7th November, 2006
Meeting with Cheyenne/Tsistsistas poet Lance Henson
Dear Girls,
We have had the opportunity of meeting a great Native-Indian poet, Lance Henson. I would be very grateful if you could possibly share the poems we wrote during the workshop. I will share with you mine, just to show you the courage of trusting those who read the “words flowing out of our souls”. It is difficult for a teacher to expose her deep feelings with her students, to share part of her life with somebody she teaches to, but as Lance pointed out, writing poetry is an act of courage. Along with your poems I want you to give me some feedback about the workshop.
- How did you feel during the conference?
- What did you like about it? Why? Mention an anecdote if possible.
- What did you not like? Why? Mention an anecdote.
- Is there anything that you expected from the meeting with Lance Henson that was not met?
Please, do find the time to answer these questions.
Herewith below, you will find some observations by Lance and my poems. Some teachers of English might find this part interesting, so for their own sake I am writing down Lance’s instructions. Unfortunately I do not have the poems he read, I did not find it correct to record them. I will write to him, though, so should he be willing to share them with us, I will post them for our “collective” pleasure and “spiritual uplifting.”
I quote from Lance:
“We are living in a time that questions our morality, ethics, a time when the good within the human beings is difficult to see. We have to find humanity within the human heart. Disciplines such poetry and arts in general can give solace and support you as a spiritual human being.”
“Poetry is an ancient discipline, it derives from the very first speakers. Today the poet is ostracized, imprisoned. What is it that makes people afraid of poets? What compels someone who writes? What pushes deep inside the formative energy to funnel through the brain the message of the heart? It’s a way of giving credence to the forces which say no to evil, greed. I experience the world and then I write what I’ve experienced.”
“If the soul could speak it’d sing poetry. Truth has a hard edge today: millions of dollars are made from selling guns, there are thousands of children soldiers, human slavery still exists.”
“Poetry is the world as it is and the world as it should be.”
“Poetry is also a meditative place. It is the place I can go when nobody listens.”
“Keep a journal and always questions authority.”
“You are gentle souls, you’re spiritual beings on a human journey.”
na shi neh
no tum
num haisto
ish i tsis iss i ni is
ish i tsis a kit a es
maiyun asts
nah tsistsistas
nah tsistsistas
mahago domiutz
hetomitoneo
tsistsistas
I am standing here
where the cold wind comes from
where the cold wind goes
where the sun comes up
where the sun goes down
spiritual powers listen to me
I am a human being
I am a human being
Lance Henson
Dog Soldier
1. Collect any words you hear from the poems I’m going to read. (Lance read three poems)
Each word represents a key, they come out of your human experience in a different way. They unlock memories, dreams. Use them in a simple poem. Start your first poem with “In this small wind”.
This is my first poem.
In this small wind
In this small wind
at dawn
a handful of hope
wings of a BUTTERFLY
protruding
strong
loose
past the ashes
of a dead angel
fatigue
autumn memories within me
Now you stand up and you swap poems.
2. Now you create two images per line to create an effective poem. An image is a picture in your mind. Each picture is an example, whether conscious or unconscious. That’s how powerful you are!
Use your own imagery from your living and the collected words of the poems I read. In the morning you come from sleep, a strange world, and you look at yourself in the mirror. Mirror don’t lie. What would the mirror show if we stepped inside it? Write 10 lines.
This is my second poem.
MIRROR
Stretched out arms
embracing the whole world
warmth oozes.
They turn into loose wings
lifting towards a lit
road.
Silence
looking for you
storming emotions
waking within me.
3. Think of somebody you love, feel close to in a tangible way. It has to be a relative, not a friend, somebody of your blood. Don’t name the person, just write the relationship in the title. Write five metaphors. Sign and date this poem. Give it to the person you wrote it for on a special occasion. If the person is dead keep it with you.
This is my third and most heartfelt poem.
My brother’s poem
My brother’s poem is running through a dark haunted wood
My brother’s poem is wolves howling at the spirits of his ancestors
My brother’s poem is a well spilling out filthy water to renovate itself
My brother’s poem is the shuffling of heavy footsteps on a blanket of cracking leaves
My brother’s poem is the anguishing cry of a NEW rebirth.
I didn’t like the meeting at all: he spoke about the same themes of the last meeting (that took place last year here in Pordenone). I find extremely offensive the fact that he repeated exactly the same words of that time! We could have buy a record of the last meeting and relisten to it instead of going to Udine by train!! Yes, he is a good poet, I see, but… Lance, please, come on!! let be a bit original!!
During the conference I felt really enjoyed and pleased to listen to the things that Lance said: they were very deep and important,and I noticed that he’s a person who has really understood, what the sense of life is. I really liked the second part of the confererence, when we had to write our own poems,because we had the opportunity to express ourselves,without prejudices and fear. I could investigate my soul and find things that I had never known. Sincerly,there aren’t things that I didn’t like, maybe only the fact that he spoke with a very loud tone of voice and too fast for me, so I could not understand exactly all the things he said; but two years ago I listened to him three times, so this helped me to try to understand what I could’nt hear.
A thing that I expected was to listen to more poems, specially those in his mother language,because they have a magic effect on me: I feel transported by the sweet melody of his voice when he speaks in his language..I enter another world, a magic place in which I can be what I really am; nowadays is very difficult to express our soul, you will agree with me. Besitos..kiss..bisous..baci..kuss..smack..sepy
For me the conference was a little bit boring because two years ago we took part to another Lance Hanson’s meeting and this year he said the same things that he told in the other conference. He proposed the same poems, I like so much “the mirror’s poem” or “my..(for example, grandfather’s)..poem” but I think he should change the themes of these. Even if I think Lance Hanson is a special person, he can transmit the spirituality of his culture but if sometimes he changed his meeting it would not be a bad thing.
He did and said the same things of the last meeting…I found him boring. And I think that’s impossible that a person can write a poem in 5 minutes. Certainly I appreciated his words and his idea of life… but I expected something different and at all some different poems.
Tribalgirl
In the first part of the conference, when he spoke about the native americans and our society, I was a little bit bored, later I felt quite and then I was scarred about the idea that somebody could read in pubblic my poem. I like the way he guided us during the creative writing because he involed us and in a certain way protced us. I didn’t like that the professor and Lance obliged some people to read their poems. I would have refused to read mine, because it is too personal reading something you write and you should read it only if you feel at ease doing it. I espected him to change a little bit the themes of the creative writing, it was the second time I did the same creative writing. *ale*
I found the conference in some parts very interesting but in others a little bit boring because I tought I had already listened to what he said. The poems were very interesting but they were repetetive because we had already wrote something identical two years ago in another meeting with him. It’s fine to know the story of his population but he had to change some aspects of his conference, also because he knew that we took part to the last meeting. His poems are beautiful and full of meaning and I think that he’s able to trasmit us his concentration. [Marghe]
the conference at the univesity was very interesting. I think Lance is a very great person;he expresses his feelings in a deeply and powerful way. He kept my attention for about two hours, this is not so easy and you know that because of your job.., even if I would have appreciate him more if he had spoken louder. indeed even if the topic was very interesting sometimes I could not follow him. during the conference I felt well,I mean, it was like he understood me without I spoke. I liked in particular when he spoke about the poetry like an axpression of our heart, he used some words, wich I could not repeat because they would have no sense in this moment, that made me think aout my past, my present and what can I do in my future to better my life. another moment i really loved was when he created the right atmosphere to give us the possibility to write our poems. i thought the conference was diffent, because two years ago I took part in another Lance Henson’s conference and it was similar to this one.wolly
The conference with Lance was very interessant above all for the themes that are presented in his poems. I was struck by his energy and courage to speak about his people’s problems through poem. In my opinion it’s very important to know cultures of other people, because every “population”/ group, has his traditions. I was charm by the poem of our parents that we have written; write poems helps me to express my feelings: I have dedicated this poem to my sister and she has appreciated my present…The poem “Mirror” has given me the possibility to look my person, my feelings: that means that every people has an head to think and hearth to feel emotions… According to me this experience was very positive for my person and I hope that this would help me also in today’s life. Ele
I find the conference interesting but not at all. We took part into an other conference and he had said the same things and also we have done the same things. I feel very embarrassed where a person ask me to exspress my feelings.
that’s why because I don’t like very much even though I admit that the topic was interesting
jolly
I liked the conference, because we had the oppurtunity to write a poem but I found the meeting a little bit boring probably because we took part to this conference two years ago…and we did and he said the same things of the last meeting and he proposed the same poems…although I did’t like the conference so much, I think Lance Hanson transmits with his words the spirituality….
During the conference i was a littel bit boring because he spoke about the same themes of the last meeting. I think you have to do something original if you want to catch the attention of the students. The only interesting part of the conference was when we wrote our poems, with them i feel in another world. Lance’s tone of voice was too loud and i could not understan exactly all the things is said. Although I didn’t enjoy myself at the conference I think Lance Hanson is a good poet and is poems are really deep.
I think that Lance Hanson can involve the readers in his poems. When this poet speaks I think that every person is fashinated by his thoughts. I like very much the way he speaks. He doesn’t speak aloud or with strong tone and this is very important to understand his poem. Lance gives us the possibility to understend a world that doesn’t belong to us and he makes us become a poet for a moment. In my opinion this is a very good way to express our feelings but I’m a shy person and I don’t like expressing my feelings in front of people. Fortunatly the teacher didn’t call me!! I already took part to one of his conferences and I expected something like that. Anywey I like the conference and I think that Lance works ia very innovative way. -fede-
I like the conference, in particular what Lance Henson said about the poetry. I appreciate the sentence: “Poetry is also a meditative place. It is the place I can go when nobody listens.” because it evoches a private world where we can write our feelings.
I like the activity of writing poems, even if I wouldn’t read the mines. I find interesting the advices he gave us. The negative aspect is that we participate at the same conference two years ago and we did the same activities: the poem entitled “Mirror”, the poem with the words from his poems. He has also read the same poems. So it was a sort of repetition of what we did in the past. Five years ago we met Lance Henson and Apirana Taylor, but it was different because thy read thir poems. I appreciate most the first part, because he said new things. From the meeting I expected some new activities and new suggestions. Paola
The wordshop was interesting, but boring because a lot of things he said I had already listened to. We took part at another Lance Henson’s conference, not everything he said was new for us. Also the poems were the same we had written last time.
His poems are nice! but his conference, not to much! He is a very good poet, he can explain the spirituality and the inner power of his people. He should transmit these aspects everytimes in different way.
my comment won’t be nice, i am sorry for it. i did not feel well during the conference, it made me feel ill-at-ease. i know, he said some important and nice things, about some of them i agree with him, but it seemed to me that they were imposed…i don’t know how to express my feeling, it is not that simple… it is like…it was not an opinion, it was a Truth, and i felt as if i was to belive in what he said…i did not like the working shop,feelin as it was imposed to me too…i did not feel as writing, and most of all i was not disposed to share it with everybody in that room…yes, writing is an act of courage…i have not had that courage, i did not want to find it, beacause i did not feel at ease…it was not my poem, it was something somebody else has told me i had to write. it is not sharing with other what you are, i can not see it as connected to what i would love to do in my future life as you told me…and i don’t think it coud be usefull for my future…the first thing i learned, about sharing things and sharing spaces and emotion with somebody, is that first of all you have to be very very carefull, as you want to communicate with the other, because s/he might have difficulties in coming in contact with you, you can not impose your self to him/her, you can’t impose your thoughts, you can not impose your body…you must be patient and respectful towards who you have in front of you, towards the way s/he is, some time cuold be necessary. i can share, i have shared so many things with somebody i did not know, he was very respectfull, i did not -how do you say?? in italian it would sound something like “close in my self”-.
i am so sorry, but i don’t have my poems with me any longer…
maybe it was just the wrong day for me, it is probable, but this is what i felt…sorry for my english, i wrote without stopping or re-reading it.
the topic Lance Henson spoke about was very interesting,but i found him very boring,in the way he spoke and in the activities he proposed. he spoke very slowly but at the same time with a low tone of voice, which didn’t let me understand at all what he was saying. the little I understood was very important because it made me reflect about our world and our reality, which are not very idilliac today: he spoke about slavery that still exists. even if the themes were interesting, I was bored and I dind’t like at all the require of wrinting poems. if I want to write, i do it. I’m not a robot that writes when someone says me to do it…
the part of the conference I liked at most was the first part, when he spoke about feelings and spirituality, and also when he read his poems…when someone reads for you, you enter in your own mind and heart and you can feel the hole universe speaking wiith and to you.
the only suggestion is to speak a little more about the topic of our world today because is very important, most of all because lance with his words creates a black hole in you and makes you reflect about how you live and how the majority of people live; how people of your age live today in a cruel reality and how much you are lucky.
apart from writng poems, I’ve found the conference deepful and meaningful, also in today’s life because Lance made me think about the way I behave and the way I should behave. I’ll try to follow his suggestions!!!!! giò
I think that it’s really important for us and for our own culture to discover some aspects of different backgraunds and traditions. That’s why I really liked the first part of the meeting because Lance, through his words, has been able to capture our souls and our minds and to make us feel like wanting to know more about the Cheyenne/Tsitsistas’ world.
The only negative side is that I found a little bit difficult writing poems as Lance aksed us, because I think that it should be an individual and extremely personal experience that I wouldn’t like to share with anyone, so when he wanted us to read out our poem I felt really imbarrassed because it would have meant to share a part of me with people I didn’t know.
What I liked most, as I said, is the meeting’s firts part because Lance has transported us in his own world through the rich descripritions of Cheyenne/Tsitsistas’ tradisions, costumes and beliefs.
I also really liked his speech about society and most of all about poetry: he spoke in a very armonichal and respectful way. I think that his opinion: ” Poetry is the world as it is and the world as it should be” is simply wonderful!
Smarty
I’m aswering to the first observation, which is not signed, so I apologize, but I need to address it to DEAR UNKNOWN WRITER… I was present at Lance Henson’s lecture last year and frankly speaking I do not agree with the fact it was the same as this year’s. Just one poet was the same, the other poems have not been published yet (from what I know, of course I may be wrong!). He cannot possibly change his ideas over a year. He states what he believes in and this implies that there can be redundancy in what he says. But aren’t we all redundant when we need to struggle to be listened to, to be understood, to be acknowledged? Another aspect that I would love you to take into consideration is that the meeting was not meant for us only, but also for some university students who had never been exposed to Lance Henson’s poems before. So he had to repeat his ideas, but, again, he did not use the same words and the recording you are mentioning would have been different. I would love to raise one critic: I have taught you over and over again in class to substantiate your criticism with “quotations”, with details, with examples. We are not fair in our critical attitude if we do not support our criticism. It can be read just like a superficial tirade, if you don’t substantiace your ideas. So next time try to give what you demand: originality.
Dear Sepy,
You meant he spoke in a whisper, in a very low tone of voice. You are right and I had already warned you about that and explained to you why. In the western world we tend to assert our views by raising our pitch of voice. To sound more emphatic we tend to “shout” and shouting implies not listening to the others, does it? For most native indians (though I do not like generalizations and unfortunately here I run the risk of contradicting myself) shouting is an attack. Lance, as you pointed out very well, mentioned issues, topics that flowed from “his soul” and he unlocked “private corners” of his soul, corners that need to be whispered not shouted! As to his mother tongue, well I loved the poem he read in his langauge and I think he limited the reading to one because he had little time and, perhaps, because he did not want to bore some of the listeners, who, unlike you, might not have appreciated his reading in an incomprehensible language! Then the objective of the meeting was making you write your poems, so he had to lead you to that outcome by speaking in a language you could understand.
Dear Tribal girl,
As I wrote to the unknown writer, I do not think Lance Henson said the exact same things he mentioned last year. Then as to writing a poem in five minutes, well I think you misunderstood the objective of that workshop. It was meant to unlock your feelings, to trust the others to the point of sharing your emotions with people you do not know, but who, being there, had something in common with you. The purpose was not to “write a poem to be published”, but to attempt to do something we all think we are not capable of doing. It was a creative writing workshop, so we were guided in our first steps to poetry writing. Then, do bear in mind that Lance Henson teachers creative writing and he did with us something he usually does with his students over a week or two weeks. This might have given you the idea of rushing things, but I think he managed to give us (in just two hours!!!) so much.
Dear Ale,
I do not think that anybody would have imposed you do read the poem. They invited us to read it, but sometimes with students invitations have to be done with some emphasis, otherwise nobody would ever share what they do. It is difficult to share with people you do not know what you write, but what does a writer do? Sometimes, I think, we are afraid of reading out our poems not because there are other people, but because we are reading our poem to ourselves. We feel we are not protected by silence anylonger, we feel that the words that speak to us (our own words) force us to come out to the front, force us to expose ourselves. Perhaps this is not clear, but I hope you have grasped what I mean. If not, let me know and I will try to be clearer.
Dear Wolly,
I’m happy to read that you enjoyed writing the poems, even if you found the lecture a sort of replica of the lecture you attended two years ago. However, sometimes, it is worth being in a situation where some key concepts are revised and repeated, especially for us Europeans, caught in the web of consumerism and so detached from the “spiritual” sphere and dimension Lance Henson made us plunge into.
Dear Ele,
I am so glad to read your sister appreciated you precious “gift”. Yes, you are right when you say that Lance Henson managed to involve us in something we very rarely happen to experience in our lives. I enjoyed writing my poems myself and I doubt I would have been able to overcome my writer’s block without his help. Keep on writing, and keep on enjoying yourself and pleasing your beloved with your poems.
Dear Fede,
It was exciting playing the part of the role for an hour, but do remember that you can keep on writing poems by yourself. Lance Henson proved that by making us write three poems in an hour. Amazing attempt and breathtaking outcomes! As to it being boring, well I think I replied to this part in other comments I invite you to read. Thanks for writing.