Poetry, and Empowerment.

So I've just figured out I must use Google Chrome to write and post my Blogs, from now on...Lots of interesting data is now immediately available to us who blog, regarding page-views --apparently, my most recent Trayvon Martin post (April 11th, 2012), and the post regarding World Fund for Animals (years ago!)have received numerous hits the past two days. But to what I came here for: the shoring up. The feelings of drift have been profound, in recent months.The un-mooring of self, the feeling that I've nearly split into two halves: a Lisa who remembers what it is like to experience joy (and indeed, DID experience that, most recently at the celebration of marriage for Arthur Kwon and his new beloved, Erin Smith, in Highlands, North Carolina, on May 12th, 2012), and a Lisa who feels nothing but crushing, relentless depression. There. I said it. The overwhelming sense of sadness, of inability to "do", to produce, to "affect" anyone, in any way, began last June, when I discovered Robyn Casandra Smith had passed away, without my being made aware of it. I wrote as lovingly as I could, about my loss of my long-time friend, Casandra, and those posts can be seen, simply by scrolling down on this blog, or searching the Archives. Despite my having completed a major role in a feature-length film, despite the Atlanta Premiere(which did not launch perfectly, but hey, it was still a PREMIERE, and the director is a wildly creative, wonderful dude)in November, despite having my closest relatives and dearest of friends here with me, despite a successful audition in December, for a wonderfully funny play, despite the great success of that play, and the warm, inclusive atmosphere of the theatre company who'd selected me to perform with them, despite the friendships made, I am here, now, crying afresh over the loss of yet another friend, and again, the loss is directly linked to her alcoholism.Because her family has not made the cause of her death public, I will choose not to say her name.Which hurts,to not be able to say her name, to make her an "anonymous" thing, a blip....But "D", just like Casandra, made choices which ultimately, led to an addiction--and make no mistake--alcoholism is a disease as real as any cancer, diabetes, or palsy. I am bereft. Last night, I dragged myself out of the house, and attended the "A Face To Meet The Faces" Persona Poetry Launch at the fab indie bookstore, Bound To Be Read Books and invited gorgeous, talented, eternal friend Coral McGhee, to join me. I was delighted that it ended up being what I'd term a Facebook-Face-to-Face, as well, since I got to shake hands with(my up-til-now-Friends-on- Facebook) the inimitable Dan Albergotti,one of the poet-contributors, and Stacey Lynn Brown, editor of this anthology. I was expecting a great reading, with a few poets I adore (like my eternal friend, Collin Kelley, who, in reading his David Lynch-inspired poem, was in rare form)hadn't yet heard...what we (sizable audience gathered) got, was one of the most illuminating evenings of poetry I've been honored to be present for, in quite awhile. The "persona" theme for this anthology is quite brilliant, because every writer, like all actors, uses the (Stanislavsky, thank you)"magic If" to plant herself/himself into the soul of someone else. There were literary characters' imagined conversations, madmen musings, and history, revisited. I found myself longing to bring all these pieces to life, via the stage, so human, so deeply empathetic (as Ms. Brown introduced the poets, and deftly pointed out, "Empathy is the most important trait[of our humanity].") were the persona pieces, read.... I won't reveal exactly what you'll miss out on, but if you don't go get a copy, and fast, you will miss out on a great opportunity to make that connection, that communion, for which we all, long. Peace, kids.