tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36106434382635626962024-03-20T02:04:06.019-07:00Boats Against the CurrentStephen McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163193129802109462noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610643438263562696.post-24118538703370525822016-07-19T17:38:00.000-07:002016-07-19T17:38:44.743-07:00Reading Between the Lives (The War on Like)<div style="text-align: center;">
It's no longer enough to be compassionate, for love is now a zero sum game.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Or is it that our compassion has grown so limited... in these boxes we call <i>home</i>?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Black lives. Blue lives. Queer lives. All.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Choosing one is choosing against the others (or so the story goes).</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Sitting at home the other night so paralyzed that I could no longer turn away, I sought refuge where I have so many times before... in books.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But standing once again before a bookshelf that has often been my altar, it struck me:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My compassion has been replaced by my passions.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
What if the things I love have taken the place of my interest in what others hold dear?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
So I've decided to read more of what <i>others </i>call their own. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I (re)turned first to an autobiography which I've always found troubling.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Truth be told it troubles me still.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I don't LIKE it. But finally I see the value in that.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
For it's things I've LIKED that have kept me warm in a world which is shrinking by the day.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I'm of an age where that phrase - the shrinking world - used to mean progress.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It no longer means any such thing. Not to me. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My world has contracted because I failed to continue to expand it. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In surrounding myself with only things I LIKED, I lost the ability to see how other things (and those who loved these things) were actually LIKE me.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I need to reconnect.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
If it's for me to tell the story, then I can no longer ignore the greater narrative.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Black. Blue. Queer. All.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It's time to read more of what I haven't LIKED before.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
For if I don't, I'll never learn just how LIKE me the many I'm yet to meet truly are.</div>
Stephen McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163193129802109462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610643438263562696.post-83915833338165544392016-06-28T18:52:00.000-07:002016-06-28T18:52:43.128-07:00The Siren's Song<div style="text-align: center;">
And just like that I was back</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Old friend, New song</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And once again I'm pierced</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Now I sit here (as many of us have)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Do I even have the time to do this correctly? (I ask feebly)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Does one ever?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The reason to begin again is never because it makes sense</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Those of us who do this... whose blood have traced the tales of old...</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We never sharpen our quills out of boredom or calculation</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
There is no calculus to the heart</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It's never that we realize something new</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We've always one more story in reserve</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The fear (and it's real) is that this one might be the last</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
What if the Muse never returns?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This is the nature of our fear</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It isn't that the tale won't be told</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It's that there will never be another bursting for its release</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
So is it time?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
What if I wait?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Wouldn't it be.....</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
There is no calculus to the heart</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Stephen McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163193129802109462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610643438263562696.post-30714296221055375522016-05-04T18:33:00.002-07:002016-05-04T21:02:21.885-07:00Who Cares?<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We live in a world of lists.
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A random search, on a search engine to be named when they pay me, completes "Top Ten ________________" with the following: 1) (Top Ten) Top Ten Lists, 2) Songs, 3) Destinations, 4) Names for Girls, and 5) Prison Breaks.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There truly is a list for anything, so there has to be one for how we react to poetry. If the (unfortunately) most common reaction to a washer as an anniversary gift is 'Oh you shouldn't have' (with eye brows that imply the literal accuracy of this response) then near the top of any list regarding one's exposure to poetry must sadly be 'I don't get it.' </div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you're reading a poem to yourself, this is permissible. But if it's a poetry reading (for millennials: a poetry reading is like a live Facebook posting session... in a cafe... with speaking) and found yourself feeling like you didn't get it, I suggest that there may be cause for concern.</div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What are, to stay loyal to a theme, the top two things people don't get about poetry? 1) We don't get why he or she chose to read ABC, 2) We don't get why he or she was moved by another's reading of ABC. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To this I would ask, Who cares? </div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Does it matter if we don't get whatever someone offers of themself? Is it not simply marvelous that they offered anything in the first place?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Similarly, why does it matter whether we grasp why someone was moved by this word or that? Is it not more important that they were moved by words at all? </div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I offer these questions not to say that I don't care why people are moved. Instead, I wonder how many people we let pass by because that thing that moves them is not to our particular liking. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's to this that I once again say, Who cares? </div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
How much less lonely a world might this be if we connected as much with another's capacity to love as we do with the random coincidence that they love precisely that which we already hold dear? </div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
By all means, love the objects -- Just be sure to love the subjects, and their verbs as well. </div>
</div>
</div>
Stephen McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163193129802109462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610643438263562696.post-42345902038851152412016-04-30T14:01:00.000-07:002016-04-30T14:01:49.876-07:00The Hands that Build America<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Oh my love, it’s a long
way we’ve come</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">From the freckled hills
to the steel and glass canyons</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">That’s actually what my
ancestors looked like – well a good portion of them, at least.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">My ancestors were mail
carriers and fire fighters, and you know what that means?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">They were lucky.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">My ancestors never
pounded the nails that built America.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">We never picked its
crops.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">We never reclaimed land
only others would be able to afford.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Many others hold
ownership over this portion of the tale, and I’m grateful for each of them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sadly, the romantic idea
that America was somehow built carries with it the toxic implication that this
construction was somehow completed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">America is still being
built today.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">That Ellis Island has
been replaced by airport Immigration only examples the transitional nature of this wonderful
nation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The hands are, let’s get
it out there, less Caucasian than we feel they once were.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Does this mean we should
celebrate them any less?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Should we suspect our
more-recent arrivals because they look less American than… Who? My ancestors
when they arrived?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(I get it, each of us
has ancestors who were suspected and mistreated upon arrival, but)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Would any of our
ancestors ask that we remember them by treating those coming to build
tomorrow’s America with fear and disdain?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Do we now have so much
that we cannot fathom another wanting to get their share?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mao’s tactics were vile,
but perhaps a few of us could use a re-education as well.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">America takes hard work.
It always has.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I, for one, am cognizant (and grateful) that me sitting in an air-conditioned room as I type on a
laptop is not all it will take to carry America to the tomorrow I fully intend
on enjoying.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The hands that built America
had the names of saints, kings and prophets; they even had names that we who arrived before
them assigned our 'property' against their will.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The hands that are
building America have their own names.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">These names sound 100%
as foreign to yesterday's immigrants as the names which my ancestors called
themselves did once upon a time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">They sound just as
foreign, but not one ounce more so.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">American is being built
as I type this today.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">It will not be completed
by the time you read this tomorrow.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">May we celebrate and
welcome those taking on the jobs we should be grateful no longer fall to
our delicate hands.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="background: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Of all
of the promises</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="background: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Is this one we can
keep?<br />
Of all of the dreams<br />
Is this one still out of reach?</span></span></i></div>
Stephen McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163193129802109462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610643438263562696.post-78224050637461263262016-04-26T19:36:00.001-07:002016-04-26T19:38:08.817-07:00From 10,000 Feet (Writer's Block II)<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">10,000 some odd feet is apparently this writer’s sweet spot.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There’s something spectacular about being above it
all, and yet very much able to make out what’s below.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Flying home from a short business trip Sunday morning, I was
mesmerized by the normalness of it all.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Traffic marching like ants around pretzel hoops of highway
brought me to a startling realization.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All these people I’ll never meet, and yet whom I was close
enough to count if I had so desired, each of them had a story to tell.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What’s more, of course, is that we are not any of us (lest
the Write-a-Novel-in-Just-Ten-Weeks crowd has its way) in possession of just
that one novel tale.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I personally am keeper of not only any number of my own
tales, but also of the tales of those who most affected my journey.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My life-defining tale of the Middle School Vice Principal
who took a liking to my misguided angst is really a sequel to whatever left Mr.
so-and-so with his savior complex in the first place.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The point is that there should never be a lack of stories,
though of course we all feel that the world is at times dry.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is for a few reasons:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First, we don’t actually speak to strangers anymore. (And we
even less often truly listen to them.)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the reasons that we feel like we have heard every
story before is that we are only listening to people whose very outlook on
the world was formed by their interactions with us.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Second, we have, collectively mind you, a fear of commitment.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Starting a story is easy, it’s finishing them that is a
bitch.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Love those stories about the author who scribbles a story on
a napkin in the middle of the night (or, who, in my case, pretends to make
phone calls so he can dictate scenes into his phone on Metros)? Sure you do. But what
any writer really loves is the story of the girl who just finished her fifth and final draft.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What I call writer’s block is really an admission that I don’t
have it in me to abandon another tale.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Better not to talk to the girl across the bar if I already
know that my next night off is in 2019, right?</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Wrong.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To finish a story, you have to start it. Borderline Yoda, perhaps.
Yet makes untrue this, it does not.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From experience, I can tell you that abandoned one-time heroes
become deeply fleshed-out characters in future tales. Weep not for the hero who
never was – He ends up guiding the tale in next year’s thriller.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So what does all of this mean?</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pick up your pen religiously, but even more stridently never
stop looking around. Write stories in your head even if there is no way you’ll
reach paper before forgetting half the details.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The most verbose of us spent years talking to ourselves to
hone our craft.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Let your writing be the same. What may seem glib is
occasionally Zen. May this be one of those times:</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Writer’s write.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The characters are out there, even if it takes reaching
cruising altitude to identify them.</span></div>
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Stephen McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163193129802109462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610643438263562696.post-2806803844095907282016-04-22T20:14:00.000-07:002016-04-23T20:16:59.614-07:00More Than Just a Vowel<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="line-height: 19.32px;">Today was but the first time of many.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
‘Prince is…’ I began, before stopping to correct myself. ‘Prince was…’<br />The transition from ‘is’ to ‘was’ is a confounding one.<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />On the surface, it’s the changing of a vowel (i to a) and the addition of a consonant (w).<br />Looking closer, though, one can’t miss the symbolism of removing the ‘i’ – how this one fewer “I” in the world perfectly mirrors the passing of one we held dear.<br />Even the addition of the ‘w’ – a consonant that feels somehow forced from within the depths of us (for who would choose to designate another as past tense?) – represents an unmistakable crossing of that barrier to a place from which none returns.</span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
<b><i>I guess I should’ve known<br />By the way you parked your car sideways<br />That it wouldn't last<br />- Little Red Corvette (1983)</i></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
We knew it wouldn’t last forever.<br />Why then do all of our actions argue against this fact?<br />Few got the meaning of Prince before it was time to say goodbye. Few noted the songs, versatility, lasting impact and pure Statement of Prince Rogers Nelson before we found ourselves standing here – wondering how best to tie things off.<br />Miles Davis waged protest through his horn, but Prince wore defiance in his facial hair.<br />However, if Prince was a call to action, many of us seem to have hit Snooze.<br />We’re awake now. But to what end?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<b><i>Closin' time, ugly lights, everybody's inspected<br />- U Got the Look (1987)</i></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
So where do we go from here? Once again, we have collectively missed out on the essence of another.<br />Will we react to this loss by elevating one who fittingly (oh so fittingly) refused to join Apple Music by buying 1993’s The Hits back into the Top 10 for a week? (We will.)<br />Will we pay more attention to yet another funeral than we did to yet another life? (We may – you have to wait for funerals… Autopsies? We and cable news LIVE for those, however.)<br />Will we change our ways before missing out on celebrating yet another of our beautiful brothers and sisters while still they walk among us? (TBD.)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Dedicated to my good friend Shawn – one of the rare souls who got Prince long before the eulogies told him how to</div>
</div>
Stephen McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163193129802109462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610643438263562696.post-43869918122324122152016-02-15T12:36:00.000-08:002016-02-15T12:41:31.631-08:00My Spiritual Main Street<div class="MsoNormal">
I thank the teller, push open the door, and note the
familiar jingle of the bells. A moment later, I’m there again – or at least I
will be (occasionally it all begins a block or so away).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No matter the moment, no matter how long it has been,
whenever I close the eyes of my consciousness, it’s always that same street
where I find myself strolling. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think it may be the same for many of us. Not the same
street, of course (and thank God for that, for if the populace of Now were
present in my forever-perfect Then, where then would I go to hide?) but on one
personal to each individual. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This isn’t quite the same as that Magic Snapshot we each
carry of that moment each of us elevates to ideal. It isn’t even that graveyard
of childhood hopefulness that we each staked off long ago for guided tour
whenever we decide to allow others access into that moment when we too were
failed. This place is different. Fluid, if not still same. A setting more than
a plot.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This place, for me at least, is a street, or rather a single
square block from a faraway place from my not too recent past.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This street, the real one is still in use to this day, is
not of any particular significance… at least if you ask the City Planner’s
office. It isn’t, ironically, the location for any of my own major moments.
Most of my most significant scenes occurred offstage with regards to this
particular location.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Still, this street is like no other, for it is the place to where
I’ve always returned in moments of refection. Perhaps I always will.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So what makes up this Spiritual Main Street?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are certainly parts that change, but so much more of
it stays always the same. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s always a bookstore, there’s often a bar. I don’t
believe there to be an electronics store, and the restaurants seem to come and
go. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The seasons change, but it is rarely summer. I love shorts
and flip flops, but this place seems always to have a chill… at least on the
nights when I’m there.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On that note, it isn’t always night. Though perhaps there <i>is</i> always a certain level of dusk within
me whenever I feel in need of an all-renewing stroll.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I tend to be alone when I walk down that street, even (or
especially) when there are many other people present.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My age in these moments is interesting. It isn’t always me
as I presently am, though it quite often is. What doesn’t age is this place.
The stores change, but stay – if named at all – relative to a certain year when
(apparently) I first set down this marker for later reference.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The soundtrack, as one might imagine has a certain
familiarity (if not to the song, then certainly the pace and tone).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For everything that doesn’t change, what takes me back there
changes even less. Everything has the power to carry me back to that street, though
I sometimes wish this plethora of triggers was more readily available. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As for the other details, these other questions are perhaps
more yours than mine. That’s OK, for this is my place. There are no tickets to
my Main Street. Not for you and not even, in case you figured otherwise, for me.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Indeed, there are moments I would give anything to walk once
more upon my Main Street when nothing seems able to guide me on my way. Similarly,
there are times I truly wish to avoid a return trip, or at least to stay
wherever it is that I am in that moment, that I feel myself being pulled along
by the tide all the more.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe what makes up my Main Street matters only in that it
examples somewhere we each have also been.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
But that’s just mine. How about yours? Perhaps I’ll see you
there sometime. Perhaps I already have.<o:p></o:p></div>
Stephen McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163193129802109462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610643438263562696.post-25554540462855079522015-11-29T20:46:00.000-08:002016-04-25T10:02:44.791-07:00Creed (One step, One punch, One round)<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.456px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 15.456px;">This will not be an unbiased review. There isn't any doubt that the Rocky series means different things to different people. For that matter, the Rocky Balboa character holds different meanings as well. For some Rocky was another example of 80s cheese or a franchise that went to the well one (or four) too many times. For others, Rocky is a trivia answer, or at best a DVD you or your friends once owned. However, for others, Rocky Balboa is far more a John Wayne type. His Philly streets (and his rise and fall upon them) were far closer to the American dream than any Western landscape. It is, I shall not try to hide it, to this last group that I belong.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.456px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For me, Rocky Balboa was many things. As a child, he was a superhero. As a teen, he was an inspiration. It would seem fitting that I enjoy the Rocky movies seeing how much I love boxing, but to be honest, I'm not so sure which was the chicken and which was the egg. Much of what I now am is due to my appreciation of the Rocky series growing up. But that's only the beginning of it.</div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.456px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What happens as one grows up with Rocky is that the stories they never knew they were paying attention to become the guidelines for every future narrative. Revisiting Rocky just last year, I identified with the pain of the first movie. I saw the ache, hate and division of those Philly streets and quickly felt that I'd seen that place before -- it's where we still reside today.</div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.456px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In retrospect, it is nearly impossible to say how much growing up with Rocky affected me. It is in my love of boxing, but also in my love of the underdog. It is in my love of movies, but also in my love of storytelling. It is more than that someone wrote the first movie, it is that Stallone wrote the first movie in an attempt to escape whomever others would have always had him be (and decades before Matt and Ben made writing one's deliverance cool).</div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.456px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
All of this leads us to this weekend's release of Creed. To love something is to eagerly await its arrival. To love something that others do not is something slightly different. As much as one is eager, there also exists the fear of ridicule which professing your love for the unpopular can often bring. This was me up until this afternoon. I knew I'd like Creed. I liked what it was (a continuation) and I also loved what it was not (an unoriginal reboot). I was intrigued by the fact that Stallone had given way to another writer for the first time, but I was thrilled by the story that he'd not done so lightly at all (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmagazines.aa.com%2Fen%2Fcontent%2Frocky-revival&h=EAQFs5mBWAQH2LybPZD4zDIUeFC_YPDLFdnKXTp4gjTzL0w&enc=AZNoXcRX6QWNaL9uh6cIz1VISC6d_wHtF6mvqRde34QUsmC_1tWjej_vDHXMzL2R9DmrCttQd52oZZMa_071_VSDYZkgf9_78nX4CUZOv3-KN-tsnAfKClL9EhHWJjx965ubiYgC9861KYuiYv8D43Jo6w-2Es-9FhVUB47hk_u-gdtnFp9s_00N6nPBS-7m68Y&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://magazines.aa.com/en/content/rocky-revival</a>). I was excited by the new voices that would be involved in the project, but even more excited by the stories behind the story (the young, black director is almost less of a Hollywood rarity than the female crew he assembled to shape his new film).</div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.456px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Creed hits so many of the right notes that is it scary. Know little of Rocky, and it is just a good, good movie. Know a lot of Rocky and it is an Easter-egg filled treat. The soundtrack is beautiful, but then so too is the lighting. The fight scenes are shot creatively and put the viewer far more inside the action than in the WWE when the E was still an F, Star Wars before the Special Edition-esque fight choreography of old. The contrast between rags-to-riches Rocky and riches-to-rags Adonis is notable, but also nurtures empathy. In a world far too filled with Us and Them, Creed takes a page from Forster and begs us to simply connect. In so many ways, Creed was simply a well made film, and one leaves realizing that Ryan Coogler is capable of turning anyone into a star -- and yet he didn't need to here.</div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.456px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Perhaps it was predictable that Coogler/Michael B Jordan Part II was going to be magical. Jordan is a talented, mature actor who has leading man/future Oscar winner (maybe this spring, when he'd be the youngest ever to hoist that award) written all over him. The depth, adaptability and urgency he brings to young Adonis is spectacular to watch. Many may regret the recent Fantastic Four remake, but it does allow this one observation -- After watching Jordan in Creed, an actor who once played the Human Torch can once again be said to have become Captain America. This young man has it all. It's a pleasure to watch.</div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.456px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Perhaps (far) less predictable was Coogler's ability to elevate Sylvester Stallone's Rocky into what may well become a Best Supporting Actor nomination. To me, Stallone has always had it. He often tucks "it" away and takes the paycheck, but the guy is a serious artist. It was a pleasure to watch his probable final turn as Rocky Balboa.</div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.456px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I'll end with this. See the movie and you'll smile, don't see it and you'll have gained at least something from my rambling. Throughout Creed there is a mantra -- something I think I'll be writing more on in the future -- One step, One punch, One round. Leaving Creed, I think this challenge to reflect will be what I'll focus on most of all. Where am I in my walk today, where am I at this moment? Is this a time to gain momentum, is this a time to use it? Is this chapter almost ending? How then can I end this period in style? Is another moment sure to follow? How can I prepare myself for that challenge? Maybe it's the Rocky in me. But since I'm surely not alone, I really recommend this film. Enjoy.</div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.456px; margin-top: 6px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
--Stephen</div>
</div>
Stephen McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163193129802109462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610643438263562696.post-25194261500888657362015-08-14T09:25:00.001-07:002015-08-14T09:25:44.248-07:00Bowling<div class="MsoNormal">
Stroll into the room, look down other’s lanes. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Their lives in motion, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yours, in moments, will begin</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Beers, lights, unfamiliar shoes,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some with an agenda, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Others there just not to lose</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First you’ll need a weapon</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The perfect fit, a weight just right</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Elusive balance between power and control</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A long stare, full opportunity</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A clever walk, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You prepare to strike</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Release, follow through, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A moment of possibility</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Exhale, pivot, force a laugh</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s not the strike, it’s when it arrives…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First frame: Promise</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fifth frame: Hope</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ninth Frame: Too little too late… the great What Might Have
Been</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Look around, absorb the glee</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He seems so pleased…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With my Its Not Enough</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Return, sit down, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cheer for another</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Get out of your head</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
You’ll soon bowl again.</div>
Stephen McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163193129802109462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610643438263562696.post-71305566334163477932015-08-05T07:00:00.000-07:002015-08-05T07:23:07.329-07:00Short Posts (updated 08/05/2015)<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
When Writer's Block Becomes a Spiritual Experience</h3>
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">January 10, 2015</span></h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHnZgu5oD4rPHFR1fXSdVCA0_0QfAAIgFuU4X43vVO4PWq40fB-6ofN8rnCHKzvEiteKYBOiEX4_V1u0A4QfPyAUyVzVAaJJwmqOteChl92OUJ8tttTbzteemV6rkBiYG2-4qVYI6zMCFI/s1600/Story+Yet+Untold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHnZgu5oD4rPHFR1fXSdVCA0_0QfAAIgFuU4X43vVO4PWq40fB-6ofN8rnCHKzvEiteKYBOiEX4_V1u0A4QfPyAUyVzVAaJJwmqOteChl92OUJ8tttTbzteemV6rkBiYG2-4qVYI6zMCFI/s320/Story+Yet+Untold.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<h3>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.1pt; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 3.75pt;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">The pen cap removed, the
writer enters the dark cave and stands face to face with Story Yet Untold. For
a moment, he admires this specimen and considers keeping it hidden for
himself.... But then, why else are stories born if not to be revealed?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.1pt; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 3.75pt;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.1pt; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 3.75pt;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">There'll be another, he
whispers. Perhaps I'll keep that one.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.1pt; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.1pt; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Looking once more to his
pen, he sets the tip upon the paper and, without further hesitation, sets about
his task.</span><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</h3>
<h3>
<br /></h3>
<h3>
Warning from Afar</h3>
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">January 7, 2015</span></h4>
<h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfDTWkg6fJQ9sRVmNUXZOce_7WfLoUbZQqSFrUEzPwGpv5XL1hCcP6kLz5gRwQvfsv0h-sR_9Ok0WuVZXc218pyjpL2f7Sg4A2yvIj7tLIvkeZgpRawu8_-33mVcnhcBJBf-CTKfPev3Wu/s1600/Doug+Craig+-+Cheongsapo+Lighthouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfDTWkg6fJQ9sRVmNUXZOce_7WfLoUbZQqSFrUEzPwGpv5XL1hCcP6kLz5gRwQvfsv0h-sR_9Ok0WuVZXc218pyjpL2f7Sg4A2yvIj7tLIvkeZgpRawu8_-33mVcnhcBJBf-CTKfPev3Wu/s320/Doug+Craig+-+Cheongsapo+Lighthouse.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</h3>
<h3 style="background: white; line-height: 12.1pt; margin: 0in 0in 3.75pt; text-align: justify;">
</h3>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.1pt; margin: 0in 0in 3.75pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">How many of her most
attractive wares should have served as warning instead?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.1pt; margin: 3.75pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.1pt; margin: 3.75pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Time and time before had
only served to reinforce that her light could only blind me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.1pt; margin: 3.75pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.1pt; margin: 3.75pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Time and time before… and
yet here I stand once again.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.1pt; margin: 0in 0in 3.75pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.1pt; margin: 0in 0in 3.75pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Advance or retreat? Does my
contemplation exist only to assuage tomorrow’s guilt?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.1pt; margin: 3.75pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.1pt; margin: 3.75pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">I know how this will end,
but still I glide purposefully towards her harbor.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.1pt; margin: 3.75pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.1pt; margin: 3.75pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Moving closer, I smile –
knowing full well that my every best intention will only find me wrecked upon
her shores.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This post was made in
collaboration with Doug Craig, to whom I owe a debt of gratitude for the use of
his fine photo. You can see more of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Doug
here:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/dougcraigphotography"><span style="background: white; color: #3b5998; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">https://www.facebook.com/dougcraigphotography</span></a><span style="background: white; color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span></div>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
<br /></h3>
<h3>
Footprints </h3>
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">December 15, 2014</span></h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiYouxEn8wVEBSusDtYqIsagPw4X6Evd_YBJdSE33XZTDj_jiQVFTzj_VxzUPmTOh2qF-FGpUYcS2CT7yRpGmxcTn6smKIVbPtWYNq6rLUnmsu2usJVKfYGeqpQExhKJ4jcvAcL2Y3gWLp/s1600/footprints_designingmall_walkingman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiYouxEn8wVEBSusDtYqIsagPw4X6Evd_YBJdSE33XZTDj_jiQVFTzj_VxzUPmTOh2qF-FGpUYcS2CT7yRpGmxcTn6smKIVbPtWYNq6rLUnmsu2usJVKfYGeqpQExhKJ4jcvAcL2Y3gWLp/s320/footprints_designingmall_walkingman.jpg" width="217" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As he walked in the crisp morning air, his every
footprint erased what had taken each crystal its entire lifetime to accomplish. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Looking ahead of him, he smiled. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The white city had not yet awoken and was now
pristine in its frosty coat. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Behind him however lay a trail marked with
disarray – as if anywhere he had thought to step had now lost its innocence. </span></div>
Stephen McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163193129802109462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610643438263562696.post-25949696175680322092015-08-03T23:46:00.000-07:002015-08-03T23:54:53.479-07:00Euripides, Chopin and the Slingshot of Celebrity. <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Yesterday was a good day. Two months removed from eye
surgery, I was able to finally read an actual printed book for the first time
in what has seemed like forever. I need to quickly acknowledge my gratitude to
my e-reader and its adjustable font for not leaving me totally out in the cold
during my recovery, but still… There is something about the feel of a book.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
For whatever reason–it would take a blog twice this length
to discuss how I arrived at the starting line–I decided to read a collection of
Euripides which included <i>Andromache</i>.
This play, not one of his best known, was attractive to me for its connection
to Hektor, the actual hero of the <i>Iliad</i>
(but there IS another blog theme entirely). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Within <i>Andromache</i>,
I discovered this delightfully searing line:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h4 style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Celebrity, celebrity:
you inflate the lives of countless good-for-nothing mortals.</i></h4>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Immediately, I knew this was a line to which I could write,
but still I wondered exactly what such a post would focus on. Might I wish to
discuss the celebrity that exists within the publishing industry? Might I wish
instead to ruminate on Reality TV or even on the coming election? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
As much as the quote had inspired me, I felt that a
potential rant, often more an aside than a truly thoughtful contribution,
wasn’t quite where I hoped to go. Content with the good start, though
displeased by the lack of conclusion, I turned in for the evening.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It was here, as it so often is, that something truly special
happened.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
My mind often roams from Classics to Classical and so I
decided to relax to a TED Talk I’d watched once before by Classical conductor
Benjamin Zander. Zander’s talk, an exposition on the “transformative power of
classical music” dissects the power of Frederic Chopin’s Prelude 4 in E Minor.
Hearing Zander describe Chopin’s use of certain notes to change the emotional
value of others (“C’s job is to make B sad”) and his use of ‘deceptive cadence,’
a kind of false ending, one could see the parallels between Classical
composition and the writing of a play or novel.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
By the time Chopin arrives at E–a moment Zander labels
‘coming home’–the listener has undertaken an emotional journey, one for which
the modern conductor often receives adulation and fame.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
So moved was I by Zander’s talk that I felt immediately
drawn to consider the following:</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sharing the TED Talk on my Facebook page</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Writing this blog post entirely on Zander</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Writing this blog post entirely on Chopin</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Going online to buy a book on Zander</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Going online to buy a book on Chopin</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">… I think you get the point</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It was then that I returned to <i>Andromache.</i> Might the enthusiasm I felt as I finished Zander’s talk
have been an example of one of the other dangers of Celebrity? Though the talk
in question had featured two men–one a composer, one a conductor–who were both
deserving of praise, wouldn’t worshiping one or both of them cut me off from
the greater discovery which was being born in that moment?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Zander’s talk, again, was meant to show the transformative
power of Classical music. Was his goal for his audience to go from indifference
towards a genre to feeling obsessed with one three-minute morsel? Hardly. In
this way, his great charisma and the power of this piece of music both ran the
risk of becoming the endpoint for the listener’s journey, not its point of
departure.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
So then, is Celebrity evil because it promotes the unworthy
or is its true danger the way that any stimulus, no matter how worthy, can seem
like the end and not the beginning?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
To his credit, Zander seems to have recognized this same
danger when he observed that he, the conductor, doesn’t actually make a sound.
The conductor, he continued, has his picture on the CD case, but his power
comes from his ability to make other people (those that play the music) powerful.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Zander is a celebrity. He has earned his fame (or <i>kleos</i> if we want to return to this
blog’s Greek beginnings).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Should I therefore have avoided Zander and his dangerous Celebrity
from the start? Of course not. I could not have learned the truths which this
blog has flowed from without his lecture. However, to stop learning at the end
of his talk, to stop listening to Classical at the conclusion of Chopin’s three
minute journey from B to E, would have been a tragedy. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
So we should acknowledge Celebrity. Perhaps, we should even
celebrate it. What we should never do, however, is view Celebrity as the
destination. Instead, we can use Celebrity to push us on our way. For an
example, let’s consider the piano-sized space probe which has recently been in
our newsfeeds. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
On its way to Pluto, the New Horizons probe gained
invaluable momentum by way of a gravitational slingshot around Jupiter. This is
precisely how we can use Celebrity as we move along our journey.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
So travel towards Celebrity, enter its orbit for a time, and
then use the power of Celebrity’s enormity to propel you to that next place…
wherever that next place may be.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Stephen McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163193129802109462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610643438263562696.post-38985789600855861112015-07-25T23:43:00.000-07:002015-08-03T23:56:46.526-07:00Old, Old, Old<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Striving to remain relevant is the aim of many artists, but
it isn’t a burden only to them. Beyond the difficulties faced by writers,
musicians, filmmakers and their ilk, missteps along the Pathway to Cool harm
friends, family and most of all, fans like you and me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
How many times have you read a book or listened to a new
release from an artist you’d grown to trust only to shake your head in
disappointment? “It just didn’t ring true.” “I knew where it was going from the
first page.” “I just don’t feel like I <i>needed</i>
to read/hear/see that like I used to.” We’ve all had such reactions, such
disappointments.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Now, listen, I accept that a lot of this is down to my
expectations, but I’ll leave that another blog(ger). What I’m mostly interested
in when I give my time or money to something is what I get out of it.
Furthermore, I’m interested in how I can use this experience to bolster myself
in the future.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
This is kinda the secret about consumption. We consume so we
can make someone else feel inferior at a later date for our having gotten there
first. Hours spent watching a movie or days spent reading a book that no one
else wants to hear about are essentially wasted hours – if one adheres to the
aforementioned philosophy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
To all of this, I’ve found a solution. Being at one with who
I am? No. Enjoying things for what they are in that moment? Better. The way not to get disappointed by all which was meant to be fresh is to
intentionally shop in a more, well, aged aisle.*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In the past week, I’ve started to read a 30 year old novel,
listen to a 65+ year old jazz record and re-watch a 25 year old TV sitcom. The
results have been marvelous.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>The Novel:</b> I’ll admit I was fortunate to have a favorite
novelist’s early work only become available very recently. I’ve read, and
become disillusioned with, many of this author’s recent works. However, the
innocence in his early work is intoxicating. Areas of inspiration seem richer
for his having been so young, and his missteps seem to imply a path with which
he would become more confident as his career developed. The best thing about
this book is that I opened it with no expectation of being able to share it
with others. It has little to do with the today's headlines, but then at
the same time it did. What this book has offered me is a release from the NEED
for it to be relevant, but what has actually happened is something quite the
opposite. On each page, I find something which I can apply to my
current life. Far more significant, I find something which seems little like
everything else I’m seeing on Facebook, etc. at that moment.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>The Jazz Record:</b> In many ways, this blog applies the most to
musical consumption. For me, listening to new music is often an exercise in cynicism.
It’s all well and good until I get even a sniff of where that artist gained
their influence. From that moment forth, I’m far more an investigator taking notes
on plagiarism than I am a casual fan. It becomes tedious. Working the process
backwards is awesome. First off, old music - that made without a music video,
ad campaign, myspace/YouTube launch, etc - tends to be fairly reliable as to
its production quality. This is not to say you will <i>like</i> every record you buy, but there is, within a world that knew
little of the dreaded Single, a complete story that will make you long for the
days before the Random button. Additionally, when listening to old music, one
will encounter the sounds that would eventually lead to many of today’s
standards. For some reason, discovering the inspiration can be done in a far
more curious way than the example described earlier, which often feels more
like catching a thief. It’s hard to explain, but while hearing Oasis take from the
Beatles is painful, hearing that one line in Springsteen’s The River that
would lead to two Bon Jovi albums (or the awesome influence that the E-Street
Band had on Snow Patrol) makes one smile. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>The TV Sitcom:</b> Last, and perhaps least, is the TV Sitcom. The
charm of TV is that it really rarely ages well. The jokes are funny, but they
are often dated. In some cases, the fashion is almost funnier than the punch lines,
and often, perhaps more so than in other mediums, there is the sadness of a
young upstart that never quite made it. Still – Zen moment approaching – if something
(a topic, a characterization, a stereotype) that an entire country took so
seriously can become so dated in only 25 years, doesn’t that give us hope that
the crap we’re suffering through on Facebook today will, someday, I promise,
disappear as well?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
So, if you’re feeling lost among the stunning aisles of New,
join me in the nostalgia of Old, won’t you? I swear you’ll be happy you did.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
*Note: The strategy described in this blog has NOT proven as
effective in the discipline of cooking. Sadly, I would not recommend looking
for expired ingredients in search of nostalgia – unless those ingredients were
grapes, I hear that can work sometimes. </div>
Stephen McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163193129802109462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610643438263562696.post-20937743542223091532015-03-27T01:30:00.000-07:002015-08-03T23:54:06.275-07:00Yes, I have. Yes. (A postmortem on Joyce's Ulysses)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh0W0pfvPbuNDfbBvn0ubGGypJ-SDewUF-ObkY_pbY93q3XuxkwjTmPj6tgLBjtWuPiu80aSTnzEUEVNbECTHvMq_R9KbyEAAr-J3SRDKE7Tu1vj8kWII8PYBxIEEhIPQ3riTpQD9FVVIq/s1600/ulysses+edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh0W0pfvPbuNDfbBvn0ubGGypJ-SDewUF-ObkY_pbY93q3XuxkwjTmPj6tgLBjtWuPiu80aSTnzEUEVNbECTHvMq_R9KbyEAAr-J3SRDKE7Tu1vj8kWII8PYBxIEEhIPQ3riTpQD9FVVIq/s1600/ulysses+edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So this is how it ends… What started as a dream, a dare, a
joke even… Through Hamlet (again), Dubliners (again), Portrait and, of course,
the Odyssey, and finally, finally onto the Show. In the end one is left with
the following (in no apparent order): relief, revulsion, insight, questions,
appreciation, awe, discouragement, enthusiasm, nostalgia, homesickness,
inspiration, and the need to take a shower. Was it overrated? Yes. Is it worthy
of every ounce of praise heaped upon it? Yes. Was it in need of an editor? Yes.
Was it, perhaps, the one time that an author has ever properly reproduced that
hush-inducing awe that is usually reserved for painted masterpieces? Yes. There
were moments where the text wouldn’t speak to me (no matter how much I begged
it to). Setting it down, I’m filled with the desire to both burn it and begin
again at page one. In the end, <i>Ulysses</i>
was……. It was. In that, Joyce succeeded. Did Joyce wish for the reader to
experience A, B or C? Did he instead simply wish for the reader to experience <i>something</i>? It is, counter intuitively, only
a fantastic book which makes a writer wish to sit down and write immediately
upon its completion. Finishing a crappy book fills one with disdain for the
entire profession, while many good books lead to a kind of self-evaluation… the
kind which every author is predestined to fail. The truly great however, those
books which should be even more daunting, even more intimidating, make a writer
wish to write the way we all drive home from a concert just dying to sing along
with <i>something</i>. Yes, I have written.
Yes, I will write again. Yes, I have read before. Yes I will read again. Yes, I
have finished <i>Ulysses</i>. Yes, I have.
Yes. </div>
Stephen McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163193129802109462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610643438263562696.post-73612198041463906832014-11-17T01:38:00.000-08:002015-08-04T00:02:24.221-07:00Our Guy, Their Guy<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I’ve never read Huckleberry Finn. This has always caused me
a considerable amount of guilt – guilt being a specialty I’ve spent far more
time refining than my prose. I was always under the impression that the fact
that I’d never read my own country’s National Author (capital letters, for
certainly the title comes with a certificate, jacket sticker, theme song and
the like) somehow reflected poorly on me because, well, I’m an American, and I
like to write… Shouldn’t I have read <i>our
guy</i> at some point?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
However, I’ve come to realize an interesting phenomenon….
Today I was speaking to a friend at my gym – a Russian named “Geny.” I was
discussing with him my great affinity for (as any of you who have ever read me…
or met my cat… might have guessed) the greatest story of all time, Eugene
Onegin. To this, Geny, <i>despite the fact
that he was likely named after the title character</i> (Eugene = Yevgeny <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">à</span> Geny), responded that
he’d never read Onegin. I was shocked–though I need not have been–for Geny is
not actually even close to the first Russian I’ve met who has never read
Pushkin’s classic. Still, it got me thinking… Do any of us actually read our
national authors?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I guess I’d assumed that every Italian had read Dante; that
every Frenchman had read Victor Hugo; Hell I figured even Jeremy Clarkson could
probably recite a wee bit of the Bard.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Maybe I’m wrong. Though there’s another possibility. What if
what outsiders consider to be another’s national identity-defining novel is not
what said others would choose for themselves? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Some list tells me that Mark Twain is the American
storyteller, and I don’t know. Not having read him, I’d perhaps put forth F.
Scott Fitzgerald as my offering into that impossible debate. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I’ve often figured that maybe part of our difficulty in
determining the Great American Writer is that Americans come from so many
different places, that and also how we Americans love our hyphenated pasts. (I haven’t
read Twain, but you bet I’ve read Joyce.) Now I see that glint in some of your
eyes, “Ohhhh, McGrath… Fitzgerald… a love affair in shades of green… Now I get
it.” But that doesn’t come close to explaining the guy I’d put second on my
Great American Writer list: Ralph Ellison (whose Invisible Man unquestionably
says as much about the American experience that 99% of us know as the sublime
Gatsby does).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I don’t know what it is that tells me that those two have
the Authentic American Voice, though I’m happy to explain why they each
represent a voice which I not only find myself able to identify with, but also
which I’d identify as American. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
So, this has me thinking. Who is it that you consider to be
your national author? What is it that you consider to be your national novel? I’ll
venture one guess: There’s gonna be more than one answer for each.</div>
Stephen McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163193129802109462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610643438263562696.post-23575498842985500742014-08-11T19:44:00.002-07:002015-08-04T00:03:23.543-07:00A Second Goodbye to Robin Williams <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Gerald, as always, bounded into the back room and said, “Holy
Shit, I’m pretty sure Steven Spielberg is out front!” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was Boston, we <i>were</i>
in a relatively swanky shopping mall, but there was no reason for an Academy
Award winner to be out on my sales floor. Still, perhaps out of curiosity,
perhaps out of boredom, I set down my sandwich and walked out front with my
beaming sales associate.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“There, there,” the usually far-too-cool seventeen year old
blabbered as he pointed in the man’s direction. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I approached the heavyset man wearing a tan knit sweater. As
I greeted him, he turned to me and, for a second, I could see why Gerald had
been mistaken. The man who faced me had a graying lumberjack beard and soft,
gentle eyes. He was not an Oscar winner. Not yet anyhow. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There really wasn’t a protocol on how to handle celebrity
customers. Clearly, there were things <i>not</i>
to do – no autographs (an archaic form of commemoration in the days before
selfies), but no need to pretend not to know the person either. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I asked if I could help a man who was somehow made more serious
by his facial hair.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“How about these?” he asked. “Any good?” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I answered that, yes, the shoes he’d selected were fine and,
I believe, asked to measure his feet.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Returning moments later with a few pairs of shoes, I sat
down in front of him on a stool and began unpacking the first pair of shoes. “In
town for business or pleasure?” I asked.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“I’m here for work,” he answered.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“You used to work in my hometown as well,” I stated. When he
arched his eyebrows, I mentioned that I had, only three months before, moved
from Boulder, Colorado. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Boulder,” he said with a broad smile. “I haven’t been there
in years.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“It hasn’t changed,” I answered as I laced up his right
shoe. Of course, Boulder had very much changed, but the ‘Mork and Mindy house’ and
even Rocky Mountain Records and Tapes were still there, just like in the
opening credits of the show that made this man a star.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“I just moved here myself,” I continued as a laced up the
other shoe. Another customer came in and sat down on the same bench. This
forced Gerald back into the picture as my younger associate greeted and began
helping this woman of about forty-five. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Undeterred, my customer asked what had brought me to Boston,
and I answered that I’d come to attend school. I’m relatively sure I mentioned
that it was Harvard, I’m absolutely positive that I left out that it was night
classes. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“These will be fine,” he said softly he stood up and smiled.
“In fact, I’ll wear them.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I pulled a few tags from the new Nike trail shoes and boxed
up his old shoes as well. We said very little out of the ordinary at the
counter – just some small talk that somehow failed to bury itself as deeply as
these other memories have. As I returned the man’s change, I came out from
behind the counter and handed him his shopping bag. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“It was really nice to meet you. You should get back to
Boulder sometime.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He smiled and shook my hand with his massive paw. “Good luck
with school.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Good luck with your work as well.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">We said goodbye, and he turned to leave.</span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As I watched him leave my store another customer called for
my attention. I sat this customer next to the older woman. Just then, the woman’s
son came running into the store.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Mom, mom, Robin Williams is shopping in the mall!” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Gerald and I smiled before being interrupted by something
unexpected. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“He is?” the woman asked excitedly. “Where did you see him?
Where was he shopping? I’m almost finished here.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Was he so great a chameleon? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Were “we” so sure of how he <i>must</i> have acted when not on stage? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In any event, the gentle, bearded man had gone completely undetected.
That woman may still not know that she spent no less than fifteen minutes
sitting shoulder to shoulder with an actor she clearly admired.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One year later, I was home – back in Colorado. Harvard didn’t
take. I’d seen Robin Williams in the movie he’d been in Boston to shoot. I
remember seeing the last show one night with a coworker. I remember attending
the first show alone the next morning as well. Sitting there the second time,
I allowed Good Will Hunting to truly affect me. It may still be one of my most
vivid experiences at the movies. It is worth noting that the Academy of Motion
Pictures also noticed Mr. Williams’ performance. I remember feeling joy when he
won the award for a movie which had so shaken me. Good Will Hunting <i>is</i> a good film. Still, how much of its
impact is down to my having been a terrified kid in that same city at the time that
it was being made? I’m not sure. This story isn’t about that. This story isn’t
even about saying goodbye. I’m grateful to say that I have a clear memory of
saying goodbye to Robin Williams. A smile and that enveloping handshake… </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m glad I got to experience the star. I’m even more
grateful that I got to spend an afternoon with the man. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Farewell, Captain. Rest in Peace. </span></div>
Stephen McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163193129802109462noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610643438263562696.post-45674409532447846072014-07-02T17:21:00.000-07:002015-08-03T23:59:10.354-07:00A Cure for Writer's Block<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was Mr. Jagger who sang, “Relief, children, it’s just a song away, it’s just a song away.” Not exactly? Well I’m sure that's what he meant.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There really isn’t a writer who hasn’t faced what is commonly called Writer’s Block (or, if you are in, or are just leaving, your thirties – “That less stylish WB”). Indeed, Twitter is filled with more writers talking about writer’s block or the fact that they are writing than it is with much actual writing to speak of.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">(At risk of tangentializing, if you are spending time telling the world, “I #amwriting,” you’re not. You #aretweeting. Writing is, well, writing, and one of the best ways to defeat writer’s block is sometimes to actually, well, write.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Still, sometimes the words just aren’t there. What to do, what to do? For me the answer is simple: pick up a pen, some paper and my headphones.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sometimes it’s all a question of which song I wish I would have written. This is a really long list, and it is always changing–and therein lies the cure. Each time I ask myself this question, I am actually checking in with wherever I’m at on that given day. I don’t often turn to Long December while basking in the sunlight of either summer or happiness. I don’t often turn to the Beach Boys while watching tears fall down a window or my own cheeks. “What do I wish had come from my pen?” tells us so much about where we are in every other part of our lives. “Which unchangeable situations do I presently loathe? Which of these are actually ripe for the response?” The answer to these questions is the stuff of novels–or at least 100% of mine to this point.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, you’ve got your song. What now? Well here, dear scribblers, we live in a world of advantages. What once required a five disc changer (and the selected works of Jon Bon Jovi and I worked through a lot of drama when I was in college in this very way) can now be accomplished with iTunes or Google music.<span style="color: red;">* </span>Simply take said song and let Genius or Instant Mix take you on a journey. Sit back, arch your back and breathe deeply in the sweet smells of inspiration.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, some of you may be thinking, <i>but you yourself argued that writing is, well, writing. Currently, if anything, we #arelistening.</i> I agree. Here’s where the actual exercise comes in. Choose a song from the list. If you’re especially superstitious, decide on a track number in advance (Jon and I always meditated on the tenth song that was played at random). Take this song and either write the lyrics down by hand or print them from the net. I actually prefer the latter and it isn’t because I’m lazy. You see, I’m not as interested in how the lyric is sung. Like Hamlet, we’re all here for the words, words, words.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So say my song was Pink Moon by Nick Drake. It’s been stuck in my head and I may or may not know why (rewatching Young Americans for the fourth time on youtube<span style="color: red;">*</span>). I take that song, generate my Genius list and see that the tenth song on that list is Come Pick Me Up by Ryan Adams. From there I go online, grab the lyrics and copy them into a Word doc. Next, and this is really important, I change the spacing of the entire doc to triple and set the font to rather huge as well. From here, click <i>print</i> and you end up with something like this:</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpH_L1NuSpmgmELqpKMo-Dj61li3m1BcIPLuHv9cDpg_i24jS5ZAVdOFasrc9jtgRIe5ec60dY3VAoH66h_FDDUWw-e7H3rIeMh-sFXV_88-Ly05-gxNIwLhqkdDeqjDtWpyXEarS9P-47/s1600/IMG_20140702_233951.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpH_L1NuSpmgmELqpKMo-Dj61li3m1BcIPLuHv9cDpg_i24jS5ZAVdOFasrc9jtgRIe5ec60dY3VAoH66h_FDDUWw-e7H3rIeMh-sFXV_88-Ly05-gxNIwLhqkdDeqjDtWpyXEarS9P-47/s1600/IMG_20140702_233951.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Next, GET THE HELL AWAY FROM THE INTERNET. Take your paper and your pen and simply write your response to the lyrics. What does each line mean to you? Are there words which recall other words? Was there a time in your life when you first heard this line? Maybe you’ll fall for the phrasing or maybe you’ll wade into the simple nostalgia…</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDtfOu0pru3jH80UnWM3jaeE17wFRnw74lkS-xaV0BZojIgKK1xfOIGYzYQ7N_Nff9keWO4L9yu26JSYEHpJpJocuXN-U-GnpJVZ7iQ3iUCdbHuPQieg4OHhTAXa3T2XgUA8Uw0v5OuUcO/s1600/IMG_20140702_235000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDtfOu0pru3jH80UnWM3jaeE17wFRnw74lkS-xaV0BZojIgKK1xfOIGYzYQ7N_Nff9keWO4L9yu26JSYEHpJpJocuXN-U-GnpJVZ7iQ3iUCdbHuPQieg4OHhTAXa3T2XgUA8Uw0v5OuUcO/s1600/IMG_20140702_235000.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Either way, if you follow these directions with a pen in hand, the final score will always be the same: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">You 1 – 0 Writer’s Block.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Happy writing!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;">*Lest you fear a lack of full disclosure, I’ve never received anything from Apple or Google, neither of which I fear have ever read a word I’ve written. iTunes, in fact, is so horribly difficult to fund from abroad that I almost changed their name in this post out of spite. </span></div>
Stephen McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163193129802109462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610643438263562696.post-55751667562509300972014-06-20T23:16:00.001-07:002015-08-03T23:57:59.441-07:00Leopold Bloom and Football, Oh My!<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This past
week, Bloomsday was celebrated by James Joyce enthusiasts across the world. The
celebration is held annually on June 16, the day on which Joyce’s <i>Ulysses</i> takes place. While fond of
Joyce, and currently reading <i>Ulysses</i>,
I will admit that the holiday completely escaped my notice. I had even planned
to write a blog about Bloomsday, only to see the day move right past me. The
reason, quite simply was the World Cup.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Still, I
wanted to write something about Joyce, and this got me thinking. Is there
perhaps some connection to be made between my obsession with football (more on
that word later) and <i>Ulysses</i>? The answer
(quite fittingly if you’re one of the dozens of people who have actually finished
the book) is Yes!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">People come
to <i>Ulysses</i> for a number of reasons.
There are, astoundingly, some professors who actually require it, but we’ll
deal here exclusively with those who choose to take on this behemoth of their
own accord. The first reason why many at least consider reading Joyce’s
masterpiece is their desire to read a book which routinely finishes at the top
of any ranking of the top books of the twentieth century. The second reason some
choose to read it is that, well, you haven’t. There is</span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 19.933334350585938px;">–</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">no one should even try
to deny it</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 19.933334350585938px;">–</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">a certain (massive) amount of snob value to tackling </span><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">Ulysses</i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">. For those of you not aware of
the details, I offer this simple list:</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">Ulysses is
written from multiple writing perspectives–with Joyce often changing technique
completely from chapter to chapter.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">Its final
chapter (or “episode”) is made up of a 4,391 word </span><b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">SENTENCE</b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">It is a book
considered so difficult that the author himself wrote two different study
guides which instruct the reader what colors, bodily organs, art forms and
symbols to consider while reading each chapter.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">And then
there are the prereqs. We all remember prereqs from college, I’m sure. Well, </span><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">Ulysses</i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"> has its own impressive list.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Before I even
unwrapped my copy of <i>Ulysses</i>, I journeyed
from a thorough rereading of <i>Hamlet</i>
through Joyce’s two previous novels (<i>Portrait
of the Artist as a Young Man</i> and <i>Dubliners</i>)
and finally, of course, to Homer’s <i>Odyssey</i>.
The reading of these books ahead of time is not merely a suggestion. The
outline of <i>Ulysses</i>, a book populated
by characters from <i>Portrait</i> and <i>Dubliners</i>, one of whom very much resembles
Hamlet, mirrors the <i>Odyssey</i>
itself. I cannot fathom reading <i>Ulysses</i>
without this background and, honestly, it wouldn’t be as much fun. The prereqs
are where all of the AH HAH comes from and <i>Ulysses</i>
is filled with such moments.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So how does
one compare <i>Ulysses</i> to the World Cup?
For me, it starts all the way back at the top of this post. People watch the
World Cup for one of two reasons: because they are curious what everyone else
is talking about or because of the dedication required to schedule the time to
watch each and every match. The World Cup is similar to the Super Bowl, Daytona
500, Olympics and, fascinatingly, Wrestlemania in that one feels compelled to
watch it whether one loves football or not.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And then
there is that word, football. If you’re like me, an American that is, even insisting
on the use of the word football carries with it a certain degree of arrogance.
I watch football and find myself tweeting and discussing in the lingua franca
of my fellow supporters (whatever language this is, for it is certainly not
American English). I speak of <i>pitches</i>,
<i>kits</i> and of being <i>gutted</i>. I’ve never watched a football
game but I wake up at 4am KST to watch <i>matches</i>
once or twice a week. For me, my ability to converse in football is as much a
badge of honor as someone might feel when standing on a subway while reading <i>Ulysses</i> (which is terrifyingly almost a
children’s book compared to Joyce’s <i>Finnegan’s
Wake</i>–if ever you see someone reading <i>Wake</i>
in public, call the authorities and walk away slowly).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So we have the
recurring celebration. We have the reasons one attends casually or maniacally. What
does that leave? Ah yes, the prereqs. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">There are
two main times that I smile while watching football. One is when I see
something that I’ve never seen before. The other is when I see something which
I have seen before at a specific, notable time. The latter of these represents
the AH HAH of football–and these moments can come not only from other football
memories, but also from any other notable experience. Passes can remind you of both
symphony and geometry and sportsmanship, especially at the international level,
can cause one to reflect on world politics. (The World Cup stadium which hosted
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s first ever World Cup match last week would not have
held all of the people who died during the war which led to the formation of
that country… Let that set in for a moment.) <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">These AH HAH
moments are everything that I love about football, but they are also why no
football movie will ever hit me the way <i>Field
of Dreams</i> did. I don’t have the same long term relationship with football
that I do with baseball. A United States match will never mean as much to me as
watching the Yankees after 9/11 did. These pieces of nostalgia are so deeply
rooted within us that even we know little about them until they come back around
for seconds. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">That’s why baseball
will always be my native language. I am, however, delighted to consider myself
bilingual with regards to sports, and enjoy speaking football a whole lot more
than my native tongue these days.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Stephen McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163193129802109462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610643438263562696.post-74866740060569108542014-06-08T00:59:00.001-07:002015-08-04T00:00:13.936-07:00What Makes for a Great Opener?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
As some of
you may know, I published my second book this week. It’s always a bit daunting
when years of work go into something you’re just hoping someone might give a
chance to. The first impression (well other than the cover, and <i>that</i> might be another blog for a coming
week) is, of course, the opening line.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
But what
makes a great opener? I’ve now published two of them, and while they may or may
not be great, I was certainly aware of the weight of how I chose to open each
story.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
For the
record, my openers were these:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
~ “So much
of Connor’s and her story had been told through pivots.” <i>Enso</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
~ “Staring
out at glittering lights, like those which once imprisoned me, I freeze. Once
again, I freeze.” <i>Bound in Neon</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The point
to this blog is not to debate whether or not you liked these lines. It is not
even to debate whether you care for the others I’ve listed below. The
question is, and I think it is a fair one: What makes for a successful first
line?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Perhaps we
should begin with a few of the contenders. While there is no definitive list, a
perusing of this search engine or that will show that there are a few openers
which seem universally held in high regard. In no particular order whatsoever:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">~ “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking
thirteen.”</span> George Orwell: <i>1984</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
~ “Mama
died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know.” Albert Camus: <i>The Stranger</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
What
each of these openers has is intrigue. Orwell not only balances an odd
combination of weather conditions, but then also hits us with the impossible
proposition that the clock has just struck thirteen. What Camus has done is
taken an event about which no one could ever forget the most minute of details and
somehow distanced his speaker from it in a matter of two sentences. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
It
is notable that both of these openers are short (ish). Sure, neither is
Herman Melville’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=call+me+ishmael&search%5Bsource%5D=goodreads&search_type=quotes&tab=quotes" target="_blank">three word classic</a>, but neither approaches <i>A Tale of Two Cities’</i> opening <s>paragraph</s>
sentence either. So, intriguing and not too long–is this that formula then?
Perhaps. But then a second group presents itself as well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
~ “Many
years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to
remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.” Gabriel
García Márquez: <i>One Hundred Years of Solitude</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
~ “If
you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know
is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents
were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind
of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.” J.D. Salinger: <i>The Catcher in the Rye</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Both
of these sentences feature a narrator who is looking back to the past. What in
the world could have led from an outing with dad to a firing squad in the first
example? What could have happened to the narrator to make him so standoffish in the second?
Both of these examples feature a look back to where the story started. I must
admit that this is a style I find very attractive. Both of my stories start
with prologues, and I’ve always loved the “Here’s where I am. Now as to how I
got here” approach. However, one must also notice that each of these two
examples, once again, feature that level of intrigue. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
So
is it length? Is it perspective? Or is it just a little bit of intriguing ambiguity?
Writers can’t even agree on whether good writing is determined by how many copies one sells or by the <i>art </i>of it all, so I’m sure there is no answer to be had. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
All
I’d like to know is how my all-time favorite didn’t make a single one of the lists I
checked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
~ "Midway along the journey of our life I woke to find myself in a dark wood, for I had wandered off from the straight path." <span style="text-align: justify;">Dante Alighieri</span><span style="background: white; text-align: justify;">: <i>Inferno</i></span>Stephen McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163193129802109462noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610643438263562696.post-80709796657842587542014-05-30T07:18:00.002-07:002015-08-04T00:01:13.605-07:00Why Pushkin?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMjsEky0P0xz9mWUAyV3mXdvein6tT2-WF8uuXblDSsYhKuisUtB3XsB0QeUx2jwNCnf-zzkzy3ytzeS8_lE7XfOAMZhY1HIjjhXvXBjk12IJnfUpBJfuRtZsESMkAojBkueMCR364xUz2/s1600/Pushkin_140-190_for_collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMjsEky0P0xz9mWUAyV3mXdvein6tT2-WF8uuXblDSsYhKuisUtB3XsB0QeUx2jwNCnf-zzkzy3ytzeS8_lE7XfOAMZhY1HIjjhXvXBjk12IJnfUpBJfuRtZsESMkAojBkueMCR364xUz2/s1600/Pushkin_140-190_for_collage.jpg" width="233" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alexander Pushkin 1799-1837</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My love affair with Pushkin began, as many such relationships do, accidentally. It was 1998 (I believe) and I had just decided to travel to St. Petersburg, Russia.* A freshman in university at the time, my English professor suggested that I enhance my first ever trip abroad by writing an essay on a topic of Russian origin.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I'm not exactly sure how Pushkin first came to my attention. What I do know is that once I discovered him, I was hooked. Here was a man whom many consider the Father of Russian Literature who, let's be quite blunt, does not exactly resemble the majority of his countrymen. America may be the land of opportunity, but it is a place where people like Jackie Robinson become heroes because of their status as something <i>different</i>. Nowhere did I see that Pushkin was the <i>Greatest Ever Not-Quite-so-European-Russian Writer</i>. He was simply regarded as the benchmark.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Pushkin wrote and loved his way into, out of and back into exile. He wrote about duels long before he quite poetically met his end as a result of one. His words inspired Lenin to launch the Communist era and Yeltsin to finish it. He was a man who fought wars with a quill and not a sword. I firmly believe we could use such a man today more than ever.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
All these reasons to love and respect the man and I haven't even mentioned the prose. Pushkin's short stories are amazing. My personal favorite is <a href="http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/p/pushkin/aleksandr/p98sh/" target="_blank">the Shot</a>, though this is only an amuse bouche to his masterpiece, <i>Eugene Onegin. Onegin</i> tells the story of a maladjusted aristocrat who yearns for a love for which he is wholly ill-prepared. It is told entirely in a kind of stanza created by Pushkin for this novel and in this way is one part <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> and another part <i>Ulysses</i>. It really must be read to be experienced and while many different translations exist, the version by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27822.Eugene_Onegin" target="_blank">James Falen</a> is exquisite (unless one is sadistic enough for the two volume <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27827.Eugene_Onegin_Vol_I?from_search=true" target="_blank">Nabokov </a>version, compared to which my novels must seem little more than greeting cards). </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is not remotely the last you will hear of Pushkin on this blog, but, for now, I believe I've said enough.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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*While it has become far more romantic to explain my trip to Russia as a kind of pilgrimage, my discovery of Pushkin was a result of my impending vacation, not the other way around</div>
Stephen McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163193129802109462noreply@blogger.com0