23 October 2005

isn't it romantic?

it's been eons since I've read Byron. my library includes a batterd copy of the 1825 Philadelphia printing of selectd correspondence. one letter begins with a line Frank O'Hara cd've written: "Lisboa is the Portguese word, consequently the very best."

today it seems his life is better known than his writing. it certainly has fascinatd me over the decades. altho my few stage appearances are long behind me   I've always wantd to play the Byron that Tenneesee Williams brought to "Camino Real."

last nite I took a gander at BBC's "Byron." that it seemd a bit tedious may have been not the fault of the filmmakers but of a wretchd channel calld BBC America. not only do they constantly interrupt the production but they run the same commercials over & over. not only will I never buy their products I shan't be watching BBC America again.

the program -- already 2 years old -- features Jonny Lee Miller as the bard. I'd rememberd him as a cute blond so it was a shock to see him with long brown hair. at first he wasn't Byron to me but as the program developd I found him acceptable. of course much must be droppd for purproses of storytelling. but I wonder why the program begins with an acknowledgment of the poet's bisexuality which then goes nowhere. the first we see of him he's recumbent with a handsome lad who he kisses. but then the complete focus shifts to Byron's affair with his sister.

again I must say that it's difficult to judge this program because of the disgraceful way it was presentd. but it probably will have me returning to the page today to survey some of what Byron wrote & that's a good thing.

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