Graffito
by John Burgess

Description

GRAFFITO is the third Ravenna collection of poetry from Seattle poet John Burgess. He uses found text, overheard conversations and input from documentaries to create riffs that build on their own internal rhythm and musicality.

He tags manmade and natural worlds alike with inspiration coming from experiences and incidents: Walking through NYC. Pilgrimage to the fire watch on Desolation. The passing of Masanobu Fukuoka, the tribal elder of natural farming. The Aurora Bridge as working-class icon. UFO sightings. War and drinking, embodied by his uncle, a Vietnam vet. More punk poems, short outbursts and obituaries (e.g., Ronald Reagan, Hunter S. Thompson, Robin Blaser), coupled with their Spanish versions by Raul Sanchez.

Excerpts:

[Aurora Bridge]

looking for efficiency + economy
a transportation opportunity

shortest distance between 2 points

a route a rut routine
spanning wide lowlands
excavating + placing fittings
in soft mud driving cofferdams

BUILDING A CONCRETE FUTURE

silicon steel + optimum stress capabilities
another 40 hours for another
20 years
bracing