Before You're Sixty-Four.

This is for your own works!!!
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BoHo

Post by BoHo »

I s'pose b/cuz I thought you got short shrift in the thread -- poets create speakers or narrators; readers make the grievous error of turning the universal, the answer to M.'s "Scream," I guess, into the personal while wallowing in the limelight; and so, I guess that's why. Erm . . . Also, maybe b/cuz you mentioned Tolstoy and I was reading him with Plath, Durrell, Apollinaire, and Hopkins on the side; fell head over heel-and-toe for "Do Not Believe":

[quote]Do not believe, my dearest, when I say
That I no longer love you.
When the tide ebbs do not believe the sea -
It will return anew.

Already I long for you, and passion fills me,
I yield my freedom thus to you once more.
Already the waves return with shouts and glee
To fill again that same belovèd shore.[/quote]

The thing about Tolstoy, in that poem, it made sense to me, what you meant and, I admit it, I was also reading "Don Juan's Serenade" and seeing where the magpie got a lot of his chops -- he's extraordinary in his ability to refashion and make his own so much of what The Tradition both comprises and demands. Makes you wanna plant a sweet fat lush wet one on the face of the moon herself, don't it?

To tell you the truth, I am forced to go begging in beauty's disguise at this time of year -- grant applications et so onnera -- and to offset that grimmery, I treat myself to a few in the next-best-nirvana-compared with-u-know-who. IOW, must return to work. The piece is beautiful. Leo uses the same kinds of patterns in his poetry. A loose kind of blank verse, where he mostly scans but puts the kaybosh on scanning to throw its idea outta whack. Dunno. Your poem puts me in mind of Dylan Thomas; but, don't quite understand why, exactly. Also, reminded me of SoS (which, it took a bit to figger), to register it also reffed Songs of Solomon as much as anything else. Duh. Still, all the "sea" driftage and breakage stuff, right?

Also, didn't understand the change in line lengths; but, that's a personal thang; I don't think you're a third-string poet, either; but, WTF do I know?

You can PM me anytime you want. Just don't align that associationally with our current PM, Stuffit Harpoon, Pro-Bush-League Loon willing to give up Canadian citizens' lives for the death of civilisation. That's another story. For when I must next return to Cyberia knowing full-well the building has the left the planet.

Also, just to communicate attentive readers do understand what you're saying in "64," jagged horizons, that sea of faith, the ubiquitious "breakers," and the way in which intimacy becomes the most important noun in a human being being human's vocabulary, I guess. Just really liked the poem. Lovely and spare. Is all.

Break a sweat <*BEG*>! J/kiddin' . . .

Judith
Andrew McGeever
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Post by Andrew McGeever »

Dear Judith,
I feel honoured by the attention you have given me.
"Just really liked the poem. Lovely and spare".

Well, that does it for me :D :D :D

signing out from cloud nine,
Andrew.[/quote]
Andrew McGeever
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Post by Andrew McGeever »

After some correspondence with Judith, I'm honoured to re-post the original poem ....

Before You're Sixty-Four.

(for Judith Fitzgerald)

I'd like to take you to a bed-
and-breakfast place, not far from town,
and sign us in as Smith or Jones:
no clues for partners, mum's the word.

We'd lock the door, swap compliments
about our looks, then gently
unbutton each other; shed
decades of separation.

The hours would fly, and when it's late
we'd share more tales about the boys,
our bodies spoons for Sailing By.

We'd be awake for breakfast;
you fresh fruit with bran flakes; me
fried heart attack. Then kiss and go,
but not before I whispered you

were nearer and dearer to me
than breakers crashing on the shore.
Andrew McGeever
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Joined: Sun Jul 07, 2002 10:02 pm

Post by Andrew McGeever »

Readers of this thread will notice that the only difference is the dedication: and that's some difference :D

Andrew.
JiminyC
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Post by JiminyC »

What will the partners say? :o
BoHo

Post by BoHo »

You have no idea how much your gesture means to me, Andrew. I shall cherish it always. Thank you so much, especially since I do so love the poem I now own; and, my love and admiration for its beauty continue to grow as I discover even more of its subtly stunning slow-dawning dazzlers. It will clearly hold its own in the _Book of Eternity_.

I am honoured; thus, I hope you will accept my small gesture to you, Fellow Poet, as an indication of the near-inexpressible gratitude I feel (and, this sequence is not autobiographical, as you know; it is dedicated to you for formal reasons, given the fact this speaker in the epic's closer is a lesbian cop who, incidentally, not only *loves* Leo's music but also, wants to be what you are, a poet of the first order):



A Fragment from the Adagios Quartet BOOK IV:
"Oh, Clytaemnestra!" (Oberon, Fall 2007)

_To Andrew McGeever_

Why ask? Look inward, Stranger; you missed the exit sign;
got singed, scorched, and scalded by beauty's grievous design.

Me? Because I never discovered that fucking shrine,
I was driven to do something wholly desperate
with epic splendour; and, yes, I guess this poem is it.



I hope you consider this a worthy return Salut! to you (and, JSYK, I am so het it hurtz :)).

Undeniably, Jf/ox
--
ADAGIOS III: ELECTRA'S BENISON, BOUND!
http://www.oberonpress.ca/titles.pl?v=new
JUDITH FITZGERALD'S EVER-EVOLVING WRITESITE:
http://www.judithfitzgerald.ca/
JF APPOINTED PARLIAMENTARY POET OF THE WEEK:
http://tinyurl.com/38ssjq
JOANNA M. WESTON ON AQ II: ORESTES' LAMENT:
http://www.danforthreview.com/reviews/p ... gerald.htm
BoHo

Post by BoHo »

> What will the partners say? :o <<

L! Earth to Extrapolating PoetMaestro: Maybe you ought to consider asking the senior Partner at The Partners, Mr. Peter Goodrich:

http://www.lee-barbergoodrich.co.uk/The_Partners.htm

This is not autobiography, after all; it's poetry (or, at least, it wants to be).

Jf/ox
--
ADAGIOS III: ELECTRA'S BENISON, BOUND!
http://www.oberonpress.ca/titles.pl?v=new
JUDITH FITZGERALD'S EVER-EVOLVING WRITESITE:
http://www.judithfitzgerald.ca/
JF APPOINTED PARLIAMENTARY POET OF THE WEEK:
http://tinyurl.com/38ssjq
JOANNA M. WESTON ON AQ II: ORESTES' LAMENT:
http://www.danforthreview.com/reviews/p ... gerald.htm
JiminyC
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Location: Solid Rock

Post by JiminyC »

I am sorry Andrew, my comment wasn't meant to offend, I still enjoy this poem a great deal and wish you well with your readings and writing. I am sorry my posts in this thread have been unerringly bothersome, it was never my purpose.

BoHo, I am sorry, I wish you well with your reading and your legal pursuits.
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mat james
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Post by mat james »

Great Poem Andrew.
I'm certain your performance will be a knockout!

Judith, I "stole" your wonderfully informative advice sheet and will keep it for future reference.

I received this (below) recently Andrew. It seems you are already famous.
I have some advice too.
Treat the audience like a class you love to be with.

Regards and good luck, Matj
The Shore Poets return next Sunday, 28 January, with readings by Rab Wilson and Andrew McGeever, a tribute to Gael Turnbull, and music from Daniel McGeever.

Rab Wilson is originally from Ayrshire, now staying in nearby Sanquhar. He has established a reputation for ambitious owersettins of classic poetry into Scots, notably The Ruba’iyat of Omar Khayyam and Horace's first book of Satires. He participated in the SPL's Poetry Link Scheme, where he was paired with MSP and Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson. His first collection Accent o the Mind (Luath Press) was launched last year.

Andrew McGeever teaches mathematics at Portobello High School. His poems have been hung in the National Museum of Scotland, and the High School Yards nursery school; they’ve been published in the official magazines of both the Celtic and Rangers football clubs; and they have been received with personal thanks by Leonard Cohen. This evening’s musician, Daniel McGeever, is Andrew’s son.

In lieu of a Shore Poet we present a tribute to our much-missed colleague Gael Turnbull, led by Hamish Whyte, Stewart Conn and Jill Turnbull. Incidentally, you might be interested in taking a look at this exhibition in London, on the Migrant Press (co-founded by Gael), curated by Richard Price: http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/news/po ... ne/?id=263

I’m glad to say that our venue has been settled for the rest of the season:

Mai Thai cafe bar, The Tun, 111 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AE

Admission £2/£1 concessions

Next month, on 25 February, we have readings by Harvey Holton, Diana Hendry and Dorothy Lawrenson, with music (provisionally) by Klezmer duo Gica Loening and Sally Russell.

Best wishes

Peter Cudmore


Shore Poets http://www.shorepoets.org.uk

Supported by SAC
"Without light or guide, save that which burned in my heart." San Juan de la Cruz.
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lizzytysh
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Post by lizzytysh »

It's great to see your poetry getting the kind of understanding and recognition here that it warrants, Andrew 8) . Good on you, Judith, for bringing it to the fore as it ought to be.

Thanks for posting that additional information on Andrew, Mat. That's what I thought about all those tips, too, Mat. I really like the one you added. Who needs a poet bored with or condescending to his audience.

We won't mention that he looks gorgeously the part, either, will we J? We'll be thinking of you and Daniel on Sunday the 28th, Andrew. You're both going to be splendid :D .


~ Lizzy
Andrew McGeever
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Post by Andrew McGeever »

Poetry is not biography, nor is it a diary of events (a day in the life?).
"64" is no more than an exercise of my imagination, words organised on a blackened page, sorted into a form that has the potential to be heard, read, preferably both.
Before I posted "64" on the L.C. Files, I showed it to a colleague/critic/friend. She said she saw aspects of herself in the poem; it triggered memory, desire and a sense of loss. "Andrew, out of the poems you've shown me, and I keep them all, this is the one that's closest to me. It's all in the text", she said.

Andrew.
Andrew McGeever
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Post by Andrew McGeever »

This one's for Judith:
"stunning slow-dawning dazzlers"....no-one has ever written about a poem of mine in such glowing terms. I am utterly gob-smacked (a good Scottish word, that!) :o :D
As for the fragment from the forthcoming Adagios Quartet 1V, I'm honoured, and no less gob-smacked!
Thankyou, Judith, from the bottom of my heart! January is for many, myself included, a miserable, depressing month: you have lit it up for me, and given me confidence to write more. The fact is that I haven't written anything for about 7 months, apart from a few sketches. Hopefully I'll get round to putting some of them into some kind of draft form soon.
You, of course, are busily hammering on, with deadlines to meet (?)
"a worthy return"?......you bet :D :D :D

Andrew.
p.S. i e-mailed you earlier today....hope this one got through.
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lizzytysh
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Post by lizzytysh »

Dear Jiminy ~

I wasn't entirely sure, either... as "L" is how some refer to me, when speaking with me in emails/PMs... and I wondered myself... hmmm?
As it turns out, however, "L" is the briefer version of LOL for Judith [more succinct in its way... who cares whether it's Out Loud or On Line ~ I've heard both for it ~ as long as it's goodwill laughter]. She wasn't offended at all by your comment and was kidding with you, not chastising. In fact, she thought it was a really funny reply. So, given her deadlines, I be the happy messenger and you the messengee, to let you know what was and wasn't meant. Since I doubt you'll try to kill me, may we share a cup of tea :D . Or coffee ~ though let it not be the last cup... of course, if I could listen to that apparently very beautiful song, I might not be saying that, eh :) ?


~ Lizzy
Andrew McGeever
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Post by Andrew McGeever »

To Mat James,
Many thanks for your encouragement and the quotes from my "CV" :D
I'll bear your advice in mind, come Sunday evening.
Thanks again,
Andrew.
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lizzytysh
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Post by lizzytysh »

I am honoured; thus, I hope you will accept my small gesture to you, Fellow Poet, as an indication of the near-inexpressible gratitude I feel (and, this sequence is not autobiographical, as you know; it is dedicated to you for formal reasons, given the fact this speaker in the epic's closer is a lesbian cop who, incidentally, not only *loves* Leo's music but also, wants to be what you are, a poet of the first order):



A Fragment from the Adagios Quartet BOOK IV:
"Oh, Clytaemnestra!" (Oberon, Fall 2007)

_To Andrew McGeever_

Why ask? Look inward, Stranger; you missed the exit sign;
got singed, scorched, and scalded by beauty's grievous design.

Me? Because I never discovered that fucking shrine,
I was driven to do something wholly desperate
with epic splendour; and, yes, I guess this poem is it.
Hi Judith ~

I know it'll be awhile before you're around these parts, but I'll just go ahead and get my question/comment in early, so to speak :wink: .

Since I haven't read your book, yet and I already know that it's an epic poem, I'm not really sure which guess of mine here would be correct.

(1) My first one is what I believe is probably true... that the speaker in the epic's closer is not the primary speaker in the book; hence, she is not the one who presumably wrote the whole of the epic poem, but with her desire to be a poet of the first order, she's being sarcastic/self-diminishing regarding her own efforts and saying, "Yeah, right... so here ya' go... my epic effort, right here, all [2-5 lines] of it, and hardly epic in length" depending on where her poem is considered to begin and end.

(2) My second one is the second possibility in my mind... that she is, in fact, the primary speaker in the whole of the book, as well... and hence, she's understating her own, poetic accomplishment.


Whichever, I find it interesting that she, as a lesbian cop, the lesbian representing the 'other side' of sexuality, aligning herself with the female vs. male sexuality; and the dynamics of power and control in the world of copdom. She loves LC ~ there seem to be many directions to go with that fact.

The first two lines also seem to speak to the idea of looking inward, rather than outward, for the creation of poetry... which seems to speak to the comments made regarding Andrew's own "Before You're 64."

Now! You will need to sort through the chaff for the grain here with my comments... being the non-poet, much less the non-poet critiquer, that I am. However, I wanted to comment on these lines of yours, regardless. They seem powerful to me in terms of one's life quest and the realization/non-realization, thereof. I feel I'd probably know better regarding this, if I were reading this excerpt within its original context. That, though, will have to wait :wink: .


~ Lizzy
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