In This Issue |
FOCUSan Editorial Note
Dear Readers,
Music inspires us. We’re not sure why or how. It seems to reach into the deeper recesses of our souls, where mere words are mute, yet also surrounds us as the ambient soundscape of our lives: the quiet roar of waves crashing on a distant shore; the clamor, beat and incessant rhythms of city life; or, more familiarly, as a pop song forever associated with first, or lost, love.
But sound is not part of every person’s life. In “Musical Power,” Juanita Callejas graciously invites us into the intimacy of her family life, calling our attention to the sometimes precarious balance between silence and sound. She is the mother of a deaf child born to hearing parents, as well as the grandmother of a hearing child born to deaf parents. She is thus in a position to draw a unique family portrait upon our special theme of music in this eighth edition of Vistas & Byways. Classical music finds a place in our mélange of musical offerings. In “Naptime,” first-time contributor Barbara Applegate discloses why classical music has made her ineffably sad since she was a child of five or six. Steve Surryhne offers two poems, “Etude Crepuscule” and “Palestrina.” In the latter, we are taken back to a bygone era when classical music was composed to the greater glory of God. Jazz aficionados will be pleased with a trio of pieces inspired by modern jazz. In “The Music in My Soul,” we learn how Elsa Fernandez, a classically trained pianist, became passionate toward “America’s own unique music” late in life. In contrast, Don Plansky’s “Bud in Dreamland” reveals that he was hooked on jazz by the age of 13. But the real focus of his essay is the life and art of his tragic hero, jazz pianist Bud Powell. Corey Weinstein’s poem, “Ocean Avenue Anthropology,” is written in the meter of Charlie Parker’s composition, “Anthropology.” As poetry is the art form most akin to music, it’s not surprising that our poets have sought to capture music’s elusive magic: “music is a fluid river” (“Call to Prayer,” by Angie Minkin); “music enfolds us in velvet flames” (“Cello Suite,” by MJ Moore); and, “[Music makes] the weight of existence lighter” (“Diminue: A Sestina,” by Janice Fuhrman). Where music is, dance is often not far off. In “Call to Prayer,” we join Angie to witness the Garrett-Moulton Dance Company perform the Stabat Mater, “a single dancer. . . lifted high, he ascends to the morning star—alone.” Or, as in “Thunder of Blood,” by Heather Saunders Estes, our own bodies, throwing off our earthbound, awkward self-consciousness, begin to move to an irresistible beat, at last getting that stuffy office party off the ground. New contributor, Charles O. McCauley, offers a pair of poems, “dive bar bandstand” and “no joke,” both breathing the down-and-out atmosphere of seedy, out-of-the-way, whiskey-soaked bars, and filled with the reverb of a Gibson guitar’s steel strings. In the former, the guitarist begins to sing into the mic, though “nobody cared, not even the band, but I had sung my song and that was enough.” In “Longevity Rocks!,” Denize Springer, a former OLLI writing instructor, recounts a rather more iconic and public rock performance, circa 1978, celebrating Mick Jagger’s 34th birthday at the Oakland Coliseum “among 60,000 of Mick’s closest friends.” At the time, this was advertised as the last stop on the Stones’s “Farewell Tour of America,” quite possibly the “aging” rock star’s last performance ever. Who would have guessed that a few weeks after heart surgery earlier this year, Mick, nearly 76, would be practicing his infamous strut in preparation for a 2019 Stones’s tour! ***
In addition to Barbara Applegate, Charles O. McCauley and MJ Moore, we’re pleased to include in our Fall 2019 edition of Vistas & Byways two other first-time contributors: Matt Ginsburg and new OLLI Director, Kathy Bruin. Check out our Table of Contents for their works and for other authors not mentioned in Focus. And, as you peruse the contents, note the addition of the symbol of the Golden Gate Bridge, indicating a story, nonfiction piece or poem with a San Francisco Bay Area flavor.
We are sad to announce that our Webmaster and Online Publisher, Jane Goldstein, will be stepping down after this issue. The professional design, attractiveness and ease of use of Vistas & Byways are entirely the result of her ceaseless efforts. We hope to find a new person to oversee web design and maintenance, so that we may continue to publish in 2020. We believe that Vistas & Byways, OLLI at SF State’s Online Literary Review, has served to enrich our OLLI program. We hope to continue to make this forum available to all OLLI at SF State members. As you encounter the fascinating diversity and literary merit of these works, it will become readily apparent why publishing V&B these past four years has been such a joyful experience.
Editorial Board Fall 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTSFEATURED SELECTION
MusicINCLUDES FICTION, NONFICTION, POETRY
🌉 Ocean Avenue Anthropology
by Corey Weinstein In the mood for a good walk? Learn the beat and go around the world on one vibrant street in this lively poem. 🌉 Longevity Rocks!
or What We Know Now, That We Didn't Know Then by Denize Springer The recounting of a 1978 Rolling Stones concert reveals how amazing life was back then and still is, but reminds us that it can be “as brutal as it is wondrous.” Palestrina
by Steve Surryhne A poem that laments our inability to follow church music back to its roots, but rejoices that we can still follow each note echoing “in the hollow of heaven’s ear.” The Music in My Soul
by Elsa Fernandez A rousing personal essay describing a woman’s introduction to and subsequently becoming hooked on jazz. no joke
by Charles O. McCauley In this iconoclastic poem, learn to kiss the sky and do impossible riffs in a seedy bar with lawyers discussing options—discussions with who? dive bar bandstand
by Charles O. McCauley In this gritty piece, the author puts us in a dive bar stripped of all pretense, where a musician finds his voice. Musical Power
by Juanita Callejas This personal essay reveals how a family “permeated” with music copes with the deafness of some of its members. Call to Prayer
by Angie Minkin A poetic reenactment of a dance performance beautifully demonstrating that “music is a fluid river.” Thunder of Blood
by Heather Saunders Estes This frank poem describes how the author overcame inhibition and embarrassment over body image and reclaimed the joy of dancing after a 20-year hiatus. Naptime
by Barbara Applegate A touching memoir about how hearing her mother play classical music in childhood caused the author to experience sadness on hearing that music all her life. Cello Suite
by MJ Moore A lovely poem that evokes the beautiful music of cellos and the cycle of life. Diminue: A Sestina
by Janice Fuhrman A sestina is a difficult and complex form of poetry. This one tackles music, aging, and humanity. Bud In Dreamland by Don Plansky A comprehensive, lively and sympathetic investigation of jazz great Bud Powell: genius, mental patient, flawed human being. DEPARTMENTS(CLICK GENRE FOR TABLE OF CONTENTS) |
FOCUS
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🌉 BAY AREA STEW SELECTION - A TASTE OF LIFE IN THE BAY AREA
Click or tap for an index of Bay Area Stew selections and California Trees and Wild Birds photography
Click or tap for an index of Bay Area Stew selections and California Trees and Wild Birds photography
Vistas & Byways Review is the semiannual journal of fiction, nonfiction and poetry by members of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at San Francisco State University.
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Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at San Francisco State University (OLLI at SF State) provides communal and material support to the Vistas & Byways volunteer staff.
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