 at 7:26am — 5 Comments

The Sunday Poem: Diana Huntress... Between You and Me

For years Albuquerque poet Diana Huntress has been writing tiny jewel-like poems...hard little nuggets whose veins twist, run deep, and crystalize. This is one.

Deeply involved with the Rio Grande Writers Association for a long time and very close to many in the writing community including the late Judson Crews, Diana continues to work… Continue

Added by The DitchRider on November 14, 2010 at 7:35am — 8 Comments

The Sunday Poem: Margaret Randall... Among the Arugula and Spinach Dip

Read on, my friends. You never know who is lurking in the produce department. Even a comic book character and movie star! This wonderful prose poem is from Randall's new book, My Town. Margaret continues to live here in… Continue

Added by The DitchRider on November 7, 2010 at 8:00am — 8 Comments

The Sunday Poem: Gaurav Rajen... First Love: Memories (1972; 2010)

These worlds that Gaurav Rajen visits and revisits--it's not just India and America, it's the humbling passage of time itself that haunts him in such a beautiful way. Well, it haunts us all.

Gaurav Rajen is an engineer with a doctorate working on greenhouse gas reductions and other environmental problems. He lives in the NE Heights where he continues work on his first novel.

First Love: Memories (1972;… Continue

Added by The DitchRider on October 31, 2010 at 8:00am — 6 Comments

The Sunday Poem: Jessica Lopez and Christian Drake... Frida & Diego

A poem written by two people is pretty unusual, and here Lopez and Drake tackle one of the most complicated and passionate relationships that ever existed: that of Frida Kahloe and Diego Rivera. What an incredibly rich piece! Perhaps the only thing better than reading it would be watching them perform it...so a video of them doing just that follows. Wow.

Christian Drake is a six-time National Poetry Slam team member, including the… Continue

Added by The DitchRider on October 24, 2010 at 8:00am — 7 Comments

ABQ Poets Against War: A Beginning

I asked Elaine and Demetria how all this started. I received the following explanation today.

--The DitchRider

It began innocently enough. Three of us sat at the old oak table over a simple meal of pasta with homemade pesto. We had come together to relax on a Friday evening and enjoy some good conversation. At the table were Demetria and Elaine, two poets and Daniel, an Environmental Sociologist. Before long our conversation took an unexpected… Continue

Added by The DitchRider on October 19, 2010 at 2:47pm — 9 Comments

The Sunday Poem: Stewart S. Warren... Flutter of Communication

Leaves are about to fall. This is a poem you really need to read before they do...because, as he says, "Leaves are the words of trees / whose chosen work is remembering."

Stewart S. Warren, writer and performance poet, was born 1950 into the affluent southern society of Tulsa, Oklahoma where, Stewart says, he was raised by slaves and all night gas station attendants.… Continue

Added by The DitchRider on October 17, 2010 at 7:30am — 3 Comments

The Sunday Poem: Demetria Martinez... Before You

Who do poets write for? It is seldom the anonymous public...it is for you, my love.

Albuquerque writer Demetria Martinez won the Western States Book Award for Fiction for her novel Mother Tongue. She is also a regular contributor to the independent progressive biweekly,… Continue

Added by The DitchRider on October 10, 2010 at 8:30am — 7 Comments

The Sunday Poem: Brian Hendrickson... The Ornithology of Conviction

Teaching in a prison just has to change a person. Here, Brian Hendrickson ruminates, "I used to think I had lived / An incredibly clever life." Well, welcome to the yard. Yet, teaching inside is not the same as living inside and the poet looks for his own kind of meaning.

He also mentions Ted Kooser, whose American Life in Poetry was the actual inspiration for my own… Continue

Added by The DitchRider on September 26, 2010 at 8:00am — 9 Comments

The Sunday Poem: Diane Thiel... Resistance Fantasies

It is so easy to feel disappointed and powerless in today's world. We dream of being more than that...a lot more. By the way, the last line of this poem will stay with you for a long, long time.

Diane Thiel is the author of nine books of poetry, nonfiction and creative writing pedagogy. Her work appears in many journals, is re-printed in over fifty anthologies, and has been translated… Continue

Added by The DitchRider on September 19, 2010 at 8:00am — 9 Comments

The Sunday Poem: Gary Brower... Escaping the End of the World

Did you see the news story? Two asteroids, each one big as a house, zipped between earth and the moon last Wednesday. Talk about coincidence! Just read today's poem. There are three epigraphs that preface this remarkable look at the future, but the title really says it all.

Gary Brower is one of the Directors for the… Continue

Added by The DitchRider on September 12, 2010 at 8:00am — 5 Comments