Online Poetry

Stunning performances by Jean Jones and David Capps

Published April 12, 2010 | By Bruce Whealton

This past Saturday, in Carrboro, near Chapel Hill, NC, poets Jean Arthur Jones and David Capps read some of their poetry for about 30 minutes each and the performance by both was stunning! Before I review that, let me tell you about the open-mike portion of the event, which came first.

We had poetry by David Grinstead, Jane Penland Hoover, Ricky Garni and Margaret (I forget her last name). We also had the music of John Fallon. We each read twice with about 3 poems each. I read a one or two new poems and some poems that had been picked up for publication as well as poems from my collection “What Really Matters,” which is awaiting final edits and introduction by Thomas Childs. We do have some video of this section of the event as well.

We then had a great performance by David Capps. I hadn’t seen too many David Capps readings and so I was glad to be here tonight. David is a very dynamic reader when presenting his poems to a crowd. I also enjoyed the discussions that David gave behind the different poems, their meaning to him and his inspiration. It was also nice to hear some history about David Capps, as well. Very enjoyable! Look for videos of this event that I will present. I’ll keep you posted on this.

Jean Jones read a variety of poetry as well. While Jean did offer less of a discussion than David did in his portion of the reading, Jean did provide us with some interesting stories and background behind some of his poems. Jean read from a few of his collections. He read from “The Birds of Djakarta,” published by St. Andrews Press and published by Bruce Whealton on Word Salad (Word Salad Publications is here: http://wsmagazine.net/zine/word-salad-publications.html). He also read from his Angel of Death series, which has been published by Scott Urban as well as by Bruce Whealton on Word Salad Publication.. Lastly, he wrapped up with some poetry from his latest collection “Post Mortem: New and Selected Poems.” This latest collection is also featured on Word Salad Publications, with editing and an Introduction by Scott Urban.

Speechless – poem by Bruce Whealton

Published March 10, 2010 | By Bruce Whealton

Speechless

Shyness can be like writer’s block
and vice versa…

There are times like this,
right now, when I know,
I have something to say.
I can feel it…

The desire is strong
and yet, I feel speechless…
nothing comes out,
It’s almost like I lost
my capacity to use language.

And all I have
is this internal dialog.

I go to write something
and some critical voice
stops me -

“That’s boring!”
“Start over!”

No, don’t say that.
You think anyone will listen
when that’s the best
you can come up with?

Don’t bother.

And so I say nothing.

You can find my poetry by me at: http://brucewhealton.us

Wow! 9 of my Dark/Horror poems being published

Published January 4, 2010 | By Bruce Whealton

I just got news that I have 9 more publications to add to my credits! Nine, that’s a pick me up for the day/week. Aphelion, the Webzine of Science Fiction and Fantasy is going to publish in February, my poem “The Angel of Death Offers Consolation.” In addition to this, I am having 8 other poems, similar dark poems published, including the following: “Shelter,” “A Warning,” “The Lingering Scent,” “The Name,” “The Great Escape,” “A Modern Day Van Helsing,” “Sensuous and Strong as the Serpent,” and “Becoming.”

That poem appears again below with the introductory information that goes with the poem.

“Courtland Smith died after being shot by an Archdale police officer. Smith had
called 911 threatening suicide, and adding that he had a gun and had
been drinking.” For a full story read here:
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/5880002/

This poem is inspired by the Angel of Death series of poems by Jean Jones. Read more of the Angel of Death poems by Jean Jones here:
http://wsmagazine.net/VolumeXIVNoIV/books-published-by-word-salad/book/4-the-angel-of-death-by-jean-jones/4-other-poetry-publications.html

The Angel of Death Offers Consolation

The Angel of Death approached
Courtland
as he stood holding a drink
alone, crying, hoping no one would see him.

“Let’s go for a ride.”

“Who are you?”

“Someone who loves you,
who understands you
and what you are going through.”

“I can’t see your face.”

“That’s ok, I can see you.”

So they got into his car
and began a long talk
as Courtland drove through
the dark streets.
Observers would have said he was alone
in the car but Courtland would have
told them differently…
he would have told of a beautiful woman
riding with him.

“They don’t understand you
and won’t take you seriously…
Go ahead…
Call 911 and tell them what you are going to do!”

“I can’t do it.”

“Go ahead, call them, you’ll see.
They don’t understand you like I do…
No one ever will…”

So he did call 911.

The Angel of Death kept speaking to him
as he drove,
as he became more
desperate.

“There’s only one way you can be
with me forever,” the Angel of Death told Courtland.

“I can’t do it,” he answered.

“They’re not going to take you seriously
just because you cry.
Make them understand the depth of your pain…
Tell them you have a gun with you
and you’re ready to end your life now.
Then they’ll listen.”

So, he told them 911 operator
just what the Angel of Death had said.

The next several moments
he spent listening to the 911 operator
in one ear
and the Angel of Death in the other,
until all he could hear
was the soothing hypnotic voice
of the Angel of Death.

When he came to a traffic light
he didn’t hear the police man telling him
to stay in the car.

“Do you really want to be with me,
forever?” the Angel of Death asked him.
“Then take this and go.
Go ahead. You can do it.
They’ll remember you now!”

The next
sounds to be heard
were from the police.
Four gunshots.
“Shots fired.”
“Man down.”

Poem by Bruce Whealton
August 31, 2009

Jean Jones Reads "Aftermath" at the Bottega for Word Salad's Anniversary Celebration

Published October 25, 2009 | By Bruce Whealton

Here, in the video below, we have Jean Jones reading his poem “Aftermath” from his “Angel of Death” collection. You can find Jean’s collection here on Word Salad: http://wsmagazine.net/VolumeXIVNoIV/books-published-by-word-salad/category/4-other-poetry-publications.html along with other poems by Jean and some by myself.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=170WhgNiyW0[/youtube]

Word Salad's Aniversary Celebration – Scott Urban Reads

Published October 25, 2009 | By Bruce Whealton

Word Salad Poetry Magazine celebrated 15 years in publication by holding an event at the Bottega in Wilmington, NC. Word Salad started in Wilmington in 1995. In this video Scott Urban reads a few different poems, including poems from the collection Puncture Wounds, which features poetry by Scott Urban and Bruce Whealton.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb1w3lE7x5s[/youtube]

Eternity – Poem by Bruce Whealton

Published October 20, 2009 | By Bruce Whealton

Eternity

My friend said the spiritual world
exists outside time…
That’s hard for the the mind to grasp.
Sometimes, I think I understand.
I’ve heard that heaven
is about peace and perfect bliss
and infinity.
There have been times,
I do remember,
though not in many years,
but I do remember
where time seemed to stop
or lose all meaning
and for that moment
I didn’t perceive things
as a sequence of events -
there was just that one moment
and in that moment,
I felt both completely at peace
and I felt complete bliss.
That’s a place where I want to return…
again and again
and forever.

By Bruce Whealton
October 10, 2009

Reflections on my Wilmington visit and a poem

Published July 21, 2009 | By Bruce Whealton

This vacation/visit to Wilmington, NC was so wonderful. It was so great to connect with friends that I’ve not seen in so long. It was great to see Jean, who was a wonderful host and to connect with Thomas. I met a new friend, Ryan Miller, who had heard things about me from Jean. On Friday he asked how long it had been since Thomas and I last saw each other and we both said nine years. I couldn’t believe it. Nine years! I certainly hope that I never go nine years again between seeing good friends.

Also, as I reflect on things, it is important to put things into a certain context. These last years have been difficult and my self-esteem and sense of worth has been very, very low. I’ve often felt alone and unlikeable among other things. Loneliness has been a theme as I think of these years lately. That probably made me more sensitive to negative feelings or a lack of recognition or to jump to conclusions that are negative and such. It’s easy to lament things lost, the past and to be almost pathetically nostalgic.

Meeting friends that have known me and were so glad to see me did challenge those negative feelings and make me feel good and like I do have friends. While that’s true, those feelings that of extra sensitivity to rejection probably made me sentimental in remembering a certain past, if that makes sense. Maybe that’s what this next poem is about…I thought about a title of feeling welcome but so far I’m not sure. The title I have implies my efforts to escape, through my own efforts and changing my thoughts, feelings of lonliness.

Escaping feelings of Loneliness

Why does time
have to pass?
Why do things change?

I still remember
Dusty
at the Coastline Convention Center -
poet, singer, host...
because as a new poet
perhaps I needed to feel
welcomed.

A place
a person
a memory
and my tears...

Returning to Wilmington
I found there's
a new place
to go for poetry.
I went there
Sunday, late afternoon,

and felt so unnoticed
almost a vibration
of a certain loneliness
I had come to associate
with my life lately,
though I was with a good
friend and we just walked out...

Maybe I just missed
a time
and Dusty and how
she always made me
feel welcome...
maybe I needed that
more than ever before
this time in my life -

Yes, that is it!

by Bruce Whealton
July 21, 2009

My poems appeared at Childe Bryde

Published May 24, 2009 | By Bruce Whealton

Recently, three of my poems appeared at Childe Bryde – a publication about women and equality. The link to my publication is here: http://childebryde.art.officelive.com/bwhe.aspx
and the poems appear as follows:

[inspired by readings from an interpretation of Genesis in the publication, "The Woman's Bible," by Elizabeth Cady Stanton.]
The Fall of Woman

Why was man so stupid,
in the beginning, in Eden?
You, God, gave him directions,
Guidance.

The serpent approached the woman,
thinking, "If I can convince the woman,
the man will follow."

With cunning he tricked her
and she did eat of the forbidden fruit
and her husband did follow.

She said "eat," and he ate.
It was so simple.

Confronted by God, he blames the woman,
subjugating himself, as if he lacked the will.

The first and greatest curse
on mankind, male and female,
was to allow man to be in charge
of things from this point.
>>>>
Guide me, Mom

I am an infant - your son,
in your arms, God,
nourished at your breast,
warmed by your milk, Mother.
Don't let me go.

As man or infant, and son,
I come to you.
Lying back in your arms,
listening to your heart and my heart together.

Speak to this boy,
this man.
I don't know what to do.
I'm afraid I'll make a mistake.
Tell me where to go,
and what to do.
Take my hand,
Guide me.

>>>>>
Mother, Protector

Mother,
I am vulnerable,
food for predators.
Protect me as a bear protects
her cubs.
Devour the enemy,
that would devour me.

>>>>>
In Search of Sophia

I come to you - Sophia -
bright, dazzling white,
surrounded by translucent angels.
My eyes never leave
such a sight.

You are the Wisdom of God!
The manifestation of the Divinity!

Can I know the point where
earth ends and heaven begins?
the place where we all go?

you've painted the earth in darkness, God.
mere shadows of what once was,
hope is but a curse here.
You've shut all doors to the past
and to my future.

I only see a stairway.
>>>>
Prayer for Comfort

“Now lay back in the chair,
resting your feet in the chair in front of you,
begin with a few deep breaths,
breathing in relaxation
breathing out tension
becoming more
and more
relaxed.”

Sister Jean was guiding us
in a new way
to pray.

I had come for comfort
and consolation -
I was grieving and needed
a mother a heavenly
Mother
who would hold me in her arms.

She continued,
“Now begin to feel yourself resting
in the arms of God.
Let go relax
deeper and deeper you drift
into re-lax-a-tion.
Feel yourself supported
in the arms
of a loving compassionate
God...
Held close,
softly.
A God that listens
and understands
and cares.

Look into her eyes” -
Did she say 'her' eyes?
I asked myself... that was what I was hearing.
“Tell her what you are feeling.”
Take all the time you need
now, to be with your God,
in her arms,
comforted in a state of complete
relaxation.”
This is what I remember...

Like it was yesterday.
Someone from church reminded me of this.

After the Fire – poem by Bruce Whealton

Published April 25, 2009 | By Bruce Whealton

After the Fire

I remember a red
photo album
that I kept
of the first girl
I ever loved -
Celta -
and there was this fire
about two or so years ago,
back in early 2007,
in one of the rooms
in the apartment
where I was living...
it seemed so chillingly ironic
because that was how
she died,
back on New Years
eve of 1990,
in a fire.

I was told she
didn't suffer
and that it was quick
but they wouldn't
open the casket
and as strange as it
may seem
at the funeral
I really wanted to
open that casket
yet I was also
terrified of
that very idea.

I remember
crying
so uncontrollably
at the funeral...
I don't even remember
crying before that
ever.  If I did
I don't remember.

And through
the next year
of 1991,
I just remember
crying
or wanting to die
or go away
somewhere in
my mind...

I've been thinking
about this
just recently,
I believe this is
a fear I still
face,
that nothing remains,
no matter how
important
or valuable
or how loved,
I just seem to
see people
and relationships
disappear
(like a bad dream)
or in a vampire
movie or show,
where the vampire
just turns to ashes.

Like the photo album
that I held
while it was still
burning,
in that fire,
a couple years
ago.  It was strange
that it  had to happen
in just that one
room.  If the curtains
went up in flames
in the kitchen
they could have
been replaced...
just as the clothing
I lost
can be replaced
but not those
photos...
not when the negatives
are lost...
and several years
of my poetry
was gone as well,
when the computer
was destroyed
in that fire.

I don't even
know where Celta is
buried now...
I went there once
way back
in 1991,
after she died...
I was crying so hard
at the funeral
that her mother
told me not to
come to the
burial... and so I
didn't... but I went
to the cemetery
later... found where she
is buried in a
a mausoleum,
which probably cost
more than a years
rent where she was living
when she died.

I don't even
know what her
mother's last name is
or how to reach her sister
and ask for some
photos of Celta -
why do people just
seem to disappear?
For a while after Celta
died, I would see and visit
her mother but at some
point, for reasons
I don't know
that stopped.

I still have
a vague image
of Celta
in my memory
and I do still
remember
those moments
where I felt
a powerful sense
of love – those
moments that remain.
I'm not holding
onto this past -
I was able to love
again – but knowing
I was loved
is comforting.

By Bruce Whealton
April 25th, 2009

Flipping Book for realistic looking Books/Magazines for the web

Published March 17, 2009 | By Bruce Whealton

People have been publishing poetry magazines on the web for some time. During this time, the online version of a magazine, made me think that perhaps the name “magazine” didn’t fit for what we were publishing. I’m very open to new ways of looking at things but a magazine just didn’t quite seem like the word to describe an online publication of poetry. That has changed. I found a new tool, or application, that creates online books and magazines on the web. They run in the Flash player on the web. I wasn’t worried about that because 98% or thereabouts, of all internet users have the required version of this software, necessary to run these applications, installed on their computer, and so they are going to see what I publish just as I intend it to appear.

So, this tool, or type of tool (there are different designs that implement this in very similar ways), presents on the web page, an interactive application that looks like a magazine or book. You can have a cover, and then open up the book to different pages. When you open up the book/magazine (let me use book as a general term to refer to magazines or books in this format), you see a two page spread. One can even include the sounds of turning a page. One can drag the corner of a page or click on the next button to move to the next page. I find it very exciting and creative. I feel I can be creative with this application or type of application.

To see an example of how this works and how I implemented this on Word Salad please click on this link here: http://wordsaladpoetrymagazine.com/VolumeXIVNoIV/books-published-by-word-salad.html
I setup two categories. The first category will be for the different versions of Word Salad that are published on the site, specifically, Volume XIV, No IV, the winter 2008-2009 edition. I will be adding other editions as well, in that category. I’ll post the next upcoming edition as a book/magazine in this format, soon after the newest edition of Word Salad comes out next on March 21, 2009, and then I’ll add other previous issues as options that you can view here. The other category is titled “Other Poetry Publications.” Here I have published two collections of poetry by Jean Jones and one by myself. These are not complete yet, as new pages are being added. These collections by Jean Jones, for example, which were published by St. Andrews press, have additional poems included.

Again that link is: http://wordsaladpoetrymagazine.com/VolumeXIVNoIV/books-published-by-word-salad.html

Allow me to add that this software, needed to implement this, is not free. So, we are asking for donations or to support us, please purchase a print version of Word Salad on our Lulu.com storefront here: http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=2331883

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Stunning performances by Jean Jones and David Capps

Related Links:

Speechless – poem by Bruce Whealton

Speechless

Related Links:

Wow! 9 of my Dark/Horror poems being published

Related Links:

Jean Jones Reads "Aftermath" at the Bottega for Word Salad's Anniversary Celebration

Related Links:

Word Salad's Aniversary Celebration – Scott Urban Reads

Related Links:

Eternity – Poem by Bruce Whealton

Eternity

Related Links:

Reflections on my Wilmington visit and a poem

Escaping feelings of Loneliness

Related Links:

My poems appeared at Childe Bryde

The Fall of Woman

Guide me, Mom

Mother, Protector

In Search of Sophia

Prayer for Comfort

Related Links:

After the Fire – poem by Bruce Whealton

After the Fire

Related Links:

Flipping Book for realistic looking Books/Magazines for the web

Related Links: