OLD FAVORITE QUOTE

" It's hard to be easy."  —Ned Rorem (from An Absolute Gift)

NOMADLAND

 
Some terrific acting in this film, a lot of it by non-actors. Director and co-screenplay adapter, Chloe Zhao became a favorite of mine after seeing her 2017 film THE RIDER. That film also included a lot of non-actors more or less playing themselves, as does NOMADLAND. In the former I found it worked seamlessly. In the latter, at times I was a little distracted by guessing who were the real nomads portraying more or less themselves.

Otherwise it's a quietly stunning movie with another brave performance by Frances McDormand. I only wish I could have seen it on a big screen to fully appreciate some of the Western vistas displayed. And I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending. Not necessarily a bad thing.

NADIA OWUSU'S AFTERSHOCKS/GLENN MOTT'S ECLOGUES IN A MUSTARD SEED GARDEN/ANDREA LEE'S RED ISLAND HOUSE

Here's three recently published books by three of my favorite writers:

This memoir by Nadia Owusu is totally captivating, enlightening, moving and unique. Her story is so singular there is none like it I have ever heard or read, and her writing embodies that singularity. Her ability to infuse a tale of pain and loss and confusion and transcendence with thoughtful lyricism and compelling narrative is, for me, totally satisfying. A great book.

[full disclosure, I consider Nadia a friend since we read together at Pace a few years ago]

Glenn Mott's new book has no genre designation on the back cover as so many books do, for good reason. Based on a poetic form, this collection could be called poetry with prose interludes, or philosophic aphorisms or much more. But it is really just one of those rare quirky books that become personal treasures because they are so indefinable.

Here's the blurb I wrote for it that appears on the back cover: "Here is a unique compendium of wit and wisdom, contradiction and confirmation. It's like a mini-library in one volume, generating insight, argument, amusement, and entertainment."

[full disclosure: I consider Glenn a friend since we met at a reading at The Saint Mark's Poetry Project several years ago]

Since the first thing I read of hers, decades ago, Andrea Lee has been a favorite writer of mine whose books I've recommended and passed on to friends ever since. Every word she has published has engaged and satisfied me and my print junkie obsession.

Her latest, RED ISLAND HOUSE, you may have read excerpts from in The New Yorker, and if so you know she's a skilled storyteller. But her writing is also always unique in its perspective (much like Owusu's and Mott's). As someone who has been devouring books since childhood over seven decades ago, I am almost always thrilled at writing that reflects realities I've never experienced the way the writing displays. It was the reason I wrote and still do, to offer an individual take on the reality I experience which, if you are anything like me, is what I want from what I read.

THE LITTLE THINGS

THE LITTLE THINGS is another depressing and distressful police procedural that exploits violence against women by the plot's pretense of fighting it. The script is full of inconsistencies, Rami Malek seems miscast, and Jared Leto gives one of his creepiest performances with his usual unique physical transformations. But Denzel made it still worth watching, for me, as he gives one of his signature master classes in movie acting.  
 

ROBERT HERSHON R.I.P.

I first met Bob, as his family and friends called him, in the 1960s when he was one of the editors and publishers of a new little literary magazine that came as a packet of separate loose pages stuffed in an envelope, hence its name: HANGING LOOSE. He became an instant friend (and later book publisher when the press added books to its line up) and remained so over all the years since. 

Bob was six years older than me and felt like a big brother, a funny one (I had an ex-cop big brother named Robert who was twelve years older and a jokester as well). Hershon's quick wit, even when aimed at me, always made me laugh, which was an unexpected gift because my inability to be equally witty usually soured me on that kind of banter. But Bob Hershon's love for his fellow poets and friends, and most folks, radiated from his heart even when cracking wise.

In fact, his readings were known for the laugher his poems often generated, even sometimes when addressing serious subjects. Some thought of him as a stand-up comic as much as a poet. But he was one of our most wonderful poets and should have had the name recognition of our most famous ones. I think because his poetry was often humorous it sometimes wasn't taken as seriously as it should have been, and because he didn't fit into the categories that critics create for poetry movements and scenes.

In fact Robert Hershon was unique, as a poet, editor, publisher, co-founder and director of The Print Center (that made it possible for many small presses to publish), and husband, father, friend, and wit. His physical presence will be, and already is, deeply missed, but his printed and recorded presence will live on. Rest in poetry, Bob.

[PS: here's the full text of the title poem from his 2019 collection END OF THE BUSINESS DAY:

"I looked in every file and folder/under the fax and behind the/Xerox. I retraced my footsteps/and pawed through the waste/paper and finally/I found what I'd done with this poem//So I folded it in half and then in/quarters and then to the size of/a matchbook/and I put it in my breast/pocket and I gave it a pat/and I turned out the lights/and I locked the door/and I ran for my life"

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

 
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, as you probably already know, is a uniquely clever revenge fantasy written and directed by Emerald Fennell, with a lot of terrific acting, but it's the brilliant Carey Mulligan's show all the way. Worth watching just for her (and delightful to see Laverne Cox in it too). 

MANK

MANK tells one version of how CITIZEN CANE was written. Films about writing are difficult to make engaging, or even entertaining. This one does a relatively good job, though it took a while for it to totally grab my attention. Mostly touted for the acting, the critical acclaim on that level (especially Gary Oldman as Mank and Amanda Seyfried as Marion Davies) is pretty valid. 

Scripts based on historic events are often distorted for supposed dramatic purposes but they still often bug me if I have any real knowledge of the subject (see my post on THE CHICAGO 7). MANK is no exception, but it's still worth watching.