Thursday, February 19, 2015

Let's Get Surreal


Here’s a poem from my chapbook, Baila Conmigo, which was published by Dancing Girl Press last fall. When I wrote this piece, I was inspired by Benjamin Péret’s weird poem “Hello” and its string of incongruous images that somehow work together to make a certain sense.

For Betsy   (after Benjamin Péret)

You are my symphony of stained glass and hot peppered cashews
my bathtub of tainted apricots
my jaguar springing on the tattered dew
my purple blouse with the hand-embroidered itch
my frog in the waterproofed suit
my bottle of coiled perfume
my tortured pearl rising blister-style and on cue
my secret dress trading sequins with the Sphinx
my rush hour tongue probing the chambers of a flaming stew
my needle in the carpet
my hornet in the hog's breath
my candy cigarette dipped in kerosene
my beloved X-ray machine—
your fingertips find every bruise and probe old wounds
then push me, barefoot, onto roiling paths that burn—
and for that I want to say
thank you.


To order Baila Conmigo or to see other titles by Dancing Girl Press, you can click   https://dulcetshop.myshopify.com/products/baila-conmigo-linda-ferguson.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Women's Day

On March 8, I'll be participating in an International Women's Day Poetry Reading presented by Soapstone.

I'm excited about this event for a big long list of reasons, including the fact that one of the readers is Sharon Wood-Wortman, the co-author of The Portland Bridge Book. When my son was in third grade, he was obsessed with bridges, and Ms. Wood-Wortman's book was one of his favorites. It's not every day you get to meet a legend from your family's history, so I'm expecting March 8 to be pretty thrilling from this standpoint...not to mention that we'll all get to hear some great poetry.

The event is free and open to the public.

 International Women's Day Poetry Reading

March 8, 2015
6:00 - 8:00 pm
TaborSpace, 5441 SE Belmont
 
Hosted by Ellen Goldberg
 
Readers include
 Fran Adler, Judith Arcana , Shawn Aveningo, Gail Barker, Judith Barrington, Emily Carr,
 Brittney Corrigan, Pam Crow, Linda Ferguson, Andrea Hollander, Tricia Knoll, Elise Kuechle, Carter McKenzie, Penelope Schott, Marilyn Stablein, Ila Suzanne, Carlyn Syvanen,
 and Sharon Wood-Wortman.