Week #05 - A Thousand Mornings ¦ EP2

Poetry has always been a great love of mine. I am no purist in the art and only read what I like, hence I have struggled for years and years to find any new poetry that I do like. That could be due to the fact I really only like free-form poetry (all else seems contrived), however it has to be simple, very simple. My search has finally ended with Mary Oliver's A Thousand Mornings.

This is my first introduction to Oliver, as our library is somewhat bereft of poetry books. There is so much to like about this collection. From the first to the last, the poems are concise, simple yet they all project stunning imagery.

The poems are very earthy, full of the natures wonder and most (if not all) have been written around her home in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Oliver has a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry among her raft of honours.

By the first poem (below) I was hooked.

I GO DOWN TO THE SHORE
I go down to the shore in the morning
and depending on the hour the waves
are rolling in or moving out,
and I say, oh, I am miserable,
what shall—
what should I do? And the sea says
in its lovely voice:
Excuse me, I have work to do.

4/5

EP2 by the Pixies is the second EP they have released in the last couple of months. The first (weirdly titled EP1) was a shock to my ears. I have been a fan since 1988 and what EP1 offered was nothing like the classic Pixies sound. I was hoping EP2 would be different and unleash the rawness that the Pixies are about. Alas I was disappointed again.

This new music is released under the Pixies name but there is no Kim Deal. I know that she was just the bass player in this band but going by the sound she must have had a greater influence on the initial noise of the Pixies than anyone gives her credit for. I mean she does some wonderful music as a now solo artist and previous with the sublime and ridiculously brilliant The Breeders. I miss her on these new songs. I used to think the Pixies was all about Frank. Oblivious not.

1/5