The World of Chaos, Theory, and Art in Michael Dickel's New Poetry and Art Collection

by David Brown


Michael Dickel’s poetry defies easy characterization. The art in his new book, The World behind it, Chaos, including photography and digital art, moves like his poetry between the lyric and the surreal. While his poems also have a political bent, the visual art seems less inclined to the worldly. With the sound and imagery of the poems and the colors and textures of the photographs, both his poetry and art converge on the erotic. This book is not an art book, only; and it is not a poetry book, only. It is both art and poetry, exploding off the page into the domain of the reader. No essay or review can fully capture the tensions and complementariness of Dickel’s work, soon to be available from wv? eBook Press.

This book of poetry, photography and digital art has its own world of chaos and order; while no fractals appear as part of the art work, there is some sense of Chaos Theory here as much as of the disorder that is often behind the view screen of our lives, or just under the surface of our humanity / civilization. While this eBook makes use of the computer, the words and images do not feel like something from a computer—the layout of the book provides a unique juxtaposition of image and text that feels more like art than technology, despite the online format (I read the book in Adobe Acrobat—pdf—format, but it will be released in Flash and Flash Projector format).

Few books, whether print or e-books, in few book shops, will provide the experience these poems and this art provides. Michael Dickel begins this collection with the sharp intake of breath as inspiration in the form of a deer leaps across his path. He ends, however, with the stormy sea washing away the urban landscape, collapsing history in the forms of skyscrapers turning to sand beneath the force of waves. Yet, somehow, the poetry leaves us with a sense of hope, of love, of human possibility in the spiritual realm. The last poem, in the form of a nightmare, presents more of a warning of what happens if we don’t heed our own better natures.

The release of this book will support the theory that eBook press publication frees publisher, like wv? eBook Press, to make available books that otherwise would be too expensive to release. Color photos, in high quality, cost a lot to print. This poetry book will be available free of charge—that’s right, it’s a free eBook. While it would be nice, no doubt, for Dickel to receive money for his book, he has chosen to have readers / viewers first.

Some of this art and poetry has a deeply intellectual quality combined with spirituality. A photo may seem a bit mysterious, and, sometimes, transform from photo to something painted (Labyrinth 1-3). A landscape appears mysterious, overlaid with various seasons all at once (Autumnal). This is Not a Poem, one of Dickel’s poems, tries to reach cubist aesthetics, taking words from one part in different order in the second, and lines from the first part re-arranged in the third part. The first word of each line of the first section, with some modification, is arranged in order (from first line to last) to form the first line of the second section, then the second words form the second line, and so on. The first line of the first stanza of the first section is the first line of the first stanza of the third section, but is then followed by the first line of the next stanza, and so on. Dickel, in this way, conveys the cubist sense of three dimensions in one flat painting. Michael Dickel’s use of form stems from aesthetics of painting and sculpture here as much as from conventional poetics.

Yet, sound, image, rhythm, all play a part in his writing. As does (with variation), at least one traditional form, the sestina. The sestina has six stanzas of six lines. The word at the end of each line is repeated in each stanza, but in a different order. Dickel’s poem, Sestina, responds to Elizabeth Bishop’s poem of the same name. And, in addition to the usual pattern, he places the six words of her Sestina (or close words) into the middle of his lines, rotating them in the same pattern.

This is not done obviously—as with the cubist form of This is Not a Poem, what is happening by way of words moving around in a nearly mathematical (are these the fractals of his chaos theory?) manner requires attention on the part of the reader to be noticed. The poems flow, the words of Sestina making sense and not sounding repetitive as they change meaning in their dance across the page. The same with the cubist form, while each section contains the same words (more or less), like the three dimensions of space, the reading of them does not make this obvious until a reader takes the time to study the craft behind the poem. There is a sense of abstraction, but also of coherence, language, sound, meaning. These poems, like the photographs and digital art accompanying them, do not overtly reveal a craft that is both real and innovative.

The media rituals of reviewing poetry and art, the painting rituals, the writing rituals of poetry all come to this, in my review of The World behind it, Chaos: Michael Dickel is a poet and artist worth paying attention to, worth noticing, worth reading. His innovations challenge a reader who wants to dive in, but his work also serves a reader who wants to understand. And the cost of this book is just right: free.

More of Michael Dickel’s previously published poetry, as well as photos and art, can be found on his web site. While this collection of poetry and art provides a coherent representation of the varied voices and styles of Dickel, his web site provides a nice way to peruse the work of a poet and artist we should all be paying more attention to. The book will be available from the eBook publisher arm of why vandalism? journal of art and poetry, wv? eBook Press.

Attention Deficit Hyper Disorder And Treatment

by David Wolf

attention deficit hyperactive disorder adhd

ADHD or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a mental disorder occurs in a number of children and sometimes adults. ADHD has been identified as a disease with the right diagnosis and treatment can be cured. An ADHD treatment includes a series of steps. Starting with the right diagnosis, treatment can only succeed if all the deficiencies and requirements of patients accurately identified and then targeted. A large proportion of ADHD treatment is primarily to understand that ADHD is a disease in which intensity in each child. Therefore, each case must be looked at, and no single treatment can be applied. It is also important to understand that ADHD is a chronic disease, long-term treatment.

attention deficit disorder rating scale

ADHD treatment starts with the assessment of the intensity of the illness of the child. If the child is exposed to a certain type of behavior, such as disruptive behavior in school herself, and so on, should be considered that he is unable, in situations where they do these things can. Constant monitoring is an important part of treatment of ADHD.

A lot of drugs in the treatment ADHAD. But as already mentioned, ADHD is a disease from one child to another. Before administering any drug your child, make sure that you consult a doctor. The dosage depends on the height of the illness of the child. The drugs for the treatment of ADHD often have some side effects of appetite for a stomach ache. It is therefore important to ensure a correct diagnosis before ADHD treatment.

adult attention deficit disorder treatment

Advice is very helpful in the treatment of ADHD as well. Many parents take their children to therapists through oral discussions and the psycho-analytical tools to test, puzzles, etc. to reduce the prevalence of attention deficit hyper-activity disorder in children.

ADHD is a relatively common disease, a large number of children. While most cases are easy, some are quite complex and require treatment. ADHD treatment is highly specialized, and because much research has already been done to provide an extensive and well as ADHD treatment is now available. So, if you feel that your child suffers from attention deficit hyper-activity disorder, the child to a specialist today and he or she and the track to ADHD treatment.

New Mystery Thriller Novel – "On The Grind" - Booksigning

by Carol Gibson


Stephen J. Cannel Book Signing Vero Beach

A book signing in Vero Beach reveals more than Stephen J. Cannel's latest novel, On the Grind. An intimate look at Cannel’s effort to pursue his passion for writing tells of many obstacles.

Cannel, best known for the long-standing detective series, “Rockford Files” also wrote and produced “Hunter”, “The A-team” and “21 Jump Street.” Now he’s into novel writing and hints of his work “Wise Guy” making a comeback.

Author, screenwriter, studio executive, he was nowhere near an overnight success. He sold his studio, and has produced fourteen mystery novels to this date.

I arrived forty-five minutes early for the book signing. A brief article in Treasure Coast Scripps announced that he was going to be there. The small grouping of fold out chairs filled up quickly, and Stephen arrived on time. With casual sheik, he was dressed in form fitting, tasteful jeans and designer sweater.

His shaded glasses made me feel o.k. to take some snapshots.

I’ve always been interested in his work since he is dyslexic like me. I was hoping he would advocate for dyslexia. He did.

Using the same model IBM Selectric, he compensates for his inability to spell. Writing phonetically, he turns his scripts in for computer input.

When asked about spellchecker, he laughed. He replied with a chuckle how his words would be unrecognizable to the spellchecker function.

His talk started out with his first dyslexic barrier of flunking first grade. He would go on to tell the whole story of his struggle within the educational system.

The audience got a kick out of his lighthearted quip about flunking sixth grade. He said it wasn’t so bad since he was the only one amongst all of his friends with a driver’s license. He had also been held back in fourth grade.

Currently, he describes his decision to go to novel writing for the last quarter of his life.

After total immersion in the entrepreneurial and creative aspects of his Hollywood enterprises, he now embraces novel writing. As per the book signing, he focuses on his newest release, On the Grind.

The feeling I got about this man is that he takes life as a series of ongoing challenges. He ventures on to new endeavors guided by his passion for writing, not money.

Without money as a concern, he’s happy about his life. He turned his back on his father’s wealth, creating the Stephen J. Cannel Studios. During this phase, he pinnacled with a gross income of $180,000,000.

A be-in-the-moment presence created the feeling that he was aware of every nuance in the room.

He engaged the audience by talking with instead of at us. Responding to occasional spontaneous feedback he made the event feel more like a group conversation.

Threading his tales with more of the schooling experience, he talked of high school football as a boon to self-confidence. With graduation just around the corner he came to a possible turn around point.

After a school career amassing a plethora of average to failing grades, he got a B minus on an essay he wrote. The subject matter was Martin Luther King.

Cannel gives much regard for the glint of recognition he finally got from his high school English teacher. Yet the impression I got was one of bitter sweetness. I couldn’t help from feeling that he should have gotten a much better grade, but his reputation had preceded him.

Previous input that would have stifled the spirit of an ordinary person had exposed him to a lot of negativity.

Nobody called him stupid, but rather described him in terms of not applying himself. He was not recognized for his efforts because nobody knew about dyslexia in those days.

He could have taken of a dejected attitude, but seemed thankful for the small successes along the way.

Later on, he submitted his Martin Luther King story to a literary magazine and his piece got accepted.

He played football in college, when enrolled at the University of Oregon. Cannel admitted he wasn’t such a good running back.

His grades weren’t enough to keep him on the university roles. He was “disaccepted” from Oregon University. He laughs now, but before this, he had never heard of the term “disaccepted.”

Early on, Stephen had revealed in a heart-felt acknowledgement, how much he loved his father. As he went on to describe an incident about his father’s advocacy, he could hardly stifle his laughter as he spoke. Read on.

After Stephen’s rejection from college, the father had attended a cocktail party where he met a Dean from Oregon University. Stephen came home to be surprised by the sight of his father entertaining the dean in their living room.

Coaxing the dean with one cocktail after another, the father made a step forward to getting Stephen back into college. Although the visitor had no influence in the matter, the father got his foot in the door, and began hammering away at the powers that be.

Amazed at his father’s persistence, Cannel found himself back on the roles at Oregon U. With a sense of relief that he seemed to carry with him all these years, Cannel describes the one big break that he needed.

One day he got called for a meeting with one of his professors. Probably expecting problems due to conspicuous spelling errors, he got a big surprise instead.

You have a gift from God – Never quit writing.

Catapulted by this moment that seems almost cosmic, Cannel took the professor’s advice to heart. But it must have been a heart wrenching decision when Stephen declined an offer from his father. More than ever committed to writing he declined the legacy of a hugely successful Los Angeles enterprise.

While still working for his father, Stephen’s schedule was arduous. Added to the regimen of a full time job, he spent five hours each weekday writing, and seven hours a day on weekends. Yet one screenplay after another came back with an ugly rejection notice.

One particularly cutting incident came in the form of a note on top of his returned manuscript – “This is nothing,” it said.

Now in business with his wife, Marcia, he gives credit where it’s due. His eighth-grade sweetheart, he married her when he was twenty-five. During his now 44-year marriage, four children came along. Yet Marcia was able to fulfill a support position in multifold ways.

With a note of humility, Cannel describes Marcia’s role as proofreader. Birthing and raising four children, she was a bastion of strength. It goes without saying that she was the all around support person in family as well as business matters.

Somewhere during the time of pursuing a break in the writing business, the like-father-like-son imagery comes to mind. Stephen found a little opportunity through a connection with his uncle’s golf buddy, Roger Isenbach. Though round about, his contact with this man led to a new pathway.

Persistence led Stephen to call Isenbach’s office about a manuscript. Only being able to talk to a nice secretary, Cannel was disappointed.

He found out that his screenplay was on the bottom of a stack of fifty others. He then charmed the secretary into moving his manuscript to the top.

Not too long afterwards, he got the appointment to meet with Isenbach personally. Most of the interview surrounded the discussion of Uncle Dick Baker’s golf swing.

When they got down to brass tacks, the advice he got was to forget his career pursuits. Isenbach told Cannel that he was only one of thousands and would never make it.

One little glimmer of hope came from the interview – he got the name of an agent.

She was an ordinary person, had no big names to her credit. But she loved Stephen’s work.

Her hook was making great cookies. She was beloved by all around the lots of Paramount Studios. Why? Because she always distributed dozens of her cookies to the food tables.

One thing led to another, and eventually to Warner Brothers.

His first work for Warner Brothers was “Adam 12”. More credits to his name – “Beretta” with the help of Roy Higgins, “Ba ba Black Sheep,” and as mentioned earlier “Rockford Files.” I felt a smile go through the audience at this point.

He was loving his life in contrast to the seventies when he was basically unrecognized. Now accolades came his way on a daily basis. He embraced the word “brilliant” as music to his ears.

In 1980, he ran his own studio, which grew to be the third largest amongst 2100 other enterprises. He had other studios dotted around Europe, when another change came about.

He attributes this success to the good people who he hired. They carried him, and went on to work for other big studios after Cannel left the business for greater writing pursuits.

That’s when he wrote his first book as a litmus test for novel writing. With fourteen novels under his belt, he says he likes novel writing best. He has more freedom to develop his characters within a novel.

On The Grind is his current promotion, and is coupled with other acting, and directing gigs upcoming. This book is about how Los Angeles incorporated itself through annexing small town communities.

These already developed little burgs came complete with court systems and police departments. Numerous power players from corrupt little town groups comprised early L.A. From this scenario a mystery thriller evolves.

The interesting fact about the inception of his novels is brilliantly simple. He looks at his surroundings and sees much through the eyes of a dyslexic. I call it the subjective experience. When he’s pursued the facts behind the events he’s perceived – he’s got his novel.

At the end of Stephen J. Cannel’s talk, I went around to the other side of the room hoping to purchase a copy of On the Grind, but they were all sold out.

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