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Rockin’ in Rhythm [Duke Ellington]
Duke Ellington at his greatest. He recorded "Rockin' in Rhythm" four times in 1931 the first time at the Cotton Club in Hartlem that January.
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A Marvell of a Poet [by David Lehman]
Andrew Marvell (1621-1678) has been called “the greatest minor poet in the English language.” There’s plenty of competition for this curious distinction, but the case for Marvell is strong, especially…
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Whitman in Washington [by Terence Winch]
For six years I worked in the old Patent Office Building in Washington, where the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery are located. The building began its service to the people in…
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“Sing, Sing, Sing”: the epitome of the swing era
Good morning, Benny Goodman, on your birthday. I would nominate your band's rendition of "Sing, Sing, Sing" as the paradigmatic song of the swing era. Just listen: Doesn't it make you want to dance–…
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The Politics of the Erotic [by Denise Duhamel]
When my poetry book The Woman with Two Vaginas was published by Salmon Run Press in 1995, I was horrified that it carried a subtitle (not of my choosing) “erotic poetry.” While…
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Lunching with Elaine Equi [by David Lehman]
Sometimes, when lunching alone, I bring Elaine Equi along for company,rereading Ripple Effect sipping a cup of strong black coffee and slippinginto the room where Fairfield Porter paints the light, and solituderhymes with altitude, attitude, multitude,…
