Further thoughts on the cultural labor of poetry and art. Not merely "is it good?," but "what has it accomplished?"...reviews of recent poetry collections; selected poems and art dealing with war/peace/social change; reviews of poetry readings; links to political commentary (particularly on conflicts in the Middle East); youtubed performances of music, demos, and other audio-video nuggets dealing with peaceful change, dissent and resistance.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Ray McNiece's "I'm a Grunt"
Last night, thanks to Larry Smith of Bottom Dog Books, I had the chance to read at Firelands College alongside Ray McNiece, an old school working class Cleveland-area troubadour who's traveled the world and made his bread through poetry. Ray's a lot of fun to hear, because he combines political rage with a real lust for language and life...and nearly all of his poems are recited. Take that, book slaves!
One piece he didn't perform last night, however, is "I'm a Grunt," a poem from the point of view of a soldier who's joined the military because he's got no other way out...
Listen to Ray McNiece called "I'm a Grunt". This is from a reading he gave at John Carroll a couple summers back...
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