T.Byron K. 2013

The Art of Suggestion

Poetry and painting are "sister arts" & are meant to compliment one another. Poetry is imagistic & remains the art of suggestion- it should open up endless possibilities of meaning & be resistant to literal or linear interpretation. What matters is how a poem touches the individual heart.
11/27/2019
T.Byron K. 2013

The Peoples Art Form

It is poetry (& not the novel) that really is the peoples art form. A cultural need for linear story lines stems from a need for literalism and a fear of the symbolic. Literalism is still, as N.O. Brown noticed, "the spirit that Blake called Ulro, which sees nothing but rock and sand jostling together in the void. Literalism makes a universe of stone, it is the ministration of death."
11/26/2019
T.Byron K. 2013

A Poetic Problem

We have a poetic problem if "Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all." has been replaced with a quest for the harsh truth & nothing but the harsh truth.
11/22/2019
T.Byron K. 2013

North Virginia

I am from North Virginia (as I call it) after living the past 35 years in the mountains of Western VA near the WV border. North VA should probably be its own state & the southern portion could be South VA (kind of like the Carolinas). West VA still remains a refuge to the right of us.

11/18/2019
T.Byron K. 2013

Intuitive Empathy & "The Shining"

I believe intuitive empathy is another form of "the shining" and a gateway for creativity. A person can't readily hide their emotions at all from me. I am able to discern what is going on inside someone's spirit generally without even knowing them.

11/10/2019
T.Byron K. 2013

Pax/Long Branch WVa

Much of my family on my Father's side are from Pax/Long Branch WVa. I remember several mystical journeys in my childhood to visit the family house with the Kelly men, the abandoned mine that my Grandfather worked in, (and his Father worked as well) the family grave yard hidden up the Hollow with beautiful old headstones and stories my Dad told of Big Rock. The old player piano in the house was still miraculously in tune. The quiet calm of my Uncle V. Byron Kelly, who was a pilot in Korea and Viet Nam and learning to play chess for the first time with my smart Cousin Glenn. There was even a secret family handshake imparted- we were sworn to secrecy about sharing it with any ladies in our family, but I later learned they all knew it too.

11/4/2019
T.Byron K. 2013

Digital Archive

I always suggest to my students if they are writers that they begin and keep a digital archive of their work. When I first began writing back in 1987 I did not have a computer and I wrote all of my poems in long hand (and still do). By the time I did have a computer in 1998 I found LiveJournal which has served as an archive and workstation for me since then @ https://tbyronk.livejournal.com
Any good blog platform will do, but LiveJournal has a "tags" feature for each post that allows you to create categories, you can also share or keep them private. We spend a lot of time these days looking at/liking other people's writing online, LiveJournal is a place that the time you have could be invested in your actual work (if you are writer) and it could prove enjoyable to share on. There is also an app to add LJ to Facebook if you like as well.

10/26/2019