More daylight means more reading – but perhaps in shorter doses. So we humbly offer you an award-winning poet and a little-known but well-respected playwright.
“It is a sad fact about our culture that a poet can earn much more money writing or talking about his art than he can by practicing.” – W.H.Auden
Margaret Walker is a Mississippian by choice. Walker is that rarity in Literature. As a high school student in New Orleans, Walker showed so much promise that teachers urged her family to move her to a better place to nurse her talent. As a young girl, Walker loved writing poems. Her father gave her a databook and she vowed to fill all 365 pages with poems. She accomplished this goal at 18, just as she entered the prestigious program at Northwestern.
Professor Edward Buell Hungerford (who also taught Saul Bellow) forced Walker to learn the rules of verse the same way “pianists play five-finger exercises.” This method slightly acknowledged that she was a prodigy (also sixty-two pages of couplets) yet solidified the fact that no one could dismiss Walker as a writer, ever.
When she graduated, Walker took a job with WPA Chicago Writers’ Project, working side-by-side with Richard Wright. As part of the Chicago Renaissance, Walker was on the front end of the Civil Rights Movement. On the same street, Walker could visit the offices for the journal “Poetry,” where her work was admired, but again she was encouraged to keep studying. Well-versed in French and German, the editor of “Poetry,” George Dillon, had Walker reading Baudelaire, Goethe, Schiller, and more.
Her intense study of verse was already yielding attention. At 18, Walker was published in W.E.B. DuBois’ “The Crisis.” In addition, she met Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and James Weldon Johnson. A few days before she turned 22, Walker sat down, and in about fifteen minutes wrote “For My People.”
Composed in stanzas of free verse, “For My People” calls back to the odes of Ancient Greece. Her mother was the music fan in their house. So Walker grew up with Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, spirituals, work songs, ragtime, blues and Jazz. Her father said that a good poem needs three facets: images, rhythm and meaning.
“For My People” derives its rhythm from its flow of consonance (the almost percussive hits of “dirges and ditties”) and assonance (countered by the smooth connective tissue of “blues and jubilees”). Even her arrangement of words implies the passage of time. Without explicitly saying it, as you read, you know exactly what is her past and present.
From modern poetry, Walker erupts with a stream of gerunds in the second stanza that cements the generations of hard work leading to her place in life as a poet. Later, when Walker discusses going to school, she elegantly balances the lessons she learned, both educationally and socially. Like the beat poets on their way, Walker wants you to tap into her stream of consciousness.
For my people blundering and groping and floundering in
the dark of churches and schools and clubs
and societies, associations and councils and committees and
conventions, distressed and disturbed and deceived and
devoured by money-hungry glory-craving leeches,
preyed on by facile force of state and fad and novelty, by
false prophet and holy believer;
Walker’s purpose is not to criticize. These people, our people really, join these groups because they feel lost and disconnected. By keeping it vague and skeletal in structure, Walker may be saying that no group possesses the uncanny ability to keep the predatory Barnum-esque element out, because as people – first and foremost – we want to be accepted.
And in her brilliant, timeless conclusion, Walker knows that to be accepted, you must be accepting. Above all, now that Walker has garnered our full attention, she wants us to know this is “For Her People.”
A year after publishing this historical poem in her first book, Walker got married and moved to Jackson in 1943. She then taught at Jackson State until 1979. While teaching and writing, Walker started the Institute for the Study of History, Life and Culture of Black People – which today bears her name.
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Theatre is an art that can connect the best with you when presented with a situation. Atlanta playwright Mary Miller only needs a few minutes to present a real-time event rife with tension. In “Ferris Wheel,” the premise is as simple as the title. Two strangers share a car on the Ferris wheel at the county fair.
John and Dorie are thrown together by fate. Dorie is riding the Ferris wheel to conquer her fear of heights. John is riding the Ferris wheel randomly looking for a thrill. Miller immediately introduces the possibility of their connection as John boards saying “They force you to be a couple whether you want to or not.”
“Ferris Wheel” is a conversational play. Every response hinges on what precedes it. Dorie, nervous out of fear, is talkative to the point of not knowing what she is saying. Miller has her staying eerily calm until she has to explain this birthday present to herself. Dorie approaches John with some trepidation. However, John is suddenly less concerned with the ride and more curious about Dorie’s white-knuckle grip on the bar holding them in place. Dorie’s mask of confidence (“My Daddy started it and I keep it up”) is eroding and details are spilling out of her.
I had this cousin once who tried to pretend like she was frightened of small places until she got locked in the attic during a thunderstorm. Lightning struck that house and burned it to the ground.
In any play, an admission like this would put the brakes on the growing closeness between two characters. However, since Dorie just blurted it all out Beth Henley-style, it pushes “Ferris Wheel” into what we will call “eccentric Southern comedy.” While all comedy links past tragedy to the guise (as John puts it), “truth is stranger than fiction,” “Ferris Wheel” is funny because of how human and relatable this situation is to us as viewers. We get nervous on elevators, or in the cattle-call lines at the grocery store. Once thoughts stray in the direction of these socially awkward/close-quarters issues, perhaps never-ending, the only statements that erupt from our trembling lips are macabre and wildly inappropriate.
“Ferris Wheel” is a play from days gone by. Minus a few cringeworthy moments that do not translate well today, it is ten minutes that provide the bedrock of play construction (the best example of separate soliloquy-style internal conversations that converge into the meaningful dialogue) and characters drawn from (and together) by their flaws.
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Mik Davis is the record store manager at T-Bones Records & Cafe in Hattiesburg.
NEW MUSIC This Week
WAXAHATCHEE - Tiger's Blood [RED LP/CD](ANTI/Epitaph/ AMPED) • Katie Crutchfield has always been a great songwriter (2012's "Be Good" from her debut "American Weekend.") When she cleaned up, you could immediately feel the love in her writing ("Lilacs" from 2020's "Saint Cloud") and singing ("Problem With It" with Jess Williamson as Plains from 2021's "I Walked With You A Ways.") "Tiger's Blood" is the culmination of all Crutchfield's skills at once. "Right Back To It" with the excellent M.J.Lenderman is a stunner from its strolling banjo to its Band-at-Woodstock feel and Emmylou/Gram chorus. "Bored" is a throwback to the early scrappy days where Crutchfield whispers almost hip-hop style through the verses only to howl "I'm bored" with the best of them. While the earnest "365" rivals "I Remember Everything" by Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves for mixing storytelling with the emotional reveal. It is all enough to make you - as Crutchfield says - "when you I fly/I fly." It's a long way to soar.
T-BONES will host a LISTENING PARTY to premiere "Tiger's Blood" from Waxahatchee TONIGHT, Thursday March 21st at 7PM.
GARY CLARK JR. - JPEG Raw [COLOR 2LP/CD](Warner) • After a lengthy absence, the Texas guitar slinger returns to his fundamental goal at Warner - making an album that joins his Blues roots with his love of Seventies Soul and even Modern R&B. Like "Blak and Blu," Clark seems to want his songs to carry the feel of changing channels. Like his superior live albums, "JPEG" has finally matched the shifting intensities. With help from Stevie Wonder, George Clinton, Valerie June, Keyon Harrold, and more, "JPEG" is Clark's "Innervisions." At his best on the title track, he fuses Blues power and sleekness with a skittering Native Tongue-style beat that throws way back to early Bop. At his more formative, his sincerity is felt musically on "Habits" only to be doused by the most cliched lyrics ("Keep runnin' in circles, uh, chasin' my tail") over some chord changes borrowed from the Human League's "Human."
FLETCHER - In Search of the Antidote [BLUE LP/CD](Snapback/Capitol) • While Fletcher's voice problems are nothing to interweave into her newest music (honestly, she sounds the same, if not having more control now than before,) the "pivot" from the danceable, freedom-embracing moments on "Girl of My Dreams" to the "please take me seriously" approach here is becoming de rigueur. In short, "Doing Better" could be better ("Why does better feel worse?" and "smiling on the outside/crying on the inside" really?) as a revenge song especially given the rocket ride that put her "on a stage with Miley." And that hit single "Lead Me On" is as by the numbers ("Something is better than nothing") as another song that immediately follows the post-Olivia Rodrigo formula of bringing the pogo back to pop. While the lower end of Fletcher's range still smolders, these songs are more calculated than before and sound like she may be trying too hard to fit in.
JULIA HOLTER - Something In The Room She Moves [RED LP/CD](Domino/Redeye) • At her most experimental, Julia Holter composes with the environment around her. Like Kate Bush, Holter can use the wisps of syllables in both poetic and melodic ways ("Spinning" and its weird marching beat.) "Something" has the most in common with Eighties Peter Gabriel. Songs here are composed for feel with almost no regard for verse/chorus/verse structure. "Evening Mood" is the magnum opus. Holter and Tashi Wada's synths create a cloud for the track to float upon. Holter's vocal melodies stream in like shafts of light. Underneath it all, the "power" of the song comes from lilting and swooping fretless bass from Devin Hoff, warm clarinet from Chris Speed, and the least intrusive percussion you may ever hear from Elizabeth Goodfellow. Every texture has a sort of "melodic tail," so when they all collide together it never seems busy or ornate. Pair that with the freeform fantasy about Holter's newborn daughter "Sun Girl" and stay away from the countdown or bar that lets you know how much time remains. Sublime.
ZOMBI - Direct Inject [CLEAR LP/CD](Relapse/The Orchard) • Steve Moore and A.E. Pattera have long celebrated what was cool and dated about Eighties synth production and film scores. Before "Stranger Things," there were Zombi records like "Surface to Air" kicking around ideas that emerged in both Rush albums and the decade's obsession with action films. "Direct Inject" is the closest the duo has been in a while to constructing mirror images that strangely fit together. "Sessuale II" dares to bring in the sexy saxophone for a montage-ready steambath. While "The Post-Atomic Horror" fuses ELP-style riffage with "Signals"-era Rush-ian instrumental bliss. However, the best thing is it could all play under secret viewings of "Commando" or your favorite cartoonish/jingo-esque action flick.
REISSUES THIS WEEK
ALICE IN CHAINS - Jar of Flies [LP](Legacy) • When you analyze the current trend of what is future "Classic Rock" on both Active Rock and Alternative Rock stations, Alice in Chains almost rises to the head of the class. History, however, tells a completely different story. While everything from Seattle was "in fashion" in those wacky early Nineties - Alice in Chains was not. With enough early weirdness to fill two VH1 Behind The Music episodes, Alice in Chains were outsiders because they signed to a major label first. In addition, their success at Rock radio (not Modern Rock or College) further pushed them away from the cognoscenti who dominated scratchy-looking black & white pictorials in magazines. Finally, with almost no respect from the community around them they proved everyone wrong as their debut "Facelift" went Gold a full three months before Nirvana's "Nevermind." When the dam broke after "Nevermind," AIC had the backing and devil-may-care attitude to continue in their direction. Their first EP, "Sap" released February 4, 1992 (coincidentally the last week "Nevermind" would be the #1 album,) was mostly acoustic and purposely not promoted. Not aligning themselves with Seattle or Grunge music was clearly working, especially when they dropped the now-classic "Dirt" in September 1992. Five Mainstream Rock charting singles later, "Jar of Flies" is Alice in Chains bending Alternative to its will. Without the services of bassist Mike Starr, its acoustic presence was a necessity. Seven fourteen-hour studio days later, they emerged with a record that is still as gloomy as the others, but has a shine of hope. "No Excuses" and anthemic "I Stay Away" became mainstays on Rock radio. They even earned the hard-fought band Top 40 airplay, as well as College and Alternative. When all was said and done, "Jar of Flies" became the first EP in history to debut at #1 on the Billboard charts. While Alice's reign was shortlived due to what will sadly lead to lead singer Layne Staley's death in 1996, the depth they showed between "Dirt" and "Jar of Flies" is the reason they remain in heavy rotation even today.
MISFITS - Collection 1 [GLOW IN THE DARK LP](Caroline/RSD Essentials) • Once upon a time, there was "Horror Rock." Schlocky images, bizarre crooning, gut-punishing riffs, and locomotive rhythms were not yet ready to be broken down by the human system. The Misfits circa Glenn Danzig ran completely under the radar from 1977-1983 easily retiring as legends in their own mind. Like all bands who depart the demonic dance too early, listeners and musicians who are fans have to create their next chapter. Their underground Punk was suddenly covered by admirers Metallica ("Green Hell/Last Caress" and Guns N'Roses ("Attitude.") Their smart branding (logo and "Crimson Ghost" image) did even more to keep them alive on tee shirts everywhere. The growing curiosity about macabre movies combined with the tidal wave swell of Metal made this 1986 collection of 20 songs, the best point of entry into the mythos of The Misfits. This is their legacy. Indispensable.
BH SURFERS - PCPPEP LIVE/Psychic..Powerless/Rembrandt [LP](Matador/Redeye) • Perhaps the most dangerous music of the Eighties, San Antonio/Austin's messiest noise band left a trail of shows that morphed from plugs being pulled to medical-horror-visuals-plus-thunderously LOUD in their first six tumultuous years. In other words, these are a long, long, way from their Modern Rock #1 1996 single "Pepper." If you dare to make the trip, "Psychic" is the coalescence of not only their sound - but that of Ministry, and the dozens of bands that will use vocal manipulation. Without Gibby Haynes' hilarious and terrifying screeching, grunting, and caterwauling, none of those would be possible. Nonetheless, "Psychic" hides a sardonic vision of decaying Middle America beneath its delirious wit. The pre-grunge Blooze of "Lady Sniff" and Paul Leary's wild guitar is a demented classic. While its centerpiece "Cherub" is Gibby's best bullhorn-vox RAWK (and possibly "borrowed" by U2 for "Bullet The Blue Sky.")
When the band cemented its big drum sound and ability to edit in found sounds on "Psychic," those discoveries would find clarity on the frightening nightmare bliss of "Rembrandt." After the Paisley Underground of Los Angeles movement and the NoCal skewed genre-bending Folk/Rock of Camper Van Beethoven spilled their Kool-Aid into the Alternative stream, "Rembrandt" dealt the first hit of brown acid. The minimal cover of The Guess Who's "American Woman" becomes pummeling and unrecognizable. Weirdly, "Rembrandt" is far less noisy but far more sinister ("Waiting For Jimmy To Kick" hints at the full-force demented genius coming on their next album.) Moving up to a 16-track studio, "Rembrandt" sees the experimental side of their composition begin with organ ("Strangers Die Everyday," used in the future under the closing credits of Richard Linklater's "Slacker" - featuring one-time drummer, the late Teresa Nervosa.) "In The Cellar" best summarizes the impact of "Rembrandt," massive drums and howls soaked in delay that are looped in patterns, spun forwards and backward before drowning in overdubbed violin. "PCPPEP" is a live EP recorded while their first release was in limbo. After listening to "Rembrandt," one can only imagine where the searing show will take you. As the titles are abbreviated, this band was out to shock its audiences. In hindsight, their eerie vision of a horror-based guttural yowling surreal-reality-based world in the middle of Reagan-era America is both alarming and accurate.
