"Lieu" - a story of love in war

Lieu 

by Mike Marcellino

South Vietnam, 1967.

Silly beginning, careless ending

lizards clung to the dim lit wall.

Thomas and i met her at Sherwood Forest,

the nightclub,

smiling at us over beer,

fries

and a now and then

Saigon Tea.

In a

sputtering

Honda 90

humanly propelled

by a papa-san

pimp,

I rode through

hit and miss,

foot, leg, peddle-powered

traffic -

Saigon streets

darkness after curfew

riding in the close warm

black night.

Teaming, steaming

from the Tahiti,

20 century

brick-fronted

same on the inside

hotel.

While Thomas

worried,

tripping

i shivered

(not really).

Inside outside

perfect night for baseball.

Lieu

dug store bought;

i read her scrolling

on a crumpled

piece of

paper

light brown

one six four and one-half

some street.

Self-conscious me

in Bermuda shorts,

naked legs

walking down winding back alleys

to find Lieu

and ma-muc.

Ma-muc

-burnt red stained beetle nut chew

in her mouth

bulging,

crushed

by an earthen

ceramic set.

Bermuda shorts hairy legs me and

ma muc

who smiles,

giggles -

Lieu’s ma ma san mother.

Her daughter came

home

happy

made me eat

gobbling hers.

Lieu,

and ma-muc

grabbing my leg hair,

giggling.

First joy of waiting,

simple thing

so tense

exciting -

Showering from

body tall vases

in the corner

morning after

love, her

surfer t-shirt mini on.

Lieu laughed,

cried,

gave

really.

Maybe she loves

someone

else

tonight.

Her oily

brown face,

round, dark eyes

long, straight black hair.

Not a fair maiden,

but no whore.

Copyright Mike Marcellino, 2007

The Walls of Fire - the song, lyrics and story

The Walls of Fire: story behind the song
by Mike Marcellino

Here's one of my favorite photographs I took while serving as a U. S. Army correspondent and photojournalist in the Vietnam War.  I like it because it's so pastoral, a far cry from the horror of war.

Recently I wrote a poem about the sacrifices of American troops from the Civil War to Vietnam and the gulf wars and we recorded the song, "The Walls of Fire."

Mike Marcellino took this photo with a Pentax 35 mm camera on search and destroy mission with the 33rd South Vietnamese Rangers and United States Army forward observers of the U.S. Army 23rd Artillery Group in the Iron Triangle during the Vietnam War in 1968.

The mission occurred during The TET Offensive, a surprise attack by North Vietnamese regular and VC troops throughout South Vietnam.  The enemy attack began on January 31, breaking the Vietnamese New Year's holiday cease fire.  TET was the heaviest fighting of the war. With heavy U. S. casualties and scenes of the VC taking over the American Embassy in Saigon (for a few hours), TET was the turning point in growing opposition to the war by the American people.  TET was was a complete military victory for U. S. troops, nearly eliminating all of the Viet Cong forces.  North Vietnamese troops took over the fight.  After the signing of a peace treaty in Paris the United States withdrew its forces in 1973.  The North Vietnam defeated the South Vietnam in 1975 and Vietnam was reunified.

For his reporting on the mission, the Rangers presented Mike with a captured Viet Cong flag during a formal ceremony. More than 40 years later, he still has the flag.  (Copyright by Mike Marcellino)

To listen here's the link (or there's a music player on the top of his blog)

The Walls of Fire on ReverbNation


The walls of fire
By Mike Marcellino

The walls of fire
grow higher, higher
pools of blood
carnage
bodies of brothers
touching
rock cliffs and open fields -
Hornet’s Nest at Shiloh
Devil’s Den, Gettysburg.

The walls of fire
grow higher, higher
pools of blood
carnage
bodies of brothers
touching
sea to shining sea -
lost in the Argonne Forest
face down on beaches at Normandy
frozen by the waters of Chosin Reservoir.

The walls of fire
grow higher, higher
pools of blood
carnage
bodies of brothers
touching
paddies, highlands -
Nui Ba Dinh, the Black Virgin Mountain
the Ashau Valley
along the perimeter of Khe Sanh.

The walls of fire
grow higher, higher
pools of blood, carnage
bodies of brothers
touching
empty deserts
filled with giant rising suns -
Fallujah rooftops
unknown streets of Sadr City
barren mountains, caves of Tora Bora.

The walls of fire
grow higher, still higher
pools of blood
carnage
bodies of brothers
touching.

The walls of fire copyright by Mike Marcellino 2009

Awesome remake

Dear Readers,

Well, time flies. I've been publishing this blog, "The Point of the Whole Thing," since May 2009.  Stories. Poetry. Music. Photography.  We now have several thousands regular readers. I appreciate that a lot.

So, to reward you and future readers, I've redesigned the Blogger blog with a new fresh, clean look, a lot of white space.  I like white space.  New features include a Readers' Poll that will change every week or two.  The first poll asks you to pick your favorite of our poetry song recordings.

Also new on the redesigned blog is a direct link to our Facebook Musician/band Page, affectionately named, "Mike Marcellino." All you have to do is click on "like" on the widget at the top of the blog, or do it when you get to the page.

By liking our band you get to listen to our music for free.  Soon we're offer downloads of tracks and an album of songs for a small fee.  The page has a music player (free to listen just "like" the page) and a link to this blog.  Joining the page also helps our band progress (we're now #19 on the folk music chart in New York City).  If we're going to make it in the music world we need a lot of listeners.

The site remake is continuing so expect more new stuff.

Thanks again,

Mike

"West of the Pecos"

Lyrics of a new poetry song 


West of the Pecos
by Mike Marcellino

A Texas crossing
takes all of three days,
nights of stars
the brightness of being
on a road to desolation
the dry dirt land
West of the Pecos.

Dropping down
from Texarkana
past Abilene,
Sweetwater
and Big Spring
through 500 miles
of no man's land
named for
an Apache chief -
the Chihuahua desert
of mesquite
bobcats, rattle snakes
and scorpions
cowboys call vinegaroons
on a road to desolation
the dry dirt land
along the Rio Grande
West of the Pecos.

Biting winds
uncover
the ghosts
of Lillie Langtry,
mistress of
the Price of Wales
and her fondest admirer
Judge Roy Bean
along the Rio Grande
a place heaven deserted
on a road to desolation
the dry dirt land
West of the Pecos.

The ghost of Gary Cooper
rode up in a Cutlas Supreme
a critter unknown to Roy Bean.
Standing before the bar,
the Langtry Saloon,
named after the judge's sweetheart,
a British actress known as Jersey Lily.

No six shooter in my hand
the hanging judge
sentenced me to roam forever
in this God forsaken
West Texas land
a place heaven deserted
on a road to desolation
the dry dirt land
West of the Pecos.

Copyright 2011 Mike Marcellino


To listen to "West of the Pecos" you may use the music player on the top of this page or go to Mike's music site on Reverbnation (free & no registration required but you may become a fan and there's a lot of new music on the site)

Mike Marcellino on Reverbnation

Here's some interesting photos of Roy Bean, Lillie Langtry, and Langtry, Texas today.

They say that each day 100,000 people visit the old home of Judge Roy Bean.  About 13 people live in Langtry.

Walter Brennan plays Judge Roy Bean and Gary Cooper is a cowboy trying to talk the judge out of hanging him in the 1940 film, The Westerner.  Brennan won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.  Neat black and white classic!

Lillie Langtry, sweetheart of Judge Roy Bean, though they never met.  Her friends Oscar Wild suggested she become an actress.  Born on the Jersey Islands off the coast of England, she was an amazing character and quite beautiful.  She also raced horses. For more about her here's Lillie's website

Lillie Langtry

Judge Roy Bean
(prints of this photo by Legends of America Photo Prints)
Legends of America Photo Prints

Langtry, Texas (Photo by The Sayre RV Odyssey b log)

America's wars: "Cold Mountain" to "Ohio"

"You Will Be My Ain True Love" is a song written and performed by Sting and Alison Krauss from the 2003 film Cold Mountain The song was nominated for an Academy Award, a Grammy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.


America's wars:  Struggle for our national conscience
By Mike Marcellino


The last in a Memorial Day series on war in music, words and images

Doc and The Lady perform "Ashokan Farewell" at Cowboy Poetry in Elko, Nevada in 2009.  This haunting and beautiful song, written by Jay Unger in 1982, was the opening music in Ken Burn's remarkable PBS television mini-series "The Civil War."  


(An interesting note:  the annual Cowboy Poetry Festival was in the news this spring because politicians argued over the nation's $14 trillion debt while the festival is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.  Some Republican leaders want to eliminate federal funding of many of the government's program that help fun the arts, including music and Public Television.  It's a sign we as a nation are in serious trouble when our leaders want to take away our music and other art and humanities programs.)


Cold Mountain, an historical fiction novel, written by Charles Fraiser, won the National Book Award in 1997. It was later adapted for the screen by director Anthony Minghella in the 2003 film "Cold Mountain," starring Jude Law, Nichole Kidman, and Rene Zellwager. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Jude Law, and won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Renée Zellweger.  I highly recommend both the book and the film.


The Civil War, 1861-65, counting both Union and Confederate deaths, was the bloodiest war as far as American deaths in our nation's history.  There were a total of 625,000 deaths, more than the 405,399 American troops who died in battle or otherwise in World War II.  The Civil War saved the union and set the wheels turning to abolish slavery, though our nation still struggles to achieve equality.  World War II saved the world from oppression and dictatorship and halted the Nazi slaughter and extermination of 20 million people, including six million Jews.  World War II claimed the lives of 73 million people.  There were many opportunities for nations, including the United States, to stop Hitler and the Nazis but nothing was done.


When I checked with the U. S. Department of Defense data on U. S. military deaths in the nation's wars, they identified the Vietnam War as "the Vietnam Conflict."  As a Vietnam veteran I wish DOC would finally change its terminology and admit Vietnam was a war.  A total of more 58,000 American troops died in that war, in battle and otherwise.  

Search and Destroy, Vietnam War, TET Offensive, 1968, photo by Mike Marcellino

Here is "The Walls of Fire," Mike Marcellino's poetry music ode to the sacrifice of American soldiers form the Civil War to Afghanistan -


"The Walls of Fire" on Reverbnation


The United States could have talked to Ho Chi Minh, leader of the Vietnamese nationalist movement, after World War II but we didn't.  Minh had used much of the American Declaration of Independence in framing the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence.  To learn more about the Vietnam War, including its origins and the history of the Vietnamese people who had defeated the Chinese as well in the 15th Century, read, Fire in the Lake by Frances Fitzgerald in 1972). Instead we bankrolled the French war in Indochina against Minh's Việt Minh defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.  American government officials, including President Eisenhower would late admit that the Vietnam War was about protecting U. S. interests in the raw materials in Southeast Asia.  Eisenhower said if Vietnam fell other counties would fall to communism like dominoes.  Later, President Eisenhower, who as an Army general led the U. S. forces to victory in World War II, warned the American people of the danger of the growing power of the industrial-military complex in the United States.

"My Girls" Vietnam War, 1968 

Photo by Mike Marcellino, copyright 2011

To date the war in Afghanistan has claimed the lives of 1,219 American troops in battle and otherwise.  In the various Gulf wars since 9-11 in 2001, we've lost a total of 4,847 troops.  We still have 50,000 American troops in Iraq and 100,000 in Afghanistan.  


Here is the latest U. S. soldier to die in battle in the war in Afghanistan as identified in a news release from the U. S. Department of Defense.  I couldn't help noticing that Army Specialist Adam Hamilton, 22, was from Kent, Ohio, scene of 
May 4,, 1970 shootings of students on the Kent State University campus by Ohio National Guard troops.  The National Guard soldiers were called in to the campus by then Governor James Rhodes in response to student demonstrations against the Vietnam War.  Four students were killed, nine wounded, one of whom suffered permanent paralysis.

U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) News Release

On the Web:  http://www.defense.gov/Releases/Release.aspx?ReleaseID=14526 Media contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132 Public contact: http://www.defense.gov/landing/comment.aspx or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 451-11 May 29, 2011

DOD Identifies Army Casualty             The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.             Spc. Adam S. Hamilton, 22, of Kent, Ohio, died May 28 in Haji Ruf, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.  He was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.             For more information, the media may contact the Fort Riley public affairs office at 785-240-1893, 785-239-3033, or after hours at 785-210-8867. As Memorial Day 2011 nears and end, I leave you with this powerful song, "Ohio," written by Canadian folk rock  singer Neil Young.  It was probably the best known anti-war song and deals with the shootings at Kent State.  Here's Crosby, Still, Nash and Young and "Ohio."   It reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Brothers in arms: a Memorial series

Music video of "Brothers in Arms" 

by Dire Straits, a United Kingdom  rock band

Memorial Day in music, poetry & images  

by Mike Marcellino

Part 2 of a series on Memorial Day in words, music and pictures 

Brothers in Arms

You might wonder why I selected a song by a British rock band as my favorite song relating to the Vietnam War.  Music was exploding in 1967 and 1968 while I served in the U. S. Army in Vietnam.  "Brothers in Army" isn't even about the Vietnam War, not even an American war, not even a big war.  

"Brothers in Arms" was written in 1985 by Dire Straits' leader singer and guitarist Mark Knopfler about the Falkland War between the UK and Argentina.  The war in 1982 was over possession of the Falkland Islands off the coast of Argentina..  

The casualties were relatively small, the British lost 255 soldiers while Argentina lost 649.  More than 58,000 American soldiers were killed in the Vietnam War along with millions of South Vietnamese, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops and Vietnamese civilians. But to loved ones of those lost in war, numbers mean nothing.  

I, along with many of my comrades who survived the Vietnam War, adopted "Brothers in Arms."  For me it best expressions my lasting remembrance of my fellow soldiers, especially those who did not come home.  An album of the same name was the number one album in the UK in 1985.  

In 2007 Knopfler rerecorded "Brothers in Arms" with all the proceeds going to British veterans of the Falkland Island War suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Bravo Mark! Some American musicians ought to follow your example and record music to benefit all those U. S. veterans suffering from PTSD, as well as physical wound.  

I invite you to listen to this beautiful and haunting song and the moving artwork on the video.

While I have written poems, or songs, about my experiences in the Vietnam War, I am sharing with you a piece I wrote a few nights ago, "We interrupt this broadcast.."  Reading it you may not think it has to do with Vietnam or Memorial Day, but it does.  But it puts those traumatic events in context, context of the tragedy and inhumanity of war and killing, the choice between war and peace, and the current state of our planet, and direction we are headed in the United States and around the world.  The context is not good and it doesn't look promising.  

We have more wars, environmental degradation, violence in our community, lack of opportunity for the poor and middle class for education, jobs and health care, increasing poverty, especially among children and injustice.  More and more Americans, whether conservative or liberal, have given up on politics and our leaders.  This is understandable considering the vast majority of our elected officials, especially at the national level, are just interested in being reelected and their own selfish interests and beliefs.

We interrupt this broadcast

We interrupt this broadcast

by Mike Marcellino

TV, PTSD

It's killing us -

You and Me.

What happened to our world?

Are our leader’s watchin 

too much TV?

Using it

against you and me?

TV, PTSD

It's killing us -

You and Me

More and more

earthquakes

between six and eight.

magnitude.

Arctic's melting,away

dead pools in the oceans. 

Magnetic north 

be in Russia soon.

Mass extinction

by humans, they say.

TV, PTSD

It's killing us -

You and Me

Sounds like a cheer

but they're no leaders 

today.

No Martin, 

John, Bobby

no Gandhi

or Che. 

I heard 

crossing the campus -

they shot Kennedy.

For days we sat glued to TV.

We could still remember

Howdy Doody

and Mama.

TV, PTSD

It's killing us, -

You and Me

Was sixty-nine

our last rally?

A million or more 

marched 

against war

that cold, sunny day in DC.

Next May in Ohio

students shot dead

sticking flowers in rifles,

going to class at Kent State.

By the end of Vietnam

we lost 58,000 

and now I wonder 

where they are  

and everyone is 

on Memorial Day.

TV, PTSD

It's killing us -

You and Me.

Shoot the fray

capture words

get the story

on the border

in wooded jungles,

carry your wounds 

to candlelight vigils.

TV, PTSD

It's killing us -

You and Me.

Magnetic fields 

before 9-11.

Conspiracy theories

towers to heaven.

The revolution''s begun

in the streets of Jordan,

in the clouds, 

without leaders.

TV, PTSD

It's killing us -

You and Me.

Where is Zapata?

We're putting the Civil War

in the wrong century.

Get up!

Apocalypse Now's on TV.

We interrupt this broadcast 

to bring you the news.

The Revolution has begun.

If you don't believe it

check out YouTube

and Facebook 

and turn off the TV.

Copyright 2011 by Mike Marcellino

Fortunate Son

A music video of another of my favorite Vietnam War songs, "Fortunate Son," written by American rock singer John Fogerty and recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1969.  

It is #99 of Rollings Stone's 500 Greatest Songs.  I share the lyrics because they are so true in that the burden of fighting the Vietnam War, and all wars for that matter, was on the poor and working class. (This was especially true in the Vietnam War in that students in college could be deferred from serving as long as they were in school.) 

"Fortunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater Revival with some interesting Vietnam War images, produced by Hard Rain Productions

Finally, here is my poetry song, "The Walls of Fire" an ode to American soldiers' sacrifice from the Civil War to Afghanistan. (Just click on the link to access the music player, or go to the player at the top of the blog.)

To listen to "The Walls of Fire" just click on this link to my Facebook Musician/Band page.  You're welcome to share our music and like our band page!)

Mike Marcellino's Musician/Band Page on Facebook

'Waltzin Matilda' tragic saga of the universial soldier

Search and Destroy, Vietnam War, TET Offensive, 1968

photo by Mike Marcellino, copyright 2011

Make 'memorial day' universal and end the wars

by Mike Marcellno

First part of a series on Memorial Day

Memorial Day in America is five days away.  All of us should observe its meaning in some way, lasting all year round.  Maybe there should also be a universal Memorial Day that every nation observes.

Sometimes, some of the best stories happen by accident.  Today, as I thought of a song I wrote and recorded, "The Walls of Fire," an ode to American soldiers' sacrifice from the Civil War to Afghanistan, I went on You Tube to take a break.  Listening to one of my favorite bands, The Clash, do "I Fought the Law and the Law Won," music that helps me shake loose, up popped on the screen  "No Man's Land (Berlin, Germany).

"The Walls of Fire" on Reverbnation


Well, "No Man's Land" is a song about the carnage in World War I, written and sung by Eric Bogle, a Scottish folk singer songwriter who immigrated to Australia. I was surprised that Bogle was joined in singing the song by a German singer.  I have not yet discovered his name.

You see and hear the senseless killing, dying, slaughter, suffering in the music and music videos I will share with you from today through Memorial Day in America, Monday, May 30th.  I will also try and discover with your help the other "Memorial Days" in countries around the world.

And, yes, I will suggest that the people of the world create a universal day to honor those who sacrificed their lives, but also to see in our hearts and minds that this destruction of humanity should be ended.  Only the people of the world can do it.  Why?  Because it is the people of the world, not the leaders, who die in these wars.  I know that first hand as a Vietnam veteran.  I never forget the 58,000 American troops killed in Vietnam along with millions of Vietnamese.

As a student of history, a military veteran and someone who will never give up the idea that peace is possible, I wrote, recorded and perform on occasion, "The Walls of Fire."

I will share "No Man's Land" in a later segment of this series, but first here is another song written by Eric Bogle, "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda (1972)," even better known and often covered, by the likes of Joan Baez, among others.  The song is about the slaughter of Australian troops trying to storm the battlements of the Turkish army in World War I in Gallipoli, also the title of an award winning Australian film, directed by Peter Weir in 1981, starring Mel Gibson, Mark Lee and Bill Kerr.  I highly recommend it.  It won best film award by the Australian Film Institute, was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign film and should have won an Oscar.

At Gallipoli, in this single campaign, battle deaths on both sides totaled a staggering 130,784.

Some people viewed the song as relating to the Vietnam War, which ended after 10 years of fighting in 1975 (U. S. combat forces pulled out in 1973.)

"Waltzing Matilda" is an old bush ballad known as Australia's  unofficial national anthem.  It was written in 1895 by poet and nationalist Banjo Patterson.

Here is Eric's version of "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda."  The video is moving and seems to have been done by a Canadian as there are Canadian troops shown near the end.  And, if you like, you may listen to "The Walls of Fire" in the music player on top of this page and visit our avant-garde poetry music band on ReverbNation.  Our band yesterday reached #46 among the Hot Folk Artists in the world, to a great extent due to the song of American soldiers in wars for the past 150 years, as we mark the anniversary of bloodiest of all our wars, the Civil War, brother fighting against brother.  Of course, if we are going to have peace we must end the inhumanity that breeds war.

'

"And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" by Eric Bogle 

Eric, 66, performed this spring at the Australian Folk Festival.

As I believe that music makes the world go round, music of war and peace, sacrifice and memorial days will be motivation for words and actions.

As I dearly love the music of Joan Baez and respect her activism for peace and justice, here is her version of "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda."  In 1995 I had the pleasure to chat with her on a beautiful evening outdoors at the Cuyahoga Valley Folk Festival south of Cleveland.  I've included a photo I took of a young girl in the Vietnam War, which I gave to Baez on that occasion.  I welcomed her to Cleveland on behalf of the city as I was then an aide to the mayor.

"And the Band Waltzing Matilda" song by Joan Baez

"Oriental River" Vietnam War, 1968

photo by Mike Marcellino, copyright 2011

Dear Facebook: Help!

Unplugged, please

Dear Facebook,

I need some help here.  Well, some advice.  Right away.  

I have only 12 hours to go. I'm back in the waves at night noon today. So, please do not forsake me. 

Yesterday, the water was so beautiful -aqua and glassy.  So what if the waves were only a foot or so and the water was still a bit chilly, maybe 66 degrees.  I plunged it.  Started body surfing.  It was wonderful.

Except now my left ear is plugged.  Tried jumping on my left foot and clapping over my ear.  Tried Holding my nose and blowing hard.

It's still plugged and I want to go surfing tomorrow not to the doctors.  No offense but I hate going to doctors.  (I already have eye surgery starring me in the face next month. Ha!  Not seeing worth a damn I can handle, not surfing, sucks.)

Also it will probably take me who knows how long to get an appointment at the VA clinic (Not like it's a shrapnel or bullet wound.)

I haven't done an Internet search yet (but will).

Thought I'd give my Facebook friends a try.  I can't be the first person to get an ear plugged swirling around in a wave.

In any case I am going surfing tomorrow.  At least I won't see or hear the sharks. 

Hey, even if I get no response I have written something.  So much for writers block.  Sun block?

If somebody gives me a remedy that works I will send you a signed, limited edition CD, "Notebook Writer."  

Hey, if nothing else, listen to my music.  Here's the link.  
ReverbNation
Try "Bondi beach" - a song about surfing the third most shark infested waters in the world while running away from the Vietnam War. 

I'll never learn. 

Oh, well,

Surf's up!


Mike Marcellino

 Big waves, Bondi Beach, Australia

There's a music player on top of this page, or for a real adventure go to my music site on ReverbNation -

"His (Mike Marcellino) words incite a sense of dreams embodied by the city (New York):"

The Review Review:
Words embody New York dreams

Here's what The Review Review wrote about "Flatbush" and "Alphabet coffeehouse," poetry songs about New York City, written and recorded by Mike Marcellino.

First in poetry is the work of Mike Marcellino: “Alphabet coffeehouse," “Flatbush”, and “Alexander's Strings." The pieces depict different parts of New York City from its jarring traffic to its more calming fountains. His words incite a sense of dreams embodied by the city: “Flew into New York/ on wings of Peter Pan./Flew into New York/ on wings of Babylon./ Jupiter in the right now/ not as bright,/ on this clear an' quiet night” (Marcellino, “Flatbush”).

Here's the link to read the entire review of the BAP Quarterly's New York City issue.  The Review Review website reviews online magazines.


The Review Review

Bosphorus Art Project Quarterly is an online art journal aimed at bringing international artists and writers together. BAP-Q has a theme for each issue and based on the theme, discusses a wide range of topics including, but not limited to, visual arts, literature, theatre, cinema, aesthetics, and social and cultural studies.PAB Quarterly editor in chief is Jennifer Bal.

Here is the link to BAP Quarterly's New York City issue -

BAP Quarterly

To listen to listen to "Flatbush" and "Alphabet Coffeehouse," Mike's New York City songs from BAP Quarterly and other of Mike's poetry songs here's a link to his music site -

Mike Marcellino on ReverbNation

(There is also a music player with Mike's songs at the stop of his blog, "The Point of the Whole Thing.")

NYT Best Selling author Nevada Barr and poet/author Lucille Lang Day on the Notebook Writer show

Notebook Writer with Mike Marcellino on Blog Talk Radio

Listen to the live show 8-9pm EST, Wednesday, January 5th on the Internet or call 646-595-4478, or listen to the Podcast anytime after the live show.  Here's the link -

Notebook Writer with Mike Marcellino


Mike's guests are Nevada Barr, author of the Anna Pigeon series of thrillers about a National Parks ranger and poet and author Lucille Lang Day of Oakland, CA.

Nevada Barr's 16th mystery in the Anna Pigeon series, "Burn (Minotaur Books 2010)," reached #12 on the New York Times Best Seller list. The setting for her latest thriller, a departure from her wilderness settings, is the urban jungle in New Orleans where Anna while Anna is stationed at the Jazz Heritage National Park in New Orleans. Ms. Barr worked as a National Parks ranger herself. Her first Anna Pigeon novel, "Track of the Cat" in 1993 won both both the Anthony and Agatha awards for best first novel. Ms. Barr worked as an actor for eight years and she is also a painter. She currently resides in New Orleans with her husband, four magical cats, and two adorable dogs. She also recently published her first psychological thriller outside of the Anna Pigeon series, "13 1/2."

Lucille Lang Day is the author of five poetry collections and three poetry chapbooks. Her most recent collection is "The Curvature of Blue," which was published by Cervena Barva in 2009. Her first poetry collection, "Self-Portrait with Hand Microscope," was selected by Robert Pinsky for the Joseph Henry Jackson Award. She is also the author of a children’s book, Chain Letter, and a memoir that will be published by Heyday in 2012. Her poetry, essays, and short stories have appeared in many magazines and anthologies, including Eclipse, The Hudson Review, Measure, Nimrod, River Styx, Passages North, Tar River Poetry, The Threepenny Review, California Poetry: From the Gold Rush to the Present, and New Poets of the American West. She received her M.A. in English and M.F.A. in creative writing at San Francisco State University. She is founder and director of a small press, Scarlet Tanager Books. The mother of two grown daughters and grandmother of four, she lives in Oakland, California with her husband, writer Richard Levine

Invite your friends to listen to our poetry music

Flatbush
a new lyrical poetry song

To listen click on the link to our music site -

Mike Marcellino's ReverbNation music site

Randall Leddy from Flatbush wrote the music and plays bass on the song joining Mike Marcellino, songwriter and vocalist.  The song was actually recorded in Flatbush.

Tomas Texino, wrote and composed the music for our other five songs.

Please share the link to our ReverbNation site with your friends on Facebook and other social networks. Help us grow our audience.   We have regular followers on ReverbNation from 17 states.  Our fans also come from Indonesia, New Zealand, Italy, India, UK, The Czech Republic, Germany, Mexico, and Australia.


Be a listener and fan on ReverbNation or Mike Marcellino's music page on Facebook (band profile).  To be a fan it's easy to register as a fan on ReverbNation and it's free.  There are also hundreds of thousands of talented musicians on the site.

We've now up to #44 among the Top Folk Artists on ReverbNation's New York City Charts.  Help us get to the Top 10!

There's also a music player at the top of this blog.


Here's an example of what people are saying about our songs -

"Incredible work! Love it! So creative and artistic...so thoughtful and deep and engaging...with perfect music for each piece... Just went through all the tracks and shared"
- Joe Gande, singer songwriter, New York City

Thanks,

Mike, Randall and Tomas

Joan Baez and my Oriental River girl

Oriental River, South Vietnam 1968 photo by Mike Marcellino, copyright 2010

Joan Baez and the Girl in the Oriental River

by Mike Marcellino

Twenty-seven years after I left the Vietnam War, after serving for a year 1967-68 as a U. S. Army combat correspondent and photojournalist, On August 20, 1995 I found myself seated in a campfire chair talking with Joan Baez, just as I would the girl next door.  I had listened to Joan's albums, attended concerts, one at the former Front Row Theatre with a moving circular stage.  I reviewed that concert for Sun Newspapers.

Darkness had set and it was quite outside Joan's tent in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park south of Cleveland where she had
performed for a Heritage Series Concert.  I thought back to listening over and over to "banks of the Ohio" my favorite Baez song.

As I worked as an aide to then Mayor Michael White,I came armed with  a proclamation, honoring Joan not only for her voice but her courageous opposition to the Vietnam War and support for human rights, all at great risk to her career.

Rather than an M-14 rifle, I carried to the concert a harmless treasure of seven hand printed black and white photographs I had taken of children caught in war.  One of the photographs shows  a young Vietnamese girl, smiling as she climbed out of the Oriental River balancing on a 155 mm shell casing and holding onto barbed wire.  It was June 1968, the year the TET offensive by the VC and North Vietnamese regular throughout the country never seemed to end.  I was following battery of 155 mm howitzers manned by the soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 11th Artillery of the 23rd Artillery Group, my home base.

Again, I was in the middle of nowhere, alone and as almost always, without a weapon (or a toothbrush).  But I had my notebooks, pens and cameras to record it all in stories and photos for Stars and Strips, the Army Reporter and other publications. 

It was a bizarre scene in a bizarre war, one where the battle cry was often "The End" by The Doors.  It was hot and it appeared the nearby Vietnamese village had come down to the Oriental River for a swim, right in the middle of a war.  I was tempted but didn't join them in the murky river.  Nearby was a camp of the 5th Special Forces called Tra Cu, 23 miles west of Saigon.  I think they called this the Second Battle of Saigon.  We won both battles, as we did all the battles but lost the war as it was a civil war and the South Vietnamese leaders weren't very popular and the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong weren't about to ever give up.

I walked up to the door of the Special Forces hooch (a primitive house made of concrete block, wire screening and a tin roof).  A gruff looking sergeant told me to go away; it seems Special Forces isn't interested in publicity.

Joan Baez's first album, 1960, Vanguard (Wikipedia)

I knew the one she would pick, the young Vietnamese girl  climbing out of the Oriental River.  I hope Joan still has it. (I have a museum quality, hand printed framed version still, along with the other six, that includes U. S. Army artillerymen, the 33rd South Vietnamese Rangers on a search and destroy mission, an elite unit, and other children coping in war.
I always wonder what happened to the girl from the Oriental River.

i knew joan baez

by mike marcellino

i knew joan baez

joan baez.

i knew she would

pick

this

one,

her little sister.

joan baez

i knew she would

pick

this one.

she had a choice -

barbwire

or

bobbing 155 mm shell casing

on the Oriental River,

no number

rung sat zone

south, southeast of Saigon

the delta hell on earth,

special forces

say.

i knew joan baez

joan baez,

i knew she would pick this one,

like her little sister -

joan baez,

i knew joan baez.

i knew she would pick this one.
copyright Mike Marcellino 2010

Here one of my favorite songs of Joan Baez that fits the story pretty well - "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" (written by Bob Dylan).  This is a beautiful recording.

The official website of Joan Baez

Notebook Writer with guests singer songwriter Sweet Soubrette and poet Tara Betts

Podcast of Dec 1st Notebook Writer show with guests singer songwriter Sweet Soubrette and poet Tara Betts, both from New York City.

Here's the link to listen to the Podcast -

Notebook Writer with Mike Marcellino

Urban hipster cult writer Tao Lin and widely popular electro pop duo Hank and Cupcakes on Notebook Writer show

Notebook Writer with Mike Marcellino

8-9pm EDT, Wed, Nov. 3rd

Call 646-595-4478 Blog Talk Radio show (New York City) or listen on the internet.  Listen to the Podcast anytime after the live show.

Here's the link to listen live or to the Podcast

Notebook Writer with Mike Marcellino on Blog Talk Radio

Mike's guests are Tao Lin, one of America's hottest young writers, and Hank and Cupcakes, one of New York City's hottest bands. Tao will read from his latest book, "Richard Yates" and Hank and Cupcakes will share their electro-pop songs.

Tao Lin's Blog

Tao Lin, New York City 

"Richard Yates" delivers his most compelling work yet." - Boston Phoenix

Tao Lin (b. 1983, Alexandria VA) grew up in Orlando FL and lives in Brooklyn NY. He is the author of 6 books of fiction/poetry & has a B.A. in Journalism from NYU. Tao's s...econd novel RICHARD YATES was published September 07 2010 by Melville House. His previous books are the poetry-collection YOU ARE A LITTLE BIT HAPPIER THAN I AM (2006), which is regularly a bestseller (#2, #2, #1); the story-collection BED (2007); the novel EEEEE EEE EEEE (2007); the poetry-collection COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY (2008), which has been assigned in college-level psychology courses; the novella SHOPLIFTING FROM AMERICAN APPAREL (2009), which was available at Urban Outfitters. Tao's books have been translated and published (or are forthcoming) in Japan, Germany, France, Norway, Spain, Serbia, South Korea, China, Taiwan. Two of his books, SHOPLIFTING FROM AMERICAN APPAREL & EEEEE EEE EEEE, were optioned for film in early 2010. His writing has been published in/on Gawker, Noon, Vice, Esquire, Poetry Foundation, The Stranger, Mississippi Review, and bear parade, who in 2006 published e-books of his poetry, stories, and collaboration with Ellen Kennedy entitled hikikomori. 

Hank and Cupcakes

Hank and Cupcakes, Brooklyn 

"They have consistently been making waves in the Brooklyn/NYC area and their live shows are off the hook." - wrote Music Vagabond and picking Hank and Cupcakes on the the 10 bands to watch in 2010

Other music critics wrote:
“mesmorizing” 
“Cupcakes is a rock star, capable of moving crowd. Hank is perhaps the best bassist I've ever seen” 
“Mind shattering, avant-garde” 

Since arriving in Brooklyn from Israel a little more than a year ago, Hank and Cupcakes have captivated New York with an explosive show noted for its simmering sexuality, irresistible dance pulse, and hard to pigeonhole sound. “If I had to define it, I’d call the music experimental minimalist pop,” Hank says. “We’re trying to make pop music without having a pop sound.”

Poets Diane Wakoski, Lola Haskins, Terri Witek on Notebook Writer with Mike Marcellino

Notebook Writer with Mike Marcellino

Listen on the Internet or call 646-595-4478 to listen or comment. (To comment online must be registered on Blog Talk Radio and have a mic.) Or you may listen to the Podcast any time.

8-9:30pm Eastern time, Wed., Oct 20th

To listen to the Podcast click on the link below -

Notebook Writer with Mike Marcellino


Notebook Writer previews the Other Words Conference, sponsored by the Florida Literary Arts Coalition and hosted by Flagler College, St. Augustine, Florida Nov. 4-7. The theme of this year's conference is "Writing About Something."

Attracting writers from across Florida and from several states, the conference features a number of panel discussions on the theme, along with panels about publishing, submitting work, agents, editors, small presses, teaching creative writing, collaboration and others. Ten small presses will participate.

Mike talks with co-organizers Jim Wilson, creative writing professor at Flagler College, and Rick Campbell, director of Anhinga Press, a founder of the conference, and the Anhinga Prize for Poetry. Rick teaches English at Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL.

Mike's guests are three conference presenters – Florida poets Terri Witek and Lola Haskins and Michigan poet Diane Wakoski.

Terri Witek is author of The Shipwreck Dress (Orchises Press, 2008, Florida Book Award Medalist), Carnal World (Story Line Press, 2006), Fools and Crows (Orchises Press, 2003), Courting Couples (Winner of the 2000 Center for Book Arts Contest) and Robert Lowell and LIFE STUDIES: Revising the Self (University of Missouri Press, 1993). A new book, Exit Island, will appear in 2012. She teaches English at Stetson University, where she holds the Sullivan Chair in Creative Writing.

Lola Haskins ninth collection of poems, Still, the Mountain, has just been published by Paper Kite Press. Her tenth, The Grace to Leave, is coming from Anhinga in 2011. In-print collections include Desire Lines, New and Selected Poems (BOA Editions, 2004), Extranjera (Story Line, 1998) and The Rim Benders (Anhinga, 2001) and Hunger (University of Iowa Press, 1993-- winner of the Iowa Poetry Prize). She teaches in Pacific Lutheran University's low residency MFA program

Diane Wakoski, described as an "important and moving poet" by Paul Zweig in the New York Times Book Review, was born in southern California, lived and began her poetry career in New York City from 1960–1973. Since 1975, she has been Poet in Residence at Michigan State University, where she continues to teach as university distinguished professor.

Her poetry has been published in more than twenty collections and many slim volumes. Emerald Ice won the William Carlos Williams prize from the Poetry Society of America in 1989. The Butcher’s Apron is her most recent book, and, currently, she is working on a three-volume project, poetry as autobiography, of which the first volume, Blue Noir: 1956–68, is complete. She is actively looking for a publisher for a collection of her new poems, The Diamond Dog.

Poetry and music of Mike Marcellino featured in BAP Quarterly New York City issue

Mike Marcellino's lyrical poetry and music 
featured in BAP Quarterly's New York City issue

I'm pleased to introduce BAP Quarterly's New York City issue, featuring my poetry and music. Thanks to Jennifer Bal is the editor in chief. I hope you enjoy this issue. Theme of the next issue is Memory.

Bosphorus Art Project Quarterly is an online art journal aimed at bringing international artists and writers together. BAP-Q has a theme for each issue and based on the theme, discusses a wide range of topics including, but not limited to, visual arts, literature, theatre, cinema, aesthetics, and social and cultural studies.


BAP Quarterly

If you'd like to listen to more of Mike's work, visit his music site on ReverbNation

ReverbNation