There are so many delightful poems by Faith Shearin that it can be difficult to select just one to show you.

This one is from her sixth book, “Darwin's Daughter,” published in 2017 by Stephen F. Austin State University Press. Faith Shearin lives in West Virginia.

Blue Elvis

It was August 1977 when Elvis Presley fell
face down on his Graceland bathroom floor;
by the time paramedics arrived, he was

cold and blue. I knew this because I was with
my grandmother, Belle, who called her sister,
Geraldine, who came over at once so we

could watch the news. My grandmother knew
Elvis liked peanut butter on white bread
with American cheese, eaten in his jungle room

which had Tiki chairs, fur lampshades,
a waterfall. Other neighbors arrived:
women in short skirts, women who

brought with them more of the food Elvis
loved: coconut cakes, fried chicken, bacon.
Elvis was dead, and summer had been so

hot the things we touched burned our hands:
handles of garden hoses, car doors,
the metal swing set my grandfather

built for me on the back lawn. I listened
to the sound of southern women's voices
expressing disbelief; they said I swan

and I pictured something rippling
and solitary; they said Well, shut my mouth and
I saw blue Elvis, falling.


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 ©2018 by Faith Shearin, "Blue Elvis," from Darwin's Daughter, (Stephen F. Austin State University Press, 2018). Poem reprinted by permission of Faith Shearin and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2019 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.

‘FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW’ (Rated PG-13)

The appeal of the latest film in “The Fast & Furious” universe requests squarely on the broad shoulders of fan favorites Dwayne Johnson (still “The Rock” to many of us) and Jason Statham.

A shorthand review need only state that if you liked the previous films in the franchise, then chances are “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” has to be on your radar.

On the other hand, if you are the least bit ambivalent or worse, or you couldn’t make the slog through all of the previous eight films, skipping this one could be an option.

Keep in mind, however, that “Hobbs & Shaw” is a departure from the norm. For instance, Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto is neither present nor mentioned, and as a result, this one doesn’t feel like an entry in the “Furious” canon.

Hulking lawman Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), a loyal American agent, and lawless outcast Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), a former British military elite operative, first faced off in 2015’s “Furious 7.”

The duo were not in any way compatible, swapping smack talk and body blows as they tried to take each other down. What happens when these two sworn enemies have to team up is the genesis of “Hobbs & Shaw.”

The bad guy is a superb Idris Elba as the cyber-genetically enhanced Brixton, an indestructible super soldier with the misguided notion of unleashing biological destruction of most of the world’s population.

Shaw’s estranged sister Hattie (Vanessa Kirby), a fearless MI6 agent, has gone rogue after retrieving the top secret bio weapon that Hobbs and Shaw are tasked to find. Needless to say, Brixton goes on a wild killing spree while in the hunt.

With plenty of banter and one-liners mixed in with the action-packed globetrotting adventure, the incessant physical battles and shootouts are occasionally interrupted by family reunions, such as Shaw visiting his imprisoned mother, the wonderful Helen Mirren.

“Hobbs & Shaw” checks the boxes of action and car chases, and of silliness and humor. Late in the game, the thin plot becomes even more noticeable but by then no one cares. You came to see Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham in action, and that’s what matters most.

AMAZON SUMMER SHOWS ON TV

Just like its competitor Netflix, Amazon Prime Video does not adhere to network television’s traditional rollout of new shows. New series pop up in every season, offering more choices than any sentient being has time to consume.

Amazon’s successful global network is undeniable, as Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, noted during the summer TV press tour that the “most successful shows ever on the history of our service are the ones that have debuted over the last year.”

For the summer, Amazon provides an antidote to the excesses of the superhero genre with the new series “The Boys,” which is a counterpart to the world of the costumed idols in the Marvel and DC Comics universe.

Superheroes are no longer noble or even heroic in a place where Hughie (Jack Quaid) suffers a devastating loss at the hands of a reckless superhero and discovers there is no legal recourse for victims of their collateral damage.

While still reeling from his trauma, Hughie meets mysterious operative Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), who recruits him in his pursuit of some vigilante justice against those who are not exactly caped crusaders for the public good.

“The Boys” is an irreverent take on what happens when superheroes, who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians and as revered as Gods, abuse their superpowers.

A band of outsiders embark on a quest to expose the truth about The Seven, which consists of warriors that bear a thinly-veiled resemblance to the likes of Superman, Wonder Woman and Aquaman, among others.

Arriving in late August is the one-hour drama series “Carnival Row,” set in a Victorian fantasy world filled with mythological immigrant creatures whose exotic homelands were invaded by the empires of man.

This growing population struggles to coexist with humans, forbidden to live, love, or fly with freedom. But even in darkness, hopes lives when two central characters spark an illicit romance.

Orlando Bloom’s human detective Rycroft Philostrate, and a refugee faerie named Vignette Stonemoss (Cara Delevigne) rekindle a dangerous affair despite an increasingly intolerant society.

Vignette harbors a secret that endangers Philostrate’s world during his most important case yet, consisting of a string of gruesome murders threatening the uneasy peace of the Row.

Not surprisingly, peculiar characters inhabit the series. Simon McBurney is an eccentric traveling showman leading a troupe of strange creatures.

David Gyasi’s Agreus is a mysterious wealthy faun who moves into an affluent human neighborhood in defiance of the social order. Many more odd characters populate the social divide.

Amazon has faith in “Carnival Row” because Jennifer Salke revealed, even before the series’ debut, that the company is so excited and invested in the show that it’s been renewed for a second season.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – “Smallfoot” is Middletown’s “Movies in the Park” feature for August.

The film begins at dusk in the park in front of the Middletown Senior Center and Library, 21266 Calistoga Road.

“Smallfoot” tells the story of Migo, a friendly Yeti who encounters a human and takes him back to his village.

The film is free and open to the public, and suitable for the whole family.

Bring chairs, blankets and a picnic.

The August film is hosted by Callayomi County Water District, and underwritten by Hardester’s Markets and Hardware.

Lately I've been worried about the welfare of a young groundhog who lives under our front deck. His back legs won't support him and he drags them behind.

This poem has been a good lesson for me. That groundhog is neither MY groundhog, nor does he need my pity.

This poem is by Gary Whitehead of New York, from his book A Glossary of Chickens: Poems, published by Princeton University Press.

One-Legged Pigeon

In a flock on Market,
just below Union Square,
the last to land
and standing a little canted,
it teetered—I want to say now
though it's hardly true—
like Ahab toward the starboard
and regarded me
with blood-red eyes.
We all lose something,
though that day
I hadn't lost a thing.
I saw in that imperfect bird
no antipathy, no envy, no vengeance.
It needed no pity,
but just a crumb,
something to hop toward.


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 ©2013 by Princeton University Press, "One-Legged Pigeon," by Gary J. Whitehead, from A Glossary of Chickens: Poems, (Princeton University Press, 2013). Poem reprinted by permission of Gary J. Whitehead and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2019 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.You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

‘ONCE UPON A TIME … IN HOLLYWOOD’ (Rated R)

Quentin Tarantino’s penchant for graphic violence, nonlinear storylines, pop culture references and casting ensemble characters in broad strokes, among other stylistic flourishes, is very much in evidence in “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood.”

At the outset of the preview screening, an announcement implored the assembled critics and guests not to reveal significant plot details lest enjoyment of plot twists and the final reveal be irreparably spoiled.

The body of work of Tarantino’s cinematic achievements invariably, if memory serves, has plenty of surprises, and while a deep dive into the director’s thought process might lead one to a path of revelation, it would be best not to dwell much on trying to be prophetic about the outcome.

Aside from the great American achievement of the realization of President Kennedy’s goal to land a man on the Moon, the year 1969 was otherwise marred by ongoing civil unrest and the horror of the Manson family’s bloody carnage in the Hollywood Hills.

The late Sixties had been wracked by tragedy with the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., and then the nation and Hollywood in particular were shaken by the heinous, wanton murders of Sharon Tate and others by deranged, psychotic misfits.

Tarantino treats a bygone era with nostalgia, reverence and affection, at least on the surface level by brilliantly capturing landmarks such as El Coyote Mexican café and the venerable industry hangout Musso and Frank Grill frequented by the Hollywood crowd.

Atmosphere plays a big part in “Once Upon a Time,” from the period automobiles and retro fashions to young, wide-eyed model-actress Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) taking in a matinee of her movie “The Wrecking Crew” at a Westwood movie house.

While many real-life characters figure more than tangentially in the picture, the fictional Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), the former leading actor on the television Western “Bounty Law,” figures most prominently as a celebrity.

As a fading star, Dalton is not transitioning to leading roles in action pictures that he envisioned as his future, and his frustration grows when relegated to being a guest star on a Western starring James Stacy (Timothy Olyphant).

Unctuous agent Marvin Schwarzs (Al Pacino) arranges for Dalton to launch a film career by starring in spaghetti westerns filmed in Italy. While that path worked wonders for Clint Eastwood, Dalton’s future, like that of his neighbors, remains in doubt.

Early in his career, Dalton was advised to buy a home as an investment, and as a result he lives in a nice spread on Cielo Drive, where his new neighbors turn out to be director Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha) and pregnant wife, Sharon Tate.

The closest person to Dalton is his stuntman, best friend and confidante Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), who remains a constant presence by virtue of the fact that Dalton has to be chauffeured everywhere due to the loss of his license for driving while intoxicated too many times.

Much of the humor in a story that carries an eventual dark cloud is the spoofing of the industry. A fawning reporter interviews Dalton and Booth for a cheesy television show. During a guest role, Dalton loses his cool in his trailer after botching his lines.

For his part, Booth is burdened by the taint of being suspected of killing his wife, thereby deemed persona non-grata when Kurt Russell’s stunt coordinator is faced with the dilemma of allowing him to be a stunt double for a production that could elevate Dalton’s profile.

One of the wildest, funniest scenes on this particular occasion of filming for “The Green Hornet” is when Booth gets into a fight with a condescending Bruce Lee (Mike Moh) that ends badly for the martial arts legend.

When Dalton is away on a location shoot, Booth drives his Cadillac around Hollywood and encounters hippie-chick and Charles Manson follower Pussycat (Margaret Qualley), who proposes sexual favors that the stuntman wisely declines.

Nevertheless, Booth gives the girl a lift to the Spahn Ranch, a dusty outpost where TV Westerns and movies were filmed and is now inhabited by the Manson family that somehow hoodwinked the elderly, near-blind George Spahn (Bruce Dern) into letting them use for a hideaway.

An air of creepy menace fills the air as Booth insists that he wants to see the property owner who may remember him from the old days and an unfriendly, suspicious Squeaky Fromme (Dakota Fanning) is only too eager to act as a hostile gatekeeper.

The encounter with the Manson groupies is a foreboding omen to the violence and horror that the audience knows lurks just around the corner on a hot August night up in the otherwise tranquil hills above the City of Angels.

While Tarantino could have edited a tighter film, all in all, “Once Upon a Time” is captivating and seductive for the period details and the twists and turns of plot and character development, and the violent ending should spark discussion about revisionist history.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Dubbed one of the country’s best female saxophonists, Nancy Wright performs at the Soper Reese Theatre on Saturday, Aug. 24, at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $15. Seating is open.

This performance celebrates the introduction of Wright’s latest CD, “Alive & Blue.”

Wright has played her wailin’, soulful blues alongside John Lee Hooker, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Albert King and Joe Louis Walker.

She has just been nominated for the prestigious Blues Music Award for the third consecutive year. This award is universally recognized as the top accolade afforded blues musicians.

In addition, Wright continues to tour regularly, playing major festivals and clubs with headlining artists and her own band.

She is a popular regular on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, performing with Tommy Castro and the Painkillers.

Playing with Wright is the Rhythm & Roots band led by Jules Leyhe, blues guitar; with Isaac Schwartz, percussion; and Ian McArdle, keyboard.

The Soper Reese Theatre is at 275 S. Main St., Lakeport.

Tickets are available online at www.SoperReeseTheatre.com; or at The Travel Center, 825 S. Main, Lakeport, 707-263-3095, Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information call 707-263-0577.