lever

A number of interesting exchanges in this (crowd-sourced) Q&A with Rae Armantrout, but I felt a shock of recognition at this passage -- I think I've resisted narrative for similar reasons for a long time, without ever having thought of this metaphor: Remember how Archimedes, when speaking of the power of leverage, said “Give me a lever long enough and I can move the earth.” I imagine the fiction writer using such a lever. The problem, of course, is finding a place to stand in outer space (or outside time) from which to wield such a device. I guess I’m saying that, since I can’t find a place outside time to stand, I don’t feel comfortable writing narrative. But that’s just me.

my city was gone: chocolate martini edition

I saw this ad, not for the Rock Hall of Fame specifically, but for Cleveland tourism in general, out of an in-flight magazine this summer; today, I remembered to google the tagline "Unexpectedly 'You Go Girl' ": The text is a little small: Weirdest thing? I didn't realize that yesterday was Chrissie Hynde's birthday when I titled this post.

Jack Viertel on Jerry Lieber

New York Times: Jerry saw himself very much as a product of the vaudeville tradition: a Jewish comedian, though not a performer himself....Jerry and Mike turned the recording studio into a mini-theater that owed as much to radio drama (and comedy) as to more traditional songwriting. (picture: Richard Kollmar on the air as "Boston Blackie"; cf. "Searchin'")