WAIST DEEP IN THE BIG MUDDY
"When you stare into the void, the void stares also; but if you cast into the void, you get a type conversion error. (Which just goes to show Nietzsche wasn't a C++ programmer.)”― Charles Stross
As a good teacher can change a student’s life, Flossie Lewis changed mine. I had heard about her through my brothers, this thick-specked English teacher at Lowell High School who taught classic literature and poetry with dramatic flair: she was a character…a tough, huge presence tucked in a small frame, commanding her class with a fist in the air as well as a lot of care and wit. I had successfully signed up for her class, and she proceeded to give me the gift of poetry, teaching me how to approach a poem, how to read it first for what is was directly saying…and then to what the poet was trying to convey…teaching the mechanics of wrestling with the poem to find it’s golden nugget of Truth, a Truth that could alter our perception and change the world.
Every Signal newsletter features a poem, and that is largely because of her: she gave me the gift of appreciating the craft through her class; it can be hard to break into a poem’s lines and stanzas without being armed with some sort of taught manual.
Flash forward to the present-ish time with a friend and journalist named Steven Goldbloom who produced an unexpected viral video about Flossie Lewis for his series Brief But Spectacular. He had been shooting a movie in her residence (an elderly care facility) and she had left a mark on him on set with her fist-in-the-air attitude and lively candor that she still displayed in her nineties. He decided to do a piece on her for his series on how to age well. The success of the piece led him to pursue a longer piece…to bring back some of the students from her past classes at Lowell and have one more session to dig into some deep literary subjects.
The class took place right after Bob Dylan had received the Nobel Prize for Literature and Lewis, always with a finger on the pulse, showed up to class with some Dylan lyrics in one hand, and a poem by WH Auden in the other. The subject of the class: did Dylan deserve the most prestigious literary award in the world (I say this knowing there are some readers of this newsletter who would disagree with casting such a glowing light on the Nobel). My old high school friend Matt Hollis and I attended the class, and found our teacher, at 94, still completely captivating…still on top of her game and inspiring a deep conversation amongst a disparate, inter-generational set of past students.
The video Goldbloom produced can be seen by clicking through here. I rarely share it because I look like the walking dead throughout (a time of young kids and sleepless nights) and am caught on camera at one point unconsciously staring with distain at another student who decided to rap-speak some Notorious BIG during the discussion, arguing that the rapper’s poetry showcases a better use of the English language than Dylan’s. He didn’t think Dylan deserved the Nobel and while Ms Lewis didn’t really either, she used her seasoned teaching skills to allow for a deep discussion beyond just Dylan and Auden…but about the nature of poetry, about what and how it should convey its meanings. What did we feel about Dylan’s craft and how could we back up our feelings and arguments?
I have been thinking about Flossie’s class ever since reading excerpts from Dylan’s new book The Philosophy of Modern Song, a book that compiles short essays focusing on songs Dylan chooses to discus. The excerpts are the chapters featuring Frank Sinatra’s Strangers in the Night and The Who’s My Generation. Dylan’s pros read like long mic-breaks from his past radio show The Theme Time Radio Hour. They are rambles, poetic but not poetry, interesting reflections on songs that impacted him, that impacted culture. And whether you agree with him or not (I am still pondering the cynical discussion around The Who’s classic hit), seeing what the greatest songwriter of our time thinks should be included in his book, and what he has to say through each entry, is definitely intriguing. Yet, I cannot help but go back to the Lewis class discussion and hold up Dylan’s place amongst the great poets, essayists, fiction & nonfiction writers not just of his time, but of the last two hundred years. He was not given the Nobel for his pros, but he is nevertheless a Nobel winning writer; as a singer and songwriter, NO ONE touches him. But as a poet? Writer?
The complete list of songs included in The Philosophy of Modern was published in Variety recently, some fitting right into place when thinking about the puzzle of Dylan’s musical foundation, with others more of a surprise. Variety recently followed up by an article detailing the companion audio book, where each song-riff is read by various famous actors. You can hear Jeff Bridges read Dylan’s piece on Your Cheatin’ Heart or Renee Zellweger reading what Dylan thought of The Clash’s London Calling. From the excerpts that are circulating, along with the audio book roll-out, it seems that what this is, this Philosophy of Modern Song, is a bit of entertainment, a rollicking tome that sheds yet a little more insight into the mysterious character that is Bob Dylan, and maybe a little more understanding of what he at least sees are important songs along with their place in our culture and history. And that just might be enough…or in the words of Flossie Lewis as she ended her final class:
Even if the answers are blowing in the wind, that maybe having an answer that is too certain can destroy us also.
Art Laboe 1925-2022, An Appreciation By Alec Palao
Art Laboe’s passing last week was much reported on, which makes sense given the his incredible contributions to music. Much was focused on Laboe the DJ, who coined the phrase “Oldies But Goodies” when radio formats sought to engage an older fan base with sentimental hits from the past. But there was so much more to what Art brought to the world and my friend Alec Palao wrote a very sweet piece that colors in some incredible details.
Albert Ayler made sublime music. The world was not ready
I had some time to dig into this recent issue of some of Ayler’s final live shows before his death (murder?). The 4 CD set called Revelations is a mind-blowing trip down free-jazz lane showcasing the power and influence the saxophonist had: there is a reason he was chosen to be the artist to play Coltrane’s funeral. His was the new, wild and defining voice. The set begs the question as to where he would have ventured if he had lived past thirty four.
“In the late ’60s, Cohen, a once-languishing painter, was working as a lecturer at the University of California, San Diego in the visual arts department. Around the same time, computer science researchers at the university were beginning to use artificial intelligence to break new ground in mathematics. Inspired, Cohen began exploring the use of computers in 1968 and, by the early ’70s, he had built a computer system dubbed AARON to create paintings from pre-programmed algorithmic code…'At every stage of AARON’s development, Cohen would analyze the extent to which the machine would operate autonomously and work with and on it accordingly. When AARON began to use color in the works, it introduced an element of chance…’”
NOW AVAILABLE: Library of Congress Magazine - September/October 2022
The Library of Congress’ bimonthly magazine is always designed beautifully, with great curations from its tremendous collection, this time with a focus on Spanish Heritage with a first edition of Don Quixote, Camilo José Vergara’s mural photos and Michael Menchaca’s “La Raza Cósmica 20XX” screenprint series…. Follow the link above for the PDF of the entire mag.
Hester Gives The Scarlet Letter the Origin Story We Didn't Know It Needed
Laurie Lico Albanese’s new book Hester is a “fictional origin story of sorts, the novel spins a historical tale of a young seamstress who could have served as the inspiration for Hester Prynne, and, through this proxy, gives us the female perspective that is so absent in Hawthorne’s story.”
If I Could Tell You
By: WH Auden
Time will say nothing but I told you so,
Time only knows the price we have to pay;
If I could tell you I would let you know.
If we should weep when clowns put on their show,
If we should stumble when musicians play,
Time will say nothing but I told you so.
There are no fortunes to be told, although,
Because I love you more than I can say,
If I could tell you I would let you know.
The winds must come from somewhere when they blow,
There must be reasons why the leaves decay;
Time will say nothing but I told you so.
Perhaps the roses really want to grow,
The vision seriously intends to stay;
If I could tell you I would let you know.
Suppose all the lions get up and go,
And all the brooks and soldiers run away;
Will Time say nothing but I told you so?
If I could tell you I would let you know.
