Experience and Movement

"In general, there is no isolated sensory experience.  From the beginning, there is a tendency towards testing each new sensory experience by the other senses.  ... We have shown that it is not legitimate to speak of a sensory impression separately from motor-vegetative changes."
-  Moshe Feldenkrais, Body and Mature Behavior, 1949, p.112



The Potent Self: A Study of Spontaneity and Compulsion.  By Moshe Feldenkrais.  Foreword by Mark Reese.  This book was originally written in the late 1940's.  Frog Books, 2002.  288 pages.  ISBN: 978-1583940686.  VSCL.  

"Moshe Feldenkrais, D.Sc., a visionary scientist who pioneered the field of mind-body education and therapy, has inspired countless people worldwide.  His ability to translate his theories on human function into action resulted in the creation of his technique, now known as the Feldenkrais Method of Somatic Education.  In The Potent Self, Feldenkrais delves deeply into the relationship between faulty posture, pain, and the underlying emotional mechanisms that lead to compulsive and dependent human behavior. He shares remarkable insights into resistance, motivation, habit formation, and the place of sex in full human potential.  The Potent Self offers Feldenkrais' vision of how to achieve physical and mental wellness through the development of authentic maturity.  This edition includes and extensive Forward by Mark Reese, a longtime student of Feldenkrais, in which Reese discusses many of the important ideas in the book and places them in the context of Feldenkrais' life and the intellectual and historical milieu of his time."  - Quote from AmazonBooks



Body and Mature Behavior: A Study of Anxiety, Sex, Gravitation, and Learning.  By Moshe Feldenkrais.  Foreword by Carl Ginsburg.  Berkeley, California, Frog Books, Somatic Resources, 2005.  Index, 233 pages.  ISBN: 978-1583941157.  VSCL.

These essays were first presented as lectures to members of the Association of Scientific Workers at Fairlie, Scotland, given in 1943-1944.  They were first printed in book form in 1949.  Moshe Feldenkrais worked for the British Admiralty during World War II on submarine research in Scotland, and taught self-defense since he was a Judo Master.  Dr. Feldenkrais discusses learning, movement and consciousness, the psychological and physiological development of humans, recent research in psychology, training and reeducation, mind-body unity, instincts, anxiety, habits, and the impact of gravity on our soma/psyche.  It was written before Dr. Feldenkrais developed his somatic Awareness Through Movement methods and educational theories.  His topics and conclusions are wide-ranging. 


Moshe Feldenkrais  (1904-1984)
Awareness Through Movement, Functional Integration
Bibliography, Links, Quotes, Notes

    

Birdhous Books Poetry Reading

On the First Friday of each month, Birdhouse Books in downtown Vancouver, Washington State, hosts an open mic poetry reading as well as featuring particular poets. The poetry session begins at 6:45 pm.

Full Information at Printed Matter March 2025

This bookstore will be closing, and hopefully moving, in the next couple of months. It is located down some steep steps below a coffee shop.

Tonight, the featured reader was Morgan Paige. She was a skilled performer, great voice, engaging poems. She read mostly from her book "Blue Morpho." I was very impressed by her outstanding performance.

Birdhouse Books, 1001 Main St., Vancouver, corner of Evergreen, will host First Friday Poetry Night with Morgan Paige from 7 to 8:30 p.m. May 2, in conjunction with downtown Vancouver’s First Friday Art Walk. Paige is a poet, visual artist, entrepreneur and co-host of Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Night at Art at the Cave Gallery. Her book of memoir poetry, “Blue Morpho,” details her journey to Costa Rica in 2018.

25 Steps and Beyond:
The Collected Works of Mike Garofalo

Message from the Vessel in a Dream: A Review

Message from the Vessel in a Dream. By Christopher Luna. First Flowstone Press Edition, 2018, 130 pages. Printed Matter Vancouver VSCL.

Amazon Review by Mike Garofalo:

This is a fine collection of poems authored by Christopher Luna. His poems are mostly in free verse, hip, Beat style, and contemporary. His justified anger about contemporary injustices and oppression are told in his verses. Mr. Luna’s command of creative Beat Style poetic techniques is impressive. He uses prose narratives, quotations, asides, conversational block poems, italic formatted comments on poets and poetry, references to books and articles, abstract and philosophical ruminations at times, and he provides fresh insights. Most of his carefully crafted poems fit on one page. He is frank and open about sexuality, friendships, drugs, parties, contemporary issues, and alternative lifestyles. His sophisticated bluntness and direct manner are invigorating. His poems are mostly about people, not places or nature. I found his Collage Poems technique (Fecund Labyrinth, pp.61-111) very interesting; and his interest in the Investigative Poetry techniques from Ed Sanders to be stimulating.

I find his poetic messages robust, earthy, life loving, and free, for example: “when awake/ each moment/ is a glorious/ potentially transformative/ high energy, construct/that opens slowly, deliberately/ like the lotus petals/ of a woman’s vulva/ as we stand in awe/ scribbling furiously/ hoping to get it all down/ needing to get it right, dammit.” p.37

I have also purchased two of his edited anthologies: Ghost Town Poetry, Open Mic: Volumes 2 and 3; reviewed elsewhere. Also, Good Reads!

I prefer his other good collage art works rather than the astronaut one used on the cover of this engaging book. But, never judge a book by its cover.

The book provides a detailed autobiography and information about other "Rebel Angel" post-modern poets who have influenced him: Allen Ginsberg, Niki Giovanni, Amiri Baraka, Anne Waldman, Ed Sanders, and Diane di Prima." Mr. Luna is an active leader of poetry Open Mic sessions, a literary coach, an editor, a collage artist, film critic, researcher, jazz musician, and social activist in the City of Vancouver, Washington State. He is an “Outsider,” with an MFA from the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics from Naropa University in 1999. He was the Poet Laureate in Vancouver from 2013-2017.

A book deep enough for rereading!

Ghost Town Poetry: Cover to Cover Books, 2004-2010: An Anthology of Poems from the Ghost Town Open Mic Series. Edited by Christopher J. Juna and Toni Partington. 2011, 134 pages. VSCL.

Ghost Town Poetry: Volume Two, 2004-2014. Edited by Christopher Luna and Toni Partington. Cover to Cover Books, Printed Matter Vancouver, WA, 2014, 98 pages. FVRL.

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic: Volume Three, 2004-2024. Edited by Christopher Luna, Toni Lumbrazo Luna, and Morgan Paige. Printed Matter, Vancouver WA, 2024. 149 pages. Purchased at Birdhouse Books in Vancouver, WA. VSCL. 

Amazon Review by Mike Garofalo:

I was first made aware of this interesting collection when I read a copy of the book borrowed from the Fort Vancouver Regional Library. I found the books artwork, the good poems, and the collage by Christopher Luna to be appealing.

The introduction by Mr. Luna was highly informative and would be useful for anyone trying to establish a local Open Mic poetry reading series in a community. Clark County has over a half million residents, so the nearby fan base of poetry lovers is considerable in the Vancouver, Washington State area where I live. Many interesting people shared their experience, reflections, and poetic compositions.

The poems are challenging, contemporary, hip, inclusive, liberal, woke, and lively. Hearing them read by the authors to the Vancouver Open Mic crowd must have been delightful and thought-provoking.

Although I have lived in Vancouver since 2017, I have never attended an Open Mic session and have not yet met Mr. Luna. I intend to attend my first Open Mic session in Vancouver in April of 2025.

This anthology was edited by Christopher Luna and Toni Partington in 2014.

After reading this book, I purchased “message from the vessel in a dream” authored by Mr. Luna. A very worthwhile purchase for me; reviewed elsewhere. Also, at the local Birdhouse Books bookstore, I purchased a new copy of “Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic: Volume Three, 2004-2024, edited by Chris Luna, Toni Lumbrazo Luna, and Morgan Paige, $20.00.

At 98 pages, this is the smallest chapbook of the three Open Mic anthologies. A very good bargain for a paperback on Amazon.

Book Reviews by Mike Garofalo

Tanka Poetry Books Reviews by Mike Garofalo

Amazon Reviews by Mike Garofalo:

The Tanka Anthology. Edited by Michael McClintock, Pamela Miller Ness, and Jim Kacian. 2023, 240 pages. 

Here is my Amazon review: "800 of the best tanka in English by 69 of its finest practitioners. This is an outstanding collection of Tanka poems in the English language. Easy to hold in one's hands, light, compact, good quality print and paper. Very good choices by the highly qualified editors. Most Tanka are in the minimalist style: lowercase, no punctuation, 5 lines. For a paperback, a bit expensive at $34, but worth the higher price. Includes biographies of the authors. No introduction. Good enough for many rereads!"

The Way of Tanka. By Naomi Beth Wakan. Shantee Arts LLC, 2017, 146 pages. $15.00. VSCL. 

Here is my Amazon review: "Tanka are brief 5 line poems, typically using 19-33 sound units, uncapitalized, with little punctuation. This is a good brief introduction and guide to the reading and writing of Tanka style poetry. Many fine Tanka are included and briefly analyzed. She provides a few insights into the proper construction of the Pivot Point, Turning Point, the Volta, the Twist, usually in the 3rd line. (I have added more comments on the Pivot Line above.) She emphasizes the importance of a dramatic and surprising phrase in the last 5th line. She makes clear that writing English language haiku cannot follow some Japanese Tanka standards or sensitivities because these two languages have many differences in the sound elements, homonyms, more rhyming in Hiragana, culture, and poetic heritage. The Tanka form has been used since 800 CE in Japan. She includes a few of her longer Tanka sequences. She discusses tanka collage, tanka montage, Haibun, McClintock's Taika, Kyoka tanka wit and humor, minimalist tanka, response/dialogue tankas, Ekphrastic tanka, love tankas, travel/place tanka, diary tanka, tanka strings, nostalgic tanka, tan renga, confessional tanka, and tanka sequences. Japanese terms like wabi, sari, aware - mono no aware, kyojo, makoto, shibusa, and kokora are briefly explained. Ms. Wakan provides a brief bibliography and lists of online resources. She talks about the authors that influenced her. A fine companion to The Tanka Anthology (Edited by McClintlock, Ness, and Kacian, 2023) or Four Decades on My Tanka Road: The Tanka Collections of Sanford Goldstein, 2012."

Four Decades on My Tanka Road: The Tanka Collections of Sanford Goldstein. By Sanford Goldstein. Edited by Fran M. Witham. Preface by Patricia Prime. Winfred Press, 327 pages, Second Edition, 2012.

Here is my Amazon Review: Selections from 6 of Professor Goldstein's books: This Tanka World, 1977; Gaijin Aesthetics, 1983; At the Hut of the Small Mind, 1992; Records of a Well-Polished Satchel, 1995; This Tanka World, 2001; and, Encounters in this Penny World, 2005. Includes a selective bibliography, and a biography of Professor Goldstein. Some introductory notes. Over 500 Tanka in this attractive anthology. Good paper and clear crisp print. $22, Paperback. VSCL. Professor Sanford Goldstein (1925-2023) is often called the "The Grandfather of English Tanka." These Tanka are nearly all in lower case, using only a comma or dash for punctuation, 5 concise lines, mostly free verse style. He includes more gritty, earthy, and intimate aspects of living. These poems reflect many of his experiences while living in Japan for decades. Sometimes, the stark brevity of the Tanka style can lead one to the edge of insight, but they are often too thin to hold up the pants of a deeper understanding."

Book Reviews by Mike Garofalo