This project spends a lot of time in the first quarter of the 20th century where the public domain diamonds are scattered free for recutting and reuse — but If I was able to expand this, I’d probably skip the Thirties and delve into the 1940-1965 mid-century quarter, the era I personally remember through youthful-eyed … Continue reading The Dick & the Dame, or Dave Moore goes Pulp Noir
Here’s a surreal, enigmatic, and yet compelling story by Dave Moore that I adopted and combined with some orchestral music I composed for it several years ago. Dave wrote this during a period when he had returned to Iowa to help is aged father who was dying, and while nothing in the piece refers directly … Continue reading Dave Moore’s Cathedral
I think today’s audio piece is something many writers will relate to, but since it’s one I wrote I’ll be brief later down the page in writing about my encounter with it. The top part of this post will be a process post about music and working “live in the studio” with Dave Moore again … Continue reading The Terror of the Blank Page
Our Halloween series continues with the voice, music, and words of Dave Moore today as I present his piece “Sam and the Ghosts.” And as bonus autumn content, this one takes place in a garden just past harvest time. I haven’t kept a garden in decades, but Dave and long-time friend of this blog Paul … Continue reading Sam and the Ghosts
Here’s a well-worn trope you’ll see somewhere as the year 2022 ends. Someone will write or say: “2022 — would it ever end? Glad to see that sorry year done.” Troubling and bad things happened this past year. I know. I’m a grateful and privileged person, but still this year has had stressful and even … Continue reading Don’t Have To (Now You’re Done)
One of the interesting things about 20th century Modernism was that so much of its propagation seems to be based on a handful of pollinators who migrate from one place to another. Some of these pollinators are known but little-read today, others lesser-known, their names themselves faded from cultural memory. I suspect Gertrude Stein fits … Continue reading Van or Twenty Years After
As we celebrate National Poetry Month this spring, let’s continue with my condensed memoir with footnotes of how and why the Parlando Project came to be. Last time I was leaving home for college in The Sixties. I was an undistinguished student, able to connect with some teachers and subjects and unable to connect with … Continue reading Meeting Music and Words, a personal history. Chapter 2
We’ve come to the end of our Black History Month series on early 20th Century Black Chicago poet Fenton Johnson. Let me try to wrap things up with a few summary points — which as I’ll warn again, are preliminary and include speculation on my part. Long post, so the headings may help you if … Continue reading Wrapping up Fenton Johnson, for now
There were fewer audio pieces presented this past summer, so I’m going to abbreviate our traditional Top Ten review of the past season to reflect that — but I still kind of like this part of the Project, as I get to see what pieces got the most response. Like the Parlando Project in general, … Continue reading Abbreviated Summer 2022 Parlando Top Ten
Let me start out by saying I think that today’s poem is a fine piece of writing capable of making its listener think anew. “The Wall Around Heaven” is satire. Satire has two dangers: that one will take its audaciousness as a literal program or doctrine, or that one will laugh simply at the outrageousness … Continue reading The Wall Around Heaven (for Larry Williams)
Frank Hudson 