7
February 28, 1980
:,a
The Locust Fbst
Richard James
cEvre
out such people and encouraging
them. The editors could also extend
Itheir reach to the other colleges in our
area. By drawing on such larger reserves
of talent. The Locust Post could achieve
a quality.beyond other publications
which have a wider base and greater
resources under them.
In any case, we wish The Locust
Post good speed. It has had a healthy
birth and a valid christening, and its
hopeful beginnings deserve support.
The Locust Post f a new semesterly
of poetry published by the UNC-A Liter
ature and Language Department, has
just been launched from University
Heigjrte with little splash or fanfare,
but I suspect with the cracking of at
least one bottle of champagne. Vol.
1, No. 1 is now reality, and we may
hope that the root here planted will
flourish in our pastoral soil. Locust
is a hardy wood, and posts cut from it
often sprout leaves.
New poetry publications normally
begin with some grand manifesto of
aims and intentions, but that is entire
ly lacking here. I am left to conjec
ture and surmise; but evidently The
Locust Post , bearing the departmen
tal imprimature, emulates the univer
sity quarterlies and journals rather than
the typical student-run college literary
spare, and precise, but aftef^admiring
its in^nuity and deriving the cerebral
pleasure of contemplating its craft,
one can find little more in it. Modem
literature has regaled us to plenitude
with emptiness, meaninglessness, and
futility, in which there is small emo
tional satisfaction to be had; the spirit
craves more. Still, this is a skillful, ef
fective and mature poem, and perhaps
its arousal of the reader's inner thirst
is deliberate.
My personal favorites of the poems
in this issue are the two right in back
by Priscilla Eichelberger. They both
deal with nature red in tooth and^law
as it impinges on the everyday domes
tic setting in the form of stalking cats
and the corpses of their prey. The
language ritualizes these little murders
and connects them with more universal
"Locust is a hardy wood,
and posts cut frnn it often sprout leaves”
magazine. Actually it falls somewhere
in between; most of the poetry is no
better_than routinely appeared in the
old Ima^s of years gone by nor that
to be found in a thousand similar pub
lications. On the other hand, bad and
incompetent poems have been carefully
excluded, and there are some bright
spots which give hope that The Locust
Post may eventually rival the better oif
the little poetry magazines and regional
poetry joumals.
Perhaps the most arresting poem in
this issue is by Sparky Banks, who has
the real lyric gift. "The Spadewing
Moth": the title alone demonstrates
his method of juxtaposing vivid visual
images in words whose sounds are solid
ly Anglo-Saxon and pleasing to mouth.
The technique comes straight from Dy
lan Thomas and has numerous practi-
tioners; but the poem also reveals a
depth of feeling in its imaginative sen
suousness. "The spadewing moth/
at my window speaks/night/to Ws green
laden cove..." This is a poet of real
! possibilities who would profi^ from a
greater attention to form and m6an(ng.
The rifiost cleverly formed, vyell-con-
f structed poem in this issue is by Hazel
Robinson: "TDry iSpell-~ Cferc/es
D'Enfer!' Its three stanzas tell success
ively of a cow walking around a stake it
is tethered to, a June-bug circling in
the air, and a buzzard circling above:
the circles of hell referred to in the
title. The language and tone evoke
a dry dead atmosphere and suggest the
emptiness and meaninglessness of the
natural order. The poem is intelligent.
concems of mortality and compassion.
These are complete poems; coherent,
well-formed, and whole, pre^ntmg
concrete situations from a sympathetic
point of view and making us care in a
human way about things we ignore
everyday. The language is controlled,
tight, self-possessed, without excess,
expressive and vivid, yet retaining a
conversational air. The poet remerri-
bers her audience; she is telling us a
story, and we hear her voice, and lis
ten. They are poems written with
humanity and finding meaning in
events; they are worthy of our atten
tion. They prove that we do not
need to seek extravagant subjects for
poetry; the subjects are present at the
kitchen stoop or in the backyard. All
the poet needs is eyes to see, tongue
to speak, heart to feel.
The poetry of .The Locust Post is
drawn mostly from the UNC-A pop
ulation and poetry-workshop alumni.
If it aims, as I hope, to some signifi
cance beyond these hallowed halls,
i would recommend that it widen its
circle quickly. The editors should not
merely select from the material that
happens across the desk, but should
pursue a more aggressive policy of
solicitation and acquisition. They
should reach out to many of the non-
famous but fine poets who lurk in the
community. There are a number of
talented poets in the area, some too
discouraged to send poems any where,
who have wonderful collections
squirreled away. The Locust Post
could gain immeasurably by seeking
High Tea Cafe
POSTCAiOy SHOW
'riA SeenJU
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I'm
'tSdu ftr
For the second year, the High Tea
Cafe has invited its "friends and regu
lars" to submit creative variations on
the theme of the humble postcard.The
idea ^for the postcard show was initia
ted by Ann Bach, who, while studying
art in New York, saw a display entitled
"Art As Postcards" at the Cooper
Hewitt Museum, a division of the
Smithsonian. The purpose of the
Cooper Hewitt show was to gives ar
tists in all mediums—not just visual—
an outlet for expression, and the post
card theme was chosen for its universal
familiarity. The show included sub
missions by artists as diverse as poet
Jonathan Williams and dancer Martha
Graham.
In the spirit ot the Cooper Hewitt
show, the Hi^i Tea show offers the
work of a varied group of artists:
photographers, writers; dancers, musi»
cians, and actors. The show is filled
with delightful surprises on the topic
ofthe80‘sr ppetry, soft-sculpture and
wood carving are among the imagina
tive entries. Works by regionally-
known visual artists like Jean Wall Pen-
land, Edith Gunn and UNC-A graduate
Ron Meisner are also featured.
The Cafe is open Tuesday through
Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.,
Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 1 ptm.
Stop by for lunch and have a look at
this provocatively unique show.
CSd '^ines:
J#
JuHe Gillum is a not-too-welcome visitor from
Sheri Groce's past in "Oid Times," Harold Pin
ter's unusual drama playing at Theatre UNO
Asheville, Thursday through Saturday, Feb.
28-March 1 at 8:30 p.m., with a Saturday
matinee at 2:30 p.m. A special low-price pre
view for UNC-A students, faculty, and staff
will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 8:30
p.m. Box office for sales and reservations
is open from 1:00-4:00 p.m. weekdays. Reser
vations are recommended.
by Pam Whitmirf*
Theatre UNC-A's current production
tums the proverbial triangle into a three
way street. The attraction among two
women and one man transcends tradi
tional heterosexuality through innuen
do rather than fact.
Harold Pinter's Old Times is a mem
ory play. Deeley, a film-maker, and
his wife Kate, are awaiting the arrival
of Kate's old friend Anna. He is curi
ous and she is quiescent about the
past. Anna stands dormant at the edge
of the stage until her first speech which
begins a cycle of memories from twen
ty years ago.
The script is terse, the dialogue spare.
Arnold Wengrow's strong direction re
leases the psychic tension, which Pin
ter undoubtedly intended. The play
depends more on silence and the charac
ter's physical demeanour than on con
versation and stage business. For exam
ple, while Anna discusses with Deeley
an alleged affair of Kate's, the audience
must watch Kate's facial expressions
to determine whether event truly oc-
cured.
And with Julie Gillum's powerful
Anna, it is indeed difficult to watch any
thing but her. Her sinuous feline atti
tude depicts confidence and an imaginec
control of the situation. She caresses
Kate and encourages Deeley's sensuous
recollections of a woman who may or
may not have been Anna.
However, Kate is the pivotal charac
ter here. Sherri Groce's subtel changes
of expression define for us the true re
lationships among the threesome. She
quietly manipulates Deeley and Anna
into a power struggle for her attention.
She obviously enjoys her control over
the other two even as she pretends to
ignore them.
Deeley is surely distressed by the
sexual overtones of the women's past
relationship. There is a smooth sensu
ous quality to both women, and Dee
ley sporadically attempts to break the
bond between them by boisterously
drawing attention to himself. A1 Myers,
as Deeley, provides a rough contrast
to the sleekness of the women.
The set, designed by Paul Sweeny,
and the costumes are obviously
upper class. The genteel appearance
of these people is betrayed by their
immergence in a basic sexuality that
knows no social delineation. And
this is the thrust of-Pinter's drama;
there is a fine line between what is
real and what is imagined, while there
is a chasm between what is said and
what is meant.