Poet Gordon Black on Cartwheels on the Sky

<p>This episode of Cartwheels on the Sky features the poems and process of Mendocino Coast poet Gordon Black.</p> <p>Born in Detroit, Black is a second generation, of Polish background, &nbsp;American. His father was a firefighter, later Battalion Chief, and his &nbsp;mother a social worker and theater director in stage and radio &nbsp;productions, and in his words he “was expected to succeed!”</p> <p>He says he stumbled out of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan with &nbsp;an M.A. in philosophy and pointed advice to go “get a job”.</p> <p>“It took decades and luck to turn that degree into some steady bread and &nbsp;water, and I have been a happy adjunct as a professor in philosophy at Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC),” says Black.</p> <p>He arrived on the Mendocino Coast in 1972 and engaged with the nascent &nbsp;poetry community and turned from extended prose efforts to “the stand up &nbsp;/ sit down of completed poems, written and rewritten until the &nbsp;creatures fly without further assistance.” He has been doing live radio &nbsp;during much of that time, programming classical music for KZYX, &nbsp;Mendocino County Public Broadcasting, and has been involved in the &nbsp;annual Mendocino Spring Poetry Celebration for sixteen consecutive &nbsp;years.</p> <p>“I owe my own development in poetry to all my fellows in the regional scene, so I try to help keep it going,” credits Black.</p> <p><em>This podcast aired live on Saturday, June 5, 2021 on </em><a href="https://kgua.org"><em>88.3, KGUA FM Gualala</em></a><em>.&nbsp;</em></p> <pre><code>Link to hear archives of Dan Robert’s long running<br> Rhythm Running River radio show as mentioned in Gordon's interview:&nbsp;<br> <a href="http://outfarpress.com/">http://outfarpress.com/</a></code></pre> <p>and this is Gordon’s “page” poem as referenced in the show:</p> <p><a href="https://www.bmoreyou.net/2021/05/31/poet-gordon-black-on-cartwheels-on-the-sky/_wp_link_placeholder">LACONIC TOWEL</a><br> <br> forms and motion<br> gone<br> <br> bright sun<br> loads co