Local Lyrics hosted by Amber Renee appears on the 3rd Monday of each month. In it, Amber features the work and musings of a local poet.
“Give me a cold can of beer, the jukebox playing loudly on a Friday night, and an old toothless couple arguing over the tab, and therein lies poetry... ”
Don’t cry over spilt beer by James Feichthaler
My Pabst Blue Ribbon spills out on the table
And runs a little while, until it slows
And oozes toward the corners of a mat,
Which I soak up with napkins. How life flows
Is not dissimilar from this, in that
We slow down when we're forced to, or we're able,
Under the spell of long commutes and days
That keep us looking down at blinking phones,
From phones to roads, to phones then back again,
While random texts distract us from our plans
Of getting out alive while we still can;
Of starting over, moving on by choice
And not by way of circumstantial severing,
Knowing full well that 'how' we'll leave means everything.
Q&A...
1. Give us one poet, dead or alive, you'd want to get together & spill a couple beers with.
Bukowski. We'd both be spilling beers accidentally, then pouring out 40s purposely for the dead poetry critics who gave us nothing but snobbery and muck through the centuries. We'd probably toast a few old friends too, then come to fisticuffs over who has the better last name.
2. Listening to anything lately that's been speaking to your soul, musically?
Of late (back in summer that is), it's been Nas' "Lost Tapes 2." Super-hyped that a new Gang Starr album is out, which I've heard a few tracks off and can't wait to cop in full. Elliott Smith is always my go-to; dude's a poet on wax. Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Beatles, and way too many hip-hop artists to name. Depends on my mood really.
3. Let's get broad: Where do you think poetry fits in the world?
'Everywhere' would, in short, be my answer. Poetry shouldn't adhere to any one society of thinking or rule of excellence; it's the word, alive on the page; the poet penning verses while the world is crashing down around him/her like a meteor shower. Poetry serves those best who don't give one fig for fitting in anywhere. Give me a cold can of beer, the jukebox playing loudly on a Friday night, and an old toothless couple arguing over the tab, and therein lies poetry; or on the flipside, let my eyes gaze on the bluest ocean, with gulls bobbing up and down on the waves, and a sunset that takes its color from every shade of red imaginable, and whatever the moment whispers to me will be enough. Poetry fits into this world because it is this world; it's the truest reflection of the human experience conveyed through words. How cool is that?
4. Okay, your adoring fans are listening: What do you want the people to know about you?
I once challenged Shakespeare to a rap battle in a dream...he won of course. When I read poetry in public, the temperature of the room must be exactly 70 degrees Fahrenheit and a bowl of Wawa hoagies must be present, with all the meat and vegetables taken out so that the rolls remain like empty husks of yeasty goodness. I write poetry i write poetry i write poetry. A book or 5 is on the way. I also rap. Check out this guy Taliesin aka Big Tal if you like hip-hop; I heard he's pretty good.
James Feichthaler's poetry has appeared in print and online journals in both the US and UK, most recently in Toho Journal and E-Verse Radio. The self-proclaimed 'forrealist poet' is the host of The Dead Bards of Philadelphia, a poetry reading series that occurs every 4th Thursday of the month at The Venice Island Performing Arts Center in Manayunk, PA. You can follow James on Twitter @forrealist_poet and find The Dead Bards of Philadelphia on Instagram and Facebook.
AMBER RENEE, she/her, 26, writes from her home in suburban Bucks County, Pennsylvania. A fool hopelessly in love with the pursuit of psychic knowledge, she often writes autobiographically; though without sacrificing her distinctive off-rhythm canter. 'Thoughts on This Most Recent Episode' was her 2016 full length collection of self-published poetry ruminating on her thoughts & illnesses. Currently she is working on a musical album of poetry.