Thursday 29 April 2010

Spam bot inspires!

On the bus I got the draft of I'm Tired of Doing the Right Thing (luck I usually carry a pen and some paper with me at all times).

Friday 23 April 2010

Two new blues poems lyrics

My latest this week Magnus The Bass and Just Mezzing with The Blues (less serious more fun pieces unlike No Tour Required posted this week on Ernie Ball forums, Current Events).

Mezzing adapted from a poem emailed to me via LinkedIn from Bob Hudson, I added some rhyme scan to it and extra lines to make it more flowing/lyrical in nature.

With Magnus, more free flow of consciousness. An aspect the musician  preaching/bragging of his abilities.

I get lots of lines/ideas from just remarks comments  from those around me and then they just get mixed in to the final pieces - goes to prove that poets should never live in ivory towers/garretts. You don't get input from life , hence your work, on your own!    

Thursday 15 April 2010

Editing New Collection

Following closing my entry on on authonomy.com (not suitable for placing poems on) I realised that my latest collection - Bigfoot Rhyme Has Flown The Coop - is not in hardcopy.

Therefore I'll need to consider:

* Editing (which are up to the standard?) spelling check etc assisted by Bernadette (useful to have someone not in the writing/poems business to tell you where you are not making sense etc)

* Who will print? Has been local printer in the past, but Amazon Kindle may be another way forward. I like the idea of thefulfillment (handling & shipping payment collection being done for you, plus ISBN)

* While with authonomy another issue cropped up. Namely: I now have a large back catalog of  past collections, printed but not all in digital (wordprocessor) form. Looking to the future it may be best to select and issue the following collections.
     
                 Love poems (always appreciated)
                 My selection of the rest of the poems.
                 "Bigfoot Rhyme.." (most recent collection, but not yet in print)
                 Blues & Song Lyrics collection.
                 "Whichever Way..." (future collection I'm adding to right now)

Doing - isssuing the above - will effectively add to "product" folks can purchase, while aso raising my profile more.

Question: is a poet/poetry "business"? Ultimately the reply is Yes; since even if arts people want to remain "just for arts sake" at some point the mechanics of business (PR, marketing, accounts etc etc) are needed to keep the artist (product) going, plus you cannot focus on the art or making it and handle all the other business side too.

Saw SkyArts1 last night - Roy Orbison live Melbourne 1973. Simply great!!

Thursday 8 April 2010

Iowa Poets, fresh first take can be best.

This morning I woke up. Yes even Blues poets, lyricists do this, but not in the cliched "woke up this morning way" I hope!

I had the first lines/verse of "Why can't We Stop The Game?" so I went downstairs to write. It all came out about 20 minutes. Later this morning I've typed it up - a few changes but still retains the drive and freshness of the intial lines.

Makes me recall that sometimes the first or second draft is the best since it's got that immediate freshness. Later reworks get a tiredness, (contrived?) aspect coming in. like gig practice where the best playing is at the beginning, then later it goes flat when the players are tired, run out of ideas.

"Everybody Wants My Money" is now complete I wonder when the next more poem piece will come along (as opposed to lyrics which come along more frequently)

Lovely sunny day right now (Spring!!)

Monday 5 April 2010

New Blues piece now complete

Finshed last blues poem lyric yesterday in hand written draft (New Highway Stretching On) saw Ain't No Grave (American 6 , Johnny Cash) on Sky Arts1 last evening, interesting to note that he had several versions, lyrics on the same tune, most not used on the final recorded version.

Will type into my PC the lyrics today, to form part of the collection in progress (whchever way I flip it...) 

Friday 2 April 2010

More poems now arrived

Was watching TV last night when I got the lines for two new poems, one based on contemporary lyrics, the othee rmore in the 60s R & B / classic soul mode. Saw Gospel program on Al Green on Sky Arts 1 channel this morning. Phrase in end credits " sometimes the final word" will form nucleus of the next poem.

While writing this entry reminded me of the Miles Davis track " A remark you made", i.e. just a phrase overheard or remembered can lead to more lines etc.

Will go over next the Berklee Blues Bass book/CD to learn and include more licks in my playing.