One of the nice things about this project is that I’m still running into poets that were essentially unknown to me. This is like one of the joys of my youthful musical life: digging through used LP records or a bin of “cutouts” looking for an interesting title, some compelling cover art, or an intriguing … Continue reading Louise Bogan’s “Song”
As promised, here’s a love poem, one written by Claude McKay the Jamaican-born poet and writer who worked for many years in the United States. McKay sort of bridges the gap between Paul Laurence Dunbar and the Harlem Renaissance for Afro-American poets. Like Dunbar, Fenton Johnson and Anne Spencer, his poetry was written early enough … Continue reading Memory of June
I can’t say what day this happened, but it was sometime in 1916 in Davenport Iowa. A well-off, Harvard-educated man in his mid-thirties named Witter Bynner was visiting a former Harvard classmate Arthur Davison Ficke in the latter’s elegant home. Besides family wealth, both men shared an interest in the arts, and both were published … Continue reading Two men walk into a hotel room, and…
Since I’ve been keeping track, one thing has been consistent with the most popular piece each season: it’s been by a poet not widely known or read in the United States. So previously we’ve seen on top after a season of your listening: my translation of Dada principal Tristan Tzara’s “The Death of Apollinaire,” the … Continue reading The most popular Parlando Project piece for Summer 2018 is…
I’ve already mentioned in this count-down that I’m sometimes surprised at what Parlando Project pieces are the most listened to. It’s not just that it isn’t always the best-known poems, a surprise factor that I’ve already mentioned, but that it sometimes isn’t a performance that I think I pulled off well. Such is the case … Continue reading The Most Popular Parlando Project Piece for Spring 2018
When I look at a more well-known poet or poem, I often find someone else less well-remembered connected with them. This sort of thing naturally intrigues me. Are we overlooking something of interest? Does this lesser-known person change our understanding of the more well-known poet? I’ve noted earlier this month that Carl Sandburg won the … Continue reading When I Was a Young Girl
Musician jokes have a cruel streak, though most musicians love them. “How can you tell if there’s a drummer knocking at your door?” “Because his knocking speeds up and slows down, and he doesn’t know when to come in” “Did you hear about the banjo player who played in tune?” “Neither did … Continue reading And the most popular piece here last season was…
As I warned everyone yesterday, I seem to like Daze & Weekes Sunshine Blogger questions a little too much. Longest post ever… 1. What inspired you to start blogging? The Parlando Project started out as a podcast, which I wanted to be just the short audio pieces combining various words (mostly poetry) with as varied … Continue reading There is another sunshine Part 2
I’m going to close out our investigation into the little-known early 20th Century Chicago Modernist poet Fenton Johnson with one of his most emotionally moving poems. James Weldon Johnson first included “Tired” in his “Book of American Negro Poetry” in 1922, and it has been anthologized several times since. “Tired” remains the poem of Fenton … Continue reading Tired
“So, what are you going to do today?” my teenaged son asked me. “Go and be of some use to the world.” I replied. “How are you going to do that?” “Write about Fenton Johnson.” “No really, what are you going to do?” “Write about Fenton Johnson.” “Oh. I thought it was a joke or … Continue reading The Banjo Player
