Why do ppl do it and more importantly still why do ppl listen to it
After many well written verses, Paladin Ben is taking a break from hosting the Friday slams. Now it's up to the rest of us to keep it going each week. u/lin_seed hosted last week, and I am hosting this week. If you are willing to host a future week, send us a message. It's pretty informal.
Now for this week, drop a zen verse below! It's easy. Just let the lines flow out of your own breast to cover heaven and earth! Like so:
My finger scrawls the Buddhaโs name in water
Never written, never erased
I read the dharma through rippling reflections
Spreading out and vanishing into the vast ocean
Hey people, I talked to PaladinBen this week, and he said he has to step away from the slam temporarily due to other concerns. I talked to some others about it, and am willing to take over for awhile if necessary. I am not one to lead institutions, but the Friday Night Poetry Slam is vital to my own study and participation in the community, so I feel like I should be willing to lend a hand.
I messaged some other slam regulars, and if others are interested in doing some weeks, we will run it like a co-op going forward (got a late start on it this week, my apologies).
Otherwise I will make a 2 or 3 month project for my Zen study out of it, and take over until u/PaladinBen returns. (Who is a far better poet than I am.)
For this week, I will use a poem of Stonehouse's. I have really enjoyed the recent series on Han Shan, and think another poet who writes from the perspective of a student of Zen is a fun idea.
Here is Stonehouse's own prose introduction to his poems:
> Here in the woods I have lots of free time. When I don't spend it on sleeping I enjoy composing poems. But with paper and ink so scarce, I haven't thought about writing them down. Now some Zen monks have asked me to record what I find of interest on this mountain. I have sat here quietly and let my brush fly. Suddenly this volume is full. I close it and send it back down with the admonition not to try singing these poems. Only if you sit on them will they do you any good.
No wonder I have always liked this poet! Next week, or next time I am doing the slam, I will provide some more background for him. He is an interesting figure to hear about for a student of Zenโas far as the story the records tell goes.
The experiences in the poems and the poetry speak for themselves. Here is the first:
> Grave upon grave buried beneath weeds
> before their funerals they carried gold seals
> but desire is no match for detachment
> and how can ambition compete with restraint
> lured by bait golden fish end up in kettles
> uncaged magic wings fly high
> worldly affairs don't concern a hermit
> I weave my robe from homegrown hemp
โStonehouse (1272โ1352)
And now I'm going to go walk my dog in the mountainsโand come back to write you a poem about it.
โLinseed
Welcome to the Friday Night Poetry Slam.
This is the second week I will be posting a poem of Stonehouseโs. As a part of this project, I will be making an OP about him, and the traces he left in the historical record, later this week.
Iโm the meanwhile, here is a short snippet from Red Pineโs introduction to The Mountain Poems of Stonehouse:
> Stonehouse was born in 1272 in the town of Changshu , not far from where the Yangtze empties into the East China Sea. Nothing is known about his family or his early life, other than that his fatherโs surname was Wen () and his motherโs surname was Liu () and that he received the traditional Confucian education for someone from a family of means.
> No one knows either when he started using the name Stonehouse (Shihwu,) or why.
> He probably picked up the name while he was still studying to become an official. It was the name of a cave on Yushan, just outside his hometown.
> Yushan was known for its pine trees, its rock formations, and its springs, in particular a spring that flowed out of a cave as big as a house.
> It was not uncommon for an educated person to assume such a name. Many people took several names in the course of their careers, especially artists and poets.
Here is the second poem from this volume:
> To glimpse the fluttering of shy birds
> I donโt always close the door I made
> a piece of jade is worth more than a cliff
> but gold canโt buy a lifetime of freedom
> the sound of icy falls on a dawn-lit snowy ridge
> the sight of distant peaks through leafless autumn woods
> mist lifts from ancient cedars and clear days last forever
> right and wrong arenโt found in the clouds
The Mountain Poems of Stonehouse
Red Pine & Stonehouse
Alright, poetsโshow me what you got!
He certainly let the tennis do the talking.
Anyone know any good open mic nights especially for slam poetry in San Diego?
- Ash Barty
- Dylan Alcott
- Nick Krygios
- Thanassi Kokkinakis
- Matthew Ebden
- Max Purcell
- Jaime Fourlis
- Jason Kubler
Give credits to Matteo. Those are facts.
Last year he made two deep runs (Roland Garros QF and Wimbledon F).
He's definetly consistent on every kind of surface. That doesn't mean he's obviously expected to win a Grand Slam sooner or later. That means he'll have several chances to do it.
He ended the last 4 runs of a Grand Slam tournament by facing the actual N.1 player.
My thoughts about his game.
Matteo has an excellent serve and FH level. He needs to improve both but he absolutely needs to improve his BH. AO shows he's clearly working on it.
His mental attitude is simply great.
Think about that: Matteo's still young, he's 25, he can make several improvements.
As I told you he already made a deep run in all the Grand Slams. And guess what, Matteo played his first ATP match more or less...4 years ago. And about 2 years ago he reached the US Open Semifinals.
Looking forward his next step, I expect a tough match against Gael, a 60-40 matchup for Matteo, not less than 4 sets.
Last instances of back to back slam winners
Djokovic W'21
Djokovic FO'21
Djokovic AO'19
Djokovic USO'18
Djokovic FO'16
Djokovic AO'16
Djokovic USO'15
Djokovic AO'12
Djokovic USO'11
Nadal USO'10
Are there any slam poetry events around here? Iโm looking for like-minded people that like to express themselves through poetry :)
Theme: Hanshan's Poems from Cold Mountain -- (14)
^(In Chinese, Hanshan's poems are written in the classical style of eight lines of five characters. Give it a shot.)
>Oh Wise Gentlemen, ignore me!
>
>Like I ignore you fools.
>
>Iโm not stupid, Iโm not wise,
>
>from now on Iโm just gone.
>
>Into the night, singing in moonlight,
>
>into the dawn, dancing with white clouds.
>
>Thatโs the way to occupy your hands and mouth!
>
>I canโt just sit still while my hair grows!
_ _ _
Somewhere beyond dawn and dusk--
or, no-- somewhere within them.
You can spit or swallow
a mouth full of song.
Who are the other male players?
Gustavo Kuerten (French Open 2001)
Andy Roddick (US Open 2003)
Gaston Gaudio (French Open 2004)
Marat Safin (Australian Open 2005)
Novak Djokovic (US Open 2011)
Stan Wawrinka (US Open 2016)
Novak Djokovic (Wimbledon 2019)
Theme: Hanshan's Poems from Cold Mountain -- (13)
^(In Chinese, Hanshan's poems are written in the classical style of eight lines of five characters. Give it a shot.)
>There is a man who makes a meal of rosy clouds:
>
>where he dwells the crowds donโt ramble.
>
>Any season is just fine with him,
>
>the summer just like the fall.
>
>In a dark ravine a tiny rill drips, keeping time,
>
>and up in the pines the windโs always sighing.
>
>Sit there in meditation, half a day,
>
>a hundred autumnsโ grief will drop away.
_ _ _
Between the living and unborn,
Cold Mountain womb is overcrowded.
Felled trees continue the conversation;
one hundred autumns' verses voiceless.
Facebook memories reminds me of the cruel passing of time every day.
Canโt believe itโs been 5 years. What a tournament, and what a final
2005 - Alizรฉ Cornet
2006 - Kaia Kanepi
2008 - Sorana Cรฎrstea
2010 - Simona Halep
2011 - Madison Keys
2012 - Ashleigh Barty
2014 - Danielle Collins
2015 - Jessica Pegula
2016 - Elise Mertens
2017 - Aryna Sabalenka
2018 - Barbora Krejฤรญkovรก
2019 - Iga ลwiฤ tek
Does tulsa have any spots that do this? Iโve always admired it and would love to attend a session, if thereโs any going on in town!
Over 5 hours long game!
Theme: Hanshan's Poems from Cold Mountain -- (11)
^(In Chinese, Hanshan's poems are written in the classical style of eight lines of five characters. Give it a shot.)
^((J.P. Seaton Translation))
>My father and mother were frugal, hard workers.
>
>The grain fields, the vegetable plots,
>
>they left me are as good as any manโs.
>
>My wife keeps the loom click-clacking,
>
>and my boy can goo-goo with the best.
>
>I just clap time for the flowers as they dance,
>
>or sit chin in hand and listen to the birds sing.
>
>And who should come by from time to time
>
>to sigh their admiration? The woodcutters
>
>quite often do!
_ _ _
Who are your dharma parents?
Where do they come from?
What did they teach you?
No nest; claw and fang.
Theme: Hanshan's Poems from Cold Mountain -- (9)
^(In Chinese, Hanshan's poems are written in the classical style of eight lines of five characters. Give it a shot.)
^((J.P. Seaton Translation))
>People ask about the Cold Mountain way:
>
>plain roads donโt get through to Cold Mountain.
>
>Middle of the summer, and the ice still hasnโt
>
>melted.
>
>Sunrise, and the mist would blind a hidden dragon.
>
>So, how could a man like me get here?
>
>My heart is not the same as yours, dear sir . . .
>
>If your heart were like mine,
>
>youโd be here already.
_ _ _
Inquiring dragons' scales are hidden--
ancestor, sister, son, or stranger?
Cold Mountain: Hanshan hears birdsong.
Are those hearts like yours?
Does corvo have any slam poetry or spoken word events?
