Ezra Pound once famously noted that “Poetry is news that stays news.” This month we interview poet Terry A. Garey. As always with this series, we wanted to see what happens when Minnesota poets are interviewed in the forms they work most in, rather than the standard narrative approach journalists use.
Terry A. Garey is a writer, editor, and a member of the performance group Lady Poetesses From Hell. Her poems have been published in many journals and anthologies. She has edited poetry for Tales of the Unanticipated, and the speculative poetry anthology Time Frames, among others. Her non fiction book, The Joy of Home Winemaking, has little to do with poetry, but is fun and instructive if you want to make wine. She lives with a librarian, two cats and many books in Minneapolis.
Thinking energetically regarding reading you aloud,
Examining reasons, reflected youth approaching time,
Recommendations?
listening as poetry turns, squirms
through fact, image and story
truth comes from such simple words
Reading everyone’s verse eclectic and learning every day
You operated uniquely.
Arranging new secrets, whose enigmatic revelations endure dependably?
varied colors and patterns swirl
artistic generosity, quirkiness
gives us a new view in the same frame
when we share ourselves
Galactic roaming, Others, what ideas novel grinning
Along many other notions, gather? A
Response in viewing exceptional rivers?
Spaceships, breasts, asses, Iceland,
sharks, spark plugs, and squid
cavort among nervous eggs, vampires, gravity,
Wall Drug, and latkes.
We are everywhere, flowing along Time and Space
in the large footsteps of Red Ethel the Unruly.
Ever noticing, joining others, your interesting nest, galaxies,
Youthful opportunities undertaken. Remarkable
Lingering intuitions, feelings experienced?
from a community college,
poetry piloted me to the stars
to meet a Rose, a Rez, a Ruth, a Rebecca,
provided Contact II with poetry nations, voices,
experiences of unseen others,
and became my song of gratitude
to the UniVerse
for allowing me join the chorus
Alien worlds and knowledge earned,
Dreams investigated, something changed our verse, energies rise,
Yet others, undulating, raze
Perceptions of everyday moments.
Opine: Possibilities emerging now?
where is ???
out there somewhere:
thought, apples, a Hupa basket,
planets, people, music,
one red radish, a smile….
I’m always ready for the poetry path,
walking where it leads me….
Explain viewpoints engaging readers.
Titanic hearts? Inklings nurturing kinship?
Entertaining voices encountered?
never knowing what
lurks in ambush
discovery is everything
practice and delivery
are obligations to appreciation–
songs, oratory, violins,
traffic, chickens, drums–
all sources for one’s own voice
a singer once told me:
make it sound easy
Stars tremble, art revels, surprises.
Suggest underappreciated genius, great events, something taught.
Frontiers reaching out, nice teas, ice experienced, reptiles seen?
Remain ever mindful, alien in nature,
Open possibilities, evils negated?
everything dances with poetry
memories, experiences, learning
need structure and form
listen to Earth and dream
of what can be had of her and beyond,
from molecules to Mars to mooncakes
quests, curiosity, are always good
knowledge needs constant feeding
sightings of star squid or snow snakes?
maybe
Maybe, as you beam, elaborate
How others prepare, embracing
Eternal notions to explore riddling space.
Living in fierce exuberance,
Legends are useful gathered. How is “Now” gained?
writing is peaceful exploration-
encounters and time
are efforts to illuminate “now”
in which “now” ripples,
becoming past or future as needed–
blossom, pollen, fruit,
seed, compost,
tortoise bites–
joy in the journey together
is our savour
all the way down
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