I’m rereading a collection of Bruno Schulz’s writing. It’s dense, lyrical, strange. I had to type up this section below about the reading experience. This reminds me of certain experiences as a young reader, or being an older listener to music of my youth, music that had seemed vital, but only feels frail and false … Continue reading for that single moment we love them ever after
Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970) I expected to not like this as much the second time around, though it’s been about two decades since my first viewing. I think I like it even more. This is not a movie for everybody: cruelty, violence, and an all little person cast, which then throws up the “exploitation” … Continue reading Recent Viewing: February
School is incessant. Essays pile up. Standardized tests becloud the horizon. My feet are unfailingly wet. Either my children have hydrokinesis and practice on my socks, or they are careless around water. Despite the times, Friday saw the release of Jasper Lee’s Mirror of Wind LP. Jasper’s most well-known music is on the score for … Continue reading That Time of Year You May In Me Behold
My Ántonia Willa Cather 1918 A vision of the American West that was already gone when this went to print. I love novels from this period. Cather makes the scenery come alive, similar to what Wharton does in Ethan Frome, though often achieving opposite effects. To oversimplify, one could say Ántonia is hot and Ethan … Continue reading Recently Read: January Edition
“Interplanetary Revolution” (1924) If you think that sounds like a Sun Ra tune, you’re not far off. If you like Russian futurism and constructivism, you’ll likely enjoy this small gem originally made to be a part of another fantastic film Aelita: Queen of Mars (1924). The Soviets send Marxism to Mars! Accattone (1961) Alice, Sweet … Continue reading Recent Viewing: January Favorites
After an unintentional absence, Test Prep is back. This entry is about the original Friday the 13th (1980). I was surprised to enjoy the film after a recent viewing. Once I hit page nine, I realized I was only about halfway through the argument I was setting out involving Northrop Frye’s commentary on genre and comedy and … Continue reading Test Prepper
I’m reading J.H. Prynne’s The White Stones for the first time and while enjoying it, I often find myself feeling lost. I don’t find that a negative response; I have often felt that way with works that have become favorites. There are themes and images that connect across the poems and I’m just barely getting an overall … Continue reading to be warm and tired/without some impossible flame in the heart
The Bat (1959) Dir. Crane Wilbur By no means even a good film, but for Vincent Price and “old” movie fans, it’s not completely terrible. Though it’s more thriller than the traditional horror films Price is known for, he plays a familiar character here. The Bat, a mysterious criminal and killer, gets one of the … Continue reading Recent Viewing
Too Loud a Solitude Bohumil Hrabal 1976/1989 This was recommended by a friend who went to Czechoslovakia and had this book recommended to him by a bookstore clerk as representative of the nation’s literature. Solitude is just over 100 pages and reads a little like Kafka, and a little like Beckett. The book deals with … Continue reading Recently Read
Stephen McClurg 