This post had me at, “We are supposed to write poetry to keep the gods alive." I am grateful for the reminder why I always return to poetry as more than an art form, but a sacred act.
I also love how the poem plays with imagery, like the bowl cracking into two eggs - to get us out of our automatic thinking about every day things, and death.
Every morning I stretch even before leaving the bed. I follow this with my morning rituals, and before I begin to write, I pray. I ray, I breathe, and open myself to the miracles that lay ahead. This post wafted into my space, as if hot off the press, with a note from God, "please read this first"
Once again, I am not disappointed \. Great read. I did not know this poem, and as a late bloomer, 74 years old late bloomer, I did not know much about Jim Harrison. Many thanks
How on earth did he do it? There was something miraculous about his poetry. It did not come from here. Or did it? He said we are supposed to write poetry to keep the gods alive. He seemed very tuned to the spiritual realm, one of Yeats’ disheveled wandering stars.
It's been a week of death; I lost a good friend and we all celebrated her life, last Saturday. The article and poetry came to me, just at the right time. This is a great story and a wonderful bit of poetry; thank you for this.
"The over-examined life is also not worth living." My favourite quote by JH.
Undoubtedly my favourite poet and writer. His non-fiction is incredible. So much so, to me, I started developing "The Philosophy of Jim Harrison" - a personal project that compiles all his wisdom and perspective.
Thank you for a few things, but mostly Harrison. Knowing who an author is, isn't enough. Sometimes you have to be introduced proper. Your introductions are enlightening and inspiring
I love his food writing, so authentic, gluttonous, unapologetic. A man of many appetites, and really threw himself into his writing. Thanks for sharing this Erik.
Wonderful piece. Thank you! I came to Jim's work a bit late, but the upside is that I'm still discovering some of his poetry for the first time. He had such a knack for writing deep and profound poems that were simultaneously quite accessible—a model of how poetry should be (for me, anyway). 🙏☺️
Super post. Thank you. Poetry is a necessary act. I just had two poems accepted for publication... And retitled my book. THE THIRD SPRING - visual anthems and poetic gratitudes on a journey of recovery and renewal in a post-pandemic world.
Forty five copies have been presold... The old fashioned way, by reconnecting to friends, and selling my poems and flowers! on a street corner last summer and fall. I really can never buy into this whole social media marketing thing...
What's most important is to write. The words connect us.
Harrison was the paper, the ink his blood, the pen his soul, the poet was God
I wonder if he somehow knew when his time was up?
I wonder if I will somehow know that moment is near?eI had a man about half my age do work around my version of Walden,
he was handy with tools
and made me a sign to hang in my living room
words from the Gladiator movie-
“What we do here today echoes in Eternity”
I once had a novel sit me down and write it self
but not every word and phrase was perfect,
and I was the eidtor who fixed what needed fixing
and later, there was more fixing by me,
not the story, but the kind of flubs
dyslexia spawns
Every poem that came out of me
wrote itself as I watched,
Along the way
I concluded all of life is poetry,
poetry is life
that’s all there is,
but seeing it,
well,
that requires esp, I suppose
or blind luck
this morning I’m trying to see poetry
in a huge container ship knocking down
the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore harbor,
the CNN news guy on my TV now is
wondering the why?
This morning an amiga with three eyes sometimes
called me about it,
I said how could it be an accident?
It had to be intentional.
She said she thought the same
I did not yet see what flew into my brain
just now listening to the C/NN guy-
Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner
about a naval battle there,
the container ship and its captain
were seized by Something-
Wake the fuck up, America!
Or die
from Wikepedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Star-Spangled Banner" redirects here. For other uses, see Star-Spangled Banner (disambiguation).
"The Star-Spangled Banner"
The earliest surviving sheet music of "The Star-Spangled Banner" from 1814
National anthem of the United States
Lyrics Francis Scott Key, 1814
Music John Stafford Smith, c. 1773
Adopted March 3, 1931[1]
Audio sample
Duration: 1 minute and 19 seconds.1:19
"The Star-Spangled Banner" (instrumental version by United States Navy Band)
filehelp
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry",[2] a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Outer Baltimore Harbor in the Patapsco River during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the large U.S. flag, with 15 stars and 15 stripes, known as the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the fort during the U.S. victory.
The poem was set to the tune of a popular British song written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a men's social club in London. "To Anacreon in Heaven" (or "The Anacreontic Song"), with various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. This setting, renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner", soon became a well-known U.S. patriotic song. With a range of 19 semitones, it is known for being very difficult to sing, in part because the melody sung today is the soprano part. Although the poem has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today.
"The Star-Spangled Banner" was first recognized for official use by the U.S. Navy in 1889. On March 3, 1931, the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution (46 Stat. 1508) making the song the official national anthem of the United States, which President Herbert Hoover signed into law. The resolution is now codified at 36 U.S.C. § 301(a).
This post had me at, “We are supposed to write poetry to keep the gods alive." I am grateful for the reminder why I always return to poetry as more than an art form, but a sacred act.
I also love how the poem plays with imagery, like the bowl cracking into two eggs - to get us out of our automatic thinking about every day things, and death.
https://tumbleweedwords.substack.com/p/the-other-side-poem
more poetry!
I was drawn in by the quote as well. What a great line.
Every morning I stretch even before leaving the bed. I follow this with my morning rituals, and before I begin to write, I pray. I ray, I breathe, and open myself to the miracles that lay ahead. This post wafted into my space, as if hot off the press, with a note from God, "please read this first"
Once again, I am not disappointed \. Great read. I did not know this poem, and as a late bloomer, 74 years old late bloomer, I did not know much about Jim Harrison. Many thanks
Ah, Jim. He was my friend. I have a few funny memories that shall remain private.
Cigarettes, Gigondas, and
tall tales from the dark wood.
How on earth did he do it? There was something miraculous about his poetry. It did not come from here. Or did it? He said we are supposed to write poetry to keep the gods alive. He seemed very tuned to the spiritual realm, one of Yeats’ disheveled wandering stars.
It's been a week of death; I lost a good friend and we all celebrated her life, last Saturday. The article and poetry came to me, just at the right time. This is a great story and a wonderful bit of poetry; thank you for this.
"The over-examined life is also not worth living." My favourite quote by JH.
Undoubtedly my favourite poet and writer. His non-fiction is incredible. So much so, to me, I started developing "The Philosophy of Jim Harrison" - a personal project that compiles all his wisdom and perspective.
A man that lived life as well as it could be.
Thank you for a few things, but mostly Harrison. Knowing who an author is, isn't enough. Sometimes you have to be introduced proper. Your introductions are enlightening and inspiring
Also, he died at his desk, writing a poem. If I'm not mistaken, the last words he wrote were "God's body."
I love Legends of the Fall
Thanks for making the connection.
I love his food writing, so authentic, gluttonous, unapologetic. A man of many appetites, and really threw himself into his writing. Thanks for sharing this Erik.
"the water is cold
and deep, and the sun penetrates only so far"
Wonderful piece. Thank you! I came to Jim's work a bit late, but the upside is that I'm still discovering some of his poetry for the first time. He had such a knack for writing deep and profound poems that were simultaneously quite accessible—a model of how poetry should be (for me, anyway). 🙏☺️
The big trees have left the Upper Peninsula but the giant old stumps fill the void with magic.
https://tumbleweedwords.substack.com/p/the-other-side-poem
that poem gave me hella chillz. Never interacted with Jim's work before. I feel very grateful to have stumbled upon this post. Thank you
Super post. Thank you. Poetry is a necessary act. I just had two poems accepted for publication... And retitled my book. THE THIRD SPRING - visual anthems and poetic gratitudes on a journey of recovery and renewal in a post-pandemic world.
Forty five copies have been presold... The old fashioned way, by reconnecting to friends, and selling my poems and flowers! on a street corner last summer and fall. I really can never buy into this whole social media marketing thing...
What's most important is to write. The words connect us.
Very nice, Erik.
as if death and life dictated their poem...
to write a novel and change only one word...
his Muse in full bloom,
Harrison was the paper, the ink his blood, the pen his soul, the poet was God
I wonder if he somehow knew when his time was up?
I wonder if I will somehow know that moment is near?eI had a man about half my age do work around my version of Walden,
he was handy with tools
and made me a sign to hang in my living room
words from the Gladiator movie-
“What we do here today echoes in Eternity”
I once had a novel sit me down and write it self
but not every word and phrase was perfect,
and I was the eidtor who fixed what needed fixing
and later, there was more fixing by me,
not the story, but the kind of flubs
dyslexia spawns
Every poem that came out of me
wrote itself as I watched,
Along the way
I concluded all of life is poetry,
poetry is life
that’s all there is,
but seeing it,
well,
that requires esp, I suppose
or blind luck
this morning I’m trying to see poetry
in a huge container ship knocking down
the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore harbor,
the CNN news guy on my TV now is
wondering the why?
This morning an amiga with three eyes sometimes
called me about it,
I said how could it be an accident?
It had to be intentional.
She said she thought the same
I did not yet see what flew into my brain
just now listening to the C/NN guy-
Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner
about a naval battle there,
the container ship and its captain
were seized by Something-
Wake the fuck up, America!
Or die
from Wikepedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Star-Spangled Banner" redirects here. For other uses, see Star-Spangled Banner (disambiguation).
"The Star-Spangled Banner"
The earliest surviving sheet music of "The Star-Spangled Banner" from 1814
National anthem of the United States
Lyrics Francis Scott Key, 1814
Music John Stafford Smith, c. 1773
Adopted March 3, 1931[1]
Audio sample
Duration: 1 minute and 19 seconds.1:19
"The Star-Spangled Banner" (instrumental version by United States Navy Band)
filehelp
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry",[2] a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Outer Baltimore Harbor in the Patapsco River during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the large U.S. flag, with 15 stars and 15 stripes, known as the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the fort during the U.S. victory.
The poem was set to the tune of a popular British song written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a men's social club in London. "To Anacreon in Heaven" (or "The Anacreontic Song"), with various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. This setting, renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner", soon became a well-known U.S. patriotic song. With a range of 19 semitones, it is known for being very difficult to sing, in part because the melody sung today is the soprano part. Although the poem has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today.
"The Star-Spangled Banner" was first recognized for official use by the U.S. Navy in 1889. On March 3, 1931, the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution (46 Stat. 1508) making the song the official national anthem of the United States, which President Herbert Hoover signed into law. The resolution is now codified at 36 U.S.C. § 301(a).