Mixtape – When People Say
Here is today’s mixtape in the effort to live the words of Goethe, “One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.”
1. A Song
As someone who came of age in the 80s in a rural setting, the soundtrack at all the bush parties was Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Steppenwolf, etc. The 80s were a pretty wild time for music and to think, all before Spotify. It was all cassettes, vinyl, and the radio. I remember listening to the radio a ton on my clock radio which seems a dream these days. Anyway, I chose this song for its title, but also because of the call and response format. It seems to teach us so much about poetry. How to get more guitar solos into a poem is my question. (Or what is the equivalent?)
2. Poem
I’m sharing the following poem because it’s breathtaking. It’s haunting. It’s complex. In the middle of it, “a woman slaughtered for wonder.” So, it’s devastating. I keep hearing the voice in my head, “are we not of interest to each other” from the Elizabeth Alexander poem and yes, this voice in this poem, this writer, yes, you are of interest.
I wanted to share this also because I found a new blog that I think you’ll also love which is where I found the poem. The blog is: Read a Little Poetry. (Maybe you know it). It’s delightful. The poem is from the book There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé. After reading the following, I immediately put the book on hold at the library.
I think the opening of this poem is amazing and heartbreaking: that no matter how the speaker is feeling, they know that the rule is to say “good,” “when people say how are you.” And you wonder what could happen if that wasn’t the rule. What you want at the end of the poem is for all of it to be allowed for the speaker.
Heaven Be A Xanax
Morgan Parker
When people say how are you
I say good
It is a rule no one can answer
Crying in The Gap by my therapist’s office
or I am still angry with my parents
for traumatizing me
through organized sports
Dangerous and satisfying body of water
I can almost remember heaven
or Still a woman slaughtered for wonder
or Unfortunately misplaced grip
I am not doing a good job waiting
When I get to heaven I’m going
to wear my good bra
so no one can stay mad at me
I won’t have any feelings to hurt just
cheeseburgers on cheeseburgers on
deep colored slumber
Just men offering their golden bodies
And I will take the offering on my tongue
And it will not be a vault
And someone will not invade me
And I will kneel to pray
And I will address the prayer to myself
And I will be allowed
3. A Picture
The image below is from “52 Shopping lists found while working at a supermarket” by Kenny Pintock.
From his website:
“Created for the exhibition Melbourne Now, presented at the National Gallery of Victoria from March 24 to August 20, 2023. Each sculpture is hand sculpted from earthenware clay and kiln fired.
I was 15 when I first got a part time job as a supermarket cleaner and trolley pusher, and I've worked there on and off for more than half my life. Part of the job was getting rid of any rubbish left behind in the trolleys, it’s usually just receipts and banana peels, but sometimes more interestingly, it’s abandoned shopping lists. Rather than throw away the shopping lists I would instead read them and began to collect them. I now have a collection of over 7,000 found shopping lists.
Most shopping lists are written quickly, unlike ceramics which is a very slow medium, and it’s through this act of slowly recreating the objects that I allow myself the time and space to reflect on them. The shopping lists read like poetry, and are often as revealing as portraiture. Despite their anonymity they’re extremely intimate, providing a unique insight into the people we pass in the aisles.
The history of shopping lists is long, the British Library holds a shopping list from the 10th century written by Tibetan monks. There’s also record of a shopping list from 1518 by Italian artist Michelangelo. It’s believed Michelangelo sketched his shopping lists so that his assistants, who were often illiterate, were able to collect his groceries. It’s possible that physical shopping lists may soon disappear as more people move towards writing them on their phones, even now shopping lists are often one of the few places people will write something by hand.
It’s interesting to consider what we can learn about ourselves from this seemingly mundane ephemera surrounding our daily lives, presenting a reminder of how something so domestic and disposable can reveal so much of who we are and what our legacy might say about us to future generations. By creating a permanent tribute to a fleeting moment, the fifty-two ceramic shopping list sculptures presented in Melbourne Now reveal a portrait of our city, and a time capsule of Melbourne now.”
For the scale of the ceramic works, check out the artist’s blog.
Do you write your shopping lists out on your phone or by hand? I love that the artist collected the list and then re-made them in ceramic. The intimacy of them, the ordinariness. The way we don’t try to make our writing all nice on these lists — and so maybe they reflect something unique about ourselves in the scrawl.
I hope you enjoyed today’s mixtape, and the reminder to take time each day and find a poem, a song, a work of art to experience. Each one only takes a few minutes to experience, sit with, think about. Thinking about art can change the trajectory of a day. I know it does for me.
A note on my tip jar: I have moved to using Ko-fi! I haven’t figured out all the bells and whistles yet, but it does have a recurring donation option if you’re interested in becoming a monthly supporter. You can still make a one time only donation, too! I’m not sure why I didn’t think of this sooner :) Anyway, no pressure! And thank you for reading and for being here.
