Friday
Jan. 19, 2001
The Loft
Poem: "The Loft," by Richard Jones, from The Blessing: New & Selected Poems (Copper Canyon Press).
The LoftI lay on her bed
while she opened windows
so we could see the river
and the factories beyond.
Afternoon light falling
beautifully into the room,
she burned candles,
incense, talking quietly
as I listened—
I, who conspired
to make this happen,
weaving a web of words that held
this moment at its center.
What could I say now?
That I am a man
empty of desire?
She stood beside the bed,
looking down at me
as if she were dreaming,
as if I were a dream,
as if she too had come
to the final shore of longing.
I lay, calm as a lake
reflecting the nothingness
of late summer sky.
Then she spoke—
she said my name—
and I, who did not love her,
opened my arms.
It's the birthday of Alexander Woollcott, born in Phalanx, New Jersey (1887). He was a reporter for the New York Times, and then worked for Stars and Stripes during World War One. After returning to New York, he became a member of the Algonquin Round Table, and began writing for The New Yorker. Many people didn't care for his writing: James Thurber nicknamed him "Old Vitriol and Violets." And some have said he wasn't a very good drama critic: for example, he claimed the plays of Eugene O'Neill were "completely worthless." George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart made Woollcott the model for Sheridan Whiteside in "The Man Who Came to Dinner," and late in his life Woollcott appeared as Whiteside in a touring production of the play.
It's the birthday of painter Paul Cézanne, born in Aix-en-Provence, France (1839). Cézanne's wealthy family wanted the young man to become a banker, but he persuaded his parents to let him study painting in Paris. He persevered through many discouragements, and became a member of a group of anti-academic painters known as the Refuses, or Refuseniks. Manet, Pissarro, Monet, Renoir and Degas were all part of this radical new movement; they eventually became known as the Impressionists. Cézanne developed a unique, easily identifiable style. He had great hopes for his work and for his place among the Impressionists, but his paintings were severely criticized by contemporary art writers, and he had difficulty finding buyers for his work. Public enthusiasm for his paintings began to grow at the turn of the century, just a few years before he died, in October, 1906.
It's the birthday of Edgar Allan Poe, born in Boston, (1809). After Poe's alcoholic father deserted the family, he was raised in Richmond, Virginia, by John Allan. Allan gave Poe a good education, sending him to the University of Virginia. He published his first collection of poetry in 1827, Tamerlane and Other Poems. His most famous poem, "The Raven," was published in 1845. He's considered to be the inventor of the modern detective story.
It's the birthday of inventor and mechanical engineer James Watt, born in Renfrewshire, Scotland (1736). His father ran a successful ship- and house-building business, and Watt went to work in his father's workshop. He was interested in steam engines, and made many improvements in their design—including the addition of a separate steam-condensing chamber that prevented the loss of steam and enhanced the engine's vacuum power.
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