"kiss today goodbye"

 all weekend the internet was taken over by the 50th anniversary of "A Chorus Line" opening on Broadway. I was one of the lucky ones. I first saw that great musical in its original staging at the Public Theater. from almost the beginning it was sold out. but I got in because one of its creators -- James Kirkwood Jr. -- gave me one of his house seats. & there I was sitting next to him while theater history was being made.

Jimmy was the son of silent screen stars Lila Lee & James Kirkwood. lovely Lila had her share of troubles. so her son came to my home town to live with his aunt for a few years. he graduatd from Elyria High School 19 years before I did. (one of his classmates lived next door to my parents.) 

I was in high school when Jimmy came to town to visit his aunt. of course I met him. he signd my copy of Daniel Blum's Pictorial History of Television -- just as his mother had signd by copies of Blum's volumes on the silents & the talkies.

his Aunt Peg gave me some of her theater books (she had appeard on Broadway opposite Al Jolson) as well as photos from her brief time in Hollywood. one was a striking photo of Nita Naldi who playd the other woman in "Blood and Sand" in which Lila was Valentino's wife. it had a sweet inscription to Jimmy.  I had it on my walls for years. when I went to Buffalo for the try-out of his play "P.S. Your Cat is Dead" I brought it as a gift. I felt he really shd have it again.

here is a detail from the poster of that show. the pen he was using faild & he finishd signing in another. the ink from the first has faded so badly it's nearly gone. but it says "Alex -- with appreciation -- I mean coming to Buffalo is beyond THE CALL OF DUTY."  seeing that always reminds me of the Buffalo line he put in the other show he was working on then -- "A Chous Line."

I'm sure he wd've been so excitd to know so many people still care abt "ACL."

a little play abt writing a play

 from Wanderbuch :

                                                                                                10 aug 86: Charlemont

Scene: The kitchen & adjoining study in the Berkshires farmhouse of a playwright.

Time: Morning.

Jean-Claude (seatd in front of a word processor in his study): Give me an Italian name.

Alex (pouring hot water into an ironstone cup): Marcello.

Jean-Claude: No. People wd think Mastroianni.

Alex: Giuseppe.

Jean-Claude: Too long.

Alex: Paolo.

Jean-Claude: Hmmmmmmmm. Short & soft. (He types the name on the machine.)

Alex: (Dunks an Earl Grey teabag in the cup.)

                                                    *.    *.    *

after J-C leads David & I in yoga exercises   followed by a watermelon feast   he reads the newest version of the opening of "The Traveller." this time the traveller addresses the audience directly which he didn't last nite.  I smile when the Joe Chaikin character talking on the phone to an Italian reporter addresses him as Paolo.

                                                        

                       

                               (Jean-Claude's cats cuddle beside my Wanderbuch 2)

full circle

 in the fall of 1965 I was enrolled in the masters program at Kent State's English Department. one of the classes I had was with a fellow by the name of Bob Carothers fresh from getting his bachelor's degree from Edinboro University. we became study buddies & then friends.

a year later he & his wife joind me & my partner along with Jacob & Mary Leed   Linda Lyke & her husband   & Jerrald & Pat Ranta to form a collective which we calld Standing Rock Press. together we actually bought a huge heavy press which we stored in the basement of a bar in town.  my memory is that very little got printd on the press & we eventually sold it. later in its life the press became a part of Kent lore when it was used by various activist groups (I think even SDS).

as young poets Bob & I were involved in the thriving literary scene in northern Ohio at that time. we read together & publishd both locally & nationally. I no longer remember which of us decided to start our own magazine. but together we co-editd the first issue of Toucan which came out in may of 1967.

along the way I got tired of studying & left the Ph. D. program. Bob got his. & we each went abt our lives.

along the way Bob became president of University of Rhode Island from 1991-2009 -- longer than anyone else at that institution. & when that university built a new library they named it the R. L. Carothers Library.

if you're one of my regular readers here you know I've been working on what I call my Legacy Project -- finding appropriate homes for the last remaining copies I have of my publications. I only had one complete run of Toucan & it already had Bob's name on it. I think we co-editd the first 2 issues together. so I wrote to the director of Special Collections at the R. L. Carothers Library to see if they had the magazine.  they didn't. I offered to send my set. they were happy. & having it safely there makes me happy.

(photo by Hannah Charron)

in circles

 the flooding in Texas hit hard. one of the reasons is the reporting on Camp Mystic. that brought memories of boyhood summers at Camp Iss See Kes -- the YMCA camp in Amherst. so I got out  my earliest photo album & there were my photos. then I did an online search & discoverd that the main building there was calld Rotary Lodge. here's the photo I took of my cabin mates & counselors in front of it in 1951.

I also learnd that it was the idea of Ralph Murbach (1888-1987) -- a founding member of Elyria's chapter of the Rotary Club.  he was the local coal dealer who added building supplies to his store whose customers included my father.

I met Ralph's grandson John years later. in the 1990s I became part of a group of gay men interested in "Music / Art / Books" who met online & calld ourselves the MABsters. after a quarter century I remain friends with some of them. actually 2 of them were/are among the best friends of my life.

in conversations I mentiond being from Elyria & one of the members told me that that was his roommate's hometown as well.  the next time I went to Chicago where they lived I met them. that was the only time I met John -- a prominent set designer who workd with Wisdom Bridge & Center Theatre. 

but the story goes deeper. it turns out a cousin of John's was a high school classmate of mine. but even more significantly he had been a lover of an actor with whom I had an important connection. he shared details of our mutual friend's death that I didn't know.  

people & events overlap. I understand that & try to capture those reverberations in my work.

forget the fireworks

 

No Kings

 I'm late posting this. when I left the house Saturday to walk to the bus stop it was 107.  why organizers decided 6 pm wd be a good time to start our rally is suspect. but gather we did. 5000 of us. hours later when I got home it had only coold to 98.  so yesterday I was sorta tired & forgot to put up a picture.

here's Palm Springs.  part of the 11 million disgustd by the president & his criminal cabinet.

completing a circle

 in the summer of 1967 I attended Indiana University Writers Conference to study with Gwendolyn Brooks.  at the concluding awards banquet I was surprisd & delightd when Miss Brooks announcd that I had won the poetry award. (this story was told in an article by Rasa Gustaitis -- who later wrote Turning On -- which appeard in Cosmopolitan the next year.)   shortly thereafter I wrote the poem “On Winning a Prize" which I dedicatd to Miss Brooks.

In 1969 Abraxas Press published my first book — a little chapbook with just 3 poems. one of those was the poem for Miss Brooks.

for a while now I've been working on what I call my Legacy Project.  this is finding good homes for my publications & art. I only had one copy left of that first book -- Into the Sea.  it didn't take long for me to realize the perfect match was the Lilly Library at Indiana University. & I was so happy when they agreed to accept it.

here I am in my study bidding bye to that copy which is now in Bloomington.

proud

 to celebrate Pride month the city's original library -- now a museum -- has mountd an exhibition from the holdings of The LGBTQ+ History & Archives of the Desert. it includes my "Desert Paradise" displayd beside the actual resort mug mentiond in the poem.

this delights me for many reasons -- not the least of which is that we live at a moment in time when a cruel & hateful administration is trying to erase the histories of so many minorities.  we must resist.

voices of the dead

 my dear friend Michael -- who I've known for more than a half century -- sent me a postcard which our mutual friend David -- who died in 2008 -- sent him from Leipzig in 1984.  

here's some of what David wrote:

"I left Alex in Venice a couple of weeks ago enjoying the place like crazy.  He shepherded me to Florian's for coffee just before I left, a place I'm happy not to have missed. (Alex was a high priest in some other life --  he has a natural feel for ceremony.)"

reading this moved me. to have these words from a great friend & travel companion after all these years saying something that perceptive means so much to me.

thank you Michael.

& thank you David ....

a story abt a poem & a building

 the poem:

"Summer Sunday in Kent"

written 60 years ago this is the best-known of my early work.  in october 1965 I read it at The Cellar on the Kent State campus. d. a. levy was there & askd to see what it lookd like on the page. he immediately told me he wantd to publish it. it appeard in a 1966 issue of Marrahwannah Quarterly. 

in the summer of 1967 I went to Indiana University Writers Conference to study briefly with Gwendolyn Brooks. at the concluding awards dinner she prefaced announcement of me winning the poetry award by reading this poem. one of the great moments of my life.

here is the poem as it appears in my selectd poems The Avalanche of Time (North Atlantic Books   1985):

the building:

I came to Kent in the fall of 1961 as a KSU freshman. I often walkd from campus to town & the railroad station soon became a favorite stop. I even took the Erie-Lackawanna from there to Hoboken in spring of 1962.

in a journal I kept in 1968 I tell of taking new friend Jean-Claude van Itallie on his first visit to Kent to "the pink railroad station" to catch his train back east.

I'm not sure when the station closed but there was a time in the late '70s when Kent Acting & Touring Company did plays there. & they produced a reading of mine. I don't recall if I read this poem then but I wd've been a fool not to.

some time later the space became the Pufferbelly Restaurant.  after I left Kent it continued as a restaurant under other names.

this little wooden version of the building is on a console in my living room:

why have I postd this?

today is the 150th anniversary of the building's opening. Kent Historical Society -- which has offices there -- is sponsoring a celebration. if I still lived in town I wd not only be there but probably wd've insistd on reading my poem. 

my Palm Springs

from Facebook:

 upon returning from sunday breakfast with the guys at Billy Reed's I opend social media & found the press conference abt yesterday's bombing. our wonderful police chief Andy Mills askd us to support our community by posting something positive abt it.

it's difficult for me to post "something" when there are so many "somethings." I came here 9 years years ago after visiting for some 20 years. I wantd a place that wd nurture my creativity as well as to be comfortable for my last chapter. I've found community here people who respect me as poet/artist. I've also found a sort of liberation which allows the goofy side of me to come out & play. sure I've taken some guff from stuffy sorts who don't like my poses. but I keep doing them. I enjoy walking the city. I try to support those institutions that enrich my life -- museums theaters art galleries performance centers. I indulge in our restaurants & bakeries. & then I have my quiet time on my patio sipping coffee & writing & talking to my animal pals.

the chief suggestd we post a photo of our favorite place. another tough choice to make. but I want to share the public art piece I did with Emeline Tate. it's calld the Poets Bench. it means a great deal to me. it puts my words out there to be read by people who may not read much poetry. it's "public art." I embrace that. just like I embrace Palm Springs.

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10161697866497686&set=a.35826132685

day trip

 on the yellow brick road at Salvation Mountain 

yesterday

 was my birthday & I gave a reading at a local gallery.  can't recall exactly when I gave my first reading but I suspect it was some 60 years go. this reading was poems abt art & artists done in chronological order beginning with a poem from 1962.

photo by Tammy Taylor

reflection

 last nite I saw a documentary abt Peter Bogdanovich. it brought back a pleasant memory. some years ago I was in the lobby of the Hollywood Roosevelt & saw the director standing alone. it hadn't been long after seeing the restoration of "The Last Picture Show." so I went up to him & told him I'd seen it & that the crisp print was beautiful & that I really enjoyd it.

he seemd pleasd. he smiled & askd "it holds up?"  & I was happy to report it certainly did.

thinking abt that lovely moment produced a rush of encounters with film directors. I've seen Hitchcock & Wilder    Welles & Fellini   Altman & Godard.  I've chattd with Truffant   been driven thru the Hollywood hills by Sam Fuller   been a movie date of James Bridges.

I recount all this not to boast but to fill with joy at my good luck. I've had one hell of a life. I've loved the movies since I was little. so I've not only gone out to attend screenings but have shared time/space with the people who made the films I love.

Speedo Cross Series

some swimsuits die. their elastic can limpen. or fabric stretch to the point where one's equipment  no longer snuggles. when this happens I usually toss the garments. however I found in 2 separate places I'd saved a pair of former favorites I suspect to eventually use for art. & today was that day.

I think I wore the purple pair when I was flirting with Rick Wilson at Jerome Lawrence's Malibu residence ("The House That Mame Built") in 1984. the pinkish pair (which wd redden when wet) appears in a photo taken in Aruba in 1992.

I decided to cut strips from them which I then pin'd together to form crosses. I made 15.

more Desert X

at a glorious work by Kimsooja

(photo by Gary Francis)

Desert X

 every 2 years the valley gets a major showing of outdoor art.

here is Ronald Rael's "Adobe Oasis" from this year's offering.

"Studio Visit"

 

not long ago Lynda Keeler invited me to her studio to see her new suite of oil paintings "Between the Sun & the Moon." before I left I wrote a poem. I guess she liked it because when I got to her opening tonite at Janssen Art Space I saw that she wrote it out by hand on a wall between her work.

now that's a thrill.

Alice Ripley

 

when Alice Ripley was a student at Kent State I was a special collections librarian. I saw her in many shows on campus. & since I've always been a collector I had all those programs. so after her Cabaret 88 performance last nite I got to visit her in her dressing room where I gave her those programs.

bat shit crazy

 

the RFK Jr. hearings have put this term into constant replay. it had me wondering what it's origin is.

we have bats on property & they usually delight. abt 6 years ago I startd a poem calld "Nite Swim" like this:

            little draculas

            swoop down

            toward pool

            but

            I feel

            no menace

I simply don't know what abt bat excrement is crazy. I began searching. there is much speculation abt the term's origin. it seems to derive from "bats in the belfry" which traces to circa 1900. however that doesn't answer the shit element of the expression. there is "anecdotal evidence" that is dates to the 1950s where it appears in the US military. the OED has a confusing entry putting it at 1950 but as another term for "bullshit." others give credit to various writers & a cartoonist.

whatever its birth & precise meaning the term has a certain power & current daily usage concerning what's happening in Washington.

        

Cabaret 88

 we have this fabulous series at the theater at our art museum. talent from Broadway comes to town to perform. & instead of that large theater space the stage is convertd into the kind of boîte I remember from years ago in NYC.

the other nite I heard Noah J. Ricketts (currently in "The Great Gatsby"). you may remember him from "Fellow Travelers." he's as good at storytelling as singing. & he was in a drop-dead suit. 

& then yesterday I encounterd him in town & got a photo together.

 woke at 4 a.m. as soon as I realizd what day it is I became sick to my stomach.

"Braid of Ribbons"

 

Palm Springs International Film Festival

 the first big event of the year locally is our festival's award gala.

here's a photo I took of Nicole Kidman -- who gave the best speech of the evening.