Page 8-The Michigan Daily- Monday, March 23,1992 'U' prof f s self mpoetry by John Morgan For Laurence Goldstein, poetry can be a form of self-analysis. "People spend a lot of money to have people psychoanalyze them all the time," he explained. "I think we can accomplish the same thing our- selves by writing ... You write for yourself, not for an audience ... You may find yourself taking a new posi- tion on something because you've discovered something about yourself (in your writing) that you never knew was there." Laurence Goldstein, besides be- ing a poet, is a professor of English at the University, and is the editor of the Michigan Quarterly Review. He has published several volumes of poetry (including Altamira and The Three Gardens) and literary criti- cism. A book he is currently working on will deal with the effect of the movies on American poets. While Gold-stein said that he will read from some of his previously published work at today's reading, he will focus more on his current poetry, much of which is un- published. Goldstein's poetry is extremely diverse in both form and content. "For me, the pleasure of poetry is in the different identities and moods I can create," he said. "I may write in open style, then in vernacular, then in a more traditional style. The poet is a craftsman ... I find that sticking to one style can become boring." Goldstein said that he first be- came attracted to poetry when he read the Beat poets, such as Allen Ginsberg and Ferlinghetti. "Their poetry was a raw, scary experience," he said. He added how- ever, that he does not feel his poetry openly displays this influence, de- scribing his style as being "more conservative." At the same time, he said that he sees a "visionary" aspect to his work that may have arisen from the Beats. "I enjoy doing something different," he said. MUSKET checkmates with passion Chess, dir. David Kirshenbaum Power Center March 20,1992 "See how one little move - it affects so many lives, hurts so many people," said Alexander Molo- kov, assistant to the reigning Soviet chess champ. Chess, the heart-breaking story of those "little moves," went straight to the hearts of the audience with its power, passion and humanity. Patrick Beller gave a captivating and flawless per- formance as the Russian chess champion Anatoly Sergievsky. Beller's poise was consistently present in his songs, dialogues and even while silently eating yogurt during a chess game. He made viewers weepy with his stirring rendition of "Anthem," a song de- scribing Anatoly's devotion to his native country. As a talented actor, Beller also had the impish ability to make the audience laugh, as seen in a conversation with Florence (Maryann Lombardi): "I am counting on you giving me inside information on Freddie's game, while we're in bed together," Beller said with an effective Russian accent. Lombardi was just as intriguing as Florence. She did her best singing with Anatoly (in "Terrace Duet" and "You and I") and with the chorus ("Nobody's on Nobody's Side"). Her solos were not as strong, but nonetheless just as passionate. Even in her final scenes, Florence's demise, Lombardi maintained her grace and her power while sobbing, collapsed in a heap on the ground. Robb McKindles, as the American challenger Freddie Trumper, appropriately showed the charac- ter's "break the rules, break the bank" attitude. He was at his best in the confessional "Pity the Child," vocally carrying all of the notes, and ably expressing the required purging emotions. Despite a few troublesome high notes and too ma- ny distracting nervous movements, McKindles' vocal ability still showed his character's danger and vul- nerability. Other powerful performances came from Amy Heath as Svetlana Sergievsky and Jared Hoffert as Molokov, both of whom acted their secondary roles with great presence. The chorus, often a weaker link when such strong leads are featured, was polished. The ensemble worked well together, despite a few so- los which went unheard. The costume designers created a continuously cle- ver motif with black and white - especially the black and white checked articles of clothing, such as neckties; vests and skirts to show the commercia- lization of chess, the game. Musical director Lynne Shankel's full orchestra was outstanding. Anyone who has ever been in love, or who has ever had a friend, couldrelate to Chess. Chess is, as director David Kirshenbaum called it, "a human story." People get hurt, people have regrets. Chess is the illustration of this lesson, and MUSKET showed it with incomparable vocal power, dramatic conflicts, tragic losses, and a passionately realistic view of rela- tionships. -Melissa Rose Bernardo 0 Regardless of the style, much of Goldstein's poetry is derived from personal experience. "Personal expe- rience is the basis of all poetry," he said. "A poem I have in the upcom- ing Iowa Review is about the earli- est memory I have. Obviously, if something is your earliest memory, there is something about it that caught." Among Goldstein's favorite sub- jects for poetry is his native Calif- ornia, where he still does much of his writing. "It is doubly interesting. I can layer over my memories with the feelings that I have during my revisits," he said. "Sometimes it seems that there are two voices in one poem." One such California poem is "Palm Springs." "We tried to make a paradise of our lives / and it turned into L.A. So now / our dreams have a second chance, right here, / not just property that won't depreciate / but heaven on earth. O friends, grab it / before the interest rates go up in March!" A number of interesting charac- ters appear in the poet's work, such as in "Interview In A Ceiling," which is narrated by a grocery clerk. "You see that old widow in the black shawl - / no concealing her grief, or his absence - / I've been watching her special for months. / See her hand on the peppers, watch how she / almost sneaks them in the 'wrong' bag. / She comes close every time. And if she did steal / when we stopped her outside the electric doors / she'd say, 'What's fifty cents to the Safe-way?"' "When I create characters in my poems, whether they are about Bette Davis or a real-estate agent, they all fit into the landscape," Goldstein said. Writing about his home state also helped him when he was first star- ting out. "By focusing on a land- scape, especially Southern Califor- nia, it gave me the anchor I needed," he said. Most recently, however, Gold- stein has tried to get beyond the realm of his own experiences. "I'm writing more dramatic situations, where I can tell a story," he said, claiming that he enjoys the inventive aspects of such writing, where he can create characters and places. Now, he says, he is trying to con- vey his own feelings while also dis- guising them. "The private experi- ence can be hidden, or glimpsed, but subordinated to a larger vision," he said, asserting that this can bring about a "larger discovery" about oneself. "When I write," Goldstein said, "I ask, 'How can I capture this per- son? How can I evoke this place?"' Goldstein's poetry covers a broad range of both, and remains consis- tently fascinating throughout. LAURENCE GOLDSTEIN will be reading in the Rackham Amphi- theatre at 4 p.m. today. Admission is free. I RECORDS Continued from page 5 country-tinged tunes on this album are funny, but most have some seri- ous, ironic twists to them. The Bats are maturing. Their songs make you stop, temporarily anyway, and think, and nowadays, that's unique in and of itself. Down indicates that the best may be yet to come from this band. -Nima Hodaei Social Distortion Somewhere Between Heaven, and Hell Epic Social Distortion's new album, Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell, is somewhere between good and bad. The album will appeal to those music fans who enjoy listening to pop-oriented punk. But for those of you who happen to know this band's older and better material, Heaven and Hell is a de- parture from their original style, and, as a whole, the disc is not up to par. Social Distortion started out as a straight-ahead punk band from L.A. with a fairly stripped-down sound. Their songs were fast and hard. But with Heaven and Hell, it is obvious after a couple of listens that the ma- jority of the songs are all heavily produced and made for the radio. The best example of this made- for-the-masses appeal would be the slick sounding song "Bad Luck," which has already found itself in heavy rotation on 89X. Other tracks lack originality. Songs like "Making Believe",seem to be such a close copy of an earlier record that when I first heard it, I started singing the lyrics to the older song by the band. The only cut that maintains the original vein of the band is "Cold Feelings." It has some decent gui- tars, lyrics, and drums, but it can't save the disc. Instead of staying close to their roots, Social Distortion seems to be experimenting with a new sound that resembles country. This sensation doesn't exactly jump out at you, but on songs like "Sometimes I Do" and "This Time Darlin" there are several nuances in the drums, guitar, and Mike Ness' vocals that give it a jangling feel. The lyrics, though, seem to be right out of the country music genre - themes of losin' "my baby" and recurring heartbreaks pervade the whole album. Unfortunately, Heaven and Hell will never take the listener any fur- ther than purgatory. -Alan Segal $3OFF - ve Dye Dead shirts. p r GD stuffed tour bears } Buy 2 Tye Dye Dead shi - regular price and get a Y Hash Bash shirt FRE STAIRWAY TO H E - sU 1 9S-'gt , , $251 1 irts at '92 1 Despite their efforts to look like meanies, Social Distortion has actually softened up and gone country with their new record. M FA ple do, all set to Cole Porter's phers touched on themes that "After You." everyone could relate to such as Continued from page 5 Dancing, much like any other family, memories, growing old, dancing, girlish poses, race-run- art form, gives a chance to express and human consciences, giving a ning, muscle-making and skipping feelings about a subject that means new and personal look at recurring in a circle. 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