Rites of Spring
This one's got a new podcast w/DW Young about James Hamilton, a little spring poem, some art, and more
The Virtual Memories Show News
A 2x/week email about a podcast about books & life
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This week, I posted Episode 587 of The Virtual Memories Show, feat. the return of director D.W. Young! For more than 40 years, the breathtaking pictures of photographer James Hamilton have chronicled New York City and America (and a couple of war zones), and now D.W.’s amazing new documentary UNCROPPED (Greenwich Entertainment) has launched a rediscovery of his work, life & times. D.W. & I talk about how James’ career at the NY Herald, Village Voice, and NY Observer opened the door to a bigger story about NYC, arts/culture and media, how NYC has changed and how the culture adapts, and how young viewers react upon learning about the city’s vibrant newspaper & alt-weekly scene that preceded the internet. We get into the difference between empathy & formality in photography, how D.W. really didn’t want to make another NYC film after The Booksellers but wound up making the MOST, why some of Uncrossed is shot on film, why sit-down interviews in documentaries get a bad rap but why they can be so valuable, and how Wes Anderson ended up being interviewed for the movie in a largely empty room. Plus we discuss D.W.’s first post-lockdown movie-theater viewings, the relief of making a short narrative film (Dancing on the Silk Razor) in the midst of making Uncropped, why it’s a travesty that the Village Voice archives aren’t digitized, and a lot more. Give it a listen, and go see Uncropped! (& go listen to our 2020 conversation!)
Last week, I posted Episode 586, feat. the return of author-playwright-screenwriter-poet Jen Silverman as they celebrate their amazing new novel, THERE’S GOING TO BE TROUBLE (Random House). We get into how Jen accidentally stumbled into the 2018 Gilets Jaunes protests in Paris and triggered this new book, the many routes of radicalization, and the theatricality of protests, how they draw people in (with a boost from Théâtre du Soleil), and how they contrast with theater itself. We also talk about the role of art in understanding the times, how Jen’s stories start with character, their work on Tokyo Vice and how TV writing differs from other storytelling modes, what it means to protest alongside someone whose politics you disagree with, and what the pandemic era has taught them about community. Plus we discuss the nirvana of MacDowell Colony, learning to use research without being beholden to it, the contrast between book and theater critics, and, oh yeah, whether or not people can change. Give it a listen, and go read There’s Going To Be Trouble! (& go listen to our 2021 conversation!)
Recent episodes: Leonard Barkan • Emily Raboteau • Trillian Stars & Kyle Cassidy (bonus) • Leela Corman • Keith Mayerson • Edith Hall • David Small • Brad Gooch
Rites of Spring
There’s a small tree — little more than a shrub — around the corner
I see it — when I remember to look — when I take Benny for morning walkies
Its leaves bloom in pairs, vivid veined green triangles almost upright
They dip away from each other and together each pair looks like a gull in flight
Each year I try to draw them but fail
And in a week the leaves grow heavy, and fall
below the horizontal
ungainly in flight, unmagic
Art
I barely sketched anything and only managed to finish one piece this past week, the watercolor postcard of forsythia in my backyard. I started it on April 3, didn’t know how to get the branches in, finally did that 2 weeks later, and this morning I finally reminded myself that destruction is my metier and went ahead with some minimal grass and the trees in the background, using watercolor pens & a very fine brush. Now it’s done and I have to decide who to send it to. You should go to the Flickr album of most of the art I’ve made & find something you like.
Postcardery
Speaking of postcards, let me know if you want to be on my postcard-a-day list. (Financial supporters of the podcast get a hand-drawn/painted postcard as a thank-you.)
Kickstartery
I took another Instax photo (like a Polaroid) last weekend while recording with D.W. Young. I’m planning to make a book of Instax photos + text, similar in format to Valid Until Sunset by Jarrett Earnest (photo on left page, text on right). Once I figure out production pricing etc., I hope to get a Kickstarter going for it. If you’ve got ideas about what sort of rewards I should make for different tiers of donors — like, things you’d love to receive if you contributed, say, $50 to this project — let me know.
Until Next Time
Thanks for reading this far! I’ll be back on Sunday with links, books, & workouts, and Wednesday with a new episode, maybe some art, & who knows maybe a little profundity or something.
So look see the days / The endless colored ways / And go play the game that you learned / From the morning,