the other night, while counting my gratitude, after coming home from being the poet by the penguins at the california academy of sciences (a magic in and of itself!),** i discovered a wonderfully surprising little thing: someone had tipped me a dollar, but not just any dollar, a dollar perfectly, beautifully folded into a sunburst heart. i gasped! i squealed! “oh! this is so beautiful! who did this? oh!” and then i sat quiet for a minute, feeling so grateful, like my heart was sun-bursting too.

i’m gonna keep this little anonymous gift in my wallet as a reminder that people are good, giving, magical, and that we all should aspire to be so, and remain oh so humble, and grateful.

to whoever it was who gave me this gift, and everyone reading this, and anyone who have ever purchased a poem: thank you, deeply and truly, for supporting my work in this world.

i am forever yours in poetry and gratitude.

silvi

*i don’t think i’ll ever cease being amazed that people want (and sometimes even need) to buy poems.  (if ever i do stop being amazed, that’s probably the day i should stop writing poems.)

**what a thing it is to be writing poems next to sleeping penguins! the light goes out for them at 9pm, and then, they tuck their heads a little, and snooze. (it makes me swoon a little, they’re just so cute.)

poetry & do-gooding! what a fantastic combo! and exactly what karen benke, 17 years and counting california poet in the schools, is after. i asked karen a few questions to get to the heart of poetry inside her & the heart of what she does.

Q: What does “poetry” mean to you? Shifting breath, silver expansiveness, maze-like imagination, permission to open to everyone and everything, doorless and windowless, the heart’s secret center…

Q: When did you know you were a poet? As a child I knew. Then I forgot for a while. Then in my early twenties, at college, after my heart broke and light flooded in, I remembered…

Q: Who is your favorite poet & tell us one thing you learned from them? My favorite poet is constantly changing. Right now, I’d have to say Pablo Neruda since his BOOK OF QUESTIONS is the book I keep returning to in order to learn more about risk and play in my writing. (There also a new YA book called The Dreamer by Pam Munox Ryan that uses magical realism and answerless questions to access the depths of the imagination, much the way Neruda does.)

Q: What is your favorite poem & why? The very first poem in the Book of Questions: I love this poem because of where my mind and heart travel when I read it. I love this poem because I never tire of reading it.

Why don’t the immense airplanes
fly around with their children?

Which yellow bird
fills its nest with lemon?

Why don’t they tain helicopters
to suck honey from the sunlight?

Where did the full moon leave
its sack of flour tonight?

–Pablo Neruda

Q: What do you hope is in store for the future of poetry? I hope poetry becomes a permanent part of every school day and is treated with the same importance as math and science. Creative literacy is lagging in the school system. Poetry is what kids are craving and hungering for–way more than junk food and screen games.

to learn more about karen, and her book “RIP THE PAGE! Adventures in Creative Writing” (shambala, 2010) visit her website at: www.karenbenke.com.

we hope to see you in mill valley!

all poems at the cal academy will be free!

saturday june 19th, noon-6pm

located on 1228 grant ave (at fresno, about 2 block from city lights bookstore), gallery 28 is dedicated to local artists & i’m excited to set up shop and sell poems here. check out the gallery before you go: http://www.gallery-28.com/
(this event is part of the north beach art walk: http://www.northbeachchamber.com/)

why are you having a mustache competition? what was the inspiration?
This Competition is the start of My Mustache Ride Across America, kickin’ it of in San Francisco to help benefit Smile Train. I will then travel to Bend, Oregon to compete in the National Beard and Mustache Competition, followed by hosting a competition at Bonnaroo in Manchester TN. I figure if its growing on my face, I might as well put it to work!

i’ve heard you call your ‘stache “art on your face.” could you explain?
I’m an artist by trade and when it comes to my facial hair, its another type of medium I’m fortunate enough to be able to work with. My mustache isn’t your typical mustache, its more of a work of art I sculpt weekly.

how long have you been growing yours? challenges? triumphs?
I have been growing this particular ‘stache for almost a year, its Growthday started in 2009 at Bonnaroo. The only challenges that have presented themselves deal with blowing my nose, cooling myself off by blowing upwards, and a bad habit of chewing on it! Since I’ve had the stash, I’ve meet some incredible people, won several competitions, and helped raise money for kids in need.

advice for other growers?
If you got it, grow it. Remember that it’s not the man that grows the mustache, its the mustache that grows the man. For everyone who may be follically challenged, support those around you by offering a High-Five and words of encouragement.

and how about a little about you?
I grew up in Boston and got my BFA from Bowdoin College, ME. My family comes from Scotland whom I attribute my growing abilities- my great grandfathers all had wonderful stashes at some point in their lives. While my heart has landed in San Francisco, I enjoy traveling, making art, meeting new people, and celebrating life.

in case you’d like to emoticon a ‘stache:
this is more like a mustache :{ or :[ or add a beard :{>

some things i remember:

the size of the place. football fields of people and things people make: robots! electric cupcake cars! a 41 foot rocket ship you can climb around in! a lego car! a commercial space shuttle! a giant lit-up insect! a giant mouse trap! rube goldberg machines! a fire breathing snail car! a lit up buddha statue! a teletype machine! the steam punks! a machine with a crank that turns a tongue that licks a lollipop! a machine you put a quarter in and little people begin to reenact long lost art of tomato worship! a beautiful kinetic sculpture hanging from the rafters! yarn spinning! screen printing! sewing! an infomercial! (yes, an infomercial!)

delilah. a 6 foot reclining figure of a woman, made entirely of typewriter parts, without any soldering or welding or adhesives of any kind. just typewriter parts affixed together to make one of the most striking sculptures i’ve ever seen. especially because it’s anatomically correct. yes. all the right parts in the right places, including ovaries and a uterus. no heart, though, as giving her one put her off balance. (how poetic is that? yes, i wrote a poem about it!) thanks to sculptor jeremy mayer for dreaming this up. i won’t soon forget it.

typewriter jewelry & an important realization. as beautiful as i think it can sometimes look, maker faire made me realize i feel the same way about typewriter jewelry as i do about veal–i don’t care how delicious it is, it’s cruel. i ask you, what did that old glass keyed royal ever do to deserve such an end?

that man i didn’t meet. he stood about 5 feet away, reading the sign hung above my little shop. it read: the poetry store: n. 1. a typewriter. a poet. a vision: poetry for sale on demand. 2. objective + obstruction = art. this man’s face was filled with a kind of wonder, intrigue, and delight. it’s like he just became a smile right in front of me. sure, he could have been thinking about the gigantic handmade ice cream cone he just ate, but i saw him stop when he saw the sign, i watched him read it, and i’d like to think he was taken by a stranger offering a kind of strange and interesting thing.

the banana family. a curious and cotton candy eating family approached me, asked me what i was doing, and then decided they wanted a poem. when mom found a piece of paper with bananas on it, they decided they wanted a poem about bananas. so, i turned to the youngest, as he shoved a piece of cotton candy into his mouth and made the most adorable chewing faces i have ever seen, “why do you like bananas?” he replied, “because the have osahsahsum.” i didn’t catch the last bit, “because they have what?” “osahsahsum,” he said again. i turned to his mom for help. “osahsahsum,” he said again. mom and i looked at each other, puzzled. then it clicked. potassium! he likes bananas because they have potassium. (note: i will think of this moment in moments when i might need to laugh and cheer myself up a bit.)

aloma. we met over photos she sent me. beautiful black and whites. one, of her daughter as a mime with an umbrella. the other, a sad girl at a window. i wrote poems about them. and aloma said the nicest things anyone could say. and then she came to meet me at maker faire, with her family. such a surprise. and such a lovely exchange.

all the kids who collect typewriters. you rock!

here. a tattoo on a woman’s chest, just above her heart, letters plain, simple. she asked me to write her a poem for her future child. the tattoo became inspiration. and remains the best tattoo i think i’ve ever seen.

kate. one of the makers of the maker faire! by which i mean, one of the amazing people who puts it all together for us makers. kate’s energy was as mind blowing as the faire itself. and seemingly endless! she introduced herself with huge smiles and we hugged and we literally shouted with glee about how great it was to meet each other and she said the nicest things imaginable and we laughed and jumped around and hugged some more and it was awesome. and then, on the last day of the faire, while i was packing up shop, she came running, wearing a gigantic sweatshirt and pants that are obviously not hers, waving a manilla envelope, “oh, i’m so glad you didn’t leave!” my face said, “what are you wearing?” and she waved it off, “oh, i was helping out with aqua boy and i got soaked and freezing so i just grabbed whatever was around.” hilarious. and then, she beamed, “i think what you do is amazing and i wanted to give you this blue ribbon!” i gasped. i didn’t even know there was such a thing! it felt as glorious as getting a medal for finishing the san francisco marathon (i just wasn’t as sweaty). i felt so proud, so happy. so eternally grateful. the poetry store won an editor’s choice blue ribbon! yay!

thank-a-maker. my blue ribbon goes to the thank-a-makers, a group of middle school kids from an alternative school in colorado that decided they wanted to make a booth where people could make thank you cards for the makers and then the kids would hand deliver them! so charming! so thoughtful! what wonderful giving little hearts! and i got a thank you! (i had written them a poem, but i didn’t expect a thank you.) and it’s so beautiful i’m hanging it on my wall. forever.

the people i made cry. you have touched me too.

to top it all off. on the way home saturday night, i was as elated as i was exhausted. my face hurt from smiling. i’d seen so many beautiful things and met so many beautiful, interesting, creative, gracious people! i felt like i’d been lighting sparklers and catching fireflies and jumping into refreshing lake water all day. that’s how happy. and then, there, on highway 101, fireworks! and not just any fireworks, huge, dazzling, mesmerizing, perfectly timed fireworks! the most spectacular display i’d ever seen. a sure and clear sign that my life was (is!) magic. (i will admit: it was all so incredible, i actually cried a little.)

thank you maker faire, with all of me, for being what you are and for giving what you gave to me. i am forever indebted.

i’d also like to thank the following sites/people for writing & sharing such lovely words about me and what i do: andrew of giant fire breathing robot: http://gfbrobot.com/?p=4495 & DJ, author of speck martin: the staggering life story of a man greater than the sum of his regenerating parts: http://speckmartin.wordpress.com/2010/05/25/do-it-yourself/.

and thank you to amber for the photo; eden, kate, and kate for the typewriters; andy for the drawings; and my helper for being the best a gal could ask for.