WoW! What a wonderful time last night reading my new poem for Whitman on Walls at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse! What an amazing group of fellow readers and performers! Thank you to Karin Coonrod & Compagnia de’ Colombari!
Last night, I was featured in a county-based talent show that took place in the area I live. For my act, it was performing two poems that include “Zombies Don’t Make News Anymore” and “A Viking Eulogy” from my poetry collections Poisoned Romance and The System Is Killing Her, respectively.
It had been a while since I have been on a theater stage but it was fun to perform these pieces and give…
Charles Bukowski, "Hurry Slowly" // uquiz by VoteforDaffy // @ka3l // Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov // Soozey Lipsey, 'Your Show Must Go On'
brand new city by mitski // i, tonya (2017) // jennifer’s body (2009) // black swan (2010) // euphoria (s2 ep7) // regarding the röttgen pietà by elle emerson // femme bougie by gérard lartigue // fleabag // a taxi by euginiya dudnikova // shame is an ocean by mary lambert
i honestly love the fact that i have just been following two people very invested in dnf for like a year, either bc of a misclick or other mutual fandom, because i have so little knowledge about what is and is not real with those two. i have never played or watched a mindcraft in my life, however i can acknowledge insane homoeroticism when i see it, and those two are either ridiculously committed to a bit or ridiculously committed to each other, and to the like fifteen people who still seem to care post-face reveal (which i always thought was awful by the way, like people were dicks about it) it doesn’t really matter
I’m reading at Whitman on Walls August 18, 2022 in Syracuse
Syracuse-area friends! I'm reading a newly comissioned poem next Thursday Aug 18, as part of Whitman on Walls, a fun film and poetry event at the Everson Museum of Art. Come by, bring a lawn chair, enjoy a food cart dinner, and listen as local poets respond to short films inspired by "Song of Myself." Yes yes!
https://everson.org/connect/wow-at-the-everson/
Can we talk about The Dying Swan moment in Coda? As someone who was once a very serious ballerina, I need to talk about the Dying Swan. Here's your context --
CHAKOTAY: Harry's clarinet solo was okay. I could have done without Tuvok's reading of Vulcan poetry. But the highlight of the evening was definitely Kathryn Janeway portraying the Dying Swan.
JANEWAY: I learned that dance when I was six years old. I assure you, it was the hit of the Beginning Ballet class.
Have you seen The Dying Swan? It is dramatic.
Here, take a minute:
youtube
First of all, this dance is much too advanced for a six-year-old, even if they’re doing it in demi pointe. (Six-year-olds emphatically should not be in pointe shoes btw.) The dance is almost entirely bourees and arm movements done to very subtle musical cues, not the foundational ballet moves typically taught in Beginning Ballet.
This is a very vulnerable, dramatic dance that is effective because of its subtleties. The performer would need to embody that vulnerability in some way for a convincing performance. It's short, but it's a solo piece -- all eyes on you. I mean, it was choreographed for a prima ballerina, BUT THAT'S NOT MY POINT
Can you imagine our unflappable Captain Janeway willingly getting in front of her crew to do this ballet? I get that it’s thematically relevant to the plot of Coda, but since Janeway is only vulnerable in front of her crew when it means putting herself in harm’s way, it seems like a wild decision. She tends to hold herself apart from her crew, maintaining the professional distance of the captain. Further, when she does any creative pursuit, it is almost always in private, since her sister was the artist in the family and she was the scientist. As a captain, she commands Voyager in a much different way than she would as a dancer with this piece. I'm not saying she never shows vulnerability because she definitely does, but not necessarily in this way. Then when she talks about it with Chakotay, she just casually brushes it off with a laugh like no big deal.
There’s also the question of costume – would she have gone full tutu? Done it in her Starfleet uniform? An impeccable yet flow-y white suit? She does get into costume and command a performance in Bride of Chaotica!, but Coda is still kind of early days for our captain. Arachnia aligns more with what we know about Janeway's character.
Granted, it is Chakotay laying down these complements about her dancing ability and he is clearly biased. To be fair, Neelix does too before they leave in the shuttle. If she did this dance and performed it poorly or amazingly, I feel like the crew would look at her a bit differently afterwards.
Canonically she did The Dying Swan, but I certainly have trouble picturing it happening.