Sunday, May 16, 2010

The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny: Issa's Sunday Service, #51




Following the lead of Frank Zappa in his liner notes to We're Only in It for the Money, I'm going to recommend that you read Franz Kafka's "In the Penal Colony" before listening to "The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny."







Ah, now that's better, isn't it. Next week, if all goes well (which is a little joke I'm sharing with a few hundred of my closest friends), we'll be celebrating the first full year, 52 weeks, of Issa's Sunday Service. Stay tuned. Should the litrock continue?

Hmn.

This week's Lilliput feature poem comes from issue #77, March 1996. It's by Graham Duncan and it's one Kafka might have liked:



Fire Sermon
Steady there.
Mark this.
Tinder.
We are tinder
the world readies
for its spark.
Graham Duncan





And when it all shakes out, money, fire, and the whole damn thing, it's all down to this:







heat shimmers--
even horse shit
becomes money
Issa
translated by David G. Lanoue





best,
Don

5 comments:

Jim H. said...

That, Don, is now my favorite Issa poem. The pairing with Zappa & Kafka is genius. That's like having Musial, Mantle, and Aaron 2-3-4 in your batting order.

You ask, "Should Lit Rock continue?" Selfishly, I answer "Yes!"

Jim H. said...

And there's Graham Duncan, waiting in the six hole to keep the rally going.

Formidable.

Issa's Untidy Hut said...

Well, then, I guess it's unanimous ... oh, I'll wait and see if there are any other votes ...

Much thanks ... your enthusiasm always adds fuel to the fire.

Theresa Williams said...

Fire Sermon = fantastic

Issa's Untidy Hut said...

Glad you like, Theresa ...