Inspirational Shorts - Gwendolyn Brooks - Sermon on the Warpland

Gwendolyn Brooks

Welcome to the final week of poetry by Gwendolyn Brooks as part of Inspirational shorts Episode 223 on the podcast. 

The word today is Helpful - Think of a time where you helped someone or was yourself helped and how did it make you feel

Listen to the Podcast

The Sermon on the Warpland

And several strengths from drowsiness campaigned

but spoke in Single Sermon on the warpland.

And went about the warpland saying No.

“My people, black and black, revile the River.

Say that the River turns, and turn the River.

Say that our Something in doublepod contains

seeds for the coming hell and health together.

Prepare to meet

(sisters, brothers) the brash and terrible weather;

the pains;

the bruising; the collapse of bestials, idols.

But then oh then!—the stuffing of the hulls!

the seasoning of the perilously sweet!

the health! The heralding of the clear obscure!

Build now your Church, my brothers, sisters. Build

never with brick or Corten nor with granite.

Build with lithe love. With love like lion-eyes.

with love like morningrise.

with love like black, our black—

luminously indiscreet;

complete; continuous.”

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

The Second Sermon on the Warpland

This is the urgency: Live! and have your blooming in the noise of the whirlwind.

Salve salvage in the spin.

Endorse the splendor splashes;

stylize the flawed utility;

prop a malign or failing light–

but know the whirlwind is our commonwealth.

Not the easy man, who rides above them all,

not the jumbo brigand, not the pet bird of poets, that sweetest sonnet, shall straddle the whirlwind.

Nevertheless, live.

All about are the cold places, 

all about are the pushmen and jeopardy, theft–

all about are the stormers and scramblers, but

what must our Season be, which starts from Fear?

Live and go out.

Define and

medicate the whirlwind.

The time

cracks into furious flower. Lifts its face

all unashamed. And sways in wicked grace.

Whose half-black hands assemble oranges

is tom-tom hearted

(goes in bearing oranges and boom).

And there are bells for orphans–

and red and shriek and sheen.

A garbageman is dignified

as any diplomat.

Big Bessie’s feet hurt like nobody’s business,

but she stands–bigly–under the unruly scrutiny, stands in the wild weed.  In the wild weed

she is a citizen,  and is a moment of highest quality; admirable.

It is lonesome, yes. For we are the last of the loud.

Nevertheless, live.

Conduct your blooming in the noise and whip of the whirlwind.

Find her books on Amazon

You can check out more about Gwendolyn Brooks, her life and other poetry on the Poetry Foundation Website - HERE

Join me each week on the podcast - HERE

Thank you for joining me, stay blessed and be a blessing!

Poet of the Month - Gwendolyn Brooks - Inspirational Shorts - Episode 220

Welcome to the third week of poetry by Gwendolyn Brooks as part of Inspirational shorts Episode 220 on the podcast. 

The word today is Personal

of De Witt Williams on his way to Lincoln Cemetery

BY GWENDOLYN BROOKS

He was born in Alabama.

He was bred in Illinois.

He was nothing but a

Plain black boy.

Swing low swing low sweet sweet chariot.

Nothing but a plain black boy.

Drive him past the Pool Hall.

Drive him past the Show.

Blind within his casket,

But maybe he will know.

Down through Forty-seventh Street:

Underneath the L,

And Northwest Corner, Prairie,

That he loved so well.

Don’t forget the Dance Halls—

Warwick and Savoy,

Where he picked his women, where

He drank his liquid joy.

Born in Alabama.

Bred in Illinois.

He was nothing but a

Plain black boy.

Swing low swing low sweet sweet chariot.

Nothing but a plain black boy.

Check out some of Gwendolyn's Books on Amazon

Find her books on Amazon

You can check out more about Gwendolyn Brooks, her life and other poetry on the Poetry Foundation Website - HERE

Join me each week on the podcast - HERE

Thank you for joining me, stay blessed and be a blessing!

Poet of the Month - Gwendolyn Brooks - Sadie and Maud - Inspirational Shorts Podcast

Gwendolyn Brooks - Sadie and Maud, Inspirational Shorts

This week on the podcast I am sharing another poem by poet Gwendolyn Brooks.  In Episode 217 of my podcast you will here the poem Sadie and Maud.  

Listen to the podcast

Joyful

Art Journal Page - Amanda Trought

The word for the day is Joyful.  

Think about how the word can be incorporated into the things that you do and create an art journal page linking the word.

Let's look at the definition of the word joyful - 

• joyful feeling or causing great pleasure and happiness
•  with joy great pleasure and happiness,
•  a cause of great pleasure and happiness success or satisfaction.

Now how is it you feel about your creativity? 

Can you find those pockets of feeling joyful or joy and think about how you can find those little moments in your creativity because sometimes you just don't feel like creating.  

Sometimes you know you want to do something else but if you think about the creativity as a blanket so whether you going to your studio sear your table or wherever your space is and create something or write something or take a photograph it's all part creativity so it's all feeding you, feeding that 'well' that you can dip in-and-out of and grow.

Poet - Gwendolyn Brooks

“Poetry is life distilled.” ― Gwendolyn Brooks

Gwendolyn Brooks - Sadie and Maud

This week is the 2nd week of looking at the work of poet Gwendolyn Brooks, so today the poem that we are going to read is called Sadie and Maud. 

Sadie and Maud 

Maud went to college 

Sadie stayed at home 

Sadie scraped life 

with a fine-tooth-comb 

she didn't leave a tangle 

in her comb found every strand 

Sadie was one of the Livingest 

chit in all the land

Sadie bore two babies 

under her maiden name 

Maud and ma and papa 

nearly died of shame 

When Sadie said her last so long 

her girls struck out from home 

Sadie had left her heritage 

in her fine-tooth-comb 

Maud who went to college 

is a thin Brown mouse 

she is living all alone 

in this old house 

Gwendolyn Brooks - Sadie and Maud

You can find some of her book on Amazon

Find her books on Amazon

You can check out more about Gwendolyn Brooks, her life and other poetry on the Poetry Foundation Website - HERE

Join me each week on the podcast - HERE

Thank you for joining me, stay blessed and be a blessing!

Thanks for joining me - Amanda!!

Inspirational Shorts - Poet - Gwendolyn Brooks, Product Review - Neocolors Pastels

Welcome to the post today.  You are in for a double TREAT!  Inspirational shorts will be changing slightly, I will be sharing on the podcast a poet.  This month the poet I have chosen is Gwendolyn Brooks.  Each and every month I will either feature one poet or more and on the blog give you a bit of information about them.  On the YouTube channel Inspirational Shorts will be a short product/art supply or book review.  I hope that you are staying blessed and inspired.  Let me know who your favorite poet is.

Gwendolyn Brooks

Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks (June 7, 1917 – December 3, 2000) was an American poet, author, and teacher. Her work often dealt with the personal celebrations and struggles of ordinary people in her community. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry on May 1, 1950, for Annie Allen, making her the first African American to receive a Pulitzer Prize. Throughout her prolific writing career, Brooks received many more honors. A lifelong resident of Chicago, she was appointed Poet Laureate of Illinois in 1968, a position she held until her death 32 years later. She was also named the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress for the 1985–86 term. In 1976, she became the first African-American woman inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. (Wikapedia page)  More Information HERE

The poem that I will read today is called a Song in the Front Yard and you can find the words HERE while you are there check out the Poetry Foundation, they have information about a wide range of poets.

Inspirational Shorts - Review

Weekly reviews on art supplies, tools and books to inspire and encourage.

Neocolor Water soluble Wax Pastels

In this video I share a review of the water soluble wax pastels known as Neocolor.  They are lovely to use and can work well on a variety of surfaces.

You can check out the variety of sizes that they come in HERE