Begin the Balsam

Background music: "Begin the Beguine" by Cole Porter.

While I was busy, the balsam began to bloom in my yard. I have sprinkled its seeds here and there, and it is beautiful. I am about to "unplug" for a week or so, to focus on The Language Archive, by Julia Cho, and to spend time with my family wamily. Meanwhile, the pink blossoms will pour out their beauty.

I didn't know what a Beguine was till I went to Wikipedia to learn a bit more about that lovely song. It's a Christian lay woman who did not marry. Now I want to know more, which is what always happens when I learn a little. Likewise, with L.L. Zamenhof, the inventor of Esperanto, the language of hope. We need more of that--hope, and a way to communicate beyond our divisions--in the world today. He tried so hard to help foster a world without war. Tonight I saw The Railway Man, a war movie about reconciliation. With Colin Firth. Enough said.

Here's some fun advice from Bitter Gertrude about what makes her happy with a new play. Having read several new plays lately, I tend to agree! Stop writing flat characters, stereotypes, and the "expected" in hopes of pleasing people and "selling" your work. Write the real, I advise!

And here's a short review of girl show, by Kristy Bowen, at Prick of the Spindle--my latest Poetry Cheerleader column. And over at Escape Into Life is a wonderful review, by Julie C. Graham, of Let Me Clear My Throat by Elena Passarello, all about voice. Literally, the voice. OK, back...to the future! Of the abundant pink balsam!