alone
György Kurtág (1926-), from Signs, Games and Messages; Ensemble Musikfabrik (Hannah Weirich, violin), live, Cologne (Germany), 2020
**********
lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.

**********
reading table
Another year gone—
hat in my hand,
sandals on my feet.—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from the Japanese by Robert Hass
like nobody else
James Brown (1933-2006), live, Paris, 1968
**********
lagniappe
random sights
this morning, Oak Park, Ill.

**********
reading table
You shout from the other room
You ask me how to spell boogie-woogie
And instantly I think what luck
no war has been declared
no fire has consumed
our city’s monuments
our bodies our dwellings
The river didn’t flood
no friends
have been arrested
It’s only boogie-woogie
I sigh relieved
and say it’s spelled just like it sounds
boogie-woogie
—Adam Zagajewski (1945–2021), “Boogie-Woogie” (translated from the Polish by Clare Cavanagh)
spellbinding
Daniil Trifonov (1991-, piano), live, Verbier (Switzerland), 2012: Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849), Eight Études (Op. 10, No. 11; Op. 10, No. 6; Op. 25, No. 1; Op. 25, No. 5; Op. 10, No. 5; Op. 25, No. 6; Op. 25, No. 7; Op. 25, No. 11)
**********
lagniappe
reading table
Look, look greedily,
when dusk approaches,
look insatiably,
look without fear.—Adam Zagajewski (1945–2021), from “Mountains” (translated from the Polish by Clare Cavanagh)