07 April 2005

First performance successful!

Just came from the first, and quite successful, performance of the poem at my maternal grandmother's home, Trillium Lodge, in Parksville, BC. I think it was enjoyed by all. My first time all dressed in performative (well, performance-oriented) garb: black, ever-so-slightly-shiny shirt, black slacks, black belt, black shoes. Rhabdos aside, I look a bit like a Blues Brother. And my hair declared a ceasefire in our unending struggle, which had lately entered a neocolonialist phase.

Today's show was interesting as my first attempt to limit the duration of the poem by compressing the epic material -- in this case, to its bare bones, hitting the 15 minute mark. This seemed a trifle short to the non-senior listeners, I believe, but as the audience was generally over the age of 80 I think it was the right approach. People who have not heard the poem are unlikely to think that 15 minutes is an extremely short show for an epic poem, but it really is. I continue to think how to hit the 30 minute mark for younger audiences at schools; inevitably, much compression has to be spontaneous.

I see I completely forgot to describe the music we listened to on the way up to BC (which a veteran of many road trips had requested that I do) -- so here it is:
  • Pulling out of the driveway and some way along the 280: U2 (Greatest Hits)
  • Through San Francisco: Van Morrison and the Chieftans
  • Across the Golden Gate bridge: total silence but for the humming of documentary cameras
  • Stuck in traffic for an hour, north of Oakland: Smetana's "Die Moldau" (several times)
  • On the road that day: Bjork, Radiohead, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
  • On the road the next day: lots of recitation, also more Radiohead, also Neil Young's "Comes a Time"

And . . . I'm about to run out of time once again at the extremely friendly Parksville Library. Tomorrow I fly to North Carolina for a conference at Chapel Hill on "House, Home, and Household" -- strange as that sounds in the gear-up to the Tour -- which I'm very much looking forward to. When I return, the Tour proper begins!

06 April 2005

Vancouver Island

Must rush as I have one minute remaining at my public access terminal in Parksville, BC. But we made it to Vancouver Island! A lovely ferry ride -- no one on board, first car on, first car off -- and it's great to be in the midst of the incredible beauty of this part of Canada. Must rush -- more soon.

[added 13 April: Dave, with car, on the ferry to Vancouver Island]

Canadian border reached!

Well, we made it to Canada -- up through Northern California, Oregon, Washington; this last in the pouring rain with both drivers' backs breaking -- and it's good to be back. We're staying with our friends Lizzie and Itai tonight; after a splendid supper they showed us their beautiful Arabian horses (and very philosophical donkey). Tomorrow we take the ferry to Vancouver Island to see two of our grandparents. In fact, travelling is quite pleasant when you're frantically practicing epic poetry; or that's the verdict so far!

Tons of email correspondence as the Tour approaches D-Day (April 12th in West Vancouver). Am just writing up more .PDF's for the website. Hope everyone is suitably impressed by our first video upload, less than completely spectacular though it may be. The struggle now is to find ethernet connections. Just got word that the 78th Fraser Highlanders are planning a huge demonstration of support in the show at the Vancouver Museum on April 14th. What spendid news!

Some pictures of the first leg of the roadtrip (Silicon Valley to BC):



Myself, looking very rhapsodic, in front of the Classics Department at Stanford.



Dave with camera, tripod, trunk on the morning we left California.



The open road.

03 April 2005

Preparations in full swing

Well, the intense days of preparation are almost at an end -- we leave for Canada tomorrow (April 4th). The trunk of the Lumina is packed with more digital equipment than Peter Jackson ever dreamed of; we've bought a serious quantity of freeweights, as buffness remains a priority; the filmmaker is already editing footage from Stanford campus; and my heart is lodged firmly in my throat. The website is all but complete. We're just about to go get the car thoroughly washed and the oil changed.

It's difficult to believe this is all really happening. My gratitude to my patrons grows daily, but also the sense of unreality. Yet there is no reason to think the Tour won't mark the rebirth of performative epic. Quel frisson!