More Poems

I've posted another poem which I feel needs more work, though it will not get any anytime soon. This poem was inspired by a friend and her unmitigated enthusiasm in the use of the word sundry. It also can claim some ancestry from a work by Patrick Leigh Fermor who quite simply has the most obnoxious and indefatigable palate for, well, words+.

I would also like to direct your attention to the ultimate word of the second line in the fourth stanza. Let's check those dictionaries. There is nothing quite as thrilling as being able to confound the majority of your readership (all 5 of you) with a dull, 5-letter word which sounds like you should have learned it in 5th grade*. How did I do it? Well of course I cheated. Is it onomatopoetic? Nope, it's British.

*in actuality there may be many things more exciting than this, including but not limited to: free climbing, sky diving, snorkeling, dueling with sabers, mud-wrestling, and eating lunch. What is unique in this instance is not simply the excitement derived from such an activity but also the accompanying feeling of superiority.

+any other inspirations? Try going to an American bar.

Well, I'm on hiatus for the holidays. Enjoy my newest piece here. No doubt it will take some time to get through. Merry Christmas.

I Decided, Long Ago...

And the best concert of the year goes to Julie Doiron, who performed at the South Union Arts Center in Chicago this summer, which is known for, among other things, its neon crucified Jesus hanging from the ceiling. It is an old converted church which reminds me of the Paradiso in Amsterdam. It is also a byob.

Julie beat out Erin Mckeown and Explosions in the Sky, both of whom also had good shows. Watch the movie though, and see how hard it is not to love a Canadian in red dress.

As far as music goes, I've been listening to a lot of Folk and Bluegrass. Three favorites for the time being are:

King Wilkie: Low Country Suite (just listen to Savannah or Raising of the Patriarchs)

Railroad Earth: The Black Bear Sessions (try Seven Story Mountain)

Julie Doiron: Woke Myself Up

King Wilkie hails from Charlottesville, VA and they have the whole Southern Gothic thing going on, which is pretty great. If I were a famous musician I'd find it irresistible not to do a Southern Gothic concept album. As I'm not yet famous I'm going to have to call on the Decembrists to put one out in the next year, considering the work they did on Crane Wife. It should sound like a musical, and contain lyrics either about kissing dead people or falling in love with your sister. Preferably both. You heard it here first.

And coming soon...

I've finally finished a few poems I started last year. Be looking for those to be posted in the coming weeks.

Looking for a Lectionary?

Tired of reading the same old biblical stories year after year come December?

Okay, that’s a rather audacious question and you’ll certainly not find me advocating against advent but a friend of mine recently invited me to a reading of W. H. Auden’s For the Time Being (A Christmas Oratorio)” at her church.*  Faithful blog readers and friends may remember that for three years running my yearly Good Friday reading has been from Auden’s Horae Cannonicae.  Now, wouldn’t it be great to set up a lectionary around great poems written by anglo-catholic writers?  We could start off with Auden’s For the Time Being for Advent and Christmas, segueing into Eliot’s Ash Wednesday (I currently know no good liturgical Mardi Gras poems) and round out the Paschal Season with the Horae Cannonicae.  I think this will be my lectionary for this year.  If you know of any great works I’m missing, please let me know.

I cannot, of course officially recommend the first two works as I have not yet read them.  Maybe next year.

*I’m afraid only an Episcopal church would have the wherewithal to host an event like this.

Buckner's Cave Adventure 2007

It looks like I have figured out how to embed a youtube video. Let's enjoy this little video a friend put together for our spelunking adventure down in southern Indiana. Buckner's cave has over three miles of passageways and took us around 5 hours to get through. Music is a Buena Vista cover by the Mammals. Enjoy.

Recent precipitation in the Greater Chicago Metropolitan Area has confirmed reports that the greatest of all possible worlds (a topic oft debated amongst philosophers) may indeed involve a chalet, a pair of skis, a good book, and someone to curl up with by the fire.*

 

*It is as of yet undetermined whether or not Glühwein is or is not essential to this mix.

Here are a few photos of my new neighborhood. Located on the lower west side of Chicago, Pilsen, originally a Czech/Polish enclave, is now mostly Latino with a bit of the artsy crowd thrown in as well.Sidewalk deccos.
Saint Adalbert's Polish Catholic Church.
Nuevo Leon: the restaurant across the street.

Q&A: 50 questions and answers for the melancholic.