Bruce Whealton

Advice on How to Succeed - Poem by Bruce Whealton

Advice on how to succeed

Here is how it works.
To each one a certain role
may be assigned.

The scientist gets his degree
that tells him what
he is to do.

The historian is told
in receiving his degree
perhaps to teach
or to further discover.

Some people get their English
degrees and are told to teach.
(It is not important who
tells them – these things are assumed).
Others in this field go on
to get advanced degrees
and are told to write
and comment upon things.
These are the ones who
will appear in Anthologies
the writers and poets who will be
read, commented and discussed
by students.

This is the way things work.
Everyone’s assignment and directions in how
to self-actualize is to gain
awards in the execution of their
roles.

But things aren’t that simple
for everyone.
Some are never told,
“This is your role,”
or which might be easier,
“this and nothing else, is your role.”

For me, first my role
Was that of scientist and Engineer:
creator, designer of things.
Then it was Social Worker,
applying Psychological Knowledge
and skills to healing minds…
All the while I was poet
and writer.

All these competing roles…
am I less of each
because of so many
roles?

Greatness alludes me.
Who am I?
I wonder…

Genealogy - Published in Simple Vows Anthology

Recently I have started to create a website called Whealton Family Tree, which I’ll describe further in a different posting or you can visit the Whealton Family Tree site here.

An interesting coincidence, as I write this, was to receive a copy of a poetry anthology called “Simple Vows.” It was a few years back when this came out.  I had moved around a bit and had not received a copy of this publication.  It was significant because my poem “Genealogy” was published in the anthology.  This was significant to find my poem in an anthology with great poets, including poets that are well known from high school and college poetry anthologies… poets like Ezra Pound and Shelby Stephenson.

Genealogy

Self history in quest of
self knowledge brought me
today
to this
church cemetery.

A certain history
made visible to me today.
I saw my last name - Whealton -
etched on so many stones…
markers of my heritage…
written here
and here and on a stone next to this one,
and over there, and there and there and
there…

Why were my ancestors put into the ground,
like plants?
From dust thou art -
it says in the bible,
and to dust one must return…
but there is no such thing as death.

I see my ancestors
immortalized on tombstones
with the marker Whealton - the name I share.
Will I live on as well, through
my writing?  I wonder.

This road I travled…
this land I’ve seen
- as I sought to discover this place-
seems too quiet - too deserted…
a town of ghosts, but here
my ghosts tell me nothing.

I imagine I’ve found a ghost town.
Up front, within the church that my
great-great grandfather built
I observe
signs -  pictures - of recent visitations.
Names, and faces in picture albums
found inside the doorway…
descendants of those names
on the stones.

What did I come to find?
A place holding clues to my heritage?
or something more,
something I could touch
and see…
a certain hard stone’s proof?
(proof of what?)
Stones that need for nothing,
not sun or food,
nor water
to hold their forms
and their names.

All I found was dust - along
the roads and among the stone markers.

By Bruce M Whealton, Jr.

Current Project - The Birds of Djakarta, Poetry by Jean Jones

Note, this posting is old.  I am reposting it now to update my blog with past content that I published.  I had to remove the domain, recreate it, and then recreate this blog.

My name is Bruce Whealton, poet, publisher, (co-editor for Word Salad Poetry Magazine) and Web Developer, Web Designer and Programmer.

Currently, I’ve taken on the project of publishing Jean Jones’ poetry collection entitled “The Birds of Djakarta.”  This is a poetry collection that spans many years.  I’ve known Jean Jones for years now, going back to 1992, and so I recognize some of these poems, in this collection, from him as poems I have read probably as far back as I’ve known Jean.  Some of these poems are far more recent poems from Jean. As such, the poetry collection has the feel of an anthology of poems written by Jean, or a collection of poems that spans many years and the many changing interests and sources of inspiration for Jean.  From my discussions with Jean, I can recognize the changing perspectives that Jean has expressed in his writing over the years.  The online version of this collection is located here:  http://wsmagazine.net/BirdsOfDjakarta/ This is currently a work in progress.  Over time, I will have the entire collection published at that location.

Jean Jones has served for some time now, as co-editor for Word Salad Poetry Magazine.  That magazine goes back many years as well, dating back to 1995.  Jean came onto that project years later and I think Word Salad has gained a sense of prestige for having him as the co-editor.  I know I’ve felt that the talents of Jean Jones have been crucial to giving Word Salad the kind of recognition and literary merit that I want and seek for our poetry magazine.  Jean Jones has a BA in English from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and a Master’s in Fine Arts, in creative writing, from Bowling Green University.

Updates on this project can be expected on a frequent basis, so please look here for those updates and visit the website (http://wsmagazine.net/BirdsOfDjakarta/) for updates to this work in progress - eventually I’ll have it all published.  I am using a Web Development Application for the publication of these poems.  The application I am using is called Adobe Flex Builder 3.  This is a release by Adobe in their efforts to provide tools for the development of Rich Internet Applications.

Thanks Bruce Whealton

Poetry and Creative Web Development

This may seem like an oxymoron, creative web development.  When you think of Web Design, perhaps one might think of that as allowing for creativity but not web development?  I guess this doesn’t make sense unless one understands the differences between the two terms.

Web Design is often used to refer to the presentation of a website.  This includes the aesthetics of a website as well as, or including, the  layout, look and feel of a website.  A Web Designer may be interested in colors, color combinations, images and other ideas related to how the website is presented.  Web Development, on the other hand, refers to more technical matters.  It involves connecting with databases, such as presenting dynamic content from a database.  It also involves programming, or coding - writing software applications that run on the server or in the browser.  On my professional Blog, related to my business, I discuss these matters in more depth.  You can read that blog by going to: http://FutureWaveDesigns.com/wordpress/ In addition, you are invited to read more on another website of mine that uses a Content Management System called Joomla.  This site is also related to my Web Design/Development Business and can be reached here at:  http://FutureWaveDesigns.com/WebDevelopment/ and for further information visit my business website, for Future Wave Designs at: http://FutureWaveDesigns.com

I would submit that while many tasks related to Web Development are technical and often use the left, logical side of the brain, I am able to express myself creatively when I develop websites.  Some parts of the process draw upon my left, logical brain and some parts of the process draw upon the right side of the brain, which is reserved for creativity and less structured thinking.  In order to create something using these web technologies, I first must envision how it can work, and how I can present my ideas.

Let’s take my recent project where I am publishing the poetry collection, by Jean Jones, entitled “The Birds of Djakarta.”  I had in mind that a rich internet application, which allowed for greater interaction of the person coming to the website, that I could find a way to do something more with regard to publishing this book of poetry on the web.  I decided to use Adobe Flex Builder because it provides a variety of components and containers for presenting content, as well as rich user interface components.  This publication can be found at: http://FutureWaveDesigns.com/BirdsOfDjakarta/ and at: http://wsmagazine.net/BirdsOfDjakarta/

I have discovered that some developers have created different ways of presenting a Book on the web using Flex.  In one example, the Flex Book simulates actually turning the pages of a book.  While the code for that is free and available to use, I haven’t yet become fully aquainted with the software to be able to use that code in a design like this.  So, there are other opportunities to explore.

I am also a poet, so look for some of my poems to appear on the web using these technologies.  I enjoy opportunities that allow me to express my creativity - that part of me that nurtures the poet in me - and my technical skills.

Update to the project: The Birds of Djakarta - by Jean Jones

Note, this is an older posting.  I am posting this because I had to recreate the entire domain where this was initially published and the blog itself.

My name is Bruce Whealton. I’d like to post an update here. As I wrote in this Blog, on November 6th, a few days ago, I am publishing this collection of poems by Jean Jones on the web. This collection is entitled “The Birds of Djakarta” and it is published by St. Andrew’s Press. This publication gives me an opportunity to use some of the latest techologies and tools on the web for creating Rich Internet Applications. The concept of “Rich Internet Applications” is a couple years old but in many ways Rich Internet Applications are still very new, in terms of implementation. The software I am using just came out in 2008. Again, you can see the
publication here at: http://FutureWaveDesigns.com/BirdsOfDjakarta/
and also here: http://wsmagazine.net/BirdsOfDjakarta/

This is a work in progress, as there are 40 poems in this collection. I have laid the groundwork or framework for this publication.. Further poems will be listed across the top in groups of 4. It was only as of Friday, the 14th that I got this overall layout in place and the programming code created. As a web developer and a poet, I find that I have two means of professional and creative expression, through poetry and my designs and developments for the web.

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!