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Reading Paul Muldoon's Poem, "At the Sign of the Black Horse, September 1999"

May 6, 2025

Following is a transcript of the podcast video I made reading this poem by Paul Muldoon and then discussing its meaning and significance.

G'day everybody, welcome back to my series on random poems. So I've chosen a book of poems from my collection. This is Paul Muldoon, Selected Poems 1968 to 2014.

And as you can, as you might be able to guess from his name, well you wouldn't be able to guess, but he's Irish. Certainly you could guess that he's of Irish heritage. And let's just read a little bit from the inner jacket here.

Paul Muldoon's Selected Poems 1968 to 2014 presents 45 years of work drawn from 12 collections by a poet who began as a prodigy and has gone on to become a virtuoso. Says Michael Hoffman. Hailed by Seamus Heaney, that was the last poet I read, as one of the era's true originals, Muldoon seems almost to defy definition in his work.

Nevertheless, this selection, chosen by the poet himself, will serve new readers as an indispensable introduction to his trademark combination of intellectual hijinks and emotional honesty. And for those readers already familiar with his work, the volume provides a panoramic glance across the meteoric career of a poet who performs high above the regular traffic of poetry, Sunday Times. So I opened it up to this poem, and it's a rather long poem, but you know, as per the rules, that's the poem that I opened up to.

So I'm going to read the entire poem, and it's called “At the Sign of the Black Horse, September 1999.”[the formatting of the poem below is different from the original, and some words may be spelled differently due to the transcription. For all purposes academic or otherwise, please look up the original poem]

Awesome the morning after Hurricane Floyd to sit out in our driveway and gawk at yet another canoe or kayak coming down Canal Road, now under 10 feet of water. We've wheeled to the brim of the old Biltright pram in which, wrapped in a shawl of Carrick macross, lace, and a bonnet of his great-grandmother Sophie's finest needlepoint, Asher sleeps on, as likely as any of us to find a way across, the mill race on which logs, trees more than logs, are borne along, to which the houses down by the old Griggstown locks have given up their inventory.

I'm happy for once to be left high and dry, happy that the house I may yet bring myself to call mine is set on a 250-year-old slab, happy that, if need be, we might bundle a few belongings into a pillow slip and climb the hill and escape. Please examine your change to a place where the soul might indeed recover radical innocence. A police launch maneuvering by brought-back troops on maneuver.

Some child kin of my children dipping a stale crust in his bowl of kale while listening to his parents complain about the cost of running a household. In the Poland of the 1930s, the child who, please hold, a peaked cap would shortly accost for the whereabouts of his uncle, the sofa. Awesome, however stormy yesterday's weather, to calmly don a safari hat that somewhat matches my safari coat, and determine, as I am, to make the most of the power cut here on Ararat.

Tear another leaf from Edward Bulliard Lytton's King Poppy to light the barbecue. The barbecue, shortly to be laden with Dorothy's favorite medallions of young rat and white-lipped peccary taken this morning, not with old-fashioned piano wire but the latest in traps, I'll rake the ashes of the fire on which they'll cook, no turn on red, and watch the Mediterranean do its level best to meet the caribon, as Dorothy pronounced it once, on Canal Road, no way out, having taken down from the attic the ancient underwood with the one remaining black ribbon, and set up a shop in a corner of the garage. When we wheeled the old biltrite baby carriage to the brink this morning, I was awestruck to see in Asher's glabrous face a slew of interlopers, not from Magary, as I might have expected, or Magara, or Magarafelt, though my connections there are now few and far between, but the likes of that kale-eating child on whom the peaked cap verboten would shortly pin a star of yellow felt, having accosted him on the mosaic, proscription, please secure your own oxygen mask before attending to children, on the eating of white-lipped peccary. 

Just one step ahead of the police launch, meanwhile, a 1920 Studebaker had come down Canal Road, do not fill above this line, carrying another relative, Arnold Rothstein, the brain behind the running during prohibition of grain alcohol into the states, his shirt the very same day-glo green of chlorophyll. On the surface of a cattle bath, or the canal itself, the canal that ordinarily reflects berm, bank, and towpath, as calm as calm, Gene had been fixing Asher a little gruel from leftover cereal and crumbled zwieback. When Uncle Arnie came floating by the nursery, there was Arnold Rothstein, who had himself fixed the 1919 World Series by bribing eight Chicago White Sox players, keep back 50 feet, to throw the game.

So awestruck were we by his day-glo shirt, we barely noticed how low in the water his Studebaker lay. The distribution of its cargo of grain alcohol, filtered through a makeshift charcoal-packed double downspout by an accomplice, Waxy Gordon, somewhat less than even. The peccary's hind foot, the pinked cap would inquire, you call that cloven? Asher slept on, his little pout set off beautifully by the pillowcase, into which we might yet bundle the foul madams, the couscous, the tabouleh carry-out, full of grit from the Sahara. 

Well, Uncle Arnie had taken his lawyer's advice, maintaining that he paid none of the eight White Sox, who stood in the witness box as much as a nickel. Racketeering maybe, extortion maybe, maybe vice. But not throwing games, it wasn't an area in which he had expertise, not an expert.

Isaac Wolfe of New Haven, meanwhile, had unzippered a freezer bag and made a dent in the defrosted dough in which we'd meant, to wrap the loin of peccary, please use tongs, in an Aussie version of the secret recipe the Duke of Wellington had secured, from the kilidar of Perinda, one which substituted quantongs for apricots. Well, Asher slept on, half-hid, under the cradle hood, his great-grandfather Jim Zabin, an adman who held, of all things, the Biltright account, please examine your change, as mistakes cannot, nodded from his deathbed to the red stain on the muslin cloth that covered the peccary in its autoclave, as if that cloth were an obstacle whereby the haystack and roof-leveling wind bred. On the Atlantic might at last be stayed, by which authority another great-grandfather, Sam Corlitz, would blast from his hardware store in Lawrence, Mass.

Did you deny Asher a bris? A chainsaw had let rip, our next-door neighbor Bruce was making quite a hand of amputating a sycamore limb that had given its all to the wind and rain. Asher slept on, his shawl of caric macross lace, his bonnet tied with silk reputed to come from Samarkand. While Dorothy stood where the Delaware and Raritan Canal and the Millstone River, combined to carry ton upon ton of clay, hay, hair, shoes, spectacles, please use the hammer to break the glass, playing ducks and drakes, with the child kin shortly to be riven from her family and I, the so-called Goy from the Moy, scrubbed the trap made in Marengo, Illinois, by which we took that white-lipped peccary as if scrubbing might leave me shriven, a flicker from behind Asher's sleeping lids, all covered with little wheels and welks, as Jean's distant cousin Helen Hanf began to rub a mix of cumin and baby talc, cornstarch more than talc, into another loin of peccary.

This being a trick, Helene had picked up from the individual who started a trend by keeping a rabbit worn, come dovecoat in a muse off Charing Cross Road. Hard hats must be worn, an individual who picked up from whichever wha deemed a pram in the hallway the end. Of art, a wha who could no doubt trace it back to Wellington and the Killadhar of Perinda.

I looked up in dismay as the helter-skelter I'd raised in lieu of a lonely tower, part-floating Derek, was nudged by the millrace. The increasingly eccentric Helene, meanwhile, continued to rub cornstarch into the remains of whatever curled in the autoclave, almost inaudible now. The sycamore moans as, almost inaudibly, I myself continue to scrub the latest in traps with a wire brush.

From Sam's hardware store in Lawrence, Mass., you ignore the midrash. By which authority? I could hear small incendiary devices going off in the midst of the pleasantries, exchanged at this as every family gathering. Please do not leave window ajar, where the stricken face of Uncle Arnie's friend, Fanny Bryce, peaked from her astracan. 

According to Horace, Arnie maintained, every water pitcher started out as a wine jar. You may take Fanny for a nincompoop, but I fear she may well be the only one here who's actually read King Poppy. I fear, moreover, the way the smoke flings and flails itself from your barbecue brings back that terrible morning in Sing Sing. 

They fried Charlie Becker. Helene looked up from her cummin splitting, while Bruce began to pulverize a young strand, a stand of young sassafras, with all the zeal of a chainsaw catachoumin. And the groundbreaking Irish navvies continued to keen and kvetch, through the hole, cut for a dimmer switch, in a wall of deadeye stiffened with deadeye.

Next to Moore, his little punt at our dock, was Joe Hanff, the banker who helped Louis B. Meyer and Thomas Edison develop a cool projection lamp. Where he'd come by the coke and bucket of popcorn, God only knows, he handed them to Dorothy for safekeeping, while he concentrated on the minutiae of the peccary trap and the great trebucket, with which we'd been known to take even larger critters, setting and upsetting the trebucket, as would an obsessive compulsive out of order, until he was himself ousted by Sam. Sam, who repeated the opening phrase, Ashery, Hayish, Asher, of the Book of Psalms.

As he handed Asher of Burbecker and Rowland upholstery nail, which Asher held as grim as grim, while sleeping on, ton upon ton of clay, hay, hair, shoes, and spectacle frames, made it less and less likely that we would land, on our feet, on the Griggstown causeway, any time soon. Ramp divides, please examine your change, as mistakes cannot be rectified. The almost inaudible roar of the millrace drowned out a great-grandfather's prayer. 

By which authority did we deny Asher a moel? By which authority did we deny Asher a reeb? Asher, meanwhile, slept on, his most crepe-creepered of cribs, riding out the torrent, riding out the turmoil, of those thousands of Irish navvies piling clay, hay, hair, into their creels, and bearing them at shoulder height or above, with all the zeal of creel catatumans. A tattoo on the left forearm of some child-kin of my children, a very faint tattoo. Once more the storm was howling, and something, da-da-da-da, something about that clay and hair going down the sluice, brought back an afternoon in St. Louis, something about raking the ashes of the barbecue at the end of the veranda, and turning over the loin and flank of a young peccary, its loin so lean and lank, its little ribcage rode narrows, something about turning over that runt of the peccary pharaoh, with a dink and a dink and a dinky dick, brought back that afternoon, something about Sam lighting a menorah and reading a commentary on the Torah, something about Arnie distancing himself from the night and fog of Murder, Inc., to a disbelieving Duke of Wellington and Killadar of Perinda, brought back the day of our own Nacht und Nebel Erlas, on which I'd steadied myself under the gateway arch and pondered the loss of our child.

It was Arnie who'd been the brain behind running rum to those thousands of Irish schlemiels who dug the canal, a flicker from Asher's lids, the little welks and wheels, as if he might be dreaming of a pina colostrum, on Bosco Bell Beach, some young beauty dipping his foot in Johnson's baby oil. Fanny peeked from her astracan, its poil, the poil of a stillborn lamb, again a chainsaw letting rip, again I scrubbed the very latest in traps, while Helene rubbed cornstarch into whatever was curled rar and rar in the autoclave. That peccary with the hind foot, the peaked cap would inquire, it's a bad case of spina bifida.

I heard the bottom drawer, open somewhere, the red stain on the lint that covered whatever it was in the autoclave, brought back an afternoon in Poland, when the smoke would flail and fling itself, maximum headroom from a crematorium at Auschwitz. It was not without some trepidation, so that I trained my camcorder on this group of creel carters bearing clay hay hair at shoulder length or above, through the awesome morning after Hurricane Floyd, as yet another 1921 Benz or 1924 Bugatti came down Canal Road and yet another peaked cap was inquiring of my child kin the meaning of Ashkenaz. Place mask over mouth and nose, my trepidation became more and more pronounced as that smoke would flail and fling itself over Auschwitz.

I looked up from our make-believe version of Boskobel Beach to a cauterized stump of sassafras or sycamore, as the creel carters piled more and more clay hay hair spectacle frames, willkommen, onto the line of carryalls and camions by the edge of the flooded stream, those creel carters imagining in excited reverie the arches of the bridge wrought with the model motto, Albeit Macht Frei. Well I looked up through the swing and swale of smoke, please leave a message after the beep, and watched the kebab babby we had lost a year or two back put on its best bib and tucker and watched it put out its little bit of a wing all tinged with char as if to set off for the real Boskobel Beach on which we had met Sandra Hughes and Anton Heyer, oblivious to the piles of hair, spectacle frames, booties and brogans born along from whenever, wherever. The full name is Auschwitz Birkenau, Sam was explaining to Anton and Sandra, who had somehow summoned themselves.

Asher slept on of course despite his thrush, despite his diaper rash, the flood water having receded from the point on the driveway at which the Pakisandra had earlier been swamped, the point at which Arnie had fixed some class of a tow rope to the chassis of the Studebaker. I simply don't have it in me to bribe a ball player, he would maintain, steadying himself with a handful of main as he hooked the rope to the hams of a draft mule. This truck makes wide right turns.

The fact that the slew of interlocutors in Asher's glabrous face now included, of all things, the peccary runt, do not litter, left me no less awestruck than if the Studebaker would be suddenly yanked back to the factory in South Bend from which it had been packed off, open this end. Then if the soul of one of the dozen stillborn lambs sewn into Fanny's astracan were to recover radical innocence and learn, then if scouring the trap by which I had taken that peccary so lank and lean by its dinky hind leg, don't walk, then if don't walk, then if don't walk, then if scouring might make it clean. An overwhelming sense of deja vu, the creel caravan swaying along the salt route into Timbuktu, Fanny taking up a handheld microphone and embarking on second-hand rows, the convoy of salt merchants setting down their loys at one and the same moment, our pileated woodpecker tapping at the bark of three successive sycamores in the hope of finding one tune.

The piles of clay hay hair spectacle frames, hand-me-down booties and brogans now loaded onto the ark, causing it to lie so much lower in the water that Uncle Arnie gives a heavy hint to Fanny that she should cut the chorus of second-hand rows and jump ship. The white wall tire, Helaine concurs, is the beginning of the pram in the hall. Asher sleeps on attended by two teddy bears, his soul less likely than ever to recover radical innocence and learn at last that it is self-delighting. 

At a correlate, Sam's widow is drawing up A, B and C lists as of the correlates for bears, whom she'll invite to a reception thrown by herself and Arnie, unapproved road for the 1919 World Series winning Cincinnati Reds. If there's no hatred in a mind, Isaac Wolfe pounds and expounds, assault and battery of the wind can never tear the data from the leaf. As for the killdeer, Helaine peeks from an aster can almost as natty as Fanny's, you're thinking in all likelihood of the killdeer of Perinda.

The ark now lies so much lower in the water, stop ahead, that Uncle Arnie gives another heavy hint to the Cincinnati Reds that they should also jump ship. Achtung! The 1920 Studebakers just one step ahead of a panther tank, nodding approvingly through the ghetto after the Germans have massacred the Jews of Bialystok. The wind bred on the Atlantic has broken Belmar and Siegert, Boundbrook is broken.

The roof leveling wind profane and irreverent, the wind which was at the spearhead of the attack on the ark, almost inaudible, the memory of a three-month growth spurt, no more than a flicker for rent. Behind Asher's sleeping lids, the A, B and C lists of his forebears in his glabrous face, Hanf, Wolfe, Reinhardt, Abrams. A Reinhardt beginning to fuss as a peaked cap inquires about the orthodox position on the eating of white-lipped peccary. 

The train stopped in Bialystok's running neither to Warsaw nor Leningrad. Helene, uttering a little cuss as the yellow of that star brings back the out-and-out yellowness of a cylinder of gas she once saw on Charing Cross Road. Now Isaac Wolfe, a Yale grad, looks on helplessly at the mill race on which signposts, signboard, birdseed, keep out, bridge freezes before road, do not drive in breakdown lane, live bait, my lonely helter-skelter $500 fine, the makeshift oven in which we meant keep clear all directions, the Vermont decal on that bugotty load of grain alcohol, slow, the out-and-out yellow of the signpost that points toward the place where the soul might recover radical innocence, no stopping except for repairs, the makeshift oven in which we meant to bake the peccary en croute, contents under pressure, the freezer bag into which we bundled the carry-out from the Sahara, the signpost that points to where the Missouri had not as yet been swollen, hump, no shoulder, no rail, are all born along toll booth to where Uncle Arnie's father, Abraham Rothstein, one of the founders of Beth Israel, yes, Beth Israel, joins Fanny Bryce in the version of My Man she first sang in the Ziegfeld Follies, a flicker from behind the lids as if those children kin might flee as they fled the Cossacks in the Ukraine, please remember to take your belongings when you leave the train, woken as they now are by a pileated Roland and Burbecker tapping into a sycamore, Asher's face, a fox's mask, nailed to a long-gone doorpost by an Irish schlemiel, as likely as not to mosque his brogans for a ladle of rum, what's with these police captains like Charlie Becker, Arnie puts his arm around Helene who being chosen finds life flat, contents may have shifted during flight, who think they're above the law, who think they're born without belly buttons, the police launch maneuvering by brings back riot shields and batons, some child kin of my children picking at his kohlrabi, now Helene leaves off rubbing cornstarch into the arch of whatever lies in the autoclave, sets the little beak of her colibri wobblingly to a cigarette, pull to open and reaches into a drawer for the poultry shears, the hacking through a babby bone, no obstacle but Gregory's wood and one bare hill slippery when wet, bringing back the morning Dr. Patel had systematically drawn the child from Jean's womb for hire, Uncle Arnie all the while hanging a white walled tire about the draft mule's neck, the draft mule no less throwered thrawn than whichever wall deemed the pram in the hallway the end of art, the peaked cap sweet talking that young Abrams or Reinhardt with the offer of a tin of waffle at ten, should he feel able to enlighten him on the particular house in the Bialystok ghetto in which his uncle is hunkering down, Asher puts his lips to the shofar of a long-gone pacifier as Isaac Wolfe expounds to Fanny Bryce it's from ghetto a foundry not boar ghetto, a burrow, on that little gore that little gusset of ground into which my cast of thousands of Irish schmucks have been herded, halt, Asher opens his eyes once more the storm is howling as it howled when Isaac shouted down the board of Yale, the black horse tavern still served ale, when Sophie was found dead in the bath, a ringed plover with all her rings stolen please cover, when Sam discontinued his line of Burbecker and Roland upholstery nails for sale, when we might yet have climbed the hill and escaped by copper mine, when Uncle Arnie was gutshot by George McManus for non-payment of tight-lipped poker-faced debts, when Helene Hanf the celeb was found asleep in the Dewitt nursing home in the arms of Bulwer-Lytton, follow detour, when Fanny tried to stop the leak of a so-called confession by one Joseph Gluck which fingered her ex-husband Nicky Arnstein, when the trebucket of my lonely tour was tripped for the very last time by Joe Hanf, no egress when a cantankerous young Reinhardt or Abrams, no children beyond this point, was borne along at shoulder height by the peat cap out of bounds, when the cry went up from a starving Irish Lameel who washed an endosperm of wheat, dada, from a pile of horse kick, held to the rain one of those thousands of Irish schmucks who still lull, still lull and lollygag between the preposterous towpath and the preposterous berm.

Well that was quite a long poem to read all at once. It really tired me out. I'll just share some initial impressions because I haven't done any research on this poem and there's a lot that I don't understand but the themes that I'm seeing coming through, first of all it seems to take place during this flood that follows Hurricane Floyd. The title of the poem is “At the Sign of the Black Horse, September 1999.”

There seems to be a story in the poem but it's a bit obscure. The narrator of the poem is with his family and with a baby named Asher who sleeps on throughout the poem.

And, uh, there's plenty of, I suppose, Irish references here. You know, a shawl of Carrick Macross. I'm assuming that's Irish, but I could be wrong.

I'd have to look it up. Quite a lot of place names that I don't necessarily recognize, but then there's a lot of references to, first of all, World War II, the Germans, the Jews, Auschwitz, basically the Holocaust. A lot of Jewish, Judaic references and vocabulary and names.

Kind of a whole litany of Jewish figures in this poem slash story, including Arnie Rothstein, who rigged the 1919 World Series, and Fanny Bryce, the singer and Ziegfeld Follies dancer. So a lot of historical references back to World War I, World War II, but then a lot of contemporary references as well. So it kind of keeps going back and forth between the present and the past, which creates, uh, you know, for the reader, kind of a rather confusing story that somehow weaves together a lot of repetition in this poem.

You can't tell from the reading of it, but there are, I guess you could say, signs that appear in the poem, standard signs that are in capital letters throughout the poem. Canal road, no way out. Please secure your own oxygen mask before attending to children.

Do not fill above this line. So a lot of sort of instructions and warnings that are in capital letters throughout this poem, something about cooking a peccary. And I actually have to look that up because peccary, it sounds familiar, but I'm not quite sure what that is.

So let me, I mean, there's a ton of words in this poem that I would like to look up, but I don't feel like I, uh, want to spend all that time. It would take a long time. Yeah.

As I thought, it's a, it's a kind of, um, boar, uh, related to a hog or wild hog, wild hog, wild boar peccary. Why they're cooking a peccary. They're native to neotropical regions, South America to Central America and portions of Arizona, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. 

So, um, where is this story taking place? Where is the sign of the black horse? I don't know. That's a mystery would definitely have to look up the background to this poem. A lot of repetition of language, a lot of place names being thrown down and, um, characters who are kind of doing things together like cooking.

And there seems to be kind of a barbecue going around along and, uh, and, uh, some kind of conversation between these historical and contemporary characters, some biblical references here and there. I think, you know, what stands out to me of this poem is his use of language, that he is such a master of language that all the place names seem to be carefully chosen. That the names of things that he chooses, um, seem to be carefully chosen to have a particular sound, a particular, you know, connection to the language of the poem.

Creel Carter's piled more and more clay, hay, hair spectacle frames. That's, that is also repeated throughout the poem and must have some significant meaning, uh, onto the line of curials and camions. And again, these are words that I think one must look up to really understand them. 

Lots of, uh, different, you know, linguistic references, uh, German thrown in here might connect to the story of the, of the Jews. Uh, it might be a migration story. It seems also he's connecting the story of the Irish people to the Jewish people in different ways, kind of weaving together those strands. 

At the very end, he says, uh, one of those thousands of Irish schmucks, and he also says Irish schlemiels. So he's kind of connecting the Irish to the Jewish people and maybe, uh, you know, migrant people who are escaping devastation, war, starvation seems to be a common theme. Uh, migrants who went to America, perhaps, uh, because, uh, you know, the, a lot of the story seems to take place, Hurricane Floyd in America, uh, would have to look up, you know, that would be an important thing to look up, Hurricane Floyd.

Um, I don't really want to look up this poem because I feel like there's probably a good explanation of this poem somewhere on the internet, but I kind of like going through a poem and trying to understand it in my own way, rather than kind of reading somebody else's explanation of what the poem was about. Hurricane Floyd struck North Carolina in September, 1999. Okay. 

I kind of remember that. So this is sort of a historical event that's very specific to a part of, a part of America. Why he's chosen that event, whether or not he was there at the time, I don't know enough about his biography to know whether Paul Muldoon was, was there and witnessed Hurricane Floyd. And he's kind of channeling that into, into this poem, whether he read about it. It's all a bit of a mystery, but I'm going to stop there because I think the poem kind of speaks for itself. 

It's the language of the poem and the flow of the poem and this sort of dreamlike set of imagery and associations that speaks for itself. And I think it's up to the reader or the listener of the poem to try to figure out for yourself what the, what the meaning of this poem is. So, plus I've got other stuff to do and a big full day ahead and more papers to grade.

So I'm going to sign off for now. And, and if you like what I'm doing here, please make a comment. I always appreciate comments.

So see you next time.

[returns]

All right. This is a little addendum to my interpretation of the poem. 

I said, I wasn't gonna do a lot of searching and stuff, but of course I got curious and I decided to search the internet and find out more about the poem and about Paul Muldoon and his biography. And now it all makes a lot more sense to me because his wife is actually named Jean, Jean Hanff Korelitz. And all three of those names, Jean, Hanff and Korelitz come up repeatedly in the poem. 

So that, those are references to his wife and her family. And she is Jewish. His children, Dorothy and of course Asher, the baby in the poem, are therefore part Jewish and part Irish. 

And so now the poem makes a lot more sense. It's a at least semi-biographical poem about his family, how they are bringing together the Irish and the Jewish roots. And I think that the flood then kind of serves as a metaphor for the flood of migrants, the flood of people around the world converging in different ways.

So it connects to the story of this flood of Irish migrants who helped to build the canal, as well as the Jewish migrants who did all kinds of things, including gangsterism, as in the case of Arnie Rothstein. So it's interesting. His wife, Jean, is actually a Dartmouth graduate.

So she's comes from my own alma mater, Dartmouth College. She was class of ‘83. And she is a very well-known novelist.

And I didn't know anything about her until I looked her up. Shows how connected I am to the world of literature these days. But, you know, it's these kinds of activities that make you more connected.

The other thing is that it appears that he actually was there for Hurricane Floyd. So this is also kind of a biographical moment. He was a professor at Princeton, and New Jersey definitely did receive a big share of the flooding during Hurricane Floyd.

So it kind of makes sense that he led from this real personal experience, and then used association and all of these various techniques to kind of build a long poem out of this very unique and powerful experience that he had with his family experiencing the floodwaters in New Jersey. This is my guess. I could be wrong, but it all makes sense to me.

So now the poem makes a lot more sense, even though it's still a very dreamy and associative poem, which is very much in the format of his style and his way of expressing himself in poetry. And I think there's also some references to W.B. Yeats in the poem as well that I read about online, but I'm going to leave those aside. I think that's the most important piece that I wanted to share with you.

And now I am really done and moving on with my day.

 

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  • December 2024
    • Dec 27, 2024 Building Worlds Out Of Words: Some Books I Enjoyed Reading For Pleasure In 2024 Dec 27, 2024
    • Dec 23, 2024 Getting Back to Banna: After All These Years It’s Still Magical, If A Lot More Touristy Dec 23, 2024
    • Dec 16, 2024 Afterthoughts on Beatles Mountain Project: How and Why I Recorded and Posted Covers of 180 Beatles Songs on Youtube Dec 16, 2024
  • November 2024
    • Nov 1, 2024 Climbing Beatles Mountain: Covering All the Beatles Songs from A to Y Nov 1, 2024
  • October 2024
    • Oct 23, 2024 Being John Lennon: Some Thoughts on Reading the Lennon Bio by Ray Connolly Oct 23, 2024
    • Oct 7, 2024 Gods, Guitars, and Guided Tours: Three Full Days in Tokyo with Local Guru James Farrer Oct 7, 2024
    • Oct 1, 2024 Impressions on Seeing Gary Wang and the JZ Band at the New JZ Club on Hengshan Road Oct 1, 2024
  • July 2024
    • Jul 15, 2024 Binging The White Lotus: A Tragicomic Series on HBO Jul 15, 2024
  • May 2024
    • May 12, 2024 My Top Five Beatles Albums and their Significance as Artists May 12, 2024
  • December 2023
    • Dec 29, 2023 Surviving 2023: Looking Back on a Challenging Year Dec 29, 2023
    • Dec 18, 2023 My Guilty Pleasure Reading in 2023 Dec 18, 2023
  • November 2023
    • Nov 10, 2023 Now and Then I Miss You: Some Thoughts on the Latest and Final Beatles Song Nov 10, 2023
  • September 2023
    • Sep 18, 2023 Revisiting the Summer of the Bands: July 2007, D22, and the Indie Rock Scene in Beijing Sep 18, 2023
  • May 2023
    • May 22, 2023 My New Book Rocking China Drops Today! And a Mixtape to Go With It May 22, 2023
  • February 2023
    • Feb 28, 2023 Getting Back to our Lives in Shanghai and Environs Feb 28, 2023
  • January 2023
    • Jan 1, 2023 Saying Goodbye to 2022 and to Zero Covid: Another Challenging Year Behind Us, and a Promising New Year Ahead Jan 1, 2023
  • December 2022
    • Dec 22, 2022 My Good Reads in the “Zero Covid” Year of 2022 Dec 22, 2022
  • November 2022
    • Nov 14, 2022 Keeping it Real in these Unreal Times: Music, Scenes and Social Life in Shanghai Nov 14, 2022
  • October 2022
    • Oct 7, 2022 Shanghai Gets Back to “Normal”: Museums, Movies, and Musical Life in China’s Great Metropolis Oct 7, 2022
  • August 2022
    • Aug 20, 2022 Post-Lockdown Summer: Reflections on the Lockdown Months in Kunshan and Shanghai, and on Making a Space for Art in my Life Aug 20, 2022
  • June 2022
    • Jun 24, 2022 100 Days of Solitude: My Life in Kunshan During and After the Great Shanghai Lockdown Jun 24, 2022
  • May 2022
    • May 19, 2022 Lockdown Lifting: Kunshan is Free Now, but Shanghai Still Shuttered May 19, 2022
  • April 2022
    • Apr 24, 2022 The Shanghai and Kunshan Lockdowns: The View from the Lakehouse Apr 24, 2022
  • January 2022
    • Jan 8, 2022 Why I Took a Six-Month Facebook Furlough and the Benefits of a Reboot Jan 8, 2022
    • Jan 4, 2022 Living the China Dream: Looking Back on Highlights of 2021 and Some Hopes for 2022 Jan 4, 2022
  • December 2021
    • Dec 26, 2021 Solitude, Sisters, Prostitutes, Tech-Futures, Demons, Darkness, Drugs, and Songs: My Favorite Reads in 2021 Dec 26, 2021
    • Dec 23, 2021 Getting Back to 1969 on a Long and Winding Road: Some Observations About the new Beatles Doc by Peter Jackson et al Dec 23, 2021
  • October 2021
    • Oct 31, 2021 Moulin Dreams at the Pearl: A Mashup of Montmartre and Shanghai, With a Little Chicago Oct 31, 2021
    • Oct 5, 2021 Hit my Last Number and Walked to the Road: On Playing in a Band, Learning New Songs, and Jamming at Eagle Bar for Robert’s Epic Birthday Party in Kunshan Oct 5, 2021
    • Oct 4, 2021 A Century of Jazz in Shanghai: Documentary Film Nearing Completion Oct 4, 2021
  • July 2021
    • Jul 10, 2021 My Emerging Career as a Documentary Host in China Jul 10, 2021
    • Jul 4, 2021 Journey to the Center of China: 20 Days on the Road in Gansu, Shaanxi, and Qinghai Provinces陕西省,甘肃省,青海省旅程 Jul 4, 2021
  • June 2021
    • Jun 3, 2021 Rocking and Jazzing in 2021: Following, Filming, and Playing in the Music Scenes of Shanghai and Kunshan Jun 3, 2021
  • April 2021
    • Apr 29, 2021 Screening Jazz & Blues a la Shanghai—Some Thoughts and Reflections on the Filmmaking Process Apr 29, 2021
    • Apr 17, 2021 My New Doc Film “Jazz & Blues a la Shanghai” is Nearly There Apr 17, 2021
  • February 2021
    • Feb 16, 2021 Catching up with the Live Scene at the Kunshan Eagle Bar Feb 16, 2021
  • January 2021
    • Jan 1, 2021 Focusing on Discipline and Daily Practice: my New Years Resolutions for 2021 Jan 1, 2021
  • December 2020
    • Dec 30, 2020 From Trees to Stones, Wizards to Kings, and Rock to Jazz: 16 Books That Topped My Pandemic Reading List in 2020 Dec 30, 2020
    • Dec 28, 2020 Boarded Up: The Sad Loss of Shanghai’s Heritage in the “Old Walled City” and Environs Dec 28, 2020
    • Dec 25, 2020 Live Again: The Revival and Current Status of Music Scenes in China Dec 25, 2020
    • Dec 22, 2020 Ten Things I’m Grateful for in 2020 Dec 22, 2020
  • October 2020
    • Oct 23, 2020 Re-Discovering Nature While Adjusting to Life in Kunshan, China Oct 23, 2020
    • Oct 6, 2020 Getting Back to Normal: Returning to our Lives in Shanghai Oct 6, 2020
  • September 2020
    • Sep 10, 2020 Getting Back to China: It Wasn’t Easy, But We Made It Sep 10, 2020
    • Sep 1, 2020 Walking and Cycling Towards Walden: More Meditations on Place, Belonging, Nature, and Displacement Sep 1, 2020
  • August 2020
    • Aug 8, 2020 Where Else but Walden? Some Reflections on Henry David Thoreau While Walking Around Walden Pond Aug 8, 2020
    • Aug 1, 2020 Our Cape Cod Adventure in These COVID Times Aug 1, 2020
  • July 2020
    • Jul 11, 2020 “The Berkshires Seem Dream-like”: Notes from a Recent Trip to Western Mass. Jul 11, 2020
  • June 2020
    • Jun 29, 2020 More Thoughts on Liberal Education: What is it and Why is it Important? Jun 29, 2020
    • Jun 19, 2020 Trails Through Time: Exploring Conservation Lands and Wildlife Refuges in Eastern Massachusetts Jun 19, 2020
  • May 2020
    • May 26, 2020 How I Released My Inner Druid, and Why the Owl Looks Familiar May 26, 2020
    • May 17, 2020 Some Reflections on Home, Nature, and Displacement in the Ceremonial Time of Corona   May 17, 2020
  • April 2020
    • Apr 22, 2020 The Making of Jazz & Blues Ala Shanghai: A New Documentary Film on the City's Live Music Scenes Apr 22, 2020
    • Apr 1, 2020 Why the Hobbit Movies Don’t Work For Me: Notes from a Dedicated Tolkien Reader Apr 1, 2020
  • March 2020
    • Mar 27, 2020 Count Your Blessings: Some More Thoughts While Coping with the Crisis Mar 27, 2020
    • Mar 20, 2020 Battling the Coronavirus Blues Mar 20, 2020
    • Mar 14, 2020 Please Don’t Succumb to Coronoia: How to Avoid the Viral Madness Mar 14, 2020
    • Mar 13, 2020 How to Move Teaching and Learning Online—FAST!!! Teaching A Course Remotely to Students at Duke Kunshan University  Mar 13, 2020
    • Mar 12, 2020 Take Heart! The Jazz Orchestra Known as the USA Will Prevail Against the Coronavirus Mar 12, 2020
    • Mar 7, 2020 To Blame or Not to Blame? That is the Question: Wet Markets, Wild Creatures, Whistleblowers, and Other Polemics Against China in the Age of Coronavirus Mar 7, 2020
    • Mar 5, 2020 Stay Safe and Sane Folks! More Thoughts on the Coronavirus and Suggestions for Compadres in the USA and Elsewhere Mar 5, 2020
  • February 2020
    • Feb 27, 2020 Why We Left China: Seeking Refuge Abroad During the Coronavirus Crisis Feb 27, 2020
    • Feb 8, 2020 Coping with the Coronavirus Crisis in Shanghai Feb 8, 2020
    • Feb 2, 2020 And Now…Here They Are…The Beatles! A Review of Bob Spitz’s Bio Feb 2, 2020
  • January 2020
    • Jan 30, 2020 武汉加油!Wuhan Rocks! My Memories and Associations with a Rocking City in the Heart of China Jan 30, 2020
    • Jan 1, 2020 Ah, The Joy of Gratitude: Things I Am Grateful For in 2019 Jan 1, 2020
  • December 2019
    • Dec 30, 2019 It's Wake-Up Time: Looking Back on the Unfolding Ecological Crisis in 2019, and Some Goals for 2020 Dec 30, 2019
    • Dec 29, 2019 Sticky Rice, Snorkling, and Sunburn: The Do’s and Don’ts of a Family Vacation in Thailand Dec 29, 2019
    • Dec 21, 2019 走近昆山的音乐酒吧 Catching Up With the Live Music Bar Scenes in Kunshan Dec 21, 2019
    • Dec 15, 2019 Ah, Those Good Old Dartmouth Days: Looking Back At My College Education After 30 Years Dec 15, 2019
  • November 2019
    • Nov 23, 2019 Top Ten Films from My Teen Years, aka the 1980s Nov 23, 2019
    • Nov 14, 2019 Ode to Beijing Bookworm Nov 14, 2019
    • Nov 11, 2019 A Colorful Journey to a Chinese Mountain Village: A DKU Quest Trip to Siming Mountain in Zhejiang Province Nov 11, 2019
  • October 2019
    • Oct 27, 2019 Now I am 5(0): Some Reflections Upon Entering Into my Sixth Decade Oct 27, 2019
  • September 2019
    • Sep 30, 2019 Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles Album Abbey Road Sep 30, 2019
    • Sep 26, 2019 Holy Bronzes! A Field Trip to the Shanghai Museum Sep 26, 2019
  • August 2019
    • Aug 3, 2019 Camp Dartmouth: A Five-Star Summer Experience in Hanover Aug 3, 2019
  • July 2019
    • Jul 20, 2019 Learning from the Long Sands: A Conference Trip to Changsha and the Rule of Thirds Jul 20, 2019
    • Jul 12, 2019 Touring Zhangjiajie, The Fantastical Mountainscape of China’s “Avatar Disneyland” Jul 12, 2019
  • June 2019
    • Jun 2, 2019 International Educators Unite! Surviving My First NAFSA Conference in 2019 Jun 2, 2019
  • May 2019
    • May 5, 2019 What Is This Thing Called Jazz? A Talk and Performance with Benny Benack Quartet at Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai May 5, 2019
  • April 2019
    • Apr 14, 2019 The Long March of the Flaneurs: Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of Shanghai Flaneur Apr 14, 2019
    • Apr 8, 2019 宁波 Ningbo, a Chinese City on the Tranquil Waves of Time Apr 8, 2019
  • March 2019
    • Mar 26, 2019 Talking About the Beatles: 5 Albums Backwards and Forwards Mar 26, 2019
    • Mar 23, 2019 A Magical Evening of Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai with Wynton Marsalis and His Big Band (March 14 2019) Mar 23, 2019
  • February 2019
    • Feb 24, 2019 Niseko Green: A Dartmouth Alumni Gathering in Snowy Hokkaido Feb 24, 2019
    • Feb 22, 2019 Working Through the Pain to Victory: Memories of Coach Jeff Johnson and the ABRHS Boys’ Swim Team, 1983-1987 Feb 22, 2019
    • Feb 11, 2019 Mapping Shanghai’s Entertainment World: Christian Henriot and Virtualshanghai.net Feb 11, 2019
    • Feb 7, 2019 Songs About Shanghai from the Early Jazz Age Feb 7, 2019
    • Feb 5, 2019 新年快乐,恭喜发财!Happy Chinese New Year from ShanghaiSojourns! Feb 5, 2019
  • January 2019
    • Jan 19, 2019 The China Challenge: From Quantity to Quality to Inequality Jan 19, 2019
    • Jan 5, 2019 The Best of Shanghai Sojourns: The Ten Most Popular Posts in 2018 Jan 5, 2019
    • Jan 1, 2019 Walking on the Wild Side of Life: Reading Laura Dassow Walls’ Bio of Henry Thoreau Jan 1, 2019
  • December 2018
    • Dec 27, 2018 A Brahmsian World: On Finishing Jan Swafford’s Brahms Bio Dec 27, 2018
    • Dec 10, 2018 Sa-bai-dee! Visiting Luang Prabang in Laos for the Rustic Pathways EdNet Conference Dec 10, 2018
    • Dec 2, 2018 Seven Tips for Travelers Dec 2, 2018
  • November 2018
    • Nov 15, 2018 Discovering Barcelona: A Flaneur's Guide Nov 15, 2018
    • Nov 11, 2018 Bravo CIEE por una fantástica conferencia en Barcelona Nov 11, 2018
    • Nov 4, 2018 Getting Back to the Heart of Asia: Another Visit to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore Nov 4, 2018
  • September 2018
    • Sep 1, 2018 ​Reflections on the Duke Kunshan Cultural Crossroads Festival Held on Campus on August 18, 2018 Sep 1, 2018
  • August 2018
    • Aug 16, 2018 Dr. Nathan's Top 50 Sci-Fi Films of All Time Aug 16, 2018
    • Aug 7, 2018 A Musical Holiday in America: Radiohead, Thomas Dolby, and the Musical Missionaries of Shanghai Aug 7, 2018
  • July 2018
    • Jul 18, 2018 Ode to Thomas Dolby, The Man Who Blinded Us With Science, Not To Mention Technology, Music, and Poetry Jul 18, 2018
    • Jul 4, 2018 A Whirlwind Tour of Tokyo: Ever an A-Maze-ing City! Jul 4, 2018
  • June 2018
    • Jun 23, 2018 Ode to the Beatles: Memories, Dreams, and Reflections on the Fab Four Jun 23, 2018
    • Jun 16, 2018 A Message to Friends and Colleagues and Like-Minded Folks: Please Support My Work. Jun 16, 2018
    • Jun 3, 2018 On the Importance of Play: At Work, at Home, and with Family Jun 3, 2018
  • May 2018
    • May 5, 2018 It Don’t Get Any More Shanghai Noir Than This: An Online Interview with Paul French, author of City of Devils May 5, 2018
    • May 1, 2018 From Thrills to Chills: A Review of the New Shanghai History Museum in People’s Park May 1, 2018
  • April 2018
    • Apr 14, 2018 Why I Remain in China After All These Years: Some Brief Thoughts and Reflections on the 30th Anniversary of My Engagement with the P.R.C. Apr 14, 2018
    • Apr 10, 2018 My Top Six Bands from My Junior High Days (1981-83) Apr 10, 2018
    • Apr 6, 2018 Walking Historical Shanghai: The Hotel and Theater District around Thibet and Nanjing Roads (Part II) Apr 6, 2018
    • Apr 5, 2018 Walking Historical Shanghai: The Hotel and Theater District Around Tibet Road (Part 1) Apr 5, 2018
  • March 2018
    • Mar 31, 2018 三十年代多伦路上的暗杀案 Unraveling a Murder Mystery on Shanghai’s Duolun (Darroch) Road Mar 31, 2018
    • Mar 28, 2018 My first APAIE conference Mar 28, 2018
    • Mar 25, 2018 Climbing Into the Way Back Machine: Another Night of Music in Shanghai, Traveling Backwards From 1950s Rock’n’Roll to 1930s Big Band Jazz Mar 25, 2018
    • Mar 10, 2018 Walking Shanghai: From the Oldest Part of Town to Some Brand New Nightlife Hotspots Mar 10, 2018
  • February 2018
    • Feb 11, 2018 The Beijing Indie Scene is Alive and Kicking (Well, Almost) Feb 11, 2018
    • Feb 4, 2018 Sunday Journal: Surviving the Cold War in Shanghai, filming a BBC doc, exploring Kunshan Nightscapes, and city walks Feb 4, 2018
  • January 2018
    • Jan 12, 2018 “Someday Soon, You Will All Be Speaking Chinese”—True or False? Jan 12, 2018
    • Jan 7, 2018 Catching Up with the Rock and Jazz Scenes in Shanghai: WHAI at Yuyintang and the JZ Big Band Jan 7, 2018
    • Jan 1, 2018 新年快乐, 上海!Welcoming 2018 in Shanghai with a Walk On the Sunny Side of the Street Jan 1, 2018
  • December 2017
    • Dec 30, 2017 The Cafe to End All Cafes: The New Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Shanghai Dec 30, 2017
    • Dec 28, 2017 So Long, Old West Gate! The Demise of an Old Shanghai Neighborhood Dec 28, 2017
    • Dec 27, 2017 Six Important Points About China Worth Remembering * Dec 27, 2017
    • Dec 27, 2017 Oh, That Magic Kingdom in the Middle Kingdom! Some Comparisons Between Shanghai Disneyland and LA Disneyland Dec 27, 2017
    • Dec 22, 2017 One Last Night Tour of the Bund (for now) and Saying Farewell to Astor House Dec 22, 2017
    • Dec 14, 2017 The Uncertain Future of the Astor House Hotel: A Historical Landmark Hotel in Shanghai Dec 14, 2017
    • Dec 8, 2017 Jazzing the Bund: Joshua Redman and the Aaron Goldberg Trio at Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai Dec 8, 2017
  • November 2017
    • Nov 16, 2017 Morphology, Longevity, Incept Dates: Random Musings, Memories, and Reflections Inspired by Blade Runner and the Sequel, Blade Runner 2049 Nov 16, 2017
    • Nov 2, 2017 Keeping your EARCOS to the Ground: Notes and Reflections on the 49th EARCOS Leadership Conference in Bangkok Nov 2, 2017
  • October 2017
    • Oct 22, 2017 Ten Reasons Why Cities are Grand (Especially Shanghai) Oct 22, 2017
    • Oct 15, 2017 逆流上水 Paddling Against the Current: On Rethinking Asian Language and Culture Studies and on Re-Orienting the Study Abroad Experience Oct 15, 2017
    • Oct 13, 2017 Bustin’ Beijing: Subways, Schwarzman Scholars, and a Whole Lotta Breakdown in Sanlitun Oct 13, 2017
    • Oct 3, 2017 Still Taiwan After All These Years Oct 3, 2017
  • September 2017
    • Sep 17, 2017 Bombay or Bust: My First Journey to India, and the Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship Sep 17, 2017
    • Sep 16, 2017 Bangkok Redux: Exploring the Golden City Sep 16, 2017
    • Sep 15, 2017 Ancient City of Infinite Charms: Hanoi, Vietnam Sep 15, 2017
    • Sep 5, 2017 Why Asia Needs More Liberal Arts (and Sciences) Sep 5, 2017
    • Sep 3, 2017 Night Train to Singapore Sep 3, 2017
  • July 2017
    • Jul 28, 2017 Quick Asian Impressions from a Whirlwind Recruiting Tour (Part 1 of 2) Jul 28, 2017
    • Jul 27, 2017 My Chinese Alter Ego, or What's In a Name? Jul 27, 2017
    • Jul 22, 2017 I'm a zhongguo tong, dammit (and proud of it!) Jul 22, 2017
    • Jul 10, 2017 On the Value of Liberal Arts Education Part 2: Classical vs. Jazz Jul 10, 2017
  • June 2017
    • Jun 25, 2017 On the value of a liberal arts education, or how I went from a math and science nerd to a China/Asian studies nerd Jun 25, 2017
  • May 2017
    • May 19, 2017 Jazz Bandleader Whitey Smith, “The Man Who Taught China to Dance” in Shanghai, 1920s-1930s May 19, 2017
    • May 7, 2017 Rocking Kunshan: A Night with The Eagle Bar Band May 7, 2017
  • April 2017
    • Apr 25, 2017 昆山的酒吧 The Bars and Clubs of Kunshan (Part One) Apr 25, 2017
    • Apr 20, 2017 Getting Green Again: Remembering our Class of 1991 25th Reunion at Dartmouth College Apr 20, 2017
    • Apr 16, 2017 Gathering the Worthies: The Association of Asian Studies (AAS) Conference in Toronto, March 2017 Apr 16, 2017
  • February 2017
    • Feb 19, 2017 Spring 2017 GLS Orientation and Faculty Tour of Shanghai Feb 19, 2017
    • Feb 4, 2017 Vinyl School Years: Musical Memories from the 1980s and my Top 20 Albums (Part 2) Feb 4, 2017
  • January 2017
    • Jan 30, 2017 Vinyl School Years: My Favorite Albums from the 1980s (Part 1) Jan 30, 2017
    • Jan 17, 2017 The Year 2016 in 10 Favorite Books Jan 17, 2017
  • May 2016
    • May 24, 2016 Remembering James Freedman, President of Dartmouth College May 24, 2016
  • April 2016
    • Apr 17, 2016 An educational weekend in Shanghai with SAS Alumni and Duke Kunshan GLS faculty Apr 17, 2016
  • February 2016
    • Feb 21, 2016 Music and Memory: Remembering the Dartmouth College Chamber Singers Feb 21, 2016
  • January 2016
    • Jan 2, 2016 Live from Tokyo, its...A podcast interview on Shanghai Nightscapes with "New Books in East Asian Studies" presenter Carla Nappi Jan 2, 2016
  • November 2015
    • Nov 7, 2015 More talks for Shanghai Nightscapes Nov 7, 2015
  • September 2015
    • Sep 1, 2015 Shanghai Nightscapes book talk for Royal Asiatic Society, Sept 12 Sep 1, 2015
  • August 2015
    • Aug 3, 2015 Shanghai Nightscapes Goes Live Aug 3, 2015
  • July 2015
    • Jul 7, 2015 That's a Fine Cuppa Cha: Another Rave Review of Mu Shiying Jul 7, 2015
    • Jul 4, 2015 What Makes a City Habitable? Workshopping with Toby Lincoln and SASS, and a Night of Cow's Heads and Craft Brews Jul 4, 2015
  • June 2015
    • Jun 18, 2015 Catching Coco and the Possicobilities at JZ Club Jun 18, 2015
    • Jun 6, 2015 Project Dementia Revisited: Getting Reacquainted with the Beijing Rock Scene Jun 6, 2015
  • December 2014
    • Dec 24, 2014 Walter Benjamin: A Critical Life Dec 24, 2014
    • Dec 24, 2014 A Great List of Books and Films on Old Shanghai Dec 24, 2014
  • November 2014
    • Nov 21, 2014 "The Beautiful and Damned:" Including a Review of Mu Shiying: China's Lost Modernist Nov 21, 2014
    • Nov 10, 2014 Shanghai Art Deco Weekend: A Talk on the Paramount Ballroom of the 1930s Nov 10, 2014
  • August 2014
    • Aug 28, 2014 Another review of Mu Shiying Aug 28, 2014
    • Aug 20, 2014 The recordings of Whitey Smith, the Jazz-Man who Taught China to Dance Aug 20, 2014
  • May 2014
    • May 26, 2014 A review of Mu Shiying: China's Lost Modernist in Asian Review of Books May 26, 2014
  • April 2014
    • Apr 19, 2014 Announcing our New Book: Shanghai Nightscapes (to be published within the next year or so) Apr 19, 2014
    • Apr 18, 2014 Book Talk at Italian Chamber of Commerce in China Apr 18, 2014
  • March 2014
    • Mar 24, 2014 Mu Shiying Book Talk at Wooden Box, Shanghai April 3 Mar 24, 2014
    • Mar 24, 2014 Film Screening of "Down" for RAS Shanghai, Wed Mar 26, 7 pm Mar 24, 2014
    • Mar 24, 2014 Mu Shiying Book Talk at FCC HK Mar 24, 2014
    • Mar 16, 2014 A Whirlwind of Talks and Tours in March 2014 Mar 16, 2014
    • Mar 16, 2014 City of Darkness Revisited, by Greg Girard and Ian Lambot Mar 16, 2014
    • Mar 7, 2014 The 2014 Shanghai Literary Festival Begins Mar 7, 2014
    • Mar 6, 2014 Local media support for my new book on Mu Shiying Mar 6, 2014
    • Mar 6, 2014 Mu Shiying: China's Lost Modernist now available on Amazon Mar 6, 2014
    • Mar 4, 2014 My New Book has Arrived! Mar 4, 2014
    • Mar 4, 2014 A Review of our Film, Down: Indie Rock in the PRC Mar 4, 2014
  • February 2014
    • Feb 20, 2014 The Poseidon Project: A Review of a Locally Produced Indie Doc Feb 20, 2014
    • Feb 11, 2014 Some podcasts on my rotation list Feb 11, 2014
    • Feb 5, 2014 Two new BBC radio shows: on Chinese Pop Music and Shanghai History Feb 5, 2014
  • November 2011
    • Nov 27, 2011 子曰--王燮达个人作品展 Sages' Sayings: Wang Xieda Solo Exhibition @ James Cohan Gallery Nov 27, 2011
    • Nov 16, 2011 The Poetry of Chen Gongbo, and the Perils of Translation Nov 16, 2011
    • Nov 16, 2011 Video Art in China @ The Minsheng Art Museum Nov 16, 2011
  • September 2011
    • Sep 29, 2011 Congratulations to Peter Hessler, on Being Awarded a MacArthur Fellow Sep 29, 2011
    • Sep 27, 2011 Some Random Notes on Filmmaking, Art, Music, and Identity Sep 27, 2011
    • Sep 17, 2011 Excavating China's Collective Unconscious: Some Good Contemporary Chinese Art Shows at Shanghai's Moganshan Art District Sep 17, 2011
    • Sep 12, 2011 Old Shanghai Revisited: Touring the Bund and the Shanghai History Museum with my NYU Shanghai History Class Sep 12, 2011
    • Sep 4, 2011 Jazzing Chinese Folk: The Solitary Bird CD Release Party @ TwoCities Gallery Sep 4, 2011
  • August 2011
    • Aug 31, 2011 A Visit with Shanghai's Red Collector, Liu Debao Aug 31, 2011
    • Aug 26, 2011 Strolling Through China's Revolutionary History: A Walk in Shanghai's French Concession Aug 26, 2011
    • Aug 23, 2011 China's Basketball Brawls: Aggression vs. Etiquette on the Courts and on the Road Aug 23, 2011
    • Aug 15, 2011 One More Night of Blues and Funk with Tony Hall's Blues Mission Aug 15, 2011
    • Aug 14, 2011 Shanghai Nights of Blues and Jazz Aug 14, 2011
    • Aug 13, 2011 The Many Faces of Shanghai: Life in the Apocatropolis Aug 13, 2011
    • Aug 9, 2011 A Fond Farewell to Yonsei University Aug 9, 2011
    • Aug 7, 2011 A Visit to Songdo: Yonsei's Eco-Campus of the Future Aug 7, 2011
    • Aug 7, 2011 Artful Construction Sites: Seoul's Digital Media City Aug 7, 2011
    • Aug 6, 2011 A Shanghailander in Seoul VI: So Long Seoul (for now) Aug 6, 2011
  • July 2011
    • Jul 31, 2011 Another review of my book Shanghai's Dancing World Jul 31, 2011
    • Jul 29, 2011 A Shanghailander in Seoul V: Beating the Rainy Day Blues Jul 29, 2011
    • Jul 22, 2011 A Shanghailander in Seoul IV: A "Field Trip" to the Ehwa Museum Jul 22, 2011
    • Jul 16, 2011 A Shanghailander in Seoul III: Getting Squared with Seoul Circles, Jul 16, 2011
    • Jul 3, 2011 A Shanghailander in Seoul II: Climbing Seoul Mountains Jul 3, 2011
  • June 2011
    • Jun 25, 2011 A Shanghailander in Seoul Part 1: Touched Down and Settling In Jun 25, 2011
    • Jun 18, 2011 Two Plays Now Showing in Shanghai: God of Carnage and Deer Cauldron Tale Jun 18, 2011
    • Jun 5, 2011 Land of Rice Wine and Stinky Tofu: A Weekend in Shaoxing Jun 5, 2011
  • May 2011
    • May 15, 2011 Resurrecting the Ghosts of Old Shanghai: The Execution of Mayor Chen May 15, 2011
    • May 11, 2011 Mao on Maoming Road: A Tour of the Chairman's Old Shanghai Haunts May 11, 2011
    • May 9, 2011 Here are some Wordle Word Clouds from my Research and Writing May 9, 2011
    • May 1, 2011 Playing with Noise: A Weekend of Art and Rock in Beijing May 1, 2011
  • April 2011
    • Apr 15, 2011 Glitz and Glamour, Desire, and Danger: A Field Trip to Xintiandi Apr 15, 2011
    • Apr 13, 2011 Shanghai has Sprung: Walking through Historic Parks, Remembering Lu Xun and Waltzing with Mao Apr 13, 2011
    • Apr 10, 2011 Touring the French Concession and Screening Down: Indie Rock in the PRC Apr 10, 2011
    • Apr 9, 2011 Bob Dylan Rocked Shanghai, But Did He Roll? Apr 9, 2011
    • Apr 4, 2011 Interview with the filmmakers on the making of Down: Indie Rock in the PRC Apr 4, 2011
    • Apr 1, 2011 A Week of Musical Magic in Shanghai Apr 1, 2011
  • March 2011
    • Mar 29, 2011 春日游走老上海法租界 A stroll through the Heart of Old Shanghai's French Concession with NYU Shanghai Mar 29, 2011
    • Mar 28, 2011 上海纽约大学奠基仪式 NYU Shanghai Campus Groundbreaking Ceremony Mar 28, 2011
    • Mar 23, 2011 Shanghai's Dancing World favorably reviewed in the American Historical Review Mar 23, 2011
    • Mar 21, 2011 有朋自遠方來 不亦樂乎: Receiving honored guests from Tokyo and Harvard, resurrecting the ghost of Zhang Ailing, and exploring rooftops on the Shanghai Bund Mar 21, 2011
    • Mar 20, 2011 穆時英 上海的狐步舞, “Shanghai Fox-trot” Mar 20, 2011
    • Mar 19, 2011 Shanghai’s Nighttime Phantasmagoria: Haunting Nightlife Spaces Old and New Mar 19, 2011
    • Mar 4, 2011 Canned Fun: An Evening at the Phebe 3D Dance Club in Shanghai Mar 4, 2011
  • February 2011
    • Feb 10, 2011 Dancing at the Majestic Hotel to "Nightime in Old Shanghai" by Whitey Smith Feb 10, 2011
    • Feb 7, 2011 An A-Muse-ing Weekend in Shanghai or Sexing the Foreigner in the Nightlife Scene Feb 7, 2011
  • January 2011
    • Jan 14, 2011 On Chua, Chinese Mothers, and Educating Our Daughter in Shanghai Jan 14, 2011
    • Jan 13, 2011 The Rock Doc is Nearing Completion Jan 13, 2011
  • August 2010
    • Aug 25, 2010 Shanghai's Dancing World voted a "page turner" at HK Book Fest Aug 25, 2010
    • Aug 4, 2010 A review of _Shanghai's Dancing World_ in _China Quarterly_ Aug 4, 2010
  • July 2010
    • Jul 30, 2010 On Reading Peter Hessler’s latest book, Country Driving Jul 30, 2010
    • Jul 27, 2010 Some Late Night Thoughts on Reading Paul Theroux’s _My Secret History_ Jul 27, 2010
    • Jul 1, 2010 Xu Jilin on Arts and Culture in Shanghai Jul 1, 2010
  • June 2010
    • Jun 3, 2010 Shanghai Journal back online Jun 3, 2010
  • October 2008
    • Oct 5, 2008 A Fun-Filled Vacation Week in Shanghai Oct 5, 2008
  • September 2008
    • Sep 30, 2008 Singin' the Digestive Blues in Good Ol' Shanghai Sep 30, 2008
    • Sep 13, 2008 Life in Shanghai Continues Apace, and my New Job with CIEE Ramps Up Sep 13, 2008
  • August 2008
    • Aug 31, 2008 Post-Olympic Rambles Aug 31, 2008
  • July 2008
    • Jul 26, 2008 Ah, Those Wonderful Olympics (II) Jul 26, 2008
    • Jul 26, 2008 Tempests in Teapots: The Beijing Olympics and the World Press Jul 26, 2008
    • Jul 22, 2008 Back on Track in Muggy Shanghai Jul 22, 2008
    • Jul 14, 2008 Garden Memories of an Illustrious Past: A Weekend Visit to Suzhou Jul 14, 2008
    • Jul 8, 2008 Beaches and Buddhas: A Weekend Trip to the Zhoushan Islands of Shenjiamen, Zhujiajian, and Putuoshan Jul 8, 2008
    • Jul 1, 2008 Another Sign of Old Shanghai Vanishing Jul 1, 2008
  • June 2008
    • Jun 29, 2008 Shanghai Gloaming: A Videographic Portrayal of the City in Flux Jun 29, 2008
    • Jun 29, 2008 (mis)Representing Beijing: A Review of _Beijing Time_ by Dutton et al Jun 29, 2008
    • Jun 23, 2008 Sex and Politics in the Orient: An Interview with James Farrer Jun 23, 2008
    • Jun 16, 2008 Punks on Stage in Shanghai: Re-TROS at Moganshan Lu STD Party Jun 16, 2008
    • Jun 7, 2008 Eine Kleine Nachtmusik: The Rogue Transmission, Boys Climbing Ropes, and Joyside at Windows Underground Jun 7, 2008
    • Jun 1, 2008 Windows Underground: A New Bastion for the Rock Scene in Shanghai Jun 1, 2008
    • Jun 1, 2008 Happy Children’s Day, Shanghai Jun 1, 2008
  • May 2008
    • May 21, 2008 A Message to China: Stop Eating Shark Fin Soup! 鱼翅汤背后的成本:鲨鱼可能消失 May 21, 2008
    • May 19, 2008 Nightlife in China: A Special Issue of _China An International Journal_ May 19, 2008
    • May 18, 2008 Earthquake Rocks Sichuan, but Shanghai Parties On May 18, 2008
    • May 17, 2008 Six Shanghai Walks: One Down, Five to Go May 17, 2008
    • May 13, 2008 Shanghai in May: A Renewed Love Affair with the City May 13, 2008
    • May 3, 2008 A Virtual Tour of the Paramount Ballroom, 1930s Shanghai's Finest Dance Palace May 3, 2008
  • April 2008
    • Apr 28, 2008 Holy Hollywood! Welcoming John Cusack to Shanghai Apr 28, 2008
    • Apr 28, 2008 Tintin in the Land of Snow: Tibet, China, and the West Apr 28, 2008
    • Apr 21, 2008 Dartmouth in Beijing Presents: Preserving the Hutongs of Beijing Apr 21, 2008
    • Apr 20, 2008 CIEE Workshop On Improving Teaching, Learning, and Intercultural Understanding Apr 20, 2008
    • Apr 11, 2008 SUBS in Shanghai : Great band but the venue needs work Apr 11, 2008
    • Apr 10, 2008 Sparrow Village: A Film about China's Miao Minority People Apr 10, 2008
    • Apr 6, 2008 Tianzifang: A Close Look at Shanghai’s “Creative Art Park” Apr 6, 2008
    • Apr 4, 2008 China's Jimi Hendrix? The Guitar Work of Zhou Chao 周朝 Apr 4, 2008
    • Apr 2, 2008 Shanghai Spring has Finally Arrived Apr 2, 2008
  • March 2008
    • Mar 29, 2008 A Week in Shanghai with Dr. Nightlife and Dr. Sex Life Mar 29, 2008
  • February 2008
    • Feb 19, 2008 Goodbye Sydney, Farewell UNSW Feb 19, 2008
    • Feb 10, 2008 Chinese New Year Resolutions Feb 10, 2008
  • January 2008
    • Jan 30, 2008 Chasing the Shanghai Winter Blues Jan 30, 2008
  • December 2007
    • Dec 20, 2007 Nile Perch and Blue Jeans: Videographing inequalities in globalized labor in China and Africa Dec 20, 2007
  • November 2007
    • Nov 11, 2007 Another Week of Rock, Art, and Beauty in Beijing Nov 11, 2007
    • Nov 6, 2007 Beautiful Ugliness: The Aesthetics of Jia Zhangke's Film _Still Life_ Nov 6, 2007
    • Nov 3, 2007 The Ullens Center and Chinese New Wave Art from the 1980s Nov 3, 2007
  • October 2007
    • Oct 6, 2007 Beijing Punk Band Snapline Oct 6, 2007
    • Oct 5, 2007 The Best of Old and New Beijing: Historical Sites and Live Music Oct 5, 2007
  • September 2007
    • Sep 18, 2007 Kaiser Kuo Gives a Smoking Talk to Dartmouth FSPers Sep 18, 2007
    • Sep 18, 2007 Dartmouth Does the Great Wall: Simatai to Jinshanling Sep 18, 2007
    • Sep 11, 2007 Hang the Police, We're Here to Rock! The Beijing Pop Festival, Sept 10 and 11 2007 Sep 11, 2007
  • August 2007
    • Aug 15, 2007 An Interview with Greg Girard, Shanghai-based Photographer and Author of Phantom Shanghai Aug 15, 2007
    • Aug 14, 2007 Nightlife in Beijing vs. Shanghai: A Student's Perspective Aug 14, 2007
    • Aug 13, 2007 Another Rockin’ Week in Beijing Aug 13, 2007
    • Aug 8, 2007 Water Ripple: A Bluesy Chinese Rock Band Aug 8, 2007
    • Aug 6, 2007 PUNK VS METAL: A Showdown @ D22 and 13 Club Aug 6, 2007
    • Aug 4, 2007 Chinese Punks and The Ramones Tribute Concert @ Mao Livehouse in Beijing Aug 4, 2007
  • July 2007
    • Jul 31, 2007 A Chinese Rock Odyssey: On tour in Hunan and Wuhan with Beijing punk band SUBS and Veteran Rocker Cui Jian Jul 31, 2007
    • Jul 24, 2007 Courtesans, Hostesses, and Dancers in Old and New Shanghai Jul 24, 2007
    • Jul 24, 2007 Republican Beijing: The City and Its Histories Jul 24, 2007
    • Jul 23, 2007 Project Dementia Goes to Shanghai: An Interview with Wu Jun and a Night @ 4Live Jul 23, 2007
    • Jul 23, 2007 A Mad Whirlwind Weekend in Shanghai: The CET summer field trip July 21-22 Jul 23, 2007
    • Jul 23, 2007 Full Tilt: An Online Journal of East Asian Literature and Poetry in Translation Jul 23, 2007
    • Jul 21, 2007 Shanghai Baby Redux Jul 21, 2007
    • Jul 20, 2007 Project Dementia Week 3: A Tsunami@2K, Jamming@Sugar Jar, Acoustic Glam@D22, and the usual Excess@PPG Jul 20, 2007
    • Jul 15, 2007 Welcome to Project Dementia: Week 3 in Beijing Jul 15, 2007
    • Jul 10, 2007 BEIJING ROCKS!!! The CH-INDIE Fest at Dos Kolegas Jul 10, 2007
    • Jul 6, 2007 A Rocking Week in Beijing: 13 Club and Kaiser Jul 6, 2007
    • Jul 2, 2007 Rock It! A Crash Course in the Chinese Indie Music Scene Jul 2, 2007
    • Jul 2, 2007 Sex in China: The Times They Are a Changin' Jul 2, 2007
  • June 2007
    • Jun 27, 2007 人在中国现在能读我的博客!People in China can now read my blog! Jun 27, 2007
    • Jun 27, 2007 Beijing or Bust: Documenting China's "Returnees" Jun 27, 2007
    • Jun 25, 2007 Trippin’ at the Hip-Hoppinest Club in Beijing: Propaganda Jun 25, 2007
    • Jun 25, 2007 Freedom, Beijing Style Jun 25, 2007
    • Jun 25, 2007 Muse: Shanghai's Toniest Nightclub? Jun 25, 2007
    • Jun 22, 2007 A Stroll through the Shanghai Night Jun 22, 2007
    • Jun 21, 2007 All of Shanghai Under one Roof Jun 21, 2007
    • Jun 17, 2007 Shanghai: A Day in the Life Jun 17, 2007
    • Jun 7, 2007 Battle of the Sexes: Shanghai Baby vs. Foreign Babes in Beijing Jun 7, 2007
    • Jun 6, 2007 A Dialogue on Fairer Globalization with Devin Stewart Jun 6, 2007
    • Jun 2, 2007 Public Manners in China and the Case of a Korean Blogger Jun 2, 2007
  • May 2007
    • May 28, 2007 China and Genocide in Darfur vs. America in Iraq May 28, 2007
    • May 27, 2007 Sustainable Development and the "Eco-City" of Dongtan near Shanghai May 27, 2007
    • May 27, 2007 Responsible Globalization in Asia and the World May 27, 2007
    • May 27, 2007 Strange Cities: A Multimedia Site on Old Shanghai May 27, 2007
    • May 18, 2007 An Interview with Peter Hessler May 18, 2007
    • May 16, 2007 David Spindler and the Great Wall May 16, 2007
    • May 15, 2007 The Great Wall of China: Article and Film May 15, 2007
  • April 2007
    • Apr 27, 2007 Final Remarks on the Usage and Abusage of "Laowai" Apr 27, 2007
    • Apr 22, 2007 Thinking About Ethnicity and Race in China Apr 22, 2007
    • Apr 20, 2007 Frederic Wakeman, _Policing Shanghai_/ A Review Apr 20, 2007
    • Apr 18, 2007 Resurrecting Old Shanghai: The Peace Hotel Apr 18, 2007
    • Apr 15, 2007 What Wm. T. de Bary Has Taught Me Apr 15, 2007
    • Apr 15, 2007 On the True Meaning of Laowai Apr 15, 2007
    • Apr 12, 2007 Mainland Chinese Historians, US Academia, and Cold War Politics Apr 12, 2007
    • Apr 8, 2007 Unblocking Blocked Blogs in China (or India, Pakistan, Nepal..) Apr 8, 2007
    • Apr 7, 2007 A Short Walk on a Great Wall: David Spindler Strikes Again Apr 7, 2007
    • Apr 4, 2007 Are Chinese underrepresented in Western academia? Apr 4, 2007
    • Apr 2, 2007 On Translations of Popular Chinese Literature Apr 2, 2007
  • March 2007
    • Mar 22, 2007 Chinese Doublethink: The New Media Rules Mar 22, 2007
    • Mar 19, 2007 Democracy in China? Mar 19, 2007
    • Mar 17, 2007 Great Wall Exhibit in Sydney/Melbourne Mar 17, 2007
    • Mar 12, 2007 More Thoughts on Sex and Shanghai Mar 12, 2007
    • Mar 9, 2007 Sex and Shanghai Mar 9, 2007
    • Mar 6, 2007 On Chinglish Mar 6, 2007
  • February 2007
    • Feb 22, 2007 Shanghai's Art Deco Riches Revealed Feb 22, 2007
    • Feb 11, 2007 Shanghai: digital map to provide 3D view of downtown Feb 11, 2007
  • January 2007
    • Jan 20, 2007 Comet McNaught--Another Great Siting Jan 20, 2007
    • Jan 19, 2007 Gentrification worries Shanghai preservationists Jan 19, 2007
    • Jan 19, 2007 First Siting of Comet McNaught Jan 19, 2007
    • Jan 16, 2007 Shanghai's mad dash: University Admission Jan 16, 2007
    • Jan 16, 2007 Education key to Shanghai life Jan 16, 2007
    • Jan 15, 2007 Three Days at Uluru Jan 15, 2007
    • Jan 14, 2007 China's problems multiply with its population Jan 14, 2007
    • Jan 14, 2007 Genghis Khan -- A Chinese Hero??? Jan 14, 2007
    • Jan 14, 2007 Shanghai Scandal Jan 14, 2007
    • Jan 14, 2007 Monument to all that jazz: Shanghai's Peace Hotel, a piece of Old Europe in new China Jan 14, 2007
    • Jan 14, 2007 Shanghai Risen, Shanghai Falling Down Jan 14, 2007
    • Jan 14, 2007 Resurgence And Spread Of Syphilis In China Is A Rapidly Increasing Epidemic Jan 14, 2007
    • Jan 5, 2007 Beijing’s Olympic-sized traffic problem Jan 5, 2007
    • Jan 2, 2007 Shanghai to have 400 km urban rail lines in 2010 Jan 2, 2007
  • December 2006
    • Dec 27, 2006 Global warming likely to wreck havoc in China Dec 27, 2006
    • Dec 5, 2006 Beijing vs. Shanghai Dec 5, 2006

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