tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post1885236445825092025..comments2024-02-05T00:16:13.698-05:00Comments on Banjo52: SURFERS; Two Poems by John LoganBanjo52http://www.blogger.com/profile/04342397136888422440noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-23107482260225828072011-01-22T17:42:49.672-05:002011-01-22T17:42:49.672-05:00Forget King; caught coveting his neighbors wife.
...Forget King; caught coveting his neighbors wife. <br /><br />The stereotype of a surfer is the Spicolli character from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Some of the most territorial of surfers come from the wealthiest of homes. I think Malcom McLaren picked up on that and tried to seduce a new sound out of it. Anyhow, the artist Marnie Weber (who I profiled awhile back) is a surfer. <br /><br /><br /> I almost spilled<br />and found I could not eat<br />the purple orchid in my drink.<br /><br />the drug they give you (right before the knockout drug)...I asked the anesthesiologist to allow me a couple minutes more under the influence of that drug. I told him it tasted like liquid orchids. So he did, he was from IndiaPasadena Adjacenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09031325790590238246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-17520798819114625822011-01-22T14:02:34.512-05:002011-01-22T14:02:34.512-05:00The poems stumped me. Is it the innuendo?
Surfing...The poems stumped me. Is it the innuendo?<br /><br />Surfing - what a sport. Is it confidence that allows a person to stand on a long or short board, in waves with minds and actions of their own? Is it bravery? curiosity? the challenge? the beauty? <br />Whatever it is that attracts surfers to surf maybe is the same motivation that attracts poets to write poems? <br /><br />Once in Kauai, I won a lottery - the prize was surfing lessons. Easy to do on shore, standing on a board ensconced in sand. I couldn't transmit the balance to standing in water. When I got home, I got out the Wii balance board and practiced. Without water.<br /><br />(Verbosity breeds verbose responses!)I love your photos! It seems that California surf (and cold ocean water) breeds a different species of surfer dude/dudette.Brenda's Arizonahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17880225110712592548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-8797875328342076292011-01-21T15:54:37.734-05:002011-01-21T15:54:37.734-05:00GPU, that's an intriguing title. Is the book h...GPU, that's an intriguing title. Is the book hard to find? Your reaction to the Logan is almost exactly like mine, though I still haven't revisited either poem. As I keep dragging myself to readings, I become more and more obsessed with the issue of honesty in poetry. Yes, a poem is an artifice, but I need to sense that it's more than an erector set claiming to convey urgent calls to the meaning of life. That's too harsh for Logan, but it's not too harsh for The Scene in general.Banjo52https://www.blogger.com/profile/04342397136888422440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-51323950847410458132011-01-21T15:40:57.384-05:002011-01-21T15:40:57.384-05:00AH and Jean, thanks—that’s good info. All my commo...AH and Jean, thanks—that’s good info. All my common sense tells me to pay attention to those features, the most likely ones, but then my other brain pipes up. Let’s call it imagination rather than derangement. If Wordsworth can have his Old Cumberland Beggar, why can’t I have my peaceful mountain folks and mystic surfers?Banjo52https://www.blogger.com/profile/04342397136888422440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-85524823082737961592011-01-21T12:17:47.775-05:002011-01-21T12:17:47.775-05:00I think it may be more realistic to view surfing a...I think it may be more realistic to view surfing as a sport, like tennis or golf, that attracts the well-off, since it requires a hefty investment in equipment and time to master. It's also a sport for the athletic and brave: the ocean is always a challenge.Jean Spitzerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13520415864511680025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-12718279379232421312011-01-21T11:31:15.011-05:002011-01-21T11:31:15.011-05:00I knew a guy who spent all his free time chasing w...I knew a guy who spent all his free time chasing waves. He was an operations manager at AT&T.<br /><br />Nothing and no one is ever what they seem. I'll bet not even King and Gandhi.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-69007173972405504022011-01-21T11:17:17.414-05:002011-01-21T11:17:17.414-05:00West of Jesus: Surfing, Science, and the Origins o...West of Jesus: Surfing, Science, and the Origins of Belief by Steven Kotler is a book that sort of goes where your musings are heading -- and it's lighter fare than the title suggests. Though I like parts of the Logan poem, I'm not sure I like it well enough to go back and analyze what I DON'T trust about it (line breaks and giant shifts in tone, most likely.)gothpunkunclenoreply@blogger.com