The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Friday, January 27, 2017 — 5

University
of
Michigan

English professor Keith Taylor
will
be
reading

his most recent
poetry collection
“The Bird-While”
at Literati Friday
evening.

The title and

theme
of
his

new collection is
inspired by a quote
from one of Ralph
Waldo Emerson’s
journals: “A Bird-
while. In a natural
chronometer,
a
Bird-while

may be admitted as one of the
metres, since the space most of
the wild birds will allow you
to make your observations on
them when they alight near you
in the woods, is a pretty equal
and familiar measure” (Ralph
Waldo Emerson’s Journal, 1838).

Taylor said much of his work

is based on nature, and is often
compared
to
many
Eastern

meditative poets who focus on
the natural world in their work.
“The Bird-While” is a collection
of 49 poems which focus on the
nature world that surrounds us
in our daily lives. He hopes that
many of the poems come across
as
intense
and
meaningful,

as he’s devoted nine years to

creating this collection.

In regards to both his writing

career and his personal life,
Taylor, a renowned poet and
essayist, said he always chooses
to “follow the love.”

Taylor
is
a
Canadian

immigrant
who
came
to

midwestern
America
in
the

1960s at age 11.
Having
endured

a
childhood
in

which
he
was

made fun of and
pushed aside for
being different, he
knew he wanted
to be a writer
when
writing

became an outlet
to prove himself.

Taylor’s journey through the

arts has been diverse and unique.
He grew up in a conservative
and religious household, had
a
challenging
move
across

countries and found art at a very
young age. At 17, he wanted to
be a bookseller in Europe, so he
spent part of his life a traveling
there and across the United
States with little to no money
before choosing to follow the
woman he was in love with to
Ann Arbor, Michigan. The two
still live in Ann Arbor and have
a 25-year-old daughter.

After selling books for eight

years at the original Border’s
bookstore on State Street and
one other smaller bookstore, and
getting a fellowship in poetry

from the National Endowment
for the Arts, Taylor claims his
work
became
“legitimized.”

Soon after, Taylor was offered
a position as a professor at the
University of Michigan.

“The measure of a culture has

always been in its arts,” Taylor
said. He is an advocate for a
strong sense of unity between
artists,
especially
for
the

future. Taylor urges all young
artists to never stop writing,
even when it may seem easy to
give up in such struggling times
in our communities and our
country.

Taylor’s poems, stories, book

reviews, essays and articles
have appeared in magazines and
newspapers around the country.
His poetry collections have been
published into multiple books,
and he is a well known author in
the Ann Arbor community and
beyond.

One of the most interesting

things about speaking with
Keith Taylor is his unique sense
of passion. When confronted
with adversity in his life, his
resilience to continue his work
in writing allowed his career
to flourish. He had mentioned
that people did not recognize
his work until after he turned
50, but that never stopped
him from creating art before
that. His sense of pride, keen
intelligence, love for the arts
and drive for creative writing
can be considered a story of
perseverance and fervor.

ELI RALLO

Daily Arts Writer

Michigan professor to present
nature-inspired poetry at Literati

COMMUNITY CULTURE PREVIEW

Fans
and
detractors
of

Christian movies alike know
exactly what to expect from
“The Resurrection of Gavin
Stone.” All one needs to do is
watch 30 seconds of the trailer
to feel as if they have a grasp
on what beats the story will
follow and what the film has
to offer as a whole. A film with
a talented director or writer
would throw in a twist along
the way to keep things fresh,
but Dallas Jenkins (“What
If…”)
is
apparently
much

more interested in telling the
same story that’s been told a
hundred times before without
adding anything new to the
mix. The result is what may be
the most painfully, annoyingly
predictable film to have a wide
release in quite some time.

“The Resurrection of Gavin

Stone” begins with a massive
exposition dump designed as
a newscast that apparently
dedicates a portion of its show
every day to a segment about
washed-up
child
stars.
By

the end of the segment, most
viewers should be able to plot
out the beats of the character
arc of the titular “resurrectee”
down to the minute. Again,
there aren’t any twists. There’s
nothing that may cause anyone
to think twice. The film is in the
business of taking the easy way
out wherever it can, whether in

humor, in character, or in story.

From
there
comes
the

introduction of Gavin Stone
(Brett
Dalton,
“Marvel’s

Agents
of
S.H.I.E.L.D.”).

Dalton
showed
himself
on

“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” to be
a
capable
actor,

as his character
started out as what
“MST3K”
would

have once deemed
a “big, brave brick
of meat” to the
most
deliciously

evil villain on the
show. In “Gavin
Stone,”
he
is

inarguably the best
part, as he actually
makes the more
dramatic scenes of the film
work to a certain extent, even
as he stumbles over the clunky
dialogue in the quieter scenes.

He is not alone in this

respect
—
actors
struggle

with their parts. Again, much
of this can be chalked up to
the unnatural dialogue, but it
feels as if there was a lack of
direction, as well. Neil Flynn
(“The Middle”), known to many
as a talented comedian whose
improvisational approach to
comedy helped shape NBC
comedy “Scrubs,” gets mired
in the humorless role of Gavin’s
father, which affords him no
opportunities for laughs.

On
that
note,
“The

Resurrection of Gavin Stone”
is officially classified as a
dramedy, and considering how
often the film pauses after

“laugh lines,” apparently to give
its audience time to catch their
breath, it stands to reason that
at some point, something funny
should actually happen. Yet
over the ninety-two minutes of
its runtime, not one joke works.

The writers go
for the easy joke
10
times
out

of 10, and as a
consequence,
every
attempt

at humor falls
flat. There are
moments
at

which it appears
to
be
trying

to satirize the
different
types

of people found

in an average church, but
considering even the leads are
never developed beyond those
generic stereotypes, the jokes
ultimately feel hypocritical.

Even the generic humor

pales in comparison to the
utter banality of the main
story, though. It’s clear from
the trailers and it’s clear from
the opening moments of the
movie, it’s the “liar revealed”
plot. It recurs like the plague;
all that’s necessary is to put
the main character’s name in
the all-encompassing mad lib.
There’s no thought put into
“The Resurrection of Gavin
Stone”
beyond
this
initial

paint-by-numbers
premise,

and the movie is consequently
unrecommendable. It’s been
done before and done better in
every way.

WWE STUDIOS

Gavin Stone in his representation as Jesus

‘Stone’ is a generic Christian fare

JEREMIAH VANDERHELM

Daily Arts Writer

It is rare to see dramatic

television
produced
in
a

20-minute
format
and
be

successful — take “Downton
Abbey,”
“Sherlock”
and “Game of
Thrones”
as

strong examples
of
dramas

whose air time
is significantly
lengthened past
the
standard

40
minute

slot — yet, as
Laurel Ulrich once said, “Well-
behaved women seldom make
history.”

“Z:
The
Beginning
of

Everything” is an Amazon-
produced series that follows the
relationship between Southern
belle Zelda Sayre (Christina
Ricci,
“The
Lizzie
Borden

Chronicles”) and author F.
Scott Fitzgerald (David Hoflin,
“Once Upon a Time”). To say
that their relationship was a
tumultuous one would be the
understatement of the century.
A
marriage
riddled
with

alcoholism
and
accusations

of infidelity, the Fitzgeralds
were a revolutionary couple
in
a
time
when
flappers

and liquor began to push
conservative
boundaries.
A

rebellious couple rivaled only
by Bonnie and Clyde, Zelda and
her husband lived a carefree
lifestyle, accentuated by the
social scene and high-class
pampering that accompanies
fame. Though Zelda Fitzgerald
might be permanently branded

into history textbooks for her
struggles with mental illness
and her relationship with F.
Scott, the first episode of “Z”
shows us a side of Zelda rarely
seen — a girl who craved the
spotlight and is a force to be
reckoned with.

As the opening

sequence of “Z”
comes across the
screen, it’s easy to
see why Christina
Ricci was chosen
to
portray
the

infamous novelist.
What
Ricci

lacks in physical
description,
she
makes
up

in bravado in a daring and
enchanting
manner.
Rule-

breaker and cigarette smoker,
the
show’s

writers,
at

times, exhaust
themselves
in
reminding

viewers
of

Zelda’s Flapper-
esque lifestyle.
Ricci presents a
younger Zelda,
who
makes

up
what
she

lacks in proper
social
cues

with
a
fierce

and
burning

intelligence.
Though
the

series
is

considerably and noticeably
cliched, it paints an interesting
portrait
of
a
young,
yet

troubled, Zelda. And for any
fan of “The Great Gatsby,” it’s
not hard to miss the parallels
drawn
between
Zelda
and

Scott’s relationship to that

of Jay and Daisy. These only
serve to further drive home the
fact that the show’s intended
audience is likely the modern
bibliophile. If it’s not irony
then I’m not sure what is.

Cliché
throwaway
lines

and
stereotypes
aside,
it’s

hard not to take note of the
grandeur of “Z,” which makes
use of the dazzling sets and
sparkling
costumes
of
the

roaring twenties. As promised,
the series aims to take us from
the grassroots beginnings of
Zelda’s upbringing in the South
to the streets of New York City,
chronicling her passion with F.
Scott as the series progresses.
The scene changes are a clever
way to approach the timeline
and
progression
of
fame

between the two. While Zelda

may write softly
in
her
journal

back
home
in

Montgomery, I’m
certain that the
New York City
scene will bring
her
towards
a

ferocious writing
style
as
she

delves
further

into the myth and
less so into the
person
herself.

That being said,
the
series
has

showed a serious
struggle
with

depth, as many

of the problems that arise
feel like repetitive, tired-out
tropes. However, so long as
Ricci can continue portraying
the young rebel in the same
manner she has in the pilot,
I’m certain that the series
itself can rewrite history.

‘Z’ a dazzling chronicle of a
famous literary relationship

AMAZON

Christina Ricci as Zelda Fitzgerald in Amazon’s “Z”

MEGAN MITCHELL

Daily Arts Writer

TV REVIEW

B-

“Frontier”

First Two Episodes

Reviewed

Netflix

SINGLE REVIEW


As we enter the era

of a Trump presidency, we
must ask ourselves: How did
we get here?

On the title track of

his upcoming third record,
“Pure Comedy,” Josh Tillman
— the witty singer/songwrit-
er behind indie rock moniker
Father John
Misty — offers
an answer.

In

six-and-a-
half minutes
of ingenious,
blistering one-
liners, “Pure
Comedy” is
Tillman at his
most intensely poetic and
political, revealing human-
ity in all its naked absurdity,
with scathingly witty lyrics
and mournful horn-heavy
instrumentation. So far, it’s
the best post-Trump song of
2017.

Tillman may be

known as a satirist, but “Pure
Comedy” is still not quite
like his past work. Instead of
incorporating his usual dry,
ironic humor, Tillman infus-
es brutal honesty with bitter
melancholy. Granted, it’s a bit
preachy, but also somewhat
inspired, especially coming

from a smug goofball like
Tillman. From beginning
to end, Tillman jumps from
vivid detail to vivid detail,
describing the world in
which we currently live with
dystopian overtones. In the
song’s fascinating, haphazard
music video, Tillman evokes

this nightmarish
reality, juxta-
posing crudely
drawn black-and-
white images
with archival
footage of every-
thing wrong with
modern Ameri-
can culture.

He

denounces the narcissistic
toxicity of consumerism
(“They worship themselves
yet they’re totally obsessed”),
the misguided groupthink
of religion (“And how’s this
for irony, their idea of being
free is a prison of beliefs /
That they never ever have to
leave”) and the unexpected
rise of Donald Trump as a
political figure (“Where did
they find these goons they
elected to rule them?”). Clips
of natural disasters and for-
est fires also make for some
harrowing, apocalyptic
images, which showcase the

stakes that Tillman is posit-
ing for our bleak future.

Minute by minute,

“Pure Comedy” exposes the
darkness of our actions and
their consequences, but by
forcing us to confront these
troubling realities, Tillman
drives his point home: There
are more flaws to fix than
we might think. Mankind
is constantly fighting the
“struggle to survive,” as Till-
man remarks, and yet we
find ourselves in a perpetual
state of fear and confusion.
The world is indeed messed
up, and not without our own
doing. It’s certainly not a
pretty message, but with
Tillman’s imaginative song-
writing and broad worldview,
“Pure Comedy” makes a pro-
found statement about where
we are now and where we
might be headed.

So, are we actually

doomed? According to Till-
man, we might be. But even
for someone as cynical as
he is, a cautious hope still
remains on the horizon. In
the end, Tillman comes full
circle, leaving us with the
chilling final line, “I hate to
say it, but each other’s all we
got.”

— SAM ROSENBERG

“Pure Comedy”

Father John

Misty

Sub Pop Records

Keith Taylor:

“The Bird-

While”

January 27th @ 7

p.m.

Literati Bookstore

Free

D

“The Resurrection

of Gavin Stone”

WWE Studios

Rave Cinemas

It’s easy to see
how Christina

Ricci was chosen

to portray the

infamous
novelist

FILM REVIEW