The poetry of Bill Campana (Said Beauty to the Blues, The Ragtime of Modern Living) continues to define the times we live in. With subjects across the spectrum from politics to love to the streets of his native South Scottsdale, Arizona, Bill's straight forward expression connects with a wide audience. With a touch of linguistic edge balanced with the wisdom and emotion of someone who has seen it all, his documentation of the human experience is well worth your time.
From Poems in the Key of A-Negative
tombstones make macabre lawn ornaments,
coffins are the worst kind of patio furniture
i saw my parents' grave marker
twice...at saint ann's on oak street.
once at my mother's funeral,
and again at my father's.
memory assures me
that they once lived.
their names etched in stone
remind me that they are gone.
i can't imagine being there
when i'm not miserable.
cilantro and opus 77e
a somber weaving through the room,
dodging furniture and heading in my direction.
breakfast and interruption, hand in hand
listening to the outer voices...and the book
that reads itself loud.
the fact that i am the only person
in arizona, this sunday morning,
eating red menudo while listening to
anthony braxton, speaks less of me
than it does of the remaining populace.
About Bill Campana
"saturday morning coffee with boo boo the cat. i take my coffee with cream, he likes his with a couple of goldfish."- bill campana
