Shelled In
Write me in Beirut,
Stake sane drums with pins.
Keep the cash coming cold
in straight coffins.
Buy the fires,
Sleeping light,
Bound to drought.
Whole sale cracking shells,
Echo night.
Echo night
Summer shins
black, want no color,
"The Cleaners" call
“A” bomb of a lover.
When the eye
that we dwell upon,
wets a spot in time,
soldiers march back to their graves.
My dull cheek,
milked of sweat,
begs a tear.
But the salt has dried me out.
Cruel Religion and a Handsome Man
Blood on the mountain,
Blood from the baby's mouth.
They poisoned that fountain,
like the heart of the old south.
We're driving I-40,
Every one those ghost stories told.
Nashville to Memphis
Country first, with or without soul.
I'm a hollywood producer,
And it's your chance to direct.
Aware of the consumer
I'm pushing for more sex.
If there's no happy ending,
it's just as predictable, no less
Hard to believe,
when magic is a business.
A cruel religion and a handsome man
that tries to settle you down.
Like something I was told when I was ten,
"Sooner or later it all comes back around."
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Write me in,
Beirut,
Stake sane drums with pins,
Keep the cash coming cold in straight coffins.
Lead lap dogs,
Buy the fires,
Bound in drought
Sleeping light
Real sale whole, cracking shells,
Echo night.
Echo night
Summer shins don’t want color
Wash me
Cleaner’s call
A new “A” bomb
The end
Sent me sands,
to meet you.
When the eye
That we dwell upon
Wets a spot in time.
And the soldiers march back to their graves
My dull cheek
Milky sweat
Begs a tear
But I can’t
Cause the salt
Dries me out.
The Second City
Eric Kufs
Professor Wexler
English 495esm
12 September 2012
The Second City
As a native New Yorker, every other city across our great America seems to run a distant second to the big apple. If you've ever walked across the Brooklyn Bridge in autumn during the magic hour, then you might find it hard not to agree. Nonetheless, Americans have a deep reverence for their cities, those that stand as the setting for the moments of their lives. They all represent a living, breathing embodiment of the great human experiment that is our country.
In Carl Sandburg's, "Chicago" the poet pays tribute to the major metropolis of his home state of Illinois. In spite of the town's darker or less palatable qualities, he expresses an affection for the urban center of the midwest. Through use of personification Sandburg, lets the rougher parts represent the whole imperfect beauty of his Chicago. Through this personification, he conveys a pride in his city and which in turn represents a similar but wider view of his country.
As a poet, Sandburg was often dismissed by critics of his time that found his writing too simplistic in his use of a common workaday spoken language. But in "Chicago", the speech of an everyday laborer is both effective and ultimately necessary to personify his fair city. Sandburg famously commented about his distinct working class poetic voice, "I am the people—the mob—the crowd—the mass. Did you know that all the work of the world is done through me?" The poem, "Chicago" is direct example of how Sandburg as the poet represents the working masses of the urban landscape. The windy city is the broad-shouldered male worker, "Hog Butcher for the World, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler." Chicago accepts responsibility for a large part of the nations meat packing, tool making, and also acts as the central hub for freight shipping. Sandburg's city is large in size but also in stature. The opening stanza of the poem depicts a man of strength and industry on whom the world depend. Though he is also a man that is not only "husky" but "brawling." The implication is that the city is an intimidating and violently forceful man, a man respected often out of fear, if not just for sheer size.
The poet does not stop after listing the industrious economic contributions of his city or describing it's enormity. Like a man speaking frankly to a friend in a bar about his reputation, the poet admits he has heard the stories of the city's less than commendable nature. In a list of similar points, the poet continues his apostrophe, "And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again." He has heard and seen for his own eyes that the city is crooked with its murderous crime, wicked with prostitution, brutal with poverty and addresses the city like a brother. It is not that he is blind to the savage parts of society, but rather that Sandburg sees them as elements necessary to the whole portrait of the city. Such cruelties do not deter the poet from continuing to speak in a loving defense of the town. He begs for people who look down upon or mock this city, for its lowlier natures, to show him a city "so proud to be alive" or in all of its rugged strength. Like pioneers against the wilderness of the frontier, this metropolis must face and often times cause it's own reckless violence and destruction in order to build upon itself. The city is fiercely building, wrecking and rebuilding. It thrives on the individual's fight to survive in a world where murderers walk free, prostitutes stand on the corners and children go hungry. The people are strong and therefore the city as a whole is strong.
The Chicago of the time Sandburg writes is a "tall bold slugger" in comparison to the smaller weaker cities. The personification is coupled with a simile towards the end of the poem in a repetitive cadence that conjures the cadences of Walt Whitman. The poet describes his city as, "Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle." There is a joy in being a tough town of hard working people. The town laughs in the face of the difficult tasks at hand. The town is "half-naked, sweating," proud to have the purpose of being "Hog Butcher" or "Freight Handler to the Nation." In spite of the sweaty burden of a working class lot in life the city takes pride in being an integral part of the life of the nation.
Just as Sandburg refers to the specific industries and the hard physical and social characteristics to represent the greater whole of Chicago, he uses his fair city to present an image of America. As a reporter for a few Chicago newspapers in the early decades of the 20th century, Sandburg mostly covered labor disputes. His stories as his poems gave voice to the common man. In Sandburg's view, the working class were the ones to build his country and for that they needed to be heard. The injustices and unfair treatment of labor forces in Chicago were representative of the rest of the growing industrialized country. The poem "Chicago" speaks to the rough workers and the aspects of their hard earned survival. They are under what the poet calls, "the terrible burden of destiny." With smoke and dust covering them, these workers are the heart of the city, and are also representative of a country working to become the greatest industrialized nation in the world. All cities might not exude all of the hard headed strength of Sandburg's beloved Chicago, but the characteristic runs throughout the United States at a time when its cities were expanding upwards and outwards. The pride in one's own work as a contribution to the society, that is the city, extends out to the greatness of America. As the immigrants continue to come in waves during this period in our history Sandburg speaks of the tremendous joy of the strain of building. America laughs as Chicago does, while gritting teeth and digging into the work will define it for generations. Sandburg in an interview with Frederick Van Ryn of This Week Magazine in 1953, famously said, “I see America, not in the setting sun of a black night of despair ahead of us, I see America in the crimson light of a rising sun fresh from the burning, creative hand of God. I see great days ahead, great days possible to men and women of will and vision.” This specific will and vision is present in his Chicago nearly forty years prior. It is a lasting urban center, that through its strength sees a bright future through the back-breaking work of the present. The promise of America is echoed in this depiction of second city.
Our pride in our city bring us a pride in our country and this expressed in the poem, "Chicago." Through his typical use of a common workaday language, Sandburg personifies the town as a strong man that with a sense of both joy and pride accepts the heavy responsibility of shouldering the world. This serves as clear example of a distinctly American spirit of the time. As Americans our home towns with love and admiration. Whichever shining city on the hill we hold dear, somewhere we feel it displays the essence of our country.
Works Cited
Callahan, North. Carl Sandburg: His Life and Works. University Park: Pennsylvania State UP, 1987. Print.
"Carl Sandburg." : The Poetry Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/carl-sandburg>.
Sandburg, Carl. ""Chicago"" 100 Best-loved Poems. New York: Dover Publications, 1995. N. pag. Print.
Professor Wexler
English 495esm
12 September 2012
The Second City
As a native New Yorker, every other city across our great America seems to run a distant second to the big apple. If you've ever walked across the Brooklyn Bridge in autumn during the magic hour, then you might find it hard not to agree. Nonetheless, Americans have a deep reverence for their cities, those that stand as the setting for the moments of their lives. They all represent a living, breathing embodiment of the great human experiment that is our country.
In Carl Sandburg's, "Chicago" the poet pays tribute to the major metropolis of his home state of Illinois. In spite of the town's darker or less palatable qualities, he expresses an affection for the urban center of the midwest. Through use of personification Sandburg, lets the rougher parts represent the whole imperfect beauty of his Chicago. Through this personification, he conveys a pride in his city and which in turn represents a similar but wider view of his country.
As a poet, Sandburg was often dismissed by critics of his time that found his writing too simplistic in his use of a common workaday spoken language. But in "Chicago", the speech of an everyday laborer is both effective and ultimately necessary to personify his fair city. Sandburg famously commented about his distinct working class poetic voice, "I am the people—the mob—the crowd—the mass. Did you know that all the work of the world is done through me?" The poem, "Chicago" is direct example of how Sandburg as the poet represents the working masses of the urban landscape. The windy city is the broad-shouldered male worker, "Hog Butcher for the World, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler." Chicago accepts responsibility for a large part of the nations meat packing, tool making, and also acts as the central hub for freight shipping. Sandburg's city is large in size but also in stature. The opening stanza of the poem depicts a man of strength and industry on whom the world depend. Though he is also a man that is not only "husky" but "brawling." The implication is that the city is an intimidating and violently forceful man, a man respected often out of fear, if not just for sheer size.
The poet does not stop after listing the industrious economic contributions of his city or describing it's enormity. Like a man speaking frankly to a friend in a bar about his reputation, the poet admits he has heard the stories of the city's less than commendable nature. In a list of similar points, the poet continues his apostrophe, "And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again." He has heard and seen for his own eyes that the city is crooked with its murderous crime, wicked with prostitution, brutal with poverty and addresses the city like a brother. It is not that he is blind to the savage parts of society, but rather that Sandburg sees them as elements necessary to the whole portrait of the city. Such cruelties do not deter the poet from continuing to speak in a loving defense of the town. He begs for people who look down upon or mock this city, for its lowlier natures, to show him a city "so proud to be alive" or in all of its rugged strength. Like pioneers against the wilderness of the frontier, this metropolis must face and often times cause it's own reckless violence and destruction in order to build upon itself. The city is fiercely building, wrecking and rebuilding. It thrives on the individual's fight to survive in a world where murderers walk free, prostitutes stand on the corners and children go hungry. The people are strong and therefore the city as a whole is strong.
The Chicago of the time Sandburg writes is a "tall bold slugger" in comparison to the smaller weaker cities. The personification is coupled with a simile towards the end of the poem in a repetitive cadence that conjures the cadences of Walt Whitman. The poet describes his city as, "Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle." There is a joy in being a tough town of hard working people. The town laughs in the face of the difficult tasks at hand. The town is "half-naked, sweating," proud to have the purpose of being "Hog Butcher" or "Freight Handler to the Nation." In spite of the sweaty burden of a working class lot in life the city takes pride in being an integral part of the life of the nation.
Just as Sandburg refers to the specific industries and the hard physical and social characteristics to represent the greater whole of Chicago, he uses his fair city to present an image of America. As a reporter for a few Chicago newspapers in the early decades of the 20th century, Sandburg mostly covered labor disputes. His stories as his poems gave voice to the common man. In Sandburg's view, the working class were the ones to build his country and for that they needed to be heard. The injustices and unfair treatment of labor forces in Chicago were representative of the rest of the growing industrialized country. The poem "Chicago" speaks to the rough workers and the aspects of their hard earned survival. They are under what the poet calls, "the terrible burden of destiny." With smoke and dust covering them, these workers are the heart of the city, and are also representative of a country working to become the greatest industrialized nation in the world. All cities might not exude all of the hard headed strength of Sandburg's beloved Chicago, but the characteristic runs throughout the United States at a time when its cities were expanding upwards and outwards. The pride in one's own work as a contribution to the society, that is the city, extends out to the greatness of America. As the immigrants continue to come in waves during this period in our history Sandburg speaks of the tremendous joy of the strain of building. America laughs as Chicago does, while gritting teeth and digging into the work will define it for generations. Sandburg in an interview with Frederick Van Ryn of This Week Magazine in 1953, famously said, “I see America, not in the setting sun of a black night of despair ahead of us, I see America in the crimson light of a rising sun fresh from the burning, creative hand of God. I see great days ahead, great days possible to men and women of will and vision.” This specific will and vision is present in his Chicago nearly forty years prior. It is a lasting urban center, that through its strength sees a bright future through the back-breaking work of the present. The promise of America is echoed in this depiction of second city.
Our pride in our city bring us a pride in our country and this expressed in the poem, "Chicago." Through his typical use of a common workaday language, Sandburg personifies the town as a strong man that with a sense of both joy and pride accepts the heavy responsibility of shouldering the world. This serves as clear example of a distinctly American spirit of the time. As Americans our home towns with love and admiration. Whichever shining city on the hill we hold dear, somewhere we feel it displays the essence of our country.
Works Cited
Callahan, North. Carl Sandburg: His Life and Works. University Park: Pennsylvania State UP, 1987. Print.
"Carl Sandburg." : The Poetry Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/carl-sandburg>.
Sandburg, Carl. ""Chicago"" 100 Best-loved Poems. New York: Dover Publications, 1995. N. pag. Print.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
The Second City- rough draft
The Second City
As a native New Yorker, in my mind every other city across our great American nation would seem to run a distant second to the big apple. If you've ever walked across the Brooklyn Bridge in autumn during the magic hour then you might find it difficult hard not to agree. Nonetheless Americans have a deep reverence for their cities, those that stand as the setting for the crucial moments of their lives. They all represent a living, breathing embodiment of the great human experiment that is our country. In Carl Sandburg's, "Chicago" the poet pays tribute to the main metropolis of his home state of Illinois. In spite of the town's darker or less palatable qualities, he expresses an affection for the urban center of the midwest. Through use of personification and rough simile Sandburg pays homage to his city's imperfect beauty and which in turn represents the similar but wider view of his country.
As a poet, Sandburg has was often dismissed by critics of his time that found writing too simplistically using a common almost spoken language but in "Chicago" it is altogether effective and ultimately necessary to personify his fair city. He famously commented about his distinct working class poetic voice, " "I am the people—the mob—the crowd—the mass. Did you know that all the work of the world is done through me?" The poem, "Chicago" is direct example of how the poet represents the working masses of the urban landscape. The windy city is the broad-shouldered male worker, "Hog Butcher for the World, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler". Chicago accepts is responsible for large part of the nations meat packing, tool making, etc., and also acts as the central hub for freight shipping. Sandburg's city is large in size but also in stature. This opening stanza depicts a man of strength and industry that the nation and even the world depends on.
Sandburg does not stop by praising the industrious economic contributions of his city. Like a man speaking frankly to a friend in a bar about his reputation the poet admits he has heard the stories of his less than commendable nature. In a list of similar points, the poet says, "And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again." He has heard and seen for his own eyes that the city is crooked with its murderous crime, wicked with prostitution, brutal with poverty.
As a native New Yorker, in my mind every other city across our great American nation would seem to run a distant second to the big apple. If you've ever walked across the Brooklyn Bridge in autumn during the magic hour then you might find it difficult hard not to agree. Nonetheless Americans have a deep reverence for their cities, those that stand as the setting for the crucial moments of their lives. They all represent a living, breathing embodiment of the great human experiment that is our country. In Carl Sandburg's, "Chicago" the poet pays tribute to the main metropolis of his home state of Illinois. In spite of the town's darker or less palatable qualities, he expresses an affection for the urban center of the midwest. Through use of personification and rough simile Sandburg pays homage to his city's imperfect beauty and which in turn represents the similar but wider view of his country.
As a poet, Sandburg has was often dismissed by critics of his time that found writing too simplistically using a common almost spoken language but in "Chicago" it is altogether effective and ultimately necessary to personify his fair city. He famously commented about his distinct working class poetic voice, " "I am the people—the mob—the crowd—the mass. Did you know that all the work of the world is done through me?" The poem, "Chicago" is direct example of how the poet represents the working masses of the urban landscape. The windy city is the broad-shouldered male worker, "Hog Butcher for the World, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler". Chicago accepts is responsible for large part of the nations meat packing, tool making, etc., and also acts as the central hub for freight shipping. Sandburg's city is large in size but also in stature. This opening stanza depicts a man of strength and industry that the nation and even the world depends on.
Sandburg does not stop by praising the industrious economic contributions of his city. Like a man speaking frankly to a friend in a bar about his reputation the poet admits he has heard the stories of his less than commendable nature. In a list of similar points, the poet says, "And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again." He has heard and seen for his own eyes that the city is crooked with its murderous crime, wicked with prostitution, brutal with poverty.
Monday, September 10, 2012
This Must Be the Place
Original recordings of songs don't always allow you the opportunity to hear the poetic nuances of their lyrics. Often was the case with the groundbreaking band Talking Heads. The punk or "New Wave" sound of the late 1970s and early 80s was one of synthesizer abuse and quirky vocal performances. David Byrne and his bandmates were on the forefront of movement but seemed to stand alone. In collaboration with experimental producer Brian Eno, the group produced records that have stood the test of time and would certainly pass for the latest releases of any modern ultra hip indie band from Brooklyn. One song in particular, "This Must Be The Place", stands out as one of my favorites of that era of the bands short-lived history, but it has nothing to do with the post-disco guitar line as catchy as it might be or the danceable pulse of the drum beat.
Love songs were not the usual fodder for a songwriter like David Byrne, unless you count tunes like "Psycho Killer" or "Life During Wartime," but he managed to write the most sincere and poetic lament on romantic love I've heard in the realm of pop music.
At first glance the lyrics of “This Must Be the Place” are as simple as they come but heard in succession, set in its melody the lines resonate with such a complexity and weight. Byrne couples metaphor with some spoken clichés to capture a specific feeling of young love. The moments of clarity and ambiguity sing out without music. Byrne starts, “Home is where I want to be.” He encapsulates the point of view of a young lover or even a mature adult in the early stages of an intimate relationship. We all are looking for a “home” or the idea of what our childhood home felt like. We wish to return to a “time before we were born.” There is more talking to ourselves and less to our new partners. In the end we are home. We convince ourselves that we are “already there” at least we guess that is the case.
We are “animals looking for a home” and though it is biologically instinctive we are unlike the creatures of the wild in that we have a clearer understanding of our mortality. The insecurity of love in the face of existence is apparent with the question, “Will you love me until my heart stops?”
The depth of the lyrics of this song are over shadowed by the “oohing” synthesizer and Byrne’s strange vocal timbre. Check out this clip from their famous concert film, "Stop Making Sense":
Now listen to folksinger Shawn Colvin interpret the song. With such a sparse arrangement the lyrics are brought front and center for the listener and the effect is stunning.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Introduction
The Text Message: Overcoming Fears of New Media in Teaching
It is not with a sense of overwhelming pride that I admit to being educated, at both the elementary and secondary level, during a time when most teachers had never even seen a cell phone let alone owned one. I vaguely recall my first pager, a device that only made me feel as if I was chained on an electronic leash to my mother or whoever I was dating at the time. My first AOL e-mail account in college did not make me a citizen of the world.
Today's student, though, has access to much more information, at lightning speeds, and is exposed to different cultures and ideologies across the vast spectrum of the internet. Most adolescents have already established regular relationships with technologies at an early age. As a teacher it is necessary to incorporate these familiar technologies into lesson plans in order to facilitate knowledge.
New approaches in modern media seem daunting to me as a teacher and in certain cases I might be less familiar with specific technologies than my students. This is no excuse for not attempting to connect with students in forums that they understand and/or enjoy. As an entertainer who performs on a regular basis I know the importance of playing to my audience and meeting them at whatever place necessary to keep their attention and be understood.
It might be easy to argue the merits of chalk on a blackboard over an elaborate power point presentation. (I have seen some terrible ones at the University level), but we would be missing an opportunity. Reaching our over-stimulated youth is not easy, but if we can teach our lessons on the field they play on, a world where our senses our constantly bombarded with advertisements to late breaking news or celebrity gossip, we are increasing our chances of not only holding their attention but inspiring them to learn more on their own. Providing new and interesting ways to teach classic texts or grammar lessons is the goal. In a lot of cases we are teaching an old curriculum in a new world, and to be effective we must speak the language of our students in order to communicate our message.
So this will be a reflective blog on teaching the students of this moment in civilization. It will mostly deal with my struggle to catch up with the time and overcome my fear of powerpoint.
- Eric Kufs
It is not with a sense of overwhelming pride that I admit to being educated, at both the elementary and secondary level, during a time when most teachers had never even seen a cell phone let alone owned one. I vaguely recall my first pager, a device that only made me feel as if I was chained on an electronic leash to my mother or whoever I was dating at the time. My first AOL e-mail account in college did not make me a citizen of the world.
Today's student, though, has access to much more information, at lightning speeds, and is exposed to different cultures and ideologies across the vast spectrum of the internet. Most adolescents have already established regular relationships with technologies at an early age. As a teacher it is necessary to incorporate these familiar technologies into lesson plans in order to facilitate knowledge.
New approaches in modern media seem daunting to me as a teacher and in certain cases I might be less familiar with specific technologies than my students. This is no excuse for not attempting to connect with students in forums that they understand and/or enjoy. As an entertainer who performs on a regular basis I know the importance of playing to my audience and meeting them at whatever place necessary to keep their attention and be understood.
It might be easy to argue the merits of chalk on a blackboard over an elaborate power point presentation. (I have seen some terrible ones at the University level), but we would be missing an opportunity. Reaching our over-stimulated youth is not easy, but if we can teach our lessons on the field they play on, a world where our senses our constantly bombarded with advertisements to late breaking news or celebrity gossip, we are increasing our chances of not only holding their attention but inspiring them to learn more on their own. Providing new and interesting ways to teach classic texts or grammar lessons is the goal. In a lot of cases we are teaching an old curriculum in a new world, and to be effective we must speak the language of our students in order to communicate our message.
So this will be a reflective blog on teaching the students of this moment in civilization. It will mostly deal with my struggle to catch up with the time and overcome my fear of powerpoint.
- Eric Kufs
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