— Amanda Stirling, in a recent conversation.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement of my command of the English language, is it?
No wonder that Blenkiron guy gets all the great press!
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“After Sept. 11, a 62-year-old poem by Auden drew new attention. Not all of it was favorable.”
Linking here to a great article in 2001 by Peter Steinfels at the New York Times, discussing the renewed popularity of W.H. Auden’s “September 1, 1939” after 9/11.
I knew the poem was controversial, and that it arguably could have been quoted out of context, as it references the events preceding World War II. But I had no idea how controversial. I can’t believe the famous piece was later so “loathed” by Auden himself.
Here is a link to the poem itself, at the website of Academy of American Poets:
Photo by Jessica Maxwell (U.S. Army Forces Command), September 21, 2009.
“Gen. Charles C. Campbell, U.S. Army Forces commanding general, Col. Deborah B. Grays, U.S. Army Garrison commander and Command Sgt. Maj. Kenny LeonGuerrero, USAG command sergeant major, render salutes to the United States flag as a bugler plays taps during the close of Patriot Day ceremonies held Sept. 11 at Fort McPherson. Fort McPherson and Fort Gillem joined the rest of the nation in honoring the victims of the terrorist attacks that took place Sept. 11, 2001.” — Wikimedia Commons
“Liberty’s Gal,” by Eric Robert Nolan
This was written 13 years ago in Queens, New York, after the September 11th attacks.
Never forget.
“Liberty’s Gal,” by Eric Robert Nolan
| Italian blood runs hot Under coffee-colored African skin, Through Vietnamese veins, fed By a jackhammer Irish heart. Lithe Iranian hands Share an irreverent joke. Ask and she’ll join you in Argue, if you like. She’s used to disagreement, But don’t touch her. Never arouse Never arouse Never arouse And if aroused, nothing can deter her: Not illness in envelopes. Not desert alchemy, Not the grimace of a gap-toothed skyline, (c) 2002, Eric Nolan Originally printed on January 1, 2002, at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2053, White Cloud, Michigan, website
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AN APOLOGY.
To all those who I regaled on Monday with my newly memorized “Song of the Master and Boatswain,” by W.H. Auden, I apologize for being an idjit and incorrectly pronouncing its title as “Master and BOAT’S-Wayne.”
Sigh … the Internet, forever helping to edumucate me, informs me that, of course, it is pronounced “Song of the Master and BO-sin.”
See this link:
That’s “Bo-sin.” You know … like when Bo Duke commits adultery.
This writer gig would be so much easier if I could only master this … ENGLISHY thing.
OH! Amanda!! That reminds me!! I apologize also for utterly destroying your car today!! (As the mood tonight is one of penitence, I figured I’d work that one in there …) We can work out a payment plan, right? And … I can, like … pay you in verse, or something … right?
See this link, Honey:
Lions and Tigers and BEAR! Oh my!!
Horror fans are the nicest people in the world. I mentioned the other day how much I enjoyed composer Bear McCreary’s work on “Battlestar Galactica” — Wednesday Lee Friday told me she’d interviewed him a while back for Zombie Zone News. (McCreary is also the composer for “The Walking Dead.”)
When I asked her if I could read it, she was cool enough to retrieve the interview from offline limbo after a website error, and reran it here, along with her other regular interviews for ZZN:
http://wednes.dreamwidth.org/862921.html
It’s a great interview, and he sounds like a fun and articulate subject. Check out the story behind “Gaeta’s Lament.” It’s one of my favorites from the BSG soundtrack, and it set the tone perfectly for both the episode in which it was featured and the mutiny storyline episodes that followed.
Damn, I wish “Caprica” hadn’t been cancelled.
You know you’re an “X-Files” fan when …
… you see an oil puddle under a leaking car, and your first thought is “PIPER MARU.”
Yeah, my mind went right to the classic episode, and not even to the (quite decent) feature film that also employed the black oil as a central plot device. Because a possessed Alex Krycek is somehow even a cooler and creepier story element than a world-ending viral vehicle.
Coincidentally enough, my pal Pete tells me that today is the 21st anniversary of the first episode.
“Abandoned Farmhouse,” by Ted Kooser
What a great find, especially as Halloween approaches. Its simplicity belies its intent, as it slowly and methodically assembles all of the elements of a nice little psychological horror story.
Check it out at Poetry Out Loud:
http://www.poetryoutloud.org/poem/237648
“The nightingales are sobbing in the orchards of our mothers.”
“Song of the Master and Boatswain,” by W. H. Auden
(a selection from “The Sea and the Mirror”)
At Dirty Dick’s and Sloppy Joe’s
We drank our liquor straight,
Some went upstairs with Margery,
And some, alas, with Kate;
And two by two like cat and mouse
The homeless played at keeping house.
There Wealthy Meg, the Sailor’s Friend,
And Marion, cow-eyed,
Opened their arms to me but I
Refused to step inside;
I was not looking for a cage
In which to mope my old age.
The nightingales are sobbing in
The orchards of our mothers,
And hearts that we broke long ago
Have long been breaking others;
Tears are round, the sea is deep:
Roll them overboard and sleep.
Dear Facebook:
Please stop the endless advertising featuring the Progressive Insurance girl; a subset of your target demographic finds her %$#@ing terrifying.
Someone this morning told me her name is “Flo,” but that’s silly. Because her name is LEGION.
Fear of clowns has got nothing on her.
Sincerely,
Eric Robert Nolan
