nmaseko1310's Blog

Name of poet-Gary Barwin

The Escapist — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:57:21 +0000

Gary Barwin is a well known writer, composer, and performer. I was so amazed by the amount of work he has done over the years. He appears to be a hard working person who is inspired by a number of things. He wrote books for children fiction, one of the book is entitled The Racing Worm Brothers. The book was published in 1998. He went to publish other books that were a range of genres such as poetry, more fiction, visual and concrete poetry, music for live performers and computers, text & sound works, and writing and young adults. I found something interesting about Gary Barwin he shared his ideas and thoughts on how he gets inspired when writing or creating music on his interview with Rob McLennan. One of the questions that Rob asked caught my attention. I have always wondered if poets run out of ideas as I do. The question that Rob Mc Lennan asked was: When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?. Gary Barwin’s answer was: “. I certainly turn to other arts. To walking. To random or unplanned input. To other projects”. I feel that this is excellent advice and a well though out answer because sometimes we need to separate ourselves from what we are writing if it is unproductive. I think that looking at the arts as he said inspires us and makes writers appreciate more the beauty of art. I like his style and the way he presents himself to the audience. After looking at work and researching about him I still wonder why he uses vocabulary of a high level in series.

The link to the interview between Gary Barwin and Rob Mc Lennan

http://robmclennan.blogspot.com/2008/01/12-or-20-questions-with-gary-barwin.html

Five interesting things about shoes.

The Escapist — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 02:34:43 +0000

1. In ancient Egypt, the sandal demonstrated a person’s rank in society. Slaves either went barefoot or wore crude sandals made from palm leaves. Common citizens wore sandals of woven papyrus, consisting of a flat sole tied to the foot by a thong between the toes. But sandals with pointed toes were reserved only for the higher stations of society, and the colors red and yellow were taboo for anyone below the aristocratic rank.

2. Shoes were made over 4000 years ago. Heels were invented in the Middle East to help lift the foot from the burning sand.

3. In the Middle Ages a father passed his authority over his daughter to her husband in a shoe ceremony. At the wedding, the groom handed the bride a shoe, which she put on to show she was then his subject

4. The first lady’s boot was designed for Queen Victoria in 1840 meaning that she was the first lady to wear a boot.

5. In 1927, X-rays were used to help people find a fitting shoe. It was known as the Shoe-Fitting Fluoroscope but was later destroyed due to health hazards.

STEVE REICH “Claps”

The Escapist — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:57:48 +0000

When we clap our hands we hardly realize how many sounds we can make using our own hands. After watching the short piece written by Steve Reich I realized how speed has a great impact on sound. The piece is written for two performers. The performers clap they hands throughout the piece making unique sounds and its sounds very similar to the sounds that one would hear on drums. Listening to the piece also took me back to my roots because in my culture we clap our hands when greeting someone older than you. Its considered a sign of respect. The sound that is produced by our hands is also unique and very loud.
I also found it amazing that the sound is different every single time. Steve Reich was successful in providing his audience with amazing sounds that sound different every time one listens to them. During the thirty seconds of the piece no sounds was repeated more than twice which kept the piece powerful and simply at the sometime. I also find it amazing and creative how the whole piece has no instrument
Reich was inspired by Terry Riley, another talented composer .Terry Riley is also known for his work of combining offset in time and musical patterns.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRPF_oY8S2o&feature=channel

John Cage

The Escapist — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 04:42:02 +0000

John Cage is a music composer who is well known for his famous musical composition entitled 4’33”. Scientists and philosophers such as Emmanuel Kant influence him. He referred to Kant ‘s theory that two things that do not have to mean anything are music and laughter. Most people feel that music describes the feels and ideas of relationships; John Cage seems to think otherwise. I found this to be very weird because music puts a person in a different mood or place. Meaning that music has purpose and meaning. But at the sometime this opened my eyes to realise that music is sound. My definition of sound has completely changed because John Cage explains and interprets sound on another level. In the short clip he stated that when he hears traffic he does not hear of talking. He hears that sound is acting. I thought that was interesting because I have never taken the time to listen to the sounds that surround me. At this point I don’t think that John Cage is similar to any artist because he appears to me as one of kind. Growing up in a world today that has mass media. Music is being used as something that can change and heal the world. To John Cage music is just sound. I am going to challenge myself to experiment on the type of sound he prefers which silence.

The Escapist — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:08:23 +0000

Never a failure always a lesson…

Hello world!

The Escapist — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:45:53 +0000

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