Poetry Magazines - The best collection of poetry magazines online - Simon Armitage

AUTHOR’S NOTE: GEORG BÜCHNER, 1813-1837, was a German dramatist & revolutionary, the author of the plays ‘Dantons Tod’,’Leonce und Lena,’, ‘Woyzeck’ and, with WEIDIG, ‘Der Hessische Landbote’. HERSCHEL WILSON was a black man, accused of drunken driving, who died in Buffalo jail - was he beaten to death? WEIDIG was a pastor, imprisioned for distributing the revolutionary pamphlet he and BÜCHNER had written. He was allowed to lie unattended in his cell for 4 days before his successful suicide. MINNIGERODE was another of BÜCHNER’S circle who was tortured for 3 years in prison, then released a vegetable. GUTZKOW was a playwright, correspondent and believer in revolution through literature. “The gagged man”: BOBBY SEALE. “Reality in itself’: said by artist LES LEVINE. “If I’m wrong” : words of PRESIDENT NIXON. WILHELMINA was BÜCHNER’S rather simple betrothed and was suspected of burning one of his plays and many of his letters. “Wir arme Leut –“ = “we poor people” (from WOYZECK). Much of the material in these poems has been translated from BÜCHNER’S letters . . .

                       
FOR HERSCHEL WILSON

Or blood or puke make better executed
Than detained.

When Weidig cuts his throat
He would not die

Unless the gaoler comes
In ignorance.

Three years
Minnigerode bled for me
and praxis. 0 too much, too little !
No one but a fool would think
to overturn class structure durch
die Tagesliteratur. Three years
too long, nobodys learned
a thing. I seek a cleaner air.
Read late at night, make
marches, worry crossing
borders. Which box will they
put you in.

(MY) FIRST LETTER TO GUTZKOW

Kein Moralist zu sein.
Anyone could learn as much from history, from the streets.
The gagged man speaks more eloquent than those who pray
too late at night, in churches.
The only cause the nation has
is the welfare of its citizens.

Once they’ve learned they won’t stop hating,
“Reality in itself is the strongest element that anyone can use”
The Buchner prize this year goes to Lyndon Johnson.
“If I’m wrong, what I say now won’t matter.”

Body of Man, 84, Missing Three Days, Is Found in Snow

     The body of Joseph Wojcicki, 84, of 212 Holly St., was found Wednesday night in a snow bank on baseball Diamond No. 2 In Houghton Park at the foot of Casimer St., police report.

     Joseph Wojcicki Jr. told Lt. Francis M. Lee of the Southside Station his father had been missing since Monday when he left home wearing only light clothing and slippers. A recent stroke had left him with a speech impediment.

     Donald Schrier. 16. of 98 Weaver St., noticed the body while taking a short-cut through the park.

     Medical Examiner Edmund Gicewicz told Lt. Lee the victim
apparently suffered a heart attack. He issued a certificate of
death from natural causes.

FOR WILHELMINA

Dear Baby, I won’t have to
have you now. I’m glad you’re dead, and me too
and we’re both a hundred years
away. I was kidding when I wrote you.
I didn’t expect to live so long.
I didn’t. And you, if you burned the letters,
that’s OK too. The mountain steps across the field, there,
where Lenz lived, and the Leonce-robot came up through here
looking for you. O I’m glad you’re dead.

Love takes life - take yours for example.
I have begun to hate das Volk.
The snow is rising.
I don’t feel at home here anymore.

Ja
Ja
Ja
Ja
Ja
Ja
Ja
       wir arme Leut -
Ja
Ja
Ja