Friday, December 14, 2012

Thursday, December 13, 2012

GOOD START ~





















Russell Libby ~







Dear Russell,

I had no idea the next time I'd hear from you would be via the New York Times obituary page. You famous wonder-jack, you! Who sent me his books of poems, or just a sheaf of poems at will, as a friend. A friend I never got to meet, and what a shame. You were such a good man, Russell, and the best part of this is every part of that goodness will remain since as a farmer, family man, husband, and neighbor you put it back into the soil. Gave it to Maine. I'm going to miss your short but sweet letters telling me how you chimed into my Birdhouse blog each day, and shared some of your day with me. Heck, that's how we met! You bought my books and took those other books I tucked in as extra. The cancer came and it seemed you had it beat, but I can see in this film below you're doing your ever loving best to stay above the grade, seriously hurt as you were. The grand teacher. The quiet poet. The one animals and birds and the wind already miss. It's very important that those that had never heard of you (impossible in Maine) knew you were with us.










http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/13/us/russell-libby-organic-farming-advocate-dies-at-56.html?ref=obituaries



Applied Geometry

Russell Libby


Applied geometry,   
measuring the height   
of a pine from   
like triangles,   
Rosa’s shadow stretches   
seven paces in   
low-slanting light of   
late Christmas afternoon.   
One hundred thirty nine steps   
up the hill until the sun is   
finally caught at the top of the tree,   
let’s see,   
twenty to one,   
one hundred feet plus a few to adjust   
for climbing uphill,   
and her hands barely reach mine   
as we encircle the trunk,   
almost eleven feet around.   
Back to the lumber tables.   
That one tree might make   
three thousand feet of boards   
if our hearts could stand   
the sound of its fall.


see Russell's book
Balance: A Late Pastoral 
 (Blackberry Press, 2007)






Wednesday, December 12, 2012

EAST MEETS WEST ~





RAVI SHANKAR
( 1920~2012 )


"Ravi Shankar, whose formal name was Robindra Shankar Chowdhury, was born on April 7, 1920, in Varanasi, India, to a family of musicians and dancers. His older brother Uday directed a touring Indian dance troupe, which Ravi joined when he was 10. Within five years he had become one of the company’s star soloists. He also discovered that he had a facility with the sitar and the sarod, another stringed instrument, as well as the flute and the tabla, an Indian drum."
please read more:

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

ARCHIVE ~






A MOTHER USING ONE ARM STOPS A TRAIN TO LET SMALL ENGINEER SON OFF



photo © bob arnold




Sunday, December 9, 2012

SORRY EARTH ~







The wolf that researchers called 832F, left, was shot and killed on Thursday outside Yellowstone National Park's boundaries. The alpha female of the Lamar Canyon pack, she wore a tracking collar. The wolf with her, known as 754, was killed last month.





FIREWOOD ~







A most humbling way to stack firewood. Save a tree!











Saturday, December 8, 2012

EARTH ~





John Clare




". . .the poems of Clare's that still make a catch in the breath and establish a positively bodily hold upon the reader are those in which the wheel of total recognition has been turned. At their most effective, Clare's pentameters enrage not just the mechanical gears of a metre: at their most effective, they take hold also on the sprockets of our creatureliness. By which I only mean that on occasion a reader simply cannot help responding with immediate recognition to the pell-mell succession of vividly accurate impressions. No one of these is extraordinary in itself, nor is the resulting poem in any way spectacular. What distinguishes it is an unspectacular joy and totally alert love for the one-thing-after-anotherness of the world. Here, by way of illustration, is another one of Clare's sonnets in couplets — perhaps we should call them supplets — picked almost at random from the ones Clare wrote at Northborough during his early and middle forties:



The old pond full of flags and fenced around

With trees and bushes trailing to the ground

The water weeds are all around the brink

And one clear place where cattle go to drink

From year to year the schoolboy thither steals

And muddys round the place to catch the eels

The cowboy often hiding from the flies

Lies there and plaits the rushcap as he lies

The hissing owl sits moping all the day

And hears his song and never flies away

The pinks nest hangs upon the branch so thin

The young ones caw and seem as tumbling in

While round them thrums the purple dragon flye

And great white butter flye goes dancing bye




Rarely has the butteriness of a butterfly been so available. The insect has flown into the medium and survives forever there as a pother of lip movement and a set of a substituted feet in the scansion of the line. And the old pond here is like the cesspool in "The Mouse's Nest", in so far as it embodies for Clare not only the reality of all such places as places, with distinct characters and histories, but also their value as a set of memories and affections at the back of his mind. There is dreamwork going on here, as well as photography. The casual rightness and potency of the thing come from a level of engagement well below the visual; in fact, the whole poem acts as a reminder of how integrated and concentrated a poetic response can be. What is unstated can still be felt as a potent charge inside or behind an image or a cadence, and what lies behind the self-possession, the sureness of tone and grip on place in such a poem is Clare's great feat of endurance in the face of historical and personal crises."



_________________________

SEAMUS HEANEY
from Finders Keepers
selected prose 1971-2001
(Farrar, 2002)







From Helpston in rural Northamptonshire, John Clare was born in 1793.








THANKS! ~











freeloadin' bin black bears nice truck brave woman ladder free!












Friday, December 7, 2012

BREAKFAST ~






( Fence Books, 2012 )
www.fenceportal.org





LIGHT EXCESSES


That's me: the woman sitting

in her house among

many light excesses.

This is winter.

This is a heap of lacking

and the mind's trash

becoming the need

for many fabric protections,

in a way that quilts alone

could never be. I climbed up

on the bed to see you,

and the light from the ceiling

and the dresser lit your face

like an apple orchard on the day

a farmer's favorite horse

rose from the dead.







LEISURE, HANNAH, DOES NOT AGREE WITH YOU (2)

                                                                     — After Catullus


My house disgusted me, so I slept in a tent.

My tent disgusted me, so I slept in the grass. The grass disgusted me,

so I slept in my body, which I strung like a hammock from two ropes.

My body disgusted me, so I carved myself out of it.



My use of knives disgusted me because it was an act of violence.

My weakness disgusted me because "Hannah" means "hammer."

The meaning of my name disgusted me because I'd rather be known

as beautiful. My vanity disgusted me because I am a scholar.



My scholarship disgusted me because knowledge is empty.

My emptiness disgusted me because I wanted to be whole.

My wholeness would have disgusted me because to be whole

is to be smug. Still, I tried to understand wholeness



as the inclusiveness of all activities.: I walked out into the yard,

trying to vomit and drink milk simultaneously. I tried to sleep

while smoking a cigar. I have enough regrets to crack all the plumbing.

I'm whole only in that I've built my person from every thought I've ever loved.







MAYBE A FAREWELL TOUR


Because it had grown warmer in the night

I realized that while I was sleeping



your anger towards me

must have lessened.



Letters to my friends begin: "Writing you here,

among the poinsettias. . ."



and then I drop my pen

and think about how, at this moment,



my mother and her God are alone in a room,

and he is comforting her.




_______________________


HANNAH GAMBLE
Your Invitation To A Modest Breakfast
(Fence Books 2012) 












Thursday, December 6, 2012


VERMONT TOWN CRIER ~










Senator Bernie Sanders


JAZZMAN ~




DAVE BRUBECK
(1920-2012)



The jazzman at near 90 years of age working it



“One of the reasons I believe in jazz,” Dave Brubeck said, “is that the oneness of man can come through the rhythm of your heart. It’s the same anyplace in the world, that heartbeat. It’s the first thing you hear when you’re born — or before you’re born — and it’s the last thing you hear.” 







 

photo : Joe Giblin/Associated Press







Wednesday, December 5, 2012

EARTH ~




Self-portrait with sketchpad, 1939, oil on canvas







love our so right
is , all (each thing
most lovely) sweet
things cannot spring
but we be they'll


some or if where
shall breathe a new
(silvery rare
goldenly so)
moon, she is you


nothing may, quite
your my (my your
and) self without,
completely dare
be beautiful


one if should sing
(at yes of day)
younger than young
bird first for joy,
he's  i  he's  i



__________________

E. E. Cummings
Xaipe
(Liveright, 1950)






fourth-dimensional abstraction
(E.E. Cummings)











_____________________________________________________

top painting by E.E. Cummings:
Harry Ransom Humanities Research Art Collection,
The University of Texas at Austin.





Tuesday, December 4, 2012

YOU AIN'T GOING NOWHERE ~








A 25-second timelapse video shows every airplane that landed at San Diego International Airport in a single day between 10.30am and 3pm. The composite video was created by photography and film professor Cy Kuckenbaker, who came up with the idea after seeing a composite photo by Ho-Yeol Ryu at Hannover airport















GREEN FIELDS OF ENGLAND ~













Andrew Motion








Monday, December 3, 2012

BILLY THE KID ~
(JOHN BRADLEY)




(click on image to wow it)





Three color booklet of new poems

by John in fold-out splendor.

Both signed and unsigned editions.

from Longhouse


Signed limited edition $15.
Unsigned $8.95

(International orders kindly inquire)

order here through Paypal with free shipping







Unsigned or Signed




~


More of John Bradley published by Longhouse and available in limited unsigned editions for purchase ~

Buy these with Paypal (includes shipping)





What is Borne (2010)

 






 

Amongst the Turks (2011)




John Bradley Among










Fordtopia (2011)


John Bradley - 2011







 











Sunday, December 2, 2012

B-Side ~





BUD POWELL
(1924-1966)



Born in Harlem, bebop master hand Earl Rudolph Powell ("Bud") was active on the jazz scene in the United States and Europe between 1944-1965.

Powell's "Un Poco Loco" was selected by literary critic Harold Bloom for inclusion on his short list of "the greatest works of twentieth-century American art." 
"It Could Happen to You" was the B-side.

"If I had to choose one single musician for his artistic integrity, for the incomparable originality of his creation and the grandeur of his work, it would be Bud Powell. He was in a class by himself. "
Bill Evans



It Could Happen To You by Bud Powell on Grooveshark






photo : hadley catalano


_____________________

Studio recordings

1947: Bud Powell Trio (Roost)
1949-50: Bud Powell Piano Solos (Mercury / Clef) aka (Ω of) Jazz Giant (Norgran / Verve)
1949-51: The Amazing Bud Powell (Blue Note)
1950: Bud Powell Piano Solos No. 2 (Mercury / Clef) aka (Ω of) Jazz Giant (Norgran / Verve)
1950-51: Bud Powell's Moods (Mercury / Clef) aka The Genius of Bud Powell (Verve)
1953: The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 2 (Blue Note)
1953: Bud Powell Trio, Volume 2 (Roost)
1954-55: Bud Powell's Moods (Norgran / Verve)
1954-55: Jazz Original (Norgran) aka Bud Powell '57 (Norgran / Verve)
1955: The Lonely One... (Verve)
1955: Piano Interpretations by Bud Powell (Norgran / Verve)
1956: Blues in the Closet (Verve)
1956: Strictly Powell (RCA Victor)
1957: Swingin' with Bud (RCA Victor)
1957: Bud! The Amazing Bud Powell (Vol. 3) (Blue Note)
1957-58: Bud Plays Bird (Roulette / Blue Note) 1958: Time Waits: The Amazing Bud Powell (Vol. 4) (Blue Note) 1958: The Scene Changes: The Amazing Bud Powell (Vol. 5) (Blue Note)
1961: A Tribute to Cannonball (Columbia) 1961: A Portrait of Thelonious (Columbia)
1963: Bud Powell in Paris (Reprise)


Live and home recordings

1944-48: Earl Bud Powell, Vol. 1: Early Years of a Genius, 44-48 (Mythic Sound)
1953: Winter Broadcasts 1953 (ESP-Disk)
1953: Spring Broadcasts 1953 (ESP-Disk)
1953: Inner Fires (Elektra)
1953: Summer Broadcasts 1953 (ESP-Disk)
1953: Autumn Broadcasts 1953 (ESP-Disk)
1953-55: Earl Bud Powell, Vol. 2: Burnin' in U.S.A., 53-55 (Mythic Sound)
1957-59: Earl Bud Powell, Vol. 3: Cookin' at Saint-Germain, 57-59 (Mythic Sound)
1959-60: Bud in Paris (Xanadu)
1959-61: Earl Bud Powell, Vol. 5: Groovin' at the Blue Note, 59-61 (Mythic Sound)
1960: The Essen Jazz Festival Concert (Black Lion)
1960-64: Earl Bud Powell, Vol. 11: Gift for the Friends, 60-64 (Mythic Sound)
1961: Pianology (Moon [Italy]) [33]
1961-64: Earl Bud Powell, Vol. 4: Relaxin' at Home, 61-64 (Mythic Sound)
1962: Bud Powell Live in Lausanne 1962 (Stretch Archives)
1962: Bud Powell Live in Geneva (Norma [Japan])
1962: Bud Powell Trio at the Golden Circle, Vols. 1-5 (Steeplechase) [34]
1962: Budism (SteepleChase)
1962: Bouncing with Bud (Sonet)
1962: 'Round About Midnight at the Blue Note (Dreyfus Jazz)
1962-64: Bud Powell at Home - Strictly Confidential (Fontana)
1963: Earl Bud Powell, Vol. 6: Writin' for Duke, 63 (Mythic Sound)
1963: Americans in Europe (Impulse!)
1964: Earl Bud Powell, Vol. 7: Tribute to Thelonious, 64 (Mythic Sound)
1964: Blues for Bouffemont (Fontana)
1964: Hot House (Fontana)
1964: Earl Bud Powell, Vol. 8: Holidays in Edenville, 64 (Mythic Sound)
1964: The Return of Bud Powell (Roulette)
1964: Earl Bud Powell, Vol. 9: Return to Birdland, 64 (Mythic Sound)
1964: Earl Bud Powell, Vol. 10: Award at Birdland, 64 (Mythic Sound)
1964: Ups'n Downs (Mainstream)


Notable compilations

Tempus Fugue-It (Proper Records) - Four disc set, from 1944 recordings with Cootie Williams to the first sessions for Blue Note and Clef in 1949-50.
The Complete Bud Powell on Verve - Five discs, sessions from 1949 to 1956.
The Best of Bud Powell on Verve - Single disc compilation of the best of Powell's work for the label.
The Complete Blue Note and Roost Recordings - Four disc set containing all of the Amazing Bud Powell... Blue Note sessions plus Roost sessions from 1947 and 1953. The Blue Note sessions have also been remastered and reissued as individual CDs and are arguably better[citation needed] (though the Roost material is not included).
The Complete RCA Trio Sessions - Contains Swingin' with Bud and Strictly Powell.


As sideman

with Cootie Williams

1944: Cootie Williams and His Orchestra 1941-44

with Frank Socolow

1945: New York Journeyman - Complete Recordings

with J. J. Johnson

1946: J. J. Johnson's Jazz Quintets

with Dexter Gordon

1947: Dexter Rides Again
1963: Our Man in Paris

with The Quintet (Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, Max Roach)

1953: Jazz at Massey Hall

with Art Blakey

1959: Paris Jam Session

with Charles Mingus

1960: Mingus at Antibes - sits in on one track, "I'll Remember April"




Saturday, December 1, 2012

POP ~
(Lianne La Havas)

















Lianne La Havas
(with a look on the Letterman show
as if a return of The Ronettes)