On Writing Sonnets, Love, and Igor Stravinsky

      When inspired to write about love, the obvious never-ending font of inspiration, one might assume that the motivation for expressing myself in sonnets would come from reading William Shakespeare or Elizabeth Barrett Browning. In fact, I am more drawn to the sonnet as a writing form because of something the great composer Igor Stravinsky said:

Igor Stravinsky

"The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees one's self. And the arbitrariness of the constraint serves only to obtain precision of execution."

By adhering to a specific form such as fourteen lines in iambic pentameter with a specific rhyme scheme, and a turn of thought at the end, the writer is challenged to find the perfect word, the perfect order of words, the perfect metaphor to perfectly and beautifully capture the mind and heart of his or her intended audience.

I do realize that sonnets have been written about subjects other than love, but I wonder what other subject could possibly be worth the effort? Again, I turn to Stravinsky, who asked

"In order to create there must be a dynamic force, and what force is more potent than love?" 

and 

"Is it not by love alone that we succeed in penetrating to the very essence of being?"

To which I answer: It is, Igor. It is.

And so I'll share with you one of my sonnets in hopes of setting your pen in motion.

3/12/2012

Among what we behold, in all we see

We found a treasure rare and so sublime.

Incomprehensible that others be

repulsed, repelled, and yet, if given time

perhaps a judgment softens. Maybe though

the outward form for them remains the same

new reason tempers their perception so

what once reviled gives way to lesser shame.

But even if the world does not consent,

If those around us blindly cast disdain,

Together we hold fast to our intent

And cherish what the others find profane.

Take comfort in the love that we have found.

For unto one another we are bound.

 

 

On Turning Fifty

I suppose I should've changed the title of my blog but I didn't. Forty-nine... fifty, fifty-one, sixty-one...  I don't think it much matters anymore. I've arrived at a place in my life where I don't put up with irrelevancy (among other things for which I have no patience) and age, at some point, is irrelevant. It's irrelevant in the respect that once you've reached the age at which your parents previously seemed old, the exact number no longer matters. Maybe it matters to actuaries, but not to me.

The love of my life is turning sixty-one this week and not happily. He worries a little bit about being ten years older than I am. I guess in some perverse way I like that he's older because it makes me feel younger kind of in the same way that hanging out in a Walmart in Wisconsin makes me feel thinner. Really, though, I've always had a thing for older men and he is fantastically sexy and nothing makes me happier than to be seen on his arm.

The nice thing about fifty is that I'm doing what I want. Mostly. I'm writing. I go out. I spend time with my friends - and my kids when they'll have me.  

When I was about thirteen I asked my grandpa how it felt to be old. He said he didn't feel any different than when he was thirteen except he didn't recognize the old guy in the mirror. I can relate except that I do recognize the old woman in the mirror. It's my mom.

Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, and Music Education

If I've learned anything from teaching hundreds of students each and every year for nearly thirty years, it's that no two children are alike. That sounds ridiculously obvious, but apparently it's not obvious to the lawmakers who are currently focused on education reform. Does education need reform? Yes. Absolutely. However, the focus on running schools as if they were factories to turn out consistent quality products is contrary to the direction education must go. In fact, never has it been more crucial to the future of our society that we go in a completely opposite direction.

Take music, for instance. One hundred fifty or so years ago when music was added to the curriculum in American public schools, it was done so because musicians were needed in community bands, orchestras, and in church choirs. This is how Americans listened to music, but then along came Thomas Edison with his crazy inventions and within a few years, recordings of music were within reach of most people. Music education's role shifted to include appreciation of music. In other words, we began to teach people how to listen to music as much or more than we taught how to make music. 

I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with that. In fact, I think it's important. Not every musician is a performer. Some musicians are active listeners. Some others, however, are primarily composers and they have long been overlooked in music education.

Jump forward a hundred or so years and Steve Jobs comes along and changes the music industry again. Bon Jovi's pretty upset about that because the recording industry has suffered. The general public, however, has benefitted enormously. Not only is listening to music far more accessible, but creating and recording music is easy for anyone with a computer or an iPad.

How are the music teachers in your schools meeting the needs of students in this generation? Are they stuck in 1875 or are they exploring ways to use new technology to inspire and motivate the musicians of the future? How do we evaluate the arts teachers? What kind of achievement tests will lawmakers dream up to ensure that all teachers are "winning the education race" and turning out consistent quality students?

How should student achievement in the arts be measured? Can it be done by filling in bubbles on a Scantron form? I don't think so. Should all students reach the same level of achievement in the arts by the end of the year? By the end of twelve years?


Big questions.

Art, Immortality, and Leaving Something Behind

I don't subscribe to a religion. I was brought up a Christian, but I quit. I'm thankful to the Christians, particularly the Catholics, who, through what seems to me to have been a concerted effort to not allow followers to think for themselves, commissioned a body of visual art and music that is life-enriching, however indoctrinating and enslaving it might be.

Art is important. Art is human. Art is an expression of the joys, the sorrows, and the mindfulness of life. Art enriches, sustains, and survives us. Art is understood not in one's consciousness but in one's heart. The tools - the skills needed to produce art can be taught, but the essence of art cannot.

The immortal: Bach, da Vinci, Beethoven, Michelangelo. They live forever because they continue to speak to us through their art. Lesser-known artists do the same, but some voices are louder than others. Which artists of today will speak to future generations?

I'm forty-nine. Compared to artists of previous generations, I've created precious  little of merit to leave behind. Now I fear that being in a hurry to catch up, my work will be careless and frivolous. I write. I write and write and write. Years ago I wrote music, but I have found words as satisfying to put together as pitch and rhythm and more comfortable. What will I leave behind? Will it hold any meaning for anyone but me? What of my immortality? Is that vain? Yes, I suppose it is, but leaving the world a better place, I think, means leaving art behind that somehow enlightens another life. I don't think that's vanity.

Perhaps Beethoven and da Vinci can rest. In one lifetime they created art so profound they need not come back to improve on their work. I believe I have many lifetimes ahead of me. Time is running short and the business of raising a family (or two) and making a living are distractions.

Philosophy of Forty-nine. Opus One.

It's not like I woke up one day and realized that my attitude had shifted. It was a gradual process. Over time, the little things that once pissed me off became insignificant because I now save my loss of patience for bigger things - like stupidity. I had a long list of things that now piss me off, but really most fall under the category of stupidity:

1) Administrators and managers who spend countless hours dreaming up pointless directives to impose upon the people who do the actual work. Stupid.
2) Politicians who worry about their careers more than they worry about the people who elected them to office. Stupid.
3) People who make judgments about people without knowing much of anything about the person they condemn. Stupid.
4) People (particularly women) who marry thinking they will find self-fulfillment in another person. Stupid.
5) Journalists who report opinions as facts in order to please their advertisers. Stupid.
6) Shortsighted individuals who fail to see that the global community is interconnected and interdependent. Stupid.
7) Drivers who think it's important to get to their destination 30 seconds faster by passing other cars at dangerous and reckless speeds. Stupid.
8) Addendum to #7: ANYONE who thinks their time is more valuable than mine. A caveat - I can think of a few people whose time I think might be more valuable than mine but few of them are still living. My time is pretty damn valuable. So is yours.

I could go on and on, but as you see - it all boils down to stupidity. Later this year I'll be 50 years old. When you approach this milestone, it seems prudent to spend some serious time prioritizing what you consider to be important and worthwhile in your life. I have begun to challenge my own ideas of what is sacred, moral, and true. Maybe stupid people don't give serious thought to these things. If you're stupid, however, you haven't read this far, so I'm going to assume that you, my dear reader, are not stupid.

Because I have a strong sense that I am not alone in my forty-nineness, I have decided to blog about these things that I ponder, in hopes of finding a kindred spirit or two who are also spending time on thoughts such as these. Leave me your thoughts if they are kind-hearted and come back often.