Hi everyone! For our poetic inspiration, we are turning to a well-known Canadian poet, David McFadden. His life in Canadian poetry has spanned five decades and his 2012 collection What’s the Score? won the 2013 Canadian Griffin Poetry Prize.
Judges’ Citation
“David McFadden has been a major underground poet all his writing life, and the young poets discover him every year. He has always been the darling of the avant-garde, but he is the most readable poet on the planet. Like his hero William Blake, he lives at ease among the most supernatural of events, and gazes in wonderment at everyday things. As a poet he reminds you to be yourself, to be yourself in the world, and give it a chance to amaze you. While reading his beautiful clear language, you sense that he is a trickster, but you cannot help believing every stanza he writes. If there is any such thing as an essential poet, here he is.”
Secrets of the Universe
You’re waiting for a bus at Ward and Baker
and a woman comes up to you
and asks for a dance.
You tell her you don’t want to dance
for there is too much snow
and not enough music
and she says you didn’t mind
dancing with me last night.
And when you tell her she’s mistaken
you didn’t dance with her or anyone last night
she says oh yes you did
and when you ask where
she says up there
on the roof
and she points to the roof of Hipperson Hardware.
In fact, she says, as her voice drops
and a shy look comes into her eyes
I’ve even danced with you on other planets
Venus and Mars for instance
and then she walks away
leaving you to wonder about the part of your life
that is secret even from you.
From Why Are You So Sad? Selected Poems of David W. McFadden, by David McFadden
Our challenge is to write about everyday life with an element of wonder or dotted with psychic bus stops that are sometimes unfathomable to ourselves. For those who are inspired by title, here are some quotes to spur your writing:
“Words were different when they lived inside of you.”
― Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
“I bet you could sometimes find all the mysteries of the universe in someone’s hand.”
― Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
If you are new to the pub, this is how it works:
• Write your poem
• Post it on your blog or website
• Click on Mr. Linky at the bottom of this post and enter your name and the direct URL of your post
• Visit and read other poets’ work and let them know what you thought
• Spread the word on social media with the #dVersePoets hashtag
Have fun and see you out on the trail!
Grace said:
Hi everyone! Welcome to Poetics and I look forward to reading your inspired poems by our canadian poet, David McFadden ~
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
I really liked it… there is something so fantastic with this poem
Grace said:
I love the surreal and imaginative aspect, smiles ~
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
I loved the prompt.. and so look forward what else that come from the poem… I actually remember a story from when I was back in highschool… and elaborated on that one… 🙂 Happy Tuesday everyone.
Grace said:
I take inspiration from David’s style – use the everyday with a twist or a speck of wonder ~ Happy Tuesday to you too 🙂
Pleasant Street said:
@Björn How do you get the prompts so early :). I hope it’s a good story, because I figure it’s fairies that bring it to you
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
Ah.. we do get them early.. you can always check out mine a little before to be better prepared.. it’s a tradition we have…
Pleasant Street said:
It’s okay, I can wait until it’s time. I’m not special ^_^
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
I did before i become a bartender.. but one reason is to leave some time to be around the bar helping out.. it also gives a few examples if you want to.. 🙂 I look forward to your offering.
kanzensakura said:
I did the same thing – check out Bjorn’s posting. he always is the day/evening before. Others do the same. sometimes if you check my page, you’ll find an early posting. since I follow Bjorn’s blog, I get the early poem posting. It helps me as well with a good example. I will always give an intro before mine about the prompt and Bjorn does too. We aren’t special either, just bartenders…I don’t know if you have done so, but check out under d’Team to get info on the bartenders.
Pleasant Street said:
I was just curious
Pleasant Street said:
I was also trying to joke around, but it got lost in there somewhere
kanzensakura said:
That’s okay. I knew you were complaining or anything. And truly, you are indeed special.
kanzensakura said:
WEREn”T complaining, I mean.
Pleasant Street said:
very kind
Victoria C. Slotto said:
Thank you for linking me, Grace. Thankfully, my Internet it now behaving and I look forward to seeing everyone’s work. And thank you for introducing us to this poet…I like what I’ve seen so far.
Grace said:
No problem Victoria ~ Your poem also showed me how its done, smiles ~
Victoria C. Slotto said:
Thank you.
Pleasant Street said:
I’m glad your internet is behaving
MarinaSofia said:
What a wonderful poem – I enjoyed that very much indeed! Thank you for introducing me to this poet.
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
I think mixing in a speculative element in poetry is something I want to do more… 🙂
Victoria C. Slotto said:
Me, too.
Grace said:
I was thinking along the same lines, specially with your contest Marina ~ 🙂
Grace said:
He is very down to earth ~ I am glad you liked his style and poem Marina ~
Pleasant Street said:
I enjoyed this first time reading McFadden. Very imaginative. Now to gain inspiration without copying, I shall do my best
Pleasant Street said:
Contest?
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
It was mentioned at Marina Sofia’s bartalk a few weeks ago… https://dversepoets.com/2015/11/09/pubtalk-shall-we-go-public/ I’m working on my entry at the moment…
Pleasant Street said:
Thank you….I miss a lot
Pleasant Street said:
and forget things….it seems that I replied to that post. Scuse…
MarinaSofia said:
And the deadline has been extended till the 19th of December, so I would encourage you to take part. It’s not just me judging – there will be some more expert poets around too!
Grace said:
I look forward to participating, smiles ~
kanzensakura said:
I am so glad the deadline was extended. I may still not make it but I will try.
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
I will submit.. this time I’m drafting and changing a lot.. 🙂
MarinaSofia said:
I was actually all written out today, so was not planning to take part, but this thought of alternative universes intrigues me and I so enjoyed reading your contributions so far, that I will try to write one as well.
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
I love the thought… and I think I know at least one other poet that might like it.
Grace said:
I was thinking of Jae when I listened to David’s poems ~ Her Alice poems are surreal by themselves ~
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
Oh yes.. she must be told… 🙂
Grace said:
Looking forward to it Marina, smiles ~
kanzensakura said:
What a fun prompt and what a wonderful poem by this poet. I like these side trips into alternate universes. I got the opportunity to write about something that happened last week. It isn’t a secret of the universe, but it is the ordinary made magical.
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
I will run and check it out.. wonderful
Grace said:
The ordinary made special…I like this ~ Thanks Toni and I will make my rounds in a bit ~
Grace said:
I bow to you Jedi Knight ~ What an extra ordinary story Toni, love it ~
kanzensakura said:
Sometimes, this sort of poem can be contrived and pretentious. But David McFadden is beyond that. Indeed – extremely readable and enjoyable. LOL, kind of reminds me of my checkered past when I dabbled in alternate universes. I may end up at some time borrowing from his imaginative works. We all need a trip or two down the rabbit hole or to step past the veil that separates our world from others. Reminds me of Barbara who writes a combo of sci fi and fantasy prose.
Grace said:
I like the element of imaginative or fantasy in a familiar place or scene ~ How to blend it together is the skill of the poet ~ I agree on making that mind trip, Toni ~
kanzensakura said:
Sometimes when I look at the world around me, I wonder if maybe some of those long ago trips I never returned from…
Sabio Lantz said:
Love this sort of poetry — clear, but magical.
Reminds me of Gabriel García Márquez.
Fun prompt — thank you Grace.
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
Yes agree.. a lot of fun both to read and write.
Grace said:
Yes, the writing and reading seems to be effortless as Gabriel’s stories ~ I will be over in a bit ~
Pleasant Street said:
That was fun! Thank you for the prompt
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
Loved your story.
Pleasant Street said:
I’m delighted! Thank you…
Sanaa Rizvi (@rizvi_sanaa) said:
Hey everyone,
Hope you’re having a lovely week so far 🙂 sharing my poem “Secrets of our Souls”… which is based on a true event in my life. Sometimes words though unspoken can still be heard. Hope you guys like it 🙂
Thank you Grace for this wonderful opportunity! This one’s for you 🙂
Lots of love,
Sanaa
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
I will check it.. 😉
Sanaa Rizvi (@rizvi_sanaa) said:
Thank you 🙂
Grace said:
Sanaa, thank you for sharing your poem ~ I will be over in a bit ~
Sanaa Rizvi (@rizvi_sanaa) said:
You’re most welcome Grace 🙂
stalkofsilphium said:
Man, that’s an awesome McFadden poem. I’m going to go find more of him.
Grace said:
I am glad you liked his poem, smiles ~
kanzensakura said:
Speaking of fantasy and other worlds, there is something missing from the Pub page….snow! WP has a feature where you can turn on and have snow on your page from now until just after New Year. This morning, I saw it had happened like all magic seems to – overnight. I opened my page to read and explore and there it was – snow flurries on my blog page. Made me feel as if I were being allowed to go into a magical snow globe. Just MHO, but we need snow on this page! Grin….you know how I love snow, even if it is computer generated.
Grace said:
I have been seeing those snow flurries on other WP blogs ~ Sorry, I don’t know how to turn that feature on or where it is here ~ Maybe Bjorn can help ~
kanzensakura said:
I think under settings there is a way to turn on the feature. I turned it on my first year of blogging and never turned it off so it snows and stops right on WP’s schedule. Come visit if you want to see it again. You can put your cursor on the page and move it around, the flurries move with you. Cool.
Mary said:
Whew, Grace…..that was a tough prompt; but I have (at last) written and linked mine. Thank you for the prompt.
Grace said:
I will be over in a bit Mary, thank you ~
kanzensakura said:
I can see now why this prompt was tough. You wrote an incredible poem.
Mary said:
Thank you, Toni!
Bodhirose said:
My alternate universe comes to me from within. So close yet so far away! :~) Thanks for the enticing prompt, Grace, and I really enjoyed your introduction to David McFadden. His poem was playful yet mysterious at the same time.
Grace said:
Sometimes the answer comes from within ~ Thanks for the lovely share Gayle ~
Bodhirose said:
Yes, it does…and you’re welcome, Grace!
georgeplace2013 said:
Thanks for the new to me poet, Grace. Thanksgiving break has left me feeling rusty with my writing but I am so glad to get back into a routine. Thanks for a great nudge.
Grace said:
I am glad David’s poem inspired you Deb ~ I am also trying to get back into regular writing ~ Enjoy your day 🙂