by Dan Lukiv (bio after poetry)
GRANVILLE’S CAFE
Coffee-customers
Laugh, squeal,
Interpret laughs,
Sip, grimace, snort,
Try to get free re-fills,
Poke at smoke rings,
Drink Jet Fuel
(Two shots of cappuccino
In a milk shake),
Praise lead guitarists as
Obscure as Johnny Winter,
Condemn ismism,
Dream about fortunes,
And power–
Which one wouldn’t admit
To dreaming about–
Admit to living Freudian/Jungian
Jungle lives
In which “east is east
And west is west”–
And if anybody forces the
Two together,
Quick tongues
Kill the romance,
Make pride scarlet,
Like cappuccino-bitterness
On a taste bud.
ORANGE MOONS AND MUD
At 6 a.m. they sleep
And I at this bread-crumb table
Write this poem about
Orange moons and lost toes,
But honking geese invade me,
Fill my ears and
Caffeine-blood
With green,
With melting ice.
I abandon these moons and toes
For Antaeus in mud,
For a quickened heartbeat.
I’d abandon it all,
Right now,
For a hug
And a kiss.
HAIKU
As I study hard
And sip coffee, a bird’s song
Slips through the window.
THE BAY
The Bay of Bengal
Re-pukes a holowind of
Unnatural fury
And uncivilized debris;
The tongue of death
Licks one
But misses another;
Later,
A boy stands
Upon a salty rock,
Staring down,
Blankly,
Unhurriedly,
As waves nip at
A bloated baby;
Stiff,
Outstretched arms
Lie frozen;
Death has left fingers
And toes puffy,
Lips and eyes bulgy;
The backdrop is a freighter,
As large as fear,
Anchored like a stone:
A mother rocks her baby
To sleep,
Yawns,
Hums Brahms’ Lullaby,
Watches late-night news
And sips cold coffee
To stay awake,
But switches channels
With a “remote”
When ugly becomes
Too ugly.
NOT JUST ANOTHER DAY
In a cloud
Of French fry-pollen,
Amidst the cry of sizzling meat
Like hissing cats or snakes,
She,
Black-haired,
Plain-haired,
Presses,
Just inside the back door,
Against his unwhite apron–
Her slender body
Inside simple clothes;
Her lips,
His lips,
Busy,
Desperately busy–
Arms not merely around
Each other,
But rope-tied–
Eyes closed:
These two are not just inside a
Time-kicked, coffee-stained door.
They are beyond this ecstasy
And this $2-cafe of
Lard and tooth-missing
Customers.
They are elsewhere,
Or perhaps they are nowhere else:
How can I really know?
They are blind to me,
To my tired smile that fades
Suddenly as I,
Paying my bill,
Must leave,
For fear of watching
The lips part,
The arms untie,
The eyes open.
In my rust-cancered Olds,
I hurry home,
My nose, my lungs, blind
To car-exhaust-
Blood.
I find my wife tired
Beside boiling cabbages.
She,
Curious, frowning,
Tired,
Eyes me.
I approach.
I breathe deeper for more air.
I feel the numbness of my
Arm- and leg-tentacles.
I feel tears
Like oyster-sand
Squeezed into my eyes.
She holds me
Closer than usual,
And I
Won’t let go.
THE THINKER
A toothless old man
Drinks cold coffee
Alone.
He scratches his scalp–
Dandruff floats in his coffee,
Like snow-flecks.
He wonders–
But soon only his coffee
Matters.
BOWLS BENEATH LEAKS
Caracas, Venezuela: go down, down
To cement, glass, and steel,
Where spires gleam above
Traffic-whine, tetracarbon-
Clouds, and florescent shorts
On camera-festooned tourists.
But above this arcade,
Los Cerros cling to hillsides
That rain churns into gravity-ravaged
Muck:
Steps become cataracts, and
Garbage-toboggans race down
River-filled gutters
Like oysters down a throat,
And zinc-roofed homes of
Rain-blackened boards or
Flattened cans or
Packing cases
(”This side up,” some still read)
“Elbow” for space and boast signs:
“Pego Cierres” (”I Put In Zippers”),
“Cortes de Pelo” (”Haircuts”),
“Se Venden Helados” (”Ice Cream Sold”).
Consider a sunny day:
In one of 500 barrios
(Some named after “saints,”
Others after hope
(El Progresso (Progress),
Nuevo Mundo (New World),
El Encanto (Delight))),
A boy’s voice in a battered
Loudspeaker cries out:
“Onions! Yuccas! Plantains!”
(In English?)
Barter-quick poor close deals
With this barter-quick child
On his bent tailgate.
Nearby,
A bow-spined man spray-
Paints a 23-year-old VW
In an unpaved street–
A side-street packed hard by
Foot and tire and sun–
But he releases the trigger
To watch a long-chassis jeep
Climb the 18% grade of a “highway”
Called Si Dios Quiere (If God Wills).
And in that jeep,
Twelve passengers, with
Knees crammed under chins,
Inhale each other’s odor.
A fat lady guards a bag of tomatoes
From too many feet.
The driver, after spitting tobacco-gob
Out his windowless door,
Pampers the clutch with a “good”
Place to stop;
Two wild-haired women
In tattered dresses
Tumble out the back doors,
And then the jeep
Trails a water truck that
Drips at a seam
Like a bleeding soldier.
The two women enter
A bodegas–a green-paint-
Peeling-off-like-old-labels-on-
Old-cans home to a school,
Pharmacist/doctor,
And household items, like beer,
For the poor.
No house numbers,
No glass for barred-up windows, and
No mailmen to pace the maze of
Cramped walkways between
Hill-rooted homes–
Homes
In which coffee and bland
Arepa with jam are
As common as babies,
Homes
In which hospitality,
In spite of armed robbery and suicide,
Makes ranchitos warm for many
Who often say,
“Están en su casa.”
(”Make yourselves at home.”)
GUSTOFF’S GOURMET COFFEE SHOP
“May I help you?”
The gourmet coffee counter man
Says:
“Columbian? Irish cream? Peach?”
“Um.” The man wears very clean,
Worn-out runners.
“The Columbian’s my specialty. My
Special mix.”
He gestures right and left:
“But I personally choose only the best beans for
All my blends.”
“Um.”
The man has straight, white teeth. “What
Would you like?”
“Um. My wife and I have tried lots
Of brands. Um. We think Nabob’s
The best.”
The man’s teeth
Disappear. He refuses
To say anything beyond, “Oh.” Then he helps
A lady with a
Belly button ring.
© Copyright 2003 + Dan Lukiv. All Rights Reserved.
Abt Dan Lukiv
I’m a poet, novelist, and short story and article writer. My work has appeared 1564 times in 16 countries in publications such as The Canadian Children’s Annual, Canadian Writer’s Journal, A Journal of Contemporary Canadian Poetry and Poetics, Ahoy, Mamashee, Planet of the Arts, Green’s Magazine, Firm Noncommittal, The Artist’s Journal, Redoubt (Australia), ars poetica (Australia), paper wasp: a journal of haiku (Australia), Deepsouth (New Zealand), Pennine Ink (England), Purple Patch (England), New Hope International Review On-line (England), Psychopoetica (England), Current Accounts (England), Krax Magazine (England), Children International (England), Konfluence (England), The Journal (England), Splizz (Wales), Electric Acorn (Ireland), Breakfast all Day (France), Green Apples (Slovenia), Letni Casi (Slovenia), Haiku Club of Slovenia (Slovenia), Haiku Moment (Yugoslavia), Students On The Net (Singapore), temps libres (Belgium), The English Teachers’ Online Network of South Africa (South Africa), Artslink (South Africa), Cyber Literature: A Bi-Annual Journal of English Studies (India), Iraq Daily Newspaper (Iraq), New Age (Palestine), Anthology Magazine (USA), Electronic Magazine of Multicultural Education (USA), VQOline (USA), So Young! (USA), Seeker Magazine (USA), Reflections: A Journal of Poetry and Art (USA), The Teachers.Net Gazette (USA), The Sunday Suitor Poetry Review (USA), Haiku Headlines (USA), You Can’t Take it With You (USA), The Blind Man’s Rainbow (USA), The Poets Lounge (USA), Waterways: Poetry in the Mainstream (USA), Fresh Ground (USA), Up Dare? (USA), Writer’s Forum (USA), Writer’s Exchange (USA), Poetree (USA), Write On!! (USA), MOON Magazine (USA), 79 words per minute (USA), Poetry Magazine (USA), artisan, a journal of craft (USA), Arnazella (USA), Emotions (USA), Hear Our Voices! (USA), Words of Wisdom (USA), Creative Juices (USA), the aardvark adventurer (USA), Pink Cadillac: The Magazine of Creative Thought (USA), The Poetry Explosion Newsletter (USA), The Armchair Aesthete (USA), Poet’s Market (USA), Syncopated City (USA), The Sunflower Dream (USA), The Herb Network (USA), Laughing Bear Newsletter (USA), Nomad’s Choir (USA), Hidden Oak Poetry Journal (USA), Our Journey (USA), The Online Writer (USA), Improvijazzation Nation (USA), Pegasus (USA), Omnific (USA), Planet Magazine (USA), CannedPhlegm (USA), Point Judith Light (USA), Entre Nous (USA), The Neovictorian/Cochlea (USA), Japanophile (USA), Poetalk (USA), Poetry of the People, USA, Piedmont Literary Review (USA), Short Story Bimonthly (USA), Moose Bound Tales and Other Stories (USA), Poetic Bridges (USA), The Journal of Poetry Therapy (USA), The Green Tricycle (USA), Timber Creek Review (USA), Fuel (USA), Poet’s are Heroes, Too (USA), Images Inscript (USA), Poetic Realm (USA), Poetic Voices (USA), Poetic License (USA), Writing (USA), Sidewalk Tales (USA), PandaLoon (USA), Poetic Page (USA), Kwil Kids Quarterly, The New Horizon, *spark, To Do, Quesnel Community News, The Westcoast Reader, Over the Edge, The Writers Publishers, The Cariboo Advocate, The Journal of Secondary Alternate Education, Quesnel Writers, Prime Areas, The Cariboo Observer, Quesnelnews.com, Spaced Out!, Forum, The Alberta Teachers’ Association Magazine, The Word is Out, Minor Hockey News, The Little Gazette, The Source, The Poet’s Corner, The Path Not Taken, Pierian Spring, Repository, Origins, The Charlatan, Quack, The Challenger, Time for Rhyme, moments, Borders & Time, Alpha, Waves, Shadows and Light, Teacher, 3 Cup Morning, McNaughton Yearbook, The Student Voice, Tale Spinners, The Brunswickan, Wordspinners, The Buzz, Western People, The Speaker, canadian content, CanTeach, Coffee Break, Meditations, Carson Communique, Authors, Wildflower, Afterthoughts, and Education Perspectives.
Some of my poetry has been translated from English into French, Slovenian, and Yugoslavian.
During 2000, I served as a weekly columnist for Students On The Net, an education magazine (online) in Singapore. My column, officially endorsed by Lycos Asia, was called Lukiv’s Corner for Educators.
Presently (2001 to 2003) my educational column called For Teachers Only appears in The English Teachers’ Online Network of South Africa: http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Campus/2159/.
My column (in press) called Lukiv’s Haiku Corner will soon appear weekly in the Quesnel Advisor.
FICTION
1) Quibils and Quirks (a 108-chapter children’s novel, serialized in The Cariboo Observer, 1997/98/99); 2) Our Television is Weird (a children’s electronic book on disk, HMS Press, 1996); and 3) Fireside Reading for the Whole Family (stories, some poetry, Island Scholastic Press, 2000).
NON-FICTION
1) Communications for the Third Millennium: Part I (Quesnel School District, 1998); 2) Communications for the Third Millennium: Part II (Quesnel School District, 1998); 3) Creative Writing for Senior Secondary Students (BCTF Lesson Aids, 1997; listed as one of its 1998 bestsellers); 4) For Writers Only (Island Scholastic Press, 2000, 2nd edition 2001); 5) Composition: The Nuts and Bolts of Style–and a Few Other Things (Quesnel School District, 2000); 6) The Master Teacher: A Collection (y press and BCTF Lesson Aids, 2001; 7) The Master Teacher: A Collection (Island Scholastic Press, 2002 [2nd ed.] [Location in The Geoffrey R. Weller Library, The University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC): LB1025.3L85 2002]); 8 ) For Writers Only (Borders & Time, 2001 [2nd ed.]); 9) A Career Symposium (ETONSA, South Africa, 2002); 10) A Career Symposium (BCTF Lesson Aids, 2002 [2nd ed.]); and 11) Home-Grown Publishing (CanTeach and ETONSA [South Africa], 2002).
COLLECTIONS OF POETRY
1) The Photon Cellar (serialized in The Cariboo Observer, 1994); 2) Poems Straight from Quesnel (Quesnel Writers’ Group, 1997); 3) One Little, Two Little, and so on (Island Scholastic Press, 1998); 4) Cariboo-Winter (Island Scholastic Press, 1998); 5) Men and Women (Island Scholastic Press, 1999); 6) I Love You (Island Scholastic Press, 1999); 7) Exchange Program (Island Scholastic Press, 1999); 8 ) The Germans from Dortmund (y press, 1999); 9) One Little, Two Little, and so on II (The Poets’ Corner, USA, 1999); 10) The Wise Man (Writers Brew Press, England, 1999); 11) The Wise Man (serialized in Over the Edge, 1999/2000); 12) The Lead Guitarist (serialized in *spark, 2000); 13) Skipping Stones (Island Scholastic Press, 2000); 14) After the Rain (Borders & Time, 2000); 15) The Winter Sun (Haiku and Tanka Anthology, 2000); 16) At the Home (Poetry Magazine, USA, 2000); 17) Quesnel: Between the Two Rivers (Quesnelnews.com, 2000); 18) Not Just Another Day (Poetree, USA, 2000); 19) The Ruby of the Universe (serialized in canadian content, 2000/2001); 20) Robert’s Roost (Island Scholastic Press, 2001); 21) Spuds for Jonathan (The Brobdingnagian Times Press, Ireland, 2001); 22) A Difference (Improvijazzation Nation, USA, 2001); 23) Thirteen Goslings (moments, 2001); 24) Faces of Winter (canadian content, 2001); 25) Granville’s Cafe: A Collection (Fullosia Press, USA, 2002); 26) On Scalding Glass: A Collection (Fullosia Press, USA, 2002); 27) I Love You (CanTeach, Canada, 2002); 28) Están En Su Casa (ETONSA, South Africa, 2002); 29) White Fog: A Dog Day Collection (Fullosia Press, USA, 2002); 30) The Comet Shower (3 Cup Morning, 2002); 31) Poet in a Lawn Chair (canadian content, 2002); 32) Still the Sky Glows Lavender (The Poets Lounge, USA, 2002); 33) Corpus Callosum (Artslink, South Africa, 2003), 34) Her Story (Poetry of the People, USA, 2003); 35) A Boy on a Horse (The Online Writer, USA, 2003) and 36) Over the Shoulder: Bibliographic Poetry (The Poets Lounge, in press).
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Lived School Experiences That Encouraged One Person To Become A Creative Writer (MEd Project; Prince George, BC: Education Department, UNBC, 2002) [Location in The Geoffrey R. Weller Library: LB1575.8.L85].
My formal apprenticeship as a writer includes intensive personal direction from masters such as Canada’s Professor Robert Harlow, the USA’s Paul Bagdon, and England’s D. M. Thomas. I studied creative writing at The University of British Columbia (UBC), and I graduated from The Humber School for Writers’ Creative Writing Program (Canada) and from The Writer’s Digest’s Advanced Novel Writing Program (USA).
From 1990 to 1998 I served as the editor of a literary journal called The Challenger. In 1998 I renamed the journal CHALLENGER international (listed in the 2003 Poet’s Market, Writer’s Digest Books, 2002), and I have served as its editor since then: http://challengerinternational.20m.com/index.html [ISSN: 1705-1932]. Through my Island Scholastic Press I have edited 27 collections of English poetry from Canada, the USA, Australia, Switzerland, Slovenia, Korea, Columbia, Ireland, and Russia. I also edit The Journal of Secondary Alternate Education, a journal of research, theory, and experience: http://journalsecondaryalternateeducation.20m.com/[ISSN: 1705-1940].
For 25 years I have worked as a schoolteacher (BSc (mathematics), UBC, 1976; Teacher Training (kindergarten to grade three), UBC, 1977; MEd, UNBC, 2003), but I have also worked as a learning assistant, tutor, blues guitar teacher, workshop leader, car rental agent, longshoreman, porter on a cruise ship, deck hand on many tugboats, shipyard worker, cook, research assistant, janitor, warehouseman, gas jockey, British Columbia Horseshoe Championship scorekeeper, paper boy, berry picker, speech therapist-assistant, editor, literary agent, and poetry reviewer.
I teach Creative Writing 12 to senior students at Quesnel’s McNaughton Centre. That course, which I wrote, is based on Professor Harlow’s Creative Writing 202 at UBC. My course has been published by the British Columbia Teachers’ Association.
Many of my creative writing students have had their work published in The Cariboo Observer, The Cariboo Advocate, The Challenger, Kids World Magazine, The Word is Out, Teacher, The Student Voice, Against the Wall, Western People, To the Wall, StudentsWrite.com (USA), TG: Voices of Today’s Generation, The Journal of Secondary Alternate Education, and Challenger international; and through Island Scholastic Press.
I have also taught creative writing courses to adults through the Quesnel School District’s Continuing Education Department.
As an actor, I have performed in four plays before audiences of up to 4000 at the Convention Center and Civic Center (both in Prince George, BC, Canada).
