Poets for living waters...

I've been rediscovering poetry of late. My idea of what constitutes a good poem has never had much to do with grammar, correct spelling or constructed notions of beauty. I like poems that take a savage bite out of me, that challenge, the make their defiant meanings clear, that turn everything I understand about this world on its ear...topsy turvy. I haven't encountered many writings like that recently.

Please no one invite me to peruse the writings of their favourite star revolutionary poet...who has a recording deal, who is on an international tour playing to sold out venues all over the world, who pulls his/her punches for popularity sake, when the time is right, for the highest dollar, because their audiences would freak if they "went there".

sigh...cheups...

I haven't read any of the poems gathered on this site yet. I'm hoping that at least a few of them hit BP where it counts...

Poets for Living Waters is a poetry action in response to the BP Gulf oil disaster of April 20, 2010, one of the most profound man-made ecological catastrophes in history. Former US poet laureate Robert Pinsky describes the popularity of poetry after 9/11 as a turn away from the disaster’s overwhelming enormity to a more manageable individual scale. As we confront the magnitude of this recent tragedy, such a return may well aid us.

The first law of ecology states that everything is connected to everything else. An appreciation of this systemic connectivity suggests a wide range of poetry will offer a meaningful response to the current crisis, including work that harkens back to Hurricane Katrina and the ongoing regional effects.

This online periodical is the first in a planned series of actions. Further actions will include a print anthology and a public reading in Washington DC.