My Friend Joe Plum
The Bardic Poet, and his daughter Emily Lupita...
It’s hard to describe my friend Joe Plum. He lives in our world and others I only occasionally have glimpses into. He has a kinship with our natural world rooted in the natural philosophy of the ancient Celtic Druidic traditions of his Welsh ancestors. Sometimes the word fey comes to mind when I’m thinking about Joe.
fey /fā/
adjective
giving an impression of vague unworldliness.
having supernatural powers of clairvoyance.
Joe is a bard. He is a bard living off the grid near Lovilia, in Monroe County, a few miles south of us.
A bard is a poet, traditionally one reciting epics and associated with a particular oral tradition. The Old English word beordd meant "poet, singer, seer". In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional storyteller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian, and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.
Bards were highly respected members of their communities, and their skills were in high demand. They were responsible for keeping the oral tradition alive, and they played an important role in preserving history and culture. Bards also used their skills to entertain and educate their audiences.
Druids were concerned with the natural world and its powers, and considered trees sacred, particularly the oak. Druidism can be described as a shamanic religion, as it relied on a combination of contact with the spirit world and holistic medicines to treat (and sometimes cause) illnesses.
I don’t know if Joe believes himself to be a Druid or not. But that’s what I think about when I think of him. He’ll forgive me if I’m wrong. If he isn’t a Druid, he is Druid-esque.
Winston Churchill was a Druid (standing center above).
Today, Druidry, sometimes termed Druidism, is a modern spiritual or religious movement that promotes the cultivation of honorable relationships with the physical landscapes, flora, fauna, and diverse peoples of the world, as well as with nature deities, and spirits of nature and place. Theological beliefs among modern Druids are diverse; however, all modern Druids venerate the divine essence of nature.
That’s Joe.
I don’t know how many times I’ve interviewed Joe over the years. He’s an enigma, even when you get to know him, which is part of his allure. You never know what you are going to get with Joe, except that you know it will be really good.
This may sound odd, but I like to introduce people to Joe and watch the look on their faces when he starts to speak. They have never seen anything like it before. One time before the 2016 Iowa caucuses a Bernie Sanders staffer was in town, and he was asking me about Knoxville. I saw Joe walking toward us, slightly rumpled, hair askew.
“Well, look here!” I said. “There’s one of the highlights of Knoxville now—Joe Plum, one of the best bardic poets in the world!”
The guy looked at me like I was crazy.
“Hey Joe,” I said, as he walked toward us, “tell this guy about the first time we met.”
And Joe launched into a long beautiful poem that had a passage or two in it about us, and the Sanders staffer was amazed.
As was I.
Above is an interview I did with Joe in 2014. In it, he describes what bardic poetry is and how he sees himself. Here is an excerpt:
One of the classical definitions of poetry is the compression of thought. What bardic poetry is, you're actually compressing the thought of the community and giving it back to them in a succinct manner.
It's like, you know, painting a landscape portrait of a vast, vast area on a 9 by 10 canvas. It's all there but it's smaller so you can take it in at one glance. That's what bardic poetry actually is, is to give back to the community what they're saying to themselves. But in such a way that it can be easily remembered because it's concise.
Joe has a substack called American Bardic Poet. Please consider subscribing and supporting his work. I assure you, you have NEVER heard anything like him.
Here are three of Joe’s poems. The files I was sent were numbered not named, so I named them myself. I don’t think Joe will mind.
In the Dream Silence:
Like Fingers on a String:
The Wind is a Giant that Sometimes Sleeps:
Emily Lupita, Joe’s daughter, sent me the audio files and manages his substack. Emily is an artist/writer who is raising her two autistic sons in Turkey. I’ve written about Emily and her life in politically unstable Turkey here. Please consider subscribing to her art and writing. You can subscribe here.
She’s a gem. I love her. You will too.
Photo courtesy Beth Hoffman, her work is here.
About 20 of the 46 members of the Iowa Writers Collaborative and 150 paid subscribers gathered at the Whitmer House, the former Iowa Governor’s mansion at 2900 Grand Avenue in Des Moines on Thursday night for food and fun. Collaborative member and former Des Moines Register reporter Kyle Munson documented the occasion at Kyle Munson’s Main Street. Thanks, Kyle!
The highlight of the meeting for me was when I was asked to read Suzanna De Baca’s wonderful poem about the importance of journalism called “The Local Beat.” That’s me in the center above during the reading surrounded by incredible people who support local journalism. You can find “The Local Beat” here in Suzanna’s Dispatches from the Heartland and a video of me reading it (thanks to Doug Burns) If you believe in the importance of local news, you will love it. Suzanna’s work is so, so, powerful.
At the party, I was once again reminded of the wonderful community Julie Gammack and Richard Gilbert have created with the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. I have so many new friends who are talented and passionate about good writing. And it is much, much more than just the members who write—it’s our readers. Our subscribers, both paid and unpaid.
You are our audience and our validation.
Remember, dear reader, without you, we are scribbling in a cave, alone.
Thank you.
Please check out the work of my fellow members of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. They are doing amazing work. We are the largest source of feature writing and commentary in the Midwest, and I am proud to be a part of it. I don’t have room to list everyone, but you can check us out here.
The Iowa Writers Collaborative is also proud to ally with the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
Thanks for introducing us to Joe. What lyrical poetry! And thank you again for reading my poem!
So very grateful for your support, Dr. Bob. Thank you. 🙏🏼