ENGL 2003: Introduction to Poetry

I will be doing Villard Denis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villard_Denis)

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EARLY LIFE

The poet Villard Denis was born in port-au-Prince, Haiti on December 2, 1940. Villard lives with his parent that owned the plantation which was limited near Laforesterie, an area in Port-au-Prince. When he was five, he had a delicate health. At age of six he enter his primary education in Colbert Bonhomme Course. At nine his parents had notice he had interest in drawing and visual art, they worry if this will distract from his studies. Unable to play with his friends due to his poor health, he reads

Poems

French version

Omabarigore

Omabarigore la ville que j’ai créée pour toi
En prenant la mer dans mes bras
Et les paysages autour de ma tête
Toutes les plantes sont ivres et portent leur printemps
Sur leur tige que les vents bâillonnent
Au milieu des forêts qui résonnent de nos sens
Des arbres sont debout qui connaissent nos secrets
Toutes les portes s’ouvrent par la puissance de tes rêves
Chaque musicien a tes sens comme instrument
Et la nuit en collier autour de la danse
Car nous amarrons les orages
Aux bras des ordures de cuisine
La douleur tombe comme les murs de Jéricho
Les portes s’ouvrent par ta seule puissance d’amour
Omabarigore où sonnent
Toutes les cloches de l’amour et de la vie
La carte s’éclaire comme ce visage que j’aime
Deux miroirs recueillant les larmes du passé
Et le peuple de l’aube assiégeant nos regards

English version

Omabarigore

Omabarigore the town I created for you
Taking the sea in my arms
And the landscape around my head
All the plants are sated and hold their springtime
On their stems that the winds stifle
In the middle of forests that resonate from our senses
Awakened trees that know our secrets
All the doors open with the force of your dreams
Each musician has your senses for an instrument
And the night a necklace around the dance
For we make fast thunderstorms
To the arms of refuse
The sorrow falls like the walls of Jericho
The doors open only with the force of your love
Omabarigore where rings
All the clocks of love and life
The map shines like this face that I love
Two mirrors collect the tears of the past
And the people of dawn besiege our sight

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sources (http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/ile.en.ile/paroles/davertige.html – translate with google translate), (Biography adapted from “Chronology” Rodney Saint-Eloi, published in Anthology Davertige Secret (Montreal: Memory ink fountain, 2003): 147-151.), http://www.universeofpoetry.org/haiti.shtml
 

I will be revising Action Poetry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_poetry

Action Poetry can be exhibited in the form of murals.  An example of such includes works by The Art Alley Mural Project (http://www.artsetobicoke.com/Art/Art-Alley.aspx).  Their work includes a painting of a specially commissioned poem by Poet Laureate, Dionne Brand onto a 1000 square foot wall in an alley in the city of Toronto.

Poetry Slam (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry_slam#section_2) is another example of Action Poetry in which a competition is held where competitors would read or recite original works, while being judged by selected members of an audience.

Action Poetry books are also available which showcase different written works of Action Poetry.  One of these books include:  Action Poetry:  Literary Tribes For The Internet Age by Levi Asher, Jamelah Earle, and Caryn Thurman.

Literary Kicks (http://www.litkicks.com/ActionPoetryHome) is a website dedicated to Action Poetry in which users would post original work.  Users can comment on, respond to, or add to works posted.

So Much Gone

by: Poetpunk

“Once a bright eyed
young fool obsessed
with the sky,

Once a
punk kid
with stars in
his eyes,

Now who is he?

The stars are fading
into sorrowful
lights that only see
the misery and woe
of the world
while the heart weeps,

The boy
now 22
but not a man
sees suffering
but ending it
seems an impossible task,

He keeps fighting
he wont ever
back down
but with so much gone
the war outside
makes the war inside worse,

So much hope gone
so much love gone
so much
so much
everything gone
leaving only
a mash of emotions
and a dying fighting instinct,

How does he keep fighting
with so much gone?”