Poem-A-Day: Why I Am Not a Buddhist by Charles Bernstein

Why I Am Not a Buddhist by Charles Bernstein     Reality cons me as it spur(n)s me.  This is the road to eternal  Consanguinity, eloping with  Hope and leaving me to pick  Up the proverbial bag.  But that's the argument for.        Copyright © 2013 by Charles Bernstein. Used with permission of the author.     About This Poem "I have a companion poem in The Sophist (1987) called 'Why I Am Not a Christian' (taking my title from Bertrand Russell's book of the same name), which has two lines echoed in this poem: 'You always throw it down/ but you never pick it up?' Then in Girly Man (2007) I have a poem from 1988 called 'Why I Don't Meditate': 'Mental health is probably overrated--a little anxiety/ is a great source/ for poetic composition & besides I prefer sitting/ on chairs with heavy cushions & a footstool/ if at all possible'--a poem both sophistical and sincere (a favorite combination). My concern is more What is false? than What is truth? All true poetry comes from deep fear, immobility, timidity. (I love Walter Benjamin's essay on Hölderlin's timidity.) This is our common ground, our temporal consanguinity (blood ties). Reality is not kind. I'd tell you in an instant, if I could."   --Charles Bernstein Most Recent Book by Bernstein Recalculating (University of Chicago Press, 2013)   June 25, 2013 Charles Bernstein is the author of numerous books of poetry including Recalculating (University of Chicago Press, 2013). He is the Executive Editor and co-founder of The Electronic Poetry Center at SUNY-Buffalo. Bernstein teaches at the University of Pennsylvania. Related Poems Man Carrying Thing by Wallace Stevens Chirality by Rae Armantrout Mirrors by Tada Chimako Poem-A-Day Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-A-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. Browse the Poem-A-Day Archive.   Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.

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