August Blog Bash, Day 3 - Johannes S. H. Bjerg @jshb32

Welcome to the Debut
of the August Blog Bash 2012!

I am very much excited and honored to be hosting this new feature series... and it is a great way to end the summer!  This Blog Bash is an impressive talent showcase of poets, artists, and writers/authors from all walks of life.  For each day of this month, one individual will be featured here on this blog, at Origami Lotus Stones, my Twitter (hashtag will be #augblogbash), my Facebook community page, and on my blog page on Writing Our Way Home.  Please be patient while I post on all platforms. 

**Please note that all authors/artists have given me permission to post their work on the following platforms/sites I have just mentioned.  Please do not plagiarize, modify, reproduce, or distribute any work without permission from the original authors/artists.  Thank you!**

If you are interested in participating in this Blog Bash, feel free to check out the details here.

*******************************************

Today's Feature:  Johannes S. H. Bjerg

I am a huge fan of Johannes' spirit of experimental poetry.  In both of these slides, they are parallel poetic forms.  For instance, you can read the left side first, then the right side.  Or, you can read both sides at the same time--with the right side as asides, or as a continuing dialogue to the left side.  How ever it is read, the parallel poems are organically enmeshed like a river flowing over and in between stones.  Speaking of stones, both of these experimental poems ("neither stones nor small"), according to Bjerg, sprung from this past January's (International) River of Stones.  Bjerg's amazing experimentation with both prose and poetry never ceases to amaze me.  Both of these slides also demonstrate experimentation with visual art and structure leaving room for the reader to fill in his/her own responses, experiences, and emotions to his poems. 


In "[so damn / humid]," we are between inactivity and activity with contrasting images (e.g., humidity and the fly; hoover and the self), whereas in "[yes, / god]," we recognize the circular debate between science and religion/theology.  Of course, there are many interpretations and perspectives of just reading these two parallel poems.  I like how Bjerg employs wit when it comes to the allusion of Pilate washing his hands clean before the crucifixion of Jesus in the second slide ("[yes, / god]").  In this case, the author uses his hands to wipe away the flies, while the scientists' hands are sticky with "the glue of the world."  I also like how there seems to be a cycle between activity and inactivity of a typical day reflected in the first slide ("[so damn / humid]").  For instance, I am sure there are times when we are stuck in "un-imagination" and ennui, while something else is going on.

Brilliant work, Johannes!  Thank you so much for sharing and being one of the contributors!

(NB:  Text arrangement on MS PowerPoint by Kathy Uyen Nguyen.  Please note that graphics will be in this format.)

To check out more of Johannes' work, you can click on the following links:

2 tongues/2 tunger (blog)
3ournals and frags (blog)
Monostich (blog showcasing various authors)
@jshb32 (Twitter)

Please do promote this new feature on Facebook, Twitter, etc.!  Thanks so much for all the support!  And look, my blog now has buttons (see below) to make your life easier!  Come back tomorrow for a new artist/author feature!