*** !Welcome to the Electric Minds Palace.Bob Hass: Coyote, where did your logo come from?
Coyote: this one?
Bob Hass: Coyote Tales? Coyote myths?
Coyote: Coyote myth ...
Coyote: Very loosely interpreted
Bob Hass: Have you read Barry Lopez's collection of Native American coyote stories?
Coyote: I think people tend to represent themselves as the archetype they long to become ... No, I have not ...
Bob Hass: Coyote, in the stories, is a pretty wild character.
D: hey bob, my English teacher says that all poets write in "Iambic Spondaic Amphibrachic feet" etc etc. or else they are wrong and should not be writing poetry at all, is that true.
Bob Hass: D, no, that's not true. Your own natural speech and natural breath is all the amphibrac you need.
D: can i have that in writing.
?MISS P: save the log D
Bob Hass: yeah sure :)
?MISS P: hehee
Bob Hass: write to me at the Library of Congress.
Zendog: Bob, has being the Poety Laureate of the US changed the way people treat you or respond to your poems?
D: thanks a lot bob, you're a life saver, my whole class will love this.
Bob Hass: yes, Zendog. i think that the title sounds so grand that sometimes people suddenly like my poems.
?MISS P: hahaha
Bob Hass: who asked about the Bible?
?MISS P: Be A Light did
Be A Light: Bob, I was curious how you felt about the bible, what you believe about it
Bob Hass: are you a reader of the Bible?
Be A Light: I read it everyday
D: Me too
Bob Hass: what translation do you read?
D: Several but esp. New World Trans.
Be A Light: NAS, KJV, NIV....
Bob Hass: there's a translation of the Book of Job by my friend Stephen Mitchell, who is a student of Hebrew
Arctic Frost: Oh how interesting
Bob Hass: and a wonderful poet, and he did this new version that's really worth reading.*
Devil: What responsibilities go along with being Poet Laureate?
Be A Light: but what do you believe about it?
Arctic Frost: Where can we find it, Bob?
Zendog: From Violette©: do you think that suffering creates strong character?
Be A Light: who do you believe Jesus was I mean
Bob Hass: Be A Light, I don't know what you mean "what do I believe about it".
Be A Light: who do you believe Jesus was
Bob Hass: what do you believe about some other old book of wisdom?
Bob Hass: the writings of Lao-Tse or Confucius ... what I believe isn't really an issue
for me. Do you mean, do I believe it is the inspired word of God?Be A Light: right, do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God
WAR!: my sis is a poet
Be A Light: and that the only way to eternal life is through Him
Zendog: ^From Joe : do you think that suffering creates strong character?
Bob Hass: Joe, sometimes. Sometimes suffering breaks people all-together.
D: Bob, what if I feel all the important poetry has already been written and I have ceased to write?
Bob Hass: D, the language is always wearing out every generation has to make it new.
Arctic Frost: Bravo
Bob Hass: if everybody felt that way, we'd have no poetry since Chaucer. and it'd all be in a language
D: I know, I know, but new ideas.
Bob Hass: that didn't have the feel of our world in it. There'd certainly be no poem with the phrase
Willie: do you think the sestina is overrated?
Bob Hass: "graphical chat" in it.
Arctic Frost: Hahahahha
Northern Lights: lol
Bob Hass: Be A Light, no I don't think Jesus Christ was divine in any special sense. I was raised a Catholic.
But I've come to think that Jesus was a powerful teacher. and that it was his followers who made these great claims for him. (what he said) was that the kingdom of God is within you. I believe *that*.WAR!: ^brb getiing my poet sister to ask this dude a question
Be A Light: ok thanks
D: Bob, isn't this supposed to be a discussion about poetry?
Violette©: :maybe poetry has something to do with the Bible..
D: I have religious ideas too, but you're here as a poet and I respect that.
Zendog: ^From Spoon: What is the relationship between song lyrics and poetry?
Bob Hass: Spoon, song lyrics are poems
WAR!: no he isn't
Bob Hass: that have to behave in tandem with the music. like the difference between dancing alone and dancing with a partner.
spoon: :yeah, yeah yeah.
Bob Hass: Spoon, are there lyric writers you particularly admire?
Arctic Frost: That was a nice statement
Bob Hass: writers that is.
spoon: :The partner is the rhythm?
spoon: Several, yes. Poets too.
Zendog: ^From Devil : What responsibilities go along with being Poet Laureate?
Bob Hass: Devil, the Poet Laureate has to give poetry readings
Bob Hass: and lectures at the Library of Congress
WAR!: i thinks my sises poetry sucks
spoon: The pull of the songform is seductive though, no?
Bob Hass: and you become a sort of spokesperson for American letters
Arctic Frost: But is not song just prose in another form?
Bob Hass: I do alot of work talking about literacy issues.
D: I think it's easier to write lyrics because there is already a structure, but sometimes it causes a bending of the meaning you want to convey.
Bob Hass: D, that's true. Not just of song forms, but of other forms like the ballad and the sonnet
Willie: How often is a new poet laureate elected? Or is it like the supreme court...for life?
Bob Hass: Willie, the Poet Laureate is appointed for a year. it's renewable but nobody's ever wanted to do it for more than a couple of years.
spoon: :Do you think all poetry forms started as song forms?
Bob Hass: D, write to Library of Congress Washington DC 20540-8910
Zendog: ^From peduci : Novels get movie deals, comic books get merchandising dolls, music gets TV commercial retakes, poetry doesn't get much in the way of ancillaries - would increased popularity corrupt the art?
D: is there an E-mail address???
Arctic Frost: :good question
Bob Hass: peduci, no, i don't think it would, but there'd probably be a lot more bad poetry.
Bob Hass: still, it's good for every art to have live forms from very popular to very complicated
Arctic Frost: Hahahahaha
Northern Lights: ha ha ha
peduci: percentage wise there's probably less bad poetry around than other art
Bob Hass: that's probably so.
peduci: that might be the reason
Coyote: What poetry do you enjoy reading the most?
Bob Hass: Coyote, I read such a range from old poets to contemporaries that it's hard to say. Sort of like saying what's your favorite food. one day you want orange juice another day you have a craving for salads or something...
Arctic Frost: :I like this guy:)
D: bob, is there an e-mail address for that????????
Bob Hass: there is, but i don't know it.
D: ok thanx
Zendog: ^From Arctic Frost : Do you see the tactics of congress to suppress freedom on the Internet frightening?
Bob Hass: yeah i do.
Arctic Frost: hee hee
Bob Hass: do you Arctic Frost? what is it about it that worries you?
Arctic Frost: I'm afraid it will stifle writing Especially on the computer services
Bob Hass: i'm more worried about the economics of the medium. i'm worried about kids who grow up too poor to have access to this technology
Arctic Frost: Writing wise or in general?
Bob Hass: in general.
Zendog: I heard you on an interview say that you admire the modern classic: "Raid Kills Bugs Dead". What do you like about it?
Bob Hass: It's to the point.
janet: its a bit redundant aint it? :)
spoon: :Prez says Libraries and schools should have access.
Bob Hass: it was written by Lew Welsh who was one of the beat poets , a friend of Allen Ginsberg.
Arctic Frost: How interesting
Bob Hass: He was doing a gig as an advertising writer in San Francisco "Raid Kills Bugs Dead" (which is probably redundant, but after all, the subject is overkill)
Arctic Frost: Hahahaha
Northern Lights: lol
Coyote: What prompts you to write? Are there any particular events that trigger your writing?
Bob Hass: Different things at different times.
Bob Hass: i think i try to write about stuff i can't put into words
spoon: :makes sense
Coyote: ever try painting?
Bob Hass: a little bit i'm in love with painting and i'm very bad at drawing.
Arctic Frost: oh really?
Bob Hass: but i took a course once in the chinese brush and really loved it.
Coyote: does that help picture those unspeakable things?
Zendog: ^From Joe: Do you know/like Steven Sandy's poetry?
Bob Hass: I know Steven Sandy's poetry and I know him a little. I like his work a lot. it's kind of plain and real musical and about ordinary things in subtle ways.
Zendog: ^From Kate: Bob, who would you consider to be the 5 most important poets of the last 50 years (so we can run to the bookstore)?
Bob Hass: yo pipsqueak what's on your mind?
Bob Hass: of the last 50 years? in english?
?MISS P: Not necessarily (let's be less limited).
Bob Hass: in spanish, 2: Pablo Neruda and Cesar Vallejo. in Polish, Czeslaw Milosz, Zbigniew Herbert and Wladislaw Symborska who just won the Nobel Prize for Literature, she's really wonderful. very well translated and quirky original. She's the person i'm pushing these days.
Willie: wow
Bob Hass: I think anybody who can think and read (we all have to feel) will like her a lot! she helps you to live in this century.
pipsqueek: what are your efforts for literacy?
Bob Hass: i'm concerned that kids aren't being taught to read. because the schools are so overcrowded and underfunded. so I've spent a lot of time going around talking to business groups trying to get people
Arctic Frost: Should private industry help hold up the schools
Bob Hass: to realize that we have a crisis on our hands. and that it doesn't have to do with beating Japan economically
Arctic Frost: :there's my answer:)
Bob Hass: it has to do with the idea we had that if you're going to have a democracy
Willie: excellent answer
Bob Hass: everybody gets a chance to learn how to read.
Zendog: ^From Arctic Frost : What language would you say is the most poetic?
Britta: That is basic
Coyote: How do you propose to get kids motivated to read?
Bob Hass: when I'm writing, AF, i always feel like any language but the one i'm writing in is VERY poetic :)
MISS P: hehee
JAM: haha
Bob Hass: Coyote, one thing that helps a lot is to motivate the parents.
Kyra: hahaha
Bob Hass: there are reading groups starting up
Arctic Frost: :good point!
Kyra: true
Bob Hass: for the parents of inner city kids.
Willie: yes absolutely
JAM: my parents are in jail but good teachers got me to read
Bob Hass: funded by local groups like rotary and kiwanis
Bob Hass: after dinner, parents can get together
Bob Hass: at the school
Willie: they do a good job .... at least they try to
Bob Hass: have coffee and cookies and talk about novels and poems and stories their kids are reading.
Bob Hass: the parents have liked it a lot.
JAM: but bob what about kids without parents like me
Bob Hass: tough , tough situation. JAM, where are your parents?
Kate: JAM: can't the parole officer read to you?
spoon: :We could do reading groups in here.
Bob Hass: where are you living, JAM?
MISS P: yes that would be wonderful spoon
JAM: Baltimore
JAM: they're in jail in camden nj though
MISS P: yes Bob...what do you feel about the Internet as a tool for teaching language and reading?
janet: yes i like the idea of getting together to discuss readings
Bob Hass: In Baltimore, there's a couple of very good book stores that sponsor reading groups
JAM: like louies?
JAM: the owner of louies almost adopted me
JAM: but the stupid government blocked it
Bob Hass: that sounds great, JAM. how did the government block it?
JAM: because i guess he's gay or something
JAM: that is so discriminatory
Bob Hass: this sounds like a long story -- have you tried to write about it?
JAM: yes i tried but i am a frustrated writer
Arctic Frost: :I really like this guy
JAM: lots inside but nothing comes out
Bob Hass: good if you're reading and writing... if nothing comes out
MISS P: When I feel that way I speak it into a tape recorder
JAM: i would give anything to have your creativity
Bob Hass: it's because you got your own censor looking over your shoulder
Willie: hmm
Bob Hass: just lower your expectations and write it.
spoon: :patience and persistence, eh?
JAM: your poem The Gardens of Warsaw brings me to tears every time i read it
Bob Hass: not just patience and persistence, you have to be willing to be awkward and stupid
JAM: in part because it is so beautiful and in part because i could never create something so beautiful
JAM: good advice. thanks!
Arctic Frost: :you never know till you try, Jam
Zendog: Would Josef Brodski (spelling?) make your 50-years list?
Bob Hass: Zendog, I'm not sure. Josef Brodski is supposed to be a great poet and he's really hard to translate into English so the version we get to read isn't always so great, but I love his essays. It's easier to translate prose.
Zendog: I think his best stuff (in english) is the stuff he translated himself
Bob Hass: yeah i agree!
JAM: hey bob do you think this new trend of poetry jams in bars and coffee shops is healthy for poetry, or is making it overly pop?
Arctic Frost: :new trend?
Bob Hass: oh i think it's healthy.
Arctic Frost: :I thought that was an old trend
Arctic Frost: :I'm too old
JAM: well it's exploded over the last few years
Bob Hass: Arctic Frost, it's true... it's not so new. But it's newer some places than others.
JAM: even in my parents jail believe it or not
Kyra: hehe AF, me too
Bob Hass: where do you live, AF?
Arctic Frost: That's good to hear actually
Arctic Frost: I'm in Alaska, Bob
Coyote: Can poetry as we know it survive in a world dominated by fast, disconnected, commercial, images? Or does it need to redefine itself into a new form, like rock and roll lyrics?
Bob Hass: JAM, that's so interesting that there are poetry jams at the jail your parents are in.
JAM: i went to one. it was very emotional
Bob Hass: Coyote, there are so many commercial images
spoon: :poetry of survival
Bob Hass: that poetry as it is gets to be more important it's like television and advertising and politics
Bob Hass: are the teacher droning in front of the classroom and poetry is the notes the kids are passing back and forth amongst themselves.
Arctic Frost: Hee hee
Zendog: ^From MISS P: Bob...what do you feel about the internet as a tool for teaching language and reading?
Bob Hass: MISS P, you won't believe this probably, but this is only my second time on the Internet. I'm a very low tech person though I am working at it.
Willie: well i can understand that
Bob Hass: So I really don't have an opinion... I *hope* it's an effective teacher.
spoon: :It's a people's distribution medium.
Bob Hass: spoon, it's a people's distribution medium for people who can afford computers.
MISS P: good point
Bob Hass: i'm really worried
Willie: oh?
Bob Hass: that we're developing a two-class society
spoon: Access for all is a necessity. like telephone lifeline.
Bob Hass: like Victorian England.
Bob Hass: so, it seems important to get them technology in the inner city
Arctic Frost: :the haves and have nots
Bob Hass: classrooms
MISS P: indeed
Bob Hass: and inner city libraries.
spoon: :yes yes..
Zendog: :People with computer access underestimate how many people don't have access
Bob Hass: that's right!
Coyote: I like your idea of getting the parents together after school. Requires a lot of charisma to draw us away from our TV sets, though ...
spoon: :Over half the world has never made a phone call.
Bob Hass: Coyote, less and less charisma. All those people surfing 52 channels and nothing to watch but reruns of 70's rock videos on MTV.
JAM: hey bob what were you like as a kid?
Coyote: We have tried to use places like this to bring folks back together ...
Bob Hass: JAM, I don't know, what were you like as a kid?
JAM: boring, a dreamer
JAM: I mean were you a poet-to-be as a kid?
Bob Hass: if you were dreaming, it can't have been so boring.
Bob Hass: oh, I read a lot, I also did a lot of sports
MISS P: what did you read?
Bob Hass: though I was never particularly good at them.
JAM: but do you think you were a poet-to--be, or that it wasn't predetermined when you were a kid?
Bob Hass: but I think I had some vague idea that I wanted to be a writer even when I was ten.
Bob Hass: that is an interesting question! fate and free-will
Bob Hass: do you think things are pre-determined?
JAM: to some extent, yes
caz: but public access will become greater, I'd like to see a workable hard copy distribution system as well (I'm so lagged that is probably out of context by now)
JAM: like that my parents would be crooks, unfortunately
JAM: they said they knew that when they were 6
Bob Hass: JAM, interesting... I think we have to act as if we had free will.
Arctic Frost: I believe courses are predetermined, not people
JAM: yes i agree
Bob Hass: since we can't really know whether we do or not.
JAM: worst case, we fool ourselves to be happy
Bob Hass: AF, interesting idea, say more.
Arctic Frost: Paths lead in directions, they can have some determination of their destination. But the person walks the path and chooses the course, and can turn direction at anytime
janet: society has some determination in direction or narrowness of that path for some
JAM: when my mom was 6 she wrote a story saying when she grew up she'd be in jail. isn't that weird?
Bob Hass: JAM, not so weird. when will your parents be out?
JAM: my dad never, and my mom in 3 years
pipsqueek: what did they do?
JAM: i'd rather not say if that's ok with you
JAM: i'm kind of ashamed of them as you can imagine
spoon: You've done well for yourself, Jam.
Bob Hass: JAM, I can understand that -- I've read and taught in prisons and I know that one of unwritten rules is that you don't ask.
JAM: thanks. i've had a lot of support from my church
spoon: cool.
Zendog: ^From Britta : Do you know the swedish writer of poems "Gunnar Ekelöf" and what do you think of his work?
Bob Hass: Britta, i like what i know of Ekelof -- he was one of the first European poets to get interested in Sufi ideas
Bob Hass: i also love a lot a younger Swedish poet named Tomas Transtromer
Britta: He's great too
Bob Hass: and he was influenced by ekelof.
Britta: Many are
Coyote: Do you think that good collaborative poetry is possible? Or are solitary authors best suited for creating meaningful art? We've tried to create stories as a group here, but with meandering results ...
Bob Hass: Coyote, I think stories though as fun as play, isn't a good approach
spoon: :..meandering results...hehe
Bob Hass: the best collaborative written art i know is the Japanese renga and i would think it would be ideal for collaborative work in this medium.
Coyote: how does it work?
spoon: renga...what are the constraints?
pipsqueek: could you do some poetry for us?
Bob Hass: it's philosophy has to do with understanding change if you read my book "The Essential Haiku", you'll get some sense of how renga work. there are lots of books on the subject. but the basic idea is that the first person writes three lines of poetry.
Coyote: how would you do it in a collaborative medium like this?
Guest 342: Some collaborative efforts on the on the interactive sites produce occasional jams. Do you ever check out these sites?
Coyote: Could we try it out now?
Arctic Frost: Ohhhh
Bob Hass: for example, "A cloudy gray afternoon/ the plum blossoms already gone/ wind off the Pacific."
Bob Hass: then, the next person has to write two lines that complete the poem.
Bob Hass: anyone want to try?
?MISS P: how about JAM?
spoon: window reflections/ voices beyond the wall
Bob Hass: great spoon! now,
Arctic Frost: The days signals it's end/scurring off to new lands
Bob Hass: the next person starts with the two lines
Arctic Frost: whoops:)
Bob Hass: window reflections/ voices beyond the wall
Guest 344: A man comes home to an empty house/In a few minutes a tea kettle sounds.
Bob Hass: and the next person has to write three lines
Arctic Frost: Ahhh I see
Bob Hass: that complete *that* poem
JAM: that sounds like a great way to learn poetry
Bob Hass: independently of the first
Bob Hass: in other words, it doesn't have to have the weather or the season of my part of the poem.
Bob Hass: anyone want to try?
Arctic Frost: Two different thought with the same set of words
JAM: nope too shy
Arctic Frost: Oh yes, let's!
Coyote: Arctic and spoon, go for it!
Bob Hass: JAM, suppose after those lines window reflections/ voices through the wall -- you wrote
Bob Hass: "it could snow in Baltimore/ I have been thinking about / my parents and my life"
JAM: wow that's nice!!
Bob Hass: you see, it can be pretty simple
Coyote: I close my eyes / the wind hurls / where did my spirit go?
Bob Hass: so now, ahh... Coyote!
Bob Hass: the way it works
Bob Hass: we now have one poem
Coyote: when does it stop?
Bob Hass: there are two forms: one goes on for 36 verses and one goes on for 100 verses
Coyote: what is the difference between our random associations and true art?
Bob Hass: in Japanese, there are certain rules
Kyra: :wow
Bob Hass: coyote, good question.
Coyote: If we mean it, then is it art?
Bob Hass: what the Japanese did was have each session supervised by a master poet.
Bob Hass: who was a renga teacher and could accept or reject a verse- most of the famous haiku poets made their living as renga masters.
Coyote: Would you be our renga master, so we can teach others?
Bob Hass: probably that's too formal for Americans, but you could have
Bob Hass: a kind of informal guide.
spoon: :Balanced rhythms, intensities, design...etc. Eh?
Bob Hass: spoon, exactly right! spoon: just so.
JAM: bob if you could be anything at all in the world, would you be a poet?
Bob Hass: JAM, I think so... most of the time. I like my life. sometimes i want to live without words
JAM: Poet would be my second choice
Bob Hass: what's your first choice, JAM?
spoon: :soundz pretty blessed.
JAM: Composer... oh to be Mahler or Bruckner!!
Coyote: Okay, Bob, you've been very generous with your time
Arctic Frost: You sure have!!
Bob Hass: it's been fun!
WAR!: bob if u have a more deep feelings than others are your chances of being a famous poet better
Northern Lights: )APPLAUSE
Zendog: Thank you so much for sharing your time with us, Bob
Arctic Frost: This was wonderful!!
Apple Bow: Thanks!
Coyote: I want to thank you on behalf of everyone.
Arctic Frost: )applause
Kyra: Thank you Bob!
Coyote: You've given us a lot to think about and pass on ...
?MISS P: This has been very special thank u
JAM: thank you bob!!! you're great!
Arctic Frost: I can't wait to start poetry games online
jilld: thanks so much
Bob Hass: thanks again!
Britta: Thanks :-)
Arctic Frost: So many wonderful ideas
spoon: Thanks so much, Bob.
Coyote: Can we have your permission to post the transcript of this interview on the web?
Bob Hass: sure.
Coyote: for those who missed it?
Bob Hass: sure coyote.
Arctic Frost: )applause
spoon: That would be great. Thank you
Coyote: Thanks. Do come again ....
?MISS P: oh wonderful
Northern Lights: )APPLAUSE
WAR!: bob if u have a more deep feelings than others are your chances of being a famous poet better
?MISS P: Thanks to you and to Michael as well
Coyote: We'll practice renga in your honor ...
Coyote: And as always, thanks to our wonderful audience.
spoon: Renga practice next Wednesday!!!
Arctic Frost: )applause
Northern Lights: Hope you enjoyed your Palace experience.
Bob Hass: WAR, no, everybody has deep feelings.
spoon: I'm bringing the big stick!!
Arctic Frost: :good answer:)
Bob Hass: at one time or another.
?MISS P: Thank you Coyote for hosting this unique opportunity
Coyote: It's always a pleasure getting together with you for those little rituals ...
Arctic Frost: Bob, do you have a web page yet?
Bob Hass: needing to work out the language is the key thing I think.
Apple Bow: Thanks again, Bob. It's been very interesting.
Bob Hass: it's been fun. thanks again for having me.
Arctic Frost: Thanks, Bob!!
?MISS P: Please do come visit us again
Arctic Frost: That was a great chat!
JAM: that was one of the greatest experiences in my life!!! WOW!
Northern Lights: That was cool. Good job Minds!
Coyote: Yes, that was great!
JAM: thanks to you guys for hosting this!
spoon: Cool Jam!!
Coyote: Jam, it was good that you were here.
Arctic Frost: Jam, you were asked such neat questions
?MISS P: Thank u Coyote and thanks to Mike Melo at TPI for arranging this
Zendog: Thanks for coming, JAM
Arctic Frost: Thanks Mike!!
Coyote: It added a real edge to our chat.
17:22:56 - Closing Log