New praise for the poetry in Deepening the Map!

Blues poet and performer Tony Moffeit, winner of the prestigious Jack Kerouac Award and author of Poetry is Dangerous, the Poet is an Outlaw (Floating Island Press, 1995) recently read and reviewed Deepening the Map and has some very beautiful words about it. Tony was a big inspiration to me during my seminal years of writing, reading, performing and hosting open mic poetry readings at cafe’s and book shops in the 90’s and early part of the new millennia.

“David Anthony Martin is a voice of the spirit, a voice of the land. He has the rare quality of deepening the life experience through his poems. His poems are earth songs. His poems are Zen anecdotes. His poems are transcendent pictures. One is moved by the power of his language. Martin captures the silence behind language, the secrets behind the profound, the mystery behind nature. He combines a nature mysticism with a marvelous storytelling. To read his poems is to take a rare journey into the heart of America. His poems are the transmission of life experiences into journeys that you take with him. The journeys that are mesmerizing and magnificent.”

 

~ Tony Moffeit, winner of the prestigious Jack Kerouac Award and the Thomas Hornsby Ferril Poetry Prize, author of Pueblo Blues (Cherry Valley), Luminous Animal (Cherry Valley), Neon Peppers (Cherry Valley), Poetry is Dangerous, the Poet is an Outlaw (Floating Island Press, 1995) and Tony Moffeit: Greatest Hits (Pudding House,2004).

A New Collection of Poems
by David A. Martin

Now available on Amazon.com, at local southern Colorado businesses,
and select independent bookshops

Cover Photo: “the origami bird is ever in flight” by David A. Martin, 2014

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“Thoreau, Cid Corman, Lorine Niedecker, Whalen & Snyder, Sam Hamill
and now David Martin, a wilderness walker returning as the missing lynx
in the lineage of nature based poetry heartbeating it’s way into our gorges & forests”

~Mike Parker, author of Don’t Fall Off The Mountain, Wallflower Sutra
and Walking on Water in a Razorblade Breeze.

“Deepening the Map is a collection that eloquently takes the reader
from mountain peaks to the depths of canyons and the limitlessness of open fields,
but ultimately awakens our humanity. This is a collection of work
that will leave beautiful sketches in the mind
while etching compassion in the heart of the reader.”

~Marie Loerzel
, author of Rock the Kasbah: A Memoir of Misadventure
Deepening the map

In his second collection of poems, David Martin uses the mirror of nature and the lens of attention to reveal the depths of life. The poems illuminate the beauty of the world and reflect an abiding affection for family, nature, and language itself. Martin’s personality shines in each phrase and image, dancing between ecstatic joy & monastic reverence.

Deepening the Map reveals a thread of contemporary contemplation and a continuing exploration of the interior landscapes of life and love, the feelings, dreams and fears, of growing up and growing together.

Buy or read more at Amazon.com

 

Deepening the Map available in paperback

Deepening the Map available in paperback

In his second collection of poetry, David Anthony Martin uses the mirror of nature and the lens of experience to reveal the depths of the experience of life. His poetry illuminates the beauty of the world and reflects an abiding affection for family, nature, and language itself. Martin’s personality shines in every phrase and image, and his poetry dances between ecstatic joy and monastic reverence. In telling his stories he reveals a thread of contemporary contemplation and a continuing exploration of the interior landscapes of life and love, feelings and fears, of growing up and growing together.

New Book !

David Anthony Martin’s new collection
of poetry, deepening the map,
is currently available as an eBook
from Amazon KDP and soon to be
available in a beautiful paperback edition.

 

Cover Photo: “the origami bird is ever in flight” by David A. Martin, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deepening the Map shows a reverence for the natural world which verges on sacred relationship, a relationship which inspires the poets sense of connection and meaning. Martin’s work is increasingly crafted to allow space for the reader’s participation. His language is visceral, you can feel work pleasantly in the mouth creating a syntax capable of riding the natural rhythms of the breath. Where he can, he favors line breaks that intentionally serve to open up the lines to multiple levels of connection and interpretation.

 

To Purchase deepening the map eBook, click below or go to Amazon.com

 

deepening the map
eBook
$7.99

Focus on your Form, not your target.

Focus on your Form, not your target.

Master canoe builder Keola Sequeira, one of Hawaii’s celebrated wood craftsmen shows us his favorite pastime and family tradition, the Japanese art of Kyudo.

Dove True Beauty Sketches

Dove True Beauty Sketches

How we see ourselves is very important, our judgment and inner language can truly be a lens through which we see ourselves and others. We are beautiful and others see this beauty.

New Cold Misty Day Haiku

Read the Haiku at my An Illuminated Path of Heart blog

~ David Anthony Martin
copyright 2013

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This haiku is part of my current notebook. I have a manuscript, Deepening the Map being considered for publication, another manuscript, Owl Light nearly ready to submit and well on my way with this next notebook toward another manuscript in the works. I am also making marked headway on my novel Lost Dog and frequently contributing to my novel jam and very excited to have dreamed an epic dream which i am excited to write into an amazing novel or series called searth. More on that later.

If you like this poem, consider reading a few of my new poems on my blog and checking out my book Span (Rhizome Publishing 2011, 2012) which will soon be out of print, but currently can still be purchased as an eBook and read on most devices or as a beautiful paperback to be held in your hands and taken with you on your day.  The cover art by Mathias Valdez of Last Leaf Printing takes the book as object” concept to a lovely level.  Span also makes a great, inexpensive gift for the book or nature lover on your list.

If you are unable to find a distributor with available copies, I do have a few copies left at home, contact me to purchase them via my blogsite and PayPal.

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New Poem of the Week: Underlying Truths About Poetry and Who We Are

“The truth of a poem is actually much deeper
than whether or not something really happened.
What matters is an undergirding truth that I think is the power of poetry
and I think that, when I veer from that even by a syllable,
it’s my job to know if I’ve veered from that.”
~Dr. Elizabeth Alexander

Listening to On Being with Krista Tippet is a regular part of my week although it airs on Sunday, I do not always listen on Sunday but stream it when I have a chance. Last night while cutting vegetables for our salad I was listening to Krista’s interview with Dr. Elizabeth Alexander, who is a poet and professor at Yale University who recently wrote and delivered “Praise Song for the Day” at Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration.

As a poet this interview was very interesting, however it’s impact went beyond interesting as it seemed to speak directly to a poem I had crafted this year. When Elizabeth Alexander said that poetry is “not all love, love, love,
and I’m sorry the dog died.” it immediately reminded me of my poem, “Sometimes, dogs”

This poem, “Sometimes, dogs” is a poem that gave me pause to reflect as it is the only poem I have written in which the “plot” and movement of events is not accurately drawn from a single experience in my life, rather it is a hybrid of experiences woven together into an anecdotal narrative-styled poem. It is a poem of experience; a poem, which I hope, allows us to “…think about who we are.” 

A bit later in the interview she elaborates, saying “You know, when I say ‘poetry is not all love, love, love,’ I mean romantic love is where we go first with the word. But really there is so much more to the word. The word is sober. The word is grave. The word is not just about something light and happy and pleasurable. The word calls up deep, deep responsibilities.”

She talks about how poetry has always been about community, that at it’s roots it is part of the societal discussion. She implies that this is the impetus of poetry, or at least a part of it’s functioning, when she says that it’s essence is “I gotta tell you my story. I gotta tell you what happened. Let’s think about who we are.”

Even though I understand the context of what Dr. Alexander was speaking to, I also received a different message, a message that helped me to understand my own poem. “Sometimes, dogs” is a poem about being sorry that the dog died, and so much more which falls into the category of both about love and about the dog dying and about sober, grave issues which I believe are calling us to brave, deep responsibilities to talk about who we are.

sometimes, dogs

If you have had a dog,
then you know their pure love,
and most, their frailty

sometimes, dogs outlive their offspring
yet their lifespan is still shorter than their owners’
especially the children they’ve grown up playing with

you have tasted the sweetness your own life
in their tail wagging from ear to ear
as much you have tasted your own mortality
in the foreshadow of their passing

… [Read More]

~David Anthony Martin
Copyright 2013

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You can stream the pod cast or read the transcript from the interview with Dr. Alexander at On Being.

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This poem is part of my current notebook. I have a manuscript, Deepening the Map being considered for publication, another manuscript, Owl Light nearly ready to submit and well on my way with this next notebook toward another manuscript in the works.

If you like this poem, consider reading a few of my new poems on my blog and checking out my book Span (Rhizome Publishing 2011, 2012) which will soon be out of print, but currently can still be purchased as an eBook and read on most devices or as a beautiful paperback to be held in your hands and taken with you on your day.  The cover art by Mathias Valdez of Last Leaf Printing takes the book as object” concept to a lovely level.  Span also makes a great, inexpensive gift for the book or nature lover on your list.

If you are unable to find a distributor with available copies, I do have a few copies left at home, contact me to purchase them via my blogsite and PayPal.

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Valentines Day Poem

early valentine
                                  ~for Amy

all those timeless afternoons
before you were born, I was
on my back in the grass
repeating “radio,radio,radio”
until the words lost all meaning
while field grasses gathered darkness,
and the swallows retreated to their houses
as the lattice of forest became . . . [MORE]

~David Anthony Martin, copyright 2013

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This poem is dedicated to my amazing Wife, Soulmate and Twin Flame. Amy is ten years younger than I, so there were many years I was alive before she was even born, let alone all those years before we finally got into the same room and truly saw each other in 2011.

If you like this poem, consider reading a few of my new poems on my blog and checking out my book Span (Rhizome Publishing 2011, 2012) which can be purchased as an eBook and read on most devices or as a beautiful paperback to be held in your hands and taken with you on your day.  The cover art by Mathias Valdez of Last Leaf Printing takes the book as object” concept to a lovely level.  Span also makes a great, inexpensive gift for the book or nature lover on your list.

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To buy Span now with Paypal, Click on image below.

     

Span | A Collection of Poems by David A. Martin
Paperback, 144 pages.

$9.95 + tax and shipping.
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An Evening with Colorado Poet David Martin

a little bird told me . . .

Innisfree Bookshop & Coffeehouse will be hosting me on January 31st.

 

Looking forward to a reading, It’s been awhile.

 

This independent bookstore is one of only three exclusively-poetry bookstores in america! creates and fosters a daily, living space for poetry lovers of all ages. The bookstore was named in honor of William Butler Yeats poem” The Isle of Innisfree” where the poet imagined himself living as Thoreau did at Walden Pond.

If you can’t make it or know others in the Denver / Boulder area who might be interested please share this event with them.

 

Join the Event on Facebook for more info and other ways to connect!

An Evening with Poet David Martin

Innisfree Poetry Bookstore & Cafe
Boulder, Colorado