royzoe

I'm still pondering starrage. Lots of wonderful stuff here -- bold genre-crossing, the notion that poetry is what makes us human, the truth of the Operatic, the cyclical sense of what we share and interpret...and I admired the thematic connections among this triptych, even in moments when I wished he'd take each story just a bit further. The weakest choice is unfortunately a major one: Cunningham's interpretation of Whitman and the particular choice of this poet and his words for this story or at least these characters. I feel strongly that Specimen Days would be more successful without as much of the poet's ghost -- that perhaps Leaves of Grass was the book's inspiration but also its biggest darling in need of a kill; in the end, Cunningham leans too heavily on Walt, who interferes with more than he illuminates these haunting stories.

2022-12-09 17:24