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Kwame Dawes. Courtesy photo.

José Alcantara’s poem, which appeared in the Winter 2020 issue of Rattle, seems simple enough – a splendid and hopeful account of a familiar moment – a bird stunned by a collision with glass, held in the hand and then, recovered, it flies away.

Then we return to the title, “Divorce,” and we see it’s doing what poems like to do, take one moment to describe another, seemingly unrelated moment.

In the end it is a poem about resilience and care, something we all need.

Divorce
By José Alcantara

He has flown headfirst against the glass
and now lies stunned on the stone patio,
nothing moving but his quick beating heart.
So you go to him, pick up his delicate
body and hold him in the cupped palms
of your hands. You have always known
he was beautiful, but it's only now, in his stillness,
in his vulnerability, that you see the miracle
of his being, how so much life fits in so small
a space. And so you wait, keeping him warm
against the unseasonable cold, trusting that
when the time is right, when he has recovered
both his strength and his sense of up and down,
he will gather himself, flutter once or twice,
and then rise, a streak of dazzling
color against a slowly lifting sky.


American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2020 by José “Divorce” from Rattle, (No. 70, Winter 2020). Poem reprinted by permission of José Alcantara and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2021 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Kwame Dawes, is Chancellor’s Professor of English and Glenna Luschei Editor of Prairie Schooner at the University of Nebraska.
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Kwame Dawes. Courtesy photo.


Only 0.03 per­cent of us end up doing jury duty each year. But we all car­ry an aware­ness that it can be us next.

Accord­ing to casi​no​.org a quar­ter of Amer­i­can adults serve on jury duty at least once in their life­time. Kath­leen McClung’s poem reminds us of the cost of such duty.

The poem appears in her 2020 chap­book, “A Juror Must Fold In On Herself.”

The Forewoman Speaks
By Kathleen McClung

Among us twelve, just three have raised a child.
We’re mostly gray and promise to be fair
and wonder if the prosecutor smiled
to greet or warn, or both. We go nowhere
for weeks. We’re stiff and silent in these rows,
our faces stony though we ache to cry,
delete that damn surveillance video
(Exhibit A) that shows a girl, six, die,
night, crosswalk, SUV. And in the end,
our verdict signed and dated, read aloud,
we will resume routine—go meet a friend
for lunch on Harrison, admire a cloud
above the bridge, ten thousand cars an hour,
some backseats full of kids.


American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2020 by Kathleen McClung, “The Forewoman Speaks” from A Juror Must Fold In On Herself, (Rattle Foundation, 2020). Poem reprinted by permission of Kathleen McClung and the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2021 by The Poetry Foundation.
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Kwame Dawes. Courtesy photo.

Pat Emile, who served as assistant editor to American Life in Poetry for over a decade, was described by past editor, Ted Kooser, as the “Jill-Of-All-Trades for this column.”

I was fortunate enough to enjoy her sensitive ear for the rightly tuned poem, and her generosity as a liaison with poets, publishers and our collaborating periodicals, as a necessary component of the training for my tenure.

It all makes sense, as Pat Emile is, herself, a poet of fine taste, lovely insight and, as evidenced in this poem (from column 580), “They Dance Through Granelli’s”, a poet with a remarkable eye for sensual detail. T

hank you, Pat, for all you have done for American Life in Poetry, and for your gift of delightful verse. Her poem is a fit way to start this exciting re-launch of ALiP!

They Dance Through Granelli’s
By Pat Emile

He finds her near the stack
of green plastic baskets waiting to be filled
and circles her waist with his left arm,
entwines her fingers in his, pulls her toward him, Muzak from the ceiling shedding a flashy Salsa, and as they begin to move, she lets
her head fall back, fine hair swinging
a beat behind as they follow
their own music—a waltz—past the peaches bursting with ripeness in their wicker baskets,
the prawns curled into each other
behind cold glass, a woman in a turquoise sari,
her dark eyes averted. They twirl twice
before the imported cheeses, fresh mozzarella
in its milky liquid, goat cheese sent down
from some green mountain, then glide past
ranks of breads, seeds spread across brown crusts, bottles of red wine nested together on their sides. He reaches behind her, slides a bouquet
of cut flowers from a galvanized bucket, tosses
a twenty to the teenaged boy leaning
on the wooden counter, and they whirl
out the door, the blue sky a sudden surprise.


American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2016 by Pat Hemphill Emile, “They Dance Through Granelli's.” Poem reprinted by permission of Pat Hemphill Emile.
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‘BAD TRIP’ TV MOVIE ON NETFLIX

Johnny Knoxville has been on hiatus for several years from the idiocy of the wild pranks of the “Jackass” franchise, but until the next installment arrives the vacuum can be filled by others making a hidden camera movie.

We are long past the days of Allen Funt’s “Candid Camera,” and for the uninitiated, clips of classic episodes of this landmark television series from the Fifties and Sixties may be glimpsed on YouTube.

To fill the void until Knoxville returns, Netflix steps into the breach with “Bad Trip,” a raunchy prank-filled adventure thankfully devoid of a political agenda or social commentary.

Be warned that two best buddies in dead-end jobs in Florida, namely Bud Malone (Lil Rel Howery) and Chris Carey (Eric Andre), are thrust into a road trip to New York City that is fraught with, well, an abundance of gross humor.

The goofball of the pair is Chris, first seen working at a car wash when the girl of his dreams, high school crush Maria (Michaela Conlin), arrives to have her car detailed.

Sharing his excitement at spotting the dream girl with a customer, Chris mishandles a vacuum so powerful that it sucks off his clothes, leaving him completely naked and afraid to the consternation of the customer.

A chance encounter later with Maria plants the seed for Chris and Bud to steal the pink Crown Vic belonging to Bud’s sister Trina (Tiffany Haddish), who breaks out of prison and loses her mind about her missing car.

What ensues is a wild journey to New York for Chris to find Maria at her art gallery, with an enraged Trina not far behind. That Bud and Chris take time to push some boundaries at a southern cowboy bar is just one of many pranks.

Inarguably, bad taste runs ramp in “Bad Trip” with its degrading pranks from fake vomit spewing on bar patrons, penises stuck in Chinese finger traps, and not least with Chris getting sexually molested by a gorilla at a zoo.

“Bad Trip” may be an uneven comedy but there are plenty of laughs for those willing to take the ride.

CABLE TV PREVIEW

May we ponder the question of whether certain actors are destined to play particular characters? Can you imagine someone other than Charlton Heston becoming the personification of Moses in “The Ten Commandments?”

Though not yet an iconic actor in her own right, Danielle Brooks, by way of a role in the 2015 Broadway revival of “The Color Purple,” came to the realization from castmates that she should play the part of gospel artist Mahalia Jackson.

The Lifetime Channel’s TV movie “Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia” fulfills a destiny for Brooks, who let it be known during the winter press tour that Broadway co-star Jennifer Hudson would come to her dressing room to say she should play Mahalia Jackson.

When Jennifer Holliday stepped into a role in “The Color Purple,” she suggested the same thing to Brooks, who told the press that “maybe this is a sign. Maybe God is telling me maybe I should really think about this character.”

And so, Brooks will play the part in “Mahalia” of the New Orleans native who began singing at an early age and went on to become one of the most revered gospel figures in U.S. history, melding her music with the civil right movement.

Mahalia’s recording of the song “Move on Up a Little Higher” sold millions of copies, skyrocketing her to international fame and gave her the opportunity to perform at the prestigious Carnegie Hall and John F. Kennedy’s inaugural ball.

Acorn TV, one of several cable brands within the umbrella of AMC Networks, is a good source of entertainment from Great Britain and neighboring European countries. The four-part Irish crime thriller “Bloodlands” has made its debut but there is time to catch up with it.

In “Bloodlands,” James Nesbitt stars as Tom Brannick, a veteran Northern Ireland police detective going into his own dark past to try to solve an infamous cold case that holds enormous personal significance for him.

When an expensive car containing a suicide note – but no body – is pulled from the sea, Brannick immediately sees a connection with the cold case that may link to a long-buried series of mysterious disappearances.

Not to be outdone, AMC will bring the British drama series “The Beast Must Die,” starring Jared Harris and Cush Jumbo, to the United States this spring. The six-part thriller is based on the novel by Nicholas Blake (the pen name of Poet Laureate Cecil Day-Lewis).

Unlike the 1974 horror film of the same title, “The Beast Must Die” tells the revenge story of a grieving mother who infiltrates the life of the man she believes killed her son.

At the winter press tour, AMC executive Dan McDermott observed that this engaging revenge thriller “explores the human condition and how the depths of suffering sometimes give rise to unexpected consequences.” We’ll soon judge for ourselves how this plays out.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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‘BOSS LEVEL’ TV MOVIE ON HULU

The first question one may have about “Boss Level,” not knowing the videogame lexicon, is the meaning of the title and its relevance to the wild action that unfolds in a continuous cycle of repetitive battles.

The phrase “boss level” is the highest level of difficulty in a fighting videogame, the ultimate challenge for any gamer. I would have had no idea of this unless director Joe Carnahan, who knows plenty about delivering violent action, explained the meaning.

If you’ve seen Carnahan’s explosive “Smokin’ Aces,” where bounty hunters, thugs-for-hire, deadly vixens and double-crossing mobsters are determined to fulfill a contract hit on a mob informant, you may have a good idea of what’s in store for the target in “Boss Level.”

Mix in the formula of “Groundhog Day” with a heavy dose of Carnahan’s most outrageous action sequences, and the result is what ex-soldier Roy Pulver (Frank Grillo) experiences every day in his time-loop nightmare.

Living in a spacious loft, Roy wakes up each morning dodging a machete-wielding assassin and the hail of bullets from a machine-gunner hovering outside his building in a helicopter. Sometimes an escape requires jumping out of his multi-story building.

Having no fear of death, Roy survives for another day, and the only thing that seems to matter is whether he can ever live past 12:47 p.m. on any given day. That appears to be the magic threshold to get to the boss level.

Depending on how Roy reacts to daily attacks, he finds refuge in an underground bar run by the wisecracking Jake (Ken Jeong), where he proceeds to get hammered while listening to an annoying security expert that he refers to as “Dave the pantload.”

As a former Delta Force operative, Roy may have been battle-hardened by his service, but it’s nothing like enduring daily slaughter by assassins in different ways, such as being shot, blown up, or decapitated. He takes it all in stride with self-deprecating, profane humor.

Unraveling the mystery of the time loop leads to the discovery of a connection to his ex-wife, Dr. Jemma Wells (Naomi Watts), a brilliant scientist employed by Colonel Clive Ventor (Mel Gibson).

As an unwitting part of Ventor’s plan to use a powerful machine called the Osiris Spindle, Roy is targeted by Ventor’s security chief (Will Sasso) with an army of killers that include a redneck with a harpoon, an Irish little person fond of explosives and the German twins.

The best and most memorable of all assassins is Guan Yin (Selina Lo), a sword-wielding ninja with the running gag of uttering the catchphrase “I am Guan Yin, and Guan Yin has done this” every time after beheading Roy.

While the supporting players are good, including Michelle Yeoh’s Chinese champion sword-fighter who trains Roy to defeat Guan Yin, it’s Frank Grillo’s tough guy, with his sarcasm and weary cynicism, who carries the day.

“Boss Level” may be one of the best entertainments to reflect our pandemic times. With lockdowns and avenues of fun mostly closed, it often feels like we are trapped in a terrible time loop of repeating the same daily routines. At least “Boss Level” offers a cool diversion.

HBO CABLE TV PREVIEW

HBO’s two-hour documentary film “Tina,” which will also be available to stream on HBO Max, is a revealing and intimate look at the life and career of musical icon Tina Turner, charting her improbable rise to early fame, along with her personal and professional struggles.

Insightful interviews with Tina herself were conducted in her hometown of Zurich, Switzerland (she became a Swiss citizen in 2013), and with those closest to her. Also featured is a wealth of never-before-seen archival footage.

“Tina” draws to an emotional conclusion with Tina Turner taking a bow at the opening night of the Broadway musical about her life, a fitting swan song for a talented artist who courageously spoke truth about domestic abuse at the hands of Ike Turner.

After a long absence from an HBO production, Kate Winslet stars in the limited series “Mare of Easttown” as Mare Sheehan, a small-town Pennsylvania detective who investigates a local murder as life crumbles around her.

That “Mare of Easttown” explores the dark side of a close community may explain why Winslet, during the winter press tour, said that being Mare Sheehan was “like one of the biggest challenges I think I’ve ever been slapped with. And she’s nothing like me.”

Jean Smart also stars as Helen, Mare’s mother; Julianne Nicholson as Lori Ross, Mare’s best friend since childhood; and Evan Peters as the county detective called in to assist with Mare’s investigation.

In the new drama series “The Nevers,” Victorian London is rocked by a supernatural event which gives certain people – mostly women – abnormal abilities, all of whom belong to a new underclass in grave danger.

It falls to mysterious, quick-fisted widow Amalia True (Laura Donnelly) and young inventor Penance Adair (Ann Skelly) to protect and shelter the gifted people from brutal forces determined to annihilate their kind.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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‘COMING 2 AMERICA’ RATED PG-13 ON AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

Making a sequel to a beloved comedy more than three decades later is challenging. Will it be something completely fresh or a rehash of many rhetorical devices that were so endearing the first time around?

For “Coming 2 America,” an Amazon Prime Video original movie that is a semi-sequel to 1988’s “Coming to America,” starring Eddie Murphy as an African prince from the fictional country of Zamunda, it might be a little of both, depending on one’s estimation of its originality.

One thing that might be indisputable, despite any critical divide over the film’s appeal, is that the extravagant costumes, designed by Ruth E. Carter (Oscar winner for “Black Panther” fashion), certainly bring a spectacular look to this production.

Over 30 years ago Eddie Murphy’s young, pampered Prince Akeem traveled undercover to New York City’s borough of Queens to find an independent woman to be his bride rather than accept an arranged marriage.

Still with the love of his life, Lisa (Shari Headley, reprising the role), Prince Akeem has three strong-willed daughters, the oldest one Meeka (KiKi Layne) having spent her life preparing to be the heir to the throne even if royal decree requires a male to takeover.

Enter Wesley Snipes as General Izzi, leader of the rival nation of Nexdoria, who remains upset that Akeem backed out of an arranged union with his sister Imani (Vanessa Bell Calloway) to jet off to America to find his true love.

Plotting to unify his country with Zamunda for a taste of prosperity, General Izzi offers up his son Idi (Rotimi) to marry Meeka, an idea which is immediately shut down, but that’s not the end of Izzi’s plotting to secure his place in Zamunda.

Meanwhile, Zamunda’s aging King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones also reprising this role) delivers the shocking news that Akeem has a long-lost illegitimate son, Lavelle Junson (Jermaine Fowler), the product of a drunken one-night dalliance during the Queens sojourn.

Traveling back to New York with his trusted sidekick Semmi (Arsenio Hall also back), Prince Akeem finds Lavelle, referred to as his “bastard son,” a slacker scalping tickets to basketball games at Madison Square Garden.

Needing an heir to the throne, Akeem can only convince Lavelle to return with him to Zamunda as long as his son can bring his mother Mary (Leslie Jones) and Uncle Reem (Tracy Morgan) along for an adventure in a distant land.

Culture shock sets in for the Americans to comedic effect as they try to adapt to an opulent lifestyle of luxury, especially for Lavelle as he’s expected to acclimate to the trappings and customs of royalty.

Next comes an appeasement to General Izzi with the notion that Lavelle will marry the military leader’s alluring daughter Bopoto (Teyana Taylor), but the new prince yearns for the pretty palace hairstylist Mirembe (Nomzamo Mbatha).

The nostalgia that comes with “Coming 2 America” and the comic pleasures derived from Eddie Murphy and his crew surmount the dated material so that enough joy makes for a nice diversion.

HALLMARK CHANNEL PREVIEW

During the winter press tour, the Hallmark Channel rightfully boasted that it surmounted the challenge this past year of delivering a slate of 40 new original holiday movies during industry-wide production shutdowns.

President and CEO Wonya Lucas reminded the TV critics that “Hallmark has been in the Christmas business well before it was a network,” marketing greeting cards and ornaments for a hundred years.

For 2021, Hallmark already has 26 movies in production, with many more to come when holiday season rolls around again. Filming in places like Utah and North Carolina can be done safely, but the majority of the shooting takes place in Vancouver.

Hallmark Channel celebrates the return of its annual “Spring Fling” programming event with romantic stories that will transport viewers to snowcapped mountains, mythical waterfalls, Ireland’s Cliffs of Moher and beyond.

Late March brings the first of five all-new original movie premieres every Saturday night, starting with “Chasing Waterfalls,” starring Cindy Busby and Christopher Russell.

Busby’s aspiring photographer Amy gets a career break on assignment to shoot one of North America’s fabled waterfalls and ends up falling for her rugged guide Mark (Russell) and bonding with his young daughter.

In “Breakup Bootcamp,” Italia Ricci’s Miranda runs a boot camp for the recently broken hearted, and she forms a connection with Ben (Ryan Paevey), an undercover investigative reporter.

Taylor Cole’s Cara is leaving on an international book tour in two weeks and Jack Turner’s Ben is busy with a business expansion, but that won’t interfere with them going ahead with their nuptials in “One Perfect Wedding.”

Fitting for its Irish setting, in “As Luck Would Have It” JoAnna Garcia Swisher’s Lindsey decides to enter the town’s world-famous matchmaking festival to win over a handsome local (Allen Leech).

The last movie in the series, lacking a final title, stars Janel Parrish’s Carly getting a second chance at romance with her college crush with the help of a new friend (Marco Grazzini).

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

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