I am often asked to recount this story from my childhood and I hope you enjoy it as well. Thanks Mom for my sense of humor.

Forum Romanium (photo by Radomil 28.09.2004 GFDL)

It is with some sadness that one of my favorite podcasts is ending soon. The History of Rome with Mike Duncan will be coming to an end just as the Rome Republic and then the Empire ended.

Mr. Duncan will be ending this podcast with the exile of Romulus Augustulus, the last Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.

Even though the podcast is ending, my recommendation is go and subscribe. Mr. Duncan has done a great job of taking his listeners through the complex and all so very interesting subject of Rome. The podcast is filled with humor and insight.

Thank you, Mike Duncan, for all the years of work you have done for us.

First, I buy books. I can often be found in my local bookstore scanning the shelves for titles that interest me. I will pull a book from the shelf, spend some time with it, and if it speaks to me, I have a new book to read in the tub. Poetry on cd or tape is good too. I have many anthologies that come with a book so I may read and listen at the same time. I also subscribe to a few poetry podcasts. The Poetry Foundation is a great resource. There are many to choose from that may suit most tastes. The podcasts run from about 20 to 40 minutes each. They are always a great mix of poetry, interpretation, and interviews. I love thinking how the birth of the internet has, in some ways, brought poetry back to the people. For awhile, if you wanted to hear a poet reading their works, you needed to catch a local reading, or an occasional broadcast. But now we have it here at the click of a button. And although more of a solitary event, it still brings the richness of intent and intonation into the poet’s own voice and to their work.

The Poetry in Motion campaign has also done a lot for bringing poetry back to the people. At one point, they were in over 30 cities on busses and in subways. In a fairly recent podcast of Poetry Off the Shelf, Curtis Fox talks with Alice Quinn about the New York subway poetry. He asks her if, when choosing the work to be posted, they deliberately rejected things that were obscure or a little bit difficult. She responded that they, in fact, seek a certain mystery. I love this idea of bringing art, as a whole, to the people. This way, we can experience it in our own way. We can be surrounded by words of which we may make our own meaning. It reminds me a bit of my recent (and first) trip to Paris. I was amazed at all of the beautiful art that was on the street, accessible to everyone!

The idea that sparked this blog was a series of poetry books I have just aquired from Bloodaxe Books. Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times, Being Alive, and Being Human are wonderful anthologies containing hundreds of poems each that really illustrate what it is to be human. They include an impressive list of writers old and new. In the introduction to Being Human, Neil Astly explains, “Staying Alive was my attempt to show all those people who love literature, traditional poetry and other arts that contemporary poetry is relevant to their own lives; and that much of it is lively, imaginative and accessible to intelligent readers who might not have given it much of a chance before. And that didn’t involve ‘dumbing down’ but choosing lucid poems to entice new readers. There’s no conflict here between public ‘access’ and artistic excellence.” I recommend all three of them. They have sent me off to exploring new territory in poetry. Happy National Poetry month, and happy reading!

Recently, I have been reading , Can Poetry Matter by Dana Gioia. It is a book filled with essays he has written on how the reception of poetry has changed in American culture over the last several decades. In it, he outlines the movement of poetry away from the common man and into the universities. He poses that poetry is now being judged by new academic criteria, and its intended audience is now a group of university professors whose whole intent is to publish. He asks, “But why should anyone but a poet care about the problems of American poetry? What possible relevance does this archaic art form have to contemporary society? In a better world, poetry would need no justification beyond the sheer splendor of its own existence.” He goes on to explain, “But the rest of society has mostly forgotten the value of poetry. … How does one persuade justly skeptical readers, in terms they can understand and appriciate, that poetry still matters?”

He has two arguments for this. The first is, “Poetry is the art of using words charged with their utmost meaning. The second reason why the situation of poetry matters to all intellectuals is that poetry is not alone among the arts in its marginal position. If the audience for poetry has declined into a subculture of specialists, so too have the audiences for most contemporary art forms, from series drama to jazz. The unprecedented fragmentation of American high culture during the past half century has left most arts in isolation from one another, as well as, from the general audience.”

From a Pagan Humanist perspective, I would like to suggest that we need poetry to connect with our humanness. By humanness, I mean the more personal space we experience internally rather than the overarching culture I see as humanity. We crave words that speak to our hearts. Human beings have a desire for the musicality of the language and the community it brings. It helps us decipher the ritual of our lives and it can help enlighten us, build empathy and a deeper connection with each other. If we write, it gives us an outlet for what we need to express. Like any art, it brings us into the depths of ourselves. In my next blog, I will make some suggestions of things I have read that have put me in touch with why poetry matters.

Shilo Shiv Suleman in her Ted Talk laments how magic has been replaced by technology. Yet, as I reflected upon this idea, I began to think about a song by Dar Williams entitled “The Christians and the Pagans.” The question is where does our magic come from? This question is important to how we view the world.

Nature, science, and technology all can be enchanting. The wonder of the trees may be just as magical as flying across the sky in an airplane. We expect technology to be sterile…just a machine. What if technology could be magical?

Steve Jobs seems to create technology infused with magic. I think because he looked how to create the magic he wanted and then use technology to make it so.

That weekend, I made a deep connection with the Judgement card. I know that sometimes we can be judgmental. That is not always a bad thing. If you have a job that requires you to make quick decisions that effect others, you need to be able to make judgement calls. Judgement is also needed in situations where you need to keep safe. Its  knowing when to turn it off that can be tricky. I did not have to engage with the woman in line with me for coffee. But it probably would have been a better experience for both of us if I had.

Now I think of the Judgement card as epiphany. Is there something I need to see or wake up to in a situation. Is there something I am missing because I am letting my opinion or belief get in the way? And how can I make the best choices in a situation so there won’t be anything to atone for? Maybe I need to make a judgement call. Maybe the safety of others depends on it. But whatever I am looking at, I know that I am responsible for putting that trumpet up to my lips and making that call, or knowing when to answer it when heard.

This weekend is the Conference on Current Pagan Studies at Claremont University. This year our key note speakers are Z Budapest and Hyperion. You still join us and register at the door for two days of interesting topics, great key note speakers, and engaging in current Pagan studies.

For a PDF copy of this flyer see Current Pagan Studies Conference flyer 2012

There will be a beginning class “Introduction to Wheat Weaving” on Saturday. This class focuses on beginning weavings techniques along with straw preparation and sources on books, materials, and local groups. In this class, each student will make at least two weavings: a Bridget’s Cross and Harvest Knot to bring home. All materials and supplies are provided.

We will be teaching an intermediate class “Intermediate Wheat Weaving” on Sunday for those of you who have taken wheat weaving classes or are advanced hand crafters. This class focuses on intermediate weaving techniques. In this class, each student will make a Welsh Harp using a locking technique. All materials and supplies are provided.

The Woven Circle (Angela, Carol and William) is dedicated to teaching arts and crafts as part of our service to the community. Angela is an eclectic Pagan writer and has taught crafts for 20 years. Carol is a bead and fiber artist, who has taught for crafts guilds, both local and regional. William (author of A Pagan Humanist blog) has been part of the Pagan community for over 30 years and has been teaching wheat weaving for over 15 years.

Resources for Straw Art You can buy straw from Black Beard in North Dakota (from Dennis and Sharon Hanson). Also, you can find wheat at Frank’s Cane & Rush Supply(7252 Heil Ave. Huntington Beach, CA 92647 – (714) 847-0707). Both are good places, and good people, to buy from. We recommend two books (yes there are more books but this should start you out just fine):

• The Book of Wheat Weaving and Straw Craft: from simple plaits to exquisite designs. Morgyn Geoffry Owens-Celli. 1997
• Wheat Weaving Plaits & Projects: A Beginner’s Book. Edited by Nan Rohan. Published by The California Wheat Weavers Guild

The American Museum of Straw Art hosts a spectacular collection of straw art from the US and around the world. Also, there is Wheat Goddesses, which is Cora’s web site with her show schedule. Her work is amazing and if you get a chance, please stop by one of her shows to see all the straw art.

Being human means being flawed; that is, being filled with follies and foibles. Notice that all this is about being. Of course Martin Heidegger’s Dasein comes to mind. To follow Heidegger is a long, and often fruitful road; however, here I would like to speak to the problems of just living in the world and ethics.

What I mean by humans are flawed is that we are imperfect, or more perhaps more along the lines of being limited in our knowledge and self-reflection. Knowledge is limited because of biological restrains on memory and perspective. With the advent of technologies (writing and data storage), memory may be of lesser concern. Perspective is what I think as a deep concern. Biological beings may not have the wider perspective to understand everything including ourselves. There is no truly objective view. Science, philosophy, and other disciplines do try to get us closer. Science in general seem very good at this but still the limit is how to step out side of being a biological being in order to find some objective understanding.

What does this mean for ethics? If we are all flawed and perhaps unable to find an objective view of ethics, how then do we live. Some find ethics in revealed truths or in authority. Although these may not always be bad choices, I think a quick look at history will show incidents where they have fallen short (perhaps I understated this a little). Ethics from nature present other concerns. I often turn towards philosophy for my own ethical understanding but there is the problem of which philosophical system to choose.

However, let me return to the idea of being flawed. Many ethical system have standards that most of us do fall short of. Yet, to be human is to understand that being flawed is not an excuse, only a reality that we struggle with. Also, I think that when we take a single path towards ethics, the shortcomings of the path become more apparent. Any single system, no matter how robust can, and often do, leave out or is unable to touch on all the complexities of being human. Am I then suggesting that we act inconsistent. Well, the short answer for now, is yes. Human are filled with follies and foibles but perhaps we should find strength in our flaws. In being able to inconsistent but for the right reasons. Perhaps Kant is right that we should never lie but then again I think there are times we should…to save a life for example.

Over the next year, I will try in my own inconsistent and flawed way take up this theme. Have a great New Year.