My Dear Friends:
I'm happy to share with you this exciting news: my tanka prose, "Independence," nominated by the Tanka Society of America for the Pushcart Press Competition.
Independence
"Dear Chen-ou, I hope this email finds you well. Share with you my family photo, which was taken this glorious morning."
In the photo, my friend, his wife and two daughters, wrapping themselves in the flags of blue and yellow, stand with arms linked before a row of rusty Russian tanks on Liberation Square.
My friend used to be a Surrealist poet, known for his purposeful use of "obscure and unwieldy verbiage." He sent me the following poem at the end of his lengthy and furious email a week after the Russian invasion.
in smoky twilight
the head of I cut off
the roof of M falling through --
I paint poetry with screams,
the last phase of lyricism
His emails now are short and straight to the point, and often attached with photos to speak for his mood or state of mind, like the one he sent me today. Under his family photo, there is a caption that reads:
If Russia stops fighting, there will be no more war.
If Ukraine stops fighting, there will be no more us.
no man's land
between barbed wire fences
the kraa-kraa-kraa
of ravens scratching
at the soldiers' hearts
Ribbons, 19:3, Fall 2023
This poem was inspired by both the Ukrainian resistance and Seamus Heaney's remark on poetry:
In a war situation or where violence and injustice are prevalent, poetry is called upon to be something more than a thing of beauty.
Many thanks for your continued support of my writing.
Chen-ou
FYI: Ls 4&5 of the first tanka allude to the following remark:
Miles away from poetry, we still participate in it by that sudden need to scream—the last stage of lyricism.
-- Romanian philosopher and essayist Emil Cioran, whose work has been known for its pervasive philosophical pessimism, style, and aphorisms
And "The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses series, published every year since 1976, is the most honored literary project in America - including Highest Honors from the American Academy of Arts and Letters."
