First of, for those of you who didn’t notice… Let me welcome micthapoet.com’s newest contributor and post-man: “TMF” gonna be deliverin’ tha news now, too – and he kicked it off right w/ a new joint from electro-sensations, HOT CHIP

Perfect timing TMF !  …Since I just yesterday discovered this article from The Onion and was def about to post it! 

Love me some Dylan.  He’s just an interesting dude and he was first doing his thing at a point where people were really listening.  …But dude is smart and has (almost humorously, now) always managed to stay relevant, and “with the times.” - i would argue he’s always been ahead of tha curve… and pulling this whole ”electronica” thing at tha Newport Rock Festival – brilliant.  It is so Dylan.

OBVIOUSLY… 

That is to say I was, at first, incredibly surprised that theonion.com writer did not directly signify tha many nostalgic parallels to Dylan’s infamous and controversial performance at tha Newport “Folk” Festival…45 years ago!!  (which is INSANE to think about!).  I have linked to a site, here, which I believe gives a fair overview of what allegedly took place during a young Bob Dylan’s Newport set in 1965.  I also found wikipedia to offer substantial information, for those who are unfamiliar with tha “controversy,” – and through wikipedia you can find numerous links to movies and such, in which tha Newport ’65 set is highlighted. 

So – bravo Dylan!  If one tries to google ”Dylan Newport Controversy” you are  guaranteed to land a huge number of links…and you are almost guaranteed to pick a link highlighting news from July of ’65, not July of 2010. I think Dylan has a great sense of humor.  On some level, i think, he is definitely poking fun at tha supposed controversy, and making he and it relevant once more. 

And, in what can only be described as hilariously staged irony, The Onion has a man quoted as saying “We came here to see the authentic Dylan, the one with the Stratocaster guitar and signature wild blues-rock band behind him.”  LOL, right?

peace

mtp

John Keats…to me…is like my Cobain, or Hendrix…

…no..no.. that’s not right.  

He’s a poet who died too young, that’s all i’m saying – and i often wonder what more would have come had he been able to live a “full” life.  But Keats did not assist his own death in any way.  In fact, it is known that he suffered through severe pain with no chemical relief, for some close to him were unsure how to regulate his use and perhaps afraid he would intentionally overdose…

so…i guess…there may be more connections than meet thee eye. 

But still, if Keats had been able to choose to kill himself at 24 or 25, who could really blame him?  He was suffering from what is now known as tuberculosis in tha early 1800′s.  I have read on a few occasions that he was even “bled” to attempt to rid him of his sickness. 

This was a man who could have lived much longer, and would have given today’s medicinal climate.  All signs show he never received proven, beneficiary, medical attention.  But in his short time here he sure made a name for himself….

Which brings me to my real point – “DEAD POETS SOCIETY”

God i love that movie… pretty much any movie with tha main character called “John Keating” is going to garner my attention.  I remember watching this with tha poetry “club” during my college years.  I was still finding myself.  I loved tha movie, in my own personal space, but wasn’t ready to commit to something like that yet –  i was still breaking tha mold I had been cast in.

Now that I am involved, very much so, with our own poet’s society, tha movie has become so poignant to me, again.  There are so many great quotes from Robin Williams’ character (Keating).  I will leave you with one or two of my favorites:

“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.”

oh, this is one is great, too

“…we are food for worms, lads. Because, believe it or not, each and every one of us in this room is one day going to stop breathing, turn cold and die.”

mtp

It is difficult

to get the news from poems                                     

yet men die miserably every day

for lack

              of what is found there.                                         

                                    – William Carlos Williamson

 So, umm. yeah….basically,… what he’s saying….is…  
                                    ”somebody, please… mic tha poet”                             

m     t    p

What an interesting and accomplished man…

Shel Silverstein is, without question, one of my greatest influences – while he may not always be tha first to come to mind.  Mr. Silverstein’s words and rhymes are certainly  buried deep within me, held hostage by a childhood that is now locked away for its loss of innocence…

Known mostly for his children’s books, “Where The Sidewalk Ends” and tha immensely popular 1981 bestseller “A Light in The Attic,” Silverstein had defined tha border existing between childhood innocence and adult understanding since “Lafcadio,” in 1963.

Besides his accomplishments as a children’s author, Silverstein wrote song lyrics made popular by Johnny Cash, as well as Dr. Hook and The Medicine Show.  I grew up having my father immitate Cash’s rendition of “A Boy Named Sue.” I knew every word by heart by tha time i was seven or eight years old.  I never knew my grandfather, so i kinda thought it was true.  My father would look at my big brother and I, and say…

“Well, my daddy left home when I was three

and he didn’t leave much for my Ma’ and me…”

He reeled us in every time.  Hook, line, and sinker…

mtp