April 27, 2012

Looking at the fragility of life this week…

How Old, by Diane Havens
Read by Diane Havens

Diane writes…

Last year, we lost my mother-in-law to Alzheimer’s disease, but we’d really lost her for years before, and now, my parents are beginning to fade, very different from who they once were. So it’s a particularly resonant subject for me. It truly is the long goodbye.

I wrote this poem after my husband, son and I visited her just weeks before she passed away.

Where the Car Turns at 18th, by Edna Ferber
Read by Xe Sands

Xe writes…

Finally – a long piece again!Although published in1912, these poignant little stories have a timeless feel to them. Oh sure, the language is a bit dated, but the themes aren’t.This one, which is a re-recording of one I did years ago, speaks directly to the devastating effects to the spirit that can come of the romanticization of war and military service. “Where the Car Turns at Eighteenth” has stuck with me all these years with it’s portrait of the destruction of innocence and what happens when the spirit simply cannot be repaired.

I included the Foreword to the entire collection, as in it, Ferber tries to set the mood for these pieces.

Please note: this is in no way meant to offend those who so generously give in the service of our country, nor to malign all recruiters.

April 20, 2012

Ohhh, so THAT’s why everyone says, “Oh..Baudelaire.” Seriously, look at that brow!

The Desire to Paint, by Charles Baudelaire

Read by Xe Sands

Xe writes…

“The Desire to Paint,” from “Le Spleen de Paris,” by Charles Baudelaire
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/36287/36287-h/36287-h.htm

Thursday is usually my day to get my GP piece together and ready to go for Friday.

On Wednesday, because I felt the full onslaught of Spring, I wanted something a bit sensual (no, not like THAT…more like “Seven Seals”). “No problem!” I thought…there’s enough Lawrence and Neruda among many others to resolve this issue.

Heh.

On Thursday, I woke up on the wrong side of Spring, my perspective completely colored by dissatisfaction (anyone with a teen girl at home knows exactly what mood I am evoking with these words). Nothing sounded good. The whole process was like trying on pants in front of a 3-way mirror under fluorescent lights. Feh.

So what’s a girl to do when nothing feels good/tastes good/sounds good?

Well, enter the somewhat dark, prolific, slightly profane and oddly sensual Charles Baudelaire. This piece isn’t particularly demonstrative of what I’m referring to…but if you look into his work a bit more, I think it becomes more apparent why I say that he leaves the taste of better-written Lovecraft in your mind. There’s just something off about this guy…

…and “off” is the perfect solution to such a dissatisfied mood. It’s like looking in that mirror and declaring, “Screw the pants – I’m buying a SKIRT, ya hear me?!”

So while that is likely far more information about my pants-purchasing torment than you ever wished to know, I do hope you enjoy the piece 😉

(Seriously, even a Google search of his visage will tell you this guy is haunted my his muse…look at them and THEN listen to this piece…)

April 13, 2012

Oh-So-Real-Me, by Lighty & Ficly.com

Read by Xe Sands

Xe writes…

A friend just turned me onto Ficly.com and I am smitten – SMITTEN I tell you! As I cruise into midlife, i find my attention span is, er, a bit shorter than in years past…you could almost say I’m as distractible as my ferrets. So microfiction is my version of nirvana, people.

Oh I love me some long books – truly I do! But there is something so tantalizing about these snippets. They can mean, well, anything you’d like them to mean. And for this piece in particular, I’m curious what it means to you, if you’d care to share.

And if you enjoy the story (read or written), consider commenting on the story’s page. Definitely props an author up a bit to get some feedback from their efforts.

Posted on Ficly.com: http://ficly.com/stories/29709

 

Sonnet 90, by William Shakespeare
Read by Diane Havens

Diane writes…

I often page through Shakespeare’s sonnets — I love finding a new lesser known favorite and this one is my latest. The romantic sentiment is a simple one — leave me now, and the rest of life’s troubles will pale in comparison.

April 6, 2012

A little bit of the innocent, a little bit of the hoping not-to-be-so-innocent (really, who knew eyes could be so manipulative?)…

The Mysterious Art of Eye Flirtation
Read by Xe Sands

Xe writes…

Something a little quirky this week. Came across this a few months back via the wonderful Lists of Note (partnered with Letters of Note – an extraordinary site) and just couldn’t resist. How can you resist learning the deep and esoteric mysteries of EYE FLIRTATION?? You can’t, that’s how. So don’t try…

This evidently circulated in the late 1890s, and reminds me so much of other small pamphlets on love, dating, women, etc. from that era.

Enjoy! And if you try it, do drop me a line and let me know how it worked out for you 😉

Poema/Poem 20, by Pablo Nerudo
Read by Cassandra Neace

From Cassandra’s post on Indie Reader Houston writes…

Since April is National Poetry Month, I will be posting recordings of myself reading poetry every Friday.  Because the first namethat I think of when I hear the word “poetry” is always Pablo Neruda, I thought that I would return to him this week. I’ll be reading my very favorite Neruda poem, “Poema 20″/”Poem” from his first collection, Twenty Love Poems and A Song of Despair and I wasgoing to tell you the alleged story behind “Poema” in this space, but when I was looking the book up to see if I could confirm than alleged story, I saw that his translator was W.S. Merwin.  Merwin is an accomplished poet in his own right, having won two Pulitzer prizes and an National Book Award. He is also the 17th Poet Laureate of the United States.  To be honest, though, I have never read any of his work (which I’ll be doing very, very soon!).  But he is also the one that put Neruda’s words into English, and that probably changed my life forever.  That is no exaggeration. Because of his beautiful translations, I learned a whole otherlanguage and that opened a whole other world to me.  For that, I will be eternally grateful.

Merwin will be the featured author at the Inprint Margaret Root Brown Reading Series on April 23. All of my Neruda books are in storage in Tennessee, and that is killing me.  If you read this blog, you know that things are tight right now (though I’ve only tried to do nothing more than mention it in passing).

Forgotten,  by A. A. Milne
Read by Diane Havens

Diane writes…

Known primarily for “Winnie the Pooh” and other children’s literature, Alan Alexander Milne also wrote some wonderful poetry, essays, plays and novels for adults. Well worth delving into Mr. Milne’s work further.

Here, a poem for children, but for me, it has a poignancy that only maturity can bring to its reading.