I was delighted to be asked to contribute to Take a Friend to the Orchestra. As usual, the prospect of writing on a specific topic, for a deadline, terrifies me, and leads me to all sorts of desperate measures. You can read my piece here, if you are a brave soul.
Spring is here, and deserves this sonnet:
Th’expense of spirit in a waste of shame
Is lust in action; and till action, lust
Is perjured, murd’rous, bloody, full of blame,
Savage, extreme, rude, cruel, not to trust;
Enjoyed no sooner but despised straight;
Past reason hunted, and no sooner had,
Past reason hated as a swallowed bait,
On purpose laid to make the taker mad;
Mad in pursuit, and in possession so,
Had, having, and in quest to have, extreme;
A bliss in proof, and proved, a very woe;
Before, a joy proposed; behind, a dream.
All this the world well knows, yet none knows well
To shun the heaven that leads men to this hell.
8 Comments
I was so captivated by the “ill-advised, egregious” entry that I read through the entire Think Denk archives (comments and all); I feel a little like I just ate a whole box of Mallomars while watching the Ring cycle. After awhile I started keeping an extract journal of bits that were so touching, giggle-inducing, profoundly true, or just perfectly phrased that I couldn’t bear to let them go. I emerged with several thoughts:
1) I seem to have joined the–apparently vast–group of anonymous internet denizens who are madly in love with you (or at least your online persona).
2) I will never ever dare come up to you after a concert and say anything.
3) How I wish I could hear music as viscerally as you do. Even after working through several entries with a score and recording, I know I’m hearing only a faint echo of what you describe.
4) I need to listen to the Quartet for the End of Time as soon as possible–although it’s so far from my comfort zone I can’t believe I’m saying this. (Fortunately there’s a performance at Town Hall on May 4, so I can act before I lose my nerve.) The vision you evoked is so heart-stoppingly splendid–I hope I can hear it.
5) Someone mentioned the possibility of your blog being made into a book. If any prospective publisher wants to know, even though I just read the whole thing, if it were available as a book, I would run out in a minute and buy copies for me and all my friends.
I came here to post this, went over to the Take a Friend to the Orchestra page, and came back with two more extracts for my journal–and a lot to think about.
WS is truly the LVB of verse, but Spring, that belongs to eec. Cheers,
she being Brand
-new;and you
know consequently a
little stiff i was
careful of her and(having
thoroughly oiled the universal
joint tested my gas felt of
her radiator made sure her springs were O.
K.)i went right to it flooded-the-carburetor cranked her
up,slipped the
clutch(and then somehow got into reverse she
kicked what
the hell)next
minute i was back in neutral tried and
again slo-wly;bare,ly nudg. ing(my
lev-er Right-
oh and her gears being in
A 1 shape passed
from low through
second-in-to-high like
greasedlightning)just as we turned the corner of Divinity
avenue i touched the accelerator and give
her the juice,good
(it
was the first ride and believe i we was
happy to see how nice she acted right up to
the last minute coming back down by the Public
Gardens i slammed on
the
internalexpanding
&
externalcontracting
brakes Bothatonce and
brought allofher tremB
-ling
to a:dead.
stand-
;Still)
Dude, I think Falstaff is lured to the woods in Act IV for a rendezvous with Alice Ford, not with Meg Page… But such details are trivial when reading your thoughtful posting.
jeremy – well written. absolutely captivating.
i hope to see you again in performance sometime soon.
excuse me while i leave a comment with my correct contact info
Jeremy, where are you? I miss your posts.
Me too … time for a new post, Jeremy!
Yes Jeremy, where are you? I’ve been worrying about you. Hope everything is alright! Miss your posts too!