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What Andrea Gibson Understood About Very Simple Poetry
What Andrea Gibson Understood About Very Simple Poetry

Atlantic

time5 days ago

  • Entertainment
  • Atlantic

What Andrea Gibson Understood About Very Simple Poetry

This is an edition of the Books Briefing, our editors' weekly guide to the best in books. Sign up for it here. Andrea Gibson wasn't, in most circles, a gigantic celebrity—but their face and words were visible and prominent. Gibson, the poet laureate of Colorado, who died on Monday, began their career with spoken-word performances in cafés and at open mics around Boulder. Despite their intense stage fright, Gibson would stand in front of crowds of strangers and recite intensely confessional verse about their anxieties, their queerness, their heartbreaks. As their public profile rose, Gibson kept speaking to strangers—though more often than before, the audience wasn't in the same room. In the 2010s, when slam poetry exploded in popularity, Gibson began appearing online—in Button Poetry recordings, in a video submission for the NPR Tiny Desk competition during which they were accompanied by piano. When the pandemic, and then cancer, prevented them from touring and performing live, they held virtual readings and distributed videos recorded at home. They asked listeners to have an experience with them, and they valued the way speaking poetry aloud can amplify its power. Here are three new stories from The Atlantic 's Books section: Gibson was all over Instagram. They were a visual poet—not in the manner of writers such as Anne Carson and Claudia Rankine, who have included photographs, drawings, and found materials in their books, but instead in a distinctly 21st-century fashion. In performance, their face and their body became crucial parts of the work, and their written words were frequently arranged in stark type on plain backgrounds. That's how I most often interacted with Gibson's poems: as small snippets of video or text on friends' and strangers' Stories. An avalanche of these posts was what informed me of the poet's death. Because Gibson leaned so much on the spoken word, their poems were obvious and emotional—to their benefit. Figurative language played its part, but so did lines as straightforward as 'Why did I want to take / the world by storm when I could have taken it / by sunshine, by rosewater, by the cactus flowers / on the side of the road where I broke down?' As my colleague Faith Hill wrote this week, 'Their verse sometimes risked seeming cloying or sentimental because of how unselfconsciously it concerned love: feeling it, cultivating it, spreading it, protecting it.' And this unabashed style made their words easy to share, as Hill points out; the universality of their themes was a feature, not a bug. Clearly, they wanted to be understood instantly, and by all kinds of readers. This kind of accessibility is not always prized. 'Instagram poetry' is sometimes invoked as a derogatory description of writing that prioritizes drama over artistic reflection. But I saw Gibson's open-hearted verse strike a chord with all kinds of people, including readers who don't spend much time on poetry. Gibson's focus on the connection between poet and listener allowed them to reach beyond traditional readers of verse. And they used that platform almost exclusively to spread a message of gentleness: 'Nearly every poem is an exercise in empathy, summoning generosity even in response to cruelty,' Hill points out. Gibson was well read, well watched, and well loved for that approach. Andrea Gibson Refused to 'Battle' Cancer By Faith Hill The last years of the poet's life were among their most joyful. What to Read The Book of Records, by Madeleine Thien The Book of Records takes place in a postapocalyptic limbo called The Sea, where past, present, and future fold in on themselves and thoughts float in the air like dust. It's a giant structure—maybe also a metaphysical construct—on an island in the middle of an ocean, full of refugees from some vaguely described ecological and political catastrophe. Our narrator, Lina, is remembering the time she spent at The Sea with her father 50 years ago, when she was a teenager. The pair had interesting company there: Their neighbors were the philosophers Hannah Arendt and Baruch Spinoza and the eighth-century Chinese poet Du Fu. Or maybe these were their spirits; the reader isn't quite sure. Thien writes beautifully about the lives of these thinkers, and their tales of escape from political or religious oppression end up melding with Lina's own story: Her father, we discover, was also a dissident of sorts. With The Sea, Thien literalizes a state of mind, the in-betweenness that comes before one makes a major decision. The stories Lina absorbs in that out-of-time place all ask whether to risk your family or your life on behalf of an ideal—whether it's worth sacrificing yourself for another, better world you can't yet see. — Gal Beckerman Out Next Week 📚 Shade, by Sam Bloch 📚 Maggie; or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Ba r, by Katie Yee 📚 Pan, by Michael Clune Your Weekend Read I Fought Plastic. Plastic Won. By Annie Lowrey Before I could buy something expensive and relax, I stopped, for once. Was I actually reducing my exposure to dangerous chemicals? Was my family safer than it had been before I began my campaign? What kinds of plastic are truly dangerous in the first place? I had no idea. More than I wanted to spend hundreds of dollars at Williams-Sonoma, I wanted to know my enemy. When you buy a book using a link in this newsletter, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic.

The Clipse Push New Album At ‘Let God Sort ‘Em Out' Listening And Vinyl Signing
The Clipse Push New Album At ‘Let God Sort ‘Em Out' Listening And Vinyl Signing

Yahoo

time15-07-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Yahoo

The Clipse Push New Album At ‘Let God Sort ‘Em Out' Listening And Vinyl Signing

The Clipse are on a hell of a promo run, as their first album in 15 years, Let God Sort 'Em Out, dropped Friday to fan and critical acclaim. In addition to interviews with major publications and an already classic Tiny Desk performance, both Pusha T and Malice also went to work the old fashioned way, holding a listening in New York City for fans. Hosted by Hot 97's Ebro Darden, the event included an exclusive interview with the duo and was streamed on Apple Music. The pair was also sure to recognize the power of the physical sale at a vinyl signing at Legacy Records in Dumbo, Brooklyn. While signing albums for fans, Let God Sort 'Em Out played on repeat, with the Thorton brothers rapping along every so often, according to photographer Joy Malone. Check out photos from both events below. More from Did Travis Scott Diss Pusha T On His New 'Jackboys 2' Album? Pusha T Gets Candid About Fallout With Ye Ahead Of Clipse Album Release Pusha T Crowns Tyler, The Creator As The Biggest Clipse Super Fan He's Ever Met Best of 10 Rap Albums Snubbed Of The Grammys' Album Of The Year Award 21 Black Entertainers Who Are Almost EGOT Winners 11 Black-Owned Games To Play At The Next Function Or Kick Back

See Clipse Go Hard With Six-Song ‘Tiny Desk' Concert
See Clipse Go Hard With Six-Song ‘Tiny Desk' Concert

Yahoo

time15-07-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Yahoo

See Clipse Go Hard With Six-Song ‘Tiny Desk' Concert

The reunited Clipse continued their promo tour in support of their new album Let God Sort Em Out with a visit to NPR's Tiny Desk on Friday. The duo of Pusha T and Malice were joined by an NPR-enlisted backing band that included the Lox drummer Daru Jones, keyboardists Darryl Woodson and Briley Harris, DJ Yoo Q!, and a pair of backup singers for the six-song set, which featured two songs apiece from 2002's Lord Willin', 2006's Hell Hath No Fury, and their just-released first LP in 16 years. More from Rolling Stone Wet Leg Bring 'Moisturizer' to NPR Tiny Desk Clipse Are Still Rap's Sharpest Duo After All These Years Clipse Release Sleek, Cinematic Video for 'So Be It' A pair of Lord Willin' tracks — 'Virginia' and their hit 'Grindin'' — bookended the performance, with Hell Hath No Fury's 'Keys Open Doors' and 'Momma I'm So Sorry' then giving way to the Let God Sort Em Out one-two punch of 'Chains & Whips' and 'Birds Don't Sing.' Let God Sort Em Out marks Clipse's first album since 2009's Til the Casket Drops. 'I feel like I don't think we're ever in a rush to put out the music, because when it's ready and when the time is right, we know it's right,' Pusha T told Rolling Stone earlier this year. 'We didn't foresee these twists and turns, but I think it always works out for the best. One thing that we always know, is that the music is incredible. So we don't stress the back office stuff. We've always just gotten through off of the greatness of the music.' The Tiny Desk gig also serves as a preview for the duo's upcoming tour, which begins August 3 in Boston and will keep the Thornton brothers on the road through September 10 in Detroit. Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked

Wet Leg Bring ‘Moisturizer' to NPR Tiny Desk
Wet Leg Bring ‘Moisturizer' to NPR Tiny Desk

Yahoo

time13-07-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Yahoo

Wet Leg Bring ‘Moisturizer' to NPR Tiny Desk

Wet Leg brought their slippery new album Moisturizer to NPR's Tiny Desk concert series. Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers selected four songs from the record, out Friday, July 11, to showcase their latest era alongside guitarist Joshua Mobaraki, bassist Ellis Durand, and drummer Henry Holmes. Wet Leg opened the set with 'CPR,' a dark and twisted love song where Teasdale panic calls the authorities. Her emergency? 'The thing is, I think I'm in love.' The band followed with the unreleased track 'Mangetout' and their recent single 'Davina McCall.' The final song of their performance marked the live debut of '11:21,' an outlier ballad in their discography. Teasdale revealed before they began that they've 'never played it outside of the comfort of our practice room before.' More from Rolling Stone Wet Leg Are Stupid and Contagious on 'Moisturizer' Wiz Khalifa Gets Emotional During NPR Tiny Desk Performance Wet Leg Sound the Alarm on New Single 'CPR' Anyone missing the Wet Leg hits 'Chaise Longue' and 'Wet Dream' can revisit the band's 2021 Tiny Desk (Home) Concert. For now, they're focused on the future. 'An album is like a snapshot, and you can set your intention,' Chambers told Rolling Stone in 2022. 'If you just want it to be, 'This is what's bringing us joy at the moment,' that's valid — or if you want to make sure it's something, in your mind, that's perfect, it takes a lot longer.' In a review of Moisturizer, Rolling Stone wrote: 'On their second album, Moisturizer, Wet Leg prove they've been partying harder, traveling faster, caring less, and meeting sexier idiots. If you thought they might catch a case of sophomore-slump neurosis, you guessed wrong. They crank up the drum mix, enough to make you suspect they hang out in some pretty sleazy rock clubs these days, for a sound that's aimed at the floor … The emotions on Moisturizer range from crushed-out bliss to break-up rage. But wherever Wet Leg go, they make you want to tag along.' Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked

‘Breakout moment': S.F. Symphony marks a first in 88th visit to Stern Grove Festival
‘Breakout moment': S.F. Symphony marks a first in 88th visit to Stern Grove Festival

San Francisco Chronicle​

time06-07-2025

  • Entertainment
  • San Francisco Chronicle​

‘Breakout moment': S.F. Symphony marks a first in 88th visit to Stern Grove Festival

Of all the antiquated and exotic stringed instruments that have been performed in the San Francisco Symphony, it had never had a ukulele on its stage backed by a full orchestra until Sunday afternoon at Stern Grove. The performance was by Taimane, a Hawaiian virtuoso who was discovered busking on the streets of Waikiki by none other than Don Ho, who brought her onto his show at age 13. Back then she called him 'Uncle Don.' Now she is 36 and tours the world with her own stringed quartet, but never before this weekend had she played with a major orchestra on the mainland, and she put it through the test by using elements of Led Zeppelin and Jefferson Airplane along with Bach. Her mission was to 'provide perspective for people who only know the ukulele as a toy or a souvenir,' Taimane said before the show as she huddled in her dressing room with her band, drinking hot tea and trying to stay warm in the summer fog. 'The ukulele is kind of an underdog, but it can be as serious as a violin.' Audiences love underdogs, and 50,000 people signed up in advance for Sunday's annual performance by the San Francisco Symphony, which has performed at the grove for 88 years. Performers wear their summer white coats to blend in with the fog and the program can be counted on to push the boundaries, though never as far as an electric ukulele. 'It's all about introducing people to classical music,' said Carissa Casaldo, who programs the summer show and recruited Taimane after hearing her perform on an NPR program called 'Tiny Desk.' She then flew to Hawaii in April to see her perform with the Hawaiian Orchestra. 'I wanted someone upbeat and relevant and trend-forward,' said Casaldo, who came to San Francisco a year ago from the Seattle Symphony. 'It's all about introducing people to classical music. The Stern Grove audience is not the same as the audience at Davies Hall.' For one thing tickets are free with a reservation, and with a lottery system inaugurated this year, there were 10,000 winners from 50,000 applicants. The free show is supported by donors who get a table in front of the hillside. On Sunday, for the first time since the COVID-19 shutdown, table donors were also invited into the historic Trocadero Clubhouse for a pre-show interview with a KALW radio host and Symphony conductor, Edwin Outwater, who is also director of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. A standing-room-only crowd piled in to see the old wooden barn with a bullet hole in the front door for the first time since a tree fell on the roof and put it out of commission in 2022. It has now been rebuilt. 'It's a grand reopening of a unique part of Stern Grove that we haven't been able to use for years, since a tree smashed it to smithereens,' said Bob Fiedler, executive director of the Stern Grove Festival. It was Taimane's second show with the San Francisco Symphony, having opened the weekend with a July Fourth fireworks show at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View. 'They were great to watch, to listen to, and to escape to a tranquil state of mind,' associate principal bass player Daniel Smith said before Sunday's show. 'In other words, they were sick.' Taimane had never before played San Francisco and personalized it by having the band wear traditional lei po'o wreaths that the band's dancer had scrounged from Stern Grove vegetation. It was a big moment for the ukulele, and the band played in the dressing room for half an hour before taking the stage so the players' fingers would be warm in the fog. They also stretched and had a glass of wine. 'It's a breakout moment for the ukulele and for the Symphony, too,' she said beforehand, 'to trust us to make something new.'

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