Voices de la Luna A Quarterly Poetry & Arts Magazine 15 October 2012 Volume 5, Number 1 A Conversation with and New Poem by Ted Kooser “Law and Literature” by Catherine M. Stone “Helen Keller” by Barbara Stanush Questions for Michael Soto ***Twelve Voices from One: Poetic Responses to Art*** Bastrop Burning, Lou Taylor, three poems Table of Contents (Epicenter - Rift - Lost Pines) in response to the artwork of Allison Brown-Cestero 19 Voices de la Luna, Volume 5, Number 1 Fine Feathers, Lois Heger, in response to the Editor’s Note, James R. Adair 3 artwork of Jill Becker 19 Cover Page Art: A Painting by Vida Tayyari 4 Thanksgiving at My House, Harold Rodinsky 22 Law and Literature, Chief Justice Catherine Stone, The Girl with the Jack Kerouac Book, Chris Hemingway 22 presented at the Voices de la Luna annual fundraiser 5 Wolf, Raven, Grandmother Moon, Margot Van Sluytman 22 A Strange Peace, Karla Morton 22 Featured Poem Censorship Sonnet #3, Juan Manuel Perez 22 Hellen Keller, Barbara Stanush 5 Gilbert’s Lament, Diane Gonzales Bertrand 23 In Anticipation of the Next Mass Killing, Darby Riley 23 Featured Interviews A Night in “The White Hart,” Lincoln, John Stocks 23 Questions for Michael Soto, James R. Adair 6 Downsizing, Mary Anne Morefield 23 51 Pegasus: An Ode, Michael Soto 7 The Descending Storm, Barbara E. M. Bowen 24 Interview with Ted Kooser, Mo H Saidi 12 Athens: Postcard to Socrates, Margie McCreless Roe 24 Walking in Fog Beside a Lake, Ted Kooser 12 Death of a Toy Pomeranian, Milo Kearney 24 Soul Censoring, Nora Olivares 24 Collaboration in Literature & Arts Four Elegies, Palmer Hall 25 The UTSA English Department 8 Creative Writing Reading Series 8 Editors’ Poems Sketches at the McNay, poems by Bonnie Lyons: Home Grown, Joan Seifert 18 At the McNay Museum - Cello and Violin - Teaching before the War, Carol Coffee Reposa 18 Don’t Touch at the McNay - A(musing) - Night Blooming Cereus, Lou Taylor 18 Red, White, and Blue at the McNay 9 Haywire, Mo H Saidi 18 Rumor, James R. Adair 18 Book Reviews 23 Things They Don’t Tell You about Capitalism International Poems (Ha-Joon Chang), James R. Adair 10 Nur eine Rose, Hejo Müller The Pale King (David Foster Wallace), Santo Randazzo 11 (Only One Rose, trans. James Brandenburg) 20 Train Dreams (Denis Johnson), Santo Randazzo 11 Pensé que el Fuego / I Thought the Fire, María Gabriela Madrid 20 Youth Poems Reflexiones sobre un Samovar / Reflections on a The Nothing, Cheyenna Olmedo 14 Samovar, Alicia Zavala Galván 21 Bananas, Diego Villegas 14 Treinta Años, Juan Francisco Manzano My Name Is Bananas, Alexia Reyes 14 (Thirty Years, trans. Gerard S. Robledo) 30 The Fish, Tristan Torres 14 Amor, Juan Francisco Manzano Dogs, Elise Thompson-Arispe 14 (Love, trans. Gerard S. Robledo) 30 The Paintbrush, Zofia Graham 14 Al Partir, Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda Something Has a Color, Rose Simonson 14 (Departing, trans. Gerard S. Robledo) 30 The Plum and the Pear, Sophia Thompson-Arispe 14 The End of the Stream, Will Maxham 15 Art & Culture in the City Shrunken and Growing, James Lee 15 McNay Art Museum 13 Mother of the Sea, Elliott Tilton 15 San Antonio Museum of Art 13 Where the Sidewalk Ends, Eleanor Bird 15 Poetry & Arts Events in San Antonio 44 Ode to Ice Cream, Tristan Oddo 15 Poetry & Arts Places in San Antonio 44 The Loved Mom, Sofia Oddo 15 Poetry Therapy Select Poems Death Awaits, Alex Sumner 26 A Noiseless Patient Spider, Walt Whitman 7 Memories of a Nightmare, Earl Salazar 26 My Student Is Writing a Book, Margie McCreless Roe 15 Another Chance, Frances Laniese Reed 26 The Wind in My Flute, Bobbi Sinha-Morey 15 Ashes Appeared, Janie Alonso 26 Finding the Body, Freeing the Mind, Mobi Warren 16 Holding Back, Frances R. Ford 26 Clipped, Loretta Walker 16 Eyes Open, Peter Holland 26 Mojave, Katherine Horrigan 16 Tears of a Friend, Khalilah Bilal 27 Phoenix, Clyta Coder 17 Deathbed of a Survivor, Vivian Kearney 27 Fracking Jack, Charlotte Renk 17 Real Me, Celeste Delarosa 27 God Bless America, Karla Morton 17 Letting Go, Milo Kearney 27 Sherlock Holmes on Dr. Watson, Nevki Worpe 17 Letting Go, JC Alvarez 27 Letting Go, Robin Clark 27 2 Voices de la Luna, 15 October 2012 Poetry & Dreams Editor’s Note Series of Three Dreams from July 5, Maria Brandenburg, James R. Adair interpreted by James Brandenburg 28 On October 7, 1955, the poet Al- Art Therapy len Ginsberg delivered his new poem Tangible and Intangible Images: Fairy Tale of the “Howl” to the crowd gathered at the People of the Cloaks, Maripat Munley 28 “6” Gallery in San Francisco. The next to last poem read that evening, News & Notes Ginsberg had the audience on its Books That Shaped America 4 feet from his opening words, “I saw American Writers Museum Planned for Chicago 7 the best minds of my generation de- Here in Chautauqua, Mo H Saidi 31 stroyed by madness, starving hysteri- Southwest School of Art Offers BFA Degree 38 cal naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix… .” A student of William Carlos Wil- Essays liams, Ginsberg that night set into motion a movement that came Unwanted Children, Robert L. Flynn 32 to be known as the Beat Generation, which included writers such The Excuse, Clark Watts 32 as Jack Kerouac, Carl Solomon, William Burroughs, Neal Cas- The American Scholar (excerpt), Ralph Waldo Emerson 38 sady, and Michael McClure. McClure, who was present at the first reading of “Howl,” said that Ginsberg’s poem “left us stand- Short Fiction ing in wonder, or cheering and wondering, but knowing at the American Spirits, Hadley Harper 34 deepest level that a barrier had been broken, that a human voice Valerie, Esme-Michelle Watkins 37 and body had been hurled against the harsh wall of America.” Not everybody was pleased with “Howl” or with the writing of Serialized Novel the Beats, and publisher and poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti was put Persian Marchers, Chapter Twelve, Mo H Saidi 39 on trial for publishing “obscene” material when he distributed the book containing Ginsberg’s poem through his San Francisco San Antonio Small Presses bookstore, City Lights Books. Academics around the country ral- Word Design Studio 29 lied to the side of Ferlinghetti and Ginsberg, and California State Pecan Grove Press 42 Superior Court judge Clayton Horn ruled in their favor, stating Wings Press 42 that the poem had “redeeming social importance.” The ruling was one in a long line of anti-censorship rulings by mid-twenti- Our Sponsors 43 eth century courts in the U.S., taking its place alongside opinions Submission Guidelines 3 allowing the publication of Ulysses, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, and Tropic of Cancer. The struggle between writers and censors continues today, occasionally in the courtroom but more often in the classroom, where dedicated teachers strive to expand their students’ minds, and self-appointed cultural police fight to keep classrooms free of “offensive” material. The works of Mark Twain, Judy Blume, Toni Morrison, J. D. Salinger, Kurt Vonnegut, Margaret Atwood, and J. K. Rowling, among many others, have been challenged or banned for use in various public school districts in the U.S. in recent years. In 2011 Arizona banned the teaching of ethnic stud- ies in public school classrooms, resulting in the removal from the schools of books like Curandera by Carmen Tafolla and The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, two local writers, among many others. In response, self-styled librotraficantes have organized caravans through the state to promote the books that have been banned. Submission Guidelines Many of the pieces in this issue of Voices celebrate the impor- To submit material for publication in Voices de la Luna, go to tance of education, opposition to censorship, and the continuing voicesdelaluna.submishmash.com. influence of the Beat writers. To inspire further reading, select quotes from some of the Beats are scattered throughout the issue, starting with one from Ferlinghetti at the bottom of this column. Voices de la Luna is a quarterly publication dedicated to the artis- Can you dig it? tic expression of a wide range of perspectives and topics. In the service of that goal, we welcome diverse, well-written submis- If you would be a poet, speak new truths that the world can’t sions from every quarter. deny. —Lawrence Ferlinghetti, “Poetry as Insurgent Art” Voices de la Luna, 15 October 2012 3 Cover Page Art Voices de la Luna A Quarterly Poetry & Arts Magazine A Painting by Vida Tayyari ISSN 2168-4316 (print) A native of Iran, Vida Tayyari was ISSN 2168-4324 (online) an adult before beginning her career Board of Directors in art. She very quickly became a mas- Michael J. Burke, Chair ter artist and a distinguished teacher. Robert Flynn, Vice-Chair Her area of expertise is realistic oil Mo H Saidi, CEO, Co-Founder painting, and her amazing ability to James Brandenburg, Co-Founder James R. Adair / Jay Brandon capture the beauty of her subject has María Gabriela Madrid / Habib Nathan brought her national acclaim. Vida re- Jim Oliver / Debra Peña ceived the rank of Superior Artist, awarded annually to one Ira- Carol Coffee Reposa nian artist. In addition, she was selected as one of seven scholars Allan F. Smith / Sharon Turner in Persian Art by the Committee of Cultural and Art Preserva- Advisory Board tion Foundation, and she was awarded the prestigious Medal of Ivan Becka / Richard Becker / Zee Fisher Abolghasem Ferdosi Tousi given by its Board of Directors. Palmer Hall / Woodrow R.