Minnesota poet Phil Dacey reads several of his poems. There is a musical accompaniment by his wife.

MPR’s Vickie Sturgeon produced and hosted this series of five poetic looks at life in Southwest Minnesota. Others include:

·         "Polka Power" - a report and poetic response to the polka festival subculture in the Upper Midwest with poets Joe and Nancy Paddock.

·         "Frogs", a raucous small-town happening in a narrative poem read by Joe Paddock..

·         "It's a Pity" - Nancy Paddock shows her attempts to strike a balance with nature.

·         "The Geese" - poet Joe Paddock shows his perceptions of the migration of wild geese across the Minnesota Prairie.

From the KRSW Poets-in-Residence Series.

Transcript:

(00:00:00) Filled AC is an American poet who lives in Cottonwood Minnesota and teaches at Southwest State University in Marshall. His work is notable for its fine craftsmanship and the richness of its imagery we here at Minnesota Public Radio and Worthington ask Phil if he would present some of his work for us in a way that might take advantage of the medium of radio. He chose to read three of his poems the animals Christmas small dark song. And storm juxtaposed against three short classical piano pieces played by his wife Florence. We think the results were in chanting.

(00:00:42) They are always living in Christmas though. They walk years through a field. They can never step out of the birth of a God in each dark. Brain Trust are sending light. Through their sinews leads their Hooves forward from one Miracle to another The gleams Tipping grass like the Bright Eyes of uncountable millions of babies a field has born when they rub a tree a secret mer descends onto their bags, they carry and offer it without. Even trying from their nostrils they breathe good news.

(00:01:48) Mainly what I was interested in doing was simply creating something that might be pleasant to listen to on the radio something that might fill a few minutes. Not much more than that and I was interested in addition in the challenge are possibility of taking pieces that were not written with each other in mind for example a piece of music by Cooper and and one of my poems and putting those two together. to see whether some new whole could come out of

(00:02:22) that since we chose the music too go with a certain poem. I suppose that the music already has the potential for the the emotion that's there in the poem and the meaning is there in the poem and one tries to emphasize

(00:02:46) that the cherry tree is down and dead. That was so high and wind that did this thing Rome's careless while you cry for winds been? Beware today and has an alibi.

(00:03:27) I feel that my poems are helped by the music and the composers of the news that would have to speak for themselves as weather as to whether my poems help are attracting their

(00:03:40) music in the case of the small. Dark song. That's the one where I think it's most clear to me that the music and the poem mesh very well and the death of the emotion there because in smallpox on your Dealing with them. death it's something more, you know than tragedy and the music is very dark and passionate

(00:04:06) and they're also the the music the emotion of the music is given by the poem perhaps a certain specificity of certain focus and a certain kind of embodiment in a particular emotion and a particular situation. It's right particular context or the emotion. of the poem

(00:05:00) fish alcohol cut wide and eyes seemed to shiver stunned at the sight of snow. The water loses it immediately but

(00:05:14) there is no end to the soft

(00:05:16) flood the fish dies in disbelief return and find it true the flakes growing even Larger filling their unblinking eyes slowly their mouths open and shut breathing. Nothing translatable about this whiteness broken so beautifully in air.

(00:05:55) In order of performance the animals Christmas was read to Christmas Carol from anju by César Franck small dark song was read to a selection from guia pratico by Villalobos and storm was read to are by Francois. Coop wrong The Pianist was Florence Desi. Each of Phil daisies poems came from his book how I escape from the Labyrinth published by Carnegie Mellon University, press and distributed by the University of Pittsburgh Press. This piece was created as part of Joe and Nancy paddocks poetry residents at Minnesota Public Radio Station care SW produced in the Worthington Studios of care as W by Vicki sturgeon and Nancy palak. The program was made possible in part with funds from the National Endowment for the

(00:06:42) Arts.