Behind the Yashmak
2011; University of Oklahoma; Volume: 85; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/wlt.2011.0076
ISSN1945-8134
Autores Tópico(s)American Literature and Culture
ResumoJAZZ POETRY ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H Adrian Matejka isthe author of TheDevil'sGarden(AliceJames Books) and Mixology(Penguin), whichwas a winnerofthe 2008 National PoetrySeries. He is the recipientoftwo IllinoisArts Council Literary Awardsand fellowshipsfromCave Canem and the Lannan Foundation. Hisworkhas been featuredin AmericanPoetry Review,The BestAmericanPoetry 2010, and Ploughshares,among other journals and anthologies. He teaches at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. after theEsbjörn Svensson Trio Thepiano,thewayitmight havebeen whenthehusky veneer ofitslovelorn & chipped smilewasstill a tusk attached toanelephant ora shellstacked ontopofa turtle. Pianokey, snagged veil,treble clef fanned likea smile: windowdressing for this cantilevered moment ofswell& letdown. Thepiano needsfingers morethan sunglasses needsun.Fingers, as constant & ashy as thefirst stepoutofthetub, ocean reinventing itself bitbybitas puddled half notesinthehalf light. Themoment comesafter: woodbeneath fingers, magnanimous woodhitting strings with purpose likesunlight hitsskin. Thesamewaypianokeyshunker down for theinevitable bruising, wewillall getpokedintheeyebythesun'slong con.It'snobody's business, buteveryone getsblinded oncethey lookup. Q: How were you firstintroduced to jazz? A: The first time I remember hearing jazz was in Frankfurt, Germany.I was six,lounging with my mother on our busted-up olive couch. She had her arm covering her eyes, almost asleep. Myfatherwas lyingon the floorby the slidingdoor he'd cracked open so that he could smoke. He lefthiscigarette burningina green glass ashtrayon the balcony,farenough so the smoke stayed out, but close enough forhimto reach itwithoutgetting up. We were listeningto YusefLateef's Liveat Peps.The album cover was propped infrontofthe record playeras always: a sky-blue silhouette ofLateefplayinghisflute.Itwas myfather'sfavoritealbum, even though he had more than two thousand in his collection. My fatherloved Liveat Peps so much that he originallywanted to name me "Yusef." Mymotherrefused,saying,"You'renot naming myboy aftera dude who onlycut one good album." This is the place I wanted to include some improvised wisdom about jazz frommyfather,but there isn'tany. Shortlyafterthat afternoon,my parents split up and, in retaliationforhis philandering,my mother put a drop of superglue on everyone of myfather'srecords before puttingthem back intheirsleeves. She put a couple ofextra drops on Liveat Peps. Selections fromMatejka's Playlist Duke Ellington,Charles Mingus,and Max Roach, MoneyJungle(1962)« Esbjörn Svensson Trio,Viaticum(2005) Sun Ra,StrangeCelestialRoad (1980) WilliamParkerQuartet,Rainingon theMoon (2002) u LU < CO Ï Q. 321WorldLiterature Today« Miles Davis, Ina SilentWay(1969) ...
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