i recommend listening to the song while reading the poem as i was listening to it as i wrote. i don’t know much about Eminem’s work, but my muse led me to this song and i feel it fits in perfectly with the feeling of my poem and ~ maybe ~ relates to how a graffiti artist feels at times, i don’t know.
through the features at OSP and with the encouragement of all of the poets behind One Stop Poetry, i have reached the point where i feel that i can actually call myself a poet. {sorta}
to each and every one of them ~ thank you!
it is with great sadness that i learned One Stop Poetry will be no more as of 19 July 2011. to say that the site will be missed by the online poetry community is so much more than just an “understatement” ~ OSP has become an integral part of this corner of the internet. {THE ARCHIVES ARE STILL OPEN!}to my knowledge, none of these amazing poets is going to stop blogging. {thank goodness!} i encourage you to continue to visit their sites, as well as the other poets you’ve met through OSP. this isn’t much, but i would like to pay tribute to these remarkable people by featuring them in this post. i have listed them in the same order as on their “about” page at One Stop Poetryand started off with their bio’s from OSP along with a few words from me ~
Pete Marshall, Brian Miller, Leslie Moon, Adam Dustus, Claudia Schöenfeld, Chris Galford and Gay Cannon
Pete Marshall is a UK based poet from near London. His blog is Pete Marshall. He is probably best known for his often dark & hypnotic verses featured in the Darkened Tales Series. He also has written theMy Struggle With Unemployment Series which is due to be released later this year. Pete’s poetry is at times intense but often descriptive, “A good poem makes you think, puts you in touch with your inner self, can remove you from that moment and place you in a new domain. A good poem inspires!”
Twitter: @petemarshall1
Pete was instrumental in the transfer from the old site to onestoppoetry.com which had to have been a huge amount of work. he was the Featured Poet recently at the online paper The River. the imagery in Pete’s poetry leaves me breathless. in his own words ~
“What can i say? Well I’m a happily married, father of three, who was born and raised in Essex and lives on the Thames Estuary. I was made unemployed a while back but since being out of work I have been on a journey that has firstly seen me take up the pen and begin writing, and secondly, co-found One Stop Poetry. Poetry is all consuming. I love being able to take a theme and create something that leaves the reader in a place that has stirred them.”
No one seemed to smile today upon their face a weary frown with troubled eyes and heavy hearts and souls that wandered through the town. The rain had spat across my brow and chills would mar my aching bones inside I sat in warmth and prayed but still no smiles were ever shown.
Brian Miller hails from the East Coast of America. His blog is waystationone. He is a writer, poet, father, husband, counselor, key lime pie eater, friend, side street walker, who doesn’t mind mucking and getting his hands dirty or standing in a cherry blossom rain. “Everyone has a story and everything a poem, once you look at it long enough.” He doesn’t take himself seriously (especially when talking in first person) but has been published. Oh and in case you have not heard, love wins.
Twitter: @bmiller007
what can i say about Brian? a brilliant writer with an edge. his wordcraft is truly phenomenal. you never know where he’s going to take you but wherever it is, it’ll be well worth the trip. he’s a really nice guy and i am very appreciative of his consistent support of my writing. in his own words ~
“Married to the most amazing woman and dad of two adventurous boys. I am figuring out what life has in store next.”
She said “Time is irrelevant, it’s not linear” Then she put her tongue in my ear
Which let’s face, is pretty gross, unless
done with finesse, the lobe, rim or down
the tender lines of the neck, perhaps just
with the tip, mmmm…, but a full on
plumb dive inside without determining
the last time a Q-tip nipped the crust and
then try to go in for a kiss—
Leslie Moon aka moondustwriter, is from the West Coast. Her blog is Moondustwriter’s Blog. Presently she writes scripts for radio and recently published a children’s book based on stories she told her children and is in the process of publishing a series of special needs children’s stories. She is a published poet and hosts several writing blogs. Leslie is an advocate for the special needs community and is on the Board of Directors for a non-profit group established to help children and families with special needs. Poetry is where she relaxes: “Poetry is like painting. Some poems use broad brush strokes and other poems use fine wisps of colour. My poetry is where you will see the real me.”
i first met moonie on twitter. a stunning poet, she can do something that few others can, certainly not as well as she. i have had the amazing experience of watching live as she “duets” with another poet on twitter. if you are not familiar with this concept, one person tweets a poem of 140 characters or less and then another person “answers” with a poem. i spent over an hour watching Leslie and Sean Vessey {@Seanotd } forming an intricate duet in the twitter stream. you can click HERE to see that duet (posted later to OSP by moonie.) i always smile when reading one of her comments on my blog because she says such nice things. coming from a writer of her caliber, it means a lot. oh, and she’s an amazing artist. in her own words ~
“Writing is one of my passions. I am a published author and poet. I am also one of the “founders” of the award winning One Stop Poetry. In the near future, I hope to get one of my novels published as well as a series written for special needs children. If you are a writer, poet, artist, I would love to meet you and see the world through your eyes.”
Adam Dustus is an American author of fiction and poetry. His first novel entitled High School Asylum, and his first poetic publication, In & Out Of Line, were published simultaneously at the beginning of 2009. As a blogger, Adam’s been posting on The Dustus Blog since November 2008, sharing everything from poetry and flash fiction; to his photography and recent High Dynamic Range (HDR) images.
Twitter: @Dustus
Adam is a published writer whose poetry is always striking, no matter the form. i owe a special thank you to Adam ~ it was through his comments on our mutual friend, Shân’s, blog {Musings and Smatterings} that i discovered Adam, his blog and One Stop Poetry. my deepest gratitude to you, Adam. i’m thrilled when he comments on my blog because he often sees things in my poetry that i’m not conscious of and that has taught me much about my writing. in his own words ~
Claudia Schöenfeld lives in Germany, works in Switzerland and buys cheese and fish in France – very normal for someone living so close to the border triangle. Her blog is jaywalking the moon. She’s married for more than half her life and has three teenage kids. She loves to bike and get wet with warm summer rain – and she loves improvising on her Alto Sax. Claudia discovered writing poetry in 2010 and since then she has been on a Poetry adventure trail she hopes will never stop unfolding.
Twitter: @cmschoenfeld
i was introduced to Claudia and her poetry through One Stop Poetry. no matter the subject or the form, Claudia’s writing is filled with passion and vivid imagery. i don’t know how many languages she speaks, but she never gives a hint in her poetry that her native language isn’t English. oh, and for a real treat, listen to one {or several} of her audio recordings of her poetry. if i was a man, i’d be her slave. she has been incredibly encouraging of my writing for which i am very grateful. in her own words ~
“i’m blazing words & drinking poetry. join in & we may get a prose fire burning, set the town on fire & syllable-dance in a snowflake covered yard.”
Chris Galford is a writer, poet and photographer from the American MidWest. He has a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Michigan State University. Online, he operates two blogs: The Waking Den, which features poetry, fiction & photography; and The Shut-In, showcasing movie and videogame reviews. He is presently working to publish his first novel, titled The Hollow March, and currently works as a journalist and freelance photographer.
Twitter: @Aurinth
Chris is an amazing photographer as well as poet. you can find his photography HERE. i just saw both his poetry and photographs in the online paper The River. all of his poetry is superb, but my favorite are his haiku ~ Chris is a true master of the form. he has been very kind to me in his insightful comments at my blog and i hope he knows how much i’ve appreciated it. in his own words ~
“I am a graduate of Michigan State University (Go Spartans!), now fresh out of college with a BA in Journalism. To keep myself busy throughout college, I used to work as the Photography Editor and a Reporter for Spartanedge.com, as well as a Photographer for EJ Magazine. In the past, I’ve worked as an intern for the Lansing City Pulse, an alternative newspaper largely catering to the arts and entertainment scene, and a paper for which I still freelance today. But I have been writing since I was little, and my greatest pleasure in life would be to spend my years as an author and a poet, creativity my only guide and only boundary. In the meantime, writing is my escape, and my blog, the host for my work.”
Gay Cannon lives in Texas between two houses in Port Aransas and Arlington (near Dallas). She’s written poetry on and off since her teens. Published in small magazines, journals and online; she has two blogs: Beachanny By The Sea with current works of poetry; and Beachanny’s Texas with prose/poems written about or inspired by living in the state. A mother of 3 grown children and grandmother to eleven, she’s employed and working from a home laptop. She has a degree in Education & English Literature (emphasis: poetry).
Twitter: @beachanny
Gay has been responsible for the marvelous Form Monday at One Stop Poetry, both in providing information on poetry forms herself and bringing in others to explain and educate about various forms. it’s really difficult for me to select just one feature at OSP as my favorite, but if forced i think Form Monday would be it. one thing i’ve been truly grateful for is when Gay lets me know in her comment if there is something i could improve upon. it’s rare for someone to be that honest, even if it is helpful, and it takes time and attention to critique someone’s work. not to say that Gay has not left me comments which really were too kind. her poetry is certainly not limited to just one or two forms and she always takes the reader into the vision portrayed by her words. be sure to visit both of her blogs. in her own words ~
As Adam Dustus once said “One Stop Poetry is about finding you, your voice, your style…” both the site and the individual poets there have helped me along my poetic journey to find my voice.
i can never repay each of you for the difference you have made in my writing and how i view myself as a poet. all i can offer is “thank you” ♥ i wish each of you the best in your future endeavors.
¤
you can still visit One Stop Poetry HERE and i strongly recommend that you do. they have generously left the archives open to the public. {even a small donation to help pay the site fees would be appreciated, i’m sure.}
One Shoot Sunday at One Stop Poetry. go check out some of the other entries or submit one yourself. take some time to look around the site if you’ve never been there ~ it is FABulous! this is the final One Shoot Sunday. i want to thank everyone responsible for One Stop Poetry and wish them luck in the future ~ Pete Marshall, Brian Miller, Leslie Moon, Adam Dustus, Claudia Schöenfeld, Chris Galford and Gay Cannon. you all accomplished something magical at One Stop Poetry and its legacy will live on in the poetry community it helped to form.
this is my submission to the Monkey Man for the Sunday 160 {you will see there are exactly 160 characters if you count every letter, space and punctuation mark ~ before i cut it into pieces, i counted.}
