Tag Archives: writing

A cappella Friday: Bars and Feathers

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em>Acappella music (without instrumental accompaniment) is particularly enjoyable for me to listen to. As a poet (and an avocational musician), I am drawn to the similarities that poems and acappella music have. Lyrical phrasing, meter, rhyming, assonance, and consonance mean so much to acappella music, because it relies so heavily on the human vocal element.

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It has been a while since I did one of these.

Partly because I hadn’t heard any new inspiring songs recently, neither was I particularly inspired to seek out any songs.

Until today.

I was wondering whether anyone had done an arrangement of Emily Dickinson poems for acappella chorus. Google. What a time waster saver. I found quite a few. And it should come as no surprise, as Ms. Dickinson is arguably the most prolific of American Poets and one of the more emotive poets (and also – to her credit – concise). These characteristics make her writing great fodder for choral literature.

The first one I noticed (and I think that I’ve sung it once) was Let down the Bars, O Death, composed by Samuel Barber, who was responsible for another haunting poem/choral selection that I discussed a while back, Louise Bogan’s To Be Sung on the Water. He wrote this piece during the same summer (1936)** as the string quartet that would eventually become Adagio for Strings.

Let down the Bars, O Death*
Emily Dickinson
Music by Samuel Barber

Let down the Bars, O Death —
The tired Flocks come in
Whose bleating ceases to repeat
Whose wandering is done —

Thine is the stillest night
Thine the securest Fold
Too near Thou art for seeking Thee
Too tender, to be told.

This setting is a simple chorale, with none of Barber’s usual complex counterpoint, but it is effective  at letting Dickinson’s text carry  the load.  Given her gift for emotionally charging phrases, it definitely works with his gift for musical conflict and resolution.  The opening of the piece sounds like a call, an invocation that begins hushed, and crescendos to the conclusion, where the opening lines are repeated/declared with emphasis.

The next piece was a bit of a surprise.  I have a soft spot for poetry that is light and hopeful (something that is not necessarily plentiful in Dickinson’s canon of writing), so when I happened upon “Hope” is the thing with feathers, I was hooked.

“Hope” is the thing with feathers*

Emily Dickinson
Music by Kenny Potter

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –

And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –
And sore must be the storm –
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm –

I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.

There are several different choral arrangements of this poem, but in my opinion, none of them capture the intention of the words like this arrangement by Dr. Kenny Potter of Wingate University. Recently composed in 2011***, this piece allows the underlying message to drive the song, with the opening lines carried through as heartbeat. A carefree melody, which breaks slightly to express the seriousness of the last line (much like Barber in the effective use of chorale style), but then returns to the patter of the “thing with feathers, and sings the tune without the words – and never stops – at all” fading to the end.

I believe he created an earworm.

The video I selected is a combined performance of several pieces. The first one is “Hope” is the thing with feathers. Have a listen. You will be humming this the next day.


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*The Poems of Emily Dickinson Edited by R. W. Franklin (Harvard University Press, 1999)
**G. Schirmer, Octavo 8907
***Published by Santa Barbara Music Publishing (SB.SBMP-1017) 2011

A Passage

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All of my most
compelling photographs
have roads in them:

The lonely stretch of highway
to the left of a bittersweet sunset.
after the leaves have
all blown away.

The S-curve in a raceway,
-empty-
then full of revving vehicles
vying for the sweet spot in the turns,
to accelerate into the straightaway
that continues out of view.

The picturesque motorway,
that aligns directly with
an imposing palisade of rock and ice,
only to veer sharply
and begin mounting the range,
passing through the crags
to some apex.

The city’s avenue at dusk after
a spring shower, streetlights
glow off the pavement,
and tail lights pierce the
somberness
as if to punctuate
my transitory presence
in a moment.

A reminder
that I was there and moved on.

Berlin1.jpg

that’s a lotta somethin’

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Many years ago, I lived in the Crescent City.  

fleurdelis

This was in a time of relative innocence before Katrina, before the Saints were consistently good, before Casino gambling was legal, but ….it was not a time before there was good food.  I think there has ALWAYS been good food in New Orleans. It was probably written into the Louisiana Purchase agreement.  

You can’t swing a stick in that city without hitting a restaurant or sandwich shop or street vendor selling some delicacy…that is good to eat.

While living there, I discovered many unique foods: stale pastries with little plastic figurines in them are great party foods, street vendor hot dogs at 2 AM are THE BEST, oysters and crawfish taste better when you drink cheap local beers, coffee with chicory (tree bark) is best with cheap stale pastries or deep fried donuts with powdered sugar (beignets), crawfish etouffe’, po-boys are superior to subs, hoagies, or hero sandwiches,

and the muffuletta is a big-@$$ sandwich.

The moof-fa-what-Ah?

The muffuletta (moo-foo-let-ah) is a creation of the Italian community of New Orleans. The story goes that ca. 1906, Sicilian farmers selling produce at the Farmer’s Market would stop into the nearby Central Grocery for lunch. They would order ham, salami, cheese, olive salad, and bread, and then sit out on barrels or crates with everything spread out, eating everything separately (as is typical in Sicilian culture). The proprietor of Central Grocery (Signor Lupos Salvatore) suggested that they cut open the bread and prepare everything as a sandwich, and a new sandwich was born. The muffuletta is ubiquitous in New Orleans now, but there is a sign outside Central Grocery claiming the birthright. The name was derived from the bread roll used, which was determined to be better than french bread (already in high use for po-boy sandwiches) due to its soft interior and crunchy exterior. The typical muffuletta roll is a flat-ish bread disk that is about 10 inches in diameter. So it’s a huge sandwich. That is why it is typical for sandwich shops to sell 1/4 or 1/2 muffulettas.

Too much food you say?

There is a way to bring a little of that Noo Awlins food to your kitchen.

Single Muffuletta Sandwiches*

Ham, sliced (can be traditional Italian style ham (capicola), or something like Black Forest Ham. Use salty, cured hams, not sugar-cured or sweetened)
Salami, sliced
Provolone cheese, sliced
Mozzarella cheese, sliced
Marinated olive salad (Giardiniera or similar)**
Kaiser roll or similar bread

Cut the bread roll horizontally, and dress the bottom slice with the olive salad. Add the sliced ham, cheese and salami in alternating layers to the bottom bread roll and top with more cheese. Top the sandwich with more olive salad and the top piece of bread roll. You can prepare several sandwiches this way for a family, party or to save for later.

You may eat your muffuletta cold (as is traditional), or it can be toasted for 15 minutes or so (as shown below). Serve with some good ridged/ruffled potato chips.

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*Disclaimer: This sandwich does not adhere to the strict ingredients of the muffuletta, but it is quite tasty and suitable for consumption.

**There are store brand giardiniera salad mixes that are quite good, or you can be adventurous and try to make your own. Someday, when I’m feeling more adventurous….

and isn’t it a lovely blog….

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Occasionally, these award thingies pop up. The ones that ask you to share little known facts about yourself or your blog, and then nominate other blogs to do the same.

I find them interesting as a way of increasing blog fertilization, and making your blog gardens grow. I know all the writers out there see little bits of inspiration in comments, characters, people and blogs. You wouldn’t be a writer if you didn’t seek out a little ‘miracle grow’ every now and then to jump start your own creativity…what they used to call the muse (they still call it that, but in this technological world we live in now, the muse is now pixelated as well as natural, electronic as well as acoustic, and present even in other people’s work and art). I write mostly poetry, with the occasional travelogue or recipe or blah-blah piece thrown in, so a little fertilizer goes a long way with me.

growing plant

These awards are a little way of getting to know each other too, I think. Behind the curtain of the internet, we could be anybody. At least these attempts at internet small talk help us be a little more human and hopefully “real” in our discourse. Small talk is not always easy for some people, and at times we might feel a little like Cleavon Little in Blazing Saddles trying to make friends with the citizens of Rock Ridge.

what did you expect?

Well, Sarah Wesson over at Earful of Cider has nominated my blog. Thank you Sarah. I’ve never personally met Sarah, but from her blog I know Sarah is a librarian by day, and a detective noir fiction writer by nights and weekends and days off with some interesting and fun ideas about character development. Plus she wrangles a couple of kids along with her patient-sounding, saintly husband.

So the rules are:
1. Share seven (7) fact(oid)s about yourself that you haven’t already made known in your writing.
2. Nominate seven (7) bloggers you regularly follow to do the same.

Factoids up.
1. I started drinking coffee when I was 11 years old. My Dad would make me a cup to help me wake up, because Middle School started at 7:30 AM. I am now an incredibly early riser. 5:30 AM is not unusual.

2. I secretly enjoy doing yardwork (mowing, weeding, etc.). There is something sustaining about a completed task where you can look at your results from a porch swing while drinking a tall glass of iced tea.

3. I wish peanut M&Ms were healthy snacks.

4. I like surprises (good ones).

5. It is no surprise (see what I did there…) that my favorite reading genre is Mystery/Thriller. This started in my adolescent years with The Hardy Boys, and then moved to Ellery Queen, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, and on to P.D. James, Dan Brown, James Lee Burke, Kathy Reichs, Matthew Pearl and James Rollins.
mystery

6. If I were to become independently wealthy (almost no chance of that happening – because, hey, it’s statistics and there is always a probability, no matter how small or insignificant), I think I would still work at a job.

7. Even though I find most math tedious, I find statistics strangely exhilarating. If only there was a porch swing and a tall glass of iced tea involved.

porch swing

iced tea

And now…onto other blogs.

I am admittedly more of a blog lurker than a regular follower, and I will not impose upon other bloggers who don’t necessarily know me from Adam’s off-ox to participate. If you wish to play along, consider yourself nominated, check the rules and have at it. Otherwise, enjoy the increased traffic (maybe..no guarantees) that my link to your blog could induce.

1. Sister Madly at The Sixpence at Her Feet, wickedly sarcastic and funny observations. Also, she smells colors.

2. Charlotte Hoather at Charlotte Hoather Blog. She is an aspiring professional singer studying Soprano in Glasgow, UK. She has over 11,400 followers so she needs no boost from a lovely blog award. She posts snippets about life for her and also clips from some of her performances. She’s very good and likely will be a star in the future. Search and find her performance of Oh, Danny Boy…beautiful.

3. Shawn L. Bird at Shawnbird.com. She’s a writer, poet, teacher in Canada. She also has quite a following. I like her blog because she posts at least one poem a day…and it seems so effortless.

4. Becky is studying horticulture in the UK. She has two blogs: one for plant stuff called Life of a plant lover and one for just her creative side called this and that. She posts beautiful pictures of gardens she works in and places she visits, and explains about the different types of flowers and plants and her nature poems are very heart-felt.

5. V. C. Linde, a poet/writer at Listen for the Reverb, is a restless soul, writes very well, and is involved in different venues to make her writing accessible (something I identify with). She has an interest in many different styles. I think her found poetry is most compelling.

6. S. K. Woodiwiss, a poet/writer who writes several blogs, but I follow Poetry: Because Obscurity is a Sin. She has a brooding passionate style. Her words almost ache. It’s a style that’s not for everyone, but it’s good to feel that kind of writing sometimes.

7. Jamie Dedes, at The Poet by Day posts poems, stories, inspirational pieces, pictures….She has a great eye for poetry and the beauty in the words.

If you made it through this, thanks for reading. If you’ve been nominated, feel free to ignore or participate at your choice. If you do participate, link back to me, because as blog neighbors I’d like to know what you do and think about.

The Grilling Gene/Chipotle-Beer Marinade

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I am descended from a long line of outdoor cooking enthusiasts.

I’ve heard stories about my paternal grandfather, who would dig a hole in his back yard, start a fire and set up up a kettle of lard to deep fry catfish and oysters. I also recall visiting my grandparent’s house as a child and he would cook filet mignon on his charcoal grill.

My Dad is also adept in his grilling skills, and cooks a mean steak and ribs on charcoal.

I have enjoyed outdoor cooking since my childhood, when my Dad would host parties for his students and would cook large quantities of hamburger patties and hot dogs.  I would just hang out near the grill and watch. Back in the days before cable television and cooking networks, I would watch Justin Wilson on public television every chance I got.

This enthusiasm for grilling seems to have passed on to my sons, both of whom enjoy outdoor cooking, as seen by our campfire feast from last Father’s Day weekend.

campfire

I used to cook on charcoal, exclusively, because at the time I couldn’t afford a gas grill.  I was brought up on charcoal grilling, and frankly I like the taste of char-grilled meats.  For a time, I owned a smoker grill and used it for chicken, steaks, pork…whatever would cook.  That grill didn’t make a move with us at one point, and I did without until last year..when my 10 year work anniversary gift  was a smoker grill.  I’ve used it several times over the last year, with excellent results.  An example is shown below from it’s inaugural cook.

smoker 2013

I now also have a gas grill, that I use quite often, especially during the summer.  I use it for convenience, because there is not much setup or cleanup required.  I like to keep the grill charred for flavor purposes.  I cook *everything* on this grill (ribs, chicken, steak, hamburger, brats, hot dogs, pork chops, pork loin…etc) In a nod to my Grandaddy, I once cooked fried catfish and oysters on the side burner, using a large cast-iron skillet and vegetable oil (no lard).

It is quite enjoyable to cook this way. But a major part of outdoor cooking is preparing the dish so that it has the right flavor. Just this week I prepared a set of pork chops for dinner using the following marinade.

1 bottle beer (I used an IPA, because I had it left over – you can use whatever you have)
2 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of cracked black pepper
4 teaspoons of garlic powder
1 chipotle pepper (I used an orange one), cut into 4 pieces.

I mixed all the marinade (except the chipotle pepper) in a large measuring cup and set it aside. I rinsed a package of 4 pork chops, lightly salted them on both sides and placed them in a gallon size plastic bag. I poured the beer marinade over the chops and closed the bag and mixed the contents for about a minute. I reopened the bag and added the pepper pieces to the mix, closed the bag and remixed the contents. This time, I found each of the pepper quarters and squeezed them in the marinade (through the bag). I used the orange chipotle because I like the flavor of the chipotle pepper, but I don’t like it overwhelming the natural flavor of the meat. Certain restaurants tend to overdo it – in my opinion. You can use multiple peppers, a greener pepper (hotter), or a different pepper type if that suits your tastes.

I let the chops marinate in the refrigerator for ~ 4 hours, flipping the bag once or twice during that period. This is something that is variable…I think you can marinate up to 12 hours and it would be fine. Some people adhere to more strict marination times.

I preheated the gas grill for about 10 minutes prior to cooking, then reduced the flame to a medium low setting. I placed the chops on the hot grill surface and closed the lid, cooking for about 7 minutes. I then flipped the chops and cooked the other side, about 7 minutes. I took the chops off the grill and covered them with foil until the rest of the meal was ready.

Along with this, I prepared a bunch of asparagus brushed with olive oil and salt and pepper, and cooked in a foil pouch on the upper shelf of the grill. Some chopped red potatoes were seasoned with ranch seasoning and olive oil and baked at 350C in the oven for 30 minutes. Also, a small ripe tomato from the tomato jungle.

The result:

pork chop

Excellent. I garontee!

bits and pieces

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Just some quick observations from the past few days…

Tomatoes don’t ripen very fast in Ohio. I’ve mentioned that I have an extraterrestrial tomato plant growing in my back yard, and the fruit-bearing capacity is phenomenal, yet they’ve been green for the better part of a month. At this rate, we’ll be having fried green tomatoes for a week, come October.

Fried green tomatoes are better when you use corn meal and salt. I tried making some this week using MW Cornbread mix (the sweet kind)…not my best effort. I was trying to use what I had on hand…mistake.

The Rat Patrol was much more violent and “adult-themed” than I remembered. I used to watch this show as a kid – I think it was in syndication by that time though. A friend recently loaned me the DVDs because I wanted to binge-watch the show. While not gory in detail, it certainly has it’s share of gratuitous violence, mayhem, and innuendo.

The square metal spatula that you can buy from that mail order kitchen implement supplier (coddled…cook), has a resonant frequency at B-flat 2 octaves above middle C. Good to know if you are ever in need of a tuning pitch at a party or for spontaneous acapella singing in the kitchen. Make sure it’s clean though.

Re-tiling a small bathroom (WC) is not as daunting a task as I thought it was. Despite knowing the rule that the job will take twice as long as you think and cost twice as much, it wasn’t that difficult. I managed to complete it within a few weeks (I didn’t work on it every day, because it wasn’t a critical need toilet).

begin_n

20140823_113813

20140825_112154

20140905_125153

I could have done it in a weekend if I were pressed for time. I think it looks nice. The most difficult thing was measuring and cutting the edge bits and pieces to fit the door jams. Still a few minor details to finish, beyond the flooring – but I am proud of the job.

Today’s song of the day is Chicago’s Feelin’ Stronger Every Day…

Not so much for the lyrics – lots of oohs and yeah yeahs in there – but the spirit of the message and the uplifting sound and harmonies is just right.

resurgo

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When I left
my thoughts in the days
after
death,
as tic marks arose
like the blades of grass

-too numerous to count

and for their random stacking
could have buried
my understanding the
true
meaning of

resurrection-
beyond
reanimation of blood and
bone.

it is reinvention
of joy,
in the covered fields
that can be walked upon,
the horizons remote and straddling,
the light and dark places
that replace the terminus.

More snippets from summer

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What I’m doing.

“On the first day of my summer vacation…I woke up.”

If you recognize that line, you are probably a child of the 70’s or at least a fan of Cheech and Chong (Sister Mary Elephant).

It occurred to me that my life for the last month has followed this essay format very closely. Should someone ask me about my recent work hiatus, and how I’ve spent my time, I would describe it this way.

I wake up and drink some coffee. I eat breakfast and job hunt on internet boards, send correspondence, apply for some jobs, and read a little news. Then I get a shower, and work on *insert home improvement project.* Occasionally, I realize that I am missing a key item and have to run to the mega-home-warehouse-store to find it.

Is that the same as going “downtown to hang out in front of the drugstore?”

What I’m reading

I recently finished Bee Ridgway’s The River of No Return, which interested me because of the time travel premise. There are some good things there: the notion of people having time-jumping ability, the historical period possibilities, and some of the characters are very well written. The backdrop of the story becomes more of romance than a mystery, and it unveils many compelling plot points that are never resolved. I am sure Ms. Ridgway is writing/planning to write more in this series. However, I found myself wanting to know more about the titular river (which is a major plot device in the resolution of this book) – which ends as more of an explanation. I like the universe that these characters inhabit and I love the background mysteries…I just want them to be more than conversational points in a love story. I’ll be on the look out for her second book in this series…and maybe my questions will be answered.

I just started Dark Matter: The Private Life of Sir Isaac Newton, by Phillip Kerr. Assuming I don’t get distracted by another book, I should finish it soon. This one is showing itself to be a good thriller.

What I’m cooking

Because I have more free time…I’ve been cooking for me and the missus. I’ve discovered that you can do many things with crescent roll dough – besides make crescent rolls. There are many layered “casserole” dishes you can make with an 8 x 8 baking dish and two packages of crescent rolls. My favorite has been layered smoked turkey with bacon and swiss cheese. Put down a layer of the dough and press together to make a crust. Add a layer of turkey (deli sliced), then bacon (cooked), then swiss cheese on top. You can also add a layer of sliced tomatoes in here if you so desire. Add a layer of the crescent dough on top. Scramble two eggs and pour half over the layered concoction. Repeat the turkey, bacon, and swiss cheese layers and top with the last of crescent dough. Pour the last of the egg over the casserole. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cover the dish with foil (loosely), and cook for 20 minutes at 350 deg. in the oven. After 20 minutes, remove the foil and cook for another 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Delicious.

And really good the next day for breakfast.

touches

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the tactile feel

when I drink
from a
red plastic cup
with vertical ridges-
waves that undulate at
my tracing fingertips.

and after a time-
combined with the condensate
colluded from
hot and cold-

I wipe clean the surface
and clasp my hands
tightly –
as if to shutter
the memory.

Don’t micromanage the garden…

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I’m not feeling the poems this week, so I thought I would just write…

I think I’ve mentioned here that I like tomatoes.

A poem about growing tomatoes

A post where I mention planting tomatoes…

In a general sense, I think I am infatuated with the idea of growing something out of nothing (or a small thing)…wanting to be a creator of something. I think this is an innate desire that drives people to achieve. My past “experiments” with tomatoes included growing them in various size planters. I moved them around to maximize sunlight, watered them religiously, gave them plant food every couple of weeks. I think I did this in an attempt to control the plant…I know I “wanted” it to grow. Granted, I didn’t have a suitable planting area in the ground until this year. I even purchased plants that were genetically engineered for a patio/porch environment. This achieved limited success with a crop yield. Maybe 6 or 8 tomatoes. I was very keen on controlling the situation and getting the plants to grow under my supervision and plan.

Can you micromanage a tomato plant?

This year I dug a large bed in our back yard and left a suitable space (about 3 sq. feet) for tomato plants. I planted three (2 grape tomato variety, and one regular plant) during Memorial Day weekend. Save for one dowsing with some miracle food (which I have always done, even when plants were in large pots), I have done nothing unusual in the care of these plants. Granted, it has been somewhat rainy in Ohio this summer, and temperatures have not been too extreme.

You’d have thought that the alien plant from “Little Shop of Horrors” was growing in my yard. So far there are no missing animals in my neighborhood.

Feed me. Feed me Seymour!

Feed me. Feed me Seymour!

I would expect the grape tomatoes to grow everywhere…it’s like a vine and gives you clusters of tomatoes (hence the name), and it is overtaking the neighboring rose bush. But I did not expect this from the “normal” plant. The tomato stalk/stems are spreading every which way. Obviously a sympodial stem… Ultimately what has stuck out in this exercise is that I have done very little with these plants except add a taller stake in the ground every 6 or 7 days to keep the stems from crushing under their own weight. The tomato yield is going to be phenomenal. I count at least a dozen fist sized tomatoes, with smaller ones popping up every other day. tomatoes

I suppose if one were to have a take away lesson from this it would be:

Don’t constrain the garden with your idea of how it should grow. Plan it, plant it, give it some nourishment now and then, keep an eye on it, and let it grow.

If you think about how other things flourish…

plants, animals, and people

this is a successful management strategy.