ARTS The Michigan Daily Thursday, February 20, 1992 Irish Grennan sheds poe by Rona Kobell What is Eamon Grennan's best po- em? His next one. "The stuff you've already done is hollowed out," the Irish-born poet explains from his Poughkeepsie, New York home. "The verse could be pretty, but the little fish is gone. The next thing is definitely the best, and that's why I keep writing." Although Grennan, professor of Renaissance studies, Irish literature, and poetry at Vassar College, has been writing all his life, his career officially began in .1977 when he won an American Council of Learned Societies Grant-in-Aid for his work in Irish poetry. Since that time, he has completed five books of verse, including What Light There Is, Twelve Poems, and a new collection called As If It Matters. Excerpts from his work have also appeared in various liter- ary magazines in Europe and the United States, including the New Yorker, The Irish Times, and Poetry. Landscapes, leaves, and light serve both as metaphors and as ob- jects of inspiration in much of Grennan's work. His poems alert an audience that sudden accidental changes in nature are mirrored in life. A hoard of clouds covering the sun can be analogous to certain hu- man tendencies. Daily events, when incorporated into his creative verse, allude to more complex emotions. In "The Breakfast Room," for example, Grennan describes the underlying themes in a casual mealtime conver- sation. "The secret knowing smiles that lovers save, sitting / to face one an- other in their quaint conspiracy / of hope and saying, Pass the milk in the dark." Grennan focuses on light and light-related images to suggest a "perpetual shift of diversity in al- teration so that nothing stays still and nothing is the same each time you look at it." He explains that uni- versal images allow the meaning of a natural object to resonate to intensify the image. "With light, its interest is in its being so ordinary. So there, and at the same time, so ineffable and so strange," Grennan says. "I like to lend mystery and radiance to the or- dinary." The references to light in "Mo- ving" emphasize a woman's decision to leave a repressive household and become free in nature. " ... moving out / into a sea light that seems I to run on and on, damasked / with cloud the color of / bridal wrath or the / empty bedroom." Unlike other contemporary poets, Grennan does not engage his audi- ence in direct commentaries about politics and social issues. Both his early Irish poems and his more re- cent writings focus directly on earthly objects and emotions rather than political conflict. Although he does not directly ad- dress such issues as the turbulent sit- uation in Northern Ireland and the question of religious violence, Gren- nan does believe that language can Page 5 tic light make a political statement of its own. "A poet's business is language. If he or she uses language right, then that's an implicitly political state- ment about the honesty of keeping language active," he explains. As an Irishman who has spent the latter half of his life in the United States, Grennan has been influenced by a broad spectrum of writers from both continents. Although he claims His poems alert an audience that sudden accidental changes in nature are mirrored t6 life. that sometimes American verse and culture seem geographically closer to Gaelic life than those of England, he echoes the sentiments of many other writers - William Shake- speare is still the real poetic maestro. "How could we live without Shakespeare?" Grennan queries. "He's part of the language ... Any- way, it's nice to have something out there that is beyond anything you could ever touch." EAMON GRENNAN will be reading from his new work, As If It Matters in Rackham Amphitheatre today at S p.m. Admission is free. Harry Mention (Danny Glover) pours some rotgut for his old pals in Anger. To film with Anger by Michelle Phillip To Sleep With Anger (1990) brought independent filmmaker Charles Burnett into mainstream cinema This talented writer-direc- tor makes it known that there is definitely more than one African- American filmmaker with a story to tell . He'll tell audiences his own story in a lecture (which will ac- company screenings of two of his films, To Sleep With Anger and My Brother's Wedding) at the Michigan Theater tonight. Born in Mississippi, Burnett grew up in Los Angeles. He stud- ied electronics in college. Through his involvement in creative writ- ing, he became interested in film- making and went on to UCLA. "Back in the Sixties, filmmak- ing was a different experience sort of on the fringe... for those who wanted to make socially con- scious messages," Burnett says. He says he feels that filmmaking today has taken on a new mindset. "...Filmmaking has become the corporate experience. They are not interested in the uniqueness of any ethnic group ... they marginalize everything there is no difference between what I make as a film or what anyone else makes as film ... everything is watered down. It be- comes a variation on the same thing," Burnett continues. In the face of commercialism, Burnett struggles very hard to tell stories that are about peoples' lives and sharing, two elements which he feels are often ignored. My Brother's Wedding, is an- other film that reflects Burnett's cinematic values. Ironically, Wed- ding was made eight years ago, but Burnett was never able to find a distributor for it. He hopes that Anger's success will enable him to recut and distribute the eight- year old film. With only five mainstream Black directors on the national scene, the filmmaking process is not evenly distributed to those who want to do films that don't conform to Hollywood cinematic traditions. While Burnett admits that Black directors such as Spike Lee and John Singleton are doing well, "...there needs to be room for other people who want to do other kinds of film. There are more sto- ries, not limited to those five or six out there.... We need to broaden the experience or the same story gets told again. As a filmmaker Burnett is in- terested in cultivating a certain culture for his audiences. He fo- cuses on the oral traditions and folk literature of the Black com- munity. To Sleep With Anger draws on the power of storytelling and mythmaking. The film deals with the hidden inner turmoil of a Los Angeles family that is brought to the surfaceswhen an old friend from the past, Harry Mention (Danny Glover), comes to visit. Burnett hopes to make audi- ences aware of the lack of continu- ity within the Black community, which he feels is a source of con- tention. Burnett wants audiences, both Black and white, to know that "it's not all about guns. " In the age of commercialism, economics stands in the way of many talented African-American filmmakers. While most of Bur- nett's work has achieved critical success, films such as Killer of Sheep (1977), Bless Their Little Hearts, and The Horse (1973) are still unfamiliar to most filmgoers. Tonight's program provides a un- ique opportunity to get to know some of Burnett's best work. CHARLES BURNETT will give a lecture tonight at the Michigan Theater between screenings of My Brother's Wedding(7:IS p.m.) and To Sleep With Anger (9:40). Tickets are $Sfor one feature, $7 for both. Grennan please, but meaning / Nothing has ever pleased me more / than how your naked shoulders and the small of your back l / lay on my spread hands; your earlobe, tongue, wide eyes I entering half frightened mine [ / XL Bogus academy gets its act together I by Aaron Hamburger and Michael John Wilson It's that time of year again. The Os- car nominations have just been an- nounced and it's time for the annual rip session against the Academy's most heinous choices. Unfortunately for us complainers, this year's nomi- nations generally reflect Hollywood's best work from last year. But we can't resist offering a few gripes: Best Picture: A solid, varied se- lection of interesting movies with no superficial fluffy box-office hits like Ghost (unless you count Beauty and the Beast) in the running. It's too bad, but not exactly surprising, that chal- lenging films like Thelma andLouise, Black Robe and Boyz n the Hood were overlooked, but all the moviesnomi- nated have some merit - a rare oc- currence in Oscar history. The race promises to be one of the most unpre- dictable in years. Actor: Once again, the Academy has done good. Some may disagree with the nod for Robin Williams's portrayal of Robin Williams in The Fisher King, but other actors like BarbraStreisandorHumphrey Bogart, have been nominated for basically playing themselves before. And what's more, Williams is funnier than all of them. But we shouldn't forget (as the academy did) River Phoenix from My Own Private Idaho and the great Al Pacino, who has given two of his best performances in past years (Godfather III, Frankie & Johnny). Neither earned a nomination. Actress: Bette Midler? Why does she get to be nominated for her fall box office flop whileMichelle Pfeiffer (Frankie & Johnny) gets ignored for hers? Also, the Academy bypassed one of the best actresses working to- day: Judy Davis (Barton Fink, Im- promptu). Still, you have to give Os- car some credit for mentioning Dern. Supporting Actor /Actress: Not a bad bunch, but Robert Duvall (Ram- bling Rose) and Samuel L. Jackson (Jungle Fever) deserved a mention. Director: These are all fine direc- tors but Barbra Streisand (The Prince of Tides) is a glaring omission - a snub, in fact. But it is nice to see Ridley Scott and John Singletonnomi- nated for their work. Adapted / Original Screenplay: In giving Europa, Europa a best adapted screenplay nomination, the Academy sends a pointed message to the German film board for failing to make the movie eligible for best for- eign film. Of course, the whole sys- tem, which allows only one entry per country, sucks. Truly deserving films like Europa and Daddy Nostalgia are overlooked year after year. . Predictions? Oh, how about Si- lence, Hopkins, Foster, Palance, Ruehl, Demme, Silence and Thelma. Or maybe not. THE NOMIN EE Best Picture: Beauty and _the Beast, Bugsy, JFK , The rine f Tides, The Silence of the: Lambs Actor: Warren Beatty, Bugsy Robert DeNirc, Cape r eAthoy 'Hopkins, Lambs Nick NoleTides; Robin Wlliams, The Ft er kin Actress: Geena Davis, Thelma & LXou* :E; aura DerTn, Rambin Rose; Jodie Foster, Lambs; Bette VMidlier, Fort e Bys Sasaw Sarandon, Thelma & Louise Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones, JFK Hartey K~eI Bg Ben Kingsley,>Bugsy; Michael Lerner, Barton FiAJ a ekPal w j,~t Slickers Supporting Actress: Diane Ladd, Ramblinig Jfoae; Juette Lems Cape Fear Kate Nelligan, Tides; Mercedes Ruehl, Fisher Kf:g Jessica Tandy, Fried Green Tomatoes. ..... Director: John Singleton, Boyz n the Hood4 1arry i. 1Irf , Bu ps Oliver Stone, JFK; Jonathan Demmne, Lams Ridl y Scott, Thsftrns Original Screenplay: John Singleton,. Boyz; James Tobac k Buwrga Richard LaGravenese, Fisher King; Lawurence an~td lMeg darn, . Grand Canyon; Callie Khouri, Thelma &Lus Adapted Screenplay: Agniesvka H of land, Europa, EuropaFr. Flagg and Carol Sovieski, Fried Green Tomratoes; PatP1r i Becky Johnston, Tides; Ted Tally, L amb - - . A T-SHIRT PRINTERY " A2's MULTI-COLOR PRINTING CHAMPS! " STAFF ARTIST SUPPORT. " 2-DAY RUSH SERVICE AVAILABLE. " U-M P.O.#'s ACCEPTED. " LOCATED ACROSS THE BRIDGE FROM GANDY DANCER. '7 * 5% DISCOUNT WITH THIS AD 994-1367 1002 PONTIAC TRAIL ANN ARBOR * MINIMUM ORDER 12 SHIRTS i __ .. Where's Weekend etc.?! The section that you know and love broke early for Spring. Don't worry, we'll be back with a special theater issue on Thursday, March 5. Dear Kristen, My roommate just left for Rio. 15 members of his host family will meet him at airport! I'moff to the Amazon tomorrow. Archbishop Desmond Tutu just boarded the ship. Can't believe we will spend 10 days crossing the Atlantic hearing him lecture on South Africa and talkinginformally at din- ner and on deck. THURSDAY JAZZ CAFE WINTiE R J AZ Z S ERIE S North Campus Commons Dining Room 8pm 9:3Opm DATES: r Featuring Jazz Ensembles 30 from the jazz Studies r Feb. 6 Program, Ed Sarath director 13 Fo mr ifomtin n' 7 F SYRACUSE AB-ROAD 4 W0 The Division of International Programs Abroad offers academic programs in Australia, Czechoslovakia, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Poland, and Spain for a semester, a year, or a summer of study abroad. a for more information, please contact Syracuse University Division of International-Programs Abroad 119 Euclid Avenue, Syracuse, NY 132444170- 1-800235-3472 ------------ ------- -- ---- - ------ - -- SEND TODAY FOR OUR CATALOG!