NPM: Poetry Quotes

Some quotes about poetry (and art) from The Christian Imagination (which happens to be a fantastic book of essays on the "practice of faith in literature and writing").  These are quotes in the book, not quotes from the book.

The poet's job is not to tell you what happened, but what happens: not what did take place but the kind of thing that always does take place. --Northrop Frye, The Educated Imagination

The poet is not a man who asks me to look at him; he is a man who says "look at that" and points.  --C.S. Lewis, The Personal Heresy

It is the function of all art to give us some perception of an order in life, by imposing an order upon it. --T.S. Eliot, On Poetry and Poets

You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul. --George Bernard Shaw, Back to Methuselah

A poem is the very image of life expressed in its eternal truth. --Percy B. Shelley, A Defense of Poetry

Reading poetry gives experiences there is no other way to have.  It gives them quickly, suddenly, just about whenever we want.  --Kenneth Koch, Making Your Own Days: The Pleasures of Reading and Writing Poetry

Poetry provides the one permissible way of saying one thing and meaning another.... We like to talk in parables and in hints and in indirections.  --Robert Frost, "Education in Poetry"

Podcasts I Enjoy

Here are podcasts I enjoy, listed by category.  I hope you might find some of them helpful for you.  I'm leaving off my poetry podcasts for another post.

Ministry/Theology

Audition (Mars Hill Audio): Ken Myers in an NPR style commentary on culture and Christianity through Myers' commentary and interviews.  This is a free spin-off of the Mars Hill Audio commentaries. 

Catalyst: Covers both church leadership issues and cultural issues through interviewing Christian leaders, authors, pastors, etc.  I really enjoy the Catalyst podcast, though I find myself skipping the first several minutes of pre-interview conversation about Catalyst Conference stuff and other random bits.  The interview is the meat, and it's consistently thoughtful and engaging. 

Church Leader Insights: Pastors Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas of The Journey Church in NYC talking together about church leadership, church growth, church planting, systems, evangelism, etc.  A lot of info of what has and hasn't worked for them.  I always come away with insights for pastoring and ministry, even if you don't approach ministry in quite the same way as these guys.

Covenant Worldwide: At least 15 free seminary classes are available on the topics of biblical theology, OT and NT, apologetics and outreach, the Reformation, life and letters of Paul, and more.  What the heck are you waiting for?

Fermi Project: Discussions with leaders on culture, the future, the Church and the Gospel.  It's hosted by Catalyst guys Gabe Lyons and Andy Crouch.  It's only on episode three, but I've enjoyed it tremendously so far.  A great, concise podcast.

Internet Monk Radio: Michael Spencer's thoughts on theology, ministry, his critics, yadda.  The worst aspect of this podcast is his love affair for the Cincinnati Reds.  Yuck.  But if you can get past that, Spencer can often deliver thoughtful insights on a variety of issues.  Warning: If you don't know Spencer and his online writings, some of this won't make much sense.  It's for the devoted.

National New Church Conference:  Interviews with conference speakers dealing with church and church planting.  Have learned a lot from this podcast and highly recommend it for church leaders.

Practically Speaking: North Point boys (Andy Stanley, et al) on the Seven Practices of Effective Ministry.  It's a "dead" podcast in that there are no new episodes, but their seven podcasts I have found very helpful as a pastor.  I've listened to them more than once, and will listen again.

Resurgence: Mark Driscoll's missional resource that includes talks from various conferences and lectures pertaining to ministry and theology.  Lots of good stuff here.

Movies

Filmspotting: A weekly podcast from Chicago featuring new movie reviews, top 5 lists, interviews and insightful film talk with Adam Kempenaar and Sam Van Hallgren. It's also found on Chicago Public Radio.  Ugh, this is a great podcast.  The best movie podcast I know of.  Even when I disagree with a particular take on a movie, which isn't often, these guys are still compelling in their arguments.  Worth every second.

Music

KEXP Live Performances: In-studio concerts at KEXP for all to hear.  I've found some great new stuff from this podcast.

KEXP Song of the Day: Live performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent musicians that KEXP thinks listeners should hear along with songs from more well-known artists.  Why not?

Introductions to newer bands and/or new albums through a free song.

NPR All Songs Considered: An eclectic mix of fresh music by emerging artists and breakout bands -- from NPR.org's Web-only music show.   Good stuff.

Paste Culture Club: A wonderful music magazine's podcast.  Always a treat.

Preaching

Capitol Hill Baptist: Pastor Mark Dever is one of the most important living Southern Baptist pastors/preachers, and a pastor who I have had a chance to talk with a bit.  He has seen a remarkable change over the years of his church in D.C.  Dever is obsessively expository in his approach.  If you want to know the Bible, this is a great way to digest it.  Dever is also well known for tackling very large sections of text, including single sermons on entire books of the Bible.

Cornerstone Simi: Pastor Francis Chan is fairly new on my radar, but I have enjoyed what I have heard so far.

The Journey - St. Louis: Pastor Darrin Patrick is a friend and has seen some great things happen after planting in St. Louis.  A good preacher, and a young leader worth watching.

Mars Hill Church, Grand Rapids: Pastor Rob Bell is a controversial writer and speaker in the emerging church movement.  I find him very engaging and biblical, though we would surely differ at points.  He challenges me with living the Gospel.

Mars Hill Church, Seattle: Pastor Mark Driscoll is a different sort of controversial writer and speaker in the emerging church movement.  He has been very influential in my ministry and life.

Village Church: Pastor Matt Chandler is SBC, Acts 29, and one of the best young preachers I've heard.  Probably my favorite younger preacher to listen to over the last few months.  Some people trip over a few of his stylistic traits at first, but please persist and you will find so much worth hearing. 

Miscellaneous

This American Life: Ira Glass hosts this show of first-person stories and short fiction pieces that are touching, funny and surprising.  An amazing show that takes a topic and surrounds it with pertinent stories.

Fresh Air (for Joe, "frosshhaar"): Terry Gross hosts this daily take on contemporary arts and issues.  Good stuff on politics, faith, entertainment, etc.  (Please no emails on her political POV, as if I don't know.)  A great show nearly every day.

Writers on Writing: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett hosts this weekly show on the art and business of writing.  She interviews authors, poets, literary agents, etc.  A staple in my life.  Great insights through great interviews.

NPM: Can Poetry Matter?

I thought it would be on topic this National Poetry Month to mention that I read "The Lanyard" at my Mom's funeral.  My brother said he hadn't cried all week until I read that poem.  Something to think about concerning how poetry can matter in life, and death.

Dana Gioia's essay, "Can Poetry Matter?" (originally published in 1991, also found in his book Can Poetry Matter?) is must reading on this subject.  His concern is that poetry now belongs in a subculture in America and has been lost from "the mainstream of artistic and intellectual life."

It is time to experiment, time to leave the well-ordered but stuffy classroom, time to restore a vulgar vitality to poetry and unleash the energy now trapped in the subculture. There is nothing to lose. Society has already told us that poetry is dead. Let's build a funeral pyre out of the desiccated conventions piled around us and watch the ancient, spangle-feathered, unkillable phoenix rise from the ashes.

One of my all-time favorite poems is by a famous writer of frontier/adventure novels, Louis L'Amour.  "An Ember in the Dark" is found in his book of poetry, Smoke From This Altar. 

An Ember in the Dark by Louis L'Amour

Faintly, along the shadowed shores of night
I saw a wilderness of stars that flamed
And fluttered as they climbed or sank, and shamed
The crouching dark with shyly twinkling light;
I saw them there, odd fragments quaintly bright,
And wondered at their presence there unclaimed,
Then thought, perhaps, that they were dreams unnamed,
That faded slow, like hope's arrested flight.

Or vanished suddenly, like futile fears--
And some were old and worn like precious things
That youth preserves against encroaching years--
Some disappeared like songs that no man sings,
    But one remained--an ember in the dark--
    I crouched alone, and blew upon the spark

NPM: Mom & The Lanyard

Another poem for National Poetry Month.  I've posted this poem before, but I find it timely and beautiful.  My Mom is nearing the end of her life (at 59).  Cancer.  We are headed to see her today, not knowing how many hours, days she might have left.

"The Lanyard" by Billy Collins (first heard on NPR)

The other day I was ricocheting slowly
off the blue walls of this room,
moving as if underwater from typewriter to piano,
from bookshelf to an envelope lying on the floor,
when I found myself in the L section of the dictionary
where my eyes fell upon the word lanyard.        

No cookie nibbled by a French novelist
could send one into the past more suddenly—
a past where I sat at a workbench at a camp
by a deep Adirondack lake
learning how to braid long thin plastic strips
into a lanyard, a gift for my mother.

I had never seen anyone use a lanyard
or wear one, if that’s what you did with them,
but that did not keep me from crossing
strand over strand again and again
until I had made a boxy
red and white lanyard for my mother.

She gave me life and milk from her breasts,
and I gave her a lanyard.
She nursed me in many a sick room,
lifted spoons of medicine to my lips,
laid cold face-cloths on my forehead,
and then led me out into the airy light

and taught me to walk and swim,
and I, in turn, presented her with a lanyard.
Here are thousands of meals, she said,
and here is clothing and a good education.
And here is your lanyard, I replied,
which I made with a little help from a counselor.

Here is a breathing body and a beating heart,
strong legs, bones and teeth,
and two clear eyes to read the world, she whispered,
and here, I said, is the lanyard I made at camp.
And here, I wish to say to her now,
is a smaller gift—not the worn truth

that you can never repay your mother,
but the rueful admission that when she took
the two-tone lanyard from my hand,
I was as sure as a boy could be
that this useless, worthless thing I wove
out of boredom would be enough to make us even.

It's National Poetry Month!

April is National Poetry Month and I hope to provide a number of posts this month with some good poems, links, and encouragement to make poetry a regular part of your diet.  I'll have some stuff for aspiring poets as well. 

A few quick links to start off the month.

A lot of great stuff on NPM from Poets.org.
Receive a poem a day in your inbox this month.
Scholastic gives some helpful links for teachers.
Charles Bernstein says he is Against National Poetry Month, As Such.

Listen to W.H. Auden (died 1973) read his poem First Things First. (bio, wikipedia)

The Next Poem by Dana Gioia (link)

How much better it seems now
than when it is finally done–
the unforgettable first line,
the cunning way the stanzas run.

The rhymes soft-spoken and suggestive
are barely audible at first,
an appetite not yet acknowledged
like the inkling of a thirst.

While gradually the form appears
as each line is coaxed aloud–
the architecture of a room
seen from the middle of a crowd.

The music that of common speech
but slanted so that each detail
sounds unexpected as a sharp
inserted in a simple scale.

No jumble box of imagery
dumped glumly in the reader's lap
or elegantly packaged junk
the unsuspecting must unwrap.

But words that could direct a friend
precisely to an unknown place,
those few unshakeable details
that no confusion can erase.

And the real subject left unspoken
but unmistakable to those
who don't expect a jungle parrot
in the black and white of prose.

How much better it seems now
than when it is finally written.
How hungrily one waits to feel
the bright lure seized, the old hook bitten.

Christianity and the Creative Age

It will cost you a few bucks, but if you want to understand art and "cultural creatives" you should get Tim Keller's message "Christianity and the Creative Age."  This is a lecture given for the Redeemer InterArts Fellowship in September 2006.  The Redeemer InterArts Fellowship is "for anyone working in (or interested in) the fine or performing arts, design, media, or entertainment." 

This lecture is helpful on consumerism, art & artists, the city, creativity and relationships.  It's particularly helpful for pastors desiring to encourage a biblical view of the arts and, obviously, artists.

Faith & Work

If I haven't linked to it before, check out the Redeemer Center for Faith and Work (yes, of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC, Tim Keller, etc).

The Lanyard

Billy Collins is a former Poet Laureate of the U.S. and creator of Poetry 180.  I heard an interview of him on some podcast, I think.  Maybe this one.  He read his poem, "The Lanyard."  I think it's brilliant and wanted to share it here. 

"The Lanyard" by Billy Collins

The other day I was ricocheting slowly
off the blue walls of this room,
moving as if underwater from typewriter to piano,
from bookshelf to an envelope lying on the floor,
when I found myself in the L section of the dictionary
where my eyes fell upon the word lanyard.        

No cookie nibbled by a French novelist
could send one into the past more suddenly—
a past where I sat at a workbench at a camp
by a deep Adirondack lake
learning how to braid long thin plastic strips
into a lanyard, a gift for my mother.

I had never seen anyone use a lanyard
or wear one, if that’s what you did with them,
but that did not keep me from crossing
strand over strand again and again
until I had made a boxy
red and white lanyard for my mother.

She gave me life and milk from her breasts,
and I gave her a lanyard.
She nursed me in many a sick room,
lifted spoons of medicine to my lips,
laid cold face-cloths on my forehead,
and then led me out into the airy light

and taught me to walk and swim,
and I, in turn, presented her with a lanyard.
Here are thousands of meals, she said,
and here is clothing and a good education.
And here is your lanyard, I replied,
which I made with a little help from a counselor.

Here is a breathing body and a beating heart,
strong legs, bones and teeth,
and two clear eyes to read the world, she whispered,
and here, I said, is the lanyard I made at camp.
And here, I wish to say to her now,
is a smaller gift—not the worn truth

that you can never repay your mother,
but the rueful admission that when she took
the two-tone lanyard from my hand,
I was as sure as a boy could be
that this useless, worthless thing I wove
out of boredom would be enough to make us even.

Saturday Selections

I'm getting a lot of hits from Spero News.

Have you been listening to Ken Myers' podcast from Mars Hill Audio?  It's called Audition, and it's a great free resource for provoking thoughts on theology & culture.  And if you don't subscribe to Mars Hill Audio, I recommend it.  At least get a free sample issue to try.  It's a key resource for stretching me beyond my current intellectual boundaries.

I've gotten through part of the Book TV discussion with Andrew Sullivan and David Brooks.  The conversation focused on Sullivan's new book The Conservative Soul: How We Lost It, How We Can Get It Back.  I originally caught some of the end of the show on TV.  It is intriguing concerning political conservatives and evangelicals.  You can also get at least some (maybe all?) of the video at YouTube, which has worked better for me than the Book TV video.  Al Mohler just had Sullivan on his radio show as well.

Speaking of evangelicals and the political world, I'm very interested in the recent comments of David Kuo, who is currently a columnist at Beliefnet.  Kuo served as Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and Deputy Director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, and has written the new book  Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction.  I just bought the book and look forward to reading it in the next couple of weeks. I was introduced to Kuo by watching Charlie Rose's interview a couple of nights ago.  Here's the Google Video of the program, and the Kuo interview begins at around the 35 minute mark.  Justin Taylor points to the Books & Culture review of Tempting Faith.

I'm already tired of the online discussion about Ted Haggard, and find Stephen Shield's post on the matter very helpful.  Mark Driscoll's good advice in his post on the subject are must reading, though nothing profoundly new (a typical sign of most good advice).

The late Mitch Hedberg has some important thoughts for us as Thanksgiving approaches.

I don't listen to country music, but the new CD by Alan Jackson is really good.  It's called Like Red On A Rose. 

I'm finishing up preaching Colossians this Sunday.  I've enjoyed N.T. Wright's commentary (TNTC) the most.  Then I'm taking two Sundays off for vacation and a planning retreat.  Tim Etherington will be preaching for me from Jude.

Suburban Christian: Creativity

The opposite of consumption is production.  It takes far more time and energy to create something than to consume something.  It takes a novelist a year to write a book that someone can read in a few days.  A cast and crew of thousands spend years to create a film that will be viewed in two hours.  Often our only recreational activities are actions of consumption.  What an alternative it is, then, to rediscover the wonder and delight of creativity.

Albert Hsu in The Suburban Christian, page 87.

Art That Means Something

To mean something, anything, art must provide a specific sense of where you are and where you have been, of your particular take on the larger history of which you, willingly or not, form a part.

Gordon Theisen in Staying Up Much Too Late, page 21.

Artist Community at The Journey

A couple of weeks ago I was perusing the website of The Journey Church in St. Louis, where Darrin Patrick pastors.  They had a video up that was produced by their community of artists in the church.  Brilliant idea.  But I couldn't find an easy way to link it, until now.  Here's the link to "Sacrifice."  Check it out. 

If you go to the church website, a popup video is linked on the front page.  It's the same thing, a little smaller, and a little better quality.

Lost Art

I encourage you to read "The Importance of Art When Engaging Non-Believers" by David Fairchild.  Helpful.  A blurb...

Since art is both enjoyableand educating, and communicates a message about itself and about the world that it was created in, we should pray that more and more the Christian community will see the need to engage the arts as the primary way to speak intelligently and truthfully to those who are made in God’s image.

The Resurgence of Resurgence

From Mark Driscoll...

The elders at Mars Hill Church, which I founded in 1996, have always been a big-hearted, kingdom-minded team of godly men who have given over 10 percent of our general budget to help church planters since our inception. Now, they have also agreed to give even more money to serve the greater church by launching The Resurgence ministry. This includes paying for the development of a massive website that will include thousands of free articles, audio and video podcasts, film reviews, music reviews, book reviews, and more. It also includes freeing up one of our elders, Gary Shavey, to serve as director of The Resurgence, and recently hiring Jon Krombein as the full-time content manager for the forthcoming website.

To kick The Resurgence off with a bang, we will launch the new website this spring, Zondervan will release my next book Confessions of a Reformission Rev.: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church in early May, and we will be hosting the Reform & Resurge Conference 2006 at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Below I’ll introduce each of the main speakers and give some reasons why you will not want to miss this event.

Planned Tallest Building in the U.S.

The nations new tallest building will be in Chicago.  This isn't new news, but the details are coming out and changes are being made.  Here's a great Tribune article on the residential twisting tower being planned by Zurich-based architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava.  The plan has been approved by the Chicago Plan Commission and it should be built by around 2010.  I believe the pic at the right is the pre-approved version and it will be slightly different, but not too much.

The design for the $550 million tower, which was breathtaking but hardly flawless when it was introduced last July, has taken some important steps forward, both in the sky and along the ground. Now here's the trend part of the story: If this tower and Jeanne Gang's sensuous Aqua high-rise both get built, Chicago will be running a clinic in the new aesthetic possibilities offered by skyscrapers that are places to live rather than work.

Dana Gioia Audio: Artists as Reconcilers

Dana Gioia (a guy) is one of my favorite living poets.  He spent 15 years in business, eventually becoming a Vice President of General Foods.  He would write at night and on weekends until he left business in the early 90's to be a full-time writer.  I've been reading him for a couple of years.  I think anyone even remotely interested in the arts and the work of redemption should read his fantastic essay "Can Poetry Matter?".  You can find several of Gioia's poems online as well.

Gioia was a speaker at the February IAM (International Arts Movement) conference, Artists as Reconcilers.  You can find his keynote address for free on iTunes.  Just search for "Artists as Reconcilers" and you will get their podcast.  If you become a member of IAM for $40 a year you will have access in a few weeks to all the conference talks from Dr. Miroslav Volf, Nancy Pearcey, Betty Spackman, Rev. Ian Cron, Rev. Tom Pike, and Makoto Fujimura (the founder of IAM).

Sidewalk Chalk

This sidewalk chalk art is unbelievable.  More here.  A must see.

(HT:JT)

About A.R.T.

Makoto Fujimura, the founder of IAM (International Arts Movement) in NYC which is connected to the ministry of Tim Keller, is writing a series of essays on art called "A.R.T.: Awareness, Reconciliation and Transformation."  His first essay, "About A.R.T." is available on his blog, Refractions.  Other essays will only be available initially to members of IAM.  Here's a blurb...

After the success of Lord of the Rings, and now Narnia, we desire formore Lewises and Tolkiens to come out. These creative resources are not birthed out of a vacuum, but over generations of commitment to nurture and value creativity. The church has been mostly reluctant to take the lead in cultural production, fearful that those who enter Babylon will come out tainted by her, unable to speak for her values. And since there is still a vacuum in culture that the church abdicated to general culture, even if we desire more Tolkiens and Lewis, the church, in her present status, will be the first to reject them as misfits.

In order to have meaningful dialogue in this condition, we Christians must reevaluate our definition of creativity and art. On one hand, Biblical literalists and separatists (such as the “Left Behind” authors) may insist on that all of what is discussed in art must be literal interpretation of Christian stories, an approach which forbids certain art to exist at all. On the other we have secular purists who desire art to be left alone to the “good” desires of our hearts, self reliant and (in most cases) necessarily alienated from society. My approach in A.R.T. is neither of these routes. In order to lead, and teach our children to lead, Twenty First Century with creativity, we must speak in to our culture to value art and steward her with proper boundaries, and lead with a sense of responsibility. At the same time, we must realize that art is neither a mere tool to be used for ours or other ideologies. A.R.T. must ask deeper questions: what I have began to call “a five hundred year questions.” What we create matters: all art products cast their vision of what the artist consciously or unconsciously desire for the world to become. We are, and will become, what we imagine: and if we do not understand both the power and the danger of our imaginative powers, we will not begin to birth meaningful, and hopeful works of inspiration.

Slowness: Among Trees

I'm planning a series of posts on the art and importance of slowness.  Here's a poem worthy of meditation.

The opening poem from A Timbered Choir by Wendell Berry

I go among trees and sit still.
All my stirring becomes quiet
around me like circles on water.
My tasks lie in their places
Where I left them, asleep like cattle.

Then what is afraid of me comes
And lives a while in my sight.
What it fears in me leaves me,
And the fear of me leaves it.
It sings, and I hear its song.

Then what I am afraid of comes.
I live for a while in its sight.
What I fear in it leaves it,
And the fear of it leaves me.
It sings, and I hear its song.

After days of labor,
Mute in my consternations,
I hear my song at last,
And I sing it. As we sing,
The day turns, the trees move.

Mad World

Beautiful commercial for Banana Republic.

(HT: Joe Thorn)