spare wheel

wing man

I'll be reading on Saturday at White space

http://auckland.scoop.co.nz/2011/07/poetry-comes-to-auckland/

(Bomber's blog interesting too).

It's the Poets connect...  see more about poetry day if you do face book by liking the New Zealand Poetry Facebook page to the right --->

A Poetry Review. Poetry Live

 It was amazing to walk into the Poetry live session last night with a whole room of the poetry family intently watching Sandra Sarala having just flown in from Berlin.  With the momentous vitality of the traveller, she sang, hollered, squealed cooed and wooed the audience. Garnering an adventurous theatricality about her with minimal adjustments of her clothes to make costume changes and character changes, she brought a classy Germanic take on the poetry performance to the crowd wo were palpably curious and sometimes quite moved.  Her work included a Polish lullabye sung to a cradled 'child', and haunting poem songs that bring aspects of polish singing to them.  In effect the sounds are akin to some celtic singing; southern states early poetic forms, and in a modern context borrowing from these older, - strongly women's sounds, bring a strong depth to 'noise poetry' in her performance.

The over-riding ambience of the Poetry live scene is of a respectful and provocative camaraderie.  With Poets delivering their selves to the room, there is always a precarious balance.  Sometimes a night tilts towards the uber provocative, sometimes the uber respectful, and with the perpetual tendency towards the 'confessional' poetic stance it needs to be kept in check, and given an encouraging kick in the ribs as you would the family pony, at the same time.  Strongly Confessional was a term I heard used by an australian to describe the comparative difference in New Zealand Poetry.  It has an academic history in describing the personal poem.  Being a confessional poet myself from time to time this comment resonated and stayed but I'm sorry I cannot provide references!

Michell Durey, making her debut as a guest poet let her poems do the walking.  Having been organizational in poetry over the last couple of years and drawing on a..mid atlantic modern poetry sound, I guess you could say,  her ears are tuned to wordswork that sidles along between the confessional, - with even an unrequited love poem thrown in for good measure, and the Professional-Confessional-Slam-Induced-Soul-Exposé!  Stand out for me was her tribute poem for fellow-poet Kenneth Arkind who clearly was a friend and influence during his visit to New Zealand.  True to the sound of bravery, the strong personal voice in the air, that comes with the slam scene, and yet such a tried tested and true theme, to write a salute to another poet.  

Respectful, and encouraging, nearly staid, but with room to move, and ready, providing structure for community and the flourishing of new poets, Poetry Live is emphatically holding its own as the central Auckland hub of poetry readings and performances, amidst all the many other venues and groups that have grown from its centre, and as part of the greater resurgence in spoken word.  The Lopdell House readings, the South Auckland Poetry Collective, Printable Reality,  The Literatti, Metonymy, to name a few, at venues like The Library Bar, Pah Homestead, and now the Pumphouse, and there's the 121 Cafe open mic,

Thanks to the inexhaustable energies of a few busy organ grinders, Auckland's performance Poetry has never been stronger.  

With a maelstrom of musical installation public and private showings of all kinds, the concepts of Poetry in performance in Auckland are once again being pushed to compete and tread that line between populist homogenized forms, and new stuff.  Brilliantly in my mind, the new stuff is winning out, as New Zealand poets retain their autonomy and allow for difference.  It's vital and personal, and you can almost hear them coming if you put your ear to the ground, ladies and Gentlemen, Auckland, ...the poets

Fig Diamond

FIG DIAMOND

March 22 at 6:19pm · Comment · Like

Genevieve McClean fig diamond 1.

NOUN

Encapsulating the hardest gem with the softest fruit. Any naturally occurring lobe that hold these qualities of extreme. ie: something of extraordinary beauty which would otherwise be a glob.

1. e.g. "He did not give a (sic) fig diamond for the advice of the mayor"

2. also fig diamond tree. A typically colorless and crystalline variant of the old world tree or shrub that bears this fruit.

3. In extended and metaphysical use with reference to the brilliance of form and hardness of the growth.

fig diamond 2.

Informal

In phrase "Fully fig diamond" Smart fruity clothes as would befit a majestic being. So avant-garde as to turn heads and look bizarro in public, but the person wearing the ensemble is able to carry it off. That woman walked up the street looking fully fig diamond...

PHRASES

"Fig Diamond in the rough". A person, generally of amazing power but who lacks in education manners or cultural or agricultural status. e.g. Someone who works wonders with horses and although capable will not escape tawdry belittling tasks alongside simple lower class workers.

" higo del diamante ". I don't give a "higo del diamante' for your offer" (accompanied by obscene gesture of thumb between second and third fingers, (archaic)

ORIGIN

late 17th Cent. fig (as a verb)

variant of obsolete feague (liven up) (earlier (whip)) perhaps related to German Fegen (sweep, thrash), compare with FAKE,

an early sense of the verb was (fill the head with a miraculous nonsense; later (early 19 Cent. ) (Cause a (horse) to be lively and carry it's tail well (by applying ginger to its anus) ; hence smarten up.)

thus fig diamond was concurrently used as a particular reference of this term to nobility in England that dared take on the bawdy but fashionable and exciting fashions of other cultures otherwise frowned upon by a xenophobic society.

In General concurrence

something wonderful

OND

ONED.  Or ON’D.   To be made one.  To own. A process of atonement.  To be made to be at one’d.  To be alone.

To be made to be on.  To be moved on.  To be encouraged. To be owned or affected by  one.  To be unified. To be more than one is. To commune.

To be-ond,  or to beyond, -to further one self. To look to seek and to discover. To travel beyond the now.  To be yonder.  To be strengthened in discourse with the consistently defined perimeter of one’s known and unknown.

A Rule.  To don.  One’s power in ruling.  A nod. A do and a no.  A definitive. A division.  An individuation.  Humility in the balance of one’s owned ruling.

To do and to undo.  A pen sword stick  staff surety directive delineator.

A line.  A pointer.  A pointed wander.  Appointed wonder. To be a wanderer.  To be a wonderer.

            To hone. To be honed.      To will. To do.        Always.  A way.

Andiamo!  Andele!  Tali-hon!