[Ballad of James Acord]<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sometimes alone.
\nSometimes in clusters. Sometimes<\/p>\n
in parallel but a lifetime apart. Sometimes
\nsinking. Sometimes afloat. “There are<\/p>\n
2 parallel paths on which human beings
\nseek the truth.” Sometimes tangled<\/p>\n
in each other’s hair. Sometimes oblivious.
\nSometimes replicas coming off a conveyor<\/p>\n
belt upstream. “I wanted to be able to identify
\nand imagine how everything I saw was made.”<\/p>\n
Sometimes punk. Sometimes Li Po
\nfolded into paper boats. “Demonstrate<\/p>\n
the ancient link between art and
\ntechnology.” Sometimes mammalian<\/p>\n
noses just above drowning. Sometimes
\na Cold War that never ended. “Science<\/p>\n
and art, art and science\u2014they’re
\njust two spokes going into the center<\/p>\n
of the Karma Wheel.” Sometimes a rodeo.
\nSometimes a Veteran’s Day parade.<\/p>\n
Sometimes loose-cannon protons released
\nfrom larger atoms looking to start<\/p>\n
a chain reaction. “We have not stolen
\nanything. We have just learned about it.”<\/p>\n
Sometimes long stretches like nothing is
\nwrong. Sometimes failure takes years. “If<\/p>\n
you want to make things, if you want to
\ncreate things, everything is hazardous.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Samples: James Acord <\/a>as quoted in “Looking for Acord,” The Observer (July 1998) and “James Acord: Atomic Artist,” Nuclear News (November 2002).<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n JOHN BURGESS<\/a> grew up in upstate New York, worked on a survey crew in Montana, taught English in Japan and now lives and works in Seattle. He has three books of poetry from Ravenna Press: <\/a>Punk Poems<\/em> (2005)<\/a>, A History of Guns in the Family<\/em> (2008)<\/a> and Graffito<\/a><\/em> (2011).<\/p>\n John will be reading from Graffito<\/em> at Elliott Bay Books in Seattle on Friday, July 27, at 7:00<\/a>, along with Raul Sanchez and Lana Hechtman Ayers.<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [Ballad of James Acord] Sometimes alone. Sometimes in clusters. Sometimes in parallel but a lifetime apart. Sometimes sinking. Sometimes afloat. “There are 2 parallel paths on which human beings seek the truth.” Sometimes tangled in each other’s hair. Sometimes … Continue reading