Away friends write home from Myanmar Havana Tiruvanamallai Upsalla like scents of sandalwood and spices for authentic alu ghosh exotic place names conjure memory and saliva make me want to sing Basho in past life languages trill haiku ululate ride bareback through San Juan surf comfort orphaned baby sloths in Costa Rica hide in Marilyn’s big … [Read more...]
5 Poems by Gloria Avner
YOKO AND THE NAKED BOTTOMS I was recruited by a friend in London 1967 a publisher of first edition American poetry a friend of Tony’s her husband (before John) to be in Yoko Ono’s movie she needed asses battalions of bare buttocks the camera would focus on the juncture where thighs cheek bottoms and ass crevice meet to make a moving sign of the cross … [Read more...]
London 1966: I.T., the Camel, and a Song Named Me
The camel’s unexpected appearance saved me. The raggedy texture of his fur, his massiveness, and his breath were all undeniably real, no matter how bizarre the setting and cast of characters. Snaking black power cords connecting reporters to brilliant artificial light, long-armed microphones and BBC television cameras did not trip his feet as they did mine. The night could not … [Read more...]
Six Poems by Gloria Avner
Circumambulation to walk all the way around Mt. Arunachala takes from dusk until dawn plenty of time to meditate touch darkness chant story sing in harmony with crickets Tibetan refugees and Buddhists from every nation leave their shoes beside the entryway park flip flops and fine leather tread the wooden walkway barefoot circling Dalai Lama's Temple just … [Read more...]
Gloria Avner’s Ten Favorite Books
The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith My Name Is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok The Crack in the Cosmic Egg by Joseph Chilton Pearce The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon Jane Eyre by Chalotte Bronte Light in August by William Faulkner The Theater and its Double by Antonin Artaud The Power of Myth by … [Read more...]
Seven Artworks by Gloria Avner
For years Gloria Avner has explored and taught ancient batik painting techniques using ink, wax, and watercolor on delicate Ginwashi ricepaper. Her collages enter a different realm, often focusing on tribal themes evolved from years of travel and study in Asia, Africa, and South America. Forty days ago she embarked on a new series: daily digital sketches, abstract, humorous and … [Read more...]
6 Poems by Gloria Avner
End of the Sixties this sea this sky not the winding bumpy road past Ararat, down Khyber pass by folding bicycle fear survived Swat valley snowstorm rescue on the way to India to Himalayan hermit foothills flapping tattered flag whipped prayers gone flying free from cliffs edge before Lama Govinda welcomes all to tea talk cookies company before the … [Read more...]
