At the Fort Worth Barnes and Noble, I purchased a CD, No Promises by Carla Bruni.  I liked the samples I listened to, and I thought new music would make my drive back to Louisiana more enjoyable. Bruni, Italian born, is of course one of the great super models who also has a talent for writing music and singing. I was surprised to find that on this CD she had put the poetry of Dickinson, Auden, Dorothy Parker, and Yeats to music.  The CD came with the lyrics and a few very nice photos of this beauty.  The CD had a depth that pleasantly surprised me. As I’m currently working on putting some Southern poems to music, her effort encouraged me. Since Bruni has (and always has had) boatloads of money, this CD must have been produced as art for art’s sake.

Today, I’m going to Minden to meet with the Webster Parish Arts Council. I’ll be in that parish’s schools every Friday in September. My assignment is to teach the children literature (with a Chinese focus).  I plan on sharing some translations of Chinese poetry, teaching them the basic elements of Confucianism and other things related to Chinese culture, and helping them create a nice little portfolio.  It should be a great experience. I’ll close this day’s entry with this Chinese poem that reminds me of an Irish song I like to do, “The Water is Wide.”  I found the poem here: http://www.chinapage.com/poem102.html

To Wang Lun

Li Po takes a boat and is about to depart
When suddenly he hears the sound of footsteps
and singing on the shore.
The water in the Peach Blossom pool is
a thousand feet deep
But not as deep as Wang Lun’s parting love for me

By  Li Bai