Arts & Life

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Written by: Kwame Dawes

Published: 29 November 2021

There is a bit of slapstick comedy in this poem of conundrums.

In “Multiple Man: Guest-starring me & You,” Gary Jackson knows that he is playing a game with perception — is the “you” himself or someone else — perhaps a past lover?

But in the end, it does not matter, because the sense of loneliness and the hunger for companionship at the core of this poem are absolutely clear.

“You left me,” he says, with a hint of melodrama. But in the end, he reminds us that sometimes the perceived antidote for our need (our “dearth”) can be catastrophic (“the flood”).

Multiple Man: Guest-starring me & You
By Gary Jackson

Every night I sleep on alternate

sides of the bed, as if to duplicate
sleeping with you. If

I’m fast enough, I’m the warmth
of my own body beside me, reach

out and touch myself. Breach
the blue of my bones, breath in my own ear.

You left me. Lying here,
I left you to be with me.

Someone asks if your body
was worth trading for mine.

My sin was always pride.
Did you want a man who sleeps

with himself to keep
the bed warm? I need you like the earth

needed the flood after dearth.

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 Gary Jackson, “Multiple Man: Guest-starring me & You” from origin story (University of New Mexico 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.

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Written by: Tim Riley

Published: 28 November 2021

‘NASH BRIDGES: THE MOVIE’ ON USA NETWORK

Don Johnson as Inspector Nash Bridges and his partner Cheech Marin’s Inspector Joe Dominguez, elite investigators in the San Francisco Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU), had a nice run of six seasons on the CBS Network in the series “Nash Bridges.”

Now more than 20 years later Johnson and Marin are reunited in their original roles for “Nash Bridges: The Movie,” a two-hour film on the USA Network that finds these initial cast members facing a new world of policing.

Nash Bridges, with a keen sense of humor and charm, comes back to SIU after a suspension and unfortunately has to report to a new boss Steve Colton (Joe Dinicol), a young, uptight officer who is wrapped up in political correctness.

Time has not mellowed the wisecracking Bridges’ penchant for bending the rules in pursuit of the bad guys, even if his partner Dominguez is more cautious, and maybe that’s because he’s running a side business of a legal marijuana retail shop.

Bridges remains the freewheeling character who now disdains how the SIU headquarters has been turned into a modern data-driven enterprise that relies on technology for police work. He prefers the old streetwise methods rather than predictive policing.

Part of the fun is seeing how Bridges irritates his new boss Colton without crossing a red line of insubordination, though a reckless chase that results in a huge explosion and the destruction of his beloved yellow Barracuda convertible puts him in a precarious position.

While Bridges dances on the fine line between team player and going rogue, he doesn’t much care how the world around him has changed because he’s going to rely on instincts that are usually correct.

Whether during the series run or the new movie, the action in “Nash Bridges” involves the police duo chasing down murderers, drug dealers, and the whole gamut of despicable criminals.

Remembering the storyline of any episode or the movie itself only days later may be a little hazy. However, the excitement happens during the moment, and Johnson and Marin do not disappoint in their advancing years.

Aside from Johnson and Marin, the cast is all-new with the exception of Jeff Perry’s return as retired Inspector Harvey Leek, who helps the pair hack into computer systems. There’s no mention of Bridges’ daughter Cassidy (Jodi Lyn O’Keefe), who by now must be nearing middle age.

Fans of the original series will want to tune into “Nash Bridges: The Movie,” and if all goes well in the ratings, it appears that the producers are hoping for a relaunch of the series.

Undeniably, the chemistry between Don Johnson and Cheech Marin is what ultimately drives the enjoyment of a police procedural that’s all about crime-busting but doesn’t take itself too seriously.





‘THE HOT ZONE: ANTHRAX’ ON NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

The nation was on edge 20 years ago following the devastating terrorist on 9/11, and while the nightmare of that day is burned into our conscious mind, we may not so readily recall another deadly act of terrorism when letters containing anthrax were sent to unsuspecting victims.

“The Hot Zone: Anthrax,” a three-night event on the National Geographic Channel and also streaming on Hulu, depicts the plight and eventual triumph over a national threat.

The anthrax letters were sent to Florida, Washington, D.C., and New York. This anonymous assault claimed five lives and caused panic. Despite many false leads, a team of FBI agents and scientists slowly closed in on a shocking prime suspect.

Inspired by true events, “The Hot Zone: Anthrax” follows parallel stories of FBI agent Matthew Ryker (Daniel Dae Kim) and Dr. Bruce Ivins (Tony Goldwyn), a brilliant microbiologist.

Agent Ryker, with a specialty in microbiology, risks his career to convince his superiors of the unthinkable just three weeks after the 9/11 attacks. Yet, the nation is under attack again.

Dr. Ivins becomes embroiled in the hunt to find the 2001 anthrax killer, working closely with the FBI to uncover who is behind the deadly anthrax letters, while his growing instability and paranoia give way to deeper unnerving discoveries.

The cast also includes FBI Special Agent Dani Toretti (Dawn Olivieri), who is tough enough to maneuver through the boys club in the bureau and is among the first agents on the ground at the 2001 Capitol Hill anthrax attack.

Morgan Kelly’s FBI agent Eric Sykes is a cocky agent who delights in mocking Ryker for his hunt for “elusive bio weapons.” Denyce Lawton’s Sheila Willis, a pharmaceutical lobbyist dating Ryker, starts rethinking her priorities after 9/11.

Newbie FBI agent and graduate of Quantico, Chris Moore (Ian Colletti) is eager to learn under a seasoned agent. While high-ranking FBI lifer Ed Copak (Dylan Baker) feels the weight of responsibility to get justice for a wounded nation after the recent events of 9/11.

Recognizable public figures are also portrayed. Enrico Colantoni’s Mayor Rudy Giuliani emerges as a bold advocate for the citizens of New York, and Harry Hamlin’s NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw becomes a trusted voice of reason.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

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Written by: Kwame Dawes

Published: 22 November 2021

Sometimes “dream poems” give an account of the strange revelations of our subconscious, and sometimes, like here, the “dream poem” is the poem of wishes and hope, expressing a fantasy of a certain longing.

A.D. Lauren-Abunassar’s poem, “Dream in Which My Body Is a Snow Storm,” imagines a world in which the “bad” outcomes are upended by a kind of magical hope; and here we have a lesson in the innocent pleasure of wishing for the good by the force of imagining.

Dream in Which My Body Is a Snow Storm
By A.D. Lauren-Abunassar

and doesn’t make anyone cold. If I fell I would fall
in state-shaped flakes. One for every place my body
lingered. One for every little bit of light I stole
and kept. No cars startless. No tangled up roadways. Neck
becoming mountain of drift; foot becoming fierce kicking
eddies. Heat would not melt me. Hands would not help
me undo. Blanketing softly. Whimsy not pretend.
Dream in which my body is a snowstorm and the storm says
a purpose in falling.


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 ©2020 by A. D. Lauren-Abunassar, “Dream in Which My Body Is a Snow Storm” from Nimrod International Journal, Fall/Winter, 2020. 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.