Michael Kimmelman, The Accidental Masterpiece: On the Art of Life and Vice Versa
Viv Albertine, To Throw Away Unopened
Clark Coolidge, Poet
Evan Kindley, Poet-Critics and the Administration of Culture
Lawrence Giffin, SoritesMark McMorris, The Book of Landings
Scott DeVeaux, The Birth of Bebop
Sareeta Morgan, Feeling Upon Arrival (chapbook)
Nate Chinen, Playing Changes
Hank Roussow, Xamissa
Sohne Ahrens, How to Take Smart Notes
Brenda Shaughnessy, The Octopus Museum
Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
Bertholt Brecht, Collected Poems
Chico Buarque, Spilt Milk
3/31
Awake/asleep fitfully, as is usually the case w/ the time change. Up for good between 6-7. Coffee, breakfast, read a few more ch. of Buarque. Worked on my Dad’s taxes 10-noon. Finished Buarque — the novel is an sequence of unreliable, “fevered” deathbed remembrances on the part of a highly unsympathetic and oversexed ruling-class scion, now in reduced circumstances. (He fantasizes that he’s about to be compensated for family land expropriated decades ago.) The character is evidently a vehicle for various reflections on racial and economic relations in Brazil — he’s supposed to be over 100 years old, and could be taken as a stand-in for the country itself, though I’m not equipped to grasp every historical/political reference. Krapp’s Last Tape by way of, Chile By Night (mutatis mutandis the nation treated), perhaps? Went out at 1, put on the Schramms’ CD — JD Foster’s production touch is evidence, but the writing is strong independently of that, esp. melodically. So far, it comes off like Peter Holsapple singing Rufus Wainwright, not a combination I’d ever have expected to hear. Stopped at Foothill Goodwill, picked up an old book of John Greenleaf Whittier’s letters and an Erasure CD, among other things. Lunch, coffee, groceries. Home about 4. Rest of day, and evening past dinner, uneventful - difficult to recall, in fact. Read a chunk of Diane Ravitch, The Language Police: How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn, a book on textbook censorship (from both the right an left) by a Clinton-era educational policy advisor. Well-documented, but many of the “liberal” anti-p.c. arguments are familiar. Not without merit, esp. w/ regard to bias- and sensitivity-groups power over the market for state-wide adoptions, but unlikely to change minds — I suspect the issue is unresolvable given underlying disputes about the purpose of American education. Lights out around 10 pm.
3/30
Up 6:30. Had coffee, read a bit of Vogel, picked up a package at the p.o. for Bree. Packed, not rushed, had some time to spend w/ Bree, called car for airport about 12:15. Flights pretty uneventful. Listened to the Haarla album and some of the Schramms’ Omnidirectional (though it’s hard to hear new music w/ the ambient noise of the place). Watched The Wife (too one-dimensional on the nose; Glenn Close’s acting doesn’t save the writing; same feeling I had from trying to watch Billions last week) and Can You Ever Forgive Me? (a much better movie, partly b/c Melissa McCarthy underplays and partly b/c the screenwriters’ psychologizing doesn’t take up that much screen time; fun to see several NYC used bookstores used as, well, NYC used bookstores). Long stopover in Denver, found perfectly respectable green chile (in the stewed-w-pork Southwestern sense) at an inexpensive Mexican concession after looking at a couple of the “nicer” options in the terminal. Had 2 beers and started Chico Buarque, Spilt Milk. Read a little more than 1/2 of that during 2nd leg, though they kept shutting off the overheads, and my “spot” didn’t work. Ended up watching the 2nd 1/2 of My Favorite Wife on the seat-back TV. Landed at Ontario around 9:30, baggage, cab, home about an hr. later. Dad was still up; talked a little bit, but it was a long day. Lights out around 11:15.
3/29
Up 6, out at 7. Forgot to take my phone. Train, desultory reading of 1st issue of Commune magazine, on the German Revolution of 1918 (point being that the working class shouldn’t can’t trust social democrats who are prone to make common cause w/ the state ’n’ bourgeoisie.] Poorly timed commute home, long wait at White Plains, annoying episode on train w/ woman who wanted to charge her phone on my laptop, which I’d gotten out and put headphones in so I couldn’t hear her conversation. (I let her, but unsmilingly - petty, but it was intrusive.) Home around 3:30, zoned out for an hr., finished Brecht! (Both that and Tolstoy, I started in Jan.) The last 50 or so pages are odd reading - many unpublished and fragmentary poems, and some translations-of-translations, notably of a Polish poet, Adam Wazyk, whose “Poem for adults” is remarkable, even in this 3rd-hand form. Brecht’s own work by this point reflects a lot of ambivalence between his public espousal of the party line and honesty about the East German govt. and bureaucracy, esp. vis-a-vis the arts. (He actually does think there’s such a thing as socialist philistinism, I think — even appeals to “taste” at one point.) That said, his sympathies always remain with the worker: his disappointment isn’t in the Communist ideal, but its implementation, and the role of an elite within in it. “Shall the construction of Socialism/Be fudged together by a few people in the dark?” (1055) Walked a few blocks to meet Bree for dinner. Got back around 8, packed for tomorrow, went out for a coffee around 9:30, read a few more p. of Vogel. Back, lights out 11:30.
Over course of last couple days, listened to Around Again, an album of Carla Bley compositions played by Iro Haarla (p), Ulf Kroskfors (b), two Finns, and Barry Altschul, who played on some of the early Paul Bley versions of the same tunes. Good, generally understated (though the title track is an exemplary “angular” number); need to listen more attentively.
3/28
Up at 6. Coffee at 8, finished War and Peace! Had no idea Tolstoy was so Kantian — though the ending is ostensibly about “history” and the fate of nations, it’s really an essay on the conflict between free will and determinism (a term he doesn’t use). The set-up of the problem is really very similar to the Kantian aporia — but T. comes down on fatalism, and the illusory character of “personal” freedom. Tried to update to-do list - very hard to keep complete. (And haven’t done anything with the “Zettelkasten” note-taking system as of yet.) My inbox had swelled to 250+ messages; got it down to 150. The local handyman came at 10 to help put together a bedframe; made quick work of it. While in that mode, I cleared the debris/trash generated, and screwed together a smaller bookshelf for Bree. Done w/ that around 1. Rested for an hr., read Brecht up through the late, bitter Bucknow Elegies; his struggle w/ disappointment w/ the East German state is evident. Called dad. Wrote a quick chart for “The Old Currencies,” got it copied. Headed into Manhattan 5:15. Started reading Shane Vogel, The Scene of Harlem Cabaret. Bought a new strap and guitar cable at a place on 27th: I hate guitar stores. Met Matt, Pete, and Tom Shad for ramen, headed over to Euphoria, where Jenny met us. Rehearsed 8-11 - got through all but 2 songs, sounds pretty good for a first time w/ Tom on bass (and not having played together for months). 1 more rehearsal after CA trip should do it. Too tired out to read or anything on the way home - think I listed to a meditation podcast (which I do instead of meditating). Lights out 12:30.