Passage de la Tour

The Passage de la Tour sculpture is very enigmatic. By structure its a dead end but it is full of mind broadening books. The only way I could drill into it was through investigation of artist's motive. After a little history gathering on the project, his evolving annual sculpture quest, I tried to arrive at how the artist highlighted the books to make the people notice, before they are recycled.

Silo

At a second hand book fair at the church

Books lie around

like bricks unclaimed

Unbranded

Year 0

The arch is wide

Another pillar to balance the space

Stacked books in a column become the Atlas

Once two humans form a base with

their hands, others begin to form

The human pyramid

We always want to hoist something

Lift the world

The world of books

Year 1

The arch is wide

The space murmurs like a hive of

Paper wasps

Like a wooden box full of

Pigeonholes at a corner store

The hive is thin

Before the hive gives out

Before the books go to the pound

Before the words are pulverised

The words are in the dictionary but a particular long sequence is in that book. Save it as is. Or revise it with your life. Preserve the book. Pickle it. Increase its Shelf Life.

Note: Some wasps build their nests out of mud but ‘paper wasps’ use wood to make hives with papery material.

An experiment in science class

Fill a beaker with water upto half

Tie three seeds to a stick

Dip it in water

Let the bottom one be

Immersed in water

The middle one dangling

In water and air and the

Third fully aerated

The one that sprouts

Swims in amniotic fluid

and breaths in

aerated blood

How to read a potato in a painting as a potato and not a solar symbol?

This book is about writing on art.It has sections to equip you with what to keep in mind while writing an essay, research paper or review of an exhibit.

The book has sample examples for comparitive essays and reviews with a good analysis on the organization of the material, its purpose and aptness for the reader.

The checklist on writing on art can be extended to writing on books too. The many references to artists of all times with your interest will give you a walk through the whole of history of art.

The sections on what is art, interpretation, the importance of seeing for creating art and quotes by many writers and artists are interesting to read.

Sep 4, 2006

Excellent book on art

This book is an excellent study of Palestinian art and its history. Art work of Ismail Shammout, Sliman Mansour, Kamal Boullata are extensively described with the relevant context to the times and loss of Palestine inhabitants.

One comes across not only paintings but also other forms of expression - 'mud on wood'(page 84).

One of the paintings 'Whereto?' on page 49 shows the effect of influence of 'absence of a character (part of defined standard of family)' by exclusion from the figure-ground of a painting but not from a higher space of our understanding. While paintings are assumed to be more real by blending into the atmosphere i.e extending onto the walls that they are placed. This one creates a great seperation. It is to such art that you get introduced to in this book.
Mona Hatoum's work is described , most of which is daily home objects turned useless in a very prickly way, the source of it being her sense of alienation from home.
The same themes are explored in works of Khalil Rabah and Asad Azi.


sep 10, 2006

Affecting the outcome

Author: Hart Seely

The author has practised Juju for a long time. In the kingdom of baseball he knows what works what doesnt. Voodoo out. Anything that works for three times In. He has a whole set of instructions with dos and donts. He beseeches the need for helping hands for the juju to work for sure. A Harry Potter world with its own lingo. But not a world that defies physics. Heisenberg's Uncertainity principle still holds. Thats the basis of observation influences.
If you are not mentioned in the book, you must not be a Yankee fan.
The author takes the whole Juju thing so seriously that he has explored the negative side of it too, for world peace and safety.
Yankiverse. The author relates Yankees and US performance. If they have been wronged, the nation goes down.
Yankee fan through and through, he sustains the book just on Yankity. The high and low of the fictive 'juju' element is maintained consistently in the book. It is easy to come up with an imaginary thing but selling it is what Seely is good at what with the math of guaranteed thirteen wins which is thirteen less losses. The pace of the book is quick. All the trades, its effects, wins.

Pennant race
Snake oil
Also-ran

Then and now

Author: Charles Dickens

Pantechnicon

Postilion

Character Tom Noddy

Modern Tom Noddy - Bubble magic

Palace of Popes is now a museum.

Morra (game)

Rhythm

Dance. Music. Instruments.

Designed to fly
fagot - bundle of sticks

That particular point in time

Flash point. Now I understand why my friends car stalled after he filled it with diesel instead of gas.
Since the stories are from writers, it is not surprising that many moments deal with how writers found  their spirit of writing, came to their book or are praised by John U in a letter.
The secret life of parents if funny. Is our baby being disillusioned too when she watches her parents busy in the kitchen cooking for themselves?

Keebler cookies in cornrows.

Science in food

Author's food website

Little miss millet stood with her skillet
Why curing(with salt) as a food preservation technique, was necessary in countries like Scandinavia with little sun?
Why toast can be crisp on top (Thermal diffusivity)?

Father

Author: Elisha Cooper

The tiny picture at the beginning of the chapter, a mom covered in sheets, the outline looks like Africa.

Stretchable fabric book covers

Exterior Decoration

Some houses in rural India
have a border of red
lined with raised stone
in front as if
on a pedestal

An artist and a child

This is the story of the great painter Goya, and Rosarita, a poor child who dreams of 'the art of strokes', while her canvas is the earth, and her finger the only sketch.

Goya moves from the King's Court to a rustic life, so that he can paint in peace and not worry about what theme in his painting will offend the church.

When Rosarita chalks out a picture of him as a wicked man, he is impressed by her talent ,but realises that she needs help in 'seeing' more than just two eyes can see, to be a good painter.

He then appoints Rosa's mother as the housekeeper giving them a roof. While he is doing paintings in his own style, he also teaches Rosa to finetune her skills and lets Rosa do an ivory painting. She does the ivory more justice than expected from a child.

Two extremes in relation to parents, children and art can be seen. Goya's son is a failure at art. Rosa's mother believes art's no good to earn bread.The son's dedication for father, trying to get him out of Inquisition, have been well brought out.

Towards the end, an important point is driven home, that it is scary to express your innermost fears, but the result will relieve you, for having found the expression. After all, what good is art if you cannot communicate your deep felt emotions.

Aug 30, 2005

Anterooms

first drafts poetry and first drafts nonfiction (more at the bottom of that link)

Myth central

Author: Paul A Trout

If David Letterman  is to be believed, Deer fly prey on human flesh. Then who needs a mythical Hawaiian shark.
I didnt realise the importance of creation myth, all the time we were taught about Manu  and Kalpavriksha. 

Blue Lyra Review

From a common thing as Spring Training, Peter Serchuk ages the poem by a life, dispelling the players.
Lyra is an interesting myth. 

Once in Moonlight, part of Walking in stone.
The 'rocking' in the poem comes back to you long after you read the poem and relaxes you.

Untaco Tuesdays

I came across Philomela in Has poetry changed?. Itylus, a character in that myth is an inspiration for another poem. Myths charm so many poets.

Isles of Scilly

Miscellany

Author: Joe Brainard

'I remember' section is funny. A movie on it.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - Makes one wonder how you would react in the end in the place of 'Guy'.
Jane Froman

Place

Author: James Longenbach

A review

Venice has keys in it. It is the title poem.
Greek Myths and art are in many of the poems.
With some say, the poet captures the mutability of myth

Derain painter
Honore Desmond Sharrer painter
Diodorus Siculus historian
cerements
twice told tale of how fig trees are saved from the frost
Meleager poet
Madonna dell'Orto church
Tintoretto painter
Zattere
Santa Maria dei Miracoli, Venice
Rio di San Barnaba
Tibullus
Ceres (mythology) - cereal
Carl Andre Stone field
square paper clips with heart at the centre
Aeolus - blue painting
Orpheus - Sati Savitri
Daedalus - Ariadne - Labyrinth
Naxos
Ampelos
Leto
Anacreon
Hephaestus
Gadara in Three Epitaphs. With grave codes only one is possible.

An interview

What roars in the morning

Author: Michael Ryan

The first poem is 60th birday dinner . Age and morning have been in his mind before in Poem at Thirty.
Airplane food is  a poem where an insipid act brings about a paper pop up of furious characters.You can imagine what a tapestry he can weave with sewing needle in sandwich.
Petting Zoo - His 'darling torturer' and the fate of the animals. The playful mood changes to grim in 'This morning' poem.
Mug. I am reminded of my favourite yellow mug that I remember from a diet time.
Garbage truck. An unusual subject to voice its feelings but being the sole consolidator of what we throw, it sure has a say.
'Miss Joy' - But she couldnt give her son the chance to flourish
                  unless she gave herself the chance in spirit


A poem and postmortem
More poems

a review

Real and Abstract

Author: Laura Kasischke
Some prose poems.

Before the poems begins there's a riddle.

In the poems too, there are three poems that are titled riddle. the poet finds the complexity of life of a single person puzzling.

'A wolf rolling in ashes' in The photograph album in the junk shop seems to be a line from the Bible but I dont understand it. There's another reference to Bible being saved in a fire that took the family.

How many hearts does an earthworm have, a question that you are likely to ask after reading apoem that inspired an artist to do this painting.

In 'Look', the commitment of  'a girl at the bookstore determined to read every f***ing magazine on this shelf for free' reminded me of Joe Brainard's determination to tear page 48 of every book in the Boston Public Library.

'Near Misses' is something everyone can relate to. 'I remembered to blow out the candle burning on the table beside me'. Good for her. Have you ever seen Ikea candle warnings? The first one had me hooked. Something that new parents need to remember, replacing the candle with the baby.

In 'Atoms on Loan', 'Who are we? without one another,'

Abigor

The poet makes abstractness palatable by sneaking it in like mom hiding the veggies in your food.

David - Dawood

Author: Elana bell

Abu - father of
The key

Puerto Rican folktales

The Three Wishes: A Collection of Puerto Rican Folktales

Puerto Rican folktales

More tales

'The Three Wishes' book has returning characters Juan Bobo, Lazy Peter. Young men vying for the princess in marriage, fighting devil, dragon and witches.

'The Animal Musicians' similar to Town Musicians of Bremen reminded me of The Sky Is Falling. 

'The Ant in search of her leg' has a sequence of actions that are told in the whole sequence  - Cumulative tale, in the manner of This Is the House That Jack Built.

An Indian Folktale - King and seven sons

In Defense of Sainty: The Best Essays of G.K. Chesterton

In A Piece of Chalk
Chesterton calls
pocket-knife
an infant of the sword

In the hands of teachers and painters

I pushed into the colour sketch. Chalk. I was reminded of the npr article Thinking too much about chalk, that I didnt have time for at the time I read the title but now I had to make time for it. The npr article also refers to    
Chesterton's essay on chalk.
The first sketch article referred to Pocahontas. I learnt of her yesterday in America: The Story of Us. I heard of her before but didnt know anything about the person.
Willem De Kooning - Door to the River

Occupied by daisies

Connie Wanek 's poem  Butter starts in a modern day kitchen but takes us to a time of Butter Molds. When the subject is common, the time dimension adds texture to the poem.
The first line 'Butter like love' now wants me to go back in time to love of that time too.
She has written on peaches and garlic. On a note similar to the peaches poem, I read of an apples poem.

Iowa review Vol 38 No 2

The Iowa Review (Vol. 38, No. 2, Fall 2008)


Ra hee duk -The custom of Aerial Burial and other poems - xerosis

short short stories of Alex Epstein leave the effect of a Grapeshot on a reader subjecting them to different transformations in each little work.

The back cover has the names of contributors in a poem format with rhyme and all.

In "Note from the Estrscans', brandon Krieg uses a powerful metaphor.

'.. the stream will run through
the comb of your bones without straightening'.

Long long ago

Author: Greg Trine

I liked this book better than the 'Dinos are Forever' for its time travel. Pro superhero Jo itches for some action and so does her dog. they time travel to 1850s California. There they are looking to capture Wyatt Burp who causes trouble with his burp. Even though Jo is a superhero, she cant swim. With her sidekick's help she can overcome evil intentions from any era(thats another big concept).

The fog is described as thick as milk shake and peanut butter, which children can relate to. I also like how the concept of tsunami is built from ripple to waves to tsunami even if its a metaphor for the rise of crime. Because the people from a century ago are not familiar with superheroes, they mistake Jo and Raymond for witches which shows how people think in the times they live. Some of this concepts might be big for children to understand but hey dont be surprised if they give their explanations.

Dinos come alive

Author: Greg Trine

Jo Schmo is a fourth grader. She just received a mystery package. with its contents, Jo and her sidekick dog Raymond are about to become full scale superheroes with a superfast vehicle. With help from her retired Sheriff grandfather, Jo is all set to take on the bad elements, even if they are smart with a PhD like the mad scientist. But what are dinos doing in this story? They are extinct. Who has the power to being them to life. May be a super hero but a super hero wouldn wreak havoc. Or wait we have to ask Jo if her manual has a section about it.

In the end, she even learns the magic lofty word that can make her fly like a real superhero.

The illustrations are sketches like comics. Some really make you wonder. 

Looking at a thing myriad times

Author: Richard Grossman

With simple language and logic, the poet reverses the universally accepted truths. In 'Marriage' poem, it seems to the surviving partner that death liberated his partner to a happier future. Many stories convince us that life is all about love and here comes this poem.

The titles are on the upper right corner, obscure. Its fun to read the poem and then the title and then the poem with new eyes. The characters - shepherd and the animals, are fixed and so is the stanza format.
The poems move from a aha single line to a whole wonder when they are about specific animals. Here each animal gets its character. The animals are no longer a cluster.

Spillway Issue 18: Games people play

spillway

Fairy tales fast forwarded to future, set in modern time
'This morning' by Nan Fry is a fill in the missing letters poem. An apple poem elsewhere is looking out from inside of an apple.

Punch and Judy
Emmett Kelly
Mazel tov
Thibodaux

From the missing letters poem, I take an inspiration but in the opposite direction, word stuffing like Bit stuffing but meaningful insertion.
dilligence(sic)

A contributor

Games People Play