Kaupunki

I'm sorry, but any language that calls a city "kaupunki" has my vote.

Yeah.

Vote Helsinki 2017.

Scandisff panel worth listening to...

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Graham

A couple of good obituaries for a much-beloved teacher for CW '07:

UK and I09. 

As usual, other people say it well so I will keep quiet.  Tomorrow is 9/11.  As Graham said in the journal entry, life puts things in perspective, dunnit.  I learned something from that man, though.

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Night songs

We got free tickets to see Rosanne Cash last night.  She played at the  staid St. Kate's auditorium with a mellow but skilled band and really sounded good.  She played her new album in full and some old hits and country standards.

For some reason, a song about her family's home in the sunken land of Arkansas made me think about Minnesota poet James Wright.  His work is very rich and dark, so I guess that makes sense.  The poem I was thinking of is about a condemned man at his grave, but this is a good one too:  Yo, Minneapolis. (Not really the title.)

I'm reading Christopher Bram's biography of (male) gay writers of the 40s through 90s (approx.), Eminent Outlaws, and the section on Frank O'Hara reminded me of Wright too.  I had never seen the paintings of Wynn Chamberlain until I googled them upon reading about his portraits of O'Hara.  Wow:  This may disappear. This page has his The Barricade and a picture of Johnny Cash's childhood home, a little bit of synchronicity, as well as Jacob Lawrence and a lot of other amazing stuff: Crucified Land.

Bram's book is truly fascinating, a mishmash of biographies of writers like James Baldwin, Gore Vidal, Truman Capote, and Tennessee Williams for the 60s, and lots of backroom gossip and historic commentary such as a discussion of what led to Boys In the Band and what effect it had on media homophobia and on the atmosphere for gay literature.  The rise of gay publishers, magazines, and bookstores comes in the 70s, and Bram notes things like the key role of those back wall rack sales in propping up gay bookstores.  The demise of those bookstores is due to more than just online book sales; the internet moved the cruising and page viewing online too...

I'm only in the mid-70s right now, but expect it will continue to be interesting...  The footnotes are rich, too, with links to gems like James Baldwin videos on YouTube.  The idea that i can go online and view his debate with William F. Buckley or his talks on Malcolm X instead of just reading about them in books from dusty lower shelves in old bookstores still blows me away...

I also just finished Pissing In a River by Lorrie Sprecher (The Feminist Press, 2014).  It's an awesome exploration of classic punk music, direct action politics with a 90s British feminist edge, OCD, and the aftermath of rape in lesbian relationships and friendships/ communities.  She put the soundtrack in her head into mine, in a good way, which really enhanced the story.  There are a lot of words spent on lusting after guitars and classic guitar sounds, but I'm totally a rapt audience for that.  Last night, it was making me drool over the lead guy's oh so country Telecaster...  Pissing In a River kicks some a$$...

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Admitted

This made me laugh:  Esp. the comments. 

I did not post.  Wiscon went bust.  The world went boom.  I went traveling and turned slightly pink in the sun.  Saw sea turtles and neon fish and a little octopus up close.  Now I'm home and fall is closing in.

I read some good stuff.  Will have to write about it some time. Just finished a Swedish police procedural that was only ok.  Currently devouring Lorrie Sprecher's new novel after a looong time, Pissing In a River.  Yes, punk dykes and activism.  It's good.  More later...

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