from Luce Irigary's between east and west
(Columbia University Press, 2002):

"There is much
that is strange,
but nothing that
surpasses man
in strangeness"

(Sophocles, Antigone, vv.332-333) .



My babies parade waving their innocent flags
an unpublished philosopher, a [woman] who [will]
column after column down colonnade of rust
in my paintings, for they are present
I am wary of the [disparaging] of the pink promenade
went in the other direction to Tulsa,
glistering, bristling, cozening whatever disguises
S of Christmas John Wayne will clown with
Dreams, aspirations of presence! Innocence gleaned,
annealed! The world in its mysteries are explained
and the struggles of babies congeal. A hard core is formed.
"I wanted to be a cowboy." [Wonder woman] will do.
Romance of it all was overwhelming
daylight of itself dissolving and of course it rained.

--from The Sonnets by Ted Berrigan

Motorcycle Diaries: I went to see it today and greatly appreciated the luscious South American scenery and Gael García Bernal, the handsome actor from Amores Perros. I should warn you though to brace yourself for the wrenching images of poverty and consequent neglect. Ron Silliman has some intelligent things to say about the film in his web log: ronsilliman.blogspot.com. He also offers some sane words for disappointed citizens.

Despite new teaching methods, the achievement gap between the sexes remains. A 2002 study at Yale Law showed that disproportionately more men than women took prestigious clerkships at the Court of Appeals after graduation. A study at Harvard Law released earlier this year found that far fewer female students win spots on The Harvard Law Review's editorial board. Of 46 editors added this year, only 14 are women. Editors attribute the gender gap to the fact that men tend to perform better on the writing exercise that is the criterion for Law Review selection -- mainly an analysis of court opinions -- just as they have been shown to do in class with similar assignments. Assuming they have little chance, women may be less engaged in the exercise. ''I worry that the current imbalance contributes to a vicious cycle that, unfortunately, discourages some women from putting their best foot forward.'' Editors are stepping up recruiting efforts, taking first-year women for coffee and holding special information sessions.
--NYTimes, Saturday, November 6, 2004

Nina Cassian. I may have posted her already. I found her on the internet:

Youthing

It's like the process of aging.
Just a process.
Your hair starts to grow wilder,
your skin gets smoother,
your appetites increase.
Suddenly, you sing in the shower
and in the rain,
you discover a plant you've never seen before
and you munch it.
What's that tiny star on your left temple?
Maybe a bird scratched it with tender claws
to prod you into flying.
And then, that dialogue with the moon
keeps you awake,
and then, that dream of death
becomes more and more remote--
or is it the other way around?

And if you have RealAudio you can hear her voice at: http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/poetry/antholog/cassian/youthing.htm

(click on RA 28.8)

And bring your music forth into the air

By the sweet power of music: therefore the poet

Music for the time doth change his nature

The man that hath no music in himself

Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,

Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils;

The motions of his spirit are dull as night

And his affections dark as Erebus.

Let no such man be trusted. Mark the music.


-Shakespeare