Peace in Arabic English and Hebrew        

Joseph Campbell and the "Power of Myth" fundamental to understanding today's world 
Ian Barbour's Religion and Science: Historical and Contemporary Issues

Freud vs. C.S. Lewis                            
                                                                                                                                                                 
"Any man's death diminishes me  because I am involved in mankind"
* John Donne 1624 Meditation 17   William James : a voice of reason in a time of passion                                                
                                                                                                       

See "On the Varieties of Religious Experience"               

    

Simple Equation

If a book's manuscript is mostly or entirely composed of poems
that have been previously published by reputable or even excellent
magazines, journals or papers, hardcopy or online, that manuscript
is a published work worthy of some attention.

There is an issue swirling around Washington these days concerning Evolution and Intelligent Design.
Intelligent Design is essentially what has been refered to as the Watch Maker's Argument that goes as
follows: Anything as complex and intricate as the universe must be a reflection of a supreme being or
intelligence as the Watch Maker is obvious from the evidence of the complexity of the watch. This view
or argument has been long discredited as logically flawed. My more personal judgement is that
Fundamentalist Evangelicals should be ridden out of town, tarred and feathered, this good advice having
come from sage Mark Twain in Huck Finn. They should then be sent back to school to study linguistics
and the structure of figurative language until they realize the dismal depths of their foolishness.

 Applause and High Praise for Best American Poetry and David Lehman!

2006 Best American Poetry Guest Editor Billy Collins has me wondering why there seems to be a need
in the world for religion or really anything for that matter when we have such amazing poets. Angels visit
every page. "See the Pyramids Along the Nile" by Dick Allen and "#11 from Couple From Hell" make
a good start. "Sex Elegy" by Terence Winch finishes another great collection. This is my bible of
wondrous things.

2005 is a real treat from another fine Guest Editor, Paul Muldoon. Some selections I loved immediately were,
"Sunlight" by Charles Simic, "Waiting for a Ride" by Gary Snyder. Then you have to read "The Beats"
by Charles Bukowski who had the same feelings about the subject as I do. Then to finish
up the ball of ear wax find "Black Cat Blues" by Kevin Young, a great place to finish. Truth is, this entire
lot is gold medal. Still finding gemstones, I'm savoring this slowly, "Marijuana" by Twichell. Stunning, one
after the next. Lovely.

Lyn Hejian was Guest Editor for 2004 with "All Souls" by Rita Dove, "The Centrifuge" by Billy Collins,
regulars year to year, "Wolf Ridge" by John Ashberry another notable.

2003 in Best American Poetry Guest Edited by Yusef Komunyakaa several poems
caught my attention :  "Dear Alter Ego" by Heather Moss--- wonderful high energy
and "Skin" by Susan Dickman as well as many others by big stars for very good reasons;
Collins, Levine, Kizer... Robert Pinsky impressed me more though with a poem in last week's
New Yorker titled "Antique" , though his "Anniversary" rang true enough here.
I hope Robert Creely and 2002 will forgive my being tuned to a different frequency.
"Diversity ensures species success"...

              Stopped by your site  ---
Terrific pages. Great Design. Great contribution to the World Wide Web.
I am much impressed. I am awarding your site the Poet's Award. Stop by
my homepage to copy/download the award bearing the words "Poet's Award.
   
Ernest Slyman NYC 5/24/02   
The Poet Watch website

 

       Congratulations!!......Your site definitely qualifies
for the "Critical Mass Award". A very nice site, good
design, clever original graphics, great photos, and you
have provided your visitors with content that is informative,
entertaining, presented well and easy to access. A worthy
enterprise and a positive contribution to the Web.

Cheers,...Bill Darling
Critical Mass Website

A recent PBS program devoted to the contrasting world views of Sigmund Freud
and C. S. Lewis was very interesting. Freud was an atheist believing that life as he
perceived it was the result of a natural process whereas Lewis came to his faith in God
after an agnostic period of his early life having come to a point of conscious decision
where he surrendered himself to what he perceived to be God. There was a panel of
people on the program with various opinions and views, some pro-atheist and others
with their beliefs in God but the panelist that most caught my attention was a woman
who asked why both views could not be held and asserted. This idea brings to mind
a parrallel in my own view, that each individual's experience of life, as he or she explains
or tries to understand it is a verbal exercise of definition so that Freud's "natural process"
might fit quite compatibly with Lewis' experience of God. An Episcopal priest I once knew
responded to my desire to pursue objectivity in my ideas as impossible. For him, all things
were subjectively perceived by individuals. I agree with this but feel that objectivity or a
universal awareness or acknowledgment might express itself as a suspension of personal
preference and that the faiths, beliefs and practices  of the Shinto Zen Buddhist, Hindu,
Muslim, Jew or Christian are equally valuable to human experience in wisdom and cultural
influence, and as they positively and ethically affirm life contribute to the riches of our world.
   

 

The work of C. G. Jung in "Man and his Symbols" and Joseph Campbell in his book " The Power of Myth" 
 are important to understanding religion and our literary heritage in a modern global dimension. They help in
understanding metaphor, simile and symbolism in language. Also recognizing that change by successful mutation,
as demonstrated in all natural phenomenon is a clear proof of Evolution,  these several realizations essentially
defuse the  persistent "outdated" conflict between Evolution and Creationism, both arguments essentially correct
from each linguistic perspective.  DAH (9/19/02, 5/16/'03, 11/9/03)

Irises  pink-gree           by David Humphreys     This poem has not been published by Ekphraisis

for Ekphraisis and the Friths                                  but is shown here as a tribute to the Friths and their idea.

Blue wings on white plaster

spread wide bird cross curtain

above a skull moon vessel

streaming wisp blown flight.

Clouds race by outside

a dark night sky desire. 

The eyes of daughters also 

are this deep blue on jungle 

green calling back from loneliness 

so many years from now, beauty 

one reason to dance ineffable joy. 

Van Gogh May  1890 Metropolitan Museum of Art

some keep trying to connect me with

the beats

but I was vastly unpublished in the

50’s

and

I very much

disliked their vanity and

all that

public postering.

and when I met most of them

later in my life

I still felt that most of my

feelings toward

them

were the

same.

some accepted

that; others thought that I

should change my

viewpoint.

my viewpoint remained the

same: writing is done

one person

at a time

one place

at a time

and all the gatherings

and tenderings of

proclamations toward the

flock

had very little

to do

with anything

and they still

could

instead of bitching about

the changes of the fates and

the ways

even

still

now:

from the sad university

lecterns

these hucksters of the

despoiled word

working the

hand-outs

still talking that

dumb shit.