Discoveries: Arts and Culture

MKK is hopeful because of. " peace babies"; she lives in the Ashby living for seniors, and the boys from the school next door have two tasks to complete:  teach old folks to use cell phones, and hold babies in their arms...she says that has to change their character...she thinks if there is going to be less violence in our culture, it somehow has to fundamentally change...she has just become a grandmother, and the baby is Japanese. It was making the peace sign almost when it was just born, and when at 11 months, it hears Arigato(thank you), the infant bows...peacefully.  After she lost her house in the Berkeley fires, as well as her manuscripts, she became  active with veterans of the wars....and still is....she tells us stories.  She wanted to learn from them as she wrote.   The counterpoise is to create.  She knew about war, because her mother reminded her of 5000 years of history in which her ancestors participated in wars.   She reads ...

We had a nice gathering of two poets, friends of Clark's, and Francine and Bob, and Clark and Susan and myself at Burma Royal....on Telegraph Avenue.  We had two tea salads, that we all enjoyed, soups, and main dishes: catfish in banana leaf, with Tamirand...which made all the difference.  We drank an Italian Pinot Grigio, and enjoyed chatting about POET, Clark says, inspired to some extent by David Meltzer's last book, I used to be a Poet . Here are a couple of  Clark's poems to get the flavor: I give instructions in my poems you must follow them to the ends of tura lura independence platform forget any leaden attempts along the way this is fortissimo serious there'll be no popcorn. This is the lead poem, but he said tonight he was going to read from the last third of the book. The air in the poet the hue of the poet the torque of the poet the cry of the poet the poet's speed the poet's reach the poet's cover when you see the poet when...

Having delayed on publishing this, I will just push the button now, considering what is happening in Turkey...the machinery of history churns on. I was recommended to see a film, that was shown twice and sold out at BAMPFA and this showing also sold out;  Julia White Curator, told me I should see it.  She was right.  " The Ottoman Empire" covered all the territories which are in dispute and have produced the most conflict since the Viet Nam War in my lifetime. Now that is not a very enticing introduction! My Own Experience in the regions : I had so many thoughts during it; can I find them.  First of all, I worked in both  Kosovo, and in Macedonia , for the EU's Educational Reforms project, in the final stages, before their independence, as I taught English in a Peace Education context.   So I travelled in Montenegro, through Kosovo, and in the the historical sites in Macedonia, once a part of ancient Greece, and the home of Alexander the Great...

Hilary Hahn is consistently herself, though matured, having mothered a child last year, and having returned to Bach, to whom she was exposed continuously as a student.  Discovered she studied at Curtis School of Music in Philadelphia, where she was admitted at age 10, --and  where I met incredible musicians in formation and in mastery, including Yo Yo Ma.  She played elegantly, with poise and full confidence in her instrument and in herself as an instrument of musicality.   She is on tour of this recital of the Bach Sonata and two partitias, the last being incredibly difficult(the program notes described it as the "Everest" ). It started well, as a couple in line with drinks with me, -- resulted in the husband ordering a glass of champagne for me; I thought that only happened in Europe.  I commented to the wife, that she had a very nice husband, and she said, affirmatively, yes, he is a very nice husband; an elegant SF couple and a man with saving grace....

Life is always a series of choices.  I had a chance to hear a NYT Pulitzer prize winning journalist talk about corruption he has uncovered on his beat in Shanghai where I lived for three years, so I was tempted and even put down money for the invitation from the N California Asia Society, but my feet took me to the California Book Club, on Sutter, same building as World Affairs Council, for wine and cheese and then this extraordinary opportunity provided by the rare book antiquarian dealer John Windle  here in SF. who specializes in Blake and has a Blake catalogue and gallery that is mind expanding. I was introduced , in person, to Blake's drawings at the Tate, while I was at Oxford; every time for the whole year, that I went into London which was about every 6-8 weeks, courtesy of my good English friend whose family lived in Sloane Square, where we stayed, I went to the Tate to see both the Turners and the William Blakes on rotation. Charles Daniels was the brilliant ten...