In celebration of the new year, which brings new perspectives, goals, and plans, we are taking the second of a two-part look at artistic inspiration. This week’s poems all draw from well-known musicians and writers.
Arthur Winfield Knight’s poem, “Lu Watters: Blues Over Bodega” recalls a friendship with a jazz musician, with whom he shared common influences.
Carol Hamilton’s “Another History of the Bean” draws inspiration from Thoreau, nature and coffee.
Sean Lause’s “Whitman at the Game” imagines how the famous poet, Walt Whitman, would have viewed a baseball game.
R.S. Carlson’s “Zoom_6” incorporates nature imagery and photography terms in a poem imitating Emily Dickinson’s style.
B.Z. Niditch’s “Cage’s Happenings” evokes the spirit of creativity the poet experienced while playing music with John Cage as a teenager.
Alyce Wilson is the editor of
Wild Violet and in her copious spare time writes humor, non-fiction, fiction and poetry and infrequently keeps
an online journal. Her first chapbook,
Picturebook of the Martyrs; her e-book/pamphlet,
Stay Out of the Bin! An Editor's Tips on Getting Published in Lit Mags ; her book of essays and columns,
The Art of Life; her humorous nonfiction ebook,
Dedicated Idiocy: How Monty Python Fandom Changed My Life, and her newest poetry collection,
Owning the Ghosts, can all be ordered from her Web site,
AlyceWilson.com. In late 2019, she published a volume of poetry by her third great-grandfather,
Reading's Physician Poet: Poems by Dr. James Meredith Mathews, which also contains genealogical information about the Mathews family. She lives with her husband and son in the Philadelphia area and takes far too many photos of her handsome, creative son, nicknamed Kung Fu Panda.
