Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Levin, Curmudgeon?


Can't Stop.


Robocop?

My favorite work experience was a few years ago at my current job, innout. Some big kid came in and ordered a cheeseburger with thirty slices of cheese. And we melted a block of cheese onto his cheeseburger. We all watched as he scarfed this monstrosity in front of his gf. She must have barfed in her mouth several times, within that sitting.

Levine

The man's tone is brilliant and sharp though quite sardonic. He never wastes an opportunity to quip about what people are taking for granted while, introducing imagery that captures the entirety of his message. In What Work Is, he places the reader in a situation that is common, to those familiar with lack of work. (everyone) and forces to look at the possibility that we don't know what work is, or rather what it is to search and not find or wait, knowing that the opportunity is no longer there. Levine is not afraid to jar the reader and grasp their attention, or literally shake the shit of you as you try to come to grips with what he is trying to convey. However, as great of a writer he is, he seams to polar Whitman's kind demeanor in terms of outlying his ideals and beliefs. Levine knows that were all on the same page, but still feels the need to berate us. What an asshole.

In essence, Levine captures the stark reality, often defeatist that sometimes we know but most of the time we don't, yeah i'm sure that doesn't really make sense, bu in comparison to Whitman who frills and weaves beautiful language with ease and simplicity that we are often drawn into this imagery, well, Levine understands that reading work aloud and writing it are to different sciences, that require our attention, and the man has mastered both perhaps, but at the expense of compassion.

Now lets look at Lilacs and What Work Is, and both poets are trying to convey moments that familiar to us both, in ways that are different though effective. What Work Is presents a scenario and addresses the reader, as if presenting observations he has seen while viewing our lives, and though it may not be true, we understand what he is trying to say, that though we contemplate the lives of those that we love, we never step out and greet them or address them, until it is too late. Whitman relies on expansive motifs, that capture mourning, sadness and death, in examples that are enthralling and immediate to us.



2 comments:

  1. Ahh shit, RHCP is my favorite band. You ever see their music video for "Charlie"? Greatest video ever. And the girls in that music video... *sigh*

    And lol, I think you're right. Looks like the same spot they shot the Robocop mutilation scene.

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  2. Obligatory Hanley-esque Comment:

    Excellent + (snippet from your blog post) + ellipses = Excellent taste in music... "Snow", "Give It Away", "Under the Bridge", etc. etc. Whitman would probably dig it.

    ~*~

    Shoulda given that guy MY phone number... mmm, cheese. Lol.

    What you said about Levine makes sense to me. His tone seems like it is absolutely meant to put you "on the spot". His world is divded between the people that must line up for work, and the people that get to decide "no" for whatever reason they feel like..
    And you as the reader must pick a side.

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