Unwrapping herself and finding the heart within
The last poem in Springfield poet Siobhan Pitchford’s new book, Through the Longing Daze, employs a pun in its title: “At Daze End.” The poems preceding it are much concerned with the comings and goings of her days; the maze she carves out of them is one worth walking through. In fact, the poet seems…
Son of a gun
Everybody has a story. Take my husband. His story features a Triumph Spitfire and a near-fatal encounter with a hefty opossum. My pop has a story about finding true love with his girlfriend from grade school at the age of 62. I have a story that involves two dead guys named Dusty and my childhood…
sound patrol 10-28-04
Björk may be the most unpopular pop star alive. Sure, she had a gigantic hit single in her native Iceland when she was 11 years old, and she’s sold millions of records over the subsequent decades. She earned critical praise and several award nominations for her film debut in Lars von Trier’s Dancer in the…
quick takes 10-28-04
ALL YOU CAN BE Need info on how to avoid getting sucked into war? Bill Ruhaak, a veteran of the Illinois Army Reserve, offers advice at an event on Wednesday sponsored by Pax Christi Springfield, a local Roman Catholic peace group. Ruhaak, a reservist from 1964-70, is a 1995 graduate of the Diocese of Joliet…
backstage pass 10-28-04
Halloween is here, and it seems that theater practitioners have decided to produce more than the usual haunted-house fare this year. First, the Roxy Group has created an original show of its own, a musical revue titled Halloween Dreams that plays Friday-Sunday, Oct. 29-31, at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. The show, directed by…
Trick or Treat?
This Tuesday, ballots will be cast in what has been billed the most important presidential election in generations. Voter registration across the nation is at an all-time high. Hundreds of millions of dollars have beenspent to sway voters; tens of thousands of attorneys are being deployed to states to safeguard against Election Day shenanigans. All…
music notes 10-28-04
• Lovers of bluegrass music should be clogging in their bibs right now, excited as they can be about shows headed for Mr. Lincoln’s hometown. On Nov. 12, Drew Emmitt of alt-bluegrass band Leftover Salmon (now on hiatus) picks his way to the Hoogland Center for the Arts (217-523-2787). The Greater Downstate Indoor Bluegrass Music…
now playing 10-28-04
What’s so scary about Halloween? Let’s dig a little deeper in the grave and find out, shall we? Halloween is actually All Hallows Eve, the night before All Hallows (or Saints) Day, so it’s like turning the night before Thanksgiving into a special celebration (which, by the way, is now the biggest bar night of…
movie review
Ray Charles was exceptional; Ray reminds us why Jamie Foxx delivers an astoundingly rich performance as Ray Charles, a musical legend who overcame a childhood of almost debilitating poverty, the loss of his eyesight at age 7, and the racism of the Deep South. Working from a script by James L. White and collaborating with…
All things cucurbita
Hot on the heels of her acclaimed book on melons, horticulturist Amy Goldman is out with The Compleat Squash,a new book that features 150 varieties of pumpkins, gourds, and squashes, including detailed descriptions of their history, taste, texture, and recommended uses. An advocate of agricultural biodiversity and organic growing methods, Goldman made sure to provide…
common sense 10-28-04
Everywhere I travel, I hear the cries of anxious progressives who fear that President George W. Bush is about to be elected. “The polls, the polls,” they wail, pointing to constant reports that the election is nip and tuck. Let me say it plainly: The polls are horse hockey. And George W. Bush is a…
Master’s voice
Two days after “Your Hometown News Source” aired parts of an anti-John Kerry documentary, “The Oldest Newspaper in IllinoisTM” republished an editorial endorsement of President George W. Bush that first appeared in a sister paper in California. The State Journal-Register editorial, which ran in the newspaper’s Sunday, Oct. 24, editions, was an abridged version of…
letters 10-28-04
Letters policy We welcome letters, but please include your full name, address and a daytime telephone number. We edit all letters for libel, length and clarity. Send letters to: Letters, Illinois Times. P.O. Box 5256. Springfield, Illinois 62705. Fax: (217) 753-3958. E-mail: editor@illinoistimes.com A MATTER OF LOCAL SECURITY I read Fletcher Farrar’s column “Not another…
Still waters
Who has not gazed upon picture-book renderings of Ephesus, Rome, Tyre, Machu Picchu, Stonehenge, and other fantastic sites of archaeological remains and not wondered about the civilizations that inhabited those places? No one who is interested in history can view the pillars of a once-great temple, or a paved roadway that in its day was…
What’d I say?
Many folks give President George W. Bush (a.k.a. Dubya) grief for mangling the English language. Truth is, Dubya comes by the trait honestly. His father, President George H.W. Bush (a.k.a. Poppy), was also a notorious misspeaker. Below are a series of quotations from Poppy, Dubya, and (just to make things interesting) former Vice President Dan…
Obamarama
Because most of you had other priorities — such as watching the Cardinals dispose of the Astros — I figured I’d do my civic duty and tell you about another thrilling match-up last Thursday night: the second debate between U.S. Senate candidates Barack Obama and Alan Keyes. The first Obama-Keyes debate, held at the Old…
people’s poetry 10-28-04
The Falling of the Year Autumn. sweet sad quiet. evoking memories Captured sunlight falls to earth in leaf-shapes Summer sheds her clothes for sleep A season’s bounty cached in earthern mounds in shelved glass, in zero cold We copy creatures of the saving-kind Leaf-smoke echoes elder days when fragrant hearthfires warmed away the chill of…
“More arrows”
Students and professors at University of Illinois at Springfield could soon experience campus life without the help of secretaries, food service workers, and janitors, if mediation between their union and UIS administration fails to reach a satisfactory settlement. Members of the UIS chapter of University Professionals of Illinois Local 4100 voted unanimously Monday night to…
Aliens have arrived. Now eat them.
Have you noticed the large crate of strange-looking green, orange, and yellow fruits that showed up recently at the supermarket? These tough-skinned beauties are winter squash. Not only do they make fetching table decorations, but they can also be used in many recipes. Winter squash are harvested when the fruit is mature, the rind is…
Knoepfle 10-28-04
notebook poem #4 we make the best of what we can given how grave the times are all the pumpkins are smiling © John Knoepfle 2004
