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Daily Negations of a Neo-Stoic: John S. Hall
John S. Hall is a poet/spoken word artist, ukulelist and singer-songwriter. He has released numerous albums, including nine albums with various incarnations of his band King Missile -numbering one to four. He was a poet first and a rocker second. John is the author of a collection of poetry, Jesus Was Way Cool, and a self-help parody, Daily Negations, both from Soft Skull Press. He has cultivated a deep and wide connection to NYC's spoken word poetry scene, performing at such seminal venues as Speakeasy, ABC No Rio, Nuyorican Poets Cafe and others.
He recently wrote to me, "if I have an oeuvre of anti-inspirational texts, the Daily Negations would be at the center of that oeuvre, not an aside from it. " To me, Hall's work recalls Ancient Roman stoic, Seneca, whose biography is entitled Dying Every Day. You will know Hall by his porkpie hat -- his signature visual talisman. You can watch John read his Daily Negations, daily, on Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/jshkingmissile/ or posted on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/john_s_hall/
Hall shared with us a poem by A.R. Ammons that he has found inspirational since taking a poetry workshop with that writer years ago.
Poetics
by A. R. Ammons
I look for the way
things will turn
out spiralling from a center,
the shape
things will take to come forth in
so that the birch tree white
touched black at branches
will stand out
wind-glittering
totally its apparent self:
I look for the forms
things want to come as
from what black wells of possibility,
how a thing will
unfold:
not the shape on paper -- though
that, too -- but the
uninterfering means on paper:
not so much looking for the shape
as being available
to any shape that may be
summoning itself
through me
from the self not mine but ours.
A.R. Ammons (1971)
Our original theme music was composed by Cato and Creative Soundscapes.
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By Derek DencklaJohn S. Hall is a poet/spoken word artist, ukulelist and singer-songwriter. He has released numerous albums, including nine albums with various incarnations of his band King Missile -numbering one to four. He was a poet first and a rocker second. John is the author of a collection of poetry, Jesus Was Way Cool, and a self-help parody, Daily Negations, both from Soft Skull Press. He has cultivated a deep and wide connection to NYC's spoken word poetry scene, performing at such seminal venues as Speakeasy, ABC No Rio, Nuyorican Poets Cafe and others.
He recently wrote to me, "if I have an oeuvre of anti-inspirational texts, the Daily Negations would be at the center of that oeuvre, not an aside from it. " To me, Hall's work recalls Ancient Roman stoic, Seneca, whose biography is entitled Dying Every Day. You will know Hall by his porkpie hat -- his signature visual talisman. You can watch John read his Daily Negations, daily, on Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/jshkingmissile/ or posted on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/john_s_hall/
Hall shared with us a poem by A.R. Ammons that he has found inspirational since taking a poetry workshop with that writer years ago.
Poetics
by A. R. Ammons
I look for the way
things will turn
out spiralling from a center,
the shape
things will take to come forth in
so that the birch tree white
touched black at branches
will stand out
wind-glittering
totally its apparent self:
I look for the forms
things want to come as
from what black wells of possibility,
how a thing will
unfold:
not the shape on paper -- though
that, too -- but the
uninterfering means on paper:
not so much looking for the shape
as being available
to any shape that may be
summoning itself
through me
from the self not mine but ours.
A.R. Ammons (1971)
Our original theme music was composed by Cato and Creative Soundscapes.