tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82377762024-03-13T23:36:44.980-05:00ridl.comJack Ridl's blog.Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-55168783282144854092007-04-30T08:53:00.000-05:002007-05-01T16:20:50.309-05:00Todd and Susanna Reading May 10Todd Davis and Susanna Childress will be reading together May 10 in Grand Haven, at the Grand Haven Area Arts Council at 7pm. Read all about it at <a href="http://sonnetsat4am.blogspot.com/2007/04/announcement.html">Greg Rappeleye's blog</a>.Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-50523438480517608132007-04-30T06:48:00.000-05:002007-04-30T09:10:55.659-05:00What a thrillJulie here again, posting for Ridl....<br /><br />What a thrill:<br /><br /><a href="http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/programs/2007/04/30/index.html">http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/programs/2007/04/30/index.html</a><br /><br />Thanks, all you almanac folks.<br /><br />And then, today Jack received notice that Broken Symmetry is a co-winner of the Society of Midland Authors Award for poetry for 2007. Jack's blinking. This award covers work published in 12 states, and the past winners include Ted Kooser, Jim Harrison, Carl Phillips, Alice Fulton, and Richard Jones.Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-41923288740755696232007-04-26T11:39:00.000-05:002007-04-30T06:53:35.158-05:00The Writer's AlmanacJulie here, happily reporting:<br /><br />Monday, April 30, on Blue Lake Public Radio 9:55 a.m. here, but airing different times on<br />different public radio stations, Garrison Keillor will be reading one<br />of Jack's poems on The Writer's Almanac:<br /><br />The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor<br /><a href="http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://writersalmanac.publicrad<wbr>io.org/</a><br /><br />If it doesn't air in your area, you can find it at the site above<br />starting Tuesday, or download the episode from iTunes.<br /><br />And that's just a very cool thing for the old bear, don't you think?Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-80051424961869317012007-04-15T15:11:00.001-05:002007-04-15T15:11:22.101-05:00Recent Readings<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The reading at Alpena was a gem. Meridith went along. We'd not had a Daddy/Daughter trek in some time.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>We got there just fine, Meridith navigating. We missed a turn coming back. Everyone at Alpena was so good to us. They welcomed us in our room with flowers and Dove chocolates, took us out to a great dinner, and the company was so stimulating to talk with, the fellow diners being from NYC, California, Texas and now loving living in Alpena and trying to talk us all into moving there. And the audience had the best questions following the reading. And the library! Talk about a library that cares about people. Great place. Go.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Then this past week I got to read with former student Chris Dombrowski at Michigan State. That makes two readings this year with former students. What a joy! Chris's mother is our agent. She was instrumental in setting this up. And the people at MSU were incredibly welcoming. Chris and I recorded an interview prior to the reading. The old guy and the new kid on the block blew the roof off the joint. Chris is writing remarkable poems and essays. He read both at the reading and I kept having to push my jaw up. Sue Poppink who was a student of mine in the 70's was there and brought me water! I'd not seen her since '79. She has her doctorate and teaches education. And Chris's wife, Mary, also a former student was there rooting us on. And another former student, Sara Lamers was there, too. Sara has a new collection out from March Street Press. Its title is <EM>A City without Trees</EM>.You can access the interview and the reading by going to </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><A href="http://www.lib.msu.edu/vincent/writers/index.htm">http://www.lib.msu.edu/vincent/writers/index.htm</A></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-34873254854500327942007-02-07T20:39:00.000-05:002007-02-07T20:42:19.727-05:00Nice Review by Sarah JensenSarah Jensen, a fine writer and columnist I met at the Ludington Poetry Series, wrote <a href="http://www.libretto-inc.com/nightstand/sarah.html">this lovely review</a> of Broken Symmetry on her company's book blog. I think I'll go back and read it 20 more times...Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-1168886006695753042007-01-15T13:33:00.000-05:002007-01-15T13:33:26.936-05:00I'm Hoping You Will Be Interested!<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Here are some upcoming stops on the Broken Symmetry Tour!~!!!! : )</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> -----READINGS-----</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>1. February 20: The New School at Kalamazoo Community College Contact Rob Haight for information.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>2. February TBA: Kalamazoo College. Contact Dianne Seuss for information.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>3. March 21: With the wonderful Mary Jo Firth Gillett in Ann Arbor at the Work in Progress Reading Series.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Contact Deanne Lundin for information.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>4. April 13: With former student, the amazing Christopher Dombrowski, at the Michigan State University Library</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>5. April 18: With several poets at The Grand Rapids Public Library</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> -----Conferences/Workshops/Retreats-----</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> >>>>>I will be leading conference-long workshops at all of these below. How I would love to get to be with you at any of these week long retreats<<<<<</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sign up and have a great good time at any or all of them. !!!!!!!!!!!</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>1. May 17-20: The Far Field Retreat for Writers at Oakland, MI. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>2. June 12-16: Interlochen Center for the Arts Writers Institute</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>3. June 24-30: Oxbow School of Art</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>>>>>> Go to "links" on my website to get connections to each of these. <<<<<</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'd sure love to see those of you I know and also meet new folks at any/all of these!!!!!!!!</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-1167666962689595672007-01-01T10:55:00.000-05:002007-01-12T12:49:10.616-05:00SappismSappism. In this literary world abundant with theories, I've decided to found a new one for the new year--Sappism. Those who subscribe to its tenets will be referred to as Sappists. Fear of the sappy, the cheesy is a plague upon us all, cutting the tender from its mooring in the authenticity of heart. What's to fear--The accusation of sentimentality. And yet sentimentality itself has had such a bad rap for so long that most of us can't remember when it fell into the grip of easy disdain. Actually the accusation of sentimentality is usually applied solely and soulessly to anything smacking of the gentle, the tender, the straightforwardly affirming. And yet the most often used definition of sentimentality is an emotional reaction inappropriate to its stimulus. If that's the case then why not apply the definition to the full range of emotional reactions inappropriate to their stimuli. Seems to me that there is more sentimentality in the range of rages, cynicisms, hype, baroque use of artistic technique, rampant excitement over trends in entertainment and art, shock, imposed distress, and on and on than in the range of responses to kitties (kittens), loneliness, honest love in the midst of all that mitigates against it, flowers, rain, and the kindness of strangers. And so, Sappism. Sappists. Join this ism. Risk the ridicule. Make it a movement. <br /> <br />Sappily yours,<br />JackJuliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-1165335211592186792006-12-05T11:13:00.000-05:002006-12-05T11:13:31.673-05:00Detroit Historical Museum<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Julie and I drove over to Ann Arbor on Saturday, December 2, hung out there and felt politically correct, wandered in real bookstores, and ate good. Then on Sunday we headed over to The Detroit Historical Museum for a book signing. After signing a book, we went out to eat with Sarah and Mollica from the Wayne Press, their friend Brooke and former student David Soubly. That was a great time as we celebrated Sarah's birthday even though it wasn't her birthday. It was a delight to see David and learn about his survival at Ford, his continuing to write--he's working to finish his second novel--and his family.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Look for David's first novel titled SANTA, CEO. You can check out the novel at <A href="http://www.santaceo.com">www.santaceo.com</A> or obtain copies at <A href="http://www.booklocker.com">www.booklocker.com</A>. And while mentioning former students, I recently learned that Jill Thiel who went to Hope College in the 70s was at the reading that Sally Smits and I got to give at IUSB.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>What a joy to hear from good good her! Here's wishing one and all the very best of these holiday times.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-1164035096433698912006-11-20T10:04:00.000-05:002006-12-13T13:33:57.200-05:00Reading with Sally<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>November 16 brought a wonderful gift. I got to read with my former student Sally Smits at Indiana University at South Bend. Sitting there listening to her, seeing her so luminous, brought back memories of this punk first year student who landed in the flatlands so homesick for her Rocky Mountains. And now here she was, a college professor and a poet you all should read, a poet whose poems are filled with glowing surprises and head/heart coherence. They dazzle but never show off. Amazing, I'd say. Julie was there, knitting away with a soft smile on her face the whole time. Following Sally felt like being the trained seal trying to follow the Queen of the Air. I balanced the bowling pin on my nose quite well, however. And there was a Q & A after, which was another delight as we responded to questions and bantered back and forth with lots of laughs.<BR><BR>Everyone at IUSB was warm and welcoming. I loved being with the faculty after the reading and before it at dinner--one classy dinner it was. If you are ever in South Bend, go to the Main Street Cafe. I think that's the name of it. The faculty at IUSB have such intelligent enthusiasm. They are building a writing program and it's going to be terrific.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>And former student Jill Thiel drove all the way from Chicago to be in the audience. That was so so kind of her. What a great good time this all was. To read with ones student--talk about a joy! In the spring, I get to read at Michigan State with former student Chris Dombrowski. I wanna have a tour with all my students!</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-1163159678456280912006-11-10T06:54:00.000-05:002006-11-10T06:54:39.163-05:00Penn State, Altoona<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The creative writing faculty at the Altoona campus of Penn State is magical, exceptional. What a gang of talents and intelligences--and they all woop for one another. I had such a great good time there. To be once again surrounded by my Pennsylvania mountains was rejuvenating. Todd Davis's class was a joy to be with. Todd and Shelly and their boys, Noah and Nathan created a resort out of their home for me. Talk about good sleepin' and good eatin and good talkin'! I repaid them by trouncing them at Rummy after the reading. Read in a chapel. I think I should set up the "Jack-in-the-Chapel Tour." How many is that now?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>So thanks to Todd and family, to Dinty Moore and Erin Murphy for being such great "instant friends." Buy their books. They write the real stuff.</FONT></DIV>Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-1161790969108131352006-10-25T10:42:00.000-05:002006-11-02T17:25:48.126-05:00Poetry reading and rally!<DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The reading at my alma mater, Westminster College, was a delight. I looked up and there were two of my former wonderful students, Amy Affleck and Jenn Frayer. They came all the way from Pittsburgh. Talk about a great gift, seeing them. And Jim Perkins, my dear ole friend, gave me a very touching introduction. And dear folks from my little town were there. And my family was there: mom, sister and husband, niece and husband. And friends of my sister were there. And it was a great time. And with about four minutes to go in the reading the college's band started playing a fight song outside the door and cheerleaders started yelling and a pep rally ensued. We all left fired up.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-1160063246252382012006-10-05T10:47:00.000-05:002006-10-10T23:34:22.646-05:00Follow up to the Dodge Festival<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Random stuff from The Dodge Poetry Festival:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Standing in the rain with Andrew Motion, Poet Laureate of England.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Mark Hillringhouse, one of my very first students at Hope College, introduced me at my reading. That sure meant the world to me. Mark has done such important work. He received one of the New Jersey Governor's Awards this past year. Check him out on the ole web. Remarkable man.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Jerry Stern to Taslima Nasreen who, if she returns to Bangladesh, will be killed for what she has written:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>"Well, at least in your country they care about poetry."</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Linda Hogan saying, "Oh how I loved that room of your daughter's, that magical bed, all the pictures."</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Linda Pastan to Jorie Graham after Ms. Graham had talked awhile about her theories of how to say the unsayable in poetry: "...Jorie, that's all amazing, but I'm afraid if people think they have to remember all that, it will scare them away."</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Peter Murphy: "I need to say this: I really don't like dogs. And I'd prefer to always stay indoors."</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Jerry Stern again: "I have seventeen pet peeves. One is when someone says, 'Oh, I don't read poetry.' I want to yell, 'You stupid _ _ _ _, are you an idiot! What is the matter with you! Are you proud of being such a schmuck?!' "</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-1159800966909199682006-10-02T09:56:00.000-05:002006-10-08T13:01:25.616-05:00Back from the Dodge Poetry Festival<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>It rained. I always seems to rain at The Dodge Festival. But that didn't dampen (sorry) the spirits of the 20,000 or so who savored everything they could. And there were Julie 'n me wandering about with Andrew Motion, Poet Laureate of England, and the nobel nominee from Korea, Ko Un and Lucille Clifton, Billy Collins, Kurtis Lamkin, Coleman Barks, Jerry Stern, Taha Muhammad Ali, Ekiwah Adler-Belendez, Robert Bly, Len Roberts, Anne Waldman, Mark Doty and on and on. And the joy of joys was that several Hope grads were there and we had such a great good time together. My reading went really well, didn't pass out. Got to read with Tina Chang and Laure-Anne Bosselaar. And the food!!!!!!!!!! And the setting!!!! And the music and and and. If you like poetry and being with those who also do, where the feeling is welcoming and warm and generous, go sometime. Lucky me.</FONT></DIV>Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-1159373915572682812006-09-27T11:18:00.000-05:002006-10-01T19:59:04.023-05:00Off to Dodge<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Well, we're off to The Dodge Poetry Festival. I'm not sure yet that this is all true. I hope I don't pass out on stage. I've had such wonderful messages from former students and other friends who live "out east" and who are planning to be there. That'll help. And of course, Julie will assure me that all will be fine. Whew.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thank you all for your well wishes. And I'd come read stuff for you. Just say the word! </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-1158753592226262832006-09-20T06:59:00.000-05:002006-09-21T09:53:34.950-05:00Portage Library Reading<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Had a wonderful time at the Portage Library last night. Saw lots of old friends, former student-friends, made new friends. Met parents of students. Thanks to Marsha Meyer for making the evening possible with such good grace. </FONT></DIV>Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-1158540705104020702006-09-17T19:49:00.000-05:002006-09-20T11:21:35.890-05:00Suzie"She's kept me off drugs," her handler<br />says, standing beside Suzie waiting <br />to lead her under the half-risen big top. <br />She will pull the center pole into place, <br />lifting the patched and re-stitched<br />stretch of sky-blue canvas streaked <br />with stars toward the clouds hanging <br />over the lot. Every morning<br />after the roustabouts, staggering <br />from bad wine, heat, and three hours'<br />sleep in the sweat-drenched bunks<br />stacked five high in the semi<br />that hauls them from job to job,<br />have driven the stakes, looped<br />the guy ropes over the side poles,<br />and unfolded the unrolled midway<br />and main tent, after the great hum <br />of the power generator has been<br />hooked into the lights that tonight<br />will glow across the cornfields, Suzie<br />hears the elephant boy holler, "Hunh, <br />Suzie, hunh," and feels the quick, dull <br />thwack of his hook against her side.<br />She, swaying like a great gray ship<br />docked in the daylight, lifts <br />her accustomed trunk and, dust <br />flying off her back, trots as she has <br />every workday for forty years <br />in through the main entrance <br />and stands where the roustabouts<br />will later piece together each fading <br />arc of the red center ring. The handler <br />hooks the enormous clank of chain <br />to her leathered harness, again <br />shouts, "Hunh, Suzie, hunh," and <br />she, with a slow wave of her crusty <br />ears, caked and sore from a thousand <br />bites, walks with the indifference<br />of sovereignty to the far end <br />of the tent, pulling the great pole up<br />and into place, the pole itself carrying<br />the sky and all its stars from the dust.<br /><br />© Jack R. Ridl 2003Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-1158454694690214102006-09-16T19:57:00.000-05:002006-09-17T16:14:34.586-05:00The Drywallers Listen to Sinatra While They WorkThis morning, my mother, here<br />for the holidays, is washing<br />the breakfast dishes, when Al, wiry,<br />coated with drywall dust, takes<br />her hand and says, "I bet you loved<br />Sinatra. Dance?" The acrid smell<br />of plaster floats through the room.<br />Frank is singing, <span style="font-style:italic;">All or Nothing<br />at All</span>, and Al leads my mother<br />under the spinning ballroom lights<br />across the new sub-floor. He<br />is smiling. She is looking over<br />his shoulder. The other guys<br />turn off their sanders. Al<br />and my mother move through<br />the dust, two kids back<br />together after the war. Sinatra<br />holds his last note. "It's been<br />seven years since I danced,"<br />my mother says. "Then<br />it was in the kitchen, too."<br />Al smiles again, says,<br />"C'mon then, Sweetheart!"<br />biting off his words like the ends<br />of the good cigars he carries<br />in his pocket. Sinatra's singing<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">My Funny Valentine</span>, and<br />my mother lays her hand in Al's.<br />They dance again, she looking<br />away when she catches my eye,<br />Al leading her back<br />across the layers of dust.<br /><br />© Jack R. Ridl 2001Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-1158454569762069112006-09-16T19:55:00.000-05:002006-09-16T19:59:40.776-05:00Against ElegiesIm tired of Death's allure,<br />of how the old beggar<br />makes me think that<br />rowing across the river is<br />somehow richer, more serious, than<br />the center of a pomegranate or my<br />dog's way of sleeping on his paws.<br />Im tired of the beauty of the elegy,<br />the tone deaf lyricism of it all. I<br />want Death to listen for awhile<br />to Bud Powell or Art Blakey,<br />to have to stare for seven hours<br />at Matisse. I want him to do<br />standup and play the banjo, to<br />have to tap-dance and juggle, to<br />play Trivial Pursuit and weed<br />my garden. Im tired of how Death<br />throws his voice, gets us<br />to judge a begonia, a song<br />in the shower, a voice, old dog.<br />I want life's ragged way<br />of getting along, the wasted<br />afternoon and empty morning, the<br />sloppy kiss. I want to stagger<br />along between innings. I want<br />the burnt toast, the forgotten note,<br />and the lost pillow case, the dime<br />novel, and the Silly Putty of it all.<br /><br />© Jack R. Ridl 1995Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-1158447539330720182006-09-16T17:53:00.000-05:002007-06-04T10:40:35.242-05:00Upcoming ReadingsJune 12-16, 2007, <span style="font-weight: bold;">REGISTER EARLY</span> (this retreat fills fast) <a href="http://www.interlochen.org/college/creative_writing_4/writers_institute">Interlochen Center for the Arts Writers Institute</a>, week-long writer's retreat. Jack will lead the Poetry section. Follow the link to the Interlochen site for registration information.<br /><br />June 24-30, 2007, poetry workshop, <a href="http://www.ox-bow.org/">Ox-Bow School of Art</a>.<br /><br />July 30 - August 3, Hope College Summer Seminar, "Creative Writing -- What's to Fear? -- Writing Poems", class meets daily 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Contact the <a href="http://www.hope.edu/admin/registrar/Contact.html">registrar's office</a> to save your seat.<br /><br />August 5, <a href="http://www.fennvalley.com/">Fenn Valley Vinyards</a>, poetry reading with Jackie Bartley, 2:30pmJuliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-1158434266215854472006-09-16T14:17:00.000-05:002007-01-17T10:54:13.430-05:00Keeping OnBut of course he couldn’t decide.<br /> One thing always led to another.<br /> Like the way the lady drove down the street.<br /> No, more like the way the dog. . .<br /> Well, whatever it was, it was<br /> not nearly as traumatic as the way<br /> the man two blocks over . . .<br /> or was it yesterday’s mail? He was<br /> lost, or so it seemed, until he learned<br /> to plant onions amid the hollyhocks<br /> and realized that sticking spoons<br /> in one part of the garden attracted moonlight<br /> long after the flowers had faded. And so,<br /> he bought a hundred more spoons and<br /> arranged them throughout the flowers.<br /> He watered them. And watched them<br /> stay the same. And let them<br /> take the moonlight. One day he realized<br /> he’d forgotten about the lady<br /> and the way the dog and the man two blocks<br /> over and the mail, and found himself<br /> smiling, sprinkling the spoons.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />© Jack R. Ridl 1990Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-1158434239742948612006-09-16T14:16:00.000-05:002006-09-16T18:16:42.946-05:00My Brother, A Starfor my mother and my father<br /><br /> My mother was pregnant through the first<br /> nine games of the season. We were 7-2.<br /> I waited for a brother. My father<br /> kept to the hard schedule. Waking<br /> the morning of the tenth game, I thought<br /> of skipping school and shooting hoops.<br /> My cornflakes were ready, soggy. There<br /> was a note: “The baby may come today.<br /> Get your hair cut.” We were into January,<br /> and the long December snow had turned<br /> to slush. The wind was mean. My father<br /> was gone. I looked in on my mother still<br /> asleep and hoped she’d be OK.<br /> I watched her, dreamed her dream: John<br /> at forward, me at guard. He’d<br /> learn fast. At noon, my father<br /> picked me up at the playground. My team<br /> was ahead by six.<br /> We drove toward the gym.<br /> “Mom’s OK,” he said and tapped his fist<br /> against my leg. The Plymouth ship that rode<br /> the hood pulled us down the street.<br /> “The baby died,” he said. I felt my feet press hard<br /> against the floorboard. I put my elbow on the door handle,<br /> my head on my hand, and watched the town:<br /> Kenner’s Five and Ten, Walker’s Hardware,<br /> Jarret’s Bakery, Shaffer’s Barber Shop, the bank.<br /> Dick Green and Carl Stacey waved. “It was<br /> a boy.”<br /><br /> We drove back to school. “You gonna<br /> coach tonight?” “Yes.” “Mom’s OK?”<br /> “Yes. She’s fine. Sad. But fine. She said<br /> for you to grab a sandwich after school. I'll see you<br /> at the game. Don't forget about your hair.” I<br /> got out, walked in late to class.<br /> “We’re doing geography,” Mrs. Wilson said. “Page<br /> ninety-seven. The prairie.”<br /><br /> That night in bed<br /> I watched this kid firing in jump shots<br /> from everywhere on the court. He’d cut left,<br /> I’d feed him a fine pass, he’d hit.<br /> I’d dribble down the side, spot him in the corner, thread<br /> the ball through a crowd to his soft hands, and he’d<br /> loft a star up into the lights where it would pause<br /> then gently drop, fall through the cheers and through the net.<br /> The game never ended. I fell into sleep. My hair<br /> was short. We were 8 and 2.<br /><br /><br />© Jack R. Ridl 1985Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237776.post-1158433319016690382006-09-16T13:52:00.000-05:002007-01-21T20:22:45.996-05:00About Jack<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/969/135/1600/jack_ridl.0.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/969/135/320/jack_ridl.0.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />jack@ridl.com<br /><br />Jack Ridl's new collection, <span style="font-style:italic;">Broken Symmetry</span>, was published in 2006 by Wayne State University Press. He is the author of two other full-length collections, and three chapbooks, including <span style="font-style:italic;">Outside the Center Ring</span> from Puddinghouse Publications, a collection of circus poems published in 2006, and <span style="font-style:italic;">Against Elegies</span>, which was selected for the 2001 Chapbook Award from The Center for Book Arts in New York.<br /><br />Ridl, who has taught at Hope College for 36 years and who with his wife, Julie, founded the college's Visiting Writers Series, is co-author with Peter Schakel of <span style="font-style:italic;">Approaching Poetry: Perspectives and Responses</span>, Bedford/St. Martin's Press, and co-editor, with Peter Schakel, of both <span style="font-style:italic;">250 Poems</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Literature: A Portable Anthology</span>, also from Beford/St. Martin's. Their <span style="font-style:italic;">Approaching Literature in the 21st Century</span> was published by Bedford/St.Martin's in 2005.<br /><br />Ridl has published over 300 poems in more than sixty literary magazines including Poetry East, Harpur Palate, The Georgia Review, FIELD, Poetry, Ploughshares, Prairie Schooner, Gulf Coast, The Denver Quarterly, Chelsea, Free Lunch, The Journal, Runes, Water-Stone and elsewhere. <br /><br />In 1996, The Carnegie Foundation named Ridl "Michigan Professor of the Year." He was chosen by the Hope College students for the "HOPE Award" given to "Hope's Outstanding Professor Educator," was selected the student body's "Favorite Professor" in 2003, and has twice been asked by the students to give the college's commencement address.<br /><br />In the past 15 years, more than 40 of Ridl's former students have gone on<br />to MFA programs and to publishing their work nationally.<br /><br />Ridl grew up in both the world of basketball where his father was a well-known head coach at Westminster College and the University of Pittsburgh, and in the world of the circus inherited from his mother's family.<br /><br />Of his poems, Naomi Shihab Nye has written, "Jack Ridl writes with complete generosity and full-hearted wisdom and care. His deeply intelligent, funny, and gracious poems befriend a reader so completely and warmly, we might all have the revelation that our lives are rich poems too. What a gift!"<br /><br />Former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins wrote: "<span style="font-style:italic;">Against Elegies</span> arises from a sense of curiosity about life in both its plain and puzzling aspects. These poems feel their way forward and are attentive enough to the reader to make us feel included--happy accomplices to his search."<br /><br />Richard Jones wrote, "A sweet intelligence and compassionate eye are the hallmark of these wise poems--just the sort of art we need in these dark and unenlightened times."<br /><br />And Conrad Hilberry has written "one group of poems is unmatched, I believe, anywhere in American poetry. I mean the sports poems. These bring to the world of midwestern high school basketball the sort of authority, the sure nuance and detail, that the movie Bull Durham brings to minor league baseball. They are so compelling, so varied, so familiar to anyone who knows high school and sports that they may well introduce a new genre."<br /><br />Ridl's speaking calendar and publications list and ordering information are kept up-to-date at www.ridl.com.<br /><br />Ridl lives along a creek that winds into Lake Michigan with his wife, Julie, two dogs and two cats.Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097214118459241085noreply@blogger.com0