Friday, December 28, 2007

the work


"... a life's work is always largely unfinished, and it requires creativity till the day a person dies." —Molly Peacock

There are many choice quotes in the latest installment of "The Best American Essays," one of my Christmas books. 2007's picks were curated by David Foster Wallace and the opening essay is pretty funny (and inscrutable at times), offering a zillion asides and footnotes as is his want. I cracked the book open after printing out another draft of an essay I've been working on for three years now. ¥ikes. With a list of New Year's goals including cleaning up and submitting this particular piece of mine, reading "The Best" is great motivation/inspiration. I thoroughly enjoyed Peacocks piece "Passion Flowers in Winter" about her role models for crafting a life, as well as "Werner" by Jo Ann Beard. These two essays are worth the price of admission alone.
...a couple of weeks ago, I was on an Etienne De Rocher high after seeing his swan song to SF show (he was set to move out of Ca)—the high continues this week as I finally got his CD. A good reminder to take one's time to do something really f#*&ing well. He's been playing music most of his life but he waited till he had just the right crew, and producer to make a truly gem of a listen. Go out and get yerself his CD if you don't have it.

3 comments:

Karen said...

I'll have to pick this up. Haven't seen Joann Beard's name in a long time. Do you know that I personally know Molly Peacock?

Bird in the Tree said...

I did not know that you know M. Peacock. I see she's a poet too, so that makes sense. But do tell, where, when, etc.?

Karen said...

Well, it's not like we have lunch together or anything, but she taught a class on reading your poetry aloud that I took my first year here. She was Poet Laureate of St. John's of the Divine at the time and I went to the Maundy Thurs midnight reading of Dante's Inferno that she organized and to a great party afterward where I chatted with Dante scholars. It was my first trippy NYC cocktail experience.