Greetings! Happy April Fool’s day. Far be it from me, though, to play a prank on you, dear reader. So, I begin today holding true to the self-challenge of writing 30 sonnets in 30 days in celebration of National Poetry Writing Month. For this first one, I have decided to be faithful to the ShakespeareanContinue reading “#439: The poet Larry Levis said or wrote . . .”
Tag Archives: Shakespeare
#323: Good or Bad?
(a villanelle on a stolen line from Hamlet) Nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so, says Hamlet, and I tend to think he’s right, but bad weather and evil persist, you know. There could possibly be another show that proves it’s all subjective, right? Nothing either good or bad but thinking makesContinue reading “#323: Good or Bad?”
April’s Greatest Hits: Audio Poems
So it was that during all of April I wrote poems, 32 of them to be precise, in celebration of National Poetry Writing Month. And they all, or most of them, turned out to be about this guy, or at least inspired by this guy, the Bard from Stratford Upon Avon, because, as you mayContinue reading “April’s Greatest Hits: Audio Poems”
#217: Poem on the 26th of the Month of April
My head is empty of poems; instead it’s full of Shakespeare, trying to hold on to my lines even though the run is over. I found myself running some of them today for no other reason than to see if I could do it. My mind is full of The Flaming Lips because I’ve been listening toContinue reading “#217: Poem on the 26th of the Month of April”
#215: The Actor “Decides” the Last Scene is Four Lines Too Long and Does Some Spontaneous Editing On Stage
Moving through the last show of the run, it was hard to contain my happiness. Through the first four acts I felt downright giddy. It was difficult to suppress the smiles and there was a kind of laughter inside, too flattering sweet to be substantial. I was happy the run was near an end butContinue reading “#215: The Actor “Decides” the Last Scene is Four Lines Too Long and Does Some Spontaneous Editing On Stage”
#214: Lord Capulet Interrogates Michael Jarmer in a Closing Night Sonnet
First things first: Happy birthday, Bill! It’s been a super rough year. The loss of Bowie, Rickman et. al., and just days ago now, the devastating loss of Prince, makes one super conscious of the fragility of life, especially when our heroes fall, heroes who seemed to us untouchable and timeless, almost god-like. But now, involvedContinue reading “#214: Lord Capulet Interrogates Michael Jarmer in a Closing Night Sonnet”
#212: Rosaline Goes to an Old Accustomed Feast
Today’s napowrimo suggestion is to write a poem in the point of view of a minor character in a folktale or myth. I choose neither. Because Shakespeare: Rosaline Goes to an Old Accustomed Feast I was on the guest list and I decided to go even though I knew he would be there. I wanted noContinue reading “#212: Rosaline Goes to an Old Accustomed Feast”
#211: Ode To Juliet’s Nurse
Juliet’s age-knowing, wormwood on dug-leaving, dirty-joke telling, thou wilt fall backward, when thou comest to age, wilt thou not, Jule-talking, fan-waving, fan’s the fairer face-waving, Mercrutio, scurvy-knaving, saucy merchant-screaming, I’ll take him down-threatening, match-making, Juliet-teasing, oh, my aching bones-complaining, where is your mother-asking, wedding-arranging, Romeo and Juliet co-conspiring, Romeo shaming, on Friar Lawrence-crushing, he’s dead,Continue reading “#211: Ode To Juliet’s Nurse”
#210: How to Perform Shakespeare for Middle School Children
Chew the words. Enunciate. Don’t go too fast. Lift the line. Energy. Energy. Perhaps, more importantly, overemphasize the dirty jokes: “Draw thy tool” and “My naked weapon is out” should get big laughs. However, for things that could be considered dirty but are not, caution is advised. If you’re Romeo, for example, and you’re climbingContinue reading “#210: How to Perform Shakespeare for Middle School Children”
#209: 35 Years Later, The Actor Playing Capulet Remembers Auditioning for Romeo
I was 16 when I auditioned for Romeo. I got Mercutio instead and I was happy about that because that guy has the best death scene in all of literature. But in preparation for my Romeo audition I carved out a space in my brain for Romeo’s balcony soliloquy and I still know it to this day, 35Continue reading “#209: 35 Years Later, The Actor Playing Capulet Remembers Auditioning for Romeo”
michael jarmer 