News – Page 4 – Dan Steven Erickson

Glitch Poetry

A couple of days ago, I wrote a weird poem. It had some of the following elements:

Repetition
Coding Symbolism
Purposeful Misspelling
Dictionary Pronunciations
Words broken into Smaller Bits
Use of numbers

The poem was very short. That first poem led me to write an entire series of similar poems. I did some research to discover that I was writing “glitch poetry.” It also might fall into categories like anti-poetry and cyber punk.

Topics include technology, government, news, social media, sex, addiction; the individual struggle to not get lost in today’s overstimulated world.

Here’s short description of the 28-poem cycle I’ve completed:

I believe that error is the only honest data left in a manicured cis-stem. My lyrics are not typos; they are the intentional ruptures of a soul that refuses to be domestic-8ed by the algorithm. I invite the brave soles to stop scrolling, ignore the deaf socials, and enjoy the hum of a reality that is truly {RE}moved.

The project is still in the works. While I have completed the sequence, there is still editing and formatting that needs to be done.

The project started when I was studying how one might actually make a profit writing poetry. I hope you’re not laughing too loud. What I discovered is that the way one might make money as a poet is to create a brand and a specific identity behind that brand. That is what I did. Actually marketing and selling that brand is the trick. I’ve never cracked that code.

In the process, I’ve secured the website: glitcsh.com. The purposeful misspelling is part of the concept. My identity as the creator is not Dan Steven Erickson, but simply: POET. Because I could be anybody trying to survive in a world in which systems are stacked against us. The POET is the superhero, so to speak. The resolve is not to fight evil, but to simply walk away from it all, and in the end, to reduce the ego.

I have not decided when/if I will start the “Glitcsh” site and brand. Currently, my website hosting plan only allows for a single site. I either have to upgrade or return to a cheaper option.

I could start the series on this site, and I might. For now, simply stay tuned as I continue to work on the poems and make decisions on how to present them. – dse

Just Passing Through

On my way to the grocer on a rainy saturday in a strange town somewhere near montgomery someone at an intersection asked me for directions to a church on birch street where they had to meet their people for a funeral

I said i’m sorry for your loss because i’ve borne that cross and i wish i could help but i’m a stranger here myself and i’m a little bit lost and confused about where i am, man

Yeah, i’m just passing through
I’m just passing through

I’m trying to get to my home back up north where i used to live but i got waylaid by things i can’t control that hurt my soul so i stayed and i prayed

I’m just passing through

That i might understand what this world is trying to tell me and sell me and if there’s a god and if he befell me because i’m sure hell ain’t real and i question heaven too

Yeah, i’m just passing through

You know sometimes i wake up in the night and something don’t feel right like there’s an eminent threat remnant of my childhood with sinister characters up to no good taking liberties to appease themselves by creating others’ miseries

And i’ve tried so hard in this life to be a man and i had a wife and we had a daughter that didn’t make it and another one that i’ve had to fight to protect through abuse and neglect and it scares me to leave her alone but i know someday i will, it’s true

Because i’m just passing through
I’m just passing through

God i get so tired of all the bullshit i see going on around me and i want to be free from the drama and the trauma delivered by people in power getting worse by the hour

I’m just passing through

And i wonder if there’s really something on the other side, a place to reside where there’s just a little more peace and no beasts or burdens or heartbreak making me blue

Yeah, i’m just passing through

I’m trying to get to the other side
There’s gotta be something better
I ain’t ready for my own funeral
But i need a change of weather

So i got to the store and i bought a few things to get me by a few days because you never know when the whole thing’s gonna blow and you’ll just slip away into the unknown and maybe that’s home or maybe it’s not but right now the here and now is all i’ve got so i’ll make the best of it yeah, that’s what i’ll do

Because i’m just passing through
I’m just passing through

And lord knows there’s a reason that i’ve spent all my seasons doing best i could and i might not be perfect but i’ve tried to be good and i’ve believed even when the christians turned away

I’m just passing through

So if i die tonight i hope i might find the corridor to another place with lots of space and another level where everybody ain’t in my face for every little thing i do

I’m just passing through
I’m trying to get to the other side
Yeah, i’m just passing through
There’s gotta be something better
Huh, i’m just passing through
I ain’t ready for my own funeral
I’m just passing though
But we need a change of weather
Yeah, i’m just passing through

Introducing Songs from Big Yellow

A couple of months ago I bought an 80’s style boombox. It’s a big yellow Aiwa. Why? Because I have a ton of old cassette and CD demo recordings that I want to share on my YouTube Channel. Introducing Songs from Big Yellow.

I’ve already posted a review of the boombox and about three or four old demo recordings from 1986 and 1987. I have a lot more demos to post from big yellow in the future ranging from the late 80s into the 2000s.

The demos represent recordings with my older brother, Paul Erickson, my younger brother, Pete Erickson, and friends like JB Taylor, Mike Schecnk, John Hauge, and Laddie Ray Melvin. I might post a few solo demos as well.

If you go to my YouTube, you can check out the whole playlist. Expect that list to grow for weeks and months to come. – dse

Recent Protests in Portland Maine

Portland Maine Protest – Photo by Dan Steven Erickson

On January 30 and 31, I participated in the anti-ICE protests in Portland Maine. Why? Because I believe it is the right thing to do to help save our democracy and support the rights of others.

I’m in favor of deporting individuals who are from other countries that have either committed serious crimes or are here 100% illegally. I do not believe that individuals working through asylum or other immigration issues should be deported. And I stand firmly against the tactics of ICE approaching people simply based on the color of their skin. I also stand against the extreme and lethal tactics we’ve seen ICE using around the country.

The protest was completely peaceful. There were about 3000 people who gathered at Monument Square on Friday, January 30 to listen to half a dozen speakers. After the presentations, the protesters took to marching the streets of downtown Portland. The March was about one mile long from Congress Street to Commercial Street and back. I only saw about 3-5 law enforcement officers and that was primarily to block streets for the event.

The protesters that I talked to were all locals. I didn’t see anyone who I would suspect as paid protesters from other parts of the country. I’d guess about 50% of the crowd was under 30 years old and 30% was over 60. The 30-60 age group was thin because they probably needed to work. Maine has seen a significant rise in housing and utility costs in the last five years.

It was very cold out. Most of us spent about four hours in temperatures that likely dropped into the single digits after the sun went down. That is how dedicated thousands of people were to this cause.

I went back on Saturday morning for a smaller gathering and felt the same spirit of solidarity. – dse

Going Back to Maine this Week

Pine Point, Scarborough Maine – Photo by Dan Steven Erickson

Quick update: Since getting back from my last trip to Maine earlier this month, there have been some new events. Trump has sent in ICE for their so-called operation “Catch of the Day.” I’m not working right now and I found decent airfare, so I’m going back to Maine this week.

I’m not going for fun. I’m going to do my part for a state I love. I’ll be participating in some protests in very cold temperatures. I might even do some observing and filming of ICE if the opportunity presents itself. And I hope to go to a Graham Platner event.

Why do I feel the need to do this? Because what is happening in Maine is bullshit. I have no issues with deporting criminals who are in this country illegally. What I do have a problem with is detaining and deporting immigrants with no criminal record that either have paperwork to be here, or have entered the US seeking asylum, working through that process.

Many of the people being arrested, detained, and deported fall into the latter category. Furthermore, I am completely against many of the tactics that ICE is using. I find them despicable.

I’ll be posting some of my experiences here and/or on my Facebook page. – dse

Winter on the Maine Coast

Camp Ellis, Saco Maine – Photo by Dan Steven Erickson

I’ve been back in Maine for a week but will head south to Tennessee tomorrow. I drove my old Mazda truck up here with a load of stuff to put into storage until April. While I was here, I got a few photos of winter on the Maine coast.

It was a cloudy day when I was out, but the temperatures were mild and lots of people were on the beaches for January. I’ll be moving back to Maine in April.

I look forward to getting back to Maine in the spring and have considered the idea of starting a new website and YouTube channel about traveling around Maine.