The Composing Place--

(April 2010)

"THERE will be time, there will be time

To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;

There will be time to murder and create,
And time for all the works and days of hands
That lift and drop a question on your plate;
Time for you and time for me,

And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions..."

(T S Eliot, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock")

Way Past Last Call--

(Huey's Midtown)

"LET us go then, you and I,

When the evening is spread out against the sky

Like a patient etherised upon a table;

Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,

The muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels

And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:

Streets that follow like a tedious argument

Of insidious intent

To lead you to an overwhelming question …

Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”

Let us go and make our visit."

(T S Eliot, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock")

"Something" in my Pocket--

In celebration of National Poetry Month in April, New York City is hosting the 8th annual Poem In Your Pocket day on Thursday, April 29, 2010.

Join in the excitement TOMORROW by carrying a poem in your pocket.

You can write your own poem or borrow one from your favorite poet; just make sure to share it with your friends, family, and colleagues.

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So if you get "poem-ed," it might be from me!

~~J

Act II:

(or the college years)

Miranda (The Tempest)
John William Waterhouse, 1916

I considered myself enough of a fan to take a upper division Shakespeare class relatively early in my very long college "career." I (in keeping with tradition) still have the syllabus and I'm embarrassed to say that I do not remember reading ALL of those plays.

Romeo & Juliet? Yes.
Othello? Yes.
The Tempest? Yes.
Midsummer Night's Dream? Yes.

The others? No. Especially none of the "Histories"...We read one of the Richards? Okay.

So Dr. Black (this was before he was at Amherst) was a great professor. He was practical and humorous (from what I can remember).

He taught me never to discount the sex in Shakespeare, because it is there. I wrote an innocent "reading" of Act 3, Scene 2 from Romeo & Juliet (sans modern translation) and although I hit upon many of the themes, I forgot a big one.

Hello, maidenhood.

My second major lesson upon Shakespeare was in the sonnet form via Dr. Phillips. We went through several of them (alongside learning the history and for whom they were possibly written).

Dark Lady? I'm sure you've heard of her--an older woman, but William on had a few of his sonnets for her...whoever she may be. the bulk of his poetry is written for a man. A younger man. A younger, more beautiful man.

I mention this NOT for its "shock value," (as it does shock some--and well, I am not in the category)--but it is interesting to here the murmurs in class when this is revealed.

And so of you, beauteous and lovely youth,

When that shall vade, by verse distills your truth.

His sonnet cycle is quite interesting and pushes the envelope.

Act I:

(academically speaking)

My first introduction to William happened my freshman year of high school. Ms. Moss had us reading Romeo & Juliet...

isn't this everyone's first Shakespeare?

We even got to spend two class periods watching the Franco Zeffirelli (1968) version.

LOVED IT! (own it)

Of course I had to endure the widespread giggling over the men in tights--which didn't compare to the widespread swooning. It was an event!

I'm quite sure I caught the film again that summer on TCM and watched it simultaneously on the phone (cord outstretched) with my best friend late one night.

Fast forward a year and we were reading Julius Caesar. I don't remember too much about that experience. We had three English teachers my sophomore year--you can't blame me for this one.

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him...

That's all I got...except the Ides of March...beware, beware, beware!

We didn't read Shakespeare my junior year--it was all about American literature--but my senior year more than made up for it because we read two plays:

Hamlet-- which I usually claim as my favorite--it has my favorite tragic heroine, Ophelia.

I can still spout off several lines from memory (and STILL have my notes/work from Mrs. Halford's class, thank you very much).

The best screen adaptation in my opinion is the Franco Zeffirelli (1990) version. We didn't watch it in class (I don't think), but I own it...of course.

&

Macbeth-- another favorite, that has me swooning over evil, evil women!

Again, more lines are still in my memory (although the "line quiz" I still have in my possession reflects a horrible study moment--I didn't fail, but it was close).

Rounding off Act I is the film that came out after I graduated from high school (but the same year).

I saw it on opening weekend, have both soundtracks...

and then there are the little promotional postcards I collected from different magazines...

and they MEET..it's such a great adaptation...SO VERY GOOD!

...the which if you with patient ears attend, what here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

~~J