December 04, 2008
As mentioned earlier, Deirdre Fulton and I are in the thick of Roberto Bolano's 2666, the Moby-Dick of international literary intrigue/mass serial murder novels. Here's some brief commentary on part 4 of the book, "The Part About the Crimes." I'm just about finished with this section - I wrote this in the middle of it - and I'll have more to say about it later. After I take a hot shower to get the grime off of me.
I’m on page 517 of 2666, in the thick of the fourth section, “The Part About the Crimes.” It’s based upon a plague of unsolved murders in Ciudad Juarez, in Northern Mexico, that began in 1993. Already, there have been dozens of descriptions of raped and murdered young women’s bodies. Bolaño’s prose — elsewhere winningly ramshackle, as if he inserts each detail just as it comes to him in just the words he thought them in — has become cold and terse. As the section wears on and wears you down, though, you begin to sense that Bolaño’s not merely being clinical. In the new issue of the literary journal n+1, the editors write that Bolaño’s work exhibits “a virtually Seinfeldian ban on moral growth or learning;” indeed, it’s not his prerogative to speculate on what these crimes mean or if they can be solved. At this point, they sound more like a psycho-sociological condition than the work of a serial killer or killers. “The Part About the Crimes” is the literature of hopeless, endless devastation: tragic, exhausting, and unstoppable.
December 04, 2008
Found online: this 1993 video gem, demonstrating the genius of (the now late) Manny Versoza. The song can be heard - by local-music aficionados - on the inaugural volume of the Greetings from Area Code 207 series.
H/T Sam Pfeifle
December 04, 2008
In this week's Phoenix, Chris Gray and I published our so-far thoughts on Roberto Bolano's last novel, 2666 (no link yet). As promised, here's some additional commentary from me.
I haven’t had time to read much this week, what with all the
drinking and now this terrible sickness (thanks, officemates!). That said, I
did get a chance to start the third section, “The Part About Fate.” It deals,
as far as I can tell, with a journalist who’s been sent to Mexico to cover some type of
sporting event. It’s a bit harder to get into, but CG tells me it’ll get better
when a character from one of the previous sections shows up.
Since I don’t have much to say about the actual content of
the book (too busy wondering if that’s snot or a bloody nose — sorry, gross), allow
me to expound briefly about its packaging. Chris and I have different versions,
both of which were released at the same time. His is a traditional hardcover
tome. Mine is three paperback books, tucked together into a plainish, cardboard
sleeve. The outside of each one is different, and each is eerie in its own way.
(Chris’ version has all the same art, but in different places.) The paperback grouping
puts the first three sections in the first book; the fourth and fifth sections
get their own separate books. Obviously, this serves
to underscore the fact that the novel is, in fact, separate novellas — which
Bolano origninally considered publishing as stand-alone stories. I wonder if
reading them in this broken-down way, rather than all collected between two
covers, has any subconscious effect on the reader.
December 02, 2008
Maine native Heidi Julavits wrote in the New York Times over the weekend about spelt, the grain, and Tinder Hearth Bakery in Brooksville (Downeast, between Rockland and Bar Harbor), which bakes and cooks with it often. She writes:
"Spelt could be seen as the miracle grain: it’s easier to digest and
easier on the environment (it’s resistant to the pests that attack
wheat and is thus easier to grow organically), and it tastes great. Now
that artisanal spelt bakers are saving us from what Stevens calls the
“bad Wonder Bread” in health-food stores, what’s not to like?"
Speaking of healthy foods -- and with the overeating I did over the long weekend, I know I'm trying to rein in my food consumption these days -- how about this approach to eating less meat (a challenge I'm still grappling with): Vegan Tuesdays. The originator of the idea explains himself in the Baltimore City Paper:
"I started out with realistic goals. Rather than set myself up for
failure by overhauling my kitchen completely, I decided to designate
one day a week as a meatless, dairy-free day. Tuesday seemed as good as
any of its six counterparts, and Vegan Tuesday was born."
I have not had a vegan Tuesday -- I had cream cheese on my bagel this a.m. Perhaps I will try to make tomorrow Vegan Wednesday.
Oh, and keep this in mind next time you're playing six degrees of spelt and someone challenges you to connect Barack Obama to the revered grain: Heidi Julavits wrote about spelt. Heidi Julavits wrote about Maine for the compendium State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America (Harper Collins). One of the editors of that collection, Sean Wilsey, presented the book to Obama last week. Ta da!
December 01, 2008
Undergrad poets and fiction writers will join featured poets Melissa Crowe and Layla Carroll (billed as "a recent graduate of the prestigious Warren Wilson MFA program") for a night of "words and love" with Words & Images, the undergraduate lit journal at USM. After everyone reads, there'll be an open mic.
Which reminds me, a local open-mic king, Gil Helmick (who I wrote about last year), will play a CD-release party with the rest of his ensemble, snomonks, at SPACE next Friday night. The band, which includes Mark Tipton on trumpet, pianist Jesse Lynch, Wayne Smith on the cello, percussionist Patrick Barter, and poetry by Helmick, will release the debut album, "Crimes Against Humanity," on the Old Port Records label. The event starts at 8pm and tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door.
December 01, 2008
As Maine slashes the last of its AIDS-prevention funding in an attempt to somehow "save taxpayers money," the Portland department of public health is observing World AIDS Day, and offering free HIV/AIDS testing at the Maine College of Art (522 Congress Street, in Portland) from 10 am to 3 pm today.
As part of the event, they're showing the winning films in the Portland Phoenix Maine Short Film Festival. Other artistic elements are also on show. Swing by, check it out, get tested, and have some fun!
November 24, 2008
Community organizer and unsuccessful city council candidate Tina Smith was elected chair of the Portland Green-Independent Committee last night. Smith, who made Portland's arts scene and immigrant-rights the two centerpieces of her campaign, had this to say in a press release: "There's still a lot of fresh energy kicking around after the election lending us the opportunity to connect with the community, do define who we are and what we represent." Liz McMahon, who, like Smith, used to work with the League of Young Voters (but who blasted the League in a West End New letter around election time), was elected secretary.
November 24, 2008
Jessie Sorrentos, better known to Portlanders as the "human disco ball" at STYXX, got some National Public Radio love over the weekend, with her very own profile on Weekend America. For some reason, embedding the audio isn't working, so you'll have to go to the page to listen.
November 19, 2008
Newly elected at-large councilor Dory Waxman got back to us today on the pier issue (too late to go in the paper). Basically, she hopes that council finds "a solution to this sooner than later." She thinks that opening up a new request for proposals would be a step backwards after all the work that's been done over the last three years. Should the council move to re-open negotiations with Ocean Properties, the development company for whom Waxman did some community organizing last year, "I don't see myself recusing," from the debate, she said, despite others' wishes to the contrary. Waxman says she's meeting with the city attorney to determine whether or not she has an obligation to remove herself from any OP-related discussions, but at this point, her opinion is that "I have no legal conflict."
November 18, 2008
Even as WGME News 13 anchor Kim Block introduced a story about an anti-Barack Obama sign in Standish on last night's newscast, she blew the president-elect's name.
"A sign encouraging general store customers in Standish to place a bet on when Barack Osama - when Barack Obama, rather - could be assassinated is sending shock waves across the nation," Block said.
Read the story, and link to the full-size video from WGME's Web site.
November 18, 2008
The 2008 WePushButtons Awards ceremony happened over the weekend at SPACE Gallery, honoring members of Maine's electronic, hip-hop, and DJ community.
Spose, it appears, were the big winners, bringing home Best New Artist, Best Hip-Hop Act, and Best New Album honors. Check out the whole list online.
And if you want, check out the nominees, too.
Congratulations to all!
November 14, 2008
A recent visit to the Center for Maine Contemporary Art left brought up an issue that needs some attention. The Center seems to like to mount shows with lots of artists.
This particular one involves eighty or so, sometimes with many works by each artist.
Population problems aside, the problem here is conceptual,. The idea was to have artists provide preparatory sketches or other materials that they use to make their work. The underlying assumption is that we understand more about the artist by looking at their sketches.
This is, in terms of the direct experience of a work of art, empty calories. It’s true that for a major historical figure their studies might shed some light on their process, but knowing about their process says nothing about the nature and value of their work. We study them because history has proven their worth, not to understand that value any better.
There’s only one rule of art making ( I paraphrase from AJ Liebleing): The way to make art is well, and how you do it is your own business. Knowing anything about how an artist goes about their work is meaningless, in virtually every case. It’s just a way of avoiding thinking about the work in some concrete or meaningful way.
I know an artist whose process is intentionally hidden. You can’t tell whether the pieces are built, cast, made of metal or wood or something else. And yet a respected reviewer spent 500 words or so in a national magazine telling the world how the artist does it, and avoided completely issues of emotional resonance, artistic depth or quality. He did the artist, the work and the readership a disservice.
It gains us nothing to know a landscape artist works, say, from an airplane, or that another artists hikes six hours into a mosquito-laden swamp to get a particular scene. What we need to know is, is it any good, and why? As a reviewer, my commentary needs to elucidate what is going on in the piece, not what went on in the studio or out in the puckerbrush. That’s the artists’ business, not the viewers.
Learning about the process is like finding out if it is oil or acrylic. It’s not information that says anything about the work, and is empty conversation. There were some terrific drawings at CMCA, and some not so great, as might be expected with such a large number of works. It was hard to sort through them but sort of fun to see them, usually. I did see some sketches by artists whose work I know well, but I didn’t learn anything about those artists that I needed to know to appreciate them.
November 14, 2008
A quick update to this week's "8 Days a Week" column. Empire Dine and Dance's second Carnival of Arts is not postponed, and will indeed be happening on Wednesday, November 19. The event - which will be growing and ongoing - features local musicians, filmmakers, poets, artists, and readers. Head here for updates on the Carnival as they arrive.
November 14, 2008
C. Gray alerted me to a new Fire on Fire on Stereogum! The band's new album (consisting of 12 songs recorded before they issued their limited-edition 5-song EP last year), The Orchard, is due out in December.
November 13, 2008
In front of journalists and city officials this morning, city councilor and Community Development Committee (CDC) chair Cheryl Leeman and Olympia Companies CEO Kevin Mahaney announced that The Olympia Companies' negotiations with the city to develop the Maine State Pier are ending.
The primary bone of contention is the title to the sumberged lands under and around the Maine State Pier. The city and the state cannot agree on ownership and leasing rights to said lands, and as a result, Olympia's lawyers have advised the developers to back out -- the potential financial obligations were "not risk that we felt comfortable moving forward with," Mahaney said.
Now, the council has to decide whether to approach (tail between legs, much?) Ocean Properties, the developer that was shunned in favor of Olympia, or to re-open the Request For Proposals process.
The city plans to sue the state to establish ownership of the submerged lands; that process is expected to take approximately 12-18 months. If the state owns the land, the city is limited to entering into 30-year leases. If the city owns it, it could enter into the 75-year lease that Olympia was pushing for. Ocean Properties has said it wouldn't mind a 30-year lease.
Both Leeman and Mahaney said they found out about the most recent stumbling block -- a letter from Attorney General Steve Rowe that restated the state's unwillingness to name Portland as owner of the submerged lands -- within the last week. However, the letter is dated October 14, a few weeks before a certain big day, on which pier considerations were a factor. Strange?
The city council is expected to officially end the negotiations (an action that the CDC recommended last night) at its meeting on Monday. The new councilors will be sworn in on December 1. It's unclear whether or not brand-new councilor Dory Waxman, who was outspoken on the pier issue and formerly worked as a community liason for Ocean Properties, will recuse herself from future OP-related pier decisions.
