Helen
Bar-Lev, IL
The Annual
June Workshop
On Thursday, 24
June, the annual June workshop was held in Haifa, in the
home of Wendy and David Blumfield, with a beautiful view of
Haifa Bay. There were 15 people attending (although 23 had
registered!), but this was perfect. Presenters and their
topics as follows:
Iris Dan from Haifa : "What's in a purse?" Based on Ruth
Fainlight's "My Mother's Purse".
Gerard Sarnat, visiting from the U.S. His exercise focused
on homelessness ranging from the literal to the metaphysical
(we are all born and die alone).
Andrea Moriah from Har Adar, near Jerusalem : Stand-up
Comedy and Poetry.
Michael Dickel from Jerusalem: Imagery, words, and the
sestina.
Dina Yehuda from Moshav Mitzpe Netofa in the Galilee : "
Mutability " (Kohelet, Rabbi Yohanan and the Romantic
Poets...).
The workshop was
wonderful. You knew I was going to say that, but it truly
was. During the 15-20
minutes allotted to writing poems after each presentation,
the most amazing poems were composed. Johnmichael will
compile a chapbook of some of the poems written in the
workshop. It should be ready within the month.
For lunch, every
participant brought home-made food, which was delicious.
Wendy served drinks and cake. Because there were not all
that many people, lunch was relaxed and each of us were able
to read the poems we had written after the exercises (last
year each poet read his poem only every other exercise
because there were so many). The workshop began at 10 a.m.
and was finished at 3 p.m. I must admit that I did not even
attempt the sestina!
Here are a couple of poems written during the workshop:
Dina Yehuda, in response to Iris Dan’s presentation: “What’s
in a purse”. Unfortunately Dina’s purse was indeed stolen
yesterday.
Pocketbook
We
were broken into yesterday
they took my bag right off the table
stole the cash and flung the rest
into the dirt of the back yard
where later I found scraps of my life
scattered and exposed:
receipts of my transgressions
at the Mega and the Big,
my daughter’s report cards,
office keys and contact lenses
and other symbols of the success
of women’s lib
which women carry around today.
I picked up the pieces
threw things out,
bought a new bag.
Andrea Moriah,
exercise for the presentation HOMELESSNESS by Gerard Sarnat
Jew
Standing
together at the foot of the mountain.
We heard the word.
We entered the Land with it on our banners.
Then left it behind.
Sobbing into dampened river banks;
heads bowed;
our arms encircle our muddy knees
in such horrendous sorrow.
Where's my sweet home, Alhambra ?
Your shtetl trampled in slush and ashes?
Stickers on our trunks
name the places where we've been
or arrived
on trains pulling into barbed stations.
I've forgotten what He told us.
Everything went up in smoke.
Remember?
That's OK,
I have a copy of the Book.
I've got a shofar.
I'll call you
when we Land.
Another bit of
exciting news is that Johnmichael Simon and I will be giving
a poetry reading on 12 July in Jerusalem
at the
T’mol Shilshom bookstore/coffee shop. This appears in
our Cyclamens and Swords newsletter, reproduced here.
Note please that
our annual contest is now open to submissions. Please read
guidelines.
We have published a book for Michael E. Stone, Professor
Emeritus of Jewish Literature and also of Armenian Studies (
Hebrew University , Jerusalem ).
To purchase this book,
please go to
the bookshop on Cyclamens and Swords
website.
Here is a poem from his
book, Michael E. Stone, Selected Poems:
Prayer
How
does an unbeliever pray?
Yet I do.
Some know God
In halogen-bright blinding white light
With black, black shadows.
But I see grey.
‘Glory to God for dappled things’,
For unclarities ambiguities complexities all,
For greys.
He will be one with His name:
God’s wholeness then.
But ours?
I wish you a
wonderful, peaceful summer, for those of us in the Northern
Hemisphere, and a mild (and peaceful) winter, for those in
the opposite direction.
Helen
Helen Bar-Lev, artist, poet
www.helenbarlev.com
Senior Editor,
Cyclamens and Swords Publishing
www.cyclamensandswords.com
Contributing editor,
SKETCHBOOK, A Journal for Eastern and Western Short Forms
http://poetrywriting.org/
International Senior Poet Laureate, 2009
Amy Kitchener Foundation
