Hampshire College, 5 April 08. We were hanging our bodies off the side of a railroad bridge, the gorge swaying beneath us, we had taken a long walk, and I came to realize during these days all the things I needed in life, and when I returned to school I went straight to the danceContinue reading “Show: Circus Folk Unite!: Zoomorphia (2008)”
Author Archives: stephen
Protected: Exploits: Ma and Pa Beaver
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film: Neilan: Stella Maris (1918)
1918. I fall in love with Mary Pickford every time I see one of her films, and it’s difficult to remember that her hands were smooth and delicate, her body serenely curvaceous ten years before my grandfather was born. I cannot imagine her slacks torn, her belt broken, and yet watching her, how she loves,Continue reading “film: Neilan: Stella Maris (1918)”
film: Newmeyer, Taylor: Safety Last! (1923)
Drinking for seven hours, and suddenly the inclination to make fun like this, and it’s not unusual? Mentioning Kafka is rarely a smart idea. The only instance I can recall when it was okay was during a discussion over whether the Germans or the Czechs have more claim to him. Using the word Kafkaesque isContinue reading “film: Newmeyer, Taylor: Safety Last! (1923)”
film: MacPherson: Borderline (1930)
I was always judged very harshly by my appearance, which was something I never took much time to consider. It was around the time that my sister told me I’d taught her a valuable lesson, “that it doesn’t matter what other people think of you,” when I found myself with a host of new values,Continue reading “film: MacPherson: Borderline (1930)”
film: Loncraine: Richard III (1995)
When I first saw this I was instantly enthralled, the sounds of jazz, the colors and costumes, the explosions, the classiness exhumed from every cigarette butt. I’ve recommended the film to everyone I know. This time, however, I felt a bit offended by the extent of the slash and burn the writers made of originalContinue reading “film: Loncraine: Richard III (1995)”
poetry: Wordsworth: “An Evening Walk” (1793)
Wordsworth was doomed to be Wordsworth. Even at age 16 he was writing extensive descriptive poems of the places he’s seen, the every twig and feather seen on his walk. Of course, the words call to mind my own roving through his lake district, early in the morning, over misty hills, surrounded by sheep, andContinue reading “poetry: Wordsworth: “An Evening Walk” (1793)”
film: Taymore: Titus (1999)
Granted, I have been suffering from chronic nausea for two months, and a film by WC Fields, a few weeks ago, had the same effect on me—but this is the first time that violence and gore has made me shiver nervously, nauseated me intensely. However, of all the film, that aspect was the least over-the-top,Continue reading “film: Taymore: Titus (1999)”
Aristophanes: The Birds.
It’s difficult to care–I haven’t any desire to write this because I just don’t care for the play at all–but that should be beside the point, shouldn’t it? I mean, because it’s a classic I’m not meant to enjoy it, right? I’m just meant to absorb it so I can include myself in the collectiveContinue reading “Aristophanes: The Birds.”
Clair: Sous les toits de Paris (1930)
All I’d seen of Rene Clair was his Entr’acte that–although I have no recollection of it, I do associate with Dadaism or some such thing. I trudged slowly towards home carrying this film in one hand, a bottle of wine in the other, knowing that I was to soon face the hell that is art.Continue reading “Clair: Sous les toits de Paris (1930)”
arts & fetters 