Brendan Constantine
Brendan Constantine Poems
It's really cold in here now,
easily forty below something,
and half the class is asleep.
...
My father remembers nothing. Or rather
he remembers where it used to be - See
that building? When I was a kid there was
nothing there. And next door, where
the school is, nothing.
...
A flock of pink flamingos moved in
across the street, and set up plastic people
on the lawn.
...
I learned the word disaster meant against the stars,
learned it did not apply to this world; the sky intended
every cruelty.
...
America says it has misplaced your number.
I wasn't comfortable giving it out. I said
I'd let you know.
...
My love,
you have the right to remain
.......silent. Anything you say
can and will be recorded
...
The children of Juarez have run out
of red crayons. There's so much blood
...
Brendan Constantine Biography
Brendan Constantine was born in Los Angeles, the second child of two working actors, and named after Irish playwright Brendan Behan. An ardent supporter of Southern California’s poetry communities and one of its most recognized poets, he has served as a teacher of poetry in local schools and colleges for the last eighteen years. In addition, he brings poetry workshops to hospitals, foster care centers, & shelters for the homeless. He is also very proud of his work with the Alzheimer's Poetry Project. His first collection, Letters To Guns, was released in February 2009 from Red Hen Press to wide acclaim. It is now taught extensively in schools throughout the Southland. His work has appeared in numerous journals, most notably Ploughshares, FIELD, Rattle, ZYZZYVA, Ninth Letter, The Pinch, ArtLife and LA Times Bestseller The Underground Guide to Los Angeles. His most recent collections are Birthday Girl With Possum (2011 Write Bloody Publishing) and Calamity Joe (2012 red Hen Press). In spring of 2012, Brendan toured California on a grant from the James Irvine Foundation, bringing his poetry workshops to schools, libraries, correctional facilities, & community centers. “I know every student doesn’t want to be a professional poet. But if poetry is a kind of ‘language within a language’ (Paul Valery), then I believe the skills of poetry--the arts of simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification, meter, etc. – are useful and practical, a means of doubling our available vocabulary. Anyone with even a little poetry in them is better equipped to relate their world to someone else.” In addition to his post as poet in residence at the Windward School, Brendan regularly volunteers with organizations like the Art of Elysium. He is also currently working with the Craft & Folk Art Museum of Los Angeles on a project that invites established and emerging authors to bear upon changing exhibits. He holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and lives in Hollywood at Bela Lugosi’s last address.)
The Best Poem Of Brendan Constantine
Cold Reading
It's really cold in here now,
easily forty below something,
and half the class is asleep.
Snow dazzles in the windows,
makes a cake of each desk.
It's really cold in here now.
I've been lecturing on the same
poem for twenty six hours
and half the class is asleep.
I want them to get it. I start
to talk about death again
and it's really cold in here now.
One student has frozen solid,
her hair snapping off in the wind
and half the class is asleep.
"See that" I say, "Lisa gets it."
But it's so cold in here now
half the class are white dunes
shifting to the sea.
Brendan Constantine Comments
Brendan Constantine Popularity
Brendan Constantine Popularity
Delivering Poems Around The World
Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge...
4/25/2024 11:19:04 AM # 1.0.0.1119
I loved hearing you read, 'Cold Reading' in person at the PCC Open Mic in Feb 2024 and it was great getting to chat with you after. Thank you for your encouragement regarding my reading of my poem, 'Frozen'