Poetry, Jazz, Blues... Wyn Cooper, 3/28

Kingdom Books co-sponsors the Fireside Literary Series at St. Johnsbury Academy's Grace Stuart Orcutt Library. Reading his poetry on Friday March 28 at 3:30 p.m., and incidentally debuting both a new collection and a new CD, is poet/musician Wyn Cooper from Halifax, just outside Brattleboro, VT.

Wyn's always crossed over easily from poetry to music; an early poem of his became the lyrics for the Sheryl Crow song "All I Wanna Do (Is Have Some Fun)." With Madison Smartt Bell, he brought out a dark edgy jazz CD, "Forty Words For Fear." Now his book POSTCARDS FROM THE INTERIOR becomes the text for much of a new collaborative CD, POSTCARDS OUT OF THE BLUE -- which is a bluesy and mostly mellow work touched with a hint of 1960s classic rock underneath. For a sample of the CD, go to www.myspace.com/bellandcooper.

Confused? Come listen in person. It's great stuff.

BOA Editions just accepted Wyn's newest collection for publication, and he'll read some of those poems, too. They're "loose sonnets" -- here's the lead poem of the collection, fresh from its recent appearance in Poetry.

Chaos is the New Calm

Chaos is the new calm
violence the new balm
to be spread on lips
unused to a kiss.

Left is the new right
as I brace for a fight
with a man who stands
on his remaining hand.

Fetid harbor harbor me
until someone is free
to drive me away
from what happened today.

Don’t strand me standing here.
If you leave, leave beer.

Wyn Cooper, Poetry, 2007