FIVE FOR WRITING - PART 2: Before I offer up the next two musical inspirations for my poetry, a few notes from underfoot. Many thanks to Peter Pereira for nominating my poem Spring Hill for Best Gay Poetry 2008. It wasn't selected, but I appreciate the gesture all the same. Not gay enough, I guess. On the other hand, I am gay enough to be included in the Encyclopedia of Contemporary LGBTQ Writers being compiled by Emmanuel Nelson, Professor of English at SUNY Cortland. It will be published by Greenwood Press in 2009. In a lovely twist, my friend and fellow poet Kate Evans is writing my entry and I am writing hers. I'm honored to included and looking forward to seeing the finished book. Okay, on to my musical choices.
Peter Gabriel led me to Anne Sexton in 1986 with the song Mercy Street, but his entire body of work has become indispensable to my writing. Here Comes the Flood is one of the most haunting, beautiful songs ever written and it never fails to move me. This clip is from 1979 when he performed the song on Kate Bush's BBC Christmas Special. That's her singing the intro where she calls him "the angel Gabriel." He is indeed.
U2 - Stay (Faraway, So Close)
I remember the first time I heard U2 back in the mid-80s and the brilliant album The Unforgettable Fire, which has the songs Bad, Pride (In the Name of Love), and A Sort of Homecoming. In 1987, The Joshua Tree album would become part of the soundtrack to my senior year of high school and the first love of my life. U2's work with my favorite director Wim Wenders has been some of their greatest and the theme to the Wings of Desire sequel, Faraway, So Close, is perfection.
Peter Gabriel - Here Comes The Flood
Peter Gabriel led me to Anne Sexton in 1986 with the song Mercy Street, but his entire body of work has become indispensable to my writing. Here Comes the Flood is one of the most haunting, beautiful songs ever written and it never fails to move me. This clip is from 1979 when he performed the song on Kate Bush's BBC Christmas Special. That's her singing the intro where she calls him "the angel Gabriel." He is indeed.
U2 - Stay (Faraway, So Close)
I remember the first time I heard U2 back in the mid-80s and the brilliant album The Unforgettable Fire, which has the songs Bad, Pride (In the Name of Love), and A Sort of Homecoming. In 1987, The Joshua Tree album would become part of the soundtrack to my senior year of high school and the first love of my life. U2's work with my favorite director Wim Wenders has been some of their greatest and the theme to the Wings of Desire sequel, Faraway, So Close, is perfection.
Comments
And two more great vids. I especially love the U2 one.