"The Golden Period" Of Gustav Klimt

A picture is worth a thousand words.  That is how I felt as I read Jorie Graham's "Two Paintings by Gustav Klimt".  I actually pulled up the picture of Buchenwald on my computer, and after each stanza I read, I looked at my computer, and understood where Graham was coming from with her words about this painting.  It is an exquisite painting. "These timeless masterpieces of sensuality and power are the most expensive paintings in the world"(klimtreproductions.blog.com).  As I read Graham's poem, I felt like I was in the wooded area, feeling each line she depicted of Klimt's painting.  The only part of this that throws me is how can a painting look as beautiful as it does, and the painter names it after a Nazi concentration camp?  I feel that puts a damper on the painting.  That isn't the kind of power I was thinking the painting was giving off to his spectators.  I guess in a way, people can have their own thoughts of a picture, no matter what the name is called.  Graham spoke of a second painting that was half finished by Klimt as well.  Line 64-68 states "he had begun to paint a delicate garment (his trademark) over this mouth of her body.  I actually looked up what his "trademark" was and according to a source I found, Klimt enjoyed "a lone woman in a plain environment wearing an elaborate outfit"(abcgallery.com).  I wonder if that was the "trademark" that Graham was describing.  Between the poem and the painting, I very much enjoyed both.

Works Cited:

http://www.abcgallery.com/K/klimt/klimtbio.html

http://klimtreproductions.blog.com/2010/09/19/buchenwald-birchwood/

The Picture that I searched on the internet:

http://klimtreproductions.blog.com/2010/09/19/buchenwald-birchwood/

Kenneth Koch's "One Train Hides Another"

This poem really made me torn.  I agreed and disagreed with certain aspects of what Koch was trying to say here!  I printed out and read the poem first, and I couldn't help but think it was like listening to my parents telling me what to do.  He seemed kind of bossy, yet fair and stern on the points he was trying to get across.

 When Koch said "So, when you are courting, it's best to have them all in view otherwise in coming to find one you may love another", this actually made me laugh! I am sure that both men and women can relate to this at some point in their life.  The New York School of Poets were known to be ironic and I definitely felt that in this poem.

As I listened to the poem being read through Youtube, it reminded me of that Baz Lurrmann song "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)".  The way he was reading it sounded exactly like this musician and also the words just explained what to do and what not to do for your own good in life.  The only thing that confused me a bit is why he said "In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve may hide the real Adam and Eve. Jerusalem may hide another Jerusalem"(Koch).  Was he trying to explain something that religion isn't what it seems?  I mentioned this in one of my discussions earlier about his line right after the Adam and Eve line that says "When you come to something, stop to let it pass so you can see what else is there"(Koch).  I disagree with this line. My analogy that I used earlier was about my playing Softball.  I NEVER let the first pitch pass me by if it is a strike.  I swing because I KNOW I will not get another pitch just like it or even better.  So letting this moment or pitch pass me by, I just can't sometimes.  I do not believe that anyone should let anything in life pass them by. Although there may be thoughts that something else can be there, what if you miss out on all the things you keep passing by? I agreed and disagreed with Koch but I definitely loved the emotions with this poem!

Works Cited:
Koch, Kenneth."One Train Hides Another".http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15592. July 12, 2011.

Langston Hughes Video!!

Wow. I do not know much about Langston Hughes, other than that he is a writer. This video was actually extremely soothing! When the piano played in the background, I actually found myself swaying along with the video.  "...and put my troubles on the shelf..." is my favorite line from this video.  The tone of the speaker's voice while the music played in the background was very monotone. There were only a few times that he actually changed his octave.  Hearing the piano play like that reminds me of when I was a little girl at my Grandparents house. My Grandpa was big into blues and jazz!  He loved Louie Armstrong and would play it all the time throughout the house!  I liked how the video was all black and white, since the date was in the early 1920's, it made sense to keep it that way!  "I got the Weary Blues!!"  When people back then said they had the blues, was it just to fulfill that kind of music? Or were people really blue, so to speak?  I enjoyed it though :) Very creative and very full of life for Blues!!

Whitman---Song of Myself (Americanized)

So Whitman to me is a little all about himself sometimes in his writing.  I enjoyed Song of Myself, but not as much as his other poems. "O Captain, My Captain" was definitely one of my favorites!! In my Modern American Literature class, we read alot of Whitman and compared him to Emerson.  I really didn't like Whitman as much as Emerson.  The video was sort of a comparison to the poem.  I felt like I was right there in the video with the man they followed, but I just wasn't impressed with this poem. I am still getting used to this blogging thing so I hope it works out!!!

The Raven by Christopher Walken!!!

This was a GREAT Simpsons episode!!! HAHA I used to watch them all the time as a kid!!! Christopher Walken's version was definitely more creepy and morbid feeling than James Earl Jones' version but both equally helped me understand the poem.  When i first read this poem, I didn't really understand the meaning of the raven and his "nevermore".  It got repetitive after awhile and I was kind of bored. When I actually HEARD it being read by Walken, I was thinking, this is pretty cool!! The pauses and the dashes almost reminded me of Emily Dickinson's poetry, how Walken would pause and you would read on, thinking that he would start again, but his pauses were longer than anticipated. I listened to the video and followed along with the poem, checking out who paused more, who emphasized more, and it was excellent!!!!

Emily Dickinson Freaky Video!!!

Ok, I definitely thought that video was creepy! haha It's like something that my friends and would do back in high school, but not with a picture of Emily Dickinson. Maybe a rocker from way back when, and have a pretty funny accent like the girls did with Emily. Kind of like some monster was going to jump out from behind the picture with a gruesome face and scare me!!! I did find it interesting to know that her mother was sick for a long time and that during 1951-1954 she had over 30 PEOPLE; close friends and relatives all pass away!! That can definitely be terms for her morbid writing!!!!  It also may be a factor as to why she was such an anti-social woman for a large part of her life.