reflections of the dance

 from 11th anniversary concert of Nickerson-Rossi Dance

"Antipodism"

 sometimes writing poems

is like foot juggling

I try to remember

Lou Bogert performing 

at the county fair

when I was a boy

& he was on his back

balancing balls

on soles of his feet

writing this

I see myself

on my back

legs flailing 

in anticipation

of contact

with word balls

such a silly scene

seems perfect

for a poem

Tom Shales (1944-2024)

 another shock. in recent years I lost touch with Tom. but he was a meaningful person in my life.

film historian David H. Shepard introduced me to Tom & we had an immediate rapport. his wit & intelligence made him ever so likable. & at that time he was a cute twink as well. our flirtation didn't last long but our friendship grew. he of course became the best known television critic in the country. I believe he was the first tv critic to ever win the Pulitzer. with age he became a darker figure. but I can never forget laughing with him. the young Tom will forever be in my catalog of dear boys.

this is the only photo I have with him. it's not the best. & of course you don't even see my face. it was taken at the only Kennedy Center Honors I attended. & it was sweet Tom who got me a ticket because he knew how much I loved Stephen Sondheim who was being honord that nite.

send in the clowns

 I grew up knowing 2 clowns.

first there was Rollins the Clown. I recall few details of him. somehow my parents met him. we'd visit he & his wife in their small & messy house. they seemd old to me then. my major memory of that place were the plaster pieces they made. one that hung on the wall was the head of what mite've been a Persian prince. I remember being quite taken by his turban. I don't think we ever bought one. now I wish we had. I'm pretty sure I never saw him in his clown persona & can't be certain he ever made a living as one.  years later I askd Dad abt Rollins' clownness & he was unable to recall details.

then there was a neighbor named Tom Redockovich. he workd at Bendix. I doubt he was ever a professional clown but he'd appear at local events. I took this of him at a party in our backyard in the summer of 1958.

the biggest clown encounter of my life was when I was in high school. I took part in a Cleveland Press interview of the legendary Emmet Kelly. he may have been America's most famous clown. as Weary Willie he personified the role of "sad clown." I still have this photo he signd for me that day.

these memories are the result of an unexpectd happening yesterday. after a film screening I stoppd in Sherman's to get a piece for cake to bring home. & there was Harpo the Clown.  he appears in parades & other valley events. apparently he's a graduate of "clown college" at Ringley Brothers. Frank Sinatra paintd him & Snake Jagger has used his image for art pieces. he appeard in a film calld "A Thousand Cuts" (with a cameo by my friend Viga Dean).

Palm Springs International Film Festival

wearing my Ross Bleckner vest

Meryl Streep

Cillian Murphy

Lenny Kravitz & Colman Domingo

 

another digital broadside

 

a first kiss & other memories

 one of my few public school classmates with whom I still communicate sent me a photo I'd never seen. it was of a 7th grade class at Eastern Heights. I probably have never seen it because it's not my homeroom. but I knew so many in that photo.

this is a section I editd. the boy with glasses is my best friend from that period -- the artist T. R. Queen. & the blonde on the right in front is Denise Gainer. I was struck by their proximity because there is a photobooth shot of Tom & I on a double date with Denise & her younger sister on the cover of Alex in Movieland.

I've written abt Tom over the years because he was a major figure in my early life. but I don't think I've written abt Denise.

as you can see she was a beauty. even in junior high she stood out with her movie star looks. Denise was a neighbor. we only went out together a few times. but I remember once we kissd. I don't recall the details of the date but I have a vivid memory of that kiss. the first time I ever kissd a girl. & strangely I have zero memory of my first boy kiss.

Denise began singing when she was 9 & while in high school she appeard semi-regularly on Gene Carroll's tv show in Cleveland. it was Carroll who introduced her to band leader Blue Barron. after high school Denise hit the road as Barron's singer. she ended up in Chicago where 2 years later she got a leading role in the musical review "Put It in Writing." we all thot she was on her way to stardom. but then we didn't hear anything.

she died in Kentucky in 2009. her obituary noted her 34-year marriage. 2 children & 9 grandchildren. & a life long love of music.

Sonny

 that's what my parents calld me. I suspect it was because they gave me Dad's first name. altho generally he was Al & I was Alex. I have no way of knowing when this began. the earliest documentation I have is this note Mom made in one of my baby books:

yesterday a new restaurant opend in town. because it's calld Sonny's I went this morning for breakfast. the lobster benedict with potatoes & peppers was spot on. I wish I was able to call Mom now & tell her all abt it.

Sheila Smith (1933-2023)

 

here's a little song Sheila wrote for my 50th birthday:

on the air

 just taped an interview for the popular radio show "Coach Lynn." ostensibly abt both of my current releases ("Flowers & the Dead" & "The Poet's Bench: A Palm Springs Coloring Book." I think it airs next week.

because poetry isn't high on most people's love list it's always good for me to try to spread the word. 

delightd

 to have this little collection of recent poems come out this month from Bone Machine

Famous Widows I've Seen

 Edith Bolling Galt Wilson

Eleanor Roosevelt

Dorothy Davenport Reid

Frances Howard Goldwyn 

Valerie Eliot

Miriam Patchen

celebrating

 the centennial

of Bernique Longley

Cinema Diverse

 actor Mat Hayes wrote a script for a short movie. his friends Emerson Collins & Del Shores filmd it with Mat in the lead. "Shafted" involves 2 men in an elevator which stops. I saw it yesterday at our gay film festival. & when it was over I askd Mat if he'd pose with me -- in an elevator. he sweetly agreed.

poems are everywhere

 

Jacob Leed (1924-2023)

 

"Morning After Hurricane Hillary: self portrait"

 

I'm safe

 exhaustd but still alive.

we're in a lull right now. but it is still active here thru morning.

 

"10 Pages"

on my milestone birthday I performd "Gildzen at 80" on the beach in Monterey. at the end of the piece I dug up some sand from the middle of the zero & put it in a Ziplock bag.

photo by Gary Sielaff

I wantd the sand for another piece I was doing -- "The Earth Jar."  I used what I needed but still had sand left in the bag. at one point I gave Christine Anthony & Owen Masterson one of the pages from Gildzen at 50 I used in the Monterey piece along with a little bag of the sand. but there was still enuf sand to call me to do more.

then last nite after hitting the pillow my wandering mind came up with a new piece. I decided to take 10 pages from Gildzen at 50 which I'd used in the Monterey piece & affix the sand onto them with glue. I have no idea how long these pieces will last but I'm pleased with them. & now my multiple decades can be celebratd in numerous places.