Jeremy O. Harris Is Spending HBO’s Money on Producing Plays and May Be Funding the Revolution by Helen Shaw (from Vulture) “As part of his HBO deal, Harris has secured a discretionary fund for experimental-theater production, essentially a weird-art slush fund. So he’s now a producer, first donating $80,000 from licensing his own plays toward micro-grants for …
Author Archives: A.C. Smith
A New Year
I haven’t madea resolution in yearsJanuary 1 is justanother day why waitto reach forthe things you wantin your life? and yetthis year feelsdifferent somehowon the cusp of something perhaps there isvalue in grand gesturesand pivot pointswith no turning back the days already grow longerwhile the worldhas never felt more uncertainwonders surely awaitmy resolution isto notice …
Other Lives
In the dark hoursI imagine your other livesThe ones where our paths divergedInstead of came together I see you holding the handOf another personSomeone who carries The sleek gloss of HollywoodA stark contrast to my ownRumpled and unready life In these dreamsYou are always happyYou are always laughingNo one pulls away, or fightsYou have found …
Odds and ends 9
You Probably Misunderstand Nigerian Prince Emails: The truth behind the internet’s oldest scam by Sean Kernan (from Medium) “It’s better to think of Nigerian prince emails as cash advance scams, myriad endless scenarios requiring money upfront. The concept started as The Spanish Prisoner Scheme in the early 1800s in Europe. A representative (the “trickster”) for …
Play
That shape in the middle is called play Between endless hustlingAnd weary stagnationIs a set of monkey bars They are yours to explore Swing wildlyFeel your own heft and lightness Is that the sound of laughter? And if you slip?Well that’s all part of the gameLand lightly and spring up There are no rules Except …
The meaning of grace
She spent years learning How to move Elegantly, effortlessly Watching her own reflection Buffing away roughness Until she could glide Across the mirror’s surface Like a water bird On a still pond. But she only embodied The true meaning of grace When she learned To turn to others Who had tripped And clumsily fallen, And …
Odds and Ends 8
But What Will You Do With Your Own Life by Brianna Wiest (from Medium) “There is no universal experience, there is only experience, and what we choose to do with it.” Strangers on a Phone, Theatrically Speaking by Laura Collins-Hughes (from the New York Times) “In the lockdown days of early spring, after they’d left …
Ice
If someone had told me That adult life means Getting excited about Defrosting a freezer I would have run away To neverland Years ago. Yet here I am, Watching ice melt And gleefully collecting The fallen chunks, Symbols of my victory Over chaos And cold. Photo by Dev Benjamin on Unsplash
The crust
When I scrape away the crust of anxietyBeneath it is simply the feelingThat I should be doing something differentFrom what I am doing. From the pressing sensation in my chest,To the buzzing feeling around my brain,My whole body is electrifiedWith the terror that time is running out. Whether I am scrubbing away in the kitchenOr …
Catch and release
Think of any criticism,Each little bit of feedback,And every morsel of praise,As a little fishSwimming through a public pond. You are the fishermanSitting in the boat above. Some days, you might decideTo throw out a wide netScooping up as many scaly swimmersAs the knotted mesh can hold. Other days, you may wantTo cast a careful …