Swan Lake/Black Swan-Paris 1973 Boston 2011

Swan Lake/Black Swan–Paris-Boston(1973/2010) J.K. Cosmos

Ballet, the energy and tension & pure physicality of it, astonishing! The love of ballet began early on and continued in earnest during my formative years and beyond. Providentially, I was in Paris for the foremost dance of Nureyev and Madam Fontaine. The venue, the Louvre, and the setting only in France, laid out the evening on a warm, clear, starry backdrop with the performance of ‘Swan Lake’ the preferred production.
On this night, at this place despite the ‘aha’ moments and fleeting energy of ballerinas fluttering about and the music commanding an audience response; on this night Nureyev dropped Madam Fontaine with a resounding and most dramatic thud. Some were not sure if it was a purposeful drop of the prima ballerina or was it part of the production or was he being such an egotist that he literally dropped her on her dainty and yes, aging behind. After all, this was the last performance for Madam and her retirement was well-known to the arts and creative community.
The morning newspapers cleared up any confusion with articles and commentaries on the ‘drop’ being mean-spirited and by clear intent of Monsieur Nureyev. Horrific in the world of dance! The production, the visuals, the rhythmic movement of the swan/ballet resonates still for me. My emotions high and close clearly mirrored my youth and idealism. The Swan Lake with themes of love and betrayal whispered in my ear the things that I knew were true. The dancers, beautiful and agile, confirmed my knowing that the world was beautiful and lovely. Oh, so lovely.

Response on Conflict in Egypt

Friends have written about religion as the cause of the strife in Egypt. My response was requested and the following is a brief one:

Ralph, not sure if I agree with your analysis, but I respect all of it. There are also Coptic Orthodox Christians in Egypt. My understanding is that Islam is a religion of peace, that is viewed as extreme when the politics are added to the mix. I am not an expert..., nor have I attended services, as you have..I just feel that most people want similar lives, as you mention without harassement & with respect. I wish I had an answer or path to that end, without violence. I think peaceful resistance and demonstrations should work, if the army & police would stand down and not engage with the people. Politicians should listen and do better.

On a global level, changes have to happen to be more just and fair; to give all people a chance at what they deserve, a life which includes a job, a home...I think it goes beyond religion, now. People in the US and Europe are also marginalized and wanting. Egypt is one major part of the beginning of a reaction. I think, not just the middle east, but some European nations, such as Greece, France, Great Britain and Ireland have -rioted and have demonstrations against banks and the government in the recent past and continue to do so. They oppose changing the retirement age and cutbacks on benefits earned. They oppose the backlash of the decades of fiscal irresponsibility. Balancing the budget need not be to the detriment of the middle class, does it? Greed of the upper class and those in power should not benefit on the backs of the working people. Restructuring shouldn't mean the wealthy continue to benefit and prosper while the majority are unemployed, and unable to live their lives with any sense of humanity and without hope.

Love by the Sea

Creative Writing –Fiction

Kate wasn’t looking forward to this next birthday and dreaded the day that was fast approaching. Her life goals seemed to be unattainable if life continued to play fast and easy without real success. She could barely start her day and moved slow and steady without too much thought.
Patrick called as she readied herself for a Court pretrial hearing at the District Court. She was late and Patrick told her that he wanted to take her out for her birthday. He’d pick her up tonight at seven. He told her he’d take care of everything and to just be ready to go.
Kate wanted to feel happy and knew he was trying to please her. She just couldn’t. Thinking about criminals would distract her and she took off.
The Hearing was a basic ‘Show Cause’ with only one police officer testifying to preliminary matters that sometimes make or break a case. Kate’s client sat next to her and he was preoccupied with the legal yellow pad that she gave him and pen for him to jot down questions and any thought he might have about the case. This technique of having clients ‘help out’ worked well and gave her a break from answering their questions when she should be concentrating on testimony being given. Kate had many strategies to keep her clients under control, similar to those she used to keep the cops under control. Both having similar high energy and continual needs for attention, it seemed to Kate that some of the busy work she gave the cops and now the defendants were similar to those for small children. That did make her smile.
The day passed without incident and without much fanfare about her birthday. A few phone calls of congrats and that she was able to handle.
Seven and Patrick was knocking on the door ready to enjoy some time with her on this propitious day. She was dressed and ready but still glum.
He had a small a package with him, wrapped in newspaper and tied with a plain string. How did she feel?
“Happy Birthday! Come on, thirty isn’t so bad.”
He said it out loud, thirty, and she cringed. How fast the year had passed. Being twenty-nine had made her sad and she dreaded this one all year long.
Kate sat on the edge of the sofa and opened the package. Patrick sat next to her and waited, expectantly.
She breathed out thanking him. It was a seagull on a canvas reminding her of Americana but actually nicely detailed. The scene was framed with rough wood and a white line of thin paint on the border. The seagull had the wing-spread and was in air. Most of the painting was of the seagull, not the background sky. Kate loved it. She thought of a book she had read about freedom and life from the perspective of a seagull. “Hmmm, what was the title of that book about a seagull?” Patrick didn’t know. He wasn’t much into reading fiction. He read philosophy books and used the logic to win and strategize his defense of his clients. He was writing a book, but still didn’t like fiction or anything contemporary.
“Let’s go! Are you ready?”
“Thank you for the lovely gift. Thank you, Patrick. I love it.”
They left Cambridge and drove north. Kate wasn’t sure where he was planning to go and just let the air and the movement of the driving taker her away from her darker thoughts. Her mind kept wandering to past days with Jack. How would she be celebrating this day with Jack? She had to let it go and she had to let him go. The last gift that Jack had given her was a paper parasol. It was huge and had a hand-painted flower on it. What would she possibly do with a parasol? She recalled thinking that Jack was so unconventional in some ways. He’d been so happy to give it to her and he had not inkling really on what she would do with it. They had both laughed and Jack wanted her to open it and walk with him up Mass Ave under the parasol. What a crazy idea!
Earth to Kate! Patrick was saying something to her. She hadn’t heard him, the actual words escaped her. He was smiling broadly, so she returned the smile and wondered.
He took her to a place on the north shore that had a secret gate and they walked through a pathway that seemed to be private, but he assured her that it was not. At the end of the path was a small gate that filled an archway. Ivy covered most of the opening. On a closer look, Kate could see through to the ocean. They both saw the ocean in its more active and waves crashing nature. Kate loved it. The temperament of the ocean banging against the rocks mirrored her feelings. She and Patrick crossed through the gate and they were against the rocks on a ledge that went nowhere. They were close up against the rocks looking out to the sea and looking down to the crashing waves. Her spirit soared. Patrick knew her, after all. What joy!
Patrick leaned on her and began to search for her and she was overcome with passion for life and for him. They stood against the wall of boulders and they made love.

Baudelaire - 'Be Drunk'

Be Drunk
by Charles Baudelaire
Translated by Louis Simpson


You have to be always drunk. That's all there is to it—it's the only way. So as not to feel the horrible burden of time that breaks your back and bends you to the earth, you have to be continually drunk.
But on what? Wine, poetry or virtue, as you wish. But be drunk.
And if sometimes, on the steps of a palace or the green grass of a ditch, in the mournful solitude of your room, you wake again, drunkenness already diminishing or gone, ask the wind, the wave, the star, the bird, the clock, everything that is flying, everything that is groaning, everything that is rolling, everything that is singing, everything that is speaking. . .ask what time it is and wind, wave, star, bird, clock will answer you: "It is time to be drunk! So as not to be the martyred slaves of time, be drunk, be continually drunk! On wine, on poetry or on virtue as you wish."

Larsson / Truffault - Magnificent!! - JK Cosmos

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson Transitions – 

From Character to Character & Story to Story Major narration, first with Blomvist and then Salander and the question becomes how to have the overlaps of the stories entwined in such a way that it is crafted seamlessly and effortlessly. Larsson considers both characters and so the inquiry is how to mesh the tales in order to show the plot-lines first as indivisible plots and then as overlapping. The craft of transitions to clarify not confuse is effectively accomplished in this novel. Analyzing the language and the structure of the chapters supports the premise that Larsson is a master at transitions and storytelling. 

 The initial overlap is when Salander is asked to investigate Blomvist in the capacity of her employment with a security firm. She is interested in the dilemma of the inquiry and his recent conviction for slander and libel, necessitating incarceration, in addition to a hefty fine. Her investigation comes to a halt at the client’s request and concurrently, the client invites Blomvist to work for the Owner of a conglomerate with dual purposes. How does this assignment for Blomvist add depth to Salander’s story. The narration moves in a parallel way without the two characters meeting or having knowledge of each other. The transitions from his view to hers is planned to coincide with events that may or may not lead to the ‘ah ha moment’ of uncovering a murderer. The narration switches from each of them, through the events, not particularly chapters as other writers may choose to format the story. 

 I think that the event-driven transitions and point of view change-ups is effective. “The lawyer Frode from Hedestad had hired her to do an investigation of Mikael Blomkvist, the journalist who was given a prision sentence for libeling financier Hans-Eriuk Wennerstrom. A few months later, Henrik Vanger, also from Hedestad, joins Blomkvist’s magazine’s board of directors and claims that there is a conspiracy to crush the magazine. All this one the same day that the former goes to prison. Most fascinating of all: a two-year-old background article –‘With two empty hands’- about Hans-Erik Wennerstrom, which she found in the outline edition of Monopoly Financial Magazine. It seemed that he began his career in the very same Vanger Corporation in the late sixties. You didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to see that these events were somehow related. There had to be a skeleton in one of their cupboards, and Salander loved hunting skeletons. Besides, she had nothing else on at the moment.” Larsson p. 271. The above quote refers to Salander’s perspective as Blomkvist presents himself at the prison for his sentence to begin. 

 Both prior and subsequent to his incarceration, events are dramatic and viewed by each according to their age, station and education, but very purposefully. The stories do run concurrently after each is engaged in a path of discovery and prior to any firm conclusions as to the murder. The transition between both lives and events is not a smooth pathway in terms of what is happening to each of them. It is smooth in regard to the language and structure of the narration. Larsson pulls together clues for the murder simultaneously giving clues to the corporate corruption and Salander’s inquisitive mind and search for facts and inevitably truth. 

 Beyond chapter breaks, Larsson writes methodically to give each story a deeper texture and a clearer comprehension of the engagement of both stories. It is written like a film outline with the chapters and stories paced to keep the reader engaged and pursuing similar outcomes of the characters. Truffault, the French director, used this technique of overlapping and transitions in his film-noirs and this technique used by Larsson is reminiscent of that genre of film and perhaps writing, at least in screenwriting of the day. The technique enhances the plot development and enriches the narration. Larsson use of this literary craft is a successful one. 

 Works cited. Larsson, Stieg: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Vintage Crime/Random House, NYC, NY, 2008. (translated by Reg Keeland) Truffault, Francois: Day for Night (1973).

The Children's Book - A.S. Byatt

The Children’s Book – A. S. Byatt
Transitions – Past, Present - Connections
The plot has flashes of stories within the main story and Byatt effectively transitions from one time to another; from past to present seamlessly. This ability in her craft of writing the novel reflects an unique skill to move the plot and layer the storytelling. Analyzing her novel shows that the layering and the transitions between stories and flashbacks are not only useful but add an energy and a tenure which works well.
A book is written for each child in the main story and the mother/author has the ability to tell a tale and successfully capture the energy and pulse of each story. Byatt writes with details and significant language to describe at length the story. Rather than discourage the reader, the transitions and the details elaborate the telling.
“Toby had been lecturing in Winchelsea and Lydd, in the winter and spring, speaking about the Saxon fairy-faith, and the Paracelsiona elementals. He had become a great friend fo Patty Dace, Frank Mallett and Arthur Dobbin. The inner group of the Theosophists had held discussions of Edward Carpenter’s Love’s Coming of Age in Miss Dace’s parlour.” P.201.
This quote relates to a time of youth and connections which relate to the plot later in time.
A story within a story and how it fits with the main plot moves the plot and infers more than the straight-line of events. “In the studio Philip told Fludd he had been to see the sea. He said he hoped to go again. Fludd said, why not, and that Philip should go to Dungeness, Dungeness would interest him. Phillip made his way to Dungeness, on foot, one hot day when the broom was shining gold and the seakale was covered with spherical seeds, turning form pale green to bone.” P. 151
The Text includes vibrant descriptions and a flow of past, present storylines.
How does Byatt write long fiction and transition from one time to another, from one story to another? Her successful novel, The Children’s Book parallels her prior work, Possession. In Possesion, Byatt transitions from past to present through letters and the discovery of a story intertwined with historical facts and letters that elaborate on a personal intimate history of lovers.
Both works seem to wrap up more than one story effectively and naturally.
Works cited.
Byatt, A.S. The Children’s Book; Knopf, New York, 2009.
Byatt, A.S. Possession, Vintage/Random House, New York, 1990.

Process of Writing / Goddard College

j. k. cosmos
-Process – about language and spirit. How? Beginning at Goddard, the literal was the rule and I attended every workshop possible…had some angst on missing any of them and continued to read the handouts and run around from building to building with few minutes to spare. I did not speak. I did not volunteer to comment. I did not volunteer to read. I did not volunteer to ask a question. The days past and I also did not fully engage with my colleagues. I did not speak at the huge square table at meals. I listened. I did not nod my head in agreement with faculty or with other students. My recollection is that my initial days on campus were frightening; not in a way of horror, but in a way of being intimidated. Frightened was the theme of my first residency, as I had decided to come to Goddard only a few days prior to the residency, having accepted another MFA Program. I felt ambivalent as I had talked with the Director and staff at the other program and only one person at Goddard. I hadn’t quite centered myself at home first, prior to the drive from outside of Boston to Plainfield. I hadn’t quite made the time in my head to be fully cognizant of the decisions and the possibilities at Goddard.
One fifth term student spoke with me; she actually looked at me and the invisibility cleared up for a few moments. I appreciated her attempt to get to me. The time after the readings and very full schedule, I went to sit in my car and listened to James Taylor’s melodious voice, his soothing lyrics and songs. I sat in the car way too much and listened to JT and sat in the air conditioning. I called my oldest son, and he calmed me. He said to give it a chance. I knew that. Yes, I knew it intellectually. I could logically move to the place of being thankful that I had the opportunity to be a member of the Goddard community. But, the rest of me was uncomfortable and that is not usually the case for me. I usually am very able at being flexible with circumstances, people, social situations and those events where it just takes some thoughtfulness to be comfortable. I really am very okay in my own skin. That is why this feeling of not talking and just observing and listening was so very difficult.
The last evening of the residency, walking from Manor to the Admin Building, the Director of the Program was walking towards me with his dog, Darla. I wished I could walk slower or faster to miss any real contact with him. It wasn’t to be. As we approached each other, he said, ‘You are not here by chance, Jeanne. You are here for a reason.” He kept walking, as did I. If I responded to him, I cannot recall. It sounds like I’m coming back, I thought. I wish he’d told me that the first day and not the last.
Trust the process is the mantra. I thought about the conciseness of the theme on campus and the following morning returned home. Let the writing begin in earnst.