[Newspoetry] DAY IN THE LIFE OF A NEWSPOET

[Paul Kotheimer]

DAY IN THE LIFE OF A NEWSPOET*

	*[Parts of this piece are in response to poems from 
	SENSE-RELATIONS-NEWS-LANGUAGE by WG, DC, and KMcD]

					--Paul Kotheimer
					(Associated Poets)
I.

Every day, make the insanest suggestion you can make become an assignment 
for a poem which in turn suggests an even-more-insane poetry assignment, 
which in turn suggests a poetry even more insane, and so on and so on and 
so on, ad Utopiae.

II.

First thing in the morning, inscribe a million words onto one square inch 
of pillowcase.
Next, starting from the bottom for best results, squeeze every word from 
the label of your toothpaste tube, until only a villanelle remains.

On your way to the office, hold onto all receipts, bus transfers, postage 
stamps, lottery tickets, and religious tracts passed out at street 
corners, as well as currency, scrip, gum wrappers, coupon booklets, and 
similar small tokens of material culture, for these are the tools of your 
trade;...

(In other words, think of every poem | ad | article | song as a writing 
assignment,
And ask yourself:  How much of others' impalpable work is already 
deployed on behalf of my seeming independence?  How much of the art I 
make is my sustenance--and vice versa?

Bearing in mind all the while that language, like the atoms of which you
--fellow reader | writer | traveler | lover of words--
and I are made, is mostly empty space;
That it is the bonds among faraway particles, the valences positing and 
negating, 
which make it | make sense;

and that "In spite of you Americans,"
as Bobyshev once scowled--I'm translating, poorly, from Russian,--
"There can be no poetry in a language which has never rhymed.")

...Documentation like that listed above, after all, will be crucial, 
come the day when we become fiscally more important than war,
So, write about that today (--One can never be too prepared.):


III.

29 February 2044
Oaxaca, Mexico (Associated Poets)

The International Society of Composers, Arrangers, and Producers (ISCAP) 
and the North American Guild of Poets (NAGP) vied over priorities once 
again today, at the ninth day of open discussions held by the Continental 
Fine Arts Budgeting Commission (C-FAB-C).

ISCAP spokesoftware summarized its position, stating that the Poets' 
Guild's plan for a comprehensive international archive of poetical works 
spanning 53 centuries and over 900 languages, all cross-translatable and 
freely available online, represents a far more visionary plan than any 
project ISCAP itself has proposed this term.

"The continent has the technology, humanity has the resources, and the 
project itself is long overdue, so the NAGP should be budgeted first and 
foremost," ISCAP spokesoftware said.

NAGP spokespoet Nagra Diaparash countered, "It is still our belief that 
ISCAP has greatly underestimated the amount of material we have which 
calls for musical accompaniment.  A vast number of works in our database 
are known to be, or believed to be, works originally set to music.  We 
need ISCAP's assistance to make this project complete.  Thus, to decrease 
the budgeted artisan-hours going to music this term would be a mistake, 
in our opinion."

"ISCAP, we need your help," concluded Diaparash.

ISCAP spokesoftware then conceded that, although ISCAP is primarily an 
original/creative organization and not a research/archival operation, its 
members could ably participate in the proposed Global Poetry Project.  It 
was also noted that ISCAP members would benefit educationally and 
creatively from such participation.

Combined allotments for the two organizations are currently set at 20 
billion artisan-hours per year.  ISCAP is proposing that 16.7 billion of 
the 21.2 billion hours budgeted for next term go to the NAGP, primarily 
to benefit the Global Poetry Project.  The NAGP says it only needs 14 
billion, and that ISCAP should justifiably get the rest.

Although a conclusion to the budget discrepancy was not reached today, 
the proceedings adjourned with a three-hour recital, sponsored jointly by 
ISCAP and the NAGP, and featuring works commissioned for the occasion.  
The recital was followed by a free-form open stage, which showcased new 
works by students, improvisations by local luminaries, and cameo 
appearances by visiting panelists from the conference, including 
Diaparash herself.  

She played guitar and sang.

IV.

Leave room for others to participate in your work.  It's almost time to 
call it a day,
So take your favorite notebook to a bar.
Observe the fur hats and powder blue suits which are now in fashion.
Write a twenty-consonant poem about them, and leave it as a tip.

Polish off a couplet or two and try to get to bed before sunrise, 
as you'll have plenty of impossible things to do tomorrow. 

******************************************************
THE HAND-MADE RECORD LABEL		studio 109
1006 south garfield			109 Goose Alley
urbana, il 61801			urbana, il 61801

(217)344-4302	record label
(217)278-3933	recording studio