In the beginning

In the beginning
there was sound

sound broken into growls
grunts
which became words
sentences
paragraphs
each word given meaning
representing material
action
emotion
thought
translated into sound

Greetings, my first ever post. The beginning of a journey with an unknown destination. Going through some doubts as to the direction I am pursuing with my life. Having made a commitment to the pursuit of Word (poetry), I have found that the existence as a financially secure poet is close to impossible, especially in South Africa. Following a stint as a full-time freelancer, I returned to the corporate realm to create balance, and instead tipped the scale even further. The irony of it all. The security of a salary gives me the space to do all the things i want to do in poetry, but cuts into the time required to do all the things i want to do. But, I continue to believe that the universe will give direction and provide for me ..... what else is there to believe in?

I shouldn't complain too much, should I? I am fortunate enough to have the performance realm available to me for release and the next two weeks look like they are going to be good to me. Got about four bookings to perform at various events and I am putting on a show in about 10 days time. This weekend, I do a San Festival, an event to honour the San people who, while being widely acknowledged as the roots from which the human tree grew, continue to be treated hideously. On the same day, I perform at a corporate awards ceremony - talk about total contrast.

One of my pet gripes is the fact that poets are not treated with the professional respect they deserve. When booking a musician, or singer, or actor, event people tend to expect to deal with issues like fees, and contracts, and briefs .... with poets, it is all about exposure. The number of events I have performed at (and turned down) that were supposed to provide exposure ..... hell, at this rate, i will become totally over-exposed and broke (okay, weak analogy, but i am sure you get the gist of it). While most poets speak their truth - in what is the purest art form to exist - once we get into the performance arena, all we ask for is the same professional courtesy as other artists.

I ramble and I guess this space is to feed my ego's need for a space to do so, so let us continue.

Oh, you don't really know who I am, do you? Perhaps that is best for now, we can get to know each other as we go.... let's not kill the mystery so early.

Always wanted to setup a Blog and could never find the reason to do so. Now that I have, I still don't know the reason. Would be tragic (and amusing) if this experience fizzles into nothingness like so many other things I have tried to initiate. Tried to setup a discussion forum for people in the Johannesburg poetry scene - 10 subscribers and 5 posts in six months. I have a e-newsletter called Playing With Words that I send out to about 100 people - supposed to be every two weeks, but has ended up being every six weeks. Thinking of taking that and putting it in this space ... we'll see. i am the eternal starter - all fired up when i start things. I run out of steam as it goes, especially when it doesn't turn out the way I expected.

I have no expectations for this journey, which should help.

"run suicides / word by word / line by line / lately i see the world in black and white / because colour hurts my eyes / reflections of dreams broken leave me tongue-tied / shackled to the possibility of tomorrow / hindsight nightmarish / often i speak for the sake of speaking / when my mouth moves / my thoughts are shelved temporarily / i think i dream reality / and live in fantasy fraying at the seams ......"

I will do that a lot .... write irrelevant verse ..... excuse the messiness of the layout and formatting, it will get better as I figure out how to do everything.
easy runnings