Not Your Usual Media “Coverage”

Posted June 14, 2010 2 Comments by AMY KING

Poets for Living Waters – New Statements / Poems

I don’t have the answers. I barely have the questions.  But I’m not egotistical enough to imagine I can come up with a solution or complete understanding on my own.  I also don’t think sitting in front of the TV, feeling angry and impotent, is the answer. This is our Chernobyl. Our genocidal war with our own environment.  We may implode with oil and shed a tear for the dead fishing industries.  Swim among tar balls and swollen sea turtles.  We’ve done it to ourselves, grown up obeying the homegrown U.S. ethos of “Progress. Increase your wealth. Produce, produce, produce!” We panic when the GDP wanes. If we don’t have full-time jobs we spend the bulk of days doing, we feel empty and worthless.

But what are we contributing to? Americans aren’t afraid to work, no question. But we don’t seem to have our eyes on the horizon—we don’t seem to know what all of our blood, sweat and tears are building. We mourn the men who died on that oil well platform; we applaud their determination to do their jobs. But the oil – why has this lust and greed and profit-for-oil dictated how we heat our homes, run our machinery, get us around? Why do our jobs rely and focus on getting and selling the black sludge?

Why do we live with this reliance? When I note that I don’t have the answer, I am simultaneously aware that the current ways we live are inherently, and traumatically flawed. We are co-dependent users, whether we realize and admit it or not.  My children–and yours–will have to deal with the fallout of this legacy – the future? It’s finally time to change the view. Now we are forced to ask the questions in our own backyards:  How else can we carry on? How can we replace our reliance on oil? What harm have we done? How can we slow down the pace, stop working for greedy oil profit margins and think more humanely about exactly what our jobs are?

These are just a few of the questions we’ve begun to ask. We now must get other Americans to ask these questions. The media isn’t going to pose them.  Our media is owned and run by big business. They will not imagine better ways of life for us.  America has done great things; we still have the power to do more. If we can just start envisioning a different future than the one on our horizon (and TVs) right now…

Please find a number of new statements and poems linked below from regular Americans, necessarily increasing in dialogue and scope, asking vital questions – please participate, think aloud, figure out what world you’d like to be borne into and what world you’d like to leave your children living in.  Share with your friends, family, co-workers, and strangers alike. Let’s become our own “think tank” and stop giving big business the power to tell us how to live our lives.    We’re still here – it’s not “too late” to respond, to change things in small ways at first — if the effects of this spill will be felt for decades, so should our actions in response to it!  Thanks for joining this growing nationwide conversation…

IF THE CATASTROPHE GOES ON BY FRANZ WRIGHT

ATLANTIS MADE EASY BY EVIE SHOCKLEY

BIRDS AND WORDS BY BILL MARSH

THREE POEMS BY KATE SCHAPIRA

THREE POEMS BY CARLY SACHS

TWO POEMS BY ALICIA OSTRIKER

THE HAND THAT SLANTS BY PATRICK DURGIN

TWO POEMS BY KIRSTEN KASCHOCK

THREE POEMS BY JEFF NEWBERRY

THREE POEMS BY PHILIP METRES

“WHO HAS NO LAND HAS NO SEA” BY FADY JOUDAH

OIL SPILL BY TARA BETTS

THREE POEMS BY GORDON MASSMAN

FORT MORGAN BY JOSEPH P. WOOD

GREAT AWAKENING BY RODRIGO TOSCANO

TWO POEMS BY NICOLE COOLEY

ODE TO THE PELICAN BY ALISON PELEGRIN

SLIPPINGGLIMPSE BY STEPHANIE STRICKLAND, CYNTHIA LAWSON JARAMILLO, PAUL RYAN

THREE POEMS BY SAM SCHILD

TWO POEMS BY JAN HELLER LEVI

HATCHLING BY LISANNE THOMPSON

THREE POEMS BY JULIAN T. BROLASKI

FIVE POEMS BY JAMES WAGNER

OIL BY JUDITH BARRINGTON

TWO POEMS BY TAMIKO BEYER

FROM KETJAK BY RON SILLIMAN

THE DAY AFTER THE END OF HISTORY: A BIRTHDAY POEM BY T. CLAYTON WOOD

SPILL BY ANGELA SORBY

TWO POEMS BY BROOKS HAXTON

FOLLOWING THE RUN BY GRACE CAVALIERI

TWO POEMS BY MICHELE BATTISTE

TWO POEMS BY MARTHA SERPAS

TWO POEMS BY FRANK SHERLOCK

PHILADELPHIA WORLD OCEANS DAY READING!

THREE POEMS BY ELIZABETH TWIDDY

TWO POEMS BY CAITLIN PLUNKETT

APORIA BY ROBERT PHILBEN

IN EXTREMIS [+ VIDEO] BY NEIL DE LA FLOR

LICKETY-SPLIT BY ANNE HIGGINS

A MOODY STREAM BY STEVE DALACHINSKY

THE FLOODING THAT WRITES ITSELF BY EILEEN R. TABIOS

TWO POEMS BY MELISSA TUCKEY

ORIFICE BY MARCELLA DURAND

DESCENDING BLUES BY BRANDON LAMSON

AN ORDINANCE OF POSSESSION BY TONY MANCUS

TWO POEMS BY MOLLY GAUDRY

CHANDELEUR SOUND BY MARTHE REED

DEEPWATER HORIZON POEMS BY NICOLE MAURO

HONORING WORLD OCEANS DAY — BROOKLYN ACTION

TEMPUS FIDGET BY GEOFFREY GATZA

HONORING WORLD OCEANS DAY–ALASKAN ACTION

FOUR POEMS BY MICHAEL ROBINS

SPIRIT BEAR BY CONRAD DIDIODATO

FIVE POEMS BY AMY SARA CARROLL

ECHOES BY NATHAN HAUKE

FUNDRAISING TO SAVE THE GULF–MICHAEL ROTHENBERG OF BIG BRIDGE RALLIES UPCOMING COMMUNITY ACTION

BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER BY JONATHAN SKINNER

MARE PETROLEUM BY JAMES REIDEL

THREE POEMS BY MICHAEL LEE RATTIGAN

FINAL POEM FOR THE BODY BY RICKEY LAURENTIIS

FOUR POEMS BY KAZIM ALI

THREE POEMS BY LARA CANDLAND

MISSISSIPPI BY CAITLIN THOMPSON

TWO POEMS BY BRIAN SPEARS

FROM THINGS COLUMBUS SAID ABOUT GOLD BY SCOTT ABELS

THREE PROSE POEMS BY MICHAEL LEONG

JUST DIGESTED BY LEORA FRIDMAN

PIMP MY TOP KILL LIVE FEED MOTHERSHIP BY SHARON MESMER

RIDING IT OUT BY GIANMARC MANZIONE

TWO POEMS BY AMY WATKINS

FORMER SANCTUARY BY PIA SEN

TO THE MOTHER OF WATERS, TO WHOM WE NO LONGER PRAY BY MARGOT F. BOYER

HAIKU AND TWO HAIBUN BY DONNA FLEISCHER

THREE HAIKU BY MAYA PINDYCK

TWO POEMS BY PHILIP MATTHEWS

TWO POEMS BY MARGARET ROZGA

TWO POEMS BY ANNY BALLARDINI

THREE POEMS BY AMBER CLARK

GLOBAL FUCK IT BY PATRICK JAMES DUNAGAN

ENORMOUS MISTAKES BY TASHA COTTER

PALLINODE BY WENDY BABIAK

TWO POEMS BY JOSEPH HUTCHISON

(SOMA)TIC POETRY EXERCISE & POEM BY CACONRAD

DEAR SARAH PALIN, BY CAROLYN FOOTE EDELMANN

THREE POEMS BY ALANA I. CAPRIA

TWO POEMS BY CHRISTOPHER RIZZO

TWO POEMS BY JEANNE MURRAY WALKER

TWO POEMS BY BRENDA IIJIMA

ARCTIC DRILLING BY LAURA ELRICK

TWO POEMS BY JARED SCHICKLING

TWO POEMS BY CARA BENSON

TWO POEMS BY TESS TAYLOR

DROWNING POEM BY PETER CICCARIELLO

GULF COAST DREAMS BY M.J. FIEVRE

AT LEAST 4 GALLONS PER SECOND + REVISION BY KAIA SAND

TWO POEMS BY DEBORAH POE

THREE POEMS BY MARK YAKICH

DEAD ZONES BY MOLLIE DAY

GULF WINDS BY LYLE DAGGETT

TWO POEMS BY DEDA KAVANAGH

SELECTIONS FROM CORSICA INSIDE THE DAUGHTERHOUSE BY PAIGE TAGGART

WE CARE ABOUT THE SMALL PEOPLE BY JULES BOYKOFF

THREE POEMS BY DAVID WOLACH

TWO POEMS BY JASON QUACKENBUSH

POEM FOR NANA BY JUNE JORDAN

TOLLBOOTH BY SARAH GREEN & LEORA FRIDMAN

TWO POEMS BY MICHAEL HETTICH

THREE POEMS BY DERRICK AUSTIN

EXCERPT FROM THE BOTTOM BY BETSY ANDREWS

HUSTLE AND BLOW BY BRETT EVANS

EARTH POEMS AND OIL SPILLS BY ALBERT B. CASUGA

REALLY PRETTY IMMATURE IF YOU THINK BY MIKE YOUNG

TWO POEMS BY SANDY TSENG

AGAIN AND AGAIN I MARRY THE EARTH BY AMIR HUSSAIN

TWO POEMS BY ELLEN WISE

TWO POEMS BY PAMELA VILLARS

THREE POEMS BY WENDY BROWN-BÁEZ

THERE IS NO WAY BACK BY PATRICIA MONAGHAN

TWO POEMS BY DONNA PECORE

THREE POEMS BY RICK REIBSTEIN

TWO POEMS BY SAMPSON STARKWEATHER

TWO POEMS BY ANNIE FINCH

WHEN THE ANSWER IS NO BY GWYN MCVAY

TWO POEMS BY ELIZABETH KATE SWITAJ

OIL ODE BY GARY BARWIN

WHEN IT RAINS, IT SNOWS BY NATHAN LOGAN

THREE POEMS BY GREG FUCHS

CONSIDERING OPTIONS FOR CONTROLLING THE BP BLOWOUT IN THE GULF OF MEXICO BY KRISTIN PREVALLET

WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL CONNECTION TO THE OCEAN? BY MARY KRANE DERR

THREE POEMS BY ILONA MARTONFI

FROM GREEN THERAPEUTICS THIS WHALE BY HELLER LEVINSON

TWO POEMS BY MYL SCHULZ

BEYOND PETROLEUM BY ANA BOŽIČEVIĆ

THE BIRDS BY E. TRACY GRINNELL

TWO POEMS + VIDEO [MOURNING AND WITNESSING WALK FOR THE GULF COAST] BY CAROLYN ZAIKO

BP PT: A TOXIC TRYST BY NICKY TISO

WRECKONING BY AMANDA PARKER

TWO POEMS BY SARAH GREEN

TWO POEMS BY NAOMI LOWINSKY

HONORING WORLD OCEAN DAY–DUBLIN, IRELAND ACTION

THREE POEMS BY DEBORAH MEADOWS

THREE POEMS BY RICHARD JEFFREY NEWMAN

A KIND OF SOLUTION BY DAN CHELOTTI

GEOMETRY BY BARBARA STRASKO

THREE POEMS BY RICHARD OYAMA

WATER OFF A DUCK’S BY ERIN VIRGIL

THREE POEMS BY SHELLY TAYLOR

TWO POEMS BY LESLIE MCGRATH

TWO POEMS BY TREY MOORE

THREE POEMS BY ARISA WHITE

COAST FUNERAL BY ABE LOUISE YOUNG

SOME LIVES OF WATER BY DAN FEATHERSTON

THREE POEMS BY TRINA BURKE

AN ESSAY BY DANA GUTHRIE MARTIN

CRAW-DADDY BY REBECCA ANNE RENNER

MOMMY, CAN I HAVE THE BP OIL SPILL FOR XMAS? BY K. SILEM MOHAMMAD

PROSTRATE BY BRIGITTE GOETZE

COMPLAINT BY DANIEL LIN

TWO POEMS BY VIVEK SHARMA

JUNE 4—THE DOW CLOSES DOWN 9931 BY SUSAN BRIANTE

A SURVIVOR STATE BY JOHN LAMBREMONT, SR.

TWO POEMS BY GREG SANTOS

CLEMENS AND ANNA BY LOUIS E. BOURGEOIS

THE GULF OF I STATEMENTS: WATER EXPERIMENT #1 BY JILL MAGI

WE LIVE IN A PERMANENT STATE OF CLEAN UP BY JOSHUA SCHUSTER

LETTER FOR UP NORTH ASSOCIATES BY BRIAN BOYLES

THREE POEMS BY REBECCA FOUST / ART BY LORNA STEVENS

LEAKING OIL WELL AS LUNCHTIME ENTERTAINMENT AT MY HUSBAND’S HI-TECH COMPANY BY PENELOPE SCHOTT

REQUIEM FOR A CEO BY JENNE ANDREWS

PRESS RELEASE: 10 JUNE 2010 BY JULIE L. MOORE

THREE POEMS BY KAMAU RUCKER

TWO POEMS BY STACY G. ERICSON

DEMOLISH A SMALL GROVE BY REBECCA KINZIE BASTIAN

THREE POEMS BY CURTIS JENSEN

TWO POEMS BY SHAUN O’REILLY

THREE POEMS BY JAMES BRUSH

FOUR POEMS BY CARLA MARTIN-WOOD

THREE POEMS BY AMY DRYANSKY

DEEPWATER BY SAEED JONES

THREE POEMS BY MATTHEW GAVIN FRANK

TWO POEMS BY LOUIE CREW

TWO POEMS BY JASON CRANE

THREE POEMS BY MIKE ESPANA-MCGEEHON

I AM A NATURAL WONDER BY ANNE CECELIA HOLMES & LILY LADEWIG

WITHOUT REPRESENTATION BY RITA BANERJEE

A CENTO OF THE GARBAGE PATCH BY BRAD RICHARD

THREE POEMS BY MACKENZIE CARIGNAN

TO CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS…A MEMO BY MARA BUCK

MOURNING BY KIRSTEN OGDEN

THE SEA GODDESS TELLS HIS STORY BY CHRISTINE SWINT

TWO POEMS BY TIMOTHY PILGRIM

TWO POEMS BY MARIE-ELIZABETH MALI

FROM THE UNFINISHED BY MARK DUCHARME

SUMMER VACATION BY SUSAN BROWNE

A POETRY ACTION BY MATTHEW FALK

LETTER #1, TO THE CONSCIENCE EMBODIED BY RICHARD HAMILTON

JULY POEM BY KATHLEEN OSSIP

TWO POEMS BY MICHAEL ROTHENBERG

BURNING WATER BY MINNIE-BRUCE PRATT

DOLPHIN ISLAND BY RANDY BATES

MY LOUISIANA LOVE BY ANNE BARNGROVER

CALL FOR WORK – GULF COAST POEMS

Poets and Writers Magazine — “Poets Act on Oil Spill“

Poets and Writers Magazine — “Poets Take Action in Wake of Gulf Coast Disaster“

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AMY KING View All →

Amy King is the recipient of the 2015 Winner of the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA) Award. Her latest collection, The Missing Museum, is a winner of the 2015 Tarpaulin Sky Book Prize. She co-edited with Heidi Lynn Staples the anthology Big Energy Poets of the Anthropocene: When Ecopoets Think Climate Change. She also co-edits the anthology series, Bettering American Poetry, and is a professor of creative writing at SUNY Nassau Community College.