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Part 1 of 4 Four Star Video Cooperative PAUL:S BOOKSTORE 449 State Street 670 State Street 255-1994 257-2968 MICHELA.Nl;ELO'5 COFFEE HOUSE 114 51A1E 51R..EE1 251-5299 NOGGI AVOl:S Hamr Shop JOOKSTORE 524 State St S 15 W. 0-orehattt 251 1545 255·4130 B-SIDE RECORDS 436 State Street c(ary's 255-1977 o{c[ 'Fashioned §ourmet Pcycorn DOTTY 105 State St. DUMPLING'S 255.2426 DOWRY 317 N Frances St. 259.0000 JA,22MAUJ Suits/ Shirts/Ties HAllSII SIIAl•IIlO'S NI'l"l'Y Glll'l"l'Y 340 State St. 22:J N. 11 llANCES 25,6.2 62 251-2521 ' ever Out Of S(!yle"' THE STATE STREET POETRY SHEET 2002-2005 2 Palatine Publications Madison Arts Commission Madison Municipal The State Street Building Poetry Sheets 2002 - 2005 215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Room LL-110 Madison, Wisconsin 53703 Palatine Publications Madison Arts Commission Madison Municipal Building © 2016 215 by Luther Martin Suni Caylor King, Jr. Blvd. Room LL-110 Madison, PermissionWisconsin to use or53703 copy poems is given for standard educational purposes, for all other purposes permission must be acquired from © the2016 by Suni Caylor author. Introduction and annotations by Suni Caylor, editor. In Memoriam by J. Rod Clark. All profits from the sale of this book will accrue to the John P. Tuschen Poets Permission to useLaureate Fund.is This or copy poems givenisfor where the educational standard paragraph from the old site purposes, forgoes. If we all other don’t get purposes something permission mustfrom Andreafrom be acquired thenthe this is sufficient. author. Front All cover profits photograph from the sale ofby thisRichard Hurd book will accrue to the John P. Tuschen Poets Front Laureate Fund, by cover design Madison Jordan Arts Commission. Caylor Back cover photograph by Terry Talbot Internal photographs by various artists including Terry Talbot and the poets. Printed by Lee Petersen of the UPS Full Service Print Center, Madison, Wisconsin Needs MAC logo. Back cover must also have MAC logo on it ISBN stuff goes here Front cover photograph by Richard Hurd Back cover photograph by Terry Talbot Cover designs by Jordan T. Caylor Internal photographs by Terry Talbot and various artists. Printed by Lee Petersen of the UPS Full Service Print Center, Madison, Wisconsin ISBN: 978-1-5323-0006-6 The State The StateStreet Poetry Street Poetry Sheets Sheets 2002-2005 2002-2005 Between the years 2002 and 2005, John Tuschen, Madison s first and longest tenured Poet Laureate, published and distributed The Free State Street Poetry Sheet twice a month through a project grant issued by what is now known as the Madison Arts Commission. The Poetry Sheet blended three of Tuschen’s most fervent beliefs: 1) Art is for the people, ie, us regular joes, 2) Art makes the daily grind tolerable, 3) people need and want their perspectives of the world enlarged by art in their daily lives. He recruited merchants up and down State Street to meet the matching-grant requirement of the MAC, he rifled his resources of local poets and their poetry, solicited new poems from local poets both known and obscure and occasionally received unsolicited poems of value from previously unknown artists who had submitted their work to him for critique. He chose ones he felt most exemplified the three beliefs of the project, as well as humor and a surprising point of view, view. He he sorted sortedfor fortheme, theme, purpose of content, ability to read while walking (yes, that was a lesser criteria!), and the ability to present new or perceptively altered points of view that applied to the events of the day or season. He published these himself on brightly colored paper: on the front, the poem, a blurb about the author and why the poem was chosen, and various contact information; on the back, the merchant supporters and their establishments. He first distributed them among the merchants who had supported the grant, then walked State Street handing out the sheets to passers by, getting into conversations, getting to know regular readers, putting art in the hands of the people, making Art happen in the work place and the public gathering places of Madison’s downtown, in his words: the streets. This book, The State Street Poetry Sheets 2003-2005 recalls the years when words were dependably bandied among us, changing people s opinions and starting conversations among strangers. It brings back writing that bears remembering and announces to a new populous that words have scope and poems reveal it, that words, when put in unexpected order, change the way people feel about each other, their lives and the world they live in. It embodies the fervent hope of all Madison poets that poetry will once again flow in our streets and be as common as politics in our general conversations. 4 THE STATE STREET POETRY SHEETS 2002 - 2005 IN MEMORIUM: JOHN TUSCHEN Samuel John Tuschen, first and only publisher of the State Poetry Sheet, was Madisons first Poet Laureate from 1978 to 2000 and was Poet Laureate Emeritus from 2000 to 2005. Called the "Baby Beat" by Allen Ginsberg, Mr. Tuschen was the representative of the Beat Generation in the Midwest and was often called the Secret Revolutionary Society of One. Mr. Tuschen earned a Masters Degree in Rehabilitation Psychology amid his poetry and worked as a psychologist for Dane County. The love, affection, irritation and inspiration engendered by Mr. Tuschen during his forty-year tenure as Madison’s spokesperson for Art as a Human Right made him a fixture in media and venues far outreaching his early expectations. He never failed to support artists perfecting their craft, the lost searching for hope, and people unseen, unheard, marching to the music in their own heads, who worked to make life more meaningful for themselves and others. John died August 5, 2005 at home, as he wished, doing what he loved best: writing poetry. When one of us is gone, we are all diminished. But as he said: personne ne meurt…ils sont seulement sortis de la salle… (nobody dies, they just leave the room). Peace and Poems, John. Love, Suni, Jordan, Mary, JeanMarc and Rod 6 Editors note: There are editions missing from Volume I in Tuschen's accumulated files and we regret the absence of these poems and their writers. There are undoubtedly mistakes that a keen eye or an avid grammarian will find. We did not alter Tuschen's writing to make it more "book" formal. These poems were originally printed for and distributed to a casual audience, one who, it was hoped, would be concerned with content and find the editor's conversational style appealing. We hope you do also. All other mistakes made during this compilation are the responsibility of this editor. TABLE OF CONTENTS VolumeII Volume RalphSandler: Ralph Sandler: 112 The Poet The Poet 1. 11 1. Tuschen: Tuschen: 14 2 Bleed Bleed 1. 1. 22 Ron Ron Czerwien: Czerwein: 16 3 Five Five Haiku Haiku 1. 1. 33 Dennis Trudell: 18 I Made Flags 1. 4 Dennis Trudell: 4 I Made Flags 1. 4 Tom Neale: 20 Strings On A Stick 1. 6 Tom Neale: 5 Strings On A Stick 1. 6 Larry Giles: 22 The Indian Places 1. 7 Larry Giles: 6 The Indian Places 1. 7 Andrea Musher: 24 Bi-Me 1. 8 Andrea Musher: 7 Bi-Me 1. 8 J. Rod Clark: 26 Fess Hotel Blues 1. 9 J. Rod Clark: 8 Fess Hotel Blues 1. 9 Francine Conley: 28 Gloria 1.10 Francine Conley: 9 Gloria 1.10 Chris Morris: 30 Saw Tiresias 1.11 Chris Morris: 10 Saw Tiresias 1.11 F.J. Bergman: 32 End of Summer 1.12 F.J. Bergman: Walt Whitman 11 34 End of from Summer Song of Myself 1.12 1.13 Walt Whitman Andrea Potos 12 36 from Song Moth Man of Myself 1.14 1.13 Andrea Potos Andrea Potos 13 38 Moth In the Man Old Bookshop 1.14 1.15 Andrea Darlington Tenaya Potos I4 40 In Thethe Old Bookshop 1.15 Headless Horsewoman 1.17 Tenaya Darlington 15 The Headles Horsewoman John Lehman 42 In Other Words 1.17 Employed 1.18 John Lehman 16 In Other Words Employed 1.18 Tom Neale 44 April 11, 1617/Rebecca 1.19 8 Ron Czerwien 46 Rue American 1.20 Tuschen 48 One Moment 1.21 Miriam Hall 50 back from rome, end of january 1.22 Mitchell Metz 52 ETHIC 1.23 Walt Whitman 54 Beat! Beat! Drums! 1.24 Adam Foo 56 Vine Street, Berkeley (When the Paint Was Still Wet) 1.25 Volume II Will Chickering 60 Entropy 2. 1 F.J. Bergman 62 Forward, Fast 2. 2 64 Blank Verse 2. 3 Andrea Musher 66 Losing Daylight 2. 4 John Lehman 68 A Chinese Puzzle 2. 5 Suni Caylor 70 The Real Quantum Physics 2. 6 Mary Grow 72 Ghika’s House 1974 - Greece 2. 7 John Tuschen 74 Three Poems 2. 8 Mark E. Smith 76 Recycled 2. 9 John Lehman 78 Journey’s End; Art of Mark E. Smith 31 Reconciliation; Recycled Men 2. 9 Still Like The Smell of John Lehman 32 Fresh, Clean Journey’s Clothes End; Art of 2.10 Reconciliation; Men Still Like The Smell of Mary Grow 80 Vietnam 1968 2.11 Fresh, Clean Clothes 2.10 Andrea Musher 82 Milk and Honey 2.12 Mary Grow 33 Vietnam 1968 2.11 F.J. Bergman 84 End-of-the-World Grill 2.13 Andrea Musher 34 Milk and Honey 2.12 Ruth Stone 86 Seed; In The Next F.J. Bergman 35 End-of-the-World Grill 2.14 Galaxy 2.13 John RuthTuschen Stone 88 36 An Evening Seed; of Roasted In The Next Galaxy Apples & Swine & 2.14 Alma’s Laughing 2.15 John Tuschen 37 An Evening of Roasted Gregory Corso 88 How Not To Die 2.15 Apples & Swine & Alma’s Dan Raven 90 Laughing Rooting For A Weed; 2.15 Throw The First Stone 2.16 Gregory Corso 38 How Not To Die 2.15 Charles Cantrell 92 Bats in the Chinaberry Dan Raven 39 Rooting For A Weed; Throw Tree 2.17 The First Stone 2.16 Richard Peabody 94 Last of the Red Hot Charles Cantrell 40 Magnetos Bats in the Chinaberry2.18 Tree 2.17 Robert Schüler 96 Miles Davis, Frelon Richard Peabody 41 Brun Last of the Red Hot 2.18 Magnetos 2.18 John Tuschen 98 Last Leaf Falling 2.19 RobertCaylor Jordan Schüler 42 100 Miles Davis, Frelon Brun inhibition 2.20 2.18 Mark E. Smith 102 A Future Of Someone 2.21 John Tuschen 43 Last Leaf Falling 2.19 Jodi Anderson 104 peeling away the film 2.22 Jordan Caylor 44 inhibition 2.20 Ron Wallace 106 Caution 2.23 10 John Tuschen 108 Xmas Poem 2.24 Ruth Stone 110 The Self And The Universe 2.25 Volume III Andrea Musher 114 Sorting It Out in the Halls of Aberdeen, Maryland (December, 2004) 3. 1 S.J. Mahoney 116 The Tar of Roads and Highways 3. 2 John Lehman 118 Chicago Postcard; After Midnight 3. 3 Elody Samuelson 120 Birth of Aphrodite 3. 4 F.J. Bergman 122 Liquid 3. 5 Mark E. Smith 124 A Future of Someone 3. 6 John Tuschen 126 I Cry On America’s Tile 3. 7 THE STATE STREET POETRY SHEET 2002-2005 VOL. 1 12 Ralph E. Sandler was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He moved permanently to New York City at one and a half years old, from where he later served two years in the army and then finished a degree in English at New York University. He then moved to Madison WI to complete a Masters degree in English and Theater and for five years taught English at UW Madison and Dickinson college. He followed this time with 10 years as Assistant and then Director of the University Theater, then accepted the job of Executive Director for the Madison Civic Center where he presented the Arts for 9 1/2 years. His legacy included commissioning new works of art, bringing artists in residence to Madison and to Madison area schools as well as the presentation of experimental and avant-garde work. After almost 20 years in Madison he returned to New York City as a consultant in the Arts, then moved to Washington DC as a consultant to the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1992 Mr. Sandler returned to Madison where he began his third career as a photographer, which continues to be satisfying. [email protected] Tuschen wrote of him in 2002: Ralph Sandler included this poem in a pamphlet entitled POEMS, published along with fellow poet David Keller. Ralph is “unrecyclable.” srArESrREUPOETRYSHEU March 21-28, 2002 Vol 1,#1 Editor: John Toscben Tire Poet Old beyond his age (He is really sixty-two) His wrinkles deeper than furrows, Eyes reddish and watery Half dosed by the weight Of their lids, W.H. Auden responds Automatically to a question Asked the thousandth time. The question answered, the Smile removed, he Returns the Lucky Shike to his lips and is alone Once more. He laughs sometimes, Is always polite And forgets as quickly as He remembers. Enclosed by glass walls He is unhappy with parochial Niceties, young girls, faculty wives. Sweat forms on his chin But he is too polite To wipe it away. He complains, instead, About the heat And drinks his coffee And answers questions And makes absolutely certain That at all times The exits are clearly marked. - Ralph Sandler 14 John Tuschen was named Madison's first Poet Laureate. He was editor and publisher of the Free State Street Poetry Sheet from 2002 - 2005. Tuschen was "irrepressible" according to one local journalist. If interested, there is much more info on Tuschen at www.poeticvoices.com. Once there, go to "archives" then click on his name. srArESrREUPOETRYSHEU March 28-April 4, 2002 Vol 1,#2 Editor: Hector S iooza Bleed It seems like these moments of growth (and sapience?) are programmed with temporary lapses - lapses that are at once frightening and familiar when pain ebbs to grief and time must stand still for awhile and there is nothing you can do but listen to yourself bleed. -Tuschen 16 Ron Czerwien is the owner of Avol's Books LLC, an online seller of used and out-of-print books. His poems have appeared online and in print journals. Ron Czerwien Avol's Books LLC 315C W. Gorham St. Madison, WI 53703 608-255-4730 Tuschen wrote: Madison poet, Ron Czerwien, is a quiet but notorious supporter of nearly all things literary. So much so that he owns a couple of bookstores down here on State Street. Most notably is Avol’s Bookstore in the back corner of A Room of One's Own on Gorham Street just steps off State Street. It even has that wonderful smell that all good used book stores have and it ain't just coffee. srArESrREUPOETRYSHEU April 18-25, 2002 Vol 1, #3 Editor: Ca taio B Five Haiku Her top button half undone­ moon waxing, moon waning on the horizon glimmer of one sail first baby tooth a long way to go, can't stop to watch the sunset, the Mississippi late summer rainstorm­ under my leaky awning a web filled with holes stunned by her numerous piercing s­ starry night -Ron Czerwien copyright 2002 18 Tuschen wrote in 2002: Madison poet, Dennis Trudell, recently retired from college teaching, is currently working on a novel “set in the murderous Chicago heat wave of 1995.” Trudell is a master of irony and a fine performer of his own work. He is also one of the more ”self-actualized” human beings I’ve had the privilege to know. Mr. Trudell adds: Well, I didn’t get the novel published but I continue to write and place poems in literary journals. A story was selected for a volume of the annual O. Henry Prize Stories, I edited Full Court: A Literary Anthology of Basketball for Breakaway Books and my most recent book of poetry, Fragments in Us: Recent & Earlier Poems was published by University of Wisconsin Press. [email protected] srArESrREUPOETRYSHEU April 25-May 2, 2002 Vol 1, #4 Editor: John Tuscheo "I MADE FLAGS for this new war. Flags for poles, windows. Beside me this young woman bad a husband over there, and leaned to kiss stars going by every twenty minutes or so. Murmured, 'For you, Timmy' -- and Timmy came back in a flag. I thought she'd quit, but didn't so I did. She'd bite her lip, inside of cheek, ram this floss in her gums on break. And when she kissed a stripe the stripe was red, the stripe was wet." - Dennis Trudell copywrite 2002 20 Tuschen wrote: Madison poet, musician and part-time philanthropist, Tom Neale, is also the Poetry Editor of Mobius -The Journal of Social Change. His involvement in local, national and international humanitarian and spiritual causes is an inspiration to those who know him, as well as those who do not. He is also a captivating performer of his own work - poetry, prose and song. Catch him if you can, you’ll be lucky. Mr. Neale continues: I now live in rural Wisconsin about 200 miles north of Madison on 5 acres along a trout stream with my wife, Susan Crane, two large dogs, Lander & Carter, and a young cat that adopted us, Arlo the Red Emperor. [email protected] srArESrREUPOETRYSHEU May 9-16, 2002 Vol 1, #6 Editor: John Tuschen STRINGS ON A STICK For Cesar Vallejo The poet ties time up in knots - strings on a stick over a deep chasm.... Leaning on a bridge the poet sees a woman, remembers a meal, ties the tongue of the heart in knots. Spits out beauty. Splits love with the wedge of passion the hammer of the word. Splits it moist and dry, laughter and shadows, the animal and the metallic. Splits the word into its dream and its stomach. -Tom Neale copyright 2002 22 Doctor Larry Giles Tuschen wrote in 2002: Dr. Larry Giles (1924-2001) was a Madison physician, world wanderer, loving husband and father, pilot, radical humanitarian and, a Poet. Most of all, a Poet. His beautiful book The Chaos Poems (with “art and magic” swept throughout by fellow poet, Ron Ellis) is available at Canterbury booksellers. Once Larry and I jumped out of a rickety ole airplane in celebration of his sixtieth birthday. And he would take me flying, sometimes in his plane - sometimes not… - JT Editor: If you are interested in The Chaos Poems you could speak with Ron Czerwein, Avol’s Books, inside A Room of One’s Own. srArESrREUPOETRYSHEU May 23-30, 2002 Vol 1, #7 Editor: John Tuscbeo THE INDIAN PLACES who am I with my various selves the ring of the moon confronts me gnarled green image bearer seducer of dreams dancer of tom shapes night shade the shadow light name the place wandering shepherd boy eye teeth smile I lie amazed in a crook of a creek the lizard scans me from the sun Dr. Laurence T. Giles 24 Tuschen wrote in 2002: November 9, 2000 Andrea Musher was named Poet Laureate of Madison by Mayor Sue Bauman. She holds this title until 2004. She is also a professor at UW-Whitewater. Andrea is a sexy feminist with progressive community politics, a shrewd mind, and an open heart. She is an excellent performer of her own work. I’ve had the honor to read with her many times - never a bummer. - JT Andrea continues in 2016: Actually, I wound up serving as Madison’s 2nd Poet Laureate through December 31, 2007 because after Tuschen left us for altered climes in 2005, I worked to establish the Poet Laureateship as an ongoing institution. Now housed under the Madison Arts Commission, the municipal gig that began with Tuschen’s appointment in 1977 by then Mayor Soglin, has come of age; in January of 2016, Oscar Mireles, appointed by once- again-Mayor Paul Soglin, became the fifth Poet Laureate of Madison. srArESrREUPOETRYSHEU June 13-June 20, 2002 Vol 1, #8 Editor: John Tuscben Bi-Me There was another me on the other side of that sheet lightning Twinned in twain in the twilight rain, I felt my sister self slip into being How to explain... there's me and someone else again always illusive eluding the bounds of self I think I know. Andrea Musher copywrite 2002 26 Tuschen wrote in 2002: Madison playwright and poet, J. Rod Clark, is also the Publisher and Managing Editor of Rosebud, a nationally respected literary magazine based in Cambridge WI. Many of his plays have been produced both here and in San Francisco. In 1971, Mr. Clark lived in the two bedroom “bridal suite” of the fading and tarnished Fess Hotel which later became the Fess Restaurant and is currently called the Great Dane Pub. This I know - I was the occupant of the second bedroom in that “bridal suite” - JT And this we know in 2016: Rod Clark is a life-long Wisconsin-based writer and editor in many genres including poetry, theater, radio, journalism and science fiction. He is best known nationally as the editor of the literary magazine ROSEBUD (Click: www.RSBD.net) srArESrREUPOETRYSHEU July 11-24, 2002 Vol I,# 9 Editor: John Tuschen FESS HOTEL BLUES We have been in this dive all of our days... We are always descending the last worn flights of ancient houses falling down... I asked 'this bird on the staircase, where it was we were going: "Down," he said, ''Where the angels went when the jets came. Where whispers tap like fingers on an ancient banister - the nerve of the last, dark landing. We have been in this dive all of our days... We are always descending the last worn flights of ancient houses falling down... J. Rod Clark (copyright 2002) 28 Ms. Conley tells us: Francine Heather Conley is a poet, performer, and director. She has a chapbook of poems, How Dumb the Stars through Parallel Press, parallelpress.library.wisc.edu/conley.html. She was a founding and active member of the Franco-American touring theatre company, Le Theatre de la Chandelle Verte 2001-2014. Over the years she’s written, produced and performed 8 one-woman shows in English. Her current one-woman multimedia show, “The Narrow Road” (2015), is the fruit of a year she spent traveling and taking video footage throughout the UK in 2011-2012. Her manuscript of poems, Stems, is in circulation. She has written & directed four successful one-woman shows, including “Cocu Couple” (1991), “Whole People” (1995), “Truth or Dare!” (1998) all at Bravehearts theatre, “The Purse Project” (2000), for which she received Critic's Choice for "best of 2000", and most recently, “Windows” (2002), both at the Madison Art Center. She also directed Samuel Beckett's “Endgame” at Bravehearts theatre, for which she received Critic's Choice (1998) and is appearing in a Thèâtre de la Chandelle Verte production of Sartre's “Huis Clos" as Inès. She holds a PhD in French from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she also performed in and directed numerous French and Francophone University theatre productions. srAltSrREErPOETRYSHEU July 25-Aug 7, 2002 Vol 1,#10 Editor: John Tuscbeo Gloria i,.• • • had endless bikinis that tied together the ro11s of her secretary skin. Once home from work, she's walk in her door and exit again wearing curlers and some bright bikini piece, a fuzzy top, in neon pink or yellow. Gloria had a 5 o'clock morning face; the kind that blushes too much rouge and licks a lot of red lip. She had a body hosed up in panties day in and day out. Summers, she'd let the sweat drop from her bee-hive hair, not stopping once to wipe her ninety-degree mascara streaks. Summers she was free free free from eight, to four, so she'd stroll her dimpled legs around her always-unfinished garden, swiveling her ass like a barber's chair and wearing honest bikini bottoms or the kind that hide nothing. ln September, it was the patio: Gloria holding a cigarette in one hand, spatula in the other, flipping fried burgers for her extended blond family: one son, an ex-convict; the other, a young policeman; her father, a Vietnam Vet, in his wheel chair. In between meaty tosses she'd pour Cherry Kool-aid into floral dixies for her red, round grand-children - all the while smoking smirks and cackles at her father's bad jokes, the kind that made him laugh too hard and cough. All the neighborhood kids marveled at he.r six-foot silhouette, how she could crack gum and caramel her voice to say, w11y, hello, there - then spark a smile that fired and disappeared, all the wrinkled years she'd spent, pushing paper, and licking our city stamps. My bed.room window faced her yellow bathroom blinds and a twenty-four hour light that made her tired shadow, studded with curlers look a little American, and a lot of Lady - as if Gloria were a stamp whose picture read: our Country's hero, Our Patio Lady, Oh, Gloria. Francine Conley 30 CHRIS MORRIS is a Los Angeles-based writer and DJ. He is a contributing writer at Variety Magazine. He was music editor of The Hollywood Reporter. Tuschen wrote: Poet, writer, critic and former d.j., Chris Morris now lives in LA and writes for that magazine - Variety. When he graced the Madison scene, Chris had his valium deficient fingers in anything “progressive.” Poetics, radio readings, theater, politics, his ears and (backstage) often his nose - all of this - the perfect playground for an adult, seemingly, with chronic ADHD. Many people miss him, myself included. - JT srArESrREUPOETRYSHEU August 8- 22, 2002 Vol.1 #11 Editor: John Tuscheo SAW TIRESIAS Saw Tiresias the other night, his scars on display, leaning on his glass walking stick, searching for the seeing-eye dog to lead him to the sun. But all he could find was a tuinol. So he went to bed early - woke up with a headache. Tiresias, you have walked the city in circles - seven times in seven nights. Your metaphoric robes are wet and covered with crayon marks - and your tongue is a coffin. Chris Morris copyright 2002 $10.00 ISBN 978-1-5323-0006-6 51000>