out on the town

with David McDaniel

one-third of Gotham

whose stage credits include "No No Nanette" & "Pirates of Penzance"
film credits include "Michael Clayton" & "Burn After Reading"

my week

travel was challenging. weather was as erratic as John McCain   pleasant one day   nasty the next. but it was good because I was able to spend time with people abt whom I care.



with Regina at her house...

my panel

will be around 3 pm tues. but if you stop by CUNY's Segal Theater I'll be there all afternoon & evening.

in between panels & videos there will be a series of readings from Jean-Claude's plays. Ruth Maleczech   one of the great names of Off-Broadway   will read "Bag Lady." sections of "America Hurrah" & other van Itallie works are scheduld to be read by Angelica Torn & Brian Murray.

I'm flying to Boston to spend some time with Regina first. so this spot will be lonely for a week.

"the theater of Jean-Claude van Itallie"

CUNY presents an all-day seminar on his career. it runs in the Segal Theater (365 Fifth ave) from 2-9 pm next tues.

I'll be on one of the panels. so if you're in Manhattan stop by.

call everyone you've ever slept with

Durlx sent me this great article abt Bette Midler's rally for Obama.

how much do I love that woman...

2 weeks to go

McCain now ahead in Ohio & Florida & gaining in the newest national poll.

be afraid. be very afraid.

Emily loves George

thx to Silliman for today's link to new biographical research on Emily Dickinson.

autumn

my favorite time of year



this was in my backyard in Kent so it's at least 15 years ago.

a reminder for everyone who thinks it's in the bag

Levi Stubbs (1936-2008)

the Four Tops
but also
the voice of Audrey
in "Little Shop of Horrors"

national chocolate cupcake day

or so says the morning news.

who makes up this stuff?

"what becomes a legend most?"

in my day a legend was a legend.



& as a movie-mad young man I loved the Blackglama ads. this one of Judy Garland was one of her most memorable poses. & of course Andy Warhol appropriatd it for his famous print.

I still remember the poses of Gloria Swanson & Claudette Colbert & Lana Turner. but my all-time fave was that of Barbara Stanwyck who displayd her great spirit with such flare. now there was a legend.

the reason I dredge all this up is the current issue of Vanity Fair. it includes a new "what becomes a legend most?" ad. & boy do I feel old. I had no idea who the young woman in the ad was. I had to go to the company's website to discover it was Elizabeth Hurley. I rememberd she was a model who used to live with Hugh Grant before he pickd up the hooker but I had to google her to discover she's actually appeard in some movies. I don't think I've seen any of them.

Elizabeth Hurley is a lucky young lady. joining the ranks of Garland & Stanwyck. perhaps after I'm dead she'll actually become a legend. but right now I'd say Blackglama is really stretching.

LeClezio

while in Elyria I read that the French writer won the Nobel. I hadn't heard abt him or thot abt him in many years. when I was an undergrad I was smitten by a photo of him looking ever so gorgeous with that blond hair. I no longer have the picture which I clippd from a mag. I don't know the source nor have I been able to find it online.

as surprising as it was to see what he looks like now was the news that for part of the year LeClezio lives less than an hour away from me.

in the heartland

across the street from Mom's house there are several McCain/Palin signs. not surprising. Ohio leans Republican in presidential contests. & indeed McCain is ahead by an inch in state polls. so that campaign has sent the veep candidate to Ohio to spew her vitriol.

knowing that I was still shockd when one of Mom's elderly lady friends compard Obama to Hitler. that's exactly the kind of hate this campaign has generatd. those critics who have condemnd McCain are right. he's allowd the red state red meat rednecks to shout & clamber in a danergous manner.

something else is happening there that worries me. the Ohio Republican Party sued the secretary of state over voter registration. altho the judiciary has been split in its response so far I fear that in another close election Ohio cd once again be the culprit that catapaults the GOP candidate to the White House. we all know the Diebold controversy of 2004.

web on Winckles

back from Ohio

I'm happy to report that Mom is greeting widowhood with grace.



she & Dad were married for 66 years. so it's a difficult stage in her life. but she's being brave. because the hurricane causd my visit for her birthday to not happen we celebratd all over again.

& for a change the weather was beautiful. my favorite time of year in Ohio has always been oct. on sat cousin Sal took me on a little trip. here he is with Lorain's famous bascule bridge which has been stuck in the up position for 4 months.



one of the world's largest drawbridges   it was opend in 1940. watching it part & lift was a boyhood thrill.

Matthew Shepard (1976-1998)

off
to Ohio
to visit Mom

so much hate

at a McCain rally an hour away from me yesterday when Obama's name was mentiond someone in the audience yelld out "terrorist."

McCain did nothing.

at a Palin rally yesterday when Obama's name was mentiond someone in the audience yelld out "kill him."

Palin did nothing.

flarfd

I've read abt Issue 1   the online anthology of parodies of hundreds of poets. since I've flown under the radar my whole career   I never expectd to be part of it.

but after reading Tom Beckett's entry on his blog I gave a glance at the endless list of poets purportd to be contributors. I was shockd to find my name in the brew. I haven't seen the poem yet.

________________________________________________________

after writing the above I checkd the large pdf file of the issue. I don't know what to make of "my" poem. I rather thot I'd find a poem that maybe mentiond Mamie Van Doren. what I found doesn't feel at all like me. but it's fun to share the pages with all the other fakes.

rain

it's so rare here it becomes mentionable.

another interview

Fetzers of Ohio

I noticd in Paul Newman's obits that his mother's name was Teresa Fetzer. she lived in Cleveland which isn't far away from Akron where Herman Fetzer lived.

I wrote abt the rotund poet/journalist years ago & returnd to this forgotten figure for the Neglectorino Project.

cd Newman have been a relative of the poet?

monarchy of wings

as
I was
walking bike path
along
my arroyo
yesterday I encounterd
swarms
of butterflies
feeding on smelly
yellow
of chamisa:
buffet in flight.

Linda Darnell is crackd

& the B is missing
from Hugh Herbert's star
on Hollywood Blvd

what I define as history
keeps slipping away
like my life

when I'm dying
maybe Snub Pollard
will drop his moustache
for me to grab
& climb up

& when I'm gone
maybe Snub Pollard
will fade from history
& I'll join
those old poets
no one reads

you know where
this is going

so I'll just end it

maybe find a DVD
of "Letter to 3 Wives"
to light the nite