Postcards From Gravelly Beach

Busting out a bit of original (un)sung freeverse with guitar-toting pal Bread, a shaker egg, and a stack of freeverse – fortified with improvisational bits about the mortar holding the middle of bricks, leaping over hedges, waiting for airplanes and diesels downshifting and being … so tired but sometimes so inspired bewildered and in love … Continue reading Improvising Over Hedges – Postcards #38 →

Continuing on with Kerouac’s San Francisco Blues, DaveO strolls down The Mission reading Jack’s choruses written on the same street in 1954 while observing butter trucks, museums and tolling bells, then listening to Clayton the Seabus busker sing about going home. Pedestriate carefully for: San Francisco Mission Stroll with Jack – Postcard #37 (128k mp3, 11:32, … Continue reading San Francisco Mission Stroll with Jack – Postcard #37 →

In San Francisco on an early morning stroll sporting a French-curled tie, Dave performs contemporary reconnaissance of an intersection described by Jack Kerouac in San Francisco Blues and discusses Kerouac’s motivations and system for creating these Blues poems. Geographically speaking, the additional observations include bridge commuters, urine puddles, hot dog and motorcycle tire shops, beer-signed … Continue reading Kerouac Choruses at Third and Harrison – Postcard #36 →

Along with Mr. Lenker of Steamboat Island and his guitar, large hounds and varied livestock, Dave reads poems “Refined, Not Created” and “Aye Carpathia,” while Bill sings about the “Man with a Rebel Soul” – followed by reading of “This and That” with guitar improvisation… from deep in the woodshop studio. To the boats for: … Continue reading Sea Rescue Spontaneity from the Woodshop – Postcard #35 →

Dave reads a smattering from Gary Snyder, Jack Kerouac and original verse written in Germany in 1992, joined by Trauben the hitchhiking acupuncturist (who toils to understand a Welsh miner’s lantern), the lads chat about flowing chi, Cascade mountain lookouts the author as a young writer while attempting to communicate with racoons – possibly bearing … Continue reading Lanterns for Welsh Miners – Postcard #34 →

Dave checks in with the words of Chinese literature aficionado Lu Ji with his notes on the writer’s craft after a recent batch of related inspiring events including a Dalai Lama visit, plus Chinese medicinal tea from Dr. Wu and the works of Gary Snyder, then ends with a live track called Helicopters by The Stills. Boil … Continue reading Tea with Chinese Masters – Postcard #33 →

Dave reads from Joseph Conrad’s “Youth: A Narrative” from the community garden in the park with no name near Cambie-land, Vancouver and meanders on about riding trains, steamer ships, expansive seas and erstwhile adventures while immersed in foreign culture and ends with a bit of a seascape tune from an original piece called “The Ferry … Continue reading Conrad’s Youthful Adventures from an Unnamed Park – Postcard #31 →

On a North Van hillside, Dave reads a few choruses from Jack Kerouac’s “San Francisco Blues” and talks about “Ti Jean’s” writing life, including his dexterous style and notable substance – plus expresses affection for Vancouver and the joys of rediscovery. Dream of moonlight for: Kerouac’s San Francisco in Dave’s Vancouver – Postcard #30 (.mp3, … Continue reading Kerouac’s San Francisco in Dave’s Vancouver – Postcard #30 →

At Granville Island Market on a breezy spring day, Dave talks about Czech/German/French writer Rainer Maria Rilke and reads from Letter # 10 from “Letters to a Young Poet,” plus offers discourse about the writing life, dealing with creative conditions and personal honesty – plus chats about the charming Vancouver False Creek waterfront. Gaze into … Continue reading Rilke’s Letters at a Breezy Island Market – Postcard #29 →

A personal stirring moment, recorded for Grandpa, Robert Louis Stevenson (RIP) on the windy banks of the Columbia River featuring Walt Whitman’s “To You” – read whilst sitting under a weeping sage tree with toiling barges, endless trains and snowy Mt. Hood in the distance. Watch the river roil for: Whitman on the Windy Columbia … Continue reading Whitman on the Windy Columbia – Postcard #28 →

Rather raw, first sampling from the Shelter Crescent session featuring Brad Rees playing electric guitar while I talk and yodel my way around some freeverse – seems to be thinking about waiting for a red-headed girl in San Francisco while drinking at an unwelcome bar. Peek through the curtains for: Red-headed Girl in San Francisco … Continue reading Red-headed Girl in San Francisco from Shelter Cove – Postcard #27 →

Contemplating the edge of the (then known to Western folks) Earth with Henry the Navigator in this sixth instalment of the Woodshed Session featuring Bill Lenker’s guitar stylings / singing and me wondering why he went out into the unknown instead of turning right (or even  left). Sail into the unknown for: Henry Going to … Continue reading Henry Going to Galicia from the Woodshed – Postcard #26 →

The fifth Woodshed session choogles along with a free verse extravaganza with Bill Lenker playing on the guitar and singing in-betwixt as I spiel forth words, memories, ideas and rhymes – topics include George Washington bridge, Providence parks, postcards to friends, and going nowhere. No umbrella needed for: Curiosity in Rainstorms from the Woodshed – … Continue reading Curiosity in Rainstorms from the Woodshed – Postcard #25 →

The second Woodshed Session again features Bill Lenker on guitar and DaveO with free verse and lyrical snippets. This time, observations from a rainy night in Vancouver is the tangible topic – the intangibles are for you to determine. Watch your step on: Considering Vancouver Cobblestones from the Woodshed – Postcard #22 (4:34, 4MB, .mp3) … Continue reading Considering Vancouver Cobblestones from the Woodshed – Postcard #22 →

Go on a trip for this next Woodshed session, again Bill Lenker on guitar and singing, and Dave busting some narrative about items on a bookshelf and reminiscing about Caye Caulker, Belize. Runaway to a Caye for: Belize and Bookshelf Observations at the Woodshed – Postcard #24 (7:22, 7MB, .mp3) Artifacts, from Caye Caulker, Belize, … Continue reading Belize and Bookshelf Observations at the Woodshed – Postcard #24 →

Rolling along with the Woodshed Sessions, here’s number 3 … again Bill Lenker’s guitar and songwriting/singing skills along with my free verse and lyrical snippets – this time about lighthouses, aspen trees and an insinuated scandalous incident. Light the signal lamp for: Temporary Lighthouses from the Woodshed – Postcard #23 (7:50, 7MB, .mp3) A lighthouse … Continue reading Temporary Lighthouses from the Woodshed – Postcard #23 →

A postcard from (along with the next few) the Steamboat Island woodshed with Bill Lenker’s guitar and vocals (see Postcard #13) dove-tailing with original free verse and lyrical works – fortified with spontaneous word-i-fication. First up in this series comes Bill’s song combined with my semi-rhymey verses about riding trains through Cascadia. All aboard for: … Continue reading Cascadia Starlight in a Woodshed Session – Postcard #21 →

Out on a nighttime walk, Dave sits in the frosty grass under a tree, by a pond, with a Guinness and reads ‘post-modern’ stories by Murakami Haruki, Raymond Carver, Kelsye Nelson and himself, as well as offering up festivus gift ideas. Pour a sturdy one for: Short Fiction, Coincidentally about Drinking – Postcard #20 (21;20, … Continue reading Short Fiction, Coincidentally about Drinking – Postcard #20 →

From a snowy porch with raccoons chirping nearby, Dave reads from Richard Brautigan, Phillip Whalen, ee cummings, Walt Whitman plus his original free verse while enjoying Pernod and ginger-ale. Don a toque for: Snowy Nighttime Porch with Raccoons – Postcard #19 (14MB, 15:23, .mp3) Subscribe Auto-magically receive Postcard from Gravelly Beach podcast, via:  PfGB RSS feed  PfGB … Continue reading Snowy Nighttime Porch with Raccoons – Postcard #19 →

On a foggy morning with Osmanthus tea, Dave reads tales by professor Larry Harper – “The Man Who Loved Provo,” and his own “Right (as in Correctly)” plus a snippet from Natsume Soseki’s very wabi-sabi classic “Kokoro.” Be beautiful in decay for: A Wabi-Sabi, Foggy Morning – Postcard #18 (18:22, 17MB, .mp3) Subscribe Auto-magically receive Postcard … Continue reading A Wabi-Sabi, Foggy Morning – Postcard #18 →