Inspiration with a Foreign Flavor -- A film by Philippe Claudel

When the world around me starts feeling too dull, I can usually raise a few sparks in my brain by engaging in some cross-cultural activity. In an ideal world, I’d have enough dough to hop on a plane and visit a foreign country every few months. However, since impulse travel is out of the question, I do the next best thing and go to a foreign film. Last Saturday I went to see a very moving French film called I’ve Loved You So Long. This was the wrenching story of two sisters reuniting after one of them completes a 15 year prison sentence for murder.

The movie was very touching. The most striking qualities of the film are its emotional honesty and the stripped down nature of the acting. At the beginning of the story, the primary characters aren’t comfortable around each other and each seems to harbor their own volatile secrets. Relationships evolve slowly and revelations surface in very subtle ways.

If a movie with this theme had been made in Hollywood, the actresses would have been dolled up and shimmering. The script would be weak and it would force two photogenic women to overact. The style of Philippe Claudel, however, is much more restrained and avoids the shiny pomposity of American film. When the movie was over, I felt like I’d traveled a great emotional distance in a few hours.

After seeing a film in another language that reflects a different culture, my mind feels enriched, stimulated – like I just took a mini-vacation. But because this was a French film, it also transported me back to memories of my trip to Paris last April. While there I wrote some articles about French food and wine. Here is a link to one of my pieces at Vineyard Stars. Juicier details of the trip will follow.

Get Out and See the Local Talent: Becky and the Beasts

After years of living in Philadelphia – home of hundreds of theater companies, musical groups, and galleries -- I’ve become a little spoiled by easy access to the performing arts. But the Pocono region is full of working artists who are just as talented as the big city types. The main difference is that artists here have to work harder to cultivate an audience that is more geographically dispersed. The big benefit to consumers is that it costs a lot less to hear a great band or see a show in the Poconos.

A few weekends ago I paid a measly ten bucks to hear Becky and the Beasts, a fantastic cover band play a live benefit performance at the Mauch Chunk Opera House. The concert was so much fun -- partly because the band played all sorts of danceable music from the seventies and eighties. But they did it with a much higher degree of musicianship than you’d expect when you’ve only paid ten dollars. Songs ranged from Paula Cole tunes to Jethro Tull and Eric Clapton classics. Sounds impossible, right? Yet it was all built on the superb voice of the lead singer (let’s assume her name is Becky) and the incredible guitar skills of other band members. The multiple talents of the band’s sax player provided the key asset that allowed the band to perform such a wide range of music. He was perfectly comfortable – and skilled – on the flute, trumpet and cornet. And he also sang pretty well on a few songs. These musicians reminded me how much fun a good night out can be. Along with others, I got carried away by the music and danced in the aisle. That’s good for you. Music is good for you and having that much fun makes you realize the joy you can give to others when you put your own creative talents to use.

Times News Article about Pennsyl Pointe Writers

Michelle Gallagher, one of our featured writers during last Saturday’s reading at Seller’s Books, called my attention to an article that appeared in the 11/3 edition of Carbon County’s Times News. Those of you who want to know a little more about our event last week can follow this link to the article. Pay no attention to that corny photograph.

Jim Thorpe -- A Great Town for the Arts

This past Saturday, several writers joined me for a reading of short fiction pieces at Sellers Books and Fine Art in downtown Jim Thorpe. I was happily surprised at the turnout. The room was full and our host, Randall Sellers, put together a really nice event. In fact, we had such a good time we may do it again in a few months. Be sure to come by and join us in December if you are in town. We’ll announce the date here and in the Carbon County media.

Perhaps the best outcome of the event is that, due to the store’s location, we can now tell our families that we performed on Broadway.

I read this great poem by Susan Mitchell as part of the event:

The Dead

At night the dead come down to the river to drink.
They unburden themselves of their fears,
their worries for us. They take out the old photographs.
They pat the lines in our hands and tell our futures,
which are cracked and yellow.
Some dead find their way to our houses.
They go up to the attics.
They read the letters they sent us, insatiable
for signs of their love.
They tell each other stories.
They make so much noise
they wake us
as they did when we were children and they stayed up
drinking all night in the kitchen.

by Susan Mitchell

Local Writers to Read in Jim Thorpe

If you are in the Carbon County area (or if you are willing to drive there), consider stopping by the Sellers Book Store at 101 Broadway in downtown Jim Thorpe on Saturday, November 1, 2008 around 3 pm. Fiction writers from Pennsyl Pointe and from the Liberties Scribblers writers’ group in Philadelphia will be reading their work that afternoon. We also plan to make a community ofrenda to commemorate loved ones who have passed away. This is a common ritual observed in Mexico during the Days of the Dead. If you would like to bring an object of significance representing someone you’ve lost, feel free to do so. It will be returned to you once we take the ofrenda down. See the attached poster to get an idea of what an ofrenda looks like. The Days of the Dead are observed from October 31st to November 2nd. The theme of the reading is: Advice for the Dead.

Inspiration – Witness the Greats: Leann Rimes

My family knew the value of creative arts. Early in life my father made us listen to the remarkable musicians of his generation. We absorbed the power of Tchaikovsky while hiding behind our upright piano. From there, the Nutcracker Suite was like a soundtrack for space travel. Some days Nat King Cole brought the spirit of jazz to our house while Sam Cooke taught us something about soul. Since my father was a fine singer himself, he understood the power of great voices and wanted us to hear them – though we didn’t always know why. Last month when I learned that Leann Rimes was going to sing at Penn’s Peak, the chance to hear a great voice came my way once more.

Although we bought two of the last available tickets, our seats were terrific. We were up on the balcony but had a clear view of the stage. The theater at Penn’s Peak isn’t oversized like the Spectrum, so each performance retains a personal quality. With her down home approach to the audience, Leann Rimes made the show feel unscripted -- in a good way. Although I was there to hear her sing the country songs that made her famous before she reached the ripe old age of 20, her music has moved into a powerful rock and roll phase that took me by surprise. She has also begun writing her own songs. Over the next few years, she may evolve into one of our country’s greatest talents. Her voice is a gift – like Picasso’s sense of form or Fitzgerald’s skill with metaphor. Some songs required her to hit – and hold -- notes that stretched across several octaves. She sang with a depth of feeling that provokes a listener to share the highs and lows of love, the push and pull of family, and the challenges of living a life filled with events we can’t control. “What I Cannot Change”, her song based on the Serenity Prayer, was deeply touching.

When you hear someone with this kind of talent, you can’t help but feel inspired to work harder at your own art -- even if your primary art is living through one more day. I loved seeing that tiny little woman dominate the stage with her dancing and vocal presence. She looked like some genie released from the same bottle Elvis must have lived in before he came to earth.

Writing in the Natural Environment – Pocono Critters

The range of wildlife in the Pocono region is incredible. It provides me with an endless supply of images that often end up animating my creative work. For example, I thought I knew what happiness was until I saw this tiny frog exploring the back lawn at Pennsyl Pointe. From buggy eyes to webbed feet he was smaller than the top joint of my thumb and exhilarating to watch. He must have just traded his tadpole tail for that pair of wild legs he now kicks with so much joy. Today he can hop up one side of a tuft of grass and jump right down the other – it’s his version of Olympic victory. When he rested near the roots of plants it was impossible to see him. His red orange color eliminated any contrast between him and the clay dirt at his tiny feet. It was the leap through vegetation that gave him away. A frog this small and red belongs to some science book my teachers never gave me. Unlike the green and grumpy ones, this one might actually convince a princess to kiss it.