The Best American Poetry

Carmencita [by David Lehman]

The Best American Poetry — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:10:59 PDT

My dear friend Nietzsche, never one to mince words, came over and held forth on the subject of opera. "You can have your Verdi and your Wagner," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "Give me Carmen, Bizet's Carmen. Io mi...

The Complete Works of Frank Zappa -- an American composer (1940-1993) (Part 5) [by Lewis R. Saul]

Lewis Saul — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:01:00 PDT

RELEASES #54-67 (1989-1997) 54. You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 3 (2CD, Rykodisc RCD 10085/86, November 13, 1989) 25 Tracks Five previously unreleased tracks ("Ride My Face to Chicago," "Carol You Fool," "Chana in da Bushwop," "Hands with...

Does Anyone Care About F. R. Leavis? [by David Lehman]

The Best American Poetry — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:52:55 PDT

I recently reread F. R. Leavis's New Bearings in English Poetry (1932), one of the most influential books of literary criticism in the twentieth century. What impressed me on this reading -- my first since my student days at Cambridge,...

The Complete Works of Frank Zappa -- an American composer (1940-1993) (Part 4) [by Lewis R. Saul]

Lewis Saul — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:01:00 PDT

RELEASES #41-53 (1984-1988) 41. Thing-Fish (3LP, Barking Pumpkin SKCO-74201, November 21, 1984) It will soon be 30 years. When this three-album box-set was released, many Zappa fans were severely disappointed. Many old tracks were simply re-recorded with overdubs: ("Torchum" and...

Albert York, "Woman and Skeleton" (c. 1967) [by David Lehman]

The Best American Poetry — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:34:03 PDT

I love this painting by Albert York, the famously reclusive painter, said (by Calvin Tompkins) to be " "the most highly admired unknown artist in America." York, who died in 2004 at the age of eighty, shunned the art world...

Bach's Goldberg Variationzzzzzzzzzzzz (by Stacey Harwood)

The Best American Poetry — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:43:17 PDT

Of Jerome Robbins's 90-minute ballet to J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations, New York Times dance critic Clive Barnes wrote: Jerome Robbins's new ballet, seen for the first time in its final version at the New York State theater on Thursday night...

The Complete Works of Frank Zappa -- an American composer (1940-1993) (Part 3) [by Lewis R. Saul]

Lewis Saul — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 06:51:01 PDT

RELEASES #28-40 (1979-1984) 28. Joe's Garage Act I (LP, Zappa SRZ-1-1603, September 3, 1979) 29. Joe's Garage Acts II & III (2LP, Zappa SRZ-2-1502, November 19, 1979) Originally, three discs covering two separate releases. The compact disc era compressed the...

Billy Collins Pinch Hits for Garrison Keillor, and See What Happens

The Best American Poetry — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:28:09 PDT

Billy Collins, guest editor of The Best American Poetry 2006, will be filling in as guest host of The Writer's Almanac from June through August. Garrison Keillor, the regular host, is devoting the summer to his weekly variety program, A...

The Origin of Father's Day (A Day Late, But That's Part of It)

The Best American Poetry — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:59:22 PDT

Billy Collins explains the origin of Father's Day: <<< Today is Father's Day, a holiday in this country that goes back to a Sunday morning in May of 1909, when a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd was sitting in church...

Monday Comics with Nin Andrews

The Best American Poetry — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:52:56 PDT