June 13, 2011
Poet Len Cervantes
Making art is a difficult practice, but one can make things of beauty with scanty resources and little knowledge. It is one of the few experiences we can have in which there are no right answers and there is always room for improvement.
Good artists learn humility, not to take criticism personally and that failure is simply fuel for further experimentation and practice.
Art teaches us about people unlike ourselves: other times, cultures, ideologies. We learn to see and hear and think differently and we gain valuable perspective on our own culture and beliefs.
Art is pleasurably engrossing.
Art mystifies and attracts us because it deals in ideas and thoughts of the highest and most abstract order. Thus, it is one of the most valuable and lasting of human endeavors; we still feast upon art made centuries ago.
The ability to make and appreciate art adds depth to social, political, family and spiritual life.
Serious artists ask difficult questions and don’t accept easy answers. They take nothing for granted and they accept that nobody has the final word. They seek to communicate, but understand that all communication is imperfect and can be misunderstood. They maintain critical standards without being dogmatic or doctrinaire. They are open to new ideas. They are not afraid to take risks, nor of being unpopular. They are truthful.
A good artist is a good citizen.
photo from the Torontist website
July 3, 2010
This poem is from Charles Bernstein’s book
Girly Man. I don’t think anything else needs to be said except hooray Charles Bernstein. You can find your own way to Dana Gioia’s home page.
Thank You for Saying Thank You
This is a totally
accessible poem.
There is nothing
in this poem
that is in any
way difficult
to understand.
All the words
are simple &
to the point.
There are no new
concepts, no
theories, no
ideas to confuse
you. This poem
has no intellectual
pretensions. It is
purely emotional.
It fully expresses
the feelings of the
author: my feelings,
the person speaking
to you now.
It is all about
communication.
Heart to heart.
This poem appreciates
& values you as
a reader. It
celebrates the
triumph of the
human imagination
amidst pitfalls &
calamities. This poem
has 90 lines,
269 words, and
more syllables than
I have time to
count. Each line,
word, & syllable
have been chosen
to convey only the
intended meaning
& nothing more.
This poem abjures
obscurity & enigma.
There is nothing
hidden. A hundred
readers would each
read the poem
in an identical
manner & derive
the same message
from it. This
poem, like all
good poems, tells
a story in a direct
style that never
leaves the reader
guessing. While
at times expressing
bitterness, anger,
resentment, xenophobia,
& hints of racism, its
ultimate mood is
affirmative. It finds
joy even in
those spiteful moments
of life that
it shares with
you. This poem
represents the hope
for a poetry
that doesn’t turn
its back on
the audience, that
doesn’t think it’s
better than the reader,
that is committed
to poetry as a
popular form, like kite
flying and fly
fishing. This poem
belongs to no
school, has no
dogma. It follows
no fashion. It
says just what
it says. It’s
real.
–Charles Bernstein
