Poem of the Week: Kevin Simmonds

Ars Poetica

I can write a poem

to the limbs of a grandmother

seeded in a scorched field

where her house stood

before the drone

I can write as her left arm singing

to its hand

Calm now, she's gone

Some man

I'm almost certain

it's a man

can write a memo

about this field

left foot tapping impatiently

His memo isn't a poem

but who said it had to be

  

-Kevin Simmonds 

  

Used by permission.

From Bend to it (Salmon Poetry, 2014)  

Kevin Simmonds is a writer and musician originally from New Orleans. His books include the full-length collections Bend to it (Salmon Poetry, 2014) and Mad for Meat (Salmon Poetry, 2011), and the edited works Ota Benga Under my Mother's Roof (University of South Carolina, 2012) and Collective Brightness: LGBTIQ Poets on Faith, Religion & Spirituality (Sibling Rivalry Press,  2011). He has composed numerous musical works for voice and chamber ensemble, as well as for stage productions such as the Japanese-Noh inspired Emmett Till, a river and the Emmy Award-winning documentary HOPE: Living and Loving with HIV in Jamaica. His films have been shown at international festivals, including MIXNYC, SF Frameline, Provincetown International Film Festival, Barcelona's MiMi Festival and Hong Kong's InDPanda. A recipient of fellowships and commissions from Cave Canem, Creative Work Fund, Fulbright, the Pulitzer Center, San Francisco Arts Commission and the Edward Stanley Award from Prairie Schooner, he divides his time between Brooklyn, Japan and San Francisco.

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