Well, I'm not much of a football fan, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to employ a 'Friday Night Lights' headline.
Actually, the dance performance I attended at Madison Square Park tonight took place under mostly natural light, this being the time of long days and late sunsets in the northern hemisphere. Tonights performance featured dancers from David Dorfman Dance, the Francesca Harper Project, URBAN/TRIBE, and Earl Moseley's Institute for the Arts.
And on my walk home I took advantage of the Friday night free admission at the Morgan Library to take in their Walt Whitman exhibit. This year being the 200th anniversary of Whitman's birth, there have been a lot of Whitman events and exhibits happening. Unfortunately, I keep finding myself in the wrong place at the wrong time and so I miss the readings and tribute events. But the Morgan exhibit, while modest in scope, was a delight to see.
It complements another Whitman exhibit at the New York Public Library's main building right beside Bryant Park. (free all the time!) Both exhibits focus heavily on Leaves of Grass, and both include manuscripts and some handwritten letters and drafts by Whitman. Both also devote space to Whitman's influence on other writers and artists.
So now that I've whetted my appetite, I think I should commit myself to reading aloud the entire Leaves of Grass manuscript, something I don't think I've ever done.
Friday, July 5, 2019
Sunday, June 16, 2019
To Let Go and Fall
If you happen to be in the Twin Cities between now and the end of June, I'd highly recommend seeing "To Let Go and Fall," a new play with music produced by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theatre.
The show centers on a gay romance between two young, and occasionally confused, dance proteges in New York starting at the height of the AIDS epidemic and extends to basically the present day through a series of encounters between the two men. The action takes place beside a fountain near Lincoln Center in New York City, home of the American Ballet Theatre.
The play, by Harrison David Rivers, examines how the AIDS epidemic sparked fear and flight and sometimes had the power to sever relationships. Rivers has said the play was inspired by the love letters composer John Cage sent to dancer/choreographer Merce Cunningham. Young love is tough enough in any environment, against the backdrop of a harrowing health crisis, it can become poisonous. The show is directed by Sherri Eden Barber with choreography by Penelope Freeh. And not to be overlooked is the music. Cellists Jacqueline Ultan and Michelle Kinney wrote and performed the music that accompanies the players on the stage. /Overall, "To Let Go and Fall" is one of the best premieres I've seen in long time.
The play stars Mark Benninghofen, Austen Fisher, JuCoby Johnson, Tyler Michael King, Andre Shoals and Jon-Michael Reese, with Conner Horak and Da'Rius Malone providing dance scenes.
The show centers on a gay romance between two young, and occasionally confused, dance proteges in New York starting at the height of the AIDS epidemic and extends to basically the present day through a series of encounters between the two men. The action takes place beside a fountain near Lincoln Center in New York City, home of the American Ballet Theatre.
The play, by Harrison David Rivers, examines how the AIDS epidemic sparked fear and flight and sometimes had the power to sever relationships. Rivers has said the play was inspired by the love letters composer John Cage sent to dancer/choreographer Merce Cunningham. Young love is tough enough in any environment, against the backdrop of a harrowing health crisis, it can become poisonous. The show is directed by Sherri Eden Barber with choreography by Penelope Freeh. And not to be overlooked is the music. Cellists Jacqueline Ultan and Michelle Kinney wrote and performed the music that accompanies the players on the stage. /Overall, "To Let Go and Fall" is one of the best premieres I've seen in long time.
The play stars Mark Benninghofen, Austen Fisher, JuCoby Johnson, Tyler Michael King, Andre Shoals and Jon-Michael Reese, with Conner Horak and Da'Rius Malone providing dance scenes.
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Poetry as Sustenance and Salve
As someone who's happiness has been enhanced and amplified by poetry, as well as by arts like music and film and painting in which I'm not a practitioner, I know that extra special feeling one gets when you get to see and feel an audience appreciating your work.
When I went to NYU this afternoon for a poetry reading, I was prepared to hear Deborah Landau read from her new and compelling collection, Soft Targets. I didn't realize I was going to a reading with a larger purpose, culminating the Goldwater Writing Project, which brings together mentors from NYU's acclaimed graduate program in creative writing and long-term patients a New York City municipal hospital that serves people with disabilities that make it difficult for them to live independently. As expected, guest poet Landau was excellent, but the lion's share of at the reading belonged to the participants in the writing program, who also published an anthology of their work titled, "The Golden Writers Anthology."
Many were not able to read their poems aloud, so their NYU mentors read for them. But they each wrote work that embraced optimism, hope, humor, and awareness. It was quite an enlivening afternoon. It was great to see the smiles on the authors faces as they read or sat on stage hearing one of the NYU writers read their work. I think we need to provide people in supportive housing or medical facilities more opportunities to express their creativity. It clearly enhances not only their own lives but also those of the people who encounter their work.
The Golden Writers participating in the reading were Linda Cumming, Zahra Dhaka, Barbara Graham, Frank Hegeman, William Holder, Richard Hurley, Eartha Kitt (yes, that was her real name), Joseph Richter, Antonis Tsikitas, and Kenneth York. The Goldwater Teaching fellows from NYU were Gbenga Adesina, John Daniel Debski, Raven Leilani, Alia Perisco-Shammas, Kyle Lopez, Natasha Rao, Wo Chan, and Crystal Valentine. The reading participants were introduced by graduate program manager Zachary Sussman and student coordinator Hannah Hirsh.
When I went to NYU this afternoon for a poetry reading, I was prepared to hear Deborah Landau read from her new and compelling collection, Soft Targets. I didn't realize I was going to a reading with a larger purpose, culminating the Goldwater Writing Project, which brings together mentors from NYU's acclaimed graduate program in creative writing and long-term patients a New York City municipal hospital that serves people with disabilities that make it difficult for them to live independently. As expected, guest poet Landau was excellent, but the lion's share of at the reading belonged to the participants in the writing program, who also published an anthology of their work titled, "The Golden Writers Anthology."
Many were not able to read their poems aloud, so their NYU mentors read for them. But they each wrote work that embraced optimism, hope, humor, and awareness. It was quite an enlivening afternoon. It was great to see the smiles on the authors faces as they read or sat on stage hearing one of the NYU writers read their work. I think we need to provide people in supportive housing or medical facilities more opportunities to express their creativity. It clearly enhances not only their own lives but also those of the people who encounter their work.
The Golden Writers participating in the reading were Linda Cumming, Zahra Dhaka, Barbara Graham, Frank Hegeman, William Holder, Richard Hurley, Eartha Kitt (yes, that was her real name), Joseph Richter, Antonis Tsikitas, and Kenneth York. The Goldwater Teaching fellows from NYU were Gbenga Adesina, John Daniel Debski, Raven Leilani, Alia Perisco-Shammas, Kyle Lopez, Natasha Rao, Wo Chan, and Crystal Valentine. The reading participants were introduced by graduate program manager Zachary Sussman and student coordinator Hannah Hirsh.
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Returning from Saints & Sinners
Ah, how exhilarating and exhausting a week in New Orleans can be, especially if you're doing a conference by day and still sneaking out at night to enjoy the Big Easy nightlife.
The Saints & Sinners literary festival, one of my favorite LGBT annual events, coincides with the Tennessee Williams and New Orleans Literary Festival. This year their were quite a few poets on the official reading program and more poetry representation on panels than at some of the past festivals, which was fun for me -- especially since I got to be one of the readers.
Since I do public readings rarely, I'm still, despite hotel room rehearsing, a little nervous beforehand, and about midway through my eight minutes in the spotlight I found myself trying to rush through my reading, a mistake I've made before. But then I calmed down and managed to make more eye contact with the audience and add a little extemporaneous conversation between poems, and I think my work was fairly well received by people in the room. It was a mix of fiction, nonfiction and poetry folks, so the audience was perhaps more diverse in terms of literary tastes than at most poetry readings. I read exclusively poetry from my chapbook, Gotham Gray, and my general perception was that the poetry that had narrative content was more well received than my more abstract musings. I had the good fortune of reading with some very accomplished writers, namely Christian Baines, Kimberly Dark, Sven Davisson, Sukie de la Croix, J.M. Redmann and Jeffrey Round. Other poets participating in the festival included the amazing Justin Phillip Read, who was on a joint Saints & Sinners/Tennessee Williams festival panel with Garth Greenwell talking about what they write about when they write about sex; Brian Riggs, Steven Sanchez, Steven Riel, Brad Richard, Franklin Abbott, Louis Flint Ceci, and Gregg Shapiro. And Judy Grahn received a lifetime achievement recognition from the festival.
At any rate, I read a good article via Facebook recently that had some tips for doing public poetry readings, the most important of which is to remember that it is a performance, you are a performer, and you have to embrace that role. (I'm paraphrasing, of course, if I can find the link I'll share it here later. And I remember hearing the distinguished poet Timothy Liu say at a reading one time that the most important advice he'd received about doing readings was to always show up on time and be in a good mood, no matter how small the audience. (That was several years ago, so I hope my recollection is accurate.)
At any rate, I think I should seek out more reading opportunities, including open mikes and whatnot, if I want to improve. Hotel room rehearsing only goes so far -- in the end, that experience of speaking to or with an audience is what makes a reading a reading.
The Saints & Sinners literary festival, one of my favorite LGBT annual events, coincides with the Tennessee Williams and New Orleans Literary Festival. This year their were quite a few poets on the official reading program and more poetry representation on panels than at some of the past festivals, which was fun for me -- especially since I got to be one of the readers.
Since I do public readings rarely, I'm still, despite hotel room rehearsing, a little nervous beforehand, and about midway through my eight minutes in the spotlight I found myself trying to rush through my reading, a mistake I've made before. But then I calmed down and managed to make more eye contact with the audience and add a little extemporaneous conversation between poems, and I think my work was fairly well received by people in the room. It was a mix of fiction, nonfiction and poetry folks, so the audience was perhaps more diverse in terms of literary tastes than at most poetry readings. I read exclusively poetry from my chapbook, Gotham Gray, and my general perception was that the poetry that had narrative content was more well received than my more abstract musings. I had the good fortune of reading with some very accomplished writers, namely Christian Baines, Kimberly Dark, Sven Davisson, Sukie de la Croix, J.M. Redmann and Jeffrey Round. Other poets participating in the festival included the amazing Justin Phillip Read, who was on a joint Saints & Sinners/Tennessee Williams festival panel with Garth Greenwell talking about what they write about when they write about sex; Brian Riggs, Steven Sanchez, Steven Riel, Brad Richard, Franklin Abbott, Louis Flint Ceci, and Gregg Shapiro. And Judy Grahn received a lifetime achievement recognition from the festival.
At any rate, I read a good article via Facebook recently that had some tips for doing public poetry readings, the most important of which is to remember that it is a performance, you are a performer, and you have to embrace that role. (I'm paraphrasing, of course, if I can find the link I'll share it here later. And I remember hearing the distinguished poet Timothy Liu say at a reading one time that the most important advice he'd received about doing readings was to always show up on time and be in a good mood, no matter how small the audience. (That was several years ago, so I hope my recollection is accurate.)
At any rate, I think I should seek out more reading opportunities, including open mikes and whatnot, if I want to improve. Hotel room rehearsing only goes so far -- in the end, that experience of speaking to or with an audience is what makes a reading a reading.
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Hello Kelli
Somehow, I just couldn't help but think Kelli O'Hara was channeling a bit of Carrol Channing in "Hello Dolly" when I saw her in the Roundabout's production of Kiss Me Kate last night at Studio 54.
The show was a delight in every way, and featured some of the best dancing I've seen in a Broadway musical in years. Corbin Bleu infused every scene he's in with delight and sparkling footwork. At the beginning of the second act, James T. Lane leads a sublime ensemble performance of "Too Darn Hot," which got the biggest applause of the evening. The whole cast was fantastic.
But how cannot you not land the spotlight on Kelli O'Hara? She seems to have been born to sing Cole Porter songs. Parts of the book seem, well, a little dated after all these decades, though I still admire this mash up of The Taming of the Shrew with a modern show business drama. And the laugh lines are genuine and still fresh. But the songs...pure delight. A highly recommended show for anyone in NYC during its limited run.
The show was a delight in every way, and featured some of the best dancing I've seen in a Broadway musical in years. Corbin Bleu infused every scene he's in with delight and sparkling footwork. At the beginning of the second act, James T. Lane leads a sublime ensemble performance of "Too Darn Hot," which got the biggest applause of the evening. The whole cast was fantastic.
But how cannot you not land the spotlight on Kelli O'Hara? She seems to have been born to sing Cole Porter songs. Parts of the book seem, well, a little dated after all these decades, though I still admire this mash up of The Taming of the Shrew with a modern show business drama. And the laugh lines are genuine and still fresh. But the songs...pure delight. A highly recommended show for anyone in NYC during its limited run.
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Blinded Me with Science
I've long been a fan of poet Kimiko Hahn, and so I was delighted to go hear her read and discuss the intersections of poetry and science with Janna Levin, with whom I was unfamiliar, at Housing Works Bookstore.
As often happens at these events, my reading list just got a little longer. Hahn read mostly from her newest collection, Toxic Flora, and talked about her use of the New York Times science reporting to inspire and inform her poetry. I'm a big fan of Brain Fever, her earlier work, and this one sounds compelling and startling as well. She's an essential poet for me.
Now I don't think I'll ever understand exactly what a black hole is, but like a lot of scientifically uninformed people, I'm fascinated by the idea. And in explaining the concept of a black hole (essentially gravity suffering a "catastrophic collapse" and yielding something black on the outside, but perhaps light on the inside, and bigger inside than outside -- I hope I'm not bastardizing the concept) Levin made an interesting point -- which is that you cannot fully comprehend what a black hole is without understanding the math behind the concept. (My mathematical education ended with introductory statistics in college -- which I did find fascinating -- but left me well short of the advanced calculus needed to shed light on black holes.) Levin exposed me a little, from my layperson's place in the back of the audience, to the beauty and story telling capabilities of mathematics. She said trying to summarize the science behind a black hole to someone who doesn't comprehend the math is somewhat akin to translating a text from an original language to a different one. Something will always be lost in or left out of the translation.
So, in addition to Hahn's latest collection, I've added Levin's Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space to my reading list as well.
As often happens at these events, my reading list just got a little longer. Hahn read mostly from her newest collection, Toxic Flora, and talked about her use of the New York Times science reporting to inspire and inform her poetry. I'm a big fan of Brain Fever, her earlier work, and this one sounds compelling and startling as well. She's an essential poet for me.
Now I don't think I'll ever understand exactly what a black hole is, but like a lot of scientifically uninformed people, I'm fascinated by the idea. And in explaining the concept of a black hole (essentially gravity suffering a "catastrophic collapse" and yielding something black on the outside, but perhaps light on the inside, and bigger inside than outside -- I hope I'm not bastardizing the concept) Levin made an interesting point -- which is that you cannot fully comprehend what a black hole is without understanding the math behind the concept. (My mathematical education ended with introductory statistics in college -- which I did find fascinating -- but left me well short of the advanced calculus needed to shed light on black holes.) Levin exposed me a little, from my layperson's place in the back of the audience, to the beauty and story telling capabilities of mathematics. She said trying to summarize the science behind a black hole to someone who doesn't comprehend the math is somewhat akin to translating a text from an original language to a different one. Something will always be lost in or left out of the translation.
So, in addition to Hahn's latest collection, I've added Levin's Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space to my reading list as well.
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