poetry, dreams, and the body

Poem of the Issue – Austin Chronicle 02/03/12

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:18:01 +0000

My poem “absolute zero” is the featured “Poem of the Issue” in this week’s edition of The Austin Chronicle. This one has its origins in a journal entry from early 1989 which was forgotten and then rediscovered in October 2010 when I was working on the Iron Man Family Outtakes project. I can’t remember now [...]

phantom mother

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:01:15 +0000

mother phantom lover stranger rescue twisted ever after user liar bent deceiver root trunk branch leaf fall leaf branch trunk root deceiver bent liar user after ever twisted rescue stranger lover phantom mother. (PDF version)

staring into black

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:50:11 +0000

sooner or later every man must stop fighting the stars. sooner or later his life will run him down and he will lose what he holds most dear. the one thing that has kept him going given him reason during the day and comfort during the hour of the wolf will slip from his grasp. [...]

obituary 12-11-11

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:22:52 +0000

Late last year, my biweekly men’s group decided that each of us would write his own obituary as a self-awareness exercise and bring it into the group for sharing and discussion. I wanted to write something grand that projected a wonderful future in which my struggles and sacrifices were validated and my dearest dreams came [...]

my heart is a church

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 22:16:02 +0000

my heart is a church I’ve pissed in the pews the roof is bombed out the candles are broken. the windows are dirty the doors are locked tight the altars are built of barbed wire and bones. the wind blows through the rain pours in the bells don’t ring the dead don’t die. the child [...]

A view through a cracked lens

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 21:39:15 +0000

I’ll be honest. Up until a day or so ago, I really hadn’t been paying close attention to the Penn State story. As an adult survivor of childhood abuse, I’m living and dealing with my own story every day. I don’t have to look to media for more. I’ll be honest about something else, too. [...]

meat

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:41:22 +0000

behind the black curtain ugly parody of love quicksand flesh I am sinking. too far gone I can’t go home poisonous feast of fingers and tongues. empty universe primal isolation I can’t find love so I settle for meat. strange meat in my mouth my meat in strange hands she is meat I am meat [...]

Recent work at the Good Men Project

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:42:18 +0000

I’ve had three items posted on the Good Men Project website this month, as follows: * My video poem “secret children”. * My video poem “falling though” with my accompanying written commentary about my fear of feeling and expressing grief and sadness. * My poem “use everything” (video version is available here). For a complete [...]

“Healing Is Not for Wimps” at the Good Men Project

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 03:27:47 +0000

My article “Healing Is Not for Wimps” is now featured on the website for the Good Men Project. Here is an excerpt: Sadness scares me. Grief, the experience of grief and grieving, scares me. But I also know that grieving, that being with grief and sadness, is one of the most powerful and effective ways [...]

Book review: “Zen in the Art of Photography”

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 12:39:01 +0000

Zen in the Art of Photography, by psychotherapist and photographer Robert Leverant, is a gracefully tight articulation of philosophy and process that reads like poetry. This little book is beautiful in both appearance and content. It even feels good in my hands. I’m neither a photographer nor an expert on Zen, but I enjoyed this [...]

12-week men’s group starting soon in Austin

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 23:02:14 +0000

“WAKING UP: Men Reclaiming Our Inspiration” is a 12-meeting study and process group for men in the Austin area that starts on August 31 and ends on November 16. The group will meet at Sol Associates in Austin and will be comprised of six members and two leaders, Steve Milan and Rupesh Chhagan. Here are [...]

Stepping out from the shadow of the father

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 22:16:30 +0000

I recently had the pleasure of corresponding a bit with Dr. John Ashfield, an Australian author, educator, and psychotherapist. Dr. Ashfield is Director of Education and Clinical Practice for AIMHS, the Australian Institute of Male Health and Studies, and is the author of the recently published book Doing Psychotherapy with Men: Practicing Ethical Psychotherapy and [...]

Kathleen Freeman – “House Rules”

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 13:46:07 +0000

Kathleen Freeman is a poet in the UK who’s recently been posting some incredibly lovely, vital work on her blog in a series of poems entitled “Legacy for a two year old”. Today I’m featuring a very poignant piece from her new series, just started, called “Slouching Beyond Two”. House Rules Sit up straight don’t [...]

Poem of the Issue – Austin Chronicle 07/08/11

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 21:09:14 +0000

My poem “reverie” is the featured “Poem of the Issue” in this week’s edition of The Austin Chronicle. This one is just about a month old, although I actually started it in January 2010. Started it, got stuck, forgot about it, and then picked it back up and finished it about 18 months later. Very [...]

“Coming to Terms with an Absence of Elders” at the ManKind Project Journal

Sun, 03 Jul 2011 22:58:06 +0000

“Coming to Terms with an Absence of Elders”, an article I wrote and posted on this blog in November 2010, was published recently on the website for The ManKind Project Journal. Here’s an excerpt: I’ve been thinking recently about the deficiency of appropriate, effective male mentoring in my life and how it’s affected me. I’m [...]

“Broken Bones and the Father Wound” at the Good Men Project

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 17:41:17 +0000

My article “Broken Bones and the Father Wound” was published a few days ago on the website for the Good Men Project as one in a series of articles being posted in observance of Father’s Day. The link for the article is: http://goodmenproject.com/fathers-day/broken-bones-and-the-father-wound This article is an updated version of a blog post I originally [...]

“secret children” video posted on MaleSurvivor site

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 14:13:29 +0000

Exciting news! My video poem “secret children” is now featured on the “Survivors Speaking Out” page on the MaleSurvivor website at http://www.malesurvivor.org/speaking-out.html. I wrote “secret children” just about 20 years ago and knew I had something of universal significance in my hands, but I couldn’t get anybody to look at it. I really couldn’t get [...]

forgotten animals

Sun, 05 Jun 2011 05:17:27 +0000

forgotten animals speak to me in forgotten languages forever preserved in forgotten dreams. (PDF version)

Ben Ringler – Disowned Male Rage and Its Impact on Society

Sun, 29 May 2011 14:53:12 +0000

Today’s post is a very excellent article from psychotherapist Ben Ringler, reprinted here with his permission. Disowned Male Rage and Its Impact on Society Disowned male rage is pervasive. It is reflected in the violence in our streets and in the wars we wage, the many battered women and children behind the closed doors of [...]

accidental self-portrait no. 1

Mon, 23 May 2011 04:20:53 +0000

drawing reflected myself back to me right before heading back into the cage the other morning. one more harried hurried hunted hunch-shouldered hungry running rabbit trapped in the flying to pieces stressed for success balls out non-stop all or nothing everything all the time twenty-four-seven faster and faster more and more mandatory retaliatory predatory purgatory [...]

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