Obviously Five Believers (Thoreau, McClure, Whitman, Blake, Ginsberg)

Perhaps today’s audio piece and what I came to write about it has an interesting path. In words it’s a medium-length journey—so I beg your patience—but the places it goes are vast. Eventually, we’ll answer a question you may not have asking: who’s buried in William Blake’s tomb? It started with an illustration drawn by … Continue reading Obviously Five Believers (Thoreau, McClure, Whitman, Blake, Ginsberg)

Jade Flower Palace

National news and household events continually waylay my attention. Dejected gutters, palace intrigues throwing glances on complicated and duplicitous political alliances, and a middle-schooler with the sniffles—how can one weigh these things against this small but welcomed audience here for music combined with (mostly) poetry? And so, I found myself short of material as I … Continue reading Jade Flower Palace

Cold Is the North Wind, and Why Did Confucius Collect a Book of Songs Anyway?

Here’s one more musical piece from the anthology of ancient Chinese poetry collected by Confucius and his school and known as the Confucian Odes  or The Book of Songs. This one may be my favorite, though my performance of it dates to a time before I could find literal translations to check against the extant … Continue reading Cold Is the North Wind, and Why Did Confucius Collect a Book of Songs Anyway?

On First Hearing Blonde On Blonde

Earlier here you’ve heard me proclaim that Bob Dylan changed how folks wrote songs. Before Bob Dylan circa 1964, no one wrote songs like Bob Dylan. Afterward, the things he did (portrayal of fragmented personal experience, florid and unlimited imagery, a questioning attitude toward accepted beliefs) were everywhere, until by today we may have forgotten … Continue reading On First Hearing Blonde On Blonde