-Old Days

von am 25. Februar 2022 um 23:11
Veröffentlicht in: Allgemein, Polemics, Politics

Old Days

In 1939 Joe and Adi got together and tied the knot. Poland was the wedding cake. Joe went home and rubbed his hands. On September 1, 1939 Adi broke his vows, and in late 1941 Joe was on the ropes.

On September 7th of 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and saved the day for our good old Joe. By way of his next-door neighbor Alaska, oodles of weapons and supplies began pouring in, and we know the rest.

 

The Myth: Ron and John

Just as East Europe was freed from Nazism
but not freed,
Russia (or the Soviet Union, if you will)
was freed from Communism
but not freed.

President Reagan and Pope John Paul II

There’s a myth circulating that President Reagan and Pope John Paul II brought down Communism in the Soviet Union. That’s a half truth. They helped prevent the liberalization of society in a Union that had been a dictatorship.

When Mikhail Gorbachev took the reins of the Communist Party in 1985, he set about introducing civil rights, a free press and all the trappings of a democracy.

Instead of supporting him in these undertakings, the two ant-Communist heroes undermined him. A totalitarian system cannot be changed entirely overnight, but Gorby certainly did his best.

Unfortunately, the economy didn’t pick up, so Gorby wasn’t as popular at home as he was abroad.

He was trying to take it step by step with the goal of forming a Soviet Commonwealth.

The West egged him on, and his friend, Ronnie said: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” referring to the Berlin Wall!” The negotiator sent to make things happen fast was Condoleezza Rice.

What happened? Gorby cleared out of East Germany, let it go to NATO, and got a pittance for doing so.

Now Gorby had more or less been brought to the edge.

The Russian generals said something to the effect of,
“This is madness. We have just lost World War II,
and we must put an end to having a political Santa Claus
in the saddle.”

A coup was staged in 1991.

Boris Yeltsin stepped onto the stage, put it down,
pushed Gorby over the edge and took over.
That signified the end of all the reforms.
Every republic wanted to go it alone, and some took a bloody path.

Now blood is flowing again.

Boris Yeltsin

Yeltsin was a drunk and a demagogue in that order. He let things slide, and in 1999, when they got too far out of hand, he turned the country over to Vladimir Putin, the former KGB man.

The Union is broken up; the reforms went down the drain. Repression and terror reign supreme in Russia and most of the former republics.

Russia is still equipped with a nuclear arsenal, and Alexander Putin is more erratic than his former comrades.

Since Gorby’s departure hundreds of journalists have been sentinto the next world

Gorby was relegated to speaking tours and doing TV commercials for Pizza Hut and the Austrian National Railways, too humiliating to describe.

The world would have been a lot better off if Gorbachev had taken the slow but certain road – minus the ads. But what’s the sense of wishful thinking in hindsight? We’ve got the world that we have.

What happened?!
Old Days became New Days.

And what have we got?!

The Hungry Bear’s appetite
became insatiable again
and he stated gobbling up anew.
Ukraine is his first meal

Thank you Ron and John!

 

– Herbert Kuhner

 

old days: Putin & Yeltsin

 

-Kick-Ass Drummers

von am 17. Februar 2022 um 1:28
Veröffentlicht in: Allgemein, Biographic, Jazz, Poetry, Polemics

Herbert (Harry) Kuhner

Swing Men and Women

A series of poems
on jazz personal Introductions
Morelle Smith & Harry

Swing Men & Women contains poems
on prominent jazz musicians and singers
of the Swing era, such as Lester Young,
Roy Eldridge, Big Sid Catlett and Billie Holiday,
as well as some who got lost in the shuffle, like Lil Hardin Armstrong.
Situations that these men and women had to overcome,
such as Jim Crow, are also dealt with.
And last but not least, this collection is rounded out
by biographical aspects of the author as a jazz devotee and drummer.

I’ve had a bumpy ride as a writer,
but jazz has always provided me
with joy and solace.

The word Divine
does have a personal meaning for me.
It applies to music,
as well as to all art that strives for
Divinity.

 

Kick-Ass Drummers



Guitarist Allen Johnson,
a former schoolmate of mine,
called Chick Webb
and Gene Krupa
“kick-ass drummers.”



I can see those guys
using sticks and brushes
to whip any musician
lingering behind
and kicking him into shaping up
with the bass drum pedal.



A drummer has to make a band move.
It’s his business
to see that everybody keeps pace.

Chick and Gene are certainly good examples,
but every drummer who was worth his salt
has been a kick-ass drummer.

I’m sort of shy,
and I try to be a nice guy,
but being considerate
of your fellow man,
does not mean
not being a kick ass-drummer
when you sit at the kit

Any musician
who plays with me
is going to get his ass kicked
if he tarries.

 

– Herbert Kuhner

 

-Speaking German in a Dream/2

von am 3. Februar 2022 um 3:21
Veröffentlicht in: Allgemein, Biographic, Polemics

Speaking German in a Dream
(My subconscious cancels out courteous behavior.)

 

What Language Do You Dream in

I dream in English.
I daydream in French.
My nightmares are in German.

 

Of all the mishaps and misadventures I have experienced in my literary career, the following takes the cake.

On June 28, 1983, there was a presentation of Hawks and Nightingales: Current Burgenland Croatian Poetry at the Croatian Academic Club. Dr. Albert F. Reiterer, then Editor-in-Chief of Braumüller Verlag composed a three-page invitation for the occasion on which the names of neither the editor nor translator were to be found. When queried about the omission, Dr. Reiterer stated that it was intentional and that it was not the publisher’s policy to give such credit.

On November 10, 1983, a presentation of Hawks and Nightingales was slated to take place at the America House, for which I had acted as an intermediary. Presentations of Carinthian Slovenian Poetry and Austrian Poetry Today (Schoken Books) were to follow. And a reading tour featuring poetry from all three anthologies was planned.

However, on November 9th, a day before the presentation, Cynthia Miller, the United States Cultural Attaché received a letter from Dr. Reiterer withdrawing from the presentation. Dr. Reiterer wrote: “I would like to convey to you, that due to recent events, our publishing house will not be able to send a representative to the reading that you have planned.”

(The “recent events” were allegedly the invasion of Grenada.)

The buffet was delivered and set aside. The guests were sent home and all other events were cancelled. That was the end of my relationship with the America House. I may not have been to blame for what had happened, but I had made the unfortunate connection with the publisher. Anti-Climax insert that if it hadn’t been for the participation of the United States in World War II, the Third Reich would still dominate Europe.

When I called Dr. Reiterer, he informed me that he had achieved his intentions. That was the end of my relationship with the America House. I may have not been to blame for what had happened, but I had made the connection with the man who had caused the cancellation.

After our brief phone conversation, I received a bill for complimentary copies of „Hawkes and Nightingales“ dated November 23.1983, which I had distributed for publicity and funding purposes. I quote, “Regretfully we cannot agree to having the book presented to people such as Peter Rath, who is the owner of a glass and chandelier company that has absolutely no connection with our publishing house.” Peter Rath of Lobmeyr happened to be one of the sponsors of Austrian Poetry Today and received credit for his generosity in that publication.

It could not be said that my fellow editors twiddled their thumbs during this confrontation since they sat on their hands.

On December 20, 1983, I received a letter from Dr. Reiterer informing me that Herbert Gassner of the Croatian Academic Club had purchased 50 copies of Hawks and Nightingales on condition that Dr. Reiterer desist from harassing me with bills for complementary copies.

I quote Reiterer: “We regret that an uninvolved third party has entered this situation.” In other words, harassing me with bills was more essential to him than selling copies of the book.

 

A Perpetrator Speaks

“Always remember, others may hate you,
but those who hate you don’t win
unless you hate them,
and then you destroy yourself.”
– Richard M. Nixon
(Wise words from a man I do not admire.)

 

Semi-Climax

Not too long ago, I had a dream. I was attending a symposium at a university. As I was walking on the campus, I saw the publisher in question. I approached him and threw German expletive at him. (The word is Drecksau.) Apparently, there is no English word to match it.

That’s the complete dream. I cannot remember ever previously having spoken German in a dream since I left “Ostmark” in 1939. At that time you didn’t have to have nightmares.

My next location was London, where I started to learn English.

(If you have the bad luck of being saddled with good manners, you sometimes have to rely on your subconscious for accuracy.)

 

Was and Is

This is how it was
and this is how it is.

Apparently, my subconscious self
broke through my customary cordiality.

I am amazed at the shadow and echo of an era,
that evades being history.

 

– Herbert Kuhner

 

-The Pope and Dogs and Cats

von am 10. Januar 2022 um 14:14
Veröffentlicht in: Allgemein, Polemics, Text

The Pope and Dogs and Cats

Pope Francis – pets over kids

Pope Francis on pets: “These marriages, in which the spouses do not want children,in which the spouses want to remain without fertility.

This culture of well-being from ten years ago convinced us: ‘It’s better not to have children! It’s better!

You can go explore the world, go on holiday, you can have a villa in the countryside, you can be care-free…it might be better – more comfortable – to have a dog, two cats, and the love goes to the two cats and the dog.’ Is this true or is this not?

(He’s got me convinced, but in the wrong way!)

When all is said and done, what about those children who are here?! Are they being properly cared for?

There’s Bishop Bernhard Law of Boston who fled from the law to Rome, where he was welcomed, and Bishop Timothy Dolan of New York who doled out twenty thousand smackers to abuser priests to help them skedaddle out of the law’s reach?

 

– Herbert Kuhner

-Democracy in Action

von am 10. Januar 2022 um 13:58
Veröffentlicht in: Allgemein, Polemics

Democracy in Action

It is democratic to refuse to wear a facemask.
It is democratic to refuse to be vaccinated.

It is not democratic to be born without being asked.

I am organizing a movement to make birth democratic.
The fetus should be asked whether it wants to be born or not.

If this comes to be, unlimited population expansion
will be a thing of the past.

Scientists who favor mask wearing and forced inoculations
must be brought in tow.

Instead of coming at us with face coverings and syringes,
they should concentrate their efforts on bringing democracy
to the womb and the maternity ward.

It stands to reason that my compatriots in this undertaking
will be the anti-mask and the anti-vaccine factions.

I already see them galloping towards maternity centers
with masks held high and syringes at the ready.

 

– Herbert Kuhner