This week was a whirlwind of impressions - a light digest seems like the proper thing.
First, Poland's heroine Wisława Szymborska died on Wednesday aged 88. The Nobel Prize Laureate of 1996 wrote wonderfully simple and powerful poems which inspired people who weren't even into poetry (ex. me). I did my end of school English project on the translation of her poem "Nothing Twice" and loved it.
Here a fantastic interview with the "Greta Garbo of World Poetry", and the NY Times obituary including some of her work.
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Next, I am back in awe of M.I.A.
The video for her new single "Bad Girls" is like a racey fête of Arab empowerment, filtered through Arulpragasam's (occasionally overbearing) coolness. Unglamorized shots of a rural village in Marocco, neck-breaking stunts with a shattered Peugot, and veiled Muslim girls who run the world.
As fierce as it gets.
"Bad Girls" - M.I.A.
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Lastly, I went to the cinema last night and saw a French film called "Il n'y a pas de rapport sexuel" ("There are no sexual relations"). It's a sexomentary made from 10 years of "making of" material by a French porn actor/producer.
I am not sure if and when it will be released in the UK, but this is a pretty flabbergasting piece of work. Hysterical laughter and embarassed silences alternated in the half-empty cinema; two teenage boys left halfway through. The film's deadpan style reveals unexpected perspectives on our obsession with porn -addictive, pathetic, and at times profound.
Just don't watch this on a date.
First, Poland's heroine Wisława Szymborska died on Wednesday aged 88. The Nobel Prize Laureate of 1996 wrote wonderfully simple and powerful poems which inspired people who weren't even into poetry (ex. me). I did my end of school English project on the translation of her poem "Nothing Twice" and loved it.
Here a fantastic interview with the "Greta Garbo of World Poetry", and the NY Times obituary including some of her work.
--------------------
Next, I am back in awe of M.I.A.
The video for her new single "Bad Girls" is like a racey fête of Arab empowerment, filtered through Arulpragasam's (occasionally overbearing) coolness. Unglamorized shots of a rural village in Marocco, neck-breaking stunts with a shattered Peugot, and veiled Muslim girls who run the world.
As fierce as it gets.
------------------
Lastly, I went to the cinema last night and saw a French film called "Il n'y a pas de rapport sexuel" ("There are no sexual relations"). It's a sexomentary made from 10 years of "making of" material by a French porn actor/producer.
Just don't watch this on a date.
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