Beyond P.A.R. (Poetry And Radio) by Gerry Fialka
Beyond P.A.R. (Poetry And Radio) by Gerry Fialka
from June 2021 issue of Venice BeachHead
https://freevenicebeachhead.com/
It is said that poetry is outing your inner dialogue. So maybe radio is turning the public sphere inward. We share affinity with each other through these mediums. We are what we express.
Venice is a whirlwind of interior landscapes and exposed seescapes. We are beyond “par,” which is a word that started out meaning “a standard fixed by consent or natural conditions” around 1767. It’s 2021, and we can reboot the etymological possibilities of this average word to the “better beyonds.” We swirl in the eyes and the ears of Venice cloudbursts. Sense ratio shifting rains supreme. Expand your mind.
Expansion-wise, I am lucky to share information on locals who touch our souls, minds and hearts deeply.
Gail Gordon has lived in Venice and frequented the Boardwalk for many years. We have experienced so many sunsets with the Spontorage and Dudleyville folks, and it always feels so good. Years ago, she buddied up a raggamuffin and helped raise this young man, Shaka Mali Tafari. He has recently produced an engaging radio show on their long-lasting friendship for KCRW entitled “Nice to Meet You Forever.” It will be aired live on June 18 at 2:30 PM and will be available digitally for a month.
Rocco Ingala has been providing a safe place for literature and music at Angel City Books & Records for many years. We have conversed epiphanistic philosophies till the cows come home. He just published his new poetry book entitled “Atomic Cafe.” To be clear, the location is 218 Pier Ave, Santa Monica, but it’s got the Venice vibe. And the book is an engaging collection of song lyrics, poetry and writings on art. It spans over two decades, mirroring the over two decades of his local institution.
They evince Caroline Casey’s observation that words are magic, and magic is a willingness to cooperate with everything. Whether it is spoken word heard over the airwaves, or printed word on the page, words evoke more than their meaning.
Shaka’s radio show narration is complimented by Gail’s recollections in enhancing the connections of two different people. The details are intriguing. Themes of healing and forgiveness arise. With Shaka as her pal, Gail’s shares her love of live culture events like theater, ice-skating, movies, the circus, festival of masks, music, the zoo and much more.The enrichment became the lifeblood of freedom for both of them. They nurtured a solid and honest trust. The radio show crystallises this definite sweetness of connecting.
Rocco’s book is glowing and the vivid cover gleams sincerity. He took a selfie, then the infamous graphic artist Jean-Francois Podevin beautifully enhanced it. Rocco’s vibrancy begs us to see the hidden. He challenges the reader in the poem “Close your eyes.” He inquires, “Tell me what you see? . . . Tell me how you see?” These streams of consciousness flow from the personal to the epic. “Romantic Variations” is a six-page poem that feels like gypsy dreams in a William Blake tale. He ponders the function of art and music in a quest for identity and new questions.
The hardcover version includes extra text on the jacket flaps. Rocco writes, “I am free to be honest. . . . I can write myself out of here any time I want. I can write myself anyway I want. I can write myself. I can write. And sometimes, the book writes me.” This could apply to Shaka’s radio show as well. The airwaves broadcast him. We shape our tools, then they shape us.
Rocco and Shaka do not settle just for our commonality. They help us see and hear newness with new eyes and new ears. I am grateful for anyone expanding the possibilities of both “Poetry And Radio.” Rocco’s book and Shaka’s radio show are fine examples how these two mediums can take us beyond the par. Laughtears.com
GERRY’s ZOOM SALONS 2021: Join our online discussions every Monday, Tuesday & Wed, at 1:30pm (pacific, for 40 minutes). And every Saturday we go from 2 to 4pm. LZS (Laughtears Zoomin’ Salons) probes the hidden psychic effects of human inventions and how they shape behaviour. Arts, literature, film, activism, new media, poetry, funk, jazz, avant-garde, new media, performance art, politics, cosmic wisdom, jokes and more. Flip the pandemic lockdown into infodemic & pundemic look ups!
ALSO : (rsvp pfsuzy@aol.com for links)
VeniceWake Reading Club — James Joyce http://laughtears.com/McLuhanWake.html AND EVERY FIRST TUESDAY of EVERY MONTH !!!
Carl Jung Reading Group every Monday at 5:30pm pacific
McFinn Salon (dates TBA) https://medium.com/@pfsuzy/cure-for-the-common-codebreaker-by-germy-folkways-73e92782b7be
