Tonight's edition of Talking Earth is airing the complete World Poetry Day special featuring the poetry of Oglala/Sicangu Lakota poet Kurt Schweigman. Portland poetry fans may remember him as Luke Warm Water. Host Patrick Bocarde talks with Kurt about his change back to his birth name; listeners will also hear poems from Kurt's new collection, Confluences of Solitude. Tonight's show will also feature Schweigman reading his poem "Keith Richards and the Million Dollar Baked Potato", which did not make the final cut of the original show.
American Indian poet Kurt Schweigman (Oglala/Sicangu Lakota) formerly known as Luke Warm Water, was a prior resident of Portland and active in the city’s spoken word scene. His new collection of poetry Confluences of Solitude (Mitote Press, 2023) covers mostly Native American narrative themes that range from his upbringing in South Dakota to his current home in the Bay Area of California, as well as experiences of Baja Sur, Mexico. National and international award-winning poet and writer Jimmy Santiago Baca gave accolade for Confluences of Solitude, remarking that Kurt’s poems and prose are, “Boisterous as rapids after rainfall, subversive and tactful, here's a poetry raised on fire and ice, love and loathing, sorrow and quiet joy. It bursts upon the reader like a wave of wind that unsettles our assumptions.”
Talking Earth would like to thank Michael Berton, publisher and editor of Mitote Press, for connecting Patrick with Kurt after all these years.
- KBOO