Kent Pitman's Literary Creations

Poetry

Among my conventional poems, these are the ones I think are best. If you disagree, please let me know.

Written originally in December, 2008, this is seasonal poetry now seems almost quaint, but is intended as a holiday conversation starter about the Climate Crisis.

I have made periodic tweaks over time based on reader feedback. Also, my friend Mariela Riva collaborated with me to create a Spanish version of this poem, which you can see side-by-side.

Whether through this poem or other means, please engage your family in a discussion of this critical issue of Climate Change. The very survival of human civilization depends on it and we all need to consider our proper role in that.

What Love Endures

Written some years before its eventual February 2009 publication, addressing the aftermath of sexual abuse.

A Turn at the Darkness

Written written summer, 2014 while at a Cary Tennis writing seminar in Tuscany, Italy, as a tribute to Maya Angelou and every poet.

In Quest

A technically complex (but hopefully still artful) poem, written in summer, 2014 for the Writing University course How Writers Write Poetry. This poem is annotated in a way that allows readers to peel back into the unusual way in which it was constructed.

The URLs of the Mind

Written in October, 2008, reflecting on the texture of memory.

Haiku

A lot of my “haiku” is really senryu. The difference is essentially that a haiku demands a reference to nature, and often specifically to a season. Senryu, sometimes called human haiku, is more flexible, not necessarily referencing nature, but more often human nature or emotions. In American culture, most people blur them all as just haiku.

Solitude Eluded: Haiku (senryu) written in May, 2019 about loneliness. Written on a challenge from a friend and posted to my blog to share with others.
Limited-Time Offer: Haiku written in June, 2017 on the topic of climate, in response to a tweet by David Brin.
Tenuous Tenacity: Haiku written in June, 2016 for my blog, about the fragile beauty of life.
On Twitter: Haiku (senryu) written in January, 2012 to post on my Twitter profile, commenting on the ugliness of Twitter.
The Tao of AutoCorrectivity: Haiku (senryu) written in July, 2011 and dedicated to RomanticPoetess at Open Salon.
Mom watches over me: Haiku (senryu) written for my mother in May, 2009 for Mother's Day.
Nudity (now with Haiku): Haiku (senryu) written in April, 2009 in response to something o'stephanie (a fellow blogger at Open Salon) had said.
Haiku Challenge: Kent’s Life: Written in November, 2008, as part of a challenge to write a haiku (senryu) summarizing one’s life.
Political Haiku: Various haiku (senryu) written in September, 2008 for the US Presidential Election of 2008. Not my best work.
Pace of Change: Written in May, 2006, about why some software needs to change more slowly than its developers might wish.

Limerick

Collusion illusion allusion elusion: Political limerick written in July, 2017 for Twitter, then re-posted on my blog.

Other Poetry

Plutocratic Denial: Written in November, 2018 for my blog. Political poem inspired in form and spirit, of course, by Martin Niemöller's post-WWII poem “First they came...”
Crayola Paradise Lost: Written in summer, 2014 for the Writing University course How Writers Write Poetry. A reminiscence of childhood beauty and simplicity, set in the Panama Canal Zone, which was both of those.
To write a poem: Written December 21, 2009 in response to a comment on a related poem.
Happy Birthday, Karen: Written in February, 2009, to celebrate the continued life of my friend Karen.
Life’s Scattered Moments: Written in October, 2008, looking back at old photos of places I’ve visited.
The Tragedy of Billy and Mac: Written in June, 1999 as part of my Another Way Out series of parodies of CBS's The Young and the Restless. This may only make sense if you're a long-time viewer of that show. It's a synthesis of one of their plotlines with Romeo and Juliet—in iambic pentameter, of course!
The Universe: Written during the 1972-73 school year, this was published in our school newspaper. It makes me cringe a little to read it now, but it was probably my first published poem.

Essays

What Is Love?: Written for Valentine's Day, 2011 about the nature of love.

Parody

Flexible Support Options

A parody of some marketing literature, offered as a lesson in corporate spin. Although published in October, 2012, this was written a number of years before.

AnotherWayOut.com

A few years back, I used to write parodies of The Young and the Restless on a more-or-less weekly basis. Highlights:

Summary of (Parody) Episodes
The Morals of the (Parody) Stories
An experiment in TV ratings. [Ratings Index] [Ratings Explained].
Awards Received!
SlowByJabot (parody of a website within the show)
Kent Pitman’s Theory of RelativeTV

Short Stories

“That’s How I Operate”: Written in January, 2009, in response to Gushing Fiction, a contest run by Gary Justis at Open Salon. This entry tied (3 ways) for “first runner up” in the contest.

Parables

George: A story about the teddy bear I had as a child, and a lesson about Climate Change.
Hollow Support: A story about some games my friends and I played in a sandbox growing up, and why it matters to better manage investments in our nation.

Historical Accounts and other true stories

Stories about big things and little things, but in any case true stories.

Packaged Terror: Written in November 2015 about something that happened to me years before, just after and related to the 9/11 event. Amazingly, this is a completely true story. I could not have made this up.
Not Coming Home for Dinner: Written in May, 2011 to express sadness on my witnessing of what was probably the death of a squirrel on a highway.
101 Words: Late-Night Discovery, 1975: Written November 20, 2008, in response to a challenge at Open Salon to write a short story of exactly 101 words. As it happens, this story is non-fiction.
Hacking, before the Internet: Written November 16, 2008 for Open Salon to record some thoughts of mine about an annoying shift in use of the term “hacker.” This is non-fiction.

Mood Pieces

These are not exactly stories, more like story fragments. They express a mood. It's hardly surprising that they are often about Climate Change, since that topic upsets me so much.

Angry Ocean: Written April, 2019 as an exercise in a writing workshop.
A Change of Climate: Written as a writing exercise at a writing seminar in Italy, and published shortly thereafter in June, 2014.
That Creeping Feeling: Written November 2010 as an attempt to reach people about Climate Change in a less intellectual, more emotional way.

Comics

Note that the Gray Matters series is humor or political commentary probably primarily of interest to Open Salon members, since it comments specifically on practices of that forum. The characters are “gray heads,” the default avatar assigned to members who have not taken the trouble to give themselves a real avatar. They are, as such, both anonymous and a kind of EveryMan.

Gray Matters: Halfway Measures

Published May 11, 2019 as part of my blog post No Halfway Measures on Climate.

Click here to see comic. Click here to hide comic.