pedalpoet

On Writing Poems – part 4 – Copying

I’ve already proposed you should steal. Now I’m going to encourage you to copy. A lesson I think is quite valuable to keep in mind when attempting to write poetry is to look at other crafts, other arts, and other pursuits for inspiration in regards to systems and ways of thinking, and of process. Let’sContinue reading “On Writing Poems – part 4 – Copying”

Selling Rare Books

Life seems to come in fits and starts. I doubt my experience is unusual in that regard. I seem to uncover truths, meaningful to me in certain moments of clarity, which lead me to a deeper understanding (or the illusion of a deeper understanding) of self; moments like lighthouses defining just enough of the worldContinue reading “Selling Rare Books”

White Privilege Day

Hi! Bi! – coming out part 1

I never thought I’d come out of the closet, because I never thought I was in one. At times as a kid I did wonder, and worry I might be gay, but it didn’t reconcile with the fact that I really liked girls. Well into adulthood I came to terms with the fact that IContinue reading “Hi! Bi! – coming out part 1”

My Friend, the Fluorescent Light

I have this thing I do at work I want to tell you about. I’ve somehow become the Fluorescent Light Expert. I inspect and maintain the fluorescent light fixtures in this large showroom where I work. Despite my ignorance of fluorescent lights or the physics of electricity in general, I’m considered the expert on allContinue reading “My Friend, the Fluorescent Light”

The Odd Kite Theft

My grandpa is an aviation nut. He was in the Army Air Corps during WWII, he was a mechanic on B17 aircraft while in the service. He had a stack of Aviation magazines next to his reclining chair my entire childhood, and he would regularly take me to any airport we happened to be nearContinue reading “The Odd Kite Theft”

On Reading Poems

Sometimes I’m reminded that not everybody comes to poems on their own, and that poems can be confusing without a framework of how to go about reading and enjoying them. Here’s how I’ve come to read poems: a poem is a stand of woods you’d like to walk through. Usually there is a trailhead, startContinue reading “On Reading Poems”

Toonces The Cat Who Could Be President

Throughout the 45th presidency, I’ve tried to relate the state of the world to stories and literature in order to make sense of it all. 1984 the obvious choice. The Handmaid’s Tale, Brave New World, Animal Farm; I’ve more recently settled upon Toonces The Cat Who Could Drive a Car as the best story toContinue reading “Toonces The Cat Who Could Be President”

Bike #2 and the magic raffle

I have one clear memory when it comes to my second bike, which was also my first road bike. It was a Schwinn World Sport, I believe from 1980. Unlike most all of the other bikes I’ve owned, I don’t really have memories of riding this one. I do remember I got a handlebar-mounted touringContinue reading “Bike #2 and the magic raffle”

Bike #1 and the James Street Jump

I was around five when I got my first bike. It was a white Huffy with a Snoopy numberplate that said BARNSTORMER on it. I remember my grandmother said it was too big for me. I remember I thought it made me a big kid. My father took me out back behind our house toContinue reading “Bike #1 and the James Street Jump”