the true poet knows words
are second to action weaker
than blood spilled on the battleground
of human rights and dignity
The True Poet
Experimenter: The Stanley Milgram Story
Question: Can a film delve into the topical yet timeless issues of free-will, social conformity, and malevolent authority, and still remain a fun, genuine entertainment? I answer in the affirmative and as Exhibit A give you Michael Almereyda’s Experimenter (2015).
Sweet Lamb of Heaven by Lydia Millet
Earlier this year, as soon as I heard news of Lydia Millet’s newest novel, I diligently set about reading the last two novels of her recent trilogy (How the Dead Dream, Ghostlights, Magnificence). Even when this author writes a trilogy, it is more like three loosely connected novels, the way some novels are a collection of loosely connected stories. I finished the trilogy satisfied that she had given me three distinct examples of her worldview shown through the eyes of three related characters.
I Like Kenny G
There. I’ve said it
And if that makes me whiter than Wonder Bread
So be it.
His music takes me back
To a brief time when I was happy,
Tenancy
The two men stood in the entryway of Edwina Graham’s spacious one-bedroom apartment. This whole building was going condo, and the fact that an old woman had a controlled rent of $580 wasn’t going to stand in the way of that. She had held out for months, but Carlson had had enough. This was a multi-million dollar deal, for God’s sake.