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Friday, June 11, 2004
how memory works & barista champ of new zealand
as most people know by now, ray charles is dead. i wasn't a huge fan, but who knows why, reading his obits reminded me for no particular reason of what's perhaps frank o'hara's most famous poem, written the day another famous musician died:
i won't annotate it; while the references are mostly literary or new-york based, like the old ziegfeld theater, what's important is the tone, the rhythm of the thing. new yorkers still talk this way you know.
poet elaine equi once wrote that the reason frank o'hara hasn't been canonized as a great poet is that his intense, idealized sense of personality and emotion are unfashionable these days. and that's probably true.
only young people now respond to frank o'hara, she argues, because grown-ups know better than to be so passionate. but that's where she's wrong.
grown-ups have only learned to be over-cautious, and their cool irony is only a defense against possible heartbreak. they lack the strength to be real new yorkers.
but they should just give it up and have the courage to fall in love, with new york, with the people around them. to listen to themselves speak, and embrace that. . .
but enough free association. today's article on new zealand barista champ carl sara reminded me that the world barista championship's coming up fast.
the reigning champ, paul bassett, is from australia -- could the folks down under keep this prize? it's likely.
sara's work is tremendous. . .on the other hand, the scandanavians are always fierce competitors!
posted by fortune
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