Cascadia Poetics LAB
Poetry Postcard Fest
Watershed Press
Cascadian Prophets Podcast
Cascadia Poetry Festival 8

1st Thought, Best Thought and other Interview Gems

February 24, 2013
Ryukan
Anne Waldman

Anne Waldman

How does one communicate the essence of three decades of conducting interviews? I have had to do that, and quick, as a grant deadline is approaching and I save the worst of the grant writing process for last. I decided on a medley of some of the moments in those last 30 years that have had a huge influence on me, demonstrated some of the breadth and depth of the content of my interviews and were close by, so I did not have to orlistat india do much digging. Here are Soundcloud widgets of the medley and some of the associated parts, so one can see the context of some of the excerpts. As these interviews were all conducted between 1994 and 2011, you can get a sense, I think, of the prophetic nature of their subjects. Thom Hartmann, for instance, was a good five years ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, which reaffirmed the notion of corporate personhood. Anne Waldman (with her poem Dark O’ Night) was about 13 years ahead of the legalization of same sex marriage in Washington, so it’s good to see that poets practicing Open Form or the Practice of Outside are tapping into something beyond themselves as Eileen Myles explains in her clip below. & what use is philosophy if it does not lead to action? The interviews these segments came from all had a huge influence on me. As always, your feedback is appreciated.

2 Comments

  1. Carol Blackbird Edson

    Paul- What a joyful collection of interview gems!
    Surely there are glorious poems waiting ahead of us down the street 😉
    BBird

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

dashed cool colors line

You May Also Like

Cascadia Poetics Lab in Cumberland

Cascadia Poetics Lab in Cumberland

Cascadia Poetics Lab in Cumberland On August 22-24, 2025, Cascadia Poetics Lab's sister organization Rain Shadow Poetics Lab is hosting Language and the Land, a multi-day poetry festival in Cumberland, B.C.! Rainshadow Poetics Lab is our Canadian connection...

PPF Donor Workshop June 11

PPF Donor Workshop June 11

PPF Workshop for Donors! Postcard season is coming up soon! As a thank you to our dedicated postcard poets and generous donors, we are hosting an online workshop for supporters of the Poetry Postcard Fest that donate $10 or more with their PPF registration. In this...

June 8 4-7 Postcards from Mapes Creek

June 8 4-7 Postcards from Mapes Creek

Postcards from Mapes Creek on June 8! Join us on June 8, 2025 from 4-7 PM at Mapes Creek for a community poetry postcard gathering! At the mouth of Mapes Creek, we will gather with a postcard collage table, food and an open mic for reading postcard poems. This is a...