Things I Learned This Week

Fire, Flaubert, Chabon, Gordon, Hughes, and Michael B.

Honestly, I’ve learned tons over the past few days, but I’m more than ready for this time off. All that really matters right now is that my son is about four hours away from home, and I get to be a mother again for a little while. Weak sauce, I know—but if you can’t live for your kids, what can you live for? I am unabashedly his #1 fan, so I’m perfectly fine with a week of birdwatching and making spaghetti and meatballs. Before I sign off for Spring Break, I wanted to leave you with a few thoughts…

If you didn’t read my post about the wood fire at Eye of the Dog Art Center, get to it. It was the best part of the week really. Look at those colors!

No shade to Flaubert—Madame Bovary is the pinnacle of realist writing and does brilliantly expose the dangers of unrestrained consumerism—but Emma Bovary is exhausting. Shallow, narcissistic... Her story ( as told through the lens of an old French dude) is about 300 pages too long for me. Emma’s character depiction is everything you hope women aren’t—past, present or future. Man, oh, man (pun intended)—as Ms. Virginia Slim once said, we’ve come a long way, baby. Thank gawd!

Moving on to better things, I’ve had probably a dozen copies of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon pass through my hands over the years, but I never managed to crack one open. I'm so glad it’s on the syllabus this semester. Chabon is my favorite writer of short nonfiction, so I’m ashamed to admit I’d never read one of his novels…until now. The good news? I’ll never have to say that again. Freaking fantastic! It definitely makes me miss New York.

Back in the day, I was never a huge Sonic Youth fan. But I’ve been listening to Kim Gordon’s new album—Play Me—if for no other reason than I love seeing women of a certain age (Gen X) putting themselves out there and doing their thing. Technically, Kim is a Boomer, but that makes it even more rad as she is keeping it pretty tight in all directions while aging naturally. We are still valid, ladies. Keep creating!

I will be watching the Oscars this weekend, even though I have had it with Hollywood (except for Jesse Buckley in Hamnet—I hope she wins—even though everyone says The Bride! is a shitshow: anyone seen it? Thoughts in comments, please). We just saw the final best picture film—The Secret Agent written and directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho about a professor caught in the political turmoil of the Brazilian military dictatorship—and while Wagner Moura is fabulous (and beyond attractive), I am still hoping Sinners will sweep. :) It’s Michael B. Jordan’s day. Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose!

Quote (or poem)of the week? “I, Too” by Langston Hughes.

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.

Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—

I, too, am America.

‘Til Tuesday, friends.

Burgin

(An MFA grad student at 50+… follow along and read my story here.)