Issa's Untidy Hut: George Orwell

Sunday, June 19, 2011

I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor: Issa's Sunday Service, #106

This is a day for rocking out, if delayed by a week. Here's the 2nd appearance of the pop/rock band with as many hooks per album as your average fly fisherwoman has in her tackle box: the Arctic Monkeys. At first listening, it would seem there is an allusion to Orwell's "1984" but, upon closer inspection, this seems spurious - I'm not remembering too many robots in that lit classic, especially dancing to electro-pop. However, as I was about to abandon all hope, up popped the line "Oh, there ain't no love, no Montagues or Capulets" ... and, though this may seem a bit like "Newsflash: Generalissimo Francisco Franco, Still Dead," it'll do.

So, what about these robots and electro-pop and dance floors? Well, maybe it's not a lit allusion in the Arctic Monkey's song, but perhaps pop citing pop:

---------------------------------

This week's poems come from Lilliput Review, #87, April 1997. They came back to back on pages 5 and 6 of this issue and have an interesting kinship. Enjoy.

On Padre Island
   Alone on the beach
   watching the waves dissolve your name
   remembering

   Single gull dives
   impressing on the sand grains
   a fleeting shadow

Barbara Tieken

Dad
   He's the one told me
   "Never write your name
   in the sand; the sea
   will come and take it away
   and what would we call you
   after that

   B. Kim Meyer

my dead mother--
every time I see the ocean
every time..

Issa
translated by David G. Lanoue

best,

Don

PS Get 2 free issues Get 2 more free issues Lillie poem archive

Send a single haiku for the Wednesday Haiku feature. Here's how.

Go to the LitRock web site for a list of all 107 songs

Subscribe to Lilliput Review

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Animal in Man: Issa's Sunday Service, #88

This week's selection is one of many songs that make reference to the work of Eric Blair, otherwise known by the pen name George Orwell, this one being possibly the most powerful and most relevant to his original message. "Animal Farm" is every bit as political and vile as "1984," and Dead Prez underscores this loud and clear.

In "Animal in Man," all the characters names remain the same except Mister Jones, the farmer, who is transformed into Sammy, and we all know whose Uncle he is.

The revolution will not be televised.

The British made a fine full-length animated version of "Animal Farm" in which no punches were pulled. If you have one hour and eleven minutes, treat yourself. If you'd just like a taste, here is the first ten minutes:

Hallmark Entertainment did a live action version but we are not going there. The Kinks also have a song called "Animal Farm," a million miles from Orwell, so we won't go there today either; perhaps, later in a different installment, from a different point of view.

----------------------

Rita Cummings pointed out this excellent feature on Issa done at Haiku Chronicles. While listening to the audio, you can follow along the text with this .pdf. Anita Virgil does not avoid the tough questions about Issa, right from the get-go. In addition, she admits when she's been wrong; it doesn't get much better than that for me.

---------------------

Keep the poems coming for the Wednesday Haiku @ Issa's Untidy Hut feature. Details may be found here.

---------------------

This week's feature poems come from Lilliput Review, #111, July 2000 from two masters of the short poem. Enjoy.

2 Reasons To Get Up

The sun shining through the parched rice grass.
The rice letting it.