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The George Oppen Memorial BBQ
A Poem
Eric Tyler Benick
2019, Poetry

⭐︎🟡⭐︎🟡⭐︎🟡⭐︎🟡⭐︎🟡⭐︎🟡⭐︎

26 September 2025, 7:39 am

My least favorite of my traits is how often I second guess myself.  I don’t allow my instincts to be correct.  It’s always a mistake and one that I suppose I will never allow myself to internalize.  I want to do better; I want to create in the ways that I create naturally, freely, thoughtlessly.

This poem is a reminder to freely open and let the words flow on their own.

I fell in love with the Eric Tyler Benick in the interview that follows the poem.  He writes the way I write.  He is inspired in the ways I am inspired.  He makes me want to be.  I wasn’t familiar with all of his references, but the joy I found in the work has encouraged me to look up George Oppen and add him to my reading list.  I’m very excited about it.

There is always space / in a poem for love / when it is exact.

I really appreciate when a book makes me want to be a better writer. This poem is gold, but even better part of this book is his answers to the interview questions at the back. The author makes me want to try harder, to be more confident in my own words, to continue to peel back and expose the content of my mind.

⭐︎🟡⭐︎🟡⭐︎🟡⭐︎🟡⭐︎🟡⭐︎🟡⭐︎

Started Reading: 26 SEP 2025
Finished Reading: 26 SEP 2025Continue Reading

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Beaches
Iris Rainer Dart
1985, Fiction, 8/10

The Boardwalk (pp.1-33)
10 September 2025, 8:30am

I’m only three chapters in, and I am trying hard to not compare the book to the film.  I’m finding it difficult to do that.  What I would have loved is just more, and it’s surprising to me.  

We open with Cee Cee in a rehearsal.  

The dancers were holding Cee Cee above their heads. “And now,” she said, “as I lie in the arms of four promiscuous homosexuals from West Hollywood, my tits pointed towards the heavens like an offering to the gods, I slowly turn my head, look out at America and ask the musical question…”

I think this establishes the character beautifully from the start.  I can tell how self-assured and how assertive she is, just from these small bits.  The films softened this moment into a performer who is much more serious, and I think I prefer this choice.

The phone is ringing, and after some time Cee Cee finally gets to it and there is nobody there.  On hearing that the call is from Roberta Barron, she leaves immediately, the director and performers still expecting her to return.

The second chapter features the iconic meeting of Bertie and Cee Cee on the Atlantic City boardwalk.  I was able to form my own characters in my mind based on the descriptions, except for Leona.  Iris Rainer Dart describes Leona so often, referencing her weight especially.  But for me, I can’t get Lainie Kazan off the page.  She is Leona Bloom, and I guess always will be for me.  

The events are sparked by some questionable attention paid to the seven year old Bertie, by her aunt and mother.  The two women are enjoying the sun, their cigarettes, and aren’t worried about the little girl who has lost track of them and ends up meeting 10 year old Cee Cee Bloom, and soon Cee Cee’s mother Leona.  Bertie tags along while Cee Cee goes to an audition, after which she is reunited with her aunt and mother.  One thing I like in the film version that does not happen in the book is how it is established that Bertie (Hilary in the film) comes from money.  There is a scene in the move where the girls get ice cream at the ritzy hotel where they are staying, juxtaposing the upper class lifestyle Bertie comes from.  That is missing in the book, so I never feel as clear on who Bertie’s family is meant to be.  It’s also possible that I missed something from the text. 

I continue to struggle with Leona.  As one of my favorite characters in the film, I’m confused by who she is in the book.  She has all of the determination and attitude I want from her, but she also is described in the way that slim people often talk about fat people—she always seems to have a sandwich in her hand, and everything she does centers around her weight or eating, except of course when it comes to Cee Cee.  I think there could be conversations about weight, but this book wasn’t the one to tackle them.  A more fully formed version of Leona might show her never struggling with her weight, but then dying young from a preventable weight-related issue.  That would at least be commentary.  As it is, Leona is a punchline, but I won’t accept that.  She is raising Cee Cee on her own, she is determined, she doesn’t complain about her own life.  She’s the backbone of the early parts of Cee Cee’s life, so I wish a little more care was taken with her.

The chapters end with letters exchanged, but I’m mildly disappointed that there aren’t more penpal letters between Cee Cee & Bertie, but I’m sure the author didn’t want to make this a four part novel, filled with boring letters.  I would have loved that, but I don’t know if we would have gotten a movie.  One thing that was definitely missing though was dates on the letters.  In a book like this, spanning decades, giving dates to letters helps ground you.  I was annoyed by it, so I flipped through the book and the author has chosen to do that throughout.  I find it a little disorienting, but at least I know to not expect that.

I’m enjoying the book so far.  And while I’m not comparing the book to the film to the best of my ability, the film does give me reference for where the book is and where it is going.  So far, we’ve done the scene of Cee Cee rehearsing her show in Los Angeles and getting the phone call from Bertie; the events from childhood in Atlantic City where the two girls meet and Cee Cee has her audition; Cee Cee getting not he plane to go see Bertie; and I’ve just started the chapter where an 18 or 19 year old Cee Cee has joined John Perry’s company of dancers and singers.Continue Reading

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I’ve been doing a lot of both lately. I’m currently working on a number of stories. I hope they work towards something great. Thoughts and suggestions greatly appreciated. Ask me for more details. I’ve also located my journal from my trip to France in 1996. I’m almost finished typing up the original and will add to the France page as I get to the notes.

Currently, I’m reading:

Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You :: Peter Cameron
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban :: J.K. Rowling

Books I’ve got lined up to read soon:

Vast Fields of Ordinary :: Nick Burd
Glinda of Oz :: L. Frank Baum
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate :: Jacqueline Kelly
Bambi :: Felix Salten
The Dark is Rising :: Susan Cooper

Books I’ve read this year so far:

The Giraffe :: Marie Nimier
David Inside Out :: Lee Bantle
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets :: J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone :: J.K. Rowling
Snugglepot and Cuddlepie :: May Gibbs
The Magic of Oz :: L. Frank Baum
The Tin Woodman of Oz :: L. Frank Baum
The Lost Princess of Oz :: L. Frank Baum
Rinkitink in Oz :: L. Frank Baum
The Scarecrow of Oz :: L. Frank Baum
Sky Island :: L. Frank Baum
Tik-Tok of Oz :: L. Frank Baum
The Patchwork Girl of Oz :: L. Frank Baum
Dot and Tot in Merryland :: L. Frank Baum
The Emerald City of Oz :: L. Frank Baum
The Enchanted Apples of Oz :: Eric Shanower
The Speckled Rose of Oz :: Donald Abbott
The Sea Fairies :: L. Frank Baum
Finding the Boyfriend Within :: Brad Gooch
The Magical Monarch of Mo :: L. Frank Baum
The Road to Oz :: L. Frank Baum
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz :: L. Frank Baum
Ozma of Oz :: L. Frank Baum
The Marvelous Land of Oz :: L. Frank BaumContinue Reading

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or, So Lonely I Wish the People Could Stay Underwater

I have no intention of giving in and joining the ever-growing ranks who are reading Twilight Saga. I have no interest and any inkling of interest I had was slain by the sheer volume of requests I receive daily about these books. It is too much. And that is a common relationship I have with books. Once an author or title reaches uber-popular status, I lose all notions of reading them. This silliness has kept me from reading Christopher Moore, Chuck Palahniuk, Augusten Burroughs, and even the latest David Sedaris book. George R. R. Martin, Robert Jordan, Robert Ludlum, and Ian Fleming all make a similar list, but it is the subject matter I really don’t care for. I’ve only recently decided that it is okay to read Harry Potter and His Dark Materials books, but I’ll still keep it a bit quiet when I do. I don’t really know why that is, but I recognize that it is a bit silly.

Perhaps the best thing to do in this situation is to list all the authors who I am only avoiding because of their ridiculous popularity and read one title by each and be done with it. They do have to be popular for a reason, right? Although, that is the same sort of illogic that could get me into some trouble, if I was to start reading Janet Evanovich or J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts). I’ll just try to not make that sort of mistake.

Meanwhile, as they say*, I’ve finished The Monsters of Templeton. It is amazingly well written. I’d pretty much recommend it to anyone. I did find that on those nights when I was really sleepy, but not so much to fall asleep, and I would try to read a chapter of Lauren Groff’s book, I would easily get confused or lost in her genealogical trek. By the end, there were a few ends that were tied up in surprising ways (for me). That didn’t make the book any less enjoyable. Far from it.

*”meanwhile, as they say…” is uttered by Julia Child during one of shows. Makes me smile.Continue Reading

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Summer reappeared briefly (I assume). It was a beautiful July 31, all of which I spent at work. Even during my lunch, I stayed inside enjoying soup I hoped would chase away the cold I’m desperately trying to not get. Thanks to the pusher at work today who slipped me a Mucinex D. It was a glorious hour of medicine-head bliss, perhaps the best hour of my day.

Of all worthless endeavors, I have appointed myself Ambassador to Serendipity, compiling information and researching release dates for the entire series penned by Stephen Cosgrove and illustrated with doe-eyed critters by Robin James. To me, they epitomize childhood in a way and I’d like information to be more readily available. To that end, I am reading, rereading, and analyzing. Many of the books have been rewritten more recently, prompting comparison between original and revised editions. Every single book is either sappy or preachy, but in an excellent way. They represent purity and simplicity and messages children don’t often get in such straightforward ways. It might even be interesting to work on a book about the series, offering histories and information for each book, as well as memories of the books by those who enjoyed them as a piece of childhood like I did.

Stephen Cosgrove’s Website

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I’ve been reading a lot lately… and updating my books page daily (sometimes more than that).

There are things on the tip of my tongue. Stay there, on the edge of your seat. I’ll say them soon enough.Continue Reading

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Trapped Inside

“A particular bear sees a particular this.” — Clifford Chase

I’ve been reading Winkie, the tale of a teddy bear who is alive. This could easily be a silly childish story, but instead it is haunting and almost sad. I am finding myself identifying with the bear oddly, even though I can’t begin to relate. He is unable to interact with those around him, but feels pain and acts as a witness while the various children who own him grow up. The many years Winkie spends feeling unloved are heartbreaking and I just want to reach out and give him a hug, which can apparently solve all of his problems. Currently, he has just “lost” his last owner, Cliff. Cliff was the second of the six owners to name him, changing him from Marie to Winkie. Somehow the new name connected with his soul and he felt that Winkie is who he had always been. Cliff is older now and hardly pays attention to Winkie. The poor bear, sitting on a shelf, longs to be hugged or touched or talked to or looked at, but he knows that the time has come when he won’t have any other children to love him.

It is exciting to see where this story will go, given the events at the begining of the book (the present). The story opens with Winkie lying in a cabin, emotionally drained and lost. The cabin is surrounded by police searching for a terrorist bomber suspected to live there. Winkie, able to walk and talk, does as he is told and exits the building with his little paws up. After a lot of commotion and commands, shots are fired, one of which strikes Winkie, knocking him to the ground.

At the hospital, the doctors and nurses, sworn to do their jobs, play at reviving the stuffed bear, using all the equipment they can. Winkie refuses to speak to any of them and there is an assumption that he is a female. One nurse, who sneaks in to sew up his wounds, can tell otherwise. Françoise and Winkie enjoy time together, but he never speaks to her either. After waking up his guard, she is arrested in connection with the terrorist attacks because she is Egyptian. Despite her U.S. citizenship, she is linked based on her previous country’s supposed ideals.

Winkie is finally in prison in the story. He was sent to a women’s prison at first, but after Françoise is sent to the same block as he, Winkie is sent to a men’s prison and charged with impersonating a woman. All of this seems quite silly, but I hope it is leading somewhere. Winkie faces so many charges that it took the judge five hours and fourteen minutes to read them all. Among them are one hundred twenty four counts of attempted murder, treason, conspiring to overthrow the United States government, and teaching evolution in schools.

This is an excellent read and I highly recommend it. I will keep you posted on my progress.Continue Reading