Monday, March 26, 2018

March Against Gun Violence



They sat in the dark
that afternoon
as the chaos unfolded;
The killing spree.

Gun laws need to change.

"No more silence,
end gun violence."

"No more hate;
we just want to graduate."

It's the voice of a new generation.

We need action.
We need change.

This generation will be the change.

© Catherine Giordano, 2017

The March for Our Lives brought a million people to Washington DC and hundreds of thousands showed up to marches all over the country and the world. In Orlando, as many as 10,000 people marched at Lake Eola. 

It's been a while since a did a News Print Poem, but the eloquence and courage of these young people amaze me, and I just had to write a tribute to them.  





Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Our Community Will Heal

by Catherine Giordano  
Orlando Sentinel
The front page
of the Orlando Sentinel

The horror.
The outrage.
The grief.

The worst mass shooting
in American history.

A heinous act of brutality.
A massacre of 50 souls.
The wounding of dozens more.

A community in mourning.
Coming together,
To honor and remember the dead,
To comfort their families

Orlando
Uniting, Enduring,
in the midst of tragedy.
Orlando strong!


© Catherine Giordano
June 2012


Every now and then, something so noteworthy happens that I feel compelled to make note of it with a news print poem.  The terrorist attack on a nightclub in Orlando, Florida in the early hours of Sunday morning (around 2 AM), June 12, 2016 was that type of event. On the following Monday, The Orlando Sentinel printed a front page stand-alone editorial which became the basis of this poem. 

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Comet Landing

Philae and Rosetta and the Comet
Philae and Rosetta and the Comet
A
  slow
    motion
      descent.
to the surface
    of a comet--
Philae gently landed.

 
The Roseta orbiter,
The Philae lander
--Four billion miles of space travel--
--Ten whole years of space travel—
finally,
    met up
        with the comet,
a slash
Comets book
CLICK HERE

     of dust
         and ice.

We are on the comet!

The Philae lander
up close and personal
     with a comet. .

Taking
     its temperature,
Sampling
     its dust,
Viewing
     its inky black landscape.

 
© 2014 Catherine Giordano

On November 13, 2014 The Philae lander separated from the Rosetta lander and after 10 years in space it made a near flawless landing on a comet.  It began sending back information about the comet. 

Unfortunately, the harpoons that were supposed to stick the lander to the comet failed to deploy, and the comet began to bounce.  Its third bounce wedged it into a crevice where it could not get enough sunlight to charge its batteries. 

 Philae is silent now, but if it should happen to feel the sun on its face once again, it may awaken to send back more data.

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Poetry Woman

Blackout Poem poetry Woman
A Blackout Poem
by Catherine Giordano

I thought this rare edition of Volume 1 Number 1of Poetry--A Magazine of Verse from 1912 would be a suitable canvas for a black out poem.

There were only a limited number of words to work with, but I think I eked out a small poetic sentiment.

Blackout poetry is an example of found poetry, just as my new print poems are examples of found poetry. There are many other techniques.

I wrote a brief introduction to found poetry explaining the various techniques.  Click to read it:


The verse reads:

Poetry
       Woman
   One Unknown
          Symphony of 
                                   Grace
                                                the motive

Don't worry. A priceless historical artifact of poetry was not defaced to create this poem.  It was all done digitally.


Poetry aq Magazine of Verse Cover Volume 1, number 1
The original magazine cover
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Monday, June 30, 2014

Over and Over Again

© Catherine Giordano 2014
by  Catherine Giordano

After doing well over 400 news print poems, I thought black out poems would be easy for me. 

Blackout poems are not easy for me! I have spent over two weeks trying to find text in the Orlando Sentinel to use. Today I found an interview with a restaurant owner and transformed it into a (sort of) love poem.

It took over two hours to "find" the poem in this text. A news print poem, once I have selected the text I am going to use, usually takes about 30 to 60 minutes. I didn't realize how lucky I was to do my first blackout poem so easily.  (CLICK HERE to see the poem.)

Blackout poets: I salute you. 

I wrote a web article about my experiences doing news print poetry. If you have a moment, take a glance at it.  It's


P.S.: If you are interested in learning to write poetry, I have recommended a couple of books on the lower left-hand side of this page.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Found Poetry Explosion

A head full of found poetry
I finished the News Print Poetry 2012 Project on December 31 2012, and although I occasionally added a new poem in subsequent years, I considered the project done.

 Well, nothing is ever done.  This week I did more.

  • I wrote an article  about Found Poetry on HubPages and I included a blackout poem that I did especially for the article.  CLICK HERE.

  • I discovered found poetry that incorporates a strong artistic visual element and I created a pinterest board devoted to it. CLICK HERE.

  • I discovered other books (besides mine) devoted to found poetry--The found Poetry Review is an annual collection of the best found poems. CLICK HERE

One things leads to another; the journey is never over.

Monday, April 21, 2014

She Shot Her Husband

A man shot dead on a bed.
A woman in custody.
Her husband shot dead
in Ormond-by-the-Sea.

She shot her husband.
Found dead on a bed
with a gun beside him.

An autopsy
will be conducted.
No decision before then.

© Catherine Giordano 2014

No particular significance to this poem  It’s been a while since I did a new poem and I was attracted to this story by the rhyme and slant rhyme.

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