John Coltrane

The birth of John Coltrane, September 23, 1926

JohnColtraneBirth.jpgHeroin, cancer – 
nothing could stop your prayer:
a saint of music. 

Happy Autumn Equinox! I hope everyone is staying safe and sane in these crazy times.  I was looking through the Illustrated Poetry archives and discovered I don’t have a good equinox post, but I do have a past post about John Coltrane’s birthday.  I am one day early – his birthday was September 23, 1926 – but I think that is okay.

From the original post: “The history haiku for today is to honor the birth of the legendary jazz musician John Coltrane (1926 – 1967). He struggled with addiction as a young man, and sadly, his career was cut short by liver cancer at the age of 40, but he had an outsized impact on jazz and music in general. Especially towards the end of his life, he believed his music had a spiritual dimension, one that transcended any particular religion and tended towards a universalism.

John Coltrane has made an appearance on Illustrated Poetry before – in an illustration of the poem In Memoriam John Coltrane by Michael Stillman. I’ve posted it below.”
MemoriamJohnColtrane

History Haiku Saturday – September 23 – The birth of John Coltrane, 1926

JohnColtraneBirth.jpgHeroin, cancer – 
nothing could stop your prayer:
a saint of music. 

The history haiku for today is to honor the birth of the legendary jazz musician John Coltrane (1926 – 1967). He struggled with addiction as a young man, and sadly, his career was cut short by liver cancer at the age of 40, but he had an outsized impact on jazz and music in general. Especially towards the end of his life, he believed his music had a spiritual dimension, one that transcended any particular religion and tended towards a universalism.

John Coltrane has made an appearance here on Illustrated Poetry before – in an illustration of the poem In Memoriam John Coltrane by Michael Stillman. I’ve posted it below (or click here to go to the original post from 2014).  Have a great weekend!
MemoriamJohnColtrane

Excerpt Tuesday – In Memoriam John Coltrane – Stillman

MemoriumJohnColtrane

Today’s excerpt is from the jazz poem “In Memoriam John Coltrane” by Mr. Michael Stillman (b. 1940) – read the whole poem here (about halfway down the page) and, if you can, read it out loud. It has an amazing and evocative rhythm. Mr. Stephen Cramer points out in the post that this poem is actually three haikus! The photo collage behind it is of Mathias Goeritz’s Mensaje: Decoración Mural, 1960. Goertiz would rhythmically pound nails through sheet metal creating a pattern with pattern and texture. I tried in vain to find a video clip of Goertiz, who died in 1990, in the act of creating one of these pieces. But you don’t need a video clip to imagine the beat of the nails driving through the metal. Photo collage and composition by me.

Excerpt Tuesday – In Memoriam John Coltrane – Stillman

MemoriumJohnColtrane

Today’s excerpt is from the jazz poem “In Memoriam John Coltrane” by Mr. Michael Stillman (b. 1940) – read the whole poem here (about halfway down the page) and, if you can, read it out loud. It has an amazing and evocative rhythm. Mr. Stephen Cramer points out in the post that this poem is actually three haiku! The photo collage behind it is of Mathias Goeritz’s Mensaje: Decoración Mural, 1960. Goertiz would rhythmically pound nails through sheet metal creating a pattern with pattern and texture. I tried in vain to find a video clip of Goertiz, who died in 1990, in the act of creating  one of these pieces. But you don’t need a video clip to hear the beat of the nails driving through the metal. Photo collage and composition by me.