Treasuring the Flora of Our Great Nation - A touring art exhibition captures the rare and the commonplace... 4 - Epoch Cloud
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WEEk 21, 2019
Jeannetta van Raalte
Treasuring the Flora of Our Great Nation
A touring art exhibition captures the rare and the commonplace... 4
2 | ARTS & TRADITION Week 21, 2019 Week 21, 2019 ARTS & TRADITION |3
all photos by Neon/LD Entertainment
Film Insights Mark Jackson grew up in Spring Val-
ley, N.Y., where he attended a Waldorf
With Mark
school. At Williams College, his pro-
fessors all suggested he write pro-
fessionally. He acted professionally
Jackson
for 20 years instead. Now he
writes professionally about
acting. In the movies.
‘The Biggest Little Farm’
Heartwarming, Modern Garden of Eden
Mark Jackson ‘The Biggest be 40-something?) John and Molly Chester
Little Farm’ when they’re living in Santa Monica. They’re
W
hat a feel-good story! Where do about to get the heck out of Dodge and go try
I begin? It’s an autobiographi- Director and live in perfect harmony with nature,
cal documentary by a creative John Chester as they put it. Which is all a bit too hippie-
couple (he’s a cinematographer, and she’s Running Time dippy, crunchy, and precious (the animation
a pastry chef with a food blog) who up and 1 hour, 31 minutes exacerbates this problem), but then they go
decide they wanna be farmers. How hard rescue Todd from a shelter, and in turn (ac-
could farming be? Especially farming on Rated cording to Molly), Todd rescues them back,
land north of Los Angeles that’s long been PG and things start to get more interesting.
drained of nutrients? Release Date John and Molly are in constant contact
You forgive the front-loading of its cutesy May 10 with the perennially sunglassed agricultural obliterating snails are a very fine delicacy to quacking snail-patrol. fracking movies will, and should, stand our
(Top Left) Apricot Lane
treacle because it’s immediately apparent Yoda, Alan York, who, while less crunchy gobble? Ducks! Put the ducks in the orchard! The takeaway here is to see how the land can collective hair on end, but “The Biggest Little Farms in “The Biggest
that this will be a fabulous teaching piece and more blue collar, is a veritable fount of But what about all those flies, delighting in The takeaway go from basically uninhabitable to a Garden Farm” will restore your hope in Father Sky Little Farm.”
for children. And then you forgive it some fabulous, functional, farmer facts. duck poop and having many, many babies of Eden in seven short years. To the dreamy- and Mother Earth. (Top Right) John and Caya
more, because you realize it’ll teach every- The Chesters run into hardship right off the therein? Chickens! Chickens are masters of here is to see dilettante, starry-eyed, well-meaning Ches- One question it definitely doesn’t answer, the sheepherder dog.
one, especially the gloom-doomers who bat with the major drought that’s plagued maggot population control. Mother Nature ters, they must have been seven excruciatingly and it’s kind of a doozy that gathers weight (Bottom Right) John and
say planet Earth is toast. This little doc will California for a good while now. That’s year has an answer for everything, and it’s kind how the land long years. But then, they really were living as the film progresses, is—where did the Emma the pig.
effectively paradigm-shift your current one. The year after, Alan tells them they need of amazing to see the perfection of it all. their bliss and weren’t afraid of the hard work. money come from? Where’d these two art-
planetary eco-depression. It will answer a to go full-on, whole-hog, “complicated.” As can go from And there’s spiritual growth. ist types get the wherewithal to buy Apricot
myriad questions you didn’t even know you
had about the earth’s ability to bounce back
he says, “Diversity, diversity, diversity!”
Alan’s also apparently into some serious
But It’s Never Perfect for Humans
There is ebb and flow and chaos and order
basically It’s an extended meditation. As John ob-
serves, “Observation followed by creativity
Lane Farms with all that land (200 acres in
Moorpark, California, with an awesome house
from barrenness with alacrity.
The Chesters have a grizzled, human “spir-
farm feng shui. The aerial view of the farm
will eventually reveal that Alan is the most
and highs and lows. And throughout, it’s a
ton of work. We don’t actually see John and
uninhabitable has become our greatest ally.” Nothing will
put you in the zone like creativity, and the
on the property), miles of irrigation equip-
ment, heavy-farming machinery, fields of
it-guide” elder named Alan, who teaches
the neophyte farmers about biodiversity,
artistic of them all. Molly likes the diversity
concept because it means a lot of fun cook-
Molly at work all that much, but as problems
compound, it becomes apparent how many
to a Garden of zone is the bliss of life.
The film also functions, due to the rude
fruit trees, seeds, lots of field staff, and end-
less chicken replacements due to extensive
farming, and how to live your bliss, even if ing projects. The movie poster for “The Biggest Little Farm.” things can go wrong, at any time. The weight Eden in seven awakening the Chesters allow us to have vi- chicken-slaughter by Wile E. Coyote and his
it involves back-breaking work. But what does diversity mean in terms of the sheer workload tonnage hangs around cariously, as an instruction manual and mild sneaky, bloodthirsty brethren?
They’ve also got a blue-eyed, black dog of farming? Well, they start with a gigun- fauna beget? An immediate plethora of They set up night-vision cameras to see in your subconscious, and you think: That’s short years. warning for, say, the dreamy, blond-dread- No matter. John’s cinematography training
named Todd—a “spirit animal” if I ever saw dous sow named “Ugly Betty.” They feel this vermin. Root-gnawing gophers, fruit-tree- who’s out there sneaking around nocturnally so awesome that they do that. I’m so glad locked, weed-smoking, Birkenstock-wearing, is key here. The movie is visually gorgeous.
one. It’s actually Todd’s nonstop barking name is politically incorrect and rename her leaf-obliterating snails, poo-invading mag- and setting up shop, and in addition to the that’s not my vision. I need a nap. 20-somethings who populate Tom Brown Jr.’s High-frame-rate cameras capture the cute-
that gets the Chesters booted out of their “Emma.” That’s so nice. But apparently Ugly gots, peach-marauding birds, and chicken- coyotes, we see bobcats, badgers, weasels, And in addition to all this, they’re shoot- Tracker School. They might be contemplat- ness of honeybees with full pollen baskets
Santa Monica apartment. That’s the kind Betty’s boyfriend thought she was pretty mangling coyotes. What can be done about stoats, and gopher snakes moving in. This is ing a movie. ing a utopian, back-to-the-land, off-the-grid coming home to the hive. The colors of orange-
of thing that kicks off a Hero’s Journey to dang good-lookin’, because after an extend- this munching, masticating mayhem? why gophers procreate so explosively—they Alan, at some point, enlightens us to the existence. It gives notice that elbow grease is red-purple peaches are vibrant. Drone cam-
find one’s bliss. John and Molly heed the call. ed birthing scene (like something out of a Biodiversity means bringing the full-on feed a lot of the predator population. concept that “a comfortable level of dishar- the key ingredient. eras reveal Alan York’s artist feng shui of the
According to the six-fold path of Buddhism, James Herriot novel), she drops 17 piglets. Garden of Eden. Because there are ironclad The other awesome service a gopher pro- mony” is what’s realistic. He also says, “It’s “The Biggest Little Farm” might also func- land. It’s inviting.
I’d say Todd is probably one of John’s ances- Seventeen wee oinkers is already getting laws at work in all of that giant sprawling, vides, with its incessant burrowing, is that it a simple way of farming. It’s just not easy.” tion as a sort of inconvenient truth to former “The Biggest Little Farm” introduces us to,
tors, back in dog form, to guide him. Todd’s pretty complicated. Then add a ton of chick- crawling, growing, and expanding leafy is a rodent version of a soil-aerating machine. My theory is that if everything ran smoothly Vice President Al Gore’s movie, “An Incon- and lets us get to know, all the animal players.
definitely got some otherworldly mojo. ens, black-faced sheep, 75 types of fruit trees, mess that establish balance. Bring on the The trick is to keep them below the gopher all the time, humans wouldn’t have the op- venient Truth.” As opposed to the dire tone And in so doing, it allows us to root for them.
many ducks, and loads of bees. All that, and raptors (daytime and nighttime versions: tipping point: before they start gnawing your portunity to work hard to pay off their kar- of most eco-docs, the Chesters offer the re- It’s a story about giving the natural habitats
Beginnings revive the depleted soil with cover crops. hawks and owls), and—boom! The peach- tree roots. mic debts. But that’s maybe getting a bit too freshing concept that it really might not be that we took away from them—back to them.
We first get to know the 30-something (may- So what does this plethora of flora and pecking bird herd is immediately culled. And guess who thinks the fruit-leaf- esoteric for a movie about Ugly Betty and the as dire a situation as we think. Sure, those Heartwarming.
Film Review
A Unique Story but a Troubled Filming
Patrick Redmond/Vertical Entertainment
Ian Kane
M
any moviegoing folks, as well as the many Mel Gibson (L)
film critics out there, have waxed mel- and Sean Penn
ancholic about the lack of originality in star in “The
modern filmmaking. Indeed, it’s easy to imagine Professor and
the Madman.”
a passionate period project drawing considerable
buzz and anticipation. The added fact that the stars
TRUTH and TRADITION
are Mel Gibson and Sean Penn, two of Hollywood’s
most notorious bad boys (sporting epic beards), is
just the icing on the anticipatory cake.
A NEWSPAPER
“The Professor and the Madman” is about as
unique as any film in recent memory. It tells of the
creation of the Oxford English Dictionary.
Drawing inspiration from Simon Winchester’s 1998
book “The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A Tale of Murder,
Madness and the Love of Words,” Gibson has been
shepherding this dream project for two entire decades.
THE FOUNDING FATHERS
The film opens in 1872, where William Chester
Minor (Sean Penn) is in the throes of his undiag-
nosed schizophrenia. His mind is wracked with fits
of paranoid delusions as he traverses the streets of
London; apparently he believes that someone is out to
assassinate him. In the course of his travels, he shoots
WOULD READ
and kills an innocent man who is out on a stroll with
his wife, Eliza Merrett (Natalie Dormer, “The Tudors”).
Soon after committing the crime, the troubled
American is captured by the local authorities and sent
to the Broadmoor Hospital’s lunatic asylum. There, he ‘The Professor By comparison, a subplot involving Minor’s guilt co-writer and director Farhad Safinia (“Apocalyp-
proves to be a fascinating case for Dr. Richard Brayne and the over the impoverished widow of the man he mur- to”) had with Voltage Pictures.
(Stephen Dillane, “Spy Games,” “Game of Thrones”). Madman’ dered and his attempts to help her never sparks
Brayne discovers that Minor is no ordinary mur- much in the way of emotional relevance. Behind the Scenes
derer, but rather a brilliant physician who is expe- Director Gibson almost stopped “The Professor and the Mad-
riencing what today we would call bouts of extreme Farhad Safinia The Film’s Quality man” from being released at all. The famous Aussie
PTSD, due to his service in the American Civil War.
Meanwhile, an unusually gifted autodidact and lin-
Starring
Natalie Dormer,
Actors Gibson and Penn are in fine form here and
keenly dramatize an unlikely partnership based
star, under his Icon Productions banner, had been
in a protracted legal squabble (until just recently) The very fabric of America is under attack—
guist, James Murray (Mel Gibson), is on a mission to
create the first-ever Oxford English Dictionary. Murray
Mel Gibson,
Stephen Dillane
on perseverance and a love of words and language.
Penn falls into his role as Minor in a convincing
with Voltage over such things as where the film
scenes were to be shot. our freedoms, our republic, and our constitutional rights have
has recently moved his wife, Ada (Jennifer Ehle, “Zero
Dark Thirty,” “Little Men”), to Oxford in order to ac- Rated
manner. We really get to see a window into mental
illness as his character deals with graphic flashbacks
While Gibson and Safinia wanted to lend authen-
ticity to the production by filming in Oxford, Voltage
become contested terrain. The Epoch Times, a media committed
NR
complish this massive task, which he estimates could
take anywhere from five to seven years to complete.
that detail the horrors of war. Several memorable
scenes involve his connection with a guard at the
apparently decided that it was over budget as it was,
and wanted to shoot in more fiscal-friendly locations
to truthful and responsible journalism, is a rare bastion of hope and
Running Time
But when his assistants begin to fall behind in
their work on the monumental task of assembling
2 hours, 4 minutes mental facility. Muncie (Eddie Marsan, “Deadpool
2,” “Whiteboy Rick”) eventually discovers Minor’s
around Trinity College in Dublin.
Eventually, Gibson and Safinia walked off of the
stability in these testing times.
an entire dictionary from scratch, a general call is Release Date capacity for compassion. project. As a result, director P.B. Sherman was in-
put out for contributors to mail-in word origins, May 10 Meanwhile, Gibson completely disappears into vented as the film’s director and this fictive person
and their definitions. That is when Minor begins his portrayal as Murray, a brilliant man obsessed also took a co-writing credit, along with Todd Ko-
to inundate Murray and his crew with thousands with the most important project of his life. Indeed, marnicki (who, confusingly, actually exists).
upon thousands of valuable entries, which help to as the character disappears into his work, conflicts For many people, the legal battles just made them
develop the dictionary considerably.
Murray, a good-natured man, decides to thank his
arise with his wife, Ada. But as the project takes him
over and consumes all of his time, she eventually
want to see the film that much more. Part of the
allure of watching the final product was to see if it SUBSCRIBE TODAY
ReadEpoch.com
greatest contributor personally and so travels to see lets James go and has to raise their children, for the actually came together.
Minor, not knowing the doctor has been locked away most part, on her own. In that regard, while “The Professor and the Mad-
in a mental institution for years. Regardless of this Overall, the production looks good and seems to man” may have a few tonal hick-ups, overall, it’s an im-
missed fact, Murray and Minor strike up an unex- be a sincere dramatization of an important period in portant film that is both educational and well-crafted.
pected friendship that forms the backbone of the film. language history. However, there are tonal missteps
From there, the two fascinating characters em- here and there and a subtle lack of overall continuity. Ian Kane is a filmmaker and author based out
bark on an epistolary relationship that drives the These slight detriments are probably due to the of Los Angeles, California. To see more, visit
dictionary project forward. much-publicized clashes that Gibson and the film’s DreamFlightEnt.com
4 | ARTS & TRADITION Week 21, 2019 Week 21, 2019 ARTS & TRADITION |5
ALL PHOTOS ARE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
BEHOLD THE BEAUTY
T r e a s u r i ng
the
F lor a
of O u r
Gr e at Nat ion
A touring art exhibition captures “The Attainment: The Vision of the Holy Grail to Sir Galahad, Sir Bors, and Sir Perceval.” Tapestry, 19th century, woven by Morris & Co. Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
t h e r a r e a n d t h e c om mon pl ac e
B y L o r r a i n e F e r r i e r
What Exactly Is the Holy Grail, and Why Has
Its Meaning Eluded Us for Centuries?
LEAH TETHER trend is possible to spot. Some of the few earliest
T
manuscript books we still have see Grail narra-
ype “Holy Grail” into Google and … well, you tives compiled alone, but a pattern quickly ap-
probably don’t need me to finish that sentence. pears for including them into collected volumes.
The sheer multiplicity of what any search engine In these cases, Grail narratives can be found
throws up demonstrates that there is no clear alongside historical, religious, or other narrative
consensus as to what the Grail is or was. But that (or fictional) texts. A picture emerges, therefore,
Gilly Shaeffer
doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of people out of a Grail just as lacking in clear definition as
there claiming to know its history, true mean- that of today.
ing, and even where to find it. Perhaps the Grail served as a useful tool that
Modern authors, perhaps most (in)famous- could be deployed in all manner of contexts to
ly Dan Brown, offer new interpretations and, help communicate the required message, what-
even when these are clearly and explicitly rooted ever that message may have been. We still see
“ M at i l i ja P o p p y in little more than imaginative fiction, they get this today, of course, such as when we use the
( R o m n e ya c o u lt e r i ),” picked up and bandied about as if a new scien- phrase “The Holy Grail of…” to describe the prac-
2017, Gilly Shaeffer. Watercolor on paper, tific and irrefutable truth has been discovered. tically unobtainable, but highly desirable prize
7 3/4 inches by 9 inches. The Grail, though, will perhaps always eschew in just about any area you can think of. There is
definition. But why? even a guitar effect-pedal named “holy grail.”
The first known mention of a Grail (“un graal”) Once the prose romances of the 13th century
is made in a narrative spun by a 12th-century started to appear, though, the Grail took on a
writer of French romance, Chrétien de Troyes, proper life of its own. Like a modern soap opera,
who might reasonably be referred to as the Dan “Sir Galahad, the prehistory of the object, Joseph of Arimathea these romances comprised vast reams of narra-
V i s i to r s to Brown of his day—though some scholars would Quest for the Holy took the Grail to the Crucifixion and used it to tive threads, riddled with independent episodes
argue that the quality of Chrétien’s writing far Grail,” 1870, by catch Christ’s blood. In the years that followed and inconsistencies. They occupied entire books,
the e x h i b i t i on exceeds anything Brown has so far produced. Arthur Hughes. (1200–1230), anonymous writers of prose ro- often enormous and lavishly illustrated, and
Karen Kluglein
Chrétien’s Grail is mystical indeed: It is a dish, mances fixated on the Last Supper’s Holy Chalice today these offer evidence that literature about
w i l l s ee n a t i ve big and wide enough to take a salmon, that and made the Grail the subject of a quest by vari- the Grail evaded straightforward understand-
seems capable of delivering food and sustenance. ous knights of King Arthur’s court. In Germany, ing and needed to be set apart—physically and
f l o w e r s the y m a y To obtain the Grail requires asking a particular by contrast, the knight and poet Wolfram von figuratively. In other words, Grail literature had
question at the Grail Castle. Unfortunately, the Eschenbach reimagined the Grail as “Lapsit Ex- a distinctive quality. It was, as we might call it
“Ro s e M a l low
neve r s p ot i n ( H i b i sc u s m o c h e u t o s ),”
exact question (“Whom does the Grail serve?”) is illis,” an item more commonly referred to these today, a genre in its own right.
only revealed after the Grail quester, the hapless days as the “Philosopher’s Stone.” In the absence of a clear definition, it is human
the w i l d . 2017, by Karen Kluglein. Watercolor on vellum,
11 1/2 inches by 8 1/2 inches.
Perceval, has missed the opportunity to ask it. None of these is anything like Chrétien’s Grail, nature to impose meaning. This is what hap-
It seems he is not quite ready, not quite mature of course, so we can fairly ask: Did medieval au- pens with the Grail today and, according to the
enough, for the Grail. diences have any more of a clue about the nature evidence of medieval book compilation, it is
But if this dish is the “first” Grail, then why do
we now have so many possible Grails? Indeed,
Today, of of the Holy Grail than we do today? almost certainly what happened in the Middle
Ages, too.
it is, at turns, depicted as the chalice of the Last course, we use Publishing the Grail Just as modern guitarists use their “holy grail”
Supper or of the Crucifixion or both, or as a stone
containing the elixir of life, or even as the blood-
the phrase My 2017 book delves into the medieval publish-
ing history of the French romances that contain
to experiment with all kinds of sounds, so medi-
eval writers and publishers of romance used the
“ S a g ua r o line of Christ. And this list is hardly exhaustive. ‘The Holy references to the Grail legend, asking questions Grail as an adaptable and creative instrument for
( C a r n e g i e a g i g a n t e a ),” The reason most likely has to do with the fact
that Chrétien appears to have died before com-
Grail of…’ to about the narratives’ compilation into manu-
script books. Sometimes, a given text will be
conveying a particular message to their audi-
ence, the nature of which could be very different
2017, by Joan McGann. Ink and watercolor
on paper, 18 inches by 12 inches. pleting his story, leaving the crucial questions describe the bound alongside other types of texts, some of from one book to the next.
Joan McGann
as to what the Grail is and means tantalizingly practically which seemingly have nothing to do with the Whether the audience always understood that
message, of course, is another matter entirely.
unanswered. And it did not take long for others Grail whatsoever.
to try to answer them for him. unobtainable. So, what sorts of texts do we find accompany-
Robert de Boron, a poet writing within 20 or ing Grail narratives in medieval books? Can this Leah Tether is a reader in medieval literature
so years of Chrétien (circa 1190–1200), seems to tell us anything about what medieval audiences and digital cultures at the University of Bristol in
have been the first to have associated the Grail knew or understood of the Grail? the UK. This article was originally published on
with the cup of the Last Supper. In Robert’s The picture is varied, but a broad chronological The Conversation.
Linguists Found the
many speakers of other languages. Accord- English uses varying word orders to distin-
ing to WALS, the average number of distinc- guish between questions and statements,
tive speech sounds in the world’s languages meaning that the subject of the sentence pre-
‘Weirdest Languages,’ and
is about 25 to 30—known as “phonemes.” cedes the verb in statements. Take the phrase
Pirahã, an indigenous language spoken in “life is a box of chocolates,” for example. Here,
the Amazon region of Brazil, has an unusu- the order is subject (“life”) followed by the verb
English Is One of Them
ally small set of phonemes. It has eight con- (“is”). In the question, “is life a box of choco-
sonants, and just three vowels: /i/, /a/, and lates?” the order of these elements is reversed.
/o/. In contrast, Taa (also known as !Xóõ) is In a WALS survey of 955 languages, fewer
a language in southern Africa that has more than 2 percent of languages in the sample used
than 100 phonemes, including many different English-like differences in sentence structure
Adam Schembri make hypotheses about how humans use lan- types of click sounds. for questions. Over 50 percent of the languag-
Margaret Farr
guage and test them against linguistic data. Sign languages, such as British Sign Lan- es added a question particle to differentiate a
Carol Woodin
Linda Power
Is English “weird”? Many of us might feel Unlike so-called language police, we believe guage or American Sign Language, do not use question from a statement.
this is true when we’re trying to explain the it is important to avoid where possible making sounds at all. Signs are, instead, composed out In Japanese, for example, you add the ques-
complex spelling rules of the language, or value judgments about language. of combinations of handshapes, movements of tion particle “ka” to a statement to turn it into
the meanings of idioms such as “it’s raining Some computational linguists have used the hands, and locations on or near the body a question. The second most common strategy
“ S h o w y L a dy ’ s S l i p p e r “ Y e l l o w L a dy ’ s S l i p p e r “F low e r i ng D o gwo o d cats and dogs” to someone who is learning data in the World Atlas of Language Struc- of the signer. in WALS was to change the intonation pat-
( C y p r i p e d i u m r e g i n a e ),” ( C y p r i p e d i u m pa rv i f l o r u m va r . p u b e sc e n s ),” ( C o r n u s f l o r i d a ) Fa l l a n d S p r i n g ,” English. Teaching or learning any language tures (WALS) to explore (tongue firmly in English has more phonemes than many tern, such as changing a falling intonation
2017, by Linda Powers. Watercolor on vellum, 2017, by Carol Woodin. Watercolor on vellum over panel, 2015, by Margaret Farr. Watercolor on paper, is, however, never an easy task. cheek) which languages might be consid- languages, with around 44, depending on pattern (for a statement) to a rising one (for
13 1/2 inches by 10 1/2 inches. 15 inches by 15 1/2 inches. 23 inches by 17 inches. But what is a “weird” language anyway? As ered the “weirdest.” This was not just a value which variety of English you speak. It has an a question). In contrast, Chalcatongo Mixtec
linguists, we generally aim to be as objective judgment: They systematically compared the unusually large set of vowel sounds—there (an indigenous language of Mexico) is a highly
as possible in the study of human language. information on the WALS website for 239 lan- are around 11. According to WALS, most spo- atypical language because it does not use any
English
“B
We view ourselves as language scientists who guages from different parts of the world. ken languages have only between five and six grammatical strategy to distinguish between
otanical A rt on June 8 for a summer stint at Leigh Yawkey flowers they may never spot in the wild due to America’s Southwest and is therefore protect- grammar Their aim was to find out which languages vowel sounds. This is part of the reason that questions and statements.
W orldwide : Woodson Art Museum, in Wausau,Wisconsin. their rarity or remote location. ed. The saguaro can reach 40 or 50 feet, and is also had the largest number of features that dif- English spelling is fiendishly complicated, That said, it is impossible to conclusively
A merica ’ s F lora ” The last stop of the tour will be in the fall at the The elusive yellow lady’s slipper orchid is McGann made her observations on a ladder. sometimes fered most from other languages. In this sur- because it has inherited five letters for vowels make the argument that English is, or isn’t,
unusual.
is an exhibition of 46 botanical Botanical Research Institute of Texas. one example. Artist Carol Woodin spent a Artist Margaret Farr fears that we take vey, English came in 33rd position out of from the Roman alphabet and speakers have “weird” because all the data needed to make
illustrations of native American The American botanical artists took four long time searching for a specimen through a dogwood for granted. She made a study of the 239 languages. So it definitely has more to make them work for more than twice that this judgment is not available. As several thou-
flora. Curated by the American Society of years to capture 240 specimens across the wooded wetland one year, with a hand-drawn Virginia state flower, with its familiar delicate atypical features than over 80 percent of number of sounds. sand languages have not yet been included in
Botanical Artists (ASBA) and the United States country, including bigleaf maple from the map, but the search provided only a few white or pink cross-like blossoms lacing along the other languages in the survey. English has some comparatively unusual WALS, this means WALS can only be used
Botanical Garden (USBG), the show is part of West Coast, bottlebrush buckeye from the satisfying studies. In the end, she found the the branches. Critics have, however, claimed the sur- consonant sounds as well. Two sounds, those to compare English with a small proportion
a worldwide collaboration of botanical artists Eastern Seaboard, and bloodroot, spanning right spot. The flower featured in the exhibi- Whether familiar flora or not, the show vey was too biased as it used only a few represented by the “th” in “bath” and “bathe” of the estimated 7,000 languages in the world
from 24 other countries across six continents. the Midwest and the East. tion was actually drawn from the rock garden allows us a look into the beauty of the natural features of the world’s many languages. In- respectively, are found in fewer than 10 per- today. More language documentation is ulti-
The aim of the project is to highlight national The artists captured commonly occurring atv the New York Botanical Garden, where the world of our nation that may be in our very deed, there are aspects of English that are not cent of the languages surveyed in WALS. In mately needed to give a better understanding
botanical treasures and connect people with native flora such as sunflowers, poppies, and flower was in bloom in early May, “tucked in own neighborhoods. unusual compared to many other languages, fact, these two sounds are generally among of the world’s amazing linguistic diversity.
plants through botanical art. violets, and also endangered botanicals such among some ferns, peonies, and Jeffersonia,” The native flora of the other 24 countries in such as its dominant subject-verb-object word the last sounds acquired by children, with
The exhibition ran at USBG in Washing- as the lady’s slipper orchids, using a variety said Woodin on the ASBA website. the worldwide exhibition can also be seen in a order. But let’s look here at two features of some adult varieties of English not using them Adam Schembri is a reader in linguistics
ton from May 4 to Oct. 15, 2018, and is now of media such as gouache, colored pencil, pen The subject of Joan McGann’s artwork is the digital presentation at the show. English that might in fact be unusual. at all. in the department of English language and
part-way through a season-by-season tour. and ink, oil paint, traditional watercolor, and local and rare saguaro cactus, the state flower spa x
ia x /Shu t
linguistics at the University of Birmingham
ters t
This spring, the show ran at the Missouri Bo- etching. of Arizona. The towering saguaro can be found To find out more or to purchase the exhibition ock English Sounds Strange The Question of Questions in the UK. This article was first published
tanical Garden through May 5. The show opens Visitors to the exhibition will see native only in a small pocket of the Sonoran Desert in catalog, visit ASBA-Art.org English probably sounds a little strange to English grammar is also sometimes unusual. on The Conversation.
6 | ARTS & TRADITION Week 21, 2019 Week 21, 2019 ARTS & TRADITION |7
Craftsmanship
The Guarneri
‘Il Cannone’
Comes to Columbus, Ohio
The Midwest hosts Paganini’s famous violin
Lorraine Ferrier
all ph
as part of the Greater Columbus Sister Cities display, it exhibits its maker Guarneri’s ex-
International, a cultural exchange program emplary craftsmanship. But this beauty was
otos by
It could be something out of “Mission Impos- that began in 1955. made to be heard, not merely seen. This is ac-
sible.” Only under armed guard, chaperoned The Italians see “Il Cannone” as a cultural tually a requirement in order to be defined as a
The Cit
by a conservator, and kept in a protected tem- emissary. Part of the agreement to loan their musical instrument, rather than a work of art.
perature- and humidity-controlled custom- national treasure is to promote Italian culture, Remarkably, at around 275 years old, “Il To find out
y of Ge
made case can the celebrated 1743 Guarneri in particular, that of Genoa; it’s the city that Pa- Cannone” is in good condition, with all its more, go to
del Gesù “Il Cannone” leave its specially made ganini was born in and that he bequeathed “Il original varnish and main body intact. Pa- Columbus
n oa
room at the Palazzo Doria-Tursi in Genoa, Cannone” to, for it to be “preserved for eternity.” ganini never used a chin rest, nor did his Museum.org
Italy. On May 15, the Columbus Symphony con- contemporaries. He preferred to rest his chin
To host such a celebrity must be both a certmaster Joanna Frankel is, as of this writ- directly on the tailpiece, and it’s here that the
dream come true and a logistical nightmare. ing, scheduled to play the iconic violin in a varnish has tarnished somewhat.
Needless to say, this beauty rarely travels. concert dedicated to honoring Italian compos- Michigan-born Bruce Carlson is the con-
Yet, the famous violin of the great Italian ers. The concert is to be attended by an Ital- servator tasked to look after “Il Cannone” at
violinist Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840) is now ian entourage headed by the mayor of Genoa, the Palazzo Doria-Tursi since 2000. He ex-
briefly on display in the exhibition “Paganini Guarneri del Marco Bucci. plains in an interview on the Premio Paganini
in Columbus” at the Columbus Museum of Art
in Ohio, until May 19.
Gesù’s instru- Normally a musician would have time to
acclimatize not only to their instrument
website that the reason the violin is in such
good condition is that it hasn’t been played
ments are but also to the orchestra. Due to the unique much since Paganini’s time.
A Rare US Play Date
“Il Cannone” comes to the Midwest for the
rare; only 135 circumstances and security restrictions sur-
rounding “Il Cannone,” Frankel will have had
In order to protect it, the violin is purposely
played rarely, but with regularity; Mario Tra-
first time, and is only the fifth time the violin are known only a few hours to rehearse at the Columbus bucco is the main violinist to do so. And then
has traveled to the United States. The first
time was in 1982, when Salvatore Accardo
to exist. Museum of Art. The violin is to be moved from
the museum to the theater only on the day of
once a year, “Il Cannone” comes out on Oct.
12 to be played as the prize of the prestigious
played all 24 of Paganini’s caprices on “Il Can- the performance at the Ohio Theatre. international Premio Paganini competition.
none” at Carnegie Hall in New York. Frankel was humbled to be chosen to play Outside of these, the requirements to play
In 1994, when “Il Cannone” was on display the Italian national treasure: “It will be a “Il Cannone” are strict, and for good reason.
at The Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibi- welcome challenge to unlock this amazing Carlson explains that the instrument should
tion “The Violin Masterpieces of Guarneri instrument’s mysteries albeit in a short time be respected. It is part of the Italian “cultural
del Gesù,” its visit commemorated 250 years span,” she wrote in an email before the per- heritage and cannot be misused in an egotisti-
since Guarneri’s death. In 1999, Eugene Fodor formance. “I’m so lucky to have the chance.” cal or self-serving way,” he said.
played “Il Cannone” at the Herbst Theatre in
San Francisco. Preservation Versus Being Played Why Is ‘Il Cannone’ So Treasured?
The last time the violin came stateside was The price “Il Cannone” pays for being priceless The Guarneri line and those of Amati and
in 2003, when Regina Carter played the violin is the perpetual balance between its conserva- Stradivari are considered the greatest violin
at New York’s Lincoln Center. tion and being played. As a consequence, the makers of all time.
The Columbus visit is the result of years of violin is rarely heard publicly, but often seen. Guarneri del Gesù’s instruments are rare;
arrangements, and a long-term collaboration Alone, confined to its glass cabinet at the only 135 are known to exist, including one
between the cities of Genoa and Columbus, Palazzo Doria-Tursi where it’s on permanent cello. In contrast, 650 Stradivari exist, accord-
The 1743
Guarneri
del Gesù “Il
Cannone” at the
Palazzo Ducale The full arch of the violin
in Genoa. body, with the distinctive
long f-holes, on either side
of the strings, give
“Il Cannone” its strong,
rich, and earthy sound.
ing to the Christie’s website. means “Iesu Hominum Salvator,” a Christian a mystery. The general consensus, although
Guarneri del Gesù came from a family of inscription that translates to “Jesus, Savior of unsubstantiated, is that he was gifted the
luthiers. His grandfather, Andrea Guarneri It’s only the mankind.” It was this inscription that gained violin in Livorno by a wealthy French patron.
(1626–1698), was an apprentice of Nicolò Amati
(1596–1684), as was Antonio Stradivari (circa
fifth time the him the nickname “del Gesù,” “of Jesus.”
Guarneri del Gesù’s violins differ from his
Paganini’s hands were incredibly flexible
and his fingers could extend their reach. He
1644–1737). Both Stradivari and Guarneri violin has father’s due to the full arch in the violin body, composed for how he could play: His 24 ca-
learned the luthier tradition in Amati’s work-
shop in Cremona, Italy, at the same time.
traveled to the the longer waist, and the longer f-holes that
taper, producing a strong violin, meaning the
prices, composed in 1817, are some of the most
technically challenging pieces for the violin.
Paganini’s “Il Cannone” was made in 1743 by United States. sound is loud and rich and almost earthy in In the hands of a virtuoso violinist such as
Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri (1698–1744), its tonal range. That sound is why Paganini Paganini, “Il Cannone” is truly elevated to
who is more commonly known as “Guarneri called his violin “Il Cannone,” or “The Canon.” the realms of the sublime, as pure harmony
del Gesù.” is born from the marriage of fine craftsman-
Guarneri labeled each violin he made with ‘Il Cannone’ in Paganini’s Hands ship and fine musicianship. One hopes this
a Roman cross and the initials “I.H.S.,” which How Paganini came to own “Il Cannone” is virtuosity can be heard again and again.
8 | ARTS & TRADITION Week 21, 2019 Week 21, 2019 ARTS & TRADITION |9
Public Domain
Theater Review
Even in Director Daniel Fish’s Fish-ified
‘Oklahoma!’ the Music Prevails
all photos by Little Fang Photo
Jani Allan
N
EW YORK—The coolest new show on Broadway is
the revival of a 1943 musical. Social media mavens
have hashtagged this production #SexyOklaho-
ma. This, despite traditionalists who think the
Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization should
be ashamed for “giving permission to produce
this gimmicky travesty.”
I sat next to a couple of boys who didn’t look old
enough to cut up their own meat. I ventured to ask
them what the appeal of the current incarnation
of “Oklahoma!” is.
“It’s, like, so politically correct and politically
relevant in every way. And, like, the music is
amazing!”
Politically relevant is, of course, code for hatred
of everything that America stands for.
“Oklahoma!” was the first collaboration of
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II,
and it catapulted the pair to prominence. The
duo went on to write many of Broadway’s most
famous mid-century musicals. Since it opened in
1943, “Oklahoma!” has been performed countless
times all over the world. The movie adaptation in
1955 won an Academy Award.
The Fish-y Production
In his Broadway debut, director Daniel Fish has
taken on a musical that brought joy and a sense
of pride and identity to an American nation that,
75 years ago, was at war with foreign powers. Odysseus and his companions suffer from the man-eating giants, the Laestrygonians. Mural from the first century B.C. from Villa Esquillino in Rome. Vatican Library.
Fish has reconceived a work whose hallmark is
optimism; he wishes to transmogrify it into a
mirror for our age of doubt and anxiety.
The American way, according to the Book of Po- Odysseus and the Enneagram This is a controversial area, but one cannibals. All 11 ships and crew are lost. his enemies all around him. Bodies are
litical Correctness, is that long-standing Ameri- theory reported by Richard Rohr in Fortunately, Odysseus, whose boat had tangible.
can legacies such as patriotism and tradition must his book “The Enneagram: A Christian not committed to going inside their har- However, the Six places confidence
be exhumed and re-examined with beady-eyed Perspective” is that ideas similar to the bor or terrain, cuts loose and escapes. But not in his body but in his mind; and
F indin g t h e
skepticism, if not downright disgust. (Aunt Eller, Enneagram are to be found in the work what a disaster, and how much worse of course, the mind, or reasoning, is
after all, makes her corn bread not from scratch of Evagrius Ponticus, a Christian mystic than the encounter with Polyphemus! never secure. It goes round and round
but out of a box! Onstage!) who lived in fourth-century Alexan- in circles, since logic, without a founda-
The production takes place
under a blaze of glaring
(Above)
Curly (Damon
involved with Ado Annie, one of Laurey’s friends
and the town’s good-time girl.
Her voice has a rare sweetness, and her comic tim-
ing is perfection.
T r u e S e l f Part 5 dria. Evagrius identified eight “deadly
thoughts,” plus an overarching thought
Cyclops and Laestrygonians,
Eights and Sixes
tional or axiomatic first principle, cannot
justify itself.
house lights that de- Daunno) serenades an The action takes place in Oklahoma Territory, Physically, Ali Stroker may be in a wheelchair, he called “love of self.” This made nine Goldberg makes the point that some The Six can never be certain of whether
The Sin
signer Scott Zielinski unimpressed Laurey just before official statehood. but handicapped she isn’t. She rides her wheelchair sins, and Evagrius wrote about “rem- critics in the past have felt that this someone is a friend or enemy, and so the
keeps on most of the (Rebecca Naomi Jones) in Now, just when I was thinking that Fish scarcely as though she was riding herd on a pony. She has so edies” to these thoughts. episode in the narrative is a weak repeti- strategy is to strike first before the other
time. When we are Daniel Fish’s reconceived changed a word of Oscar Hammerstein II’s original much charisma that she could sell it by the pound. On top, then, of the normal seven tion or reprise of the earlier Cyclops does. Keep in mind too at this point that
required to be dis- “Oklahoma!” book and lyrics and perhaps this wasn’t an act of When she belts out “I Cain’t Say No,” there is no deadly sins of Anger, Pride, Envy, story: Both feature giant, cannibalistic the king’s name, “opposed to recogni-
turbed, the dialogue plunder, but of reclamation, I was slapped in the heart left uncaptured in the theater. Avarice, Gluttony, Lust, and Sloth were monsters, which attack Odysseus and tion,” also points toward an inability to
(Left)
of Fear
occurs in Stygian face with a wet fish, as it were. added Fear and Deceit. Also, just as seven his men. discern what or who someone is, for a
The adorable Ado Annie
darkness. (Ali Stroker) and In the central romantic triangle, among the is a mystical number, so is nine, which But as Goldberg demonstrates, noth- lack of recognition means the failure to
Set designer Laura Ali Hakim (Will Brill) lovers Laurey (Rebecca Naomi Jones) and Curly is a trinity of trinities. And, at the end of ing could be further from the truth: The name them.
Jellinek has nailed in “Oklahoma!” (Damon Daunno), and the outsider Jud (Patrick Director Daniel Fish has the day, the Enneagram works, so nine Eight and the Six, while seemingly simi-
blond plywood panels Vaill), Fish presents us with a plot twist that departs it is! lar, are worlds apart, as critical aspects Dealing With Fear
to the theater’s walls and dramatically from the original script. reconceived a work whose of the Laestrygonian story show. Goldberg suggests that the Six is pro-
the floor of the thrust stage. I won’t divulge this blasphemous liberty taken hallmark is optimism; he A Visit to the Laestrygonians It would be true to say that in encoun- jecting outward his or her own inner
The seven-member orchestra here, but the lines between sex and violence, al- After six full days of rowing, on the sev- tering enemies in life, the Six and the hostilities to the world, and with their,
sits in a shallow pit cut out of the ready blurred in this gun-toting universe, are now wishes to transmogrify it enth day Odysseus and his crew find the Eight are especially terrifying. While as he calls it, “self-invalidating mind-
floor. It’s an Ikea-type set. The walls feature ser- redrawn to reflect Fish’s political ideology. It is into a mirror for our age island of the Laestrygonians, representa- both the Nine and the Seven contain set” there is no fighting against them,
ried ranks of shotguns. There’s chili cooking in red obviously designed to cast Curly and the other pio- tives, as each encounter is, of the worst deadly traps for the unwary, their for they cannot, will not, change their
slow cookers on the refectory tables that paren- neering folk in a klieg light that is not only deeply of doubt and anxiety. James Sale aspect of that type of personality. methodologies are passive-aggressive or minds or thinking.
thesize the stage. The ceiling beams are bedecked unpleasant but also clearly shows their hatred for As a reminder, the Sixes’ basic desire is indirectly aggressive, whereas the Eight In dealing, then, with the Laestrygo-
with dollar-store bunting. outsiders, the appalling way they treat women, There are those who complain bitterly that this In this multipart series, “Finding the In to be supportive and supported. At their and the Six can come straight at you—ag- nians, a number of points emerge: First,
‘Oklahoma!’
The cast members are licorice allsorts—all sizes, and how they eschew justice for kangaroo courts, “vulgarized” version of “Oklahoma!” was designed True Self,” we will discuss nine types of encountering best, they are committed, loyal, self-sac- gressive aggression, as it were! to establish the safe “anchorage” outside
shapes, and colors—wearing denim (Terese Wad- Circle in the Square and so on. for kids who have never heard of the old-fashioned personalities and their flaws, and show rificing team players; at their worst, they Here we note too that the Laestrygo- their port of call. To wholly identify with
den did the costumes) and cowboy boots. Theatre “Oklahoma!” and ticket buyers who hate musicals how Odysseus, through his adventures, enemies are suspicious, paranoid, and centers of nians are offspring their mind-set, to
All this is part of the Fish-ified deconstruc- 1633 Broadway But the Remaining Lyricism Prevails in general. Whatever. This “Oklahoma!’’ is a box- overcame them to find his way back in life, the deep negativity. descended from two fear, is fatal.
tion: to strip everything down, to dismantle the New York The play opens and closes with “Oh, What a Beauti- office phenomenon. home. As Odysseus and his crew approach parents, the gods Second, one needs
Six and the
I
Americana, and show us rag-mop reality. The ful Mornin’.” At the end of the musical, Curly and Sometimes cynicism is an inoculation Laestrygonia, they see a “craggy fort” Gaia and Poseidon. courage, which is
Tickets
cerebral remastering is intent on showing us that 1-800-Broadway or Laurey are married, Jud is dead, and the whole that just doesn’t take: The cast got a stand- n modern psychology, we have Eight are and a land where shepherds seem inor- Yes, Poseidon, that always the antidote
the bright golden haze on the meadow Curly sings OklahomaBroadway. cast is singing “Everything’s goin’ my way.” The ing ovation. It may not have been Fish’s inten- books like “Feel the Fear and Do It dinately active and productive. Odysseus problematic god (for to fear, and in this
about was delusional. Worse, it was probably com theatrical actions that unfold between those joyful tion, but I think he has introduced a whole Anyway,” which are international especially comments that here “a man who never Odysseus) who also case, it is about nam-
based on white privilege.
Running Time
moments of dawning light one could describe as new audience to the joys of mid-century best-sellers and which focus on terrifying. sleeps could rake in double wages.” That fathered the Cyclops, ing—or removing the
Daniel Fish trying his darndest to dislodge, if not musicals. the idea that fear is the fundamen- surely should give us pause for thought, and who is now invisibility—of what
More Fish Bait
2 hours, 45 minutes entirely dismantle, the American myth. Frankly, I put it down to the music. No matter tal issue besetting human nature. The for what men never sleep? And what seeking to avenge his is going on. Bad Sixes
(one intermission) happens if we don’t sleep?
“Oklahoma!” which Rodgers and Hammerstein Yet the show’s lyricism is what works beautifully. what Fish’s political message may have been, in the fear response clouds our judgment in injured son, Polyphe- thrive in shadows
adapted from Lynn Riggs’s 1931 play “Green Grow Open Run Damon Daunno’s Curly, for example, shines end it was the music that captivated theatergoers. so many areas of our lives, and when it There is a fine, expansive harbor, but mus, whom Odysseus but cannot stand any
the Lilacs” revolves around two love triangles. when he is allowed to sing a ballad more slowly As the boys said: “Like, the music is amazing!” does, we abandon our rationality, that is, the passage in is “cramped” or restricted. blinded. This partly light thrown on their
In one, a cowboy and a farmhand vie for the af- and melodically. our being Homo sapiens—wise, rational Through it, 11 of Odysseus’s 12 ships explains why it is easy activities.
fections of a farmer’s daughter. In the other, a The star of the show is an adorable, dimpled, Jani Allan is a South African journalist, colum- creatures. pass, while he decides to moor his ship to confuse a Six and And finally, if there
cowboy and a Persian traveling salesman are both blond beauty, Ali Stroker, who plays Ado Annie. nist, writer, and broadcaster. On his journeys, Odysseus has encoun- outside, well clear of the “harbor’s jaw.” an Eight: They have is no shift in perspec-
tered Sloth (the Lotus-Eaters), Lust (the This proves a prescient move. a common ancestor. tive, no acknowledg-
Cyclops), and Gluttony (the Aeolians)— Three scouts are landed and sent Moreover, we are now ment of who you are,
three of the so-called seven deadly sins. ahead to find, Odysseus hopes, men like back to Odysseus no positional shades
But as we remarked in our first article in himself who “live on bread.” Living on having to deal with of gray (only black
this series, the Enneagram includes nine bread is a sign of human society, indeed, the terrible power and white), then leave
Theater Review deadly sins. And now on his voyage, Od- of human community. We should be feel- of the depths of the
Michael Goldberg’s “Travels With
and don’t look back.
ysseus encounters one of the two extra ing uneasy here because the name of the sea, perhaps his own There is no good to be
sins that are not included in the typical Laestrygonians means “gathering subconscious. Odysseus.” achieved by staying; it
Surviving Someone Else’s Shameful Secret list of seven: the sin of Fear.
Actually, this sin is thought by some
to be even more primary, or basic, than
the seven that are frequently commented
raw skin,” which is a long way from
baking bread.
The scouts meet the “strapping
daughter” of the king of the Laestrygo-
The importance of
pointing out the similarities, though,
lies in the fact that we often confuse
one personality type for another, and in
would not be courage,
but recklessness to stay and fight.
And, if you are a Six, then you need
to engineer some important changes of
Jeremy Daniel on. So before considering Odysseus’s nians, Antiphanes. According to Michael doing so, of course, mistake the actual perspective: primarily, to trust yourself
Diana Barth to a less glamorous site. and her husband, that she’d nev- on stage, slender and lithe, per- encounter with the Laestrygonians, Goldberg in his book “Travels with motivation of the person, and thereby and not abrogate all authority to external
Jace must be listed as a sex of- er known. And, if anything, the forms easily. Undoubtedly, she or number Six on the Enneagram, let’s Odysseus,” this name means “opposed probably adopt an ineffective way of others, whoever they be. Also, remem-
NEW YORK—Actress Maddie fender. experience appears to strength- has worked closely with director briefly consider why there are nine to recognition,” or as another translation dealing with him or her. ber the story of Jesus when he asked the
Corman had it all—a nice hus- Ultimately, a therapy organiza- en the bonds of her relationship Kristin Hanggi. Set by Jo Winiar- deadly sins. puts it, “unspeakable.” This is not just And why not fight and outwit the demons for their name. As soon as they
band of over 20 years; a lovely tion is brought into the picture. with her husband. ski and lighting by Jamie Roder- about being difficult to pronounce. In the Laestrygonians, as he did Polyphemus? gave it (“Legion”), their power over the
Public Domain
home in Dobbs Ferry, New York; It’s located in Arizona and seems At any rate, the couple is still ick enhance the production. first instance, being opposed to recogni- This comes down to the essential nature possessed man was shattered. Thus, the
three great kids; all the necessi- like a kind of spa. It obviously together. It’s well worth seeing for a real- tion suggests someone hiding, lurking of the Six personality type. For notice Six needs to look directly at his own
ties; and a lot of luxury—until one requires big bucks, so not ev- Maddie also bonds with some life depiction of a brave woman. in the depths to conceal who they are the differences from the Cyclops. fears, and name them, for staying within
morning, as she was driving to erybody can afford it. Luckily, of the other wives at the center. really are; and in the second, “unspeak- First, their hyperactivity: a compulsive a realm of the “unspeakable” means he
Brooklyn around 5 a.m. to film Jace can. They have nothing in common Diana Barth writes for various able,” we have the sense of “utterly evil,” need to be productive, even endur- can never escape from his own internal
a stint in a forgettable TV show, with her. Yet they have every- theatrical publications and or something so bad it is not even to be ing the absence of sleep. Second, their terror.
her cellphone rang. thing in common with her. for New Millennium. She may spoken of. And so it proves. collectivity and structure: They work Finally, a simple thing to practice, as a
It was her 15-year-old daughter Back in New York, Maddie suf- be contacted at diabarth99@ On entering a “sumptuous palace,” as a team and have a king. Third, to join Six, is giving compliments and recogni-
on the point of hysterics, scream- fers at the possibility of being gmail.com the scouts meet the queen, “huge as a them is “restricted” and difficult. (Many tion—again, making visible the real and
ing: “Mommy, they’re taking It’s a tribute to snubbed by her colleagues. Does mountain crag who filled them all with Sixes find their homes in secret organi- the good—which they tend not to do.
Daddy’s computer away!” Maddie Corman: anybody know? Yes, everybody horror”; she calls her husband, Antiph-
anes, and he immediately tears one of the
zations!) Fourth, their attack is manic With one ship left, Odysseus, devas-
Completely unbeknown to knows. It’s in the newspapers. annihilation, bordering on a paranoid tated, sails away. And so he comes to the
Maddie, the computer contained A lesser soul might Yet, people are basically kind.
‘Accidentally Brave’ scouts to pieces in preparation to devour fear response. land of the Five, where the witch
films of child pornography. have caved. Some tactfully ignore her; others DR2 Theatre him. No warning—just straight attack. Each one of these four points contrasts Circe dwells.
It was the beginning of a offer advice: “You should leave 103 E. 15th St., New York The other two scouts make a run for vividly with the Cyclops. Why, Polyphe-
downward spiral for Maddie. Her him,” one offers. “You’ve got to it as the king howls through the town, mus almost seems rational in his leisure- James Sale is a poet and businessman
Tickets Maddie Corman in “Accidentally Brave.”
wonderful world was dissolving. It’s designed to treat addicts. stay and tough it out,” another and hundreds of Laestrygonians swarm ly decision to eat Odysseus last because whose company, Motivational Maps
800-745-3000, or
What follows in this one-wom- And the compulsion to view insists. to join him and attack the ships in their Odysseus gave him wine. Ltd., operates in 14 countries. James will
Ticketmaster.com
an show is a true tale of stress and child porn is an addiction. It’s a tribute to Maddie Cor- harbor. They are giants; they throw One key thing to understand about be appearing in New York to do talks
dealing with hard changes. Her First, Jace goes there on his man. A lesser soul might have Running Time huge rocks at the ships, shattering and the difference between the two is that and poetry readings for The Society of
husband, director Jace Alexan- own. Later, Maddie joins him, caved, but instead she uses the 1 hour, 30 minutes destroying them, and then spear the Eights are somatically confident; that Classical Poets on June 17, 2019, at Bryant
der, is losing work, and finances and is astonished at how eye- experience to turn it into creative (no intermission) Evagrius Ponticus, a Christian mystic, who identified more sins than seven. sunken crew members as if they were is to say, they are entirely confident in Park and The Princeton Club. To meet
are stretched. They must give up opening the experience is. She gold. Closes Engraving by Jan Sadeler and Raphael Sadeler I after a design by Maarten De fish and take them home to eat. The the strength of their bodies, which is James and for more information, go
their wonderful home and move learns things, about both herself Corman, an attractive figure July 13 Vos. Pitts Theology Library, Emory University. Laestrygonians, like the Cyclops, are why Polyphemus can fall asleep with to http://bit.ly/Poetry_and_Culture
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