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On Sunday August 16, I was invited to hear poets read at the Trinity Poetry Series, by one of our members at the Circle, Don H. a poet himself. Don read there, and it was a new experience for me which I greatly appreciated. Don's readings were based on recovery, and "A Dogged Birth" is shown below, along with some explanations on the series and of the poems. I will be posting links later to other poems by Don and hopefully others.

Milkman Mike

Don Hagelberg marched to end segregation in movie theatres and served in prison in 1964-1965 for refusing Induction. He created the weekly, two-hour radio program “Live Poets.”

A Bay Area Poets’ Coalition founding member, his work has appeared in “The Oakland Tribune,” “Exit 13,” “New World Finn,” “First Leaves,” “Poetalk,” “Vintage Voices,” “Street Spirit,” “Kippis.” and Finnish-American newspapers.

At his suggestion the British Broadcasting Corporation [BBC] broadcast The Kalevala, the Finnish Epic poem. This pleased him because many international listeners to the service were able to hear any version of this epic for the very first time.

One of the most important poets of the twentieth century remarked in a critical essay that the highest form of poetry for him was in those poems written by the Metaphysical Poets in which the poet constructed conceits.

In other words, this poet-critic admired extended metaphors. This same poet cited the compass as a symbol of the conceit because it touched two points at the same time. But what if one leg or point of the compass was not there? It was amputated?

Could you approximate the place at which the whole or present leg pointed?” Sure!

“A Dogged Birth” is like a compass of which the whole or present leg deals with the birth of puppies while the amputated or missing leg hints at….”

Now you have the secret.