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Month: May 2022

The Bottom of the Top #18

2022-05-022022-05-02 John Winkelman

The core sample of stacked years which aligns with the 18th week of top-40 hits brings an interesting mix of hits.

1977: Alan O’Day, “Undercover Angel”

I have heard this song before, many times, though I don’t know if I was aware of it in early May 1977. I would have been seven, living in Jackson, and just finishing up second grade at Parnell Elementary school. Do I remember anything of Parnell Elementary? Faint shadows of learning left from right, and playing on huge piles of snow. King of the hill. The playground equipment of the 70s which would possibly be a violation of the Geneva Convention were it in use today. So though Undercover Angel is one of those songs that everyone of a Certain Age has heard, I couldn’t say that I heard it when it was on the charts.

1982: Genesis, “Man on the Corner”

In 1982 I was just finishing up seventh grade at Springport Junior High and hating every second of it. That doesn’t make 1982 special in any way; I hated all nine years I spent in the Springport school system, and though there were several bright spots, making the best of a bad situation is not at all the same as being in a good situation. So “Man on the Corner” is a good pick for a theme song for my adolescent years.

1987: Smokey Robinson, “Just to See Her”

Ahh, Smokey Robinson. I do remember this song, though I have not heard it in a long, long time. This would have been a month before I graduated from high school, and I was seventeen and carrying at least two torches for unwise and unrequited loves. I spent most of my junior and senior years listening to oldies, which in 1985 – 1987 meant songs from the fifties and sixties. So I may not have heard this song until after I left for college.

1992: Ozzy Ozbourne, “Mamma I’m Coming Home”

Ozzy again, with a repeat from earlier in the year. This is a really good ballad. I would have been listening to it as I drove to work at the terrible moving company where I worked for a few months, or possibly as I was walking the mile from the off-campus apartments to the student cafeteria where I worked a few hours a week for minimum wage and a free meal per shift which, considering minimum wage was around $3.50/hour, was a good deal.

1997: Kenny Lattimore, “For You”

I don’t remember hearing this song before putting this list together, but I have certainly heard of Lattimore in years past. I would have been working at the bookstore, special-ordering books by the truckload to make up for the gaps in the store inventory, and dating co-workers, as one does when working retail. I would have been growing restless with my living situation and looking for a new apartment, I believe. This is a beautiful song, and definitely would not have been my style back in my mid-twenties.

Posted in MusicTagged Bottom of the Top, nostalgia comment on The Bottom of the Top #18

May, Suddenly and At Last

2022-05-012022-05-02 John Winkelman

New Books for the Week of April 24, 2022

This morning I opened my eyes and April was in the rear-view mirror. It was a good month, I suppose, thought the unseasonably cold weather kept me from feeling like I was experiencing spring, as such. It was nice to see the trees and shrubs slowly producing buds and blossoms and leaves in stop-motion during my walks to and from the office.

Three new book arrived in the past week.

First up is Patina by local poet Anna Renee, who I met at the Poetry and Pie monthly open mic night at The Sparrows cafe. Anna is one of the organizers of the event, and I am SO VERY HAPPY that poetry readings and open mics have returned to Grand Rapids. Poetry and Pie happens on the last Tuesday of every month, which means the next one is May 31, and I will do my very best to have a couple of poems ready to offer the audience. It’s been years.

Next is The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae. I heard about this one back in January, while attending the book recommendation panel at ConFusion. It has finally been released. so I grabbed a copy.

And on the right is The Antonio Gramsci Reader. I have been meaning to dive into Gramsci for a few years, so this is somewhat overdue.

I picked up the Monae and Gramsci from Books and Mortar on April 30, which was Independent Bookstore Day. As part of their festivities they had local poet Elle Warren writing poems in the moment, based on suggested prompts. I said “empathy” and ten minutes later, I had a beautiful poem.

In reading news, I read five issues of Poetry in the past week, which brought me to a total of 17 for the month, and am now caught up to March 2020. I think I will continue to read all the back issues on my shelves until I am caught up to present. Reading poetry at this pace keeps my mind in a good space and makes writing my own poetry easier.

I also read Patina (mentioned above), which was beautiful and heartbreaking and inspiring.

In writing news, I kept up the pace of a poem a day for the entire month of April, which felt fantastic! Just like April of last year, I focused on this one writing project from beginning to end, and came out of it inspired to continue the practice, though last year I ran head-long into several extremely stressful months and just didn’t have the energy to put to creative pursuits.

But now I have 30 new poems to edit, and this upcoming week is the first full week of the month, which means it is an editing week, so my goal is to get all 30 poems typed up and ready for review and triage. And that means that life is good.

Posted in Literary MattersTagged poetry, reading, writing comment on May, Suddenly and At Last

April 2022 Reading List

2022-05-012022-04-29 John Winkelman

What I Read in April of 2022

For National Poetry Month this year, I decided to work my way through my pile of unread issues of Poetry Magazine. It was quite an experience. Last time I read this much poetry, in this much variety, was in the heyday of The 3288 Review when we were getting over a hundred submissions a month, each with as many as ten poems.

Though sidelined for a few days by a touch of the flu, as well as some crazy work hours, I did manage to complete seventeen issues of Poetry, two poetry books by local writers, and the latest issue of Peninsula Poets.

The density of reading has put my mind in a very good space and I may continue this habit well into May in order to get caught up to present.

Books and Journals

  1. Poetry Magazine #209.2 (November 2016) [2022.04.01]
  2. Poetry Magazine #210.1 (April 2017) [2022.04.04]
  3. Poetry Magazine #213.1 (October 2018) [2022.04.05]
  4. Poetry Magazine #213.3 (December 2018) [2022.04.06]
  5. Poetry Magazine #213.6 (March 2019) [2022.04.07]
  6. Poetry Magazine #214.1 (April 2019) [2022.04.07]
  7. Poetry Magazine #213.4 (January 2019) [2022.04.08]
  8. Poetry Magazine #213.5 (February 2019) [2022.04.11]
  9. Poetry Magazine #214.2 (May 2019) [2022.04.12]
  10. Poetry Magazine #214.3 (June 2019) [2022.04.14]
  11. Poetry Magazine #214.4 (July/August 2019) [2022.04.17]
  12. Alles, Colleen, After the 8-Ball [2022.04.18]
  13. Poetry Magazine #214.5 (September 2019) [2022.04.19]
  14. Poetry Magazine #215.1 (October 2019) [2022.04.20]
  15. Poetry Magazine #215.2 (November 2019) [2022.04.24]
  16. Poetry Magazine #215.3 (December 2019) [2022.04.26]
  17. Poetry Magazine #215.4 (January 2020) [2022.04.27]
  18. Poetry Magazine #215.5 (February 2020) [2022.04.28]
  19. Renee, Anna, Patina [2022.04.29]
  20. Peninsula Poets #79.1 (Spring 2022) [2022.04.30]
Posted in Book ListTagged poetry comment on April 2022 Reading List

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