Poetry and the Human Spark

On PBS, there was a series entitled, "The Human Spark." It explored the "spark" that made us uniquely human. In the process, scientists and researchers looked for clues by examining the difference between Neanderthal and Cro Magnon (or us).




I've always maintained that the real issue was art. That's what makes us different then animals, and that's what made us survive. On the episode that I watched of "The Human Spark," I learned that Neanderthal was successful, but pretty much a creature of routine. Tools didn't evolve much, and nor did the population. If something new did happen, it wasn't spread to other groups.



Art, though some might say is irrelevant to evolution as opposed to math or science, is pivotal to our ability to pass on information and to our ability to think in new ways. Art is about perspectives that are abstract, which is how we learn to create things.



I've never been good with drawing, but I do like words (and please don't judge me by these blog entries). So, I've decided to try my own poetry website again (I used to run a fairly successful one back in the Pleistocene ages).



I think that most people only know of the boring poetry, and they really don't understand the mechanics of why poetry is not only a skill art, but how it truly communicates to an audience. I wish to help people learn about it and explore it.



I have a little website at http://www.poetrygarden.spruz.com or Poetry Garden



If you're interested... post stuff, though I really don't know how to start new threads in the forum myself.

Poetry and Empowerment

I had an old account on Associated Content where I could write content and get a little bit of a residual. I haven't logged into it for an eon or so, but just so happened to do so during this glorious month of celebrating poetry. The assignment I saw upon logging into the account was to write a poem about the eighties. Dare I admit that I remember that decade? I was young. Really, I was, at least during the onset of that strange generation.

Anyway, you can read the poem here:

Robots and Punk Rockers
National Poetry Month submission on a poem about the 80's.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1634605/robots_and_punk_rockers.html

It's no masterpiece, but I enjoyed the challenge.

On another note, I am often intrigued by the connections we weave between non-related instances in our lives. Is a comment or a chance meeting simply coincidence, or is it fate? Quite a few moons ago, I decided my mission in life was to unearth the creative consciousness of humanity by proliferating the popularity of poetry. I thought lyrics, poems, (real) hip-hop, and performance poetry all scraped at the bones of us in a way that connected us through the similarity of our differences. Today I met a woman who was some sort of life-coach or consultant who contracted her seminars to help those in need empower themselves. She used poetry as a tool for power. She believed knowledge is a high power, and she had a holistic approach to coaching people toward self-sufficiency by combining the spiritual, the mental, and the physical aspect of our whole beings. While she was probably giving me and my co-workers a sort of sales-pitch for her consulting business, I was hugely impressed. She had very powerful eyes, and I swore there was meaning in the way she spoke.

Her presence was alluring, and she resonated in me a solid, composed sort of wisdom. She definitely seemed like a strong woman who had a real purpose, even if she did drive around in a Lexus and was tapping into my non-profit agency as a potential customer.

While I digressed a wee bit, I was stunned at the fact that poetry lent itself toward the empowerment of others in her experience. It moved people, even to the point of pulling from their beings tears.

What was the meaning in that, I wonder. Shall I ponder the prospect of initiating a poetry release for folks once again?

Happy Poetry Month!