Mark Watson (born February 13, 1980) U.K. comedian, novelist – Eleven (2010)
Lenard Duane Moore (born February 13, 1958) – U.S. poet, essayist
Read Lenard Moore's thoughts on his Letterpoem, in honor of Barack Obama's election to the U.S. presidency
Letterpoem, November 4, 2008
Dear Granddaddy,
Did you see the star
eleven and a half years ago?
I know you hadn't heard about the new nova
illuminating the global landscape.
I write to tell you that I don't know what
to say at this moment when a black man
has risen like a flag into the sky.
He's just been elected the President
of this country where your grandfather slaved.
I remember you telling me
before I became a teenaged boy,
just how tough it was in Hoover days
when you plowed fields,
dug septic holes, graves, drainage lines,
carpentered houses with your hands.
All day rain didn't stop voters from voting.
I know you would be a century now.
I am a half-century old, seeing
the dream walk across the stage this fall night.
Your grandson, Luke
Examples of Moore's haiku poetry:
wind chimes
a robin stops
to listen
from The Open Eye: Haiku (1985)
cleaning his weapon
a soldier
with the hot sun
setting in his eyes
from Desert Storm: A Brief History (1993)
Faiz Ahmad Faiz (born February 13, 1911) – Punjabi poet
Read the Authors Calendar biography of Faiz Ahmad Faiz here
Listen to U.S. Library of Congress recordings of Faiz reading his poetry
http://www.loc.gov/acq/ovop/delhi/salrp/faiz.html
Loneliness
Loneliness like a good, old friend
visits my house to pour wine in the evening.
And we sit together, waiting for the moon,
and for your face to sparkle in every shadow.
Georges Simenon (born February 13, 1903) – Belgian novelist, detective fiction – My Friend Maigret