Travel By Haiku – crankie by Marian McLaughlin

This is just about the coolest gift imaginable! My sister commissioned the ever-amazing Marian McLaughlin to make a personalized crankie based on my cross-country road trips.

Subscribe to my Patreon to see the full video: https://bit.ly/PledgeToHaiku

What is a crankie, you may ask? It’s an old storytelling device where a long, illustrated scroll is hand-cranked through a viewing window while a story is told. @marianmclaughlin makes them on demand on any topic or idea. Send her a message if you’d like to commission a gift like this for someone you love. She’s open for requests and as you can see an extraordinary dream laborer. This storyboard features the likes of Parse Seco, and the unicorn Ma Ja Ka, as well as a snapshot of the Poets For Peace.

As far as the new book, it includes haikus like the ones featured in this clip. We’re a quarter of the way to funding a release party that’ll feature performances like this. Your pledge to my Patreon campaign means I’ll be able to pay performers and promote the new book.

For as little as $1 a month, you can read all the rough drafts and watch the accompanying animations. For $7 a month, I’ll mail you a signed copy of the book when it’s released in March 2021. All tiers of support have a chance to contribute to the behind the scenes of a book of poetry being born out of the dust of the road.

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A Passage From New Mexico

Even from this winter cave, I feel the language of wilderness sweet upon the tongue. Chewing in my sleep. Belly rumbling amidst hibernation.

Visions are ripe with memories of late summer and early fall. But really, it’s these mountains that give beck and call. I can see their effect in every typewritten syllable.

Poems about love. Poems about work. Poems about longing for the familiar. Somehow in every turn of phrase, nature enters.

I’ve been beginning to dream again. With winter, comes a deeper sleep. But this year feels kind of different. With hope on the horizon, the mind is given space to drift and wander. Manic creations come to me in the middle eve and as I tap the keys the typewriter becomes a total dream machine full of wonder.

Ode to the psychic blues of mid-morning. Hail the passing clouds of mid-winter. Oh, how the warmth of the eternal fire spits and sputters life to find new immediate comic relief from the perpetual clutter.

It’s a long golden road to write a poem. For the last few weeks, I’ve forged each poem by the warmth of the fire. Locked away in my creative cabin south of town, the words spill outwards. I am warmed by them and so are you. To connect through this verse is to create the day anew.

Thank you everyone who subscribed to my Patreon!

Thank you so much to everyone who subscribed to my Patreon campaign! The next collection of #TravelByHaiku is going to be released in March 2021 and my Patreon is all set up to offer a backstage pass to publishing process.

Subscribe here: https://patreon.com/marshalljameskavanaugh

Any support will go a long way during this time when my main income of typing poems on the street is put on pause. Pledge as little as $3 a month and I’ll even throw your name in the book to acknowledge your support. $7 or more a month and I’ll mail you a signed copy when it’s released in 2021! There are multiple tiers of support each with their own rewards available for all budgets.

If you’ve enjoyed a poem in the past, please consider signing up for a monthly subscription! Otherwise, thanks for dreaming here with me all year. I hope a poem finds you well, in this period of collective struggle.

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Travel By Haiku, Volumes 6-10 is a collection of haikus written on 3 separate road trips, with 3 separate groups of friends. There are 3 sections of collaborative haikus written with the friends on each road trip, and 2 sections of travel essays to give context to the wild ride. The result is a page-turner that guides the reader through a dreamy adventure across deserts and forests and blue lakes filled with wonder. I can’t wait to share it here with you and take all of you on the road with some far out friends.

Become a patron and save the day!

I’m having to change things a little now that I’m unable to type poems in public places because of the statewide stay-at-home order in New Mexico. I could use a few more monthly patrons to be sustainable through what looks to be the worst part of the pandemic. If you’ve enjoyed a poem in the past, please consider signing up for a monthly subscription on my Patreon and I’ll mail you a monthly dream poem typed with clean hands about any topic you choose.

Click here to sign up for as little as $1 a month.

There are other tiers available also. Even $1 a month really helps, and I’ll send you a Postcard Haiku to say thank you. I really appreciate all of the support! Thanks for dreaming here with me all year. I hope a poem finds you well, in this period of collective struggle.

Get a Grab Bag full of published poetry!

Hey, I’m mailing out poetry grab bags for the holidays! Need some good reading for your quarantine this winter? Just send me $35 and I’ll mail you a package with both Poets For Peace zines and 2-3 other books written by myself and/or several other authors that I’ve published over the years. Send $50 and I’ll include a personalized poem for you on any topic. Each grab bag will also include stickers, a postcard haiku, and some other literary extras to brighten your day. A discount is available for folks subscribed to my Patreon campaign!

In the spirit of giving, I’ll also donate half of the proceeds to mutual aid funds providing food and water sovereignty to at-risk communities during this difficult time. 

Money can be sent through
Venmo (@DreamPoetForHire),
CashApp ($DreamPoetForHire),
or PayPal (paypal.me/DreamPoetForHire).
Just be sure to include your mailing address in the message.
 

Sale goes through Tuesday. These packages will go out Wednesday, December 2.
Support an indie author this holiday season, and get some great books to warm you through the winter!

Poets For Peace, Zine #2: Poems For Resilience

Both #PoetsForPeace zines are available to order. $15-25 suggested donation. All proceeds benefit BIPOC organizations. Print & Digital copies available. Click here to grab a zine today: http://www.marshalljameskavanaugh.com/poets-for-peace—zine.html

From Jay Morris on this new collection of poems:
As a follow-up to Vol. 1: Poems for Resistance, we felt called to shift our focus to the importance of resilience to grow through the burdens that weigh us down. For that reason we chose to articulate resilience through the symbolic language of flowers. What we know of flowers is that they transcend the burdens of burial to arise in light and thrive in their ultimate beauty. Consider the lotus and the common weed; one a symbol of inner peace and enlightenment, the other a reminder that we all carry the gift of breaking ground to claim our space in the world.

Volume 2 features writing by: Javan Howard, Quentin The Poet, Lindo Yes, and Cashmere Harper
allied voices include: Ludlow, Valore, and Marian McLaughlin
infographic about POLICE BRUTALITY + RACIAL TRAUMA by Jay Morris
cover designed by Lawson Chambers

I hope that you consider getting a copy today! All proceeds from the zines go to support BIPOC organizations. These orgs provide a platform to fight systemic racism and offer various forms of mutual aid to at-risk groups throughout the region and across the country. Submit your order and I’ll mail you the zines by the end of the week!

8/23: Poets For Peace online zine release party!

AUGUST 23rd: at Poets For Peace Online Zine Release Party
LIVE on Zoom at 8pm EST
Join us on Sunday, August 23rd, 2020 at 8pm (EST) for an online release party for the Poets For Peace zines. There will be live readings performed by the poets and a community forum about the various mutual aid organizations that are necessary in our communities to keep this movement going.
performances by: Javan Howard, Lindo Yes, Kyky Renee Knight, Jay Morris, Elaina Valore, Jeremy M. Brownlowe, Julia Daye, Quentin The Poet, Marian McLaughlin, and Juan Camillo Garza
with music by Ludlow

FREE to watch. Purchase zines with your ticket.
[RSVP to receive the Zoom link]

Columbus and Other Cannibals…

COLUMBUS AND OTHER CANNIBALS

It seems fitting that there are hundreds of Wetikos armed with baseball bats, hammers, and other instruments of recreational violence hanging around the Christopher Columbus statue in South Philadelphia. Wetiko, an Algonquin term that quite literally means cannibal, was recoined by the AIM activist and poet Jack D. Forbes to describe the mentality that Western settlers brought to Turtle Island when they stole it and then began consuming everything around them.

It seems fitting that these self-described South Philly Italians are showing up to defend this statue of their patron saint to imperialism and thus becoming inhabited by the spirit of violence he propagated during his time alive. This is a person who put the Taino people in bondage, chopped off the men’s limbs, fed women and children to wild dogs, and committed other atrocities that are well documented by his peers at the time. He is a Wetiko on a pedestal that still holds a powerful place in history that continues to shape our society today. Check out Jack D. Forbes’ book, Columbus And Other Cannibals to better understand these terms and ideas.

The reason this is especially dangerous is that a Wetiko is contagious. It is no joke when people compare racism to a pandemic. The Wetiko is the very first virus of our minds. Their rage fuels an echo of rage in those they oppress. You cannot fight a Wetiko. Not head on, at least. They will cough on you and you will get sick. To fight them, is to succumb to the spirit of violence that they propagate. You cannot stand by and peacefully let them conquer you either. They will take whatever you allow them to take.

The approach to reclaim your own body and a collective autonomy on your surroundings, must be a balanced and grounded one. It must seek to subvert the pain and violence that the Wetiko wishes to exert on those around it.

There is an easy antidote to cure yourself. John Trudell, another indigenous poet and songwriter of our time, suggests finding a peace of land and becoming a steward to its existence. The hippy generation suggests making love. Both are active ingredients to separating you from the control of the Wetiko.

But how do you spread this grounded peace to cure the Wetiko?

It takes a level head. It takes a big heart. Perhaps an energetic shield and something carried to ground the activist’s spirit. A handful of seeds? Maybe a flower. There are words that can be spoken that will spread like wild fire. A proper cleanse. So that the land within him will be chased by Fireweed, Fire Poppies, and Whispering Bells.

Kill the Man, Save The Wilderness Within.

Pull down Columbus and plant a tree instead.

Saturday, May 30th: Walt Whitman virtual reading at Artistry Above Ground Virtual Market

This Saturday, May 30th at 12pm, I’ll be performing a virtual reading of my favorite parts of Walt Whitman’s Leaves Of Grass for his 201st birthday, as part of Laurel Hill Cemetery’s #ArtistryAboveGroundMarket. I’ll also read from Joy Harjo’s An American Sunrise, a collection of poetry by our current poet laureate that offers an indigenous perspective on the American pastoral. This reading will be followed by a demo where I lead the audience through my writing process for spontaneous typewritten poetry.

Click here to RSVP and attend this virtual event on Zoom

As part of the virtual market, I’ll also be typing poetry on demand based on requests given in real time. Follow the link and sign up for a time to get a poem on any topic and support the other vendors at one of the coolest cemeteries in Philadelphia.

I think as a contemporary writer, it’s important to pay homage to the literary giants who drafted the modern canon before us. I think it’s also the task of every poet out there now to find ways to celebrate the writers who redraft and update this canon for the present moment. I’m excited to share these two narratives in celebration of one of Philly’s literary voices on his 201st trip around the sun. Hope to see you there!
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📸 by Alexa Lewis

Magic Manifestations – Stay Home, Stay Creative

For about two months now, Philadelphia has joined the world in quarantine. Out of the lockdown a whole world of collaboration has sprung. No distance is too much an obstacle for the power of the imagination.

It’s crazy to think I’ve been co-organizing in the #magicmanifestations livestreams for this long. In that time, I’ve had the privilege to share screen time with so many incredible writers, singers, dancers, illustrators, and fellow dreamers. Together we #manifestbyrequest an unending amount of dreams to be performed live for the entertainment of audiences based all around the world. Viewers give us a topic and we bring it to life in front of their eyes!

Did you miss the show? Well, you’re in luck! I decided it was high time to finally make a little montage of all the wild magic that we’ve created together.

Featured in the video are some of the folks based all around the country that I’ve created with. Go give them a follow! In order of appearance, they are: @drawingsbyrequest, @quentinthepoet, @movedtomove, @marianmclaughlin, @vianney.paul, @juliadayedot, and @lindoyes

The weather is getting nice out and it’s likely I’ll be stepping back from going live as often, in order to get out and enjoy it, but keep an eye out for more Magic Manifestations to come. In the meantime, you can continue to support the dream by requesting a poem or becoming a monthly patron.