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Breaking Poems, Salt of this Sea, Suheir Hammad

7/25/2014

With all of the violence in Gaza, this interview with Suheir Hammad from Grit TV in 2009 is on point. I posted poems from Suheir Hammad previously, in particular, What I Will, a poem of non-violent defiance in the face of aggression and war. She discusses her film "Salt of This Sea" which is an illuminating film that features a scene in which Hammad's character confronts an Israeli woman who is now living in the home formerly occupied by Hammad's character's grandfather. The scene illustrates the intense competing narratives from both sides. Themes of displacement, home, occupation, history, dealing with the present, theft, ownership, all figure in the short clip in the interview. She shares that both her and Shelley, the Israeli actress, felt so many conflicting emotions as Israeli, Palestinians, and American and women. Each were friends off screen and were able to engage in dialogue and keep up constructive real life friendships. Relevant for the current conflict engulfing the region as Hamas lobs bombs at Israel and Israel responds forcefully and inflicting some damage to innocents. So complicated and sad.

She also shares some of her poems from her book Breaking Poems. The powerful line always broken, always lost is also featured.

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Word Crimes

7/15/2014

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Weird Al Yankovic does it again. He skewers the sorry state of grammar and takes aim at the hybridization of text messaging with modern english.

In the meantime, he nails some the usual suspects. I am not a grammar purist and have my fair share of missed commas, dangling participles, and tense issues. Nonetheless, a very funny reminder of the importance of the written and spoken word.

I am reminded of the anecdote told of Noah Webster. His wife returned home to find him in a compromising position with the maid. She explained, "Noah, I am surprised!" To which, Webster replied, "No my dear, I am surprised, you are astonished!"

Enjoy!

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Happy Independence Day

7/4/2014

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Happy Independence Day to my friends and relatives in the USA. Below is a clever parody of "Mrs. Robinson" entitled "Here's to you Mr. Jefferson" by the libertarian radio personality Mike Church (don't agree with all the sentiments expressed but still very clever and he deserves props for his effort!). Jefferson was the main drafter of the Declaration of Independence, the writ of divorce from Great Britain. He was part of the entire movement that was typified by the political philosophy of "that government which governs least, governs best". Although the phrase is attributed to Jefferson, it almost certainly was not penned by him. Libertarians in the US have recently claimed Jefferson as their own. As early as the founding of the USA there was deep divisions around the role and scope of government with Jefferson favouring limited government and Hamilton a more expansive system.

Still, Jefferson's prose, as evidenced in the Declaration of Independence, is poetic and remarkable.

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness

These ideas were not unique and were in common circulation even among the Whigs of Great Britain. Still, the expression in the document is an admirable piece of political prose. He goes on to list the specific grievances of the colonies and the rest, as they say, is history.

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Breaking Poems, Salt of this Sea, Suheir Hammad

Word Crimes

Happy Independence Day

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