The Culturing Life

Yesterday I went to a poetry reading by Charles Simic who won a Pulitzer in 1990 and was the U.S. Poet Laureate (I love that word) in 2007. One of the pluses of working for a university is that you are always aware of the special guests and programs that are available.

Beforehand, I did something uncharacteristic and read at the open-mic poetry reading sponsored by the Oklahoma Arts Council. It was a pleasant if somewhat nerve racking experience. I had forgotten how apprehensive I am reading aloud in front of people who are not Stephanie. I only decided to go a few minutes before I got off from work so I just printed random poems and later thought, Really? I chose this one? I was also a bit daunted by the other people who showed up. One woman performed her poems and had visual aids. Several others expounded on the meaning of poetry. I sat there thinking, I sometimes randomly write stuff down. Mostly, I watch too much television and play around too much on the Internet. I think poetry is cool because it's something that I can do reasonably well and I can't be a doctor. But despite my anxiety, I had a lot of fun and found out about several monthly readings that go on in the area.

The poetry reading broke up about fifteen minutes before Simic entered to do his reading. My favorites were the descriptive poems about his neighborhood and apartments. He also read a wonderful poem about unmade beds, observing them as if they were a breed of wild animal. He had the most wonderful voice and accent, and I came away very inspired and in that lofty frame of mind I get after realizing that the world is full of beauty and sublimity. I'm excited to read more of his poetry and plan to buy a few of his books soon.

Last Sunday I went to a production of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The Rivals which was excellent. The play was written in the 1770s, and most of the humor is derived through irony, class mockery, and wordplay so it was definitely the type of play I find enjoyable.

One of my coworkers played the role of Captain Jack Absolute who has come to Bath in the guise of penniless Ensign Beverly. His plan is to woo Lydia Languish, an heiress who wishes to defy her aunt and marry someone impoverished. To further complicate Jack's charade, his father, Sir Anthony Absolute has come to Bath in order to set up an arranged marriage between his son and Lydia. Once in Bath, Sir Anthony starts to fall for Lydia's aunt, the vocabulary-challenged Mrs. Malaprop. Since this is a hybrid of comedy-of-manners and restoration comedy, more people descend on Bath with their own convoluted, drawing room agendas including a country squire and an Irish lord both vying for Lydia's hand, a fretful friend of Jack's whose courting Lydia's cousin, and a host of devious and/or loyal servants.

The entire production was wonderful. It had a great set that sparsely outlined the outside of a Georgian townhouse and employed movable doors to help set up the various rooms. It also featured some of the best costumes I've seen in a college production. They had a very authentic feel to them.

So I've had a culturally charged week so far. However, I've tampered it with copious gaming (The Sims 2 has become more and more interesting to me as it becomes obsolete. The Sims 3 will come in this June and looks like as major an improvement over 2 as 2 was over the original.)
and reading children's literature. I've also been wading through the vast amount of movies I purchased a several weekends ago. So far I've only watched The Spiderwick Chronicles and Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School. From the batch before that, I've watched King Kong (1933), Interview, Be Kind Rewind, and Death at a Funeral.