Robert Parigi is best known as the writer and director of award-winning cult horror film Love Object. As a producer, his diverse credits include animation (King of the Hill, Beavis and Butthead), genre series Profiler and Tales from the Crypt, and most recently, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. It is my pleasure to bring our readers a more intimate look at the man who has helped entertain the masses.

Where did you grow up? What do you love most about the place you came from?

I loved the bayous, overgrown with Spanish moss. The Southeast Texas State fair, with its atmosphere of exotic danger (which I found out later from my good friend Johnny “Czar of the Bizarre” Meah was quite real; the fix was in and the Fair was notoriously corrupt). I took for granted the great bbq and Tex-Mex food (the only decent bbq I’ve found in L.A. imports its sauce from Austin). And I was fascinated by the statuary and ritual at the Catholic church I attended growing up. One of the first videos I made detailed the inner workings of a local Aeolian Skinner pipe organ.

What were you like as a child? Did you always have an active imagination?

I was a weird kid. I’m still a weird kid; I just look like a grown-up. I made gelatin scars out of the classic Dick Smith Famous Monsters make-up book so I could creep out an air conditioner repair man by lurking while he worked. Once I sneaked into a department store mannequin window. Two old ladies walked past; when only one was looking I would move, but then kept still whenever she convinced her friend to look.

Were you always drawn to things of a darker nature?

Always. One of my earliest memories is seeing House of Frankenstein on TV.

What were some of your favorite television shows early on?

This was before the mainstreaming of genre, before the internet, even before home video, so movies were always more important to me than television. Television was rarely weird enough.

My favorites by far were the classic Universal horrors that showed on Saturday afternoon. And classic Termite Terrace era Looney Tunes, Fleischer Bros. Popeye with their kitchen sink surrealism, old Republic serials like King of the Rocket Men, Flash Gordon, The Purple Monster Strikes. Everything I loved was vintage, so I’ve always felt dislocated from current things.

The CBS Late Night Movie showed great AIP films from the 1970s. Abominable Dr. Phibes, Haunting of Hell House, Frogs, The Devil’s Rain, and others re-ran frequently, along with the original Planet of the Apes films and made-for-TV classics like Trilogy of Terror, Dan Curtis’ Dracula with Jack Palance, Frankenstein: The True Story, , Gargoyles.

I stayed up until 4am once to watch the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which became especially creepy the next day as I struggled to stay awake during school.

Which do you think influenced you most to do what you do now?

Anything that was weird or unusual, usually in re-runs of older programs. Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Addams Family, The Munsters. The Prisoner fascinated me, especially the Rovers that patrolled the Village.  Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Wild Wild West (steam-punk before there was a name for it). I liked the weird monsters in Star Trek (the original series), but was always bored with all the moralizing. Why did Kirk have to destroy the Tiki planet?

A local affiliate celebrated their anniversary by airing the original programming from their first night of broadcast back in the 1950s. I loved the Ernie Kovaks clips, One Step Beyond, and a bizarre first-person POV show called The Continental (later parodied on Saturday Night Live). That really gave me an idea that TV could be far stranger than the shows we see today.

Is it true you used to spend hours on end at the Tyrrell Public Library in Texas? What was that like?

It was the closest thing to the gothic castles I loved in the Universal horror films, and it was air conditioned, so I loved going there during summer vacations. It also has a two or three story spiral staircase. Of course, I had to roll down it once, and made it all the way to the bottom without cracking my skull. And as an older building, formerly a church, it was built of solid masonry. That in itself was fascinating, in a world of flimsy modern buildings.

Do you think with all the modern technology available that people are missing out on the full experience of books and libraries?

Absolutely. Here’s something I noticed recently at a museum, but it applies to libraries as well. I was visiting a new-style museum designed to “engage” kids. When I was a kid, I always hated things that talked down to me. I think most kids feel that way. All the kids visiting this museum-turned-playground were running wild and trashing the joint. The displays were tacky and the interaction was lame. It felt like a soiled Chuck E. Cheese.

I went across the street to the old-style Natural History Museum, all neo-classical galleries, funereal taxidermy diorama, and dinosaur skeletons. Unlike the “fun” museum, this one was dark. It required respect before it would offer up its secrets. It whispered rather than shouted. The kids wandered in awed silence, looking at the great dead things. Far more engaged by mystery, than by banality.I wager they will always remember their visit to this old museum, and instantly forgot the time wasted at the modern one.

I think it is the same with libraries and other brick-and-mortar cultural institutions. In an increasingly materialistic and literal world, these are the last remaining sacred spaces. The last engines we have for generating awe.

A recent article online proposed a new role for libraries in the digital age, since they are supposedly rendered obsolete by the internet. Libraries should become community centers where people would meet, and inventories of tools (like 3D printers) and services (like wireless internet access).

How horrible is this bland vision for our future! There is no space for the individual, since you no longer go to the library for the private activities of reading and research, but to join a group of others in a meeting. There is no value for ideas, only for things that can be used more cheaply than elsewhere. And this article was written by a librarian advocating this approach! How would Charles Forte ever write his books in such a library?

Were you a fan of Tales from the Crypt before you went to work on the series? What was that experience like?

Absolutely. I saved up for all the Russ Cochran reprints of the E.C. Library. Al Feldstein and “Ghastly” Graham Ingles were my favorite artists from the horror titles. Even before that, I was a MAD Magazine fan:  Don Martin, Al Jaffe, SPY vs SPY. Later, I learned that MAD was the only E.C. title that survived the 1950s witch-hunts against horror and crime comics. That must have inspired E.C. impresario/publisher William M. Gaines’ skepticism and distrust of authority, which I absorbed from MAD. E.C. and horror ultimately had its revenge. History, and more importantly art, remember William Gaines and the horror and crime comics. Even third rate pre-code horrors are available in hardcover reprints now, while the only purpose Estes Kefauver and Frederic Wertham serve are as petty villains in the story of horror’s ultimate victory.

Tales from the Crypt was an incredible show, so many amazing actors, directors, and composers to work with. I even got to meet William Gaines over the phone! He had a big, fun, voice that perfectly matched his caricatures in MAD.

Walter Hill was one of our executive producers, and directed several episodes. He’s the only person I’ve met who could quote Goethe’s Faust from memory, and also identify the Tor Johnson mask I had in my office!

When did you first know you wanted to work in film and television?

Famous Monsters of Filmland reprinted some Popular Mechanics diagrams from the 1920s and 1930s illustrating how Willis H. O’Brien did the visual effects for The Lost World and King Kong. The illustrations were so clear, I realized I could make movies, too. I started experimenting with a Super 8mm camera.

Of all the shows you have worked on is there one you enjoyed more than the others or have you loved them all equally? 

I most enjoyed making Love Object, the feature I wrote and directed. The perfect conclusion to that project was receiving the International Critics’ Prize at Gerardmer, which was presented to me by Christopher Lee! I had brought a pair of vampire fangs to joke around with him, but I was too much in awe.

I always love working on horror projects like Tales from the Crypt. And Beavis and Butt-head was exceptionally fun. Mike Judge, John Altschuler, and Dave Krinsky are great talents and very fun to work with. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is great, but my non-disclosure agreement prevents me from saying much.

Every show is a chance to learn. On smaller shows like Dark Skies or Profiler, I first learned to direct on second unit shoots, and learned about visual effects while shooting video effects plates for Freddy’s Nightmares.

How do you think the industry has changed most since you first started your career?

Digital piracy has almost completely destroyed the small-to-medium scale budgets that made unusual movies possible. All my favorite genre films land in this range, with budgets large enough to hire the skilled artisans who provide production value, but small enough to require imagination and unique vision from the film makers. Think of Cronenberg, Carpenter, and Lynch’s movies from the 1980s and 1990s.

Currently, the only business models that make financial sense are poverty-row found footage movies, and gigantic, dumb CGI spectacles. Everything in between is lost.

I’m hoping VOD and streaming services will soon provide a home for odd yet well-made niche movies. But that may just be wishful thinking.

What do you hope your viewers take away from your various works?

I hope I can share some glimpse of the weird. That’s not always possible on work-for-hire producing gigs, but you look for opportunities. It’s why I look forward to directing more films.

On Dark Skies and season 3 of Profiler, I designed the main titles on spec and pitched them to the shows. Dark Skies ‘main titles were inspired by Tribulation 99, an experimental film by Craig Baldwin, and Profiler was a mini-giallo. Profiler, was fun, since I got to shoot the original footage, and KNB (who do the make-up effects for The Walking Dead) made the creepy doll-head that we feature.

It has also been great to work with director William Malone.  We met back on Freddy’s Nightmares, when I noticed how much better were his dailies than ever other director. We’ve been friends ever since, and worked on Tales from the Crypt. His episode for Sleepwalkers was so disturbing, NBC moved it later in the air schedule! This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it gave Bill and I time to give his extra time and attention.  We brought on a special composer for his episode (Frank Becker), and Bill and I shot additional inserts with his own cameras and effects lenses. Bill shot an amazing scene with the sets painted in negative colors. We filmed our lead actress, Naomi Watts, walking through the set, then reversed the color values during processing. She appeared in negative image and the set looked normal! All in-camera, with no digital effects.

What was the best advice anyone ever gave you? Who was it?

I’ve been fortunate to work with many great mentors, who have given me great advice on life, the industry, art, and everything in between. But the best advice can’t be printed.

So here’s an example that says a lot about the industry. We were having a meeting to discuss preview screening notes and titles for Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight. At the end of the meeting, I pitch an idea for the end credit crawl: “Wouldn’t it be cool if we include an end credit like ‘The Crypt Keeper will return in Tales from the Crypt Presents whatever title.’ Just like the end of Buckaroo Banzai!” Joel Silver’s head pivots in my direction like a tank turret, and he blasts “Don’t ever compare my movie to a loser!” I was baffled at first, because I love Buckaroo Banzai. But it didn’t make any money, so in Joel’s eyes it was a loser.

That was an important lesson to learn, and good advice for anyone pitching an idea in Hollywood.  Maybe I should have compared the end credit tease to “Just like the end of a James Bond movie!”

Regardless of Joel’s disregard for Buckaroo Banzai, or my pitch, they did use my idea for the end credits. So it’s not just the idea that counts, it’s how you sell it.

How does your work differ when working on animated series?

The sense of time and detail is completely different. Live-action TV series are fast and furious. Their beauty has the vivid color and strokes of a watercolor, or the quick, expressive line of ink drawings and Chinese calligraphy.

Live-action movies are like oil paintings. The attention to detail is very fine, and the materials are worked slowly for cumulative effect over a much longer period of time.

Animation is even more detail-oriented and even slower. It’s like pouring concrete. You have to plan the foundation perfectly or the whole project is ruined.

Animators are also very like puppeteers. The best animators on Beavis and Butt-head and King of the Hill reminded me of the puppeteers who operated the Crypt-Keeper.

Are there any little known things about you that your fans might be surprised to learn?

I got to see Vincent Price when I was a kid. He was performing one of his college lecture tours, “The Villain Still Pursues Me.” My father taught economics at the university, so he took me to see the show. I got to ask Mr. Price a question from the audience, about playing the Invisible Man in The Invisible Man Returns, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, and afterwards he autographed an issue of Famous Monsters which I still have.

Seeing a famous monster in real life was an amazing experience for a kid like me. And Mr. Price also inspired my life-long interest in art.

What would you say is the craziest thing you have ever done?

The craziest thing I’ve ever done was getting into this business! I dropped out of a philosophy doctorate, with no industry connections or training, hopped a plane from New York City to L.A., and started looking for work.

Do you have a dream project you would most like to bring into existence?

Chrome Gothic is my ultimate dream project. It is the reason I came to Hollywood, to someday make this movie. It’s my favorite script of everything I’ve written, and has everything I love in one story: hot rods, mad scientists, mutants, romance, action. Extravagant gore and ornate perversion.

It’s like The Little Mermaid, with organ transplants. And surgery cults. And car crashes.

What projects are you working on at the moment?

I’m shopping a slate of genre films, ranging from artsploitation like Love Object to multiplex creature-features, with several strange detours in between.

Also, I’ve just written two motion comics for one of the “Masters of Horror” directors with his own company. Again, contracts prevent my mentioning names. One is a four-chapter graphic novel, very gory and perverse. The other is a one-chapter mood piece: imagine if Robbe-Grillet had directed a kaiju eiga in the early 1960s.

The art for the 4-chapter work is currently being colored and animated, and should be online in 2015.  We’re looking for an artist for the one-chapter, who can delivery good girl art, architectural detail, monsters, and machinery. Most artists specialize in just one, so I’m thinking about finding multiple artists to draw different elements on the same pages.

And a TV series I created is starting to heat up. I made up a storyline into which I could dump all of my weirdest obsessions, and now with genre shows doing so well, it might happen.

What do you think is the key to a life well lived?

Never give up your passions. In the real world, this means finding a balance between living your passion, and working to provide the material basis for doing so. But it is always important to never lose sight of why you are working: to fulfill your passion.

What are your feelings on death and the afterlife and such?

Even if there is an afterlife, it seems irrelevant. All of the passions and goals and memories that make me what I am are in this world. If anything survives the body, whatever it is will not be “me” in any significant sense, so who cares? All that matters is the here and now.

This makes our time and our decisions that much more important:  all you have is one take. Make it count.

This is also why art is so important.  It is the only way we have to leave behind something meaningful.

martinwittfooth.com/

Vernon Shank has long been known as the undertaker of the fine town of Great Bend. Recently he has been promoted to the vastly impressive job of Medical Examiner and has done brief stints as a deputy, starting during the town’s smallpox outbreak. A man of few words he is mysteriously macabre.

Do the Shanks have a long history with the town of Great Bend?

My Grandfather, Ezekial Shank, was thrown out of the Quaker Church in Branson Missouri for what documents say was “inappropriate use of scarecrow”. Ezekial intended to travel to St. Louis to relocate but had a remarkably bad sense of direction and ended up running out of food just outside Great Bend.

Did you have a fascination with the macabre early on or is your current profession one chosen out of necessity?

My father was an inventor and tinkerer and had an interest in taxidermy. In fact, unbeknownst to me he had my mother stuffed when I was young and I learned about it six years later. Boy we had a good laugh. I really thought she just loved sitting in that rocking chair. I enjoy experimenting with cosmetics and I’m very good at building crates. Undertaking seemed like a perfect fit.

What dreams lie within the mind of a man who works with the dead? Do you ever wish for a more distinguished life? Where do you see yourself when you are old?

Oh no, I’m a simple man. I very much enjoy the time I spend with myself in my ‘creating shed’. I like playing with different aspects of cosmetics. I also have a fairly elaborate doll collection and have just started sewing and needle-point. Also, I host a ‘game-night’ on the second Tuesday of every month.

How did it feel to be promoted from the Undertaker of Great Bend, Kansas to Medical Examiner?

I don’t always adapt to “change” very well so it was a little scary. Plus, I sometimes get a little fuzzy eared when Sheriff Hoyle is talking so I think some important information got lost in translation.

Do you really care much what people think of you due to your line of work?

No. I’ve been teased most of my life. In school, some of the other children called me “poke rat” and “boogie trout” because I didn’t look like everyone else. There was also an incident where I was caught in a barn with an alpaca goat that people really rushed to judgement on. That wasn’t fair but I learned to deal with it. I’ve become immune to some of the mean things people say.

Were you surprised to see Hoyle take a bite of that apple found in Mr. Webb’s stomach?

Nothing that Hoyle does really “surprises” me. Although I was scheduled to go to his house for dinner that week and I cancelled.

What is the strangest thing you have seen over the course of your career working with the dead?

I remember working on old Abner Treman and did a lovely job prepping him for burial. He had a big shock of lovely red hair that he was very proud of and I styled it beautifully. When I woke up the next day it was parted on the opposite side and the comb was in his hand. Brr…

Did you have anything to do with Hoyle’s shoot out with the Younger’s that nearly killed him on the day you had picked for the Sheriff’s Death Pool?

That’s a beautiful shirt you’re wearing.

How did it feel to have to open a man up with so little medical experience? Did you ever find out what part that was you took out of Hoyle and put in that Mason jar?

I think opening a man up has less to do with ‘learning’ and more to do with the right attitude. And that I have. And I have no idea what that little thing was but I should probably find out because I’m pretty sure it ended up in an omelet. I really need to separate my kitchen from my workspace…

Does it feel rewarding to be one of the few Great Bendians who owns his own business establishment?

Yes, but I’m not thrilled with my location. Right now I’m sharing storage space with Mr. Hovennian’s textile shop and he hogs all the parking with his stupid carriage. He’s a terrible parker.

You have been accused of moving that watering trough when Jeremiah Dunlop leapt to his death. Do you sometimes have to take measures to drum up business when things get slow?

People made a big stink of that, but they fail to mention that I am on the town’s civic planning committee and I moved the trough to free up maypole space in front of the saloon. I mean, come on. I’m not a monster.

Did losing your mother at the age of six affect your psyche to this day? Did her experience with spiders make you somewhat arachnophobic?

She had a fairly stern expression even before the paralysis from the spider bite but that really took it to a new level. Add that to the facial droop she got after being stuffed and it was pretty spooky. I don’t think it has affected my relationships with women, though.

Were you nervous going into Cole Younger’s hideout dressed as a woman? Was it the first time you had done such a thing? Did help bring you more in touch with your feminine side?

First time? I mean, of course, how would it have happened any other time? I mean, that was like such a strange scenario that would never…could never have even happened before I don’t know what you’re…are you implying…I mean…oh my look at the time I need to get to an appointment thanks so much for talking don’t hesitate to ask any more…bye.

Prudence

Grotto

Philter

Abyss

Circe

Severed Wing

Luke was born in 1982 in Minneapolis.  In 2006 he left his work as a land surveyor and began painting full time, with Rembrandt and Odd Nerdrum books open next to an empty canvas.  He immersed himself in apprenticeship, later studying with Nerdrum, and traveled to museums and studios around the world to learn from the paintings of the old Masters whose tradition he seeks to follow.

Using the palette of the Ancient Greek painter Apelles Luke paints friends and a collection of taxidermied animals, illustrating the primal beauty of humans at their most noble with narratives that center on themes of death, kinship, ritual, and wilderness.

Luke Hillestad is represented by The Rymer Gallery in Nashville, the L’oeil du Prince Gallery in Paris, and Flanders and Rogue Buddha galleries in Minneapolis. His work has also been exhibited in Florida, Chicago, Norway, and Germany.

lukehillestad.com

Nightshade Gazal

Mother can no longer eat from the family of nightshades—

peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, all verboten, nightshades

make arthritis worse, stiffness cumbersome. In Hades

her girls lost half the year, down there, with the shades.

Call her Demeter, still, mother can no more imbibe

of sun berry than drink a potion from foxglove, nightshade

the color of indigo, ink dripping into her heart. Eradicate

her sadness, her endless grief, still she will refuse nightshades

when the waiter comes in his stiff whites to take her order.

She’ll explain, as if it were a story, how it started. Nightshades—

once her favorite vegetables, completely gone, the diet

works for her, and all is well in the garden of Eden, nightshades

aside. Mother me or what I will become in these two decades,

my own version of mother, her stories, her family, nightshade.

Judith Skillman’s new collections are Broken Lines—The Art & Craft of Poetry (Lummox Press, 2013), and The Phoenix—New and Selected Poems 2007 – 2013 (Dream Horse Press). Her poems have appeared in Poetry, Prairie Schooner, FIELD, The Midwest Quarterly, The Iowa Review, The Southern Review, A Cadence of Hooves, and other journals and anthologies. She is the recipient of grants from the Academy of American Poets, the Washington State Arts Commission, the Centrum Foundation, and the King County Arts Commission. She teaches for Yellow Wood Academy.

See judithskillman.com.

Pearl Starr is best known as the daughter of the infamous wild and reckless outlaw Belle Starr. She also gained notoriety as the girlfriend of the lawless bad boy Frank James. Pearl has gone on to becoming one of the hardest working women in the town of Great Bend where she works tirelessly to make the town a generally all around happier place.

What was it like growing up with a mother like Belle? What are your some of your most fond memories of those times?

I guess it was like anyone else’s childhood: full of resentment and inadequacy. My most fond memory of her is when she’d go to sleep. Because she’d stop talking about herself. Unless she talked in her sleep, and then you were in for another 8 hours.

What did you love about her most?

Her face. Because it was different enough from mine where I could get away with saying we weren’t related if I didn’t feel like dealing with the ”Oh my god, BELLE STARR IS YOUR MOTHER?!” conversation.

What do you think is the most important thing she taught you?

“Don’t smile like that. You’ll get wrinkles.”

What was it like being the girlfriend of Frank James? Was it the lure of fame and fortune that first attracted you to him or was it his personality?

I think Frank and I were like any other couple. If you like fishing, you want to find someone else who also enjoys fishing. If you like robbing banks and the rush of dodging bullets as you gallop away with enough money to buy yourself anything you could ever dream of…you wanna find someone who enjoys that, too. And it didn’t hurt that we looked good together on a Wanted Poster. Nothing good ever lasts with outlaws…it was still fun, though.

Why do you think so many women seem to be initially attracted to men that carry those sort of bad boy traits?

I think most women like the fact that they’re with a man who isn’t by the book, who’s “dangerous”. Does things that are illegal and exciting. I think they like being close to danger without having to do it themselves…but I liked finding someone to be in the danger with. My mom always said, two people robbing a bank is better than one. Not that I’d do that anymore…that would be illegal. And bad. And wouldn’t give you the best rush you’ve ever felt in your life. And…really bad.

What did you think when you first saw the town of Great Bend?

“This place smells like a giant turtle turd.”

Did you ever imagine you would be living there?

Not even in my worst nightmares.

How has your life changed most since you’ve settled in to the small town?

Well, I went from being a member of essentially an all-male group of hardcore criminals to living with a handful of prostitutes. With the gang, if someone did something you didn’t like, you’d shoot them. With the ladies at Honey’s, if you do something wrong…no one tells you. But tiny passive-aggressive notes start popping up everywhere. On your vanity. In the outhouse. On your face when you wake up. I miss the shooting, it was a lot less painful.

What is the most outlandish thing you have seen during your time there?

I had a customer ask me about how I was “feeling” once.

What do you love most about living in Great Bend?

I feel like love is a strong word when talking about Great Bend. I guess I like some of the people…Honey’s really great. Hoyle is…a lot. Eli has a nice face. Wanda smells like my grandma, which is oddly comforting.

What do you find most challenging about your current career?

Taking a vacation. Redheads are in high demand and supply is limited. Also, I’m double jointed. So you can imagine.

Why do most of the women who work at Honey’s saloon seem to keep their gloves on a lot? Is that to establish some sort of protective barrier between you and your work?

It’s the same reason we don’t kiss customers on the mouth: it’s just not sanitary. Can you imagine having sex with people and actually touching them with your bare hands? That’s disgusting.

Do you think your particular line of work helps somewhat lighten the mood and improve the dispositions of the citizens of Great Bend?

I think it definitely takes people’s minds off of the fact that they live in a barren wasteland of a town and that their lives are pretty much meaningless. So, yeah.

Is there a certain freedom that comes from working at the saloon and being able to pay your own way? What advice would you offer women in regards to having your own career?

It definitely beats relying on someone else to buy you food or a hat or something. I don’t like having to ask anyone for anything. I was raised where if you wanted something, you have to steal it yourself…or, yeah, buy it, I guess. But ladies, pick something to do that you can actually make a decent living out of. Like making your own whiskey. Or bank robbing. Or prostitution. Those are careers that’ll go somewhere.

Were you surprised to learn that John Henry Hoyle was your step-father? Does it feel good to have at least some sort of family left?

I was definitely surprised that Hoyle was in any way, shape or form related to me. Definitely not my mom’s type. There was about 10 seconds of my life where I thought there was a possibility of him actually being my father. Those were the scariest 10 seconds of my life. But honestly, he is probably the best father figure I have. Mostly because he’s the only one who hasn’t tried to murder me. So that’s nice.

Do you think people tend to underestimate you given your roots?

I think I’ve been here long enough where people forget who I was before I went straight. Sometimes it’s good to give them a little reminder…

What aspirations and dreams do you hold for your future?

I’m trying hard to do this “normal” thing. So. I guess to have normal things…like living in one place for a long time. And laughing at jokes people make even if they’re not funny. And not poisoning anyone. Yeah…I can’t wait for that.

Are the any little known things about you that our readers might be surprised to learn?

I can’t read. But I AM an excellent shot. So I feel like that evens things out.

Do you have anything else you’d like to say?

Cuddling IS extra. I’m tired of having to repeat that.

Road with Cypress and Star by Vincent Van Gogh

The Tuscan Cypress and Van Gogh

I. THE VERY WORD CYPRESS

Into English, from Greek and/or Latin.

Where from there? Hebrew “gopher”: Noah’s tree,

sweet and long-lived? Or, along other trails:

“camphor”? ; “brush”? Still what’s in a name? Different

species vie. Same name” “Monterey cypress.”

Other names: China’s five varieties.

No names for cypresses go back far enough.

II.THE ROUTE

Chums, the cypresses and the Etruscans

first traveled through Iran and Syria;

then the island called after them, Cyprus.

They settled at last in self-named Tuscany.

III. MULTIPURPOSE

Trees of death encircling cemeteries,

thin straight-down roots respectful of tombstones,

the very caskets made from their sweet wood.

Though survivors too, living centuries,

staying green year-round, deflecting bad winds,

life’s guardians via its countless forms of

boundaries, Stonehenge-like telling of

folk-tales and for assorted church doings,

heat-providers with thick fuel even when

excavated from long-past extinctions.

IV. R.L. STEVENSON, VAN GOGH

How about the trees in themselves? R.L.

Stevenson flubbed. His title characters

in “Cypresses” hark back three millenia

to the Etruscans, At least, Van Gogh skipped

God, and didn’t look on them as upside down

humanity. They’re not now even real

trees. Mostly at night, grouped or solitary,

pulsating, emitting warmth and feeling,

transgressing barriers between the senses.

V. ALAS, POOR TUSCAN CYPRESS

“This wondrous mysterious tree has…,”

yes, the Tuscan cypress has a fungal canker.

Goodbye too to its black ash cousin, ground into

by the emerald bore. Their last century.

Oh to be a cockroach or a bedbug,

likely several more extinctions to go.

Wrong track? Rebaptize, waiting in the wings,

the canker-immune Bolgheri cypress?

And there are other hues of ashes. Don’t

say die. Allow, green, blue, and white a chance.

Ecosystems live, woodpeckers change tastes.

VI. GEORGE G. MALLORY

Wrong track bis! Alas, beloved Vincent!

Stars galore, cypresses a gogo, fields.

Where would Vincent be otherwise, or we?

No, another flag! Those themes were just aids,

drawing him on, ways to share, soothe, recount

a message he didn’t quite know himself,

the pulpit not having worked out at all…

For fun! Let George G. Mallory(Everest fame)

play the short-tempered Vincent Van Gogh.

(By one year they lived the same lifetime!)

“Why do you paint stars and trees so often?”

“Because they’re there!”

Featuring poems by Maya Angelou, Norman Mailer, James Dean, John Gilmore, Tony Curtis, and many, many other talented poets of our time, Volume 4 of Van Gogh’s Ear is now available for the extraordinary price of $7.00(USD/Can) and $5.00(Euro). To order please see: http://www.frenchcx.com/press/van-goghs-ear-volume-4/

Volume four of Van Gogh’s Ear: Best World Poetry and Prose is now to be experienced! A powerful poem for peace by one of the great voices of contemporary literature, Maya Angelou, seizes the soul; Margaret Atwood’s insightful, often amusing essay on poetics inspires; Beat legend Carolyn Cassady’s intriguing new prose piece explores the energies that create and sustain all life; a high-speed letter from Beat icon Neal Cassady sweeps one away with his thoughts on Intellect and the arts; acclaimed renaissance man Leonard Cohen’s poem excites both the imagination and emotions; James Dean’s hardhitting poem gives a brutal glimpse into the acidic mixture of love and hate the legendary actor had for his father (a scan of Dean’s actual poem appears with photos from a private collection); John Gilmore’s snuff poem for Elizabeth Short“The Kiss of the Black Dahlia” churns the blood; Norman Mailer’s tasty “If Poetry Is The Food” will not only have you salivating for more, but on an inward journey beyond flesh and bone; Bangladesh poet Taslima Nasrin, who had to flee her country following death threats by Islamic fanatics, contributed a poem which reveals much through the rape of two young sisters who are ordered by a judge to be whipped in public for speaking out against the man who raped them; Yoko Ono’s piercing “Maybe I Was Too Young” and lovely “A Rose is A Rose is A Rose” appear with one of her intimate Franklin Summer drawings; Sue Russell shatters the Hollywood portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the movie Monster with her probing essay. There’s also Sonia Sanchez’s startling poem about a mother torn between love for her 7-year-old daughter and addiction to crack; Irish poet Eabhan Ní Shuileabháin’s intense journey into the minds of the main people involved in executing a criminal at the time of execution; and even more powerful work by Tony Curtis, Joyce Carol Oates, C. K. Williams, Diane di Prima, John Updike, Daisy Zamora, Michael Rothenberg, Joanne Kyger, Tess Gallagher, Richard Kostelanetz, Marc Smith, Alice Notley, J. T. LeRoy, Aram Saroyan, Billy Collins, in total 91 great talents. After reading this landmark anthology, you’ll feel as if you’d lived intensely in the skins of many different people in different parts of the world. Highly recommended as a rich resource for teachers and a library basic.

 Contributors:

Maya Angelou, Shamsul Arefin, Colin Askey, Margaret Atwood, Michelle Auerbach, Elizabeth Ayres, Ian Ayres, Joe Bacal, Amanda Bay, Itzhak Ben-Arieh, David Bergman, Bill Berkson, J. J. Blickstein, Pat Brien, Mary Burger, Carolyn Cassady, Neal Cassady, Andrei Codrescu, Leonard Cohen, Billy Collins, Caitlin Condell, Holly Crawford, Victor Hernández Cruz, Dave Cunliffe, Tony Curtis, Jen Dalton, Andrew Darlington, James Dean, Albert Flynn DeSilver, Peter James Drew, Jordan Essoe, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Marilyn Yvonne Ford, Gloria Frym, Tess Gallagher, Marcene Gandolfo, John Gilmore, John Giorno, David Helwig, Jill Hill, Marie Houzelle, Scott Hutchison, Michael Huxley, Brendan Kennelly, Galway Kinnell, Richard Kostelanetz, Richard Krech, Joanne Kyger, J. T. LeRoy, Lyn Lifshin, Mark Lipman, Ken Mackenzie, Jayanta Mahapatra, Norman Mailer, Randall Mann, Sylvia Miles, Laure Millet, Taslima Nasreen, Thom Nickels, Alice Notley, Joyce Carol Oates, Tommy Frank O’Connor, Nessa O’Mahony, Yoko Ono, Lisa Pasold, Barbara Philipp, Kristin Prevallet, Diane di Prima, Terry Rentzepis, Bob Rosenthal, Barney Rosset, Michael Rothenberg, Carol Rumens, Sue Russell, Sonia Sanchez, Aram Saroyan, Larry Sawyer, Eabhan Ní Shuileabháin, Donny Smith, Marc Smith, Carolyn Stoloff, Nelson Sullivan, Mark Terrill, John Updike, Gerard Van der Leun, François Villon, Lina ramona Vitkauskas, Phillip Ward, Karen Weiser, C. K. Williams, Daisy Zamora, Harriet Zinnes…

Available at: http://www.frenchcx.com/press/

Wanda is best known as the salt of the earth whore who works so many long hours at the Great Bend Saloon. She is not prone to niceties and doesn’t mind speaking her mind. She fits in well with the men of the town with her direct manner and general lack of disregard for what the world thinks.

What did you dream of becoming when you were a little girl?

I wanted to be a shoemaker because I didn’t have any shoes. I started making my own shoes with old newspaper. If I was ever stuck in an outhouse without something to wipe with, I’d use my shoe. Win win for me, although my invention never took off.

When did you first learn to play the piano? Is music often a welcome escape when dealing with life in Great Bend?

I never really knew how to play that well til’ Hoyle came to town and started frequenting Honey’s boudoir. I couldn’t bear Hoyle’s sobbing post coital so I’d start tickling the crap outta those ivories to muffle his lady-like sobs. Now I’m the best pianist Great Bends got.

You were rather upset when the Temperance movement hit Great Bend. Do you find it strange that people don’t realize how much alcohol helps in your line of work?

Don’t be an ass. “Rather upset” is an understatement. I’m Great Bends go-to painted lady when it comes to fornicating outside the box. There’s some twisted Johns that come from far away towns just to lay with me. But mainly, I’d say alcohol helps me cope with the frequent pulled muscles I get from bouncing around on whatever my clients point to.

You seem a little more down to earth than the rest of the girls at the saloon. Why do you think that is?

Because I don’t give a shit. Unless I’m out of whiskey, then I give a big shit.

Did you feel a little slighted when Honey asked Pearl to take over the business instead of you?

Nah. Pearl’s just the pretty face that leads the pigs to the troth. I’m the goods the pigs eat up from that troth, so…Pearl can suck an egg.

Do the girls working the saloon get in arguments a lot or do you all generally get along well?

Us alley cats bicker back and forth from time to time but for the most part we all love each other. But we don’t love each other on the mouth.

Was it upsetting to lose your tooth on that steam powered vibrator? Did that make you somewhat wary of machines?

I was deep in the barrel when it happened so I didn’t feel a thing. But that’s war, man. I lost my tooth that day but I sure as hell didn’t loose my pride. I’m not afraid of any machines! I’ll go head to head or coot to crack with any machine any day!

Was it particularly hard to get over crouch rot? What do you think is the best way to deal with a situation such as that?

I’m used to it now. Just like pinnin’ your garments up to dry, you gotta do that with your lady parts now and then. I suggest ditching your bloomers so the air has easy access to your dame.

Is there anything particular about yourself that your friends and clients might be surprised to learn?

I’m not in the mood to share today, so kindly piss off. Fine, I’m colorblind and I have no sense of smell. Happy?

What do you hope to be doing years from now when you are old and grey?

The way I’m living I only got…five good years left in me, but if I’m still breathing God’s good air when I sprout my first grey hair, I imagine I’ll have saved up enough to run a dog and whiskey farm.

What do you think is the key to a life well lived?

Make every day a party day.

What advice would you like to leave our readers in closing?

Firstly, just because they can read doesn’t mean they’re better than me. Second, life is gonna throw lots of horse shit your way… don’t hide from it. Run into that shit head on then ask life if that’s all it’s got. Take risks. Drink while you take them. It’s more fun.