A Poet Before I Take a Break

THE SILENCE OF MEN is Richard Jeffrey Newman's first book of poems. I know few people go to bookstores or Amazon to find new poets but he's worth the effort. The publisher is CavanKerry Press (2006) Newman is a New Jerseyite and has won a couple of prizes. But the point is, he is NOT a silent man, he writes with great depth and insight and openess about the things most men never talk about -- and if they don't talk about it, if they can't find the words, as Newman can, do they feel as deeply? Feel? perhaps. Express? Very, very rarely. Poem after poem astonishes me. I'm picturing the back of the book because I wanted to get the publisher's name in here. Discovering a bold and clear voice is wonderful!

Many people plop in front of the boobtube, or plug in the iPod to the familar and known and deprive themselves of the great joy of finding how various and wonderful the world is. New experiences are not scary, new may be boring or unsettling, but it can be insightful and brodening and just plain wonderful. So I recommend trying to find this book and read it.

And now for something new for me, on the ground, total immersion -- I'm outta here in a few hours. Off to a little piece of the world I've never been to with people I've never met. Hardly anything excites me more than heading for a brand new place. Of course the dread gamet of airport security has to be dealt with. My titanium hip will set off the alarm, I'll be "wanded" even though I'll show them my card. Ugh! Small irritation for a very big pleasure ... and the Czech Republic is the land of the best beer in the world! I won't be blogging again for something over two weeks. I hope I'll have some interesting photos.