CPITS lesson with Zara Altair

Zara Altair said: Write about the first time you knew you were best friends, describe what was happening. What were you feeling. Intuition, understanding it. Emotionally but not logically.

Juan Felipe Hererra talks about community. He says we make up a community, a system. Notes, structure human or otherwise. Think of yourself as a member of this community, who are you? What your job, etc. What is your life function?

Why would a poet use repetition? Make a list of the feelings you have while spending time with a friend, make both a real list and also make an imaginary list.

"A poem is of necessary length." Imagination/dreams. What is an image? A dream? Dream poems have clues in them. They can help you to solve problems. Ask what's next?

Zara Altair brought out a ceramic sculpture by Michael González. She said: we have to mine our own images from art. Look at the sculpture: what dreams, or common images come to mind? Let Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird be your guide—with multiple takes. Artists are magicians, they make something out of nothing.

If you get stuck, lead the imagination use the nonsensical questioning process from Rose, Where did you get that Red? this is what yesterday's volcano looks like and then I rode in on silence, your eyes are like water, so biased. Being the voice of now is harder than you suppose.

We did a five-minute freewrite. Ben Hyatt talks of old wounds. CB Davis's grandmother poem and the James Broughton poem from Paul Mariah's This Light Will Spread, are good examples.

How are they alike? when you read Ben Hyatt's poem, what do you know about his father? What was the scariest thing? His heart.

CB Davis wrote of a boy who falls asleep in his grandmother's lap. Where do they live? What happens when he wakes up?

And in all three of these poems the poet is writing about something very important in their lives.

In your poem use two images and the five senses, and one strong emotion.
Use very clear statements about your emotions.

The poems I wrote are about the water in the bayous, I am poem and like no I lost it, see you later. All I wanted to do was wait for the storm and the salt spray on the lips. Emulate a new image
Time silence and darkness.

Meriel Ruckheiser said the universe is made of stories, not atoms. History these hours the throat of darkness what does it mean?

Think of the throat of the shower is happening to you right now. In darkness and in silence you were going to tell the rest of the world what's happening in your life. Focus on what's important to you. What do you think the world needs to know?

Holding up the world globelike I might now come up and tell the world your poem.

Silence darkness one minute of silence 20 seconds of darkness the speed of darkness the universes the palm is yet on board and then it was darkness at the end of the universe rubs like salt silk velvet each time somebody die someone dies death, not contain slowly and just like darkness travels the speed of light. Nor is it contained solely in light it travels toward sorrow, toward hatred and fear. Sacred rocks we scattered the stars and pierce holes in the velvet mantle. A viscous smile of light spreading from ear to ear. No showers persevere. No enemy arrows of mercury. The war gods consume their own sorrow. Venus. Mars. Velvet throat of these hours before dawn.

December 1984 next bonfire how does it make you feel feeling an image fire feeling image
Devorah major talks about aloneness and solitude one image and then silence I am essence of Rose solitude write a persona palm poem to stairsteps of navy blue nights. Details of pictures
Called dead music makers.

The music doesn't die solitude free right for two minutes don't let your mind get in the way now don't read what you've written and go on and then write your poem and what I wrote was that words words words typed and then just sleep on the way home with the two poems I wrote from Deforrest and so I think I put those in. Lots was stirred up, but not poems were born, Athena-like, fully fledged from the brow of Zeus. Too many cooks in the kitchen, too many open-ended prompts.

not sure of the date, dec 84? or June 1985? CPITS conference