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Arts & Life
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- Written by: Ted Kooser
The ocarina call of a mourning dove, a woman mourning the death of a pet, and yet it all comes to looking forward to more and more life, whatever is there, wherever the mourning dove will lead her.
Linda Parsons lives in Knoxville, and her most recent book is Candescent, from Iris Press.
Valediction
I hear before seeing, no need to see
to know morning’s ocarina, plaintive
call, soft strut on leafmeal. It was the first
creature I saw when the needle was done
and my sheepdog limped into last night.
That dove, I thought, will house his sable
spirit, coat feathered like joy in the wind.
Dove comes when my scattered mind
needs herding—bitter anniversaries,
leavings dire as tornadic rumble. Comes
when sky rivers blue, cooing all’s well
after all. Comes not to forbid mourning,
but trills core deep, beyond the senses,
glances back to make sure I follow
its white-tipped tail. Plaintive ocarina,
call me to bear all the light coming.
American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2020 by Linda Parsons, "Valediction," (2020). Poem reprinted by permission of Linda Parsons. Introduction copyright @2020 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.
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- Written by: Tim Riley
‘EMILY IN PARIS’ ON NETFLIX
As fluffy as a croissant from a Parisian boulangerie and tasty like a crème brulee, Netflix’s 10-episode “Emily in Paris” may be loosely defined as a romantic comedy that fits nicely with the French capital’s moniker of “City of Love.”
Emily Cooper (Lily Cooper), a junior-level executive at a Chicago marketing firm, is properly skilled at social media strategies since she’s a millennial obsessed with Instagram and taking endless selfies quite often in mundane settings.
Having acquired the boutique French marketing company Savoir that deals with luxury products, the Chicago firm needs to send one of its executives to Paris to oversee the integration of a social media campaign from the American perspective.
When Emily’s middle-aged boss (Kate Walsh) unexpectedly becomes pregnant and thus unable to take the assignment in Paris, Emily is inexplicably chosen for the task despite her glaring lack of French language skills.
The culture clash in the workplace is immediate when the perky Emily shows up with only having mastered the French greeting of “bonjour” and full of ideas for marketing that offend the sensibilities of her new colleagues.
Savoir’s managing executive Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu), aghast at Emily’s inability to communicate in anything other than English, is promptly dismissive of the American’s value to her firm.
Looking for any chance to send Emily packing back to Chicago, Sylvie throws up roadblocks to social media suggestions as out-of-step with French cultural norms. She also proves intimidating to an office staff that might otherwise start warming up to the foreign interloper.
Moving into an apartment on the fifth floor in a building without an elevator, Emily is startled to discover that in France the first floor starts at the level above the ground, leading to her mistake of entering the wrong unit.
As luck would have it, the occupant of said apartment is budding chef Gabriel (Lucas Bravo), a handsome young guy working at a nearby restaurant. Inevitable romantic sparks with Emily are as certain as the French love of pastries.
Yet, in the City of Love, it’s inescapable that Emily will have a number of suitors, and with the apparent lax French attitude toward marital fidelity, the American girl catches the notice of Savoir’s major client Antoine (William Abadie).
Convenient to a plot contrivance, complicated romantic relationships abound. The married Antoine, seemingly with the acquiescence of his spouse, is having an affair with Sylvie, who now suspects he may be attracted to Emily for reasons other than her catchy ideas.
Emily meets Camille (Camille Razat) while shopping for flowers, not knowing that she’s actually Gabriel’s girlfriend. Paris is a big city, but if you stay within one arrondissement the environment is evidently that of a small town where everyone knows the neighbors.
Having arrived in Paris without any friends and the boyfriend back home deciding not to visit for even a week’s vacation, Emily makes a new best friend with Mindy Chen (Ashley Park), a nanny for a couple’s small children.
Coming from a wealthy family in China, Mindy speaks three languages and has a singing voice that would make her a sensation but for stage fright. Mindy’s desire to stay in Paris is driven in part by escaping her father’s wish that she would enter the family business.
Mindy helps Emily to avoid some cultural faux pas and to navigate the local customs. On her own, Emily is easily seduced by all that Paris has to offer, including a chance encounter at the iconic Café de Flore with a pretentious professor that ends up in a one-night stand.
Not helping her cause at work is Emily’s lackadaisical approach to actually learning to speak French. When enrolled in a language class, Emily demonstrates study habits more in line with those of a high school dropout.
The City of Light, another nickname for the French capital, is very much a central character for this series. The tourist landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe create arresting visuals, especially when bathed in a nighttime glow.
Whether a photoshoot on the Pont Alexandre III, a boat ride on the Seine or exterior shots of a charming bistro, Paris is a place of great beauty that makes one wish for a European vacation at the earliest opportunity.
“Emily in Paris” fits neatly into the pantheon of show creator Darren Star’s penchant for writing television series such as “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Sex and the City,” which result in guilty pleasures from the vicarious enjoyment of glamorous lives.
Glamor resides easily within the confines of the Paris environment where stylish people wearing chic clothes strolling along expansive boulevards conjure up visions of elegance that we don’t see in everyday life.
As a result of the glitz and allure of the fabulous settings, “Emily in Paris,” even though the storyline is as predictable as Google tracking one’s online activity, holds appeal if for no other reason than the vicarious enjoyment of an exotic location during the pandemic.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The curatorial team seeks strong, well-crafted work in any medium that speaks to the places where humans and other living beings establish roots, the shelters we occupy, and our connection to the place we call “Home”.
Submissions are due via email Nov. 20. The exhibit will open with a hybrid virtual and on-site reception on the evening of Dec. 5 and run through Feb. 28.
“The work at the MAC is as impressive as work I have seen in boutique galleries throughout the Bay Area and Wine Country,” said Nicola Chipps, co-curator at MAC and former art and design consultant at Ærena Galleries in the Napa Valley. “With support from a CARES grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, MAC is leveraging digital tools such as virtual exhibits and hybrid opening receptions to reach a broader audience.”
MAC has been a beacon of resilience and hope during challenges of widespread social distancing, sheltering in place and continuous years of wildfires. A dynamic contemporary arts resource, the gallery features rotating exhibits of exceptional work by regional artists.
Applications and high-resolution (300dpi) jpeg images of work are due via email by Nov. 20. Delivery of accepted work is Nov. 30 or by appointment. The submission fee is $40 for three entries, or free to MAC Professional Members.
Download an application and learn more about the benefits of exhibiting at MAC at www.middletownartcenter.org/artists.
The MAC Gallery is open Friday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., or by appointment at 707-809-8118. You can also see the current show virtually at www.middletownartcenter.org/current.
The MAC continues to adjust and innovate during this time of COVID-19. Social distancing and masking are always observed.
Find out more about events, programs, opportunities and ways to support the MAC’s efforts to weave the arts and culture into the fabric of life in Lake County at www.middletownartcenter.org.
- Details
- Written by: Ted Kooser
Over the years I haven’t chosen more than a few poems about the writing of poetry, mostly because if you don’t write poems you might not be interested.
But I do like this poem about poets by Richard Jones, from his new book “Avalon,” from Green Linden Press.
I, too, get up early to write in Nebraska, while Richard is up in Illinois.
Devotion
“Poetry not rest,” is trouble’s answer,
rising before the sun, setting out
in a gray light to the dull grumble
of thunder to balance the words
bottle or old wooden chair or bluebird
on a line’s life-or-death tightrope,
struggling to add color to the canvas,
purple or burnt umber, transcribing
seven violins crying to the willows,
or simply cutting a stem of rosemary,
the deep smell of earth for inspiration,
the earth and the grave, never resting,
working from sheer will and memory,
working with quill and ink if need be,
knowing trouble and rest won’t last,
that no one has the cure for this life
though we honor the day with words,
name the plow and extol the hammer,
knowing that even the poorest poet,
if a poet, is at a desk in a corner
of eternity, already long dead,
laboring to transform death to praise,
never wearying, never once losing faith.
American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright (c) 2020 by Richard Jones, "Devotion," from Avalon, (Green Linden Press, 2020). Poem reprinted by permission of Richard Jones and the publisher. Introduction copyright @2020 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.