Nov. 22, 8:37 p.m.: War, Alito, poetry and The Boss

Murtha said pull out / Bush said stay in….

By: Hank Kalet
   Another good piece on why we need to pull out of Iraq, the sooner the better.

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   The First Amendment Center offers an interesting on-line symposium on Judge Sam Alito’s views on the First Amendment. It is an important overview that needs to be a part of the national debate — as much a part of it, in fact, as abortion has become.

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   I did an interview with the Irish poet, Paul Muldoon, in preparation for a Dec. 3 reading he is giving at the Cranbury Public Library. Here is the full text. For biographical info on Muldoon, go to his Web site — www.paulmuldoon.net. In addition to the Cranbury appearance, he’ll be at the Princeton Arts Council’s monthly arts showcase, "Cafe Improv," at 8 p.m. on Saturday at the Princeton Public Library on Witherspoon Street and at the Montgomery Center for the Arts on Montgomery Road in Montgomery on Dec. 15.
   Hank Kalet: You’ve said — in a profile by Sven Birkets, I believe — that you grew up in a house with few books and that much of your early reading probably came from the library. Do you remember what some of those books were and what may have attracted you to them?
   Paul Muldoon: Books from the library, certainly when I was a teenager, were mostly critical texts. On T.S. Eliot, for example, or John Donne. I got them from the Armagh County Library, from a librarian who could see I was a reader and let me take out books by the yard. As important as any teacher.
   Me: How did you discover poetry and when did you first see yourself as a poet?
   Mr. Muldoon: I’ve never really seen myself as a poet, except maybe then. At 16, say, when one can entertain the idea that one might indeed be a poet. It was more exciting then, I guess, and one was surer of everything.
   Me: I think people would be surprised to hear that you do not see yourself as a poet, given what you’ve written. How do you characterize yourself?
   Mr. Muldoon: I think of myself as someone who hopes, one of these days, to write a really great poem. That’s a different thing.
   Me: What poets helped guide or influence you? Who do you still read and what newer poets most interest you now? How about literary influences from outside of poetry?
   Mr. Muldoon: John Donne, then as now. He’s my major influence. Robert Frost. Seamus Heaney, whom I met at a reading in my local museum, which was contiguous with my local library, you’ll be proud to hear.
   Me: Are there any newer poets that stand out for you now?
   Mr. Muldoon: Newer poets. Everyone included in "The Best American Poetry 2005," which I was delighted to edit this year.
   Me: What role do you think political belief should play in the writing of poetry? Is there such a thing as good political poetry? I’m not thinking so much of partisan politics, but of politics in a larger sense.
   Mr. Muldoon: All poetry is political, including some that might be construed as being partisan, particularly under this present American regime. I hadn’t known until recently that we had regimes in this country.
   Me: Let’s talk about rock ‘n’ roll a bit. You play guitar in the band Rackett, have written with Warren Zevon and list Leonard Cohen among your influences. Where do you see rock ‘n’ roll and literature intersecting/diverging? What poets seem most connected to rock and what rock or pop songwriters seem most connected to poetry and literature?
   Mr. Muldoon: Rock and roll and lyric poetry are closely related, or can be, in some of the very best contemporary writers. Leonard Cohen. Bruce Springsteen. Warren Zevon. Paul Simon. Bob Dylan. This is not to say, as some do, that Bob Dylan is better than John Donne. Only that there’s plenty of room in the world for both.
   Me: How did the Zevon thing come about?
   Mr. Muldoon: Warren and I never quite got our story straight. I wrote him a fan letter. He got in touch, saying he was a fan of mine. A week later, it seemed, we’d written a song.
   Me: This is the last one: How many readings do you do in a year and how do you go about choosing where to read and what to read? I ask this because the Cranbury Library is rather small and might not seem a place one would find a Pulitzer Prize winner.
   Mr. Muldoon: I usually do about fifty readings a year. Including many in the neighbourhood. Poetry, like charity, begins at home, and I’m delighted to be asked by local groups. People like seeing their own lives get a mention in poetry, which has often seemed remote from them. I’m interested in making poetry seem less remote.

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   Here is the set list from last night’s marvelous Bruce Springsteen show at Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, followed by a quick sum-up from our friends at Backstreets magazine. I’d have to agree with a friend of mine who said the second half was better than the first — sound was iffy early on — but he got into his groove quickly enough and offered a riveting version of "Drive All Night" that may have been the highlight of the evening.
   1. "Rumble" (a Link Wray instrumental dedicated to the recently departed guitar hero); 2. "Born in the U.S.A." (bullet mike, harmonica and drum pad only — and lots of feedback); "Devils And Dust"; 3. "Atlantic City"; 4. "Long Time Comin’"; 5. "Fade Away"; 6. "Meeting Across the River"; 7. "It’s Hard To Be A Saint In The City"; 8. "State Trooper"; 9. "Nebraska"; 10. "All The Way Home" (you could hear the full band waiting to break through on this); 11. "One Step Up"; 12. "Reno"; 13. "Two for the Road"; 14. "Santa Ana"; 15. "Drive All Night" (simply passionate); 16. "The Rising"; 17. "Spare Parts"; 18. "Jesus Was an Only Son"; 19. "This Hard Land"; 20. "Song For Orphans" (an unreleased outtake); 21. "Matamoros Banks"; ENCORE: 22. "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?"; 23. "Thundercrack" (he was having a good time, plugging away at the piano on this one); 24. "Promised Land"; 26. "Dream Baby Dream" (a song by the new-wave/punk/avant-art band, Suicide that he’s been closing with).
   And from Backstreets:
   "GREETINGS FROM TRENTON, NJ
   "Riding on a wet night into the homestretch, the penultimate night of the tour was a powerful show with a powerful opener. Springsteen emerged with his electric guitar and said, ‘This is for Link Wray’; news of the guitar great’s death earlier this month has just come out in recent days. Bruce went into a blistering, foot-stomping version of ‘Rumble,’ Wray’s 1958 classic and one of the great rock instrumentals of all time. Ending the song, Bruce left the guitar shrieking with feedback on its stand as he transitioned over to the bullet mic ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ Another surprise (to say the least) tour premiere came at the end of the set, in the ‘Hitter’/’New Timer’ slot, as Bruce introduced ‘an outtake from Greetings… never released… so you’re not gonna know this bastard! Though some of you may….’ It was the long-lost ‘Song for Orphans,’ not played since 1973. To top it off, he brought out ‘the mysterious Mr. Fitz!’ for his ‘stage debut’ — that’s Alan Fitzgerald, Bruce’s keyboard tech who has supplemented songs from off-stage throughout the tour, finally getting the spotlight as he accompanied Bruce on grand piano for ‘Orphans.’ The whole thing got a standing ovation. Appropriately for Trenton, where Bruce hadn’t played since the early ’70s, this song was one of five played tonight from 1973 or earlier, along with ‘Santa Ana,’ ‘Thundercrack,’ ‘Bus Stop,’ and ‘It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City.’ And ‘Saint’ was a wild new arrangement, a Dylanesque blues version sung through the bullet mic. Stepping forward a couple years, he also offered ‘Meeting Across the River’ as a ‘happy anniversary’ moment, which received a standing-o as well. But you didn’t have to be an aficionado of bearded Bruce to enjoy tonight’s show — there was plenty for Nebraskans (‘Atlantic City,’ ‘State Trooper’ into ‘Nebraska’") and Tunnelers (‘One Step Up,’ a very strong ‘Spare Parts,’ and B-side ‘Two for the Road’). ‘Two for the Road’ was an audible dedicated to those who had traveled to follow the tour, especially those from Europe: ‘That’s a hell of a haul! This is for you, goddammit — I can’t get off my couch to go to Asbury Park!’ Another audible was ‘Fade Away,’ which, along with its River-mate ‘Drive All Night,’ had strong, strong vocals on display tonight. Bruce appeared to be feeling good, playing hard, and enjoying himself as the tour nears its end, telling the crowd before ‘Matamoros Banks’: ‘I’ll take this moment to thank the great audiences I’ve had on this tour… I’ve gotten a lot out of it, I hope you have, too.’"