Song of a Reformed Headhunter

The opening reception of Singapore's Pride last Saturday was well attended. There was only standing room in the Theatreworks space at Robertson Quay. Most of the attendees were in their twenties and thirties, a reminder that the gay movement here is young, though it is directed by community elders such as Yawning Bread's Alex Au, who gave the opening speech. In his casual and thoughtful manner, Au referred to several events in Singapore and the region that could give us cheer, including New Delhi's High Court striking down the anti-sodomy law. I especially admire his emphasis that the cause of gay rights is inextricably linked with equal rights for all. That link shows that gay rights is not merely special pleading, but an integral part of a more liberal vision for society. Having heard too much quietism from a few gay friends this week, I was lifted by a voice that spoke for the need for change. LMH, who was an army buddy of mine, told me that night that while he was writi...

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS (ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT TO ENTER): The 2009 Reginald Shepherd Memorial Poetry Prize. Final judge: Carl Phillips. Deadline: 8/1/09. Prizes include $300, $50, and $25 gift certificates to Powell's Books and publication of winning poems in Knockout. Guidelines: http://www.knockoutlit.org/rsprize.htm

Three brief reviews of my book on Lulu .

What has changed in Singapore: another new shopping mall, called Ion, selling more Prada and YSL and their ilk; the loss of the old National Library building to a road tunnel; Clarke Quay made-over with posh restaurants and bars, including a huge club called Zirca; bigger traffic jams; greater animus against Christian proselytizing and intolerance; specialized schools like the NUS High School for Math and Science; ever more obvious presence of mainland Chinese in service jobs, and Singaporeans who keep commenting on it. What has not changed in Singapore: political cant; Singapore soccer team crushed by Liverpool 5-0; homophobic laws, and gays who want to let sleeping dogs lie; more private condominiums; saccharine songs in the run-up to National Day; my poems to be vetted by the government before I could read them at Indignation; the weather; over-eating.

I'll be up in the air tonight, and come down to land only on Friday at 6.30 AM, Singapore time. In the meantime, here's a delightful poem by Iris N. Schwartz, a poet I enjoy hearing on the NYC poetry scene. If I Should Try to Replace the Late, Great Stella Graciella …by getting two cats, I would name them Eros and Thanatos. More than likely, though, I will adopt just one, because I want a pet that pines all day long for me. A singular human-feline bond sanctions no pussy- footing with a third. If I bring home one cat, I might name it Etch-A-Sketch, Gossamer, or Sven, because it would be indecorous, in the evening, calling out for Eros or Thanatos, alone.

I was all ready to like Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001), but found myself disliking it. A transsexual punk woman from East Berlin tours the US with her band, playing in diners rather than clubs, as she tells the story of her life and follows an ex-lover who stole her songs and became a teen idol. What could have been a complex look at an injured soul became a me-me biopic. For Hedwig (John Cameron Mitchell, who also directed, and wrote the book with Stephen Trask), the world is divided into two camps: those who love me, and those who don't. Such narcissism is a potent subject, but the film does not acquire any distance from it for any analysis. The fall of the Berlin wall was a metaphor taken up the film sporadically. I am not a fan of punk rock, and the many numbers in the film, sung live by Mitchell over a pre-recorded band mix, did not change my mind. I have not read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince , and think that if I had done so the movie, directed by David Yates, w...

from George Spencer, the indefatigable host and producer of the Poetry Thin Air Cable Show: Brooklyn Poets & Others; Hopefully we are up and going with B-CAT. We will be on at 5:30 PM every Wednesday thanks to the hard work of Iris Berman, our Brooklyn Producer and Doer of Magic in organizing this. This Wednesday is Jee Leong Koh and Miriam Stanley. They're on 35, 42, 68 and 83. If you want to watch it via the internet stream go to www.brooklynx.org/bcat/ aboutcat.asp or 1. DOWNLOAD THE VLC PLAYER http://vlc-media-player.en. softonic.com / 2. THEN GO TO BCAT online http://www.briconline.org/ bcat/ 3. Now that you're on BCAT, LAUNCH BCAT 2 PLAYER 4. If it asks you to choose an application, check the VLC you just downloaded 5. The VLC player will pop up but the show won't play until you press the forward arrow. Stay Tuned George