It happened when I was listening to The Beatles; I couldn’t choose which record to listen to. It happened again with The Boomtown Rats, again with Cheap Trick, and now, in my mission to listen to one cd from each artist represented in my collection in alphabetical order, I am faced with choosing a singleContinue reading “Notes Toward a Musical Autobiography: Volume V, Letter Costello”
Author Archives: michaeljarmer
A Single Dispatch from Writer’s Camp 2015
It’s quiet on campus. Everyone has gone home. It’s just me and Mark, the dorm all to ourselves. He’s here still because he can’t travel on the Sabbath. I’m here to simply take a few deep breaths, to take advantage of some solitude before heading home. I went down to the cafeteria tonight for dinner,Continue reading “A Single Dispatch from Writer’s Camp 2015”
#177: Trigger Warning
Trigger Warning: The following poem may contain upsetting material. The poet wants to warn you about it in advance so you can decide whether or not to proceed, knowing full well that you might be upset by the poem’s contents. It has become the convention of late for writers, for readers, for teachers of writingContinue reading “#177: Trigger Warning”
#176: On 29 Years of Marriage Measured in Cats and Dogs
On 29 Years of Marriage Measured in Cats and Dogs It’s possible to measure out a marriage in pets. Up to year 29, my wife and I have had two cats and two dogs. Our first pets as newlyweds were all about the same age, relatively speaking, so about half way through our history inContinue reading “#176: On 29 Years of Marriage Measured in Cats and Dogs”
Notes Toward a Musical Autobiography: Volume IV, Letter C
Welcome to Volume IV of my crazy project of listening to a single compact disc from start to finish from each musical artist represented in my neglected cd collection and then writing about it in a blog post. Wow, that was a mouthful. The B section was bountiful; it took two volumes of blog and manyContinue reading “Notes Toward a Musical Autobiography: Volume IV, Letter C”
The Audio Book Experience: Musings on Being Read To and Reading Out Loud
I have never been much of an audiobook kind of guy. I like reading. I’ve always felt a kind of snobbery about the audiobook, as if somehow the actual reading of text on a page and making all of the voices and inflections and imagery happen in one’s head is a more rigorous endeavor, thatContinue reading “The Audio Book Experience: Musings on Being Read To and Reading Out Loud”
A Talk at the 2015 Rex Putnam High School Graduation Ceremony
Class of 2015: Good morning! Many of you have seen a music video on youtube in which a young man wearing a yellow suit, a blue bow tie, and beige converse high tops, bounces up and down, gestures maniacally, and moves rhythmically in a way that sort of resembles “dancing;” his eye make-up is sweatingContinue reading “A Talk at the 2015 Rex Putnam High School Graduation Ceremony”
Notes Toward A Musical Autobiography: Volume III, Letter B
I’m betting you gave up on me. I almost gave up on myself. What with a trip to Disneyland scheduled for spring break, National Poetry Writing Month, and some illness in the family, it looked hopeless that I would ever get through the project of listening to at least one CD from every musical artistContinue reading “Notes Toward A Musical Autobiography: Volume III, Letter B”
#175: Arts and Crafts
We’re studying Romeo and Juliet and even though kids are, for the most part, up on their feet with scripts instead of sitting at their desks reading out loud, it’s a herculean struggle for them to read with any accuracy, enthusiasm, or understanding, and the kid who insists on playing Benvolio every single time alsoContinue reading “#175: Arts and Crafts”
#174: Mowing
I have a love/hate relationship with mowing the lawn. It’s Spring and the lawn must be mowed. I mean, it doesn’t, really. We could totally let the lawn go to hell if we wanted. There’s the rub. We do not want the lawn to go to hell. It looks good when it’s been cut andContinue reading “#174: Mowing”
michael jarmer 