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Review of Szymborska's new collection "Here"

11/22/2010

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I finally had a chance to digest the poems in Wislawa Szymborska’s latest collection, “Here,” published last month by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.  If you are unfamiliar with Ms. Szymborska’s Nobel Prize winning poetry, she is the queen of depth, master of juxtaposition, and standard-bearer of profundity encapsulated in simplicity.  Ms. Szymborska’s previous release, titled “Poems; New and Collected,” contained a variety of thought provoking works from a world of themes, of which I selected a number of poems to adapt into a pop music album (Click here for samples!)  The new collection is no different, with subject matters ranging from memory and Ella Fitzgerald, to the art of writing poems and well known works of art.  “Here” also shares the same translators, Clare Cavanagh and Stanislaw Baranczak, who have proven time and again that the essence and brevity of Szymborska can be realized perfectly in English.

I found two extraordinary examples of the depth and perspective that underlines “Here.” The first is a poem entitled “Teenager.”  In it, the subject addresses herself as a youth, with her entire life ahead of her.  They share similarities, but mainly the subject expands on their differences.  She compares basic qualities like their stature and skin, and then more interesting is their perception of time.  For the youth, “time is still cheap and unsteady,” while for the elderly woman, “it’s far more precious and precise.”  Ms. Szymborska often leaves us with a final line to contemplate on, and this poem is no exception.

In “Absence,” there is even more to think about as Ms. Szymborska delves into the idea of what would happen had her mother and father married different people. She wonders what their separate offspring would be like.  We often think of the fact that we would not be here in those instances, and, perhaps in our egocentricities, we do not think much about what those children would be like, and how they would share some of our attributes.  The subject mentions that each child has some of her characteristics, but “she wouldn’t have been me.”  Szymborska relates some of the things that this fictitious person is probably better at than herself.  She even wonders what would happen if these two girls had met one another.

“Here” offers us more of the expansive and evocative art that we have come to expect from Szymborska.  Her tongue in cheek wit and focused moments of grandeur remind us that like a fine wine, her craft only matures with age.


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We are so excited about the release of "Supercollider"

8/19/2010

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Many thanks for all the support for our album "Supercollider!"  The response has been extremely positive. From the concept right down to the artwork design, we have heard great reviews.  We are currently shooting the video for "4 AM," which will be up on the website and on youtube in a few weeks.  It looks really cool so far!  It was a blast collecting images that could be used for the unsettling middle of the night feeling that "4 AM" evokes.  Thanks to Kaeylea for recording some video of her singing for it, all the way from Dublin, Ireland!  This album was such a great collaboration from around the globe! 
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Current Read.

7/6/2010

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Currently I am reading "The Chief" by David Nasaw, about the life and times of William Randolph Hearst.  It's a fascinating biographic look at Hearst's rise.  A song on the upcoming Supercollider album is loosely inspired by Hearst and his San Simeon Castle.  The track "Mansion" asks the question: "Would you or I be happy here, so much space."  I based the song loosely on a Wislawa Szymborska idea from her poem "The Great Man's House," where she is taking a tour much the same way that Annie and I took a tour of Hearst Castle in late December.  We found it fascinating to explore the personal living quarters of Hearst, along with his office and personal library on the top floor.  We also toured his kitchen and guest quarters in the main house.  So what inspired me is the fact that here is this incredible mansion, on a stretch of land that goes as far as the eye can see, and would you or I find the success that he found living in this luxury?  Or would we, perhaps like Szymborska herself, be happy with 4 walls, a desk, and a dash of inspiration.  Does it matter what type of surroundings we are enclosed in to determine greatness?

What I found interesting was that Hearst was a spoiled Harvard drop-out, who found success in the newspaper industry, but not without pleading constantly for the purse strings his father owned to be opened often and freely for the success of his paper.  It falls into the category of needing money to make more money.  At this point in "The Chief," W. R. Hearst finds himself competing against the top papers in San Fransisco, and innovating the industry with the help of his father's fortune.  I look forward to reading what propels Hearst in the end to his own greatness and fame.  Because maybe he didn't find greatness in the great house.  Or maybe he did. 
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Anatomy of a Song: 4 AM

4/26/2010

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Here is the process involved in creating the song 4Am which is loosely based on the Wislawa Szymborska poem of the same title.  

This is her poem, translated by Stanislaw Baranczak and Clare Cavanagh:

Four A.M. 

The hour between night and day. 
The hour between toss and turn. 
The hour of thirty-year-olds. 

The hour swept clean for the rooster's crowing. 
The hour when earth takes back its warm embrace. 
The hour of cool drafts from extinguished stars. 
The hour of do-we-vanish-too-without-a-trace. 

Empty hour. 
Hollow. Vain. 
Rock bottom of all the other hours. 

No one feels fine at four a.m. 
If ants feel fine at four a.m., 
we're happy for the ants. And let five a.m. come 
if we've got to go on living. 


The way I began working with the text was to begin with the juxtaposition in the first stanza. I liked the idea of night vs. day, and toss vs. turn.  The image of 30 year olds being awake was an image I wanted in the lyric. My second system was my own, sprung forth from her words. I imagined a weary traveler trying to get some sleep on a train around this hour.  

My first verse: 

Night splits from the day 
Toss shifts from the turn 
30-somethings are awake 

Light shines out for none 
You're sleeping on the train 
we all fall down 

For the Chorus, I noticed the rhyme in the original poem between embrace and trace.  I liked the idea of the world's embrace.  Here's how it turned out:   

The world takes back it's warm embrace 
do we survive, or vanish without a trace?  

In verse 2, I mainly used my own thoughts as furthering the themes of the original poem. There were ideas in the poem I wanted to use, such as the extinguished stars and rock bottom of the hours, that just didn't fit in the meter of the lyrics I was working on.

Verse 2: 

The dark feeds emptiness 
and night loves loneliness 
pacing back and forth 

the sleep keeps you awake 
the world is far and gone, 
how much can you take?  

The music as a whole has a sleepy sound to it, but I wanted the bridge to be strong.  Her poem ends with 5 A.M. arriving if we are to go on living.  I wanted to make a statement with 5 A.M., a sort-of let's get on with it already.  Some people have asked why I used 5 o'clock in the lyric instead of 5 A.M., which is in the poem.  I chose those words because I liked the consonant sound of "sweep," "sun," "clock," and "come."  I felt that "let five a.m. come" would have been a bit of a letdown. 

Bridge: 

Sweep clean the hour, for the rising of the sun 
Sweep clean the hour, let 5 o'clock come
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Hurry up and wait.

4/22/2010

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We are at another stand still in the waiting game that is permission to use Szymborska's material.  After a flurry of activity a few weeks ago, I now sit here and wait for clearance.  I guess this is the way of the world.  If there was a constant flurry of activity, it wouldn't ever be quiet enough to think.  This must be a thinking time. 
 
Last week, Courtney Chambers came by to record the final song for the album, which will either be titled "Mansion" or "Hearst Castle."  She killed it. The track sounds so great, and organic.  I was so pleased with her work on it. The song is based on a Szymborska poem which finds us going on a tour of a "Great Man's House."  It reminded me of a tour Annie and I took last winter of Hearst Castle in San Simeon, Ca.  So I created the line "Would you or I be happy here?....so much space."  The idea being would you or I find greatness the way W.R. Hearst did in a place like that?  Or do we find our muses in the quiet of our modest locales.  

I think Annie likes the title "Mansion" to keep it generic and open to interpretation.  I don't mind.  I liked "Hearst Castle" because it reminds me of a cool place and I think that people will grasp the idea a little better with that title.  What do you think? 
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Our Thoughts are with the people of Poland

4/12/2010

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Our deepest sympathies for the loss of your president, Lech Kaczynski, and his wife Maria.  
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What is down this rabbit hole?

4/7/2010

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Today I contacted Harcourt's permissions department and found out the guy I was working with is no longer with the company.  This is actually good news, as I have gone further towards securing permission than ever before.  The newbies at Harcourt now have me on the trail to permission, and this is great!  Perhaps I won't need to go to Krakow (although I have heard it is lovely this time of year) and may be able to take care of this right here at the computer.  

I think it's always better to take matters into your own hands.  I had a feeling that for the past few years Harcourt hasn't been fighting for me, and why should they, really?  It's a small project with limited capital, and they aren't going to dig as deep as I am digging.  

So now the key figure in the mix is Stanislaw Baranczak, a professor of Slavic Languages and Literature at Harvard.  He did an amazing job on the translation I've been using to compose my songs. I have spent time today trying to track him down, as the email I had for him was returned to me  (read: none of this has been easy).  Also, no calls were returned at the Office of Slavic Languages and Literature.  Perhaps they all speak Slavic languages and don't return phone calls in English.  If you, or anyone you know, has any information leading to the whereabouts of this man, it would be greatly appreciated!  

Even if we get permission through this source, it would be a great honor to meet Ms. Szymborska personally.  I know this would be difficult, but it's kind of like the Julie Powell - Julia Child idea.  If they had actually met, that would have been pretty cool.  Even if it were only to exchange some room temperature butter.  Well, Szymborska isn't getting any younger. And I learned she has no children and is a widow. I also found out that she enjoys the solitude mainly because she can think more clearly when there is silence and 4 walls surrounding her.  I wonder what she thought about the bagpipes in American Idol last night?  Probably the same as I did......lame! 
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Finding Szymborska. Day 1. Wait a minute......Day 1,037!

4/6/2010

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Today is the day we begin cataloging the journey we shall call: 'Finding Szymborksa.'  Although this is Day 1 for the blog, the act of finding this Nobel prize winning, 86 year old, Polish speaking, reclusive poet has been an ongoing one for me, the creator of the blog, the website, and the band Closer Ocean.  
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There she is.  Looking at me.  She has a sort of happy but evil look in her eyes that says to me:  "You'll never find me."  Well, I guess we are going to see about that. 

I sort of feel like Ray Kinsella from "Field of Dreams," heading out on the road to find the Salinger-esque Terrance Mann.  Ray was egged on by a voice in the cornfield which told him "If you build it, he will come" and  "Ease His Pain."  

Although my quest seems perhaps more ridiculous based on the qualifications of Ms. Szymborska, (Terrance Mann did speak English after all, so how hard could that be?)  I haven't been spoken to by crazy voices in my head.  All I did was listen to NPR. 

NPR's afternoon show "All Things Considered" appears on the surface to be a relatively straightforward news program.  Most listeners don't end up on a multi year creative project based on a 4 minute segment simply titled "You Must Read This."  The name itself in retrospect must have felt to me, a competitive and daring soul, like a challenge to run the gauntlet or at least step over some piping hot charcoals.  

So I did 'read this.'  I actually was very moved by the poetry and the passion segment writer's voice (thanks a lot, Adam Gopnik!) that I drove straight to the nearest B & N and picked up her book, "Poems; New and Collected."  That was June 5th, 2007.  One-thousand-thirty-seven days ago.  

In that span, I read her works over and over again.  I spent many of those days captivated by her language.  I laughed at her wit and sense of humor.  I explained certain passages to my then girlfriend (now wife) Annie.  I said to Annie, "perhaps some of these poems would work as popular music."  They are interesting and universal themes, and listeners would perhaps peel away the words right down to the soul. 

I started innocently enough with just a few tracks on my home recording system.  

In the blog entries ahead, I will not only continue moving forward with actually finding Ms. Szymborska, but I will also let you in on the journey that existed between days 1 and 1,037.  The album is nearing completion and a few tracks are available to listen to on this site.  Please enjoy.  Please help.  Do you speak Polish or write poetry in Krakow?  
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    Kevin 

    Founder, Closer Ocean. Songwriter, blogger, poetry reader.  

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