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SONGS OF MYSELF
"Hair and teeth. A man got those two things, he's got it
all." —James Brown
Coleman Barks got his hair and teeth and a '72 Dodge
convertible and a mountain cabin and his retirement and his
Social Security and his children and his grandchildren and his
girlfriends and his friends, living and dead, and his inner eye
that can see the world in a grain of grits or a Great Blue Heron
or an all-week soup or the words of a 13th-century mystic
poet. Coleman Barks is a rich man and always has been, even
before his immersion in the poetry of Rumi filled a worldwide
longing for guidance and solace in this chaotic world.
Coleman is a superstar known better in San Francisco and
Istanbul than he is in Athens, which is just fine with him,
because as much as he is willing to travel the country and the
world reading the translations of Rumi that he has turned into
poetry that we can hear, Coleman has got to get home and
ramble around and draw from his own well.
The poet Robert Bly introduced Coleman to Rumi's poetry
in 1976, and since then Coleman has turned Rumi and his way
of looking at the world into a one-man industry. (His readings
are often accompa
nied by music; see p.
22 in this issue.) Bly
popped the cork, but
Barks was the glass
ready to be filled to
overflowing, already a
mystic poet himself,
astounded by his
own life and capable
of telling us why.
Coleman's own poems,
though tinged with
awe and mystery, are about the everyday, often in Athens, at
the Five Points Waffle House or the woods in Oconee County or
the creek outside his cabin in the hills.
Recently, Coleman and the University of Georgia Press have
done us the huge favor of publishing Winter Sky: New and
Selected Poems 1968-2008. This book, augmented by his "Notes
in Lieu of Preface," is in essence an autobiography and a fine
introduction to or reminder of Coleman's own poetry. At the
same time, Winter Sky is a demonstration of just why Coleman
Barks was the appropriate vessel for marinating Rumi.
The Notes in Lieu of Preface reveal the poet to us and ori
ent us to the work to follow, but with typical Barksian bravado.
The man is incapable of routine writing. Start the Notes and
you are thrust into Coleman's dream world and then dragged
through his life with in-your-face honesty. Because he has
celebrated himself for so long and so intensely, Coleman can
tell you about himself sometimes with shocking intimacy. He is .
at ease with himself, pleased with himself, yet always gnawing
the flesh, never satisfied, biting deeper toward the marrow.
These poems are mostly drawn from Coleman's books and
span his own writing career, which he divides into "three
waves of creativity, overlapping but more or less distinct."
The sections run backward from the most recent period to
the beginning and demonstrate recurring themes through
time and place. Here are flights of inner vision anchored by a
giddy love of the senses: the body, the earth, the light, the
bloomin', buzzin' world. Here, too, are tributes to friends who
have gone on to other realities: locally, his friends and fellow
writers John Seawright and Jim Kilgo, his painter friend Mike
Nicholson and other poets whose lives he has shared.
Here, too, are Coleman's parents and his sons and their chil
dren, his grandchildren, who help him see with fresh eyes, and
herein are love letters: lush, halting. Coleran is a lover like
Walt Whitman was a lover—of real, individual people and of
life, the world, the cosmos.
You can encounter Coleman on a late-night ramble, when,
purged with moving rocks or words or both enough to make
a good day's work he is eager to leave his solitary endeavors
and find human companionship. He'll pull up beside you on the
barstool and make the most interesting small talk. Winter Sky is
like sitting next to Coleman as he ruminates ruefully over little
things and large, making you long to take a walk in the woods
with him as he says, "See that? Right there." And.you do.
Pete McCommons edilor@flagpole.com
These poems are mostly
drawn from Coleman’s
books and span his own
writing career, which he
divides into “three waves
of creativity, overlapping
but more or less distinct.”
THIS WEEK’S ISSUE:
NEWS & FEATURES
City Dope ••■■•••••••••••*••■■•■••• 5
Athens News and Views
It’s not too early to vote in the Dec. 2 runoff election! And other news...
Comment 8
The Difference Between Brains and Broun
Oh. Paul Broun... what are we going to do with you?
ARTS <§2 EVENTS
Book Review 9
Biunders and Wonders of Nov. 22, 1963
After 45 years, new insights about the John F. Kennedy assassination still emerge.
Art Notes 16
From Cuba to the South Pole
Alan and Colin Campbell’s paintings document the drama of the Antarctic.
yUSB©
The Two Sides of Will Johnson 19
Centro-matic and South San Gabriel
The prolific Texas musician brings both his bands to town for a free show!
Neil Halstead 21
Chasing a Myth
Former Slowdive/Mojave 3 guitarist releases new solo record.
LETTERS 4
CITY DOPE.... 5
CITY PAGES . '. 6
CAPITOL IMPACT 7
COMMENT 8
BOQKREVIEW j .......9
ORT .............10
MOVIE DOPE..... ....12
MOVIE PICK 14
GRUB NOTES 15-
ART NOTES .16
THREATS & PROMISES. 17
MAKING IT .! 18
CENTRO-MATIC & SOUTH SAN GABRIEL 19
NEIL HALSTEAD .21
COLEMAN BARKS 22
RECORD REVIEWS 23
DON'T MISS 23
THE CALENDAR! 24
BULLHIN BOARD 32
ART AROUND TOWN 32
COMICS 34
REALITY CHECK 35
CLASSIFIEDS 36
POEM & PHOTO 39
EDITOR & PUBLISHER Pete McCommons
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by Terry Rowlett
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VOLUME 22
ISSUE NUMBER 46
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NOVEMBER 19,2008 • FLAGP0LE.COM 3