John Peterson

News of the Day John Peterson

Poetry. "I call this collection NEWS OF THE DAY to indicate two things. First, some of these pieces were written for specific events;momentary poetic statements of the events of the day. 'The Social,'written as a comment on the legacy of the left in the early days ofClinton's presidency, was one of these pieces, as was '28 Years'written after an invitation by Terry Hertzler to read at a Veteran's Daypoetry reading. Second, some pieces were written with specificevents in mind like 'Voice,' written as a statement about Reagan's dirtywar in Nicaragua. Certainly the piece written on hearing of thepassing of Allen Ginsberg, that is the dedication piece, is one ofthese. And 'Impeachment,' written about, what else, the Clintonimpeachment, took a long time to write and had to be concise giventhe excess of the thing itself. The poems of the second section, Poems out of Philosophy,were written in the aftermath of September 11th and during a periodof travel, mostly in the south. They seem to be more philosophicalwhich, like poems associated with timely events, can lend a weightthat if not handled well can crush the poetry. This is a chance I amwilling to take to say what I feel need be said"--from the author's Acknowledgments.