Sunday Poetic Reflection Week 37: on Eric Bubba Alder

 

"If my poetry aims to achieve anything,

it's to deliver people from the limited ways in which they see and feel."

~Jim Morrison

Hello Jingle Poetry @ Olive Garden girls and boys,

welcome to another Weekend Poetic Reflection .

I am Blaga and today I would like to meet you with Eric Alder.

Enjoy!

 

 Bubba's Photo

Who is Eric Alder?

I’m a 46 year old life-long Michigander.  I’ve been married over 16 years and we have one son.  I’m not a blogger in the 'daily diary' sense.  I post photographs, poetry, prose, short stories, opinion pieces and whatever else pops into my head.

 Tell me about your blog(s), about the name and what it means to you? When did you start blogging?

I started my first blog in November 2007.  It was a Windows Live Space, which has since been migrated to WordPress.  I started posting on Blogger in May 2010.

I called my blog Bubba’s Place 

(http://thisisbubbasplace.blogspot.com/)  because Bubba is a family nick-name of mine and I liked the twist there because I don’t think people expect poetry from someone nicknamed “Bubba”.

I called my photography blog Bifocal Univision (http://bifocalunivision.blogspot.com/) because I’d recently started wearing bifocals and wanted to juxtapose that with having a ‘singular’ vision.

Haiku Koo-Koo (http://haiku-koo-koo.blogspot.com/) is my collection of haiku-styled poetry.  It’s often non-traditional (i.e. not really haiku) and I usually incorporate my photography in them.

Your first poem, do you remember it? 

I haven’t a clue when I wrote my first poem.  It was probably back in grade school, and I have no doubt it was simple and rhymed.

 

Is there a style of writing you prefer? Do you write only poetry?

I seem to gravitate towards paired styles like quatrains and couplets, but I write plenty of prose.  And, of course, my various haiku-styled 5-7-5 pieces.

 

Favorite poem you've written?

One I was particularly pleased with was “Earth Mother’s Song”. I’ve received a lot of praise for that one.

Earth Mother’s Song 

I’ve seen a broad field awash in fog,
gray-blanketed like a misplaced pond.
That same field, one dark summer morn,
lay a-twinkle, festooned with bright fireflies.

I’ve seen a great horned owl appear,
alighting atop a tall pine, majestic and wise.
Resting briefly, then silently swooping down
to disappear into the dark woods.

I’ve seen a pine martin stealing along,
dipping between the fallen birch and cedar,
popping up unexpectedly in a new spot,
red eyes glowing in my flashlight beam.

I’ve heard a tom turkey’s questioning call,
seeking to uncover this brash imposter.
A slow, hidden funeral procession
bursting forth to claim their roost.

I’ve heard lake echoes of spring frogs peeping
seeking mates among the green reeds,
the surrounding din of a million crickets creeping
on a hot August night, throbbing with life.

I’ve heard thunder roll along for miles
'til a blinding white flash strobed silhouettes
of stark, stiletto tree shadows all around
and the deafening clap froze me in place.

I’ve smelled the sweet, pine-scented winds
that blow through the north woods, thick
with undertones of green moss carpets
and ferns inexplicably bright in the shade.

I’ve smelled the musty down of a grouse
that loudly took flight at my approach,
unseen through the yellow aspen boughs,
revealing this visitor clumsy in his ream.

I’ve smelled an oncoming storm
blowing in from the west,
deepening the sense of isolation,
submersion in a still-wild place.

As a child I learned Earth Mother’s song
and it still sings deep within my heart.
I learn a new verse each time I venture
into those places where she yet dwells.

  

Inspirations! Where do you find them and what makes you comfortable writing?

Most of my inspiration comes from nature.  Being an amateur photographer, I like to get outside and take pictures, especially in the fall. I’m also inspired by other bloggers.  There are a lot of very talented folks out there, some of whom I even have the privilege of chatting with on occasion.
 

Favorite books? Authors?

I have a hard time picking a favorite book because I like to many different kinds, and they’re not all cross-comparative.  My favorite genre is science fiction and a few of my favorite sci-fi authors are Roger Zelazny, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov.

I've read in one of your posts about the "Frost" poem style you created, will you share about it with the readers?

A “Frost” poem follows a simple five-line structure having three, seven, six, seven and eight syllables per line, respectively, following one of five possible rhyming schemes.

There is also a variation I call an “aFrostic” (a variation of “acrostic”) in which the poem follows the previous guidelines and also spells-out “F-R-O-S-T” with the first letters of each line.

(For greater detail, people can refer to my original post: http://thisisbubbasplace.blogspot.com/2011/02/new-poetry-form.html )

If poetry was a color, which one would that be?

Poetry comes in all colors - and in every shade from white to black.

 

If you could live in a book, which one would that be?

“Dandelion Wine” by Ray Bradbury.  Anyone who has read it will understand why, and those who haven’t should read it and find out why it’s one of my all-time favorite books.

Being part of Jingle community, what are the benefits?

Jingle is not only a wonderful advocate for poets and poetry, but her community brings together many talented writers from all over the world.  I’ve discovered some of my favorite bloggers through participating in the weekly Poetry Potluck.

Any advice for people who would like to write poetry?

Write, write, write!  Nothing improves a writer like writing.

Don’t get discouraged if you think your work isn’t good enough.  Just write down what you’re feeling, whatever that may be; when you write from the heart, people will respond to your words.

When you’re not feeling inspired, if your Muse seems to be on vacation, then just take a break!  Don’t pressure yourself to keep writing.  Writing should be enjoyable, not a chore, and you don’t want to practice bad habits.  Get outside, take a walk, go visit a friend.  Recharge your battery.  Forget about writing for awhile.  Soon you’ll find your inspiration returning!

~*~*~*~*~*~

That was all for today. 

Wishing you a lovely day with my favorite poem from Eric.

Image Credit: Eric Bubba Alder

You can find more of his amazing writing at  http://thisisbubbasplace.blogspot.com/

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Sculpture

I find clay, cold and gray
stiff and stubborn
reluctant to change
heavy and still, lifeless lump

I lift it up
bending and kneading
the clay resists, but I persist
in my visceral pleading

I fold and rub
and lean into it
it warms and softens
starts to give acquiesce

I work it thoroughly
earnestly
I put my back into it
vigorously

Arms and hands
pulling and pushing
the clay slowly gives in
to my demands

Manual pleading
insistent and urging
it conforms to my will
more easily now

I start to shape it
twist and form it
make the clay into
what I want and need

Smooth and contour
form and sway
graceful curves
the clay obeys

Soon the form is there
the shape I desire
to put to my use
to make it mine

Through trial of fire
it hardens and sets
sleek and smooth
in colorful glaze

I caress my creation
feel its purpose
sure and certain
solid and strong

My pride restrained
but not wholly shunned
for there is much good
in what has become

When I am gone
into my decay
this shall remain
what once was clay 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Stay tuned for next Weekend Poetic Reflection :)

 

Peace & Love 

  

Poetic Reflection Week 4-A. B. Thomas

Welcome to poetic reflection week 4...let's meet a fabulous blogger/poet/writer/cartoonist A. B. Thomas...He  has been an authentic fan to Jingle Poetry Community, and his poetry touches a wide range of topics, his cartoon creations are always funny and witty, he also writes short stories, his reflections on writing and blogging are very inspiring, honest, and beautiful.

Tell us about yourself.

If you were to ask my boys’ former principal and school board, my mother, and my mother-in-law I am the ultimate embodiment of all that’s evil in the world. Ask the company’s general manager, salesman, and most of the crew, I am the most arrogant know it all who happens to fluke out and be right 99% of the time. Ask most of the women I’ve dated they’d say that I must be the biggest camping enthusiast in the world because I am always trying to pitch a tent.  My friends would say that I’m a guy who really should be wearing pants more often.  Me,  I’d describe myself as just an ordinary cat cruising along life who just happens to like writing and doodling. 

Tell me about your blog, the name, what does it mean to you?

Mutter Fluka, other than sounding much like an iconic slur used in describing me in many situations (though if one were to factor in my age and the latest teen pregnancy figures I could away with putting “grand” in front as well) does have some meaning. FLUKA (Fluktuierende KAskade) is a software simulation meant to calculate mathematical probability and theoretical derivations of particles with an indeterminist algorithm, or in other words, a mathematical“yeah but if” based on a scientific formula to factor in chaos. Mutter is speaking in such a way that those around you cannot with 100% certainty identify the content, tone or context of those words. Put the two together and you have the concept that anything can make sense as long as you mutter it low enough that people, not being able to make out most of the syllables, will fill in the blanks based on their assumptions to reach the conclusion that I have to be making sense when the reality is that I’m the guy pantless on the corner arguing with a street light over who’s going to get out of the way.

When have you started blogging?

I started blogging back at the end of 2005 when I was working on the road a lot more than I do now, more as a cheaper method of rambling to a couple of friends rather than phone calls. Initially I did not consider it as a forum of creativity that folks who didn’t know me would have any interest in but I guess the idea of looking at the carnage of an accident has a broad appeal.

Your first poem? Remember?

My first poem – yikes, a nightmarish scenario. My first official poem would have been written when I was eleven, after the winter had ceded the ice rink to our swimming hole. A group of us had gone down to take a swim. There’s something magical about cold water and what it does to a person’s body, though negative on the male anatomy, a bonus for the female anatomy. The summer before she was naught but a flat prairie, but somehow the parka Debbie had worn over those cold months had fertilized her chest to blossom like the stink weed we walked through to get to the swimming hole. Debbie was far more sophisticated than the other girls, after all, her dad was a lawyer so I knew that the only way I was going to be doing any harvesting in her fields, I’d have to get quite classy, so to woo her, I wrote her a poem about how she made me feel. Unfortunately I had listened to my cousin, at the elderly age of sixteen was wise to the world, who told me that what women wanted from a man is to be flat out honest. So honest and descriptive I was. Debbie’s mom, who intercepted my luv prose, was not impressed, nor was her father, who rather than handling the situation in a sophisticated manner, impressed upon me that if anything that I written were to come to light, a certain part of my body would be tacked on the barn door for the cats to bat around.

What are your writing inspirations?

It would be much easier to name some things that don’t inspire me.  Awake or asleep, there’s something always unique in the experience that urges me to write out something. Heck, once when I was building a door I wrote the steps out in prose.

When did you start writing poetry? Do you write fiction as well?

I write all sorts of things, depending on my whim.  I have written articles for Subversify Magazine on the practice of bride burning in India, the lack of ethics within the local school board, the issue of horse meat, homelessness, but then have written short stories and knocked out a few “Dr. Phal” cartoons to boot.

Do you have a favorite author or poet?

Hands down, Lord Byron.

Favorite quote?

One night Bessie Braddock said to Sir Winston Churchill, “Sir, you are drunk.” Churchill replied, “Madam, you are ugly. In the morning, I shall be sober.”

It may sound like a cruel sort of quote to be comforted by but in a round-about way it shows the depth of Churchill or that I have had far too much time to over analyze a quip.  All my life I have never been content with anyone saying, “because that’s just the way it is” so “you just have to suck it up and go with it” – I will not let myself believe that there is anything in the world that is not dynamic in nature; change is necessary to grow. I take Mrs. Braddock as the “WE” or “THEY” of society and Churchill as the what could be.

Any advice to poets who wish to blog or write poetry?

Look at your blog like sex – if you’re doing it all for someone else then you are denying yourself the pleasure that it should bring. Don’t be afraid to experiment, find out what you like and if there are others who enjoy it, all the better, The space you use is your stage, the spot light is on you, bring out your best.

what's your plan for your future writing?

It’s hard to say at the moment, there are so many ideas floating around in my head that it’s hard to pick just one. Ideally I would love a publisher to say “here, we love your stuff so we’re going to throw this wad of cash at you”, but with a virtual mountain of rejection letters over the past couple of years, I know that is not going to happen.  It would be interesting to go the self publishing route but if I were to spend that kind of money, I would rather do it with my three boys doing something that we’d all enjoy – until the sugar rush they’d all be on for x amount of days finally crashed and for a week they’d go through withdrawals and I’d end up with some sort of hallucinogenic addiction to escape. The only reasonable course of action is to write when I can on what I want and be satisfied with that. 

Please feel free to read A. B. Thomas here: http://abthomas.wordpress.com/