A Time to Howl
Poetry won't save America, but I can pretend.
The last time I posted, I felt quite undone by the world. Like everyone else, I had no idea what the next 2 weeks would bring - and here I am - feeling like I got sideswiped by a semi-truck. Between the announcements of 4 icons leaving their earthly bodies this weekend (Dr. Ruth, Richard Simmons, Bill Viola, and Shannen Doherty)*, an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, and brutal allegations against the literary lion Alice Munro for extremely poor mothering (and all the think pieces on that including the excellent Brandon Taylor’s SWEATER WEATHER newsletter, Alice Elliot Dark’s ALICE ON SUNDAY Substack, and Rebecca Makkai’s LA Times commentary), it hasn’t left me much room for imagining this week’s Substack.
So, if like me you’re feeling like the world is still too much with us, I offer you a three minute video massage for your brain. I know poetry won’t save America, but I can pretend. Here’s one of my all time favorite poets, Kim Addonizio, reading the funny and devastating AMERICA section from Allen Ginsburg’s HOWL at City Lights, back in 2012. Ginsburg is still my comfort food.
And if you are looking for a solid poetry read this week, I recommend TWENTY POEMS THAT COULD SAVE AMERICA and other essays by Tony Hoagland.
Poetry won’t save America, but I can pretend,
Kayla
*My mom and I sat next to Dr. Ruth once at Symphony Space and Mom and she chatted away with each other before the show. Dr. Ruth was funny and lovely!
*When we moved to LA, I took one of those Celebrity Tours around the Hollywood Hills and we saw Richard Simmons’s home. He had a mailbox that was a tiny replica of his home. According to the driver, if he was home and the tour bus stopped in front of his house, he would come out and take photos with his fans, always very happy to do it. He wasn’t there that day but so glad to hear he wasn’t a secret asshole. I also ended up taking dance classes in Richard Simmon’s studio space in Beverly Hills, hoping for a glimpse of him dropping in but never saw him.
*I met Bill Viola once when I interned at Mabou Mines. I was scared of him, he was right up there with Philip Glass for me. But he was aloof in the good 1980s artist way and we talked about the musical Showboat.
*Weirdly and lastly, I never met or saw Shannen Doherty in real life and wasn’t the biggest 90210 fan (I liked it enough) but her death has hit me the hardest. Maybe because she’s 53 and I’m 51. Maybe because we’ve had more than a few friends deal with breast cancer in the last 5 years. Maybe it’s because she was just too damn young. As much as the other deaths make sense to me, hers doesn’t. I’m truly broken up about it. Seeing the memes and posts about Shannen and Luke Perry meeting in The Great Hereafter only makes me sadder. So, I’m trying to remember the attitude, humor, and confidence she brought to her performances and most likely her day-to-day life. Rest in peace to a real one.
Wishing everyone a calmer week. ❤️
I’m lying in bed crying. Thanks for your thoughtful reflections, Kayla. The world is definitely too much with us… and I’m feeling the crushing weight of our politics. I clicked on your Sub hoping for respite. I found none. But I found a mirror. And that’s important too. Let’s all drown in poetry as we pretend it can save the world.