How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
Arts & Life
- Details
- Written by: Kwame Dawes
Here is an elegant flower of a poem — small, delicate in sentiment, and yet so resonant in meaning.
Sam Dodson, in a few short lines, observes the stoic strength of faith, the sadness of loss, and the rituals that we perform to help us cope with the helplessness that comes with grief.
After Her Mother Passed
By Sam Dodson
Lutheran beautiful Eva
broke down for a
dear, dear moment
before she picked
that rake back up
and moved maple
leaves over grass.
American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2021 by Sam Dodson, “After Her Mother Passed” from Big Life, (Black Mountain Press, 2021). Poem reprinted by permission of the author and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2021 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Kwame Dawes, is George W. Holmes Professor of English and Glenna Luschei Editor of Prairie Schooner at the University of Nebraska.
- Details
- Written by: Tim Riley
To keep their exalted status, Hallmark unleashed a torrent of themed films back in October.
First out of the gate was “You, Me and the Christmas trees,” a story about an arborist (Danica McKellar) who helps a Christmas tree farmer (Benjamin Ayres) rescue his seasonal business. Of course, they end up falling for each other because that’s in the holiday spirit.
Just in case you miss the point, most of the Hallmark holiday movies have Christmas in their titles, but to switch it up a bit there’s “Making Spirits Bright,” a Victorian-themed “A Dickens of a Holiday,” and then a detour of sorts to “Eight Gifts of Hanukkah.”
Near the end of the Christmas line for Hallmark is “The Christmas House 2: Deck the Halls,” Sharon Lawrence and Treat Williams star as a married couple with two adult sons who find themselves in a Christmas decorating competition.
Seeking to be the top holiday movie destination, the Lifetime Channel just might be giving Hallmark a run for its money with its holiday-themed lineup called “It’s a Wonderful Lifetime,” with a premiere of 30 new movies in 30 days right up through Christmas Day.
Hardly needing an introduction, singer Reba McEntire and actor John Schneider, as the singing duo of Georgia and Joe Winter and years after their personal and professional breakup, agree to reunite and participate in a Christmas Charity concert in “Reba McEntire’s Christmas in Tune.”
Turner Classic Movies, or TCM, has announced a Classic Christmas Marathon, which by the looks of the 76 movies scheduled for the week leading up to Christmas Day is not in the same holiday ballpark as Hallmark and Lifetime.
According to TCM, Christmas movies come in all varieties, from warmhearted family stories about the holiday itself to comedies and dramas that feature incidental Christmas settings to crime thrillers and even Westerns.
Not on the list of classic Christmas films are “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “A Christmas Story,” but then why not start off with the Oscar-winning Bing Crosby favorite “Going My Way” (1944) and the Christmas Day showing of the Judy Garland musical “In the Good Old Summertime” (1949).
Judy Garland, the mother of Liza Minnelli, introduced one of the most beloved holiday tunes, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” in Vincente Minnelli’s “Meet Me in St. Louis” (1944), which is set over the course of an entire year but has a truly memorable Christmas sequence.
You can usually spot the Christmas-specific movies by their titles, such as the English drama “The Holly and the Ivy” (1952), “Bush Christmas” (1947) from Australia, the Robert Mitchum-Janet Leigh romance “Holiday Affair” (1949).
Add to those titles, the short film “Compliments of the Season” (1930), the episodic “Christmas Eve” (1947), and a modern retelling of the Nativity story in the short “Star in the Night” (1945).
There’s possibly the best version of the Dickens tale about the redemption of a mean-spirited miser in “A Christmas Carol” (1938), and a modern take on the story written by “The Twilight Zone” creator Rod Serling, “Carol for Another Christmas” (1964), a TV movie starring Sterling Hayden.
Netflix has a slate of Christmas movies that it admits is not quite as robust as Hallmark Channel’s selection, at least not yet, but claims you can still get your fill of snowfalls, hot cocoa and Santa magic on demand.
With the streaming service of Netflix, it’s even easier to find a Christmas movie to get in the holiday spirit. Brooke Shields and Cary Elwes meet-cute over the purchase of a gorgeous Scottish castle in “A Castle for Christmas.”
The British comedy “Father Christmas is Back” has a great cast of Kelsey Grammer, John Cleese and Elizabeth Hurley. Four sisters reunite for a Christmas holiday in a Yorkshire castle and are joined by their estranged father, Grammer’s John Christmas.
To compete with the Hallmark Channel’s collection of romantic Christmas movies, Netflix is bringing back “A Knight Before Christmas” which tells the story of a medieval knight transported to modern-day Ohio.
A fish-out-of-water story, Josh Whitehouse’s Cole time travels to 2019 and encounters disillusioned teacher Brooke (Vanessa Hudgens) preparing for a loveless holiday season. PG-rated romantic antics ensue, but this cheesy flick may still be worth a watch.
Another sappy romantic holiday movie, “The Holiday Calendar” follows an aspiring photographer stuck in her small-town dead-end job. An antique Advent calendar passed down from her grandmother arrives just in time to point her toward love and a more fulfilling career.
Aside from “The Miracle on 34th Street” which will run on HBO Family, where do we find “It’s A Wonderful Life” and “A Christmas Story?” For the former, look to Amazon’s Prime Video as well as Tubi and NBC.com and the latter gets a marathon treatment on TBS.
May everyone enjoy the Christmas spirit with family, friends and the occasional fruitcake (OK, maybe not that) and a Happy New Year.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
- Details
- Written by: California Arts Council
Poets may self-nominate or be nominated by experts in the field of literature. For detailed instructions on how to apply, visit capoetlaureate.org. The submission deadline is Jan. 28, 2022.
“The role of the California Poet Laureate is to spread the art of poetry across the state, to inspire an emerging generation of literary artists, and to educate all Californians about the many poets and authors who have influenced California creative literary expression,” said Anne Bown-Crawford, executive director of the California Arts Council.
“The poet laureate provides public readings in communities across California and helps to educate civic and state leaders about the value of poetry and creative expression for all,” added Bown-Crawford.
The official position of California Poet Laureate was established in 2001 by former Gov. Gray Davis and is in the following California Government Code: Title 2, Div. 1, Chapter 9.5.
The state’s most recent poet laureate was Dana Gioia, who was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown. The poet laureate serves for a term of two years and may serve up to two terms.
The CAC manages the California poet laureate nomination process for the Office of Governor, in accordance with the law. The names of the top three nominees will be sent to the Governor’s office for consideration and screening.
Gov. Gavin Newsom will make the final selection and name the California poet laureate, who must be confirmed by the Senate.
After a call to the general public for nominations, applications will be reviewed and evaluated by a panel of knowledgeable and experienced California poets.
Nominees will be ranked according to the review criteria: recognition for excellence of their work; being known for a significant body of published work; having wide consideration as a poet of stature; and willingness to undertake a specific project that shall last through the term, agreed to by the California poet laureate and the Arts Council.
Questions about the nomination process and application information should be directed to
- Details
- Written by: Kwame Dawes
Nancy Keating has clearly recognized a fundamental human value of poetry, the capacity for art to help us cope with the memories of our guilt-inducing acts.
In her poem “The Snowy Egret” the confession of a man in a magazine killing a bird in his youth, serves as a source of empathic release for the poet from her own unspoken regret.
Forgetting, she says, is not realistic. This, as it happens, is a handy truth for poets whose currency is memory.
The Snowy Egret
By Nancy Keating
Give me another word for regret,
something more like forget
only better, more effective,
since in fact we really don’t forget
the bad things we did
or caused. I read in a letter
to The Sun Magazine where a man
will always remember the egret
lying, a silent heap of cirrus clouds,
at his 12-year-old feet. It was his first
and last time shooting a gun.
His confession stabbed me
into a memory of unremembered shame
and the ache in my stomach telling me
I had joined humanity.
American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2021 by Nancy Keating, “The Snowy Egret” from White Chick (Elixir Press, 2021.) Poem reprinted by permission of the author and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2021 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Kwame Dawes, is George W. Holmes Professor of English and Glenna Luschei Editor of Prairie Schooner at the University of Nebraska.