[the Writing of Kuypers]    [JanetKuypers.com]    [Bio]    [Poems]    [Prose]


video See YouTube video

performed for C Ra McGuirt (Penny Dreadful Press) in Nashville 12/20/08
video See YouTube video 06/07/11 at the Café in Chicago (from her book Close Cover Before Striking)
video See feature-length YouTube video (21:47) of Kuypers reading her poems My First Time, Chicago West Side, Chess Game Again, Arrowhead, Realistic Dreams, Was Immune, To Be Different, Sunrise, Meant To Be, New Vacuum Cleaner and Skittery live 06/07/11 at the Café
video See YouTube video
of the intro to the 06/07/11 open mic at the Café in Chicago, plus 2 new poems, & Close Cover Before Striking poems
video See YouTube video of Janet KuypersJuly 2019 Book Release Reading 7/3/19, where she read her poems “Apathy”, “Hard of Hearing”, “Getaway”, “Leaving”, “Meant to Be”, “New Vacuum Cleaner”, “Over my Skin with Such Ease”, “Sadness”, “Sunrise”, “to be Different”, “Surprise”, “Reason to Stand”, and “Where to Go”, all from the poetry insert section in the back of the re-release of cc&d v79 May 1996 retro-release titled “Poetry and Prose”, during Community Poetry at Half Price Books (this video was filmed from a Panasonic Lumix T56 camera).
video See YouTube video of Janet KuypersJuly 2019 Book Release Reading 7/3/19, where she read her poems “Apathy”, “Hard of Hearing”, “Getaway”, “Leaving”, “Meant to Be”, “New Vacuum Cleaner”, “Over my Skin with Such Ease”, “Sadness”, “Sunrise”, “to be Different”, “Surprise”, “Reason to Stand”, and “Where to Go”, all from the poetry insert section in the back of the re-release of cc&d v79 May 1996 retro-release titled “Poetry and Prose”, during Community Poetry at Half Price Books (this video was filmed from a Panasonic Lumix T56 camera and given a Sepia Tone filter).
video See YouTube video live 10/19/19 at Austin’s “Open Mic Showcase”, where Janet Kuypers read poems from a variety of books in multiple rounds to the live audience at the bookstore, including this poem (filmed from a Panasonic Lumix 2500 camera); on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram & Tumblr.
video See YouTube video live 10/19/19 at Austin’s “Open Mic Showcase”, where Janet Kuypers read poems from a variety of books in multiple rounds to the live audience at the bookstore, including this poem (filmed from a Panasonic Lumix T56 camera); on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram & Tumblr.
video See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Apathy”, “Meant to Be”, “Hard of Hearing”, “Getaway”, “Leaving”, “Over my Skin with such Ease”, “Sadness”, “Sunrise”, “to be Different”, “New Vacuum Cleaner”, “Surprise”, “Where to Go”, and “Reason to Stand”, in set 2 from the cc&d July-December 2018 expanded issue collection book “Among the Debris” during the “Poetic License open mic 6/7/20 home edition” she hosted in Austin, but globally through a Facebook event page (this video was from a Panasonic Lumix 2500 camera, and was posted on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr).
video See a Facebook live video stream of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Apathy”, “Meant to Be”, “Hard of Hearing”, “Getaway”, “Leaving”, “Over my Skin with such Ease”, “Sadness”, “Sunrise”, “to be Different”, “New Vacuum Cleaner”, “Surprise”, “Where to Go”, and “Reason to Stand”, in set 2 from the cc&d July-December 2018 expanded issue collection book “Among the Debris” during the “Poetic License open mic 6/7/20 home edition” she hosted in Austin, but globally through a Facebook event page (video streamed from a Samsung S9 camera).

new vacuum cleaner

Elizabeth was only five
she thought she was doing the right thing

She accidentally sucked up the goldfish
when she knocked over the aquarium
as she was vacuuming the floor

She was going to surprise mom and dad
with a clean carpet, but now it’s covered
with aquarium rocks, shattered glass and
fish water

But she had to try to save the fish before
she could clean up the mess, so she poured
water into the vacuum cleaner to try to give
the poor fish something to breathe

Now mom and dad have to get a new carpet,
a new aquarium and a new vacuum cleaner


Copyright Janet Kuypers.
All rights reserved. No material
may be reprinted without express permission.