As we move into a new millennium, let's remember Poetry Everywhere. . . e.g., John Rodriguez heard the following on PBS's The Story of English, Part Six: Black or White? (This link will let you order the book from Borders.com; this link takes you to the video of Parts 5 and 6; and if you want to splurge, this one will get you the entire series on laserdisc.)
Words by Cab Calloway. Rodriguez gets credit as found-poem finder, and the ever-opening relevance is up to you, Dear Readers!
--Bob Holman
What's the Hipster to the Slammer?
What's the Hipster to the Slammer?
The Hipster is the key
That opens up the Slammer
To the chicken fricassee
is a 26-year-old poet, teacher at the Bronx Writers Center where he also coaches Youth Slam teams & a student at Lehman College. He lives in a homeless shelter in Brooklyn. This is one of his poems, made, not found:
cuando éra niño
mami used to close the windows
when the ice cream truck came by
she was ashamed to tell us no
when we came to her wearing open hands
i wasn't big enough to cross the street by myself
so when my sister got mad she'd start a new game
to draw all the kids across the street and leave me
on the corner by myself
the kitchen the living room and the hallway
were connected so when mami had the belt
we'd run in a circle but she'd always stop in a corner
and whip us when we caught up to her
mami threw away the play dough when
she caught us playing grocery store
buying milk and eggs with the flattened
pieces we pretended were food stamps
--John Rodriguez
(from his book Purple 5, published December 1999 by Idlewild Books, available for $8 postpaid from 173 Duane St. #2, New York, NY, 10013)
ubuweb has a collection of assorted “found + insane” poems, including two series gathered by ubuweb's editor in New York City: “Free Jack Ads” & “The Orion Series” -- but the very best of their found poems is the click-through sequence from Bern Porter's book in ubuweb's historical section.
Annie Dillard's wonderful book of found poems, Mornings Like This (HarperCollins, 1996) is no longer in print, but Borders.com will search for a used copy if you order it.
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