The Bridge of Silver Wings at The Peoples' Lounge
Author-Poet Aberjhani's Groups
-
Poets Passion
(28 members)
-
The Author's Lounge
(66 members)
-
The Business Lounge
(22 members)
-
TheThinkersClubs
(32 members)
-
The Urban Book Lounge
(84 members)
Author-Poet Aberjhani's discussions
My new book has been released.
Added a reply Apr 11
Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King— Word, by Word.
Added a post Apr 10
My new book has been released.
Added a post Apr 10
Reviews by Aberjhani on Amazon
Author-Poet Aberjhani gave 5 stars to: Ralph Ellison
Author-Poet Aberjhani reviewed:
Ralph Ellison: A Biography
 The Enigmatic Genius of Ralph Ellison, "Invisible Man," "Shadow and Act," and "Going to the Territory," all books by that quintessential twentieth century literary artist Ralph Waldo Ellison, remain towering masterworks of American literature for their penetrating explorations of racial identity, cultural complexity, and historical consequences in the United States. With Senator Barack Obama's historic bid for the White House evolving daily into the possibility of an historic win, Ellison's brilliantly charged writings, which first catapulted him to fame in the 1950s, are perhaps more relevant now than ever before, making Arnold Rampersad's detailed biography of the great writer one of the best reads around during these very exciting times. The Essential Barack Obama: The Grammy Award-Winning Recordings Biographies of high-achieving African Americans have too often in the past fallen into one of two categories: those that romanticized their subjects as cultural heroes and those that condemned them as embarrassing villains. Fortunately, in Rampersad, we have a biographer who assigned himself the demanding task of providing as full and honest a portrait of his subject as he could. He does so with balanced assessments of both the publicly applauded Ellison who became a permanent fixture in world literature the moment he won the National Book Award for Invisible Man in 1953, and detailed sketches of the more private Ellison, who bemoaned his lack of children and wrestled for almost half a century with his inability to follow his initial literary victory with a second completed novel. As one might expect from any capable literary biographer, Rampersad provides readers with a highly engaging dramatic account of Ellison's beginnings in Oklahoma City and his subsequent rise from demoralizing poverty and tragedy to international literary stardom. Much of the story of Ellison's youth and his struggles to give birth to his identity as a writer is already well known, both from Ellison's essays and Lawrence Jackson's biography of the author: Ralph Ellison, Emergence of Genius. Even so, Rampersad's own eloquent placement of Ellison within the greater contexts of American social history, and within such specific cultural movements as the Harlem Renaissance, shine an even more revealing light on the author. Moreover, high school and college students grappling with assignments to write papers on Invisible Man can duly thank Rampersad for his lucid dissection of the surrealistic, historical, and political elements that make the novel the uniquely brilliant American coming of age tale that it is. Invisible ManBecause Invisible Man is a celebrated novel that has sold untold millions of copies in different languages around the world for more than half a century, the stories of cultural politics and extramarital dalliances surrounding its celebrity author may not stun readers too much. What might, though, while reading along, is the realization of just how much cultural and political influence Ellison came to wield based on the strength of that one mighty novel and a couple of volumes of essays. With his role as a founding participant in such organizations as the Commission on Educational Television, which in time would lead to the development of public broadcast stations, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Ellison occupied a position in which he could make or break the careers of various writers with his registered approval or disapproval of them. Oddly enough, despite the fact that he benefited greatly from the influence of such Harlem Renaissance giants as Richard Wright and Langston Hughes, he was not as inclined as they to champion younger upcoming black authors based on notions of racial solidarity or mentorship. Nevertheless, Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Ronald Reagan, both of whom awarded him presidential medals, so respected Ellison's intellectual prominence that they invited him on a variety of occasions for both social and more official purposes to the White House. Such was his stature that he attended when he felt it important to do so but not when he believed other issues (such as a gathering of literary peers as opposed to one of political statesmen) mattered more. Of all the mysteries that may be attributed to the life of Ralph Ellison, possibly none are so beguiling as that of his second novel. As early as 1953, the public began to speculate on and query Ellison about his follow-up novel to Invisible Man, and that speculation continued right up until his death on April 16, 1994. First haunted by the pressure of completing a novel as successful as his first had been, Ellison's 365-page work-in-progress was destroyed by a fire in 1967. Although he managed eventually to re-write more pages than he actually lost, the remaining four decades of Ellison's life seemed almost dominated by one of the most enduring and over-publicized writing blocks in history. Yet, as Rampersad illustrates, his prominence did not diminish but continued to increase with teaching positions, speaking engagements, appointments to influential boards, and the ever-growing canonization of his one indisputable fiction masterpiece: Invisible Man. A version of his second novel, edited by his friend John F. Callahan and reportedly culled from more than 2,000 pages, would not be published until 1999. The serious literary author in 2008 still obtains some degree of notable status when he or she wins a significant award but their influence is generally restricted to academic environments, Internet literary communities, or various geographical regions. It would be virtually impossible for a modern author to achieve the level of prestige and actual power Ellison commanded based on his intellectual gifts and pronouncements alone. (And yet such an observation makes one pay serious attention to the role bestselling books play in the careers of political leaders like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.) For that reason, Ellison's life is indeed one worth celebrating for many decades to come and Rampersad's biography of that life is a book that has earned its rightful place among the best and most important in the genre. By Author-Poet Aberjhani Author of The American Poet Who Went Home Again and Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Facts on File Library of American History) |
Author-Poet Aberjhani gave 5 stars to: I'm Not There (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
Author-Poet Aberjhani reviewed:
I'm Not There (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Where in the World is Bob Dylan in this Movie?, The first is the succession of public images--from committed folk artist and "radical" activist to evangelical disciple and reclusive outlaw--that Dylan has famously projected throughout his long phenomenal career, allowing the public access to these personas while battling to safeguard the integrity of his true core identity. The title's second reference may be to the fact that our hero himself is nowhere to be seen in the film (except in fleeting parting glimpses) but six other gifted performers acting as him, or as parts of him at different points in his life, are. Generally described as a "biopic," I'm Not There actually trashes and reinvents that film category, whether done so intentionally or not. The various actors who portray Dylan's creative and spiritual qualities for this movie do more than simply mimic the performer. They embody with consummate skill all the elements that combined to make him the amazing human being that he is: the mesmerizing myths of American folk music, the turbulent political and social events of the 1960s, and the sometimes uneasy tension of the relationship between celebrated performers and their audience. The tricky part of this movie for some viewers is the fact that the six actors portraying Bob Dylan are all called by different character names as opposed to being called just Dylan or Bob. Australian actress Cate Blanchett, for example, earned an Oscar nomination for her performance as the mercurial Jude Quinn. Hypersensitive, androgynous and almost alien-like in appearance, Quinn represents Dylan just as he was skyrocketing to world fame in the mid 1960s. He delivers some of the best lines in the film, such as when he freaks out after learning he's been booked to perform eighty plus shows to make him a millionaire, and then yells, "Who the f**k said I wanted to be a millionaire?!" In addition to its other amazing attributes, I'm Not There will remain memorable for Heath Ledger's performance as Robbie Clark, the proposed romantic side of Dylan, and for the fact that this was one of Ledger's last films. It's also a treat to watch veteran actor Richard Gere as the matured but reclusive Outlaw Billy the Kid who gets drawn out of his self-imposed exile when developers threaten to build a road through the valley where he's hiding out. And Ben Whishaw (the gifted star of Perfume) provides a crucial anchor as the poet-philosopher Arthur Rimbaud who calmly endures interrogations about the motives and inspiration behind his art. While all these actors give outstanding performances in their own right, Christian Bale struck this reviewer as exceptionally convincing in his double turn as the young Jack Rollins and later as the converted Christian called Pastor John. Yet possibly the most astounding performance of all came from the then 13-year-old Marcus Carl Franklin, a black youth named Woody (as in folk singer Guthrie) who in the film behaved and spoke like some seasoned bluesman four times older than he was. Unlike his co-stars, Franklin actually sang the songs attributed to his character and one of the best scenes in the film is of him and the legendary Richie Havens, a true-life contemporary of Dylan's, going at it as they jam "Tombstone Blues" on the porch. Enough classic tunes, performed by a variety of artists, play throughout I'm Not There to satisfy the most hardcore Dylan fans and to provide newcomers with a thorough introduction to his music. The soundtrack not only underscores the onscreen action, but filled as it is with all of the singer's emotional intensities, social observations and philosophical inquiries, places the viewer in the very creative heart of it. In fact, it is through the songs, which Rimbaud/Dylan describes as "something that walks by itself," that the man himself is most present in the movie. Director Haynes remains true to the psychedelic film style of the 60s complete with swirling background screens and cameo appearances by powerhouse figures like beat poet Allen Ginsberg, the Beatles, and the political activist group the Black Panthers. At the same time, he delivers a flawlessly entertaining New Millennium epic unlike anything ever seen before and probably unlike anything we'll see again for quite some time. by Author-Poet Aberjhani co-author of ELEMENTAL, The Power of Illuminated Love and Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Facts on File Library of American History) |
Author-Poet Aberjhani gave 5 stars to: Tsotsi
Author-Poet Aberjhani reviewed:
Tsotsi
| Hardcore Realism and Poetic Grace Make TSOTSI a Cinematic Masterpiece, It takes a masterful touch to achieve in a film gripping unsympathetic realism and inspiring poetic surrealism but that's exactly what director Gavin Hood does in TSOTSI. As we watch the title character (performed with amazing complexity by Presley Chweneyagae) and his friends head out for an evening of juvenile mayhem at this movie's beginning, we understand immediately the brutal hardcore conditions that rule their lives and possibly drive them to commit the horrors they do. Despite that, it seems impossible to show them any compassion when we witness how brazenly they murder a man for his wallet on a crowded subway and how Tsotsi shoots a woman in front of her home then drives off in her car. The key word in that last sentence is "seems" because this intricately written and beautifully photographed movie is filled with more than a few twists in plot, fate, and emotion. In the world of Tsotsi and his friends, the word "decency" is considered a fancy intellectual term that has neither meaning nor relevance. And the name "Tsotsi" is really not a name at all but a term describing a street thug or criminal. Nothing about the Tsotsi we first meet leads us to believe he would care about discovering an infant in the back seat of the car he has stolen. It would appear more in character if he simply left the child for the police to find. He instead does the unthinkable and takes it with him. The scenes that follow are often as laugh-out-loud comical as they are heartbreakingly tragic. One can't help pitying him when Tsotsi uses an old newspaper in his attempt to change the baby's diaper and then detest him again when he forces a woman named Miriam (acted with convincing sensitivity by Terry Pheto) at gunpoint to breastfeed the child. It is, however, through the infant and Miriam that Tsotsi begins to reconnect with a healing sense of his own humanity and to reclaim the innocence lost to him as a child who ran away to escape his mother's illness and his father's cruelty. His extraordinary transformation from nightmare hellion to angelic thug unfolds through a series of strange encounters, shocking events, and surprising revelations. The question is whether or not the healing comes too late. Tsotsi is based on the 1980 novel by Athol Fugard, the South African author most noted for such plays as "Blood Knot" and "Master Harold...and the Boys," which scrutinize the dehumanizing impact of apartheid segregation. Director Gavin Hood moves the book's storyline up to modern times and gives his audience a cinematic interpretation filled with the energetic hip hop music known as "kwaito" and the vibrant colors of South African urban life. The end result is a work of hardcore realism and poetic grace that serves as a compelling portrait not only of the extreme challenges facing many in South Africa's cities but of those facing people in many urban environments throughout the world in 2008. by Author-Poet Aberjhani author of The American Poet Who Went Home Again and co-author of ELEMENTAL, The Power of Illuminated Love |
Author-Poet Aberjhani gave 5 stars to: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Author-Poet Aberjhani reviewed:
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
An Inspired Wonder Called "The Diving Bell and The Butterfly", After reading the former French Elle Magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby's memoir, THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, when it was first published in 1997, I couldn't help wondering if it would be possible for anyone to make a decent movie out of it. After watching the film directed by Julian Schnabel, with a screenplay by Ronald Howard, I was awestruck to acknowledge that not only had they made a decent film, but a gorgeous and phenomenal one. It makes sense that The Diving Bell and the Butterfly should shine on the big screen like the huge glowing miracle that it is because the fact that Bauby even "wrote" his book at all was itself nothing less than a king-sized miracle. A major stroke in his brain stem left him paralyzed with locked-in syndrome, a condition in which he was fully conscious but unable to move any part of his body except his left eye. Whereas the shock of finding oneself in such a torturous state might have caused many to shut down completely, Bauby rose to the occasion within himself by the sheer power of will, spirit, and the loving compassion of others. His body, he noted, may have become like a heavy diving suit that weighed him down, but his mind became freedom personified, like a butterfly that floats at will through realms of intellect, memory, and imagination. Harnessing the resources at hand, he learned to dictate by indicating individual letters with the blink of an eye and managed to compose a small masterpiece Actor and director Mathieu Amalric plays Bauby with deeply attractive humanity. Viewers first meet him from inside his head, so to speak, as he begins to regain consciousness and doctors gather to explain what has happened. Once the unsettling fact of his paralysis is painfully established, we move with the stream of Bauby's consciousness back and forth through scenes of high-energy photo shoots at Elle Magazine, memories of shaving his father, the complications of a love affair, and fantasies of intimate encounters with his lovely female therapists. A particularly powerful element within this movie is the portrayal of Bauby's existential stubbornness. Ironically enough, prior to his stroke, he becomes angry with his lover when she insists they visit Lourdes, a place where divine healings reportedly often takes place. Still later, when in a wheelchair, a priest offers him communion and he signals to his therapist with a blink of his eye that he does not want it. Comically, his therapist ignores this and tells the priest he does. It is this determination to guard his sense of individual humanity that makes Bauby beautifully heroic, even though he would not describe himself as such. Actress Emmanuelle Seigner plays Bauby's estranged wife Celine with subtle intensity and one marvels at the quiet dignity she brings to the part. Equally engaging in their supporting roles are Max von Sydow as Bauby's father; Marie-Josée Croze as the therapist who teaches him to communicate with blinks of a single eye; and Isaach De Bankole as his visiting friend Laurent. Both as a book and as a film, The Diving Bell and The Butterfly is largely about the perspectives that we choose to apply to our lives. Though he suffered one of the worse fates imaginable, Bauby chose to believe his life was still a meaningful one and worked to produce a celebrated book that was published just 10 days before he died. Julian Schnabel's film is a work of cinematic poetry that honors both the man and the work through the very means that Bauby employed to live his final days: penetrating intelligence, inspired compassion, and luminous imagination. by Author-Poet Aberjhani author of The American Poet Who Went Home Again and Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Facts on File Library of American History) |
Author-Poet Aberjhani gave 5 stars to: Beloved Prophet
Author-Poet Aberjhani reviewed:
Beloved Prophet:the Love Letters of Kahlil Gibran and Mary Haskell, and Her Private Journal
| The Real-World Paranormal Romance of "Beloved Prophet" Kahlil Gibran, The world's abundant treasury of art and literature would likely be a lot less abundant if not for those famed, or sometimes secret, patrons of the arts who assisted many of our most celebrated creative artists at crucial points in their lives--and sometimes throughout their lives. For visual artist Pablo Picasso, author and patron Gertrude Stein played a major role helping to launch his unparalleled career in twentieth century art. For the Harlem Renaissance writer Langston Hughes, the mysterious heiress Charlotte Osgood Mason supported him (as well as others associated with the Harlem Renaissance) in great style at the start of his literary career. In the case of the Lebanese poet and artist Kahlil Gibran, the crucial lifeline came from American schoolmistress Mary Haskell. Just how essential, passionate, and sacred that lifeline was comes through with deep intensity in the pages of BELOVED PROPHET. Editor Virginia Hilu worked her way though more than 600 letters and decades of journal entries to carefully compose a book that goes far beyond amusing or impressive anecdotes to give readers the softly thundering heart and soul of a man whose works continue to inspire millions and the woman who helped make that work possible. Before the world came to know him as the famed author of such titles as The Prophet and Jesus the Son of Man, Mary Haskell met Gibran at his first art exhibit in 1904 when he was 21 and she was 30. Four years later, she sponsored his trip to Paris, where he studied art for two years and began a correspondence with Haskell that would last the rest his life. Upon his return from Paris to New York City, he both wrote and visited Haskell, whose school was in Boston. Gibran's understandably deep attachment to the woman who would come to mean so much to his life and career is evident even in those early letters, such as when he wrote this in 1908: "When I am unhappy, dear Mary, I read your letters... They remind me of my true self. They make me overlook all that is not high and beautiful in life." More than a decade later, in 1922, he tells her, "We have become one, Mary. You have entered my being--and you can't cut off either of us without destroying the other." If Beloved Prophet was comprised of nothing more than letters, it would be a less powerful or significant book. However, the entries from Mary Haskell's journal provide a wealth of insights both into her relationship with the artist-poet and into her own passionate being. Through those entries we receive accounts of Gibran's family relationships, how such events as the early deaths of his mother, a brother, and a sister impacted his life. We also learn quite a bit about his creative processes and the role Haskell often played in it. While helping Gibran organize initial drafts for The Prophet, she noted, "How absolutely the Prophet is Kahlil, although Kahlil has several times said, `This is not I, but the Prophet.'" Upon receiving one of the first published copies of it, she predicted, "This book will be held as one of the treasures of English literature. And in our darkness we will open it to find ourselves again and the heaven and the earth within ourselves." Addressing one another as "Beloved," and with references to their "greater selves" and life-transforming connection, Beloved Prophet sometimes reads like an extraordinary paranormal romance made much more profound by its concrete reality. The degrees of intimacy between Gibran and Haskell varied over the years but the general integrity of their relationship remained intact. It survived Haskell's move to Savannah, Georgia, in 1924 and her marriage to Florance Minis in 1926. After Gibran's death in 1931, his biographer Barbara Young discovered the letters while Haskell was present and suggested they destroy them to avoid any misinterpretation of their contents. Haskell eventually rejected that suggestion, seemingly out of belief that the letters might help future readers more greatly appreciate the rarity of Gibran's spiritual genius and the noble beauty of his very real humanity. by Author-Poet Aberjhani author of The American Poet Who Went Home Again and Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Facts on File Library of American History) |
Author-Poet Aberjhani gave 5 stars to: Stomp the Yard (Widescreen Edition)
Author-Poet Aberjhani reviewed:
Stomp the Yard (Widescreen Edition)
| "Stomp the Yard" A Film of Life-Affirming Power and Beauty, Director Sylvain White's STOMP THE YARD may not strike many as an ideal movie for the family to gather around and watch during holidays or other special occasions but it actually is because holidays are about reaping the benefits of tradition and this movie is about that too. It's not so clear at the film's beginning whether we're watching a violent video game or a demonstration of directorial genius. The distinction, however, soon becomes obvious and the genius apparent. The mesmerizing opening dance scenes come across a lot like video gladiator battle sequences. These give way to the urban realism of a more brutal --and fatal-- L.A. gang clash after the not-so-lethal dance battle. DJ, played pitch perfectly by Columbus Short, loses his brother Duron (singer Chris Brown does an impressive job in this role) to a bullet in the clash and life as DJ knows it then comes to a screeching halt. After a brief time in jail, he leaves the West Coast for Georgia, where he moves in with his aunt and uncle, then enrolls in college. It seems like the perfect strategy for rebuilding your life but DJ has problems with the idea that he's living his brother's dream of going to college and that his own is not all that definite. Perhaps among the most under-appreciated gifted actors of his generation, Harry Lennix gives one of the strongest performances of his career as the no-nonsense-taking uncle who pulls DJ out of his self-pitying funk. Their relationship proves to be one of tough-love and mutual respect. It also provides a rare glimpse into how black male relatives often function as surrogate fathers to youth whose biological fathers for whatever reason are nowhere to be seen. The move from West Coast to Georgia might appear coincidental but in fact it is crucial to this film because DJ's move takes him out of a region of the country where historically black institutions like Clark University and Tuskegee Institute do not exist, and into one where their presence and legacy remains strong. The move to Georgia turns into an inner journey to his ancestral beginnings where ultimately he discovers the strength and integrity needed to cope with the grief over his brother's death and move forward with a vision for his own life. Once he becomes a student at Truth University, DJ initially demonstrates the same kind of arrogance and self-absorption that got him into conflicts back in L.A. But he also discovers the world of stepping, both a new form of dance for him and a cultural tradition going back to the establishment of the first black Greek Letter fraternities and sororities in the early 1900s during the Harlem Renaissance. He becomes determined to help his chosen fraternity, Theta Nu Theta, end a seven-year long losing streak against their rivals Mu Gamma Xi, and to win the heart of co-ed April Palmer (played beautifully by Megan Good). His efforts take him through an inspiring rites of passage during which he learns a great deal about his ancestral legacies and the advantages of sometimes working as part of a team rather than thinking only of himself. The culminating dance competitions in Stomp the Yard have to be seen to be believed and rank among the best in cinema history. Ultimately, this film is one that stands alongside "You've Been Served," "Drumline," and others that accentuate the life-affirming power and beauty of many African-American college traditions. In the process, it confirms and celebrates that same potential in all human beings. by Author-Poet Aberjhani author of The Bridge of Silver Wings (Songs of the Angelic Gaze) and Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Facts on File Library of American History) |
Author-Poet Aberjhani gave 5 stars to: All About Love
Author-Poet Aberjhani reviewed:
All About Love: Favorite Selections from In The Spirit on Living Fearlessly
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Taylor's "All About Love" Provides Harvest of Empowering Inspiration , A collection of more than 80 empowering editorials and three bonus dialogues, "All About Love" is all about life as we know, live, dread, treasure, and live it. Unlike too many book collections of short essays or creative nonfiction, this is not one aimed at demonstrating the intellectual profundity or virtuosity of the author. These are the observations, emotions, realizations and affirmations by which generations of women--and sometimes men--have mapped out the course of their daily lives and established purpose for their existence. They address such down-to-earth considerations as "Family Affairs" and "Living Abundantly," but also tackle more elevated yet essential meditations on subjects like "Being Peace," and "Self-love and Social Action." Ever a fearless witness to her life and times, Taylor notes in the introduction, "A Bridge of Light," that, "Human beings have made every corner of the planet a disaster zone, and human beings have the power and responsibility to clear and clean it up, set the Earth back on its axis. We are not small or powerless. We have the ability to transform our world. Our personal and collective pain, the disorder all around us, are calls to get up and get moving!!!" Especially noteworthy in "All About Love" are the three "conversations" that comprise its closing epilogue. One is Taylor in dialogue with Oscar-nominated actress Ruby Dee; another with educator and activist Cornel West; and the third with the late master musician and spiritual instructor Alice Coltrane. Each subject combines the articulated light of her or his illuminated spirit with that of Taylor's to produce flashes of useful insight that expand into waves of applicable principles and awareness. Take, for example, Cornel West's response to Taylor when she asks him about the need for men to become more emotionally honest, intimate, and self-loving: "Most would rather languish in conformity, complacency and even cowardice. But what is life for but to learn to love and be free and courageous?" At the end of February 2008, Taylor left her almost four-decade position as the creative passion behind Essence® Magazine to head the National Cares Mentoring Movement, an organization she founded as Essence Cares to help at-risk youth. As she journeyed from 1970 to 2008 toward that noble crossroad of change in her illustrious career, she became in 1999 the first African-American woman to receive the Magazine Publishers of America's Henry Johnson Fisher Award. In 2002, she won induction into the American Society of Magazine Editors' Hall of Fame. In many ways, "All About Love" is another kind of award, an eloquent summation of a triumphant career in one of the most demanding professions around. In another possibly more significant way, it is an open letter of uninhibited love and intentional compassion addressed to the denizens of the world from the heart and soul of one of the great women of our new millennial times. by Author-Poet Aberjhani author of The American Poet Who Went Home Again and Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Facts on File Library of American History) |
Author-Poet Aberjhani gave 4 stars to: Gabriel
Author-Poet Aberjhani reviewed:
Gabriel
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
 Astounding Angels of the Wingless Kind, Are there any who fall, when they fall, quite so hard as angels do? Going by the scenario in Australian director Shane Abbess' extraordinary noir metaphysical drama, GABRIEL, the answer would have to be a loud "No!" As they battle in human form for control over the middle earth region of Purgatory, where human souls dwell in limbo before descending to hell or ascending to heaven, these angels use the f-word in more ways than one, revel in rebellion and debauchery by the ton, and fire blazing automatics with more deadly intent than a. S.W.A.T. team or gang bangers looped on crack. And yet the independent filmmaker's skillful balance between Purgatory mayhem and heavenly transcendence is a finely rendered one. As he drops dreamlike from heaven to non-heaven, the archangel Gabriel ponders the fact that he is on his way to do battle in a spiritual war zone where six fellow archangels have already dared to tread but apparently failed. He is a last chance, hoping to succeed where even the mighty angel-warrior Michael has not. Newcomer Andy Whitfield does a more than competent job as Gabriel and makes it easy to empathize with his divine anguish as he adjusts to his mortal form, seeks out his wounded angelic comrades, and launches full force into martial arts and handgun combat. Dwayne Stevenson as the manically rebellious Sammael, and one-time mentor of Gabriel, provides a powerful villainous contrast. The film progresses between scenes of healing and reunion, to those of explosive one-on-one clashes reminiscent of the most enthralling gangster-film gun battle sequences. The ending is not only unpredictable in regard to a painful choice that Gabriel makes--it is also for some viewers disturbing and controversial. Considering the obstacles that Shane Abbess and company had to overcome to make this amazing independent film, you have to give the production team and cast credit for getting it done at all. When looking, however, at the small miracle they achieved while working with so little, it becomes difficult not to imagine how much they might have accomplished working with more. by Author-Poet Aberjhani author of "The Bridge of Silver Wings" and Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Facts on File Library of American History) |
Author-Poet Aberjhani gave 5 stars to: Ararat
Author-Poet Aberjhani reviewed:
Ararat
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Ararat Tells Devastating Story with Power and Style, In its opening scenes, Ararat gives you the impression that the primary story is likely to involve a turgid family drama in which a fiercely intelligent woman named Ani (portrayed by the brilliant Arsinèe Khanjian), her son Raffi, and step daughter Celia are struggling to cope with the death of her husband. Ani moves forward with her life as an art historian giving lectures on her latest book and working as a consultant on a film about the Armenian massacre of 1915. However, the step-siblings Raffi (played by David Alpay) and Celia (Marie-Josèe Croze) seem less well adjusted and start a disturbing romantic relationship at the same time that Celia begins to sabotage Ani's lectures with disruptive personal questions about her father. On one level, Ararat is an extremely sophisticated movie about the painful lessons of history and the healing beauty of art. On another level, it is a kind of ghost story about the life and legacy of the great painter Arshile Gorky (1904?-1948). Haunted himself by the atrocious reported massacre of Armenians in 1915, the spirit of Gorky, as portrayed in Ararat, takes the form of different things for different people following his suicide in 1948. In what we call the real world, Gorky emerged as a leading artist of the twentieth century. Along with such geniuses as Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko, his work helped define the art movements known as Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism. For the director character within the movie Ararat, the painter is an inspirational cultural icon whose personal story embodies the larger tragic history of his people. To Ani, he is the fascinating subject of her latest book. To Ani's stepdaughter Celia, he is a painful reminder of her father's questionable death; and to Raffi he is an important piece to the puzzle of his own identity. (Director Egoyan's own deep respect for Gorky may be noted by the fact that his son is named after the painter.) The story of one character in the movie takes us inside the stories of others as Raffi, returning from a journey, is interrogated at length by a customs official named David (Christopher Plummer). Unknown to either of them, the official's son happens to be a guard at the museum where Ani gives a lecture; and his son's lover is an actor in a film on which Raffi worked as a production assistant. The sequences involving the making of a movie--about the Armenian massacre and Gorky's narrow escape from it--within this extraordinary movie are among the most exceptional in the film. At times, it is uncertain whether you're watching scenes from the film in production or whether the film Ararat itself is now in a flashback mode depicting the terror of murder, rapes, and forced migration that characterized the massacre. The answer seems to be both but even that conclusion becomes questionable when the actors shooting the movie break character for various reasons. At moments such as those we realize just what a superb filmmaker Atom Egoyan truly is. This stylish report on the Armenian genocide, which some still deny ever happened, is told with mesmerizing cinematic eloquence using an astoundingly brilliant cast that, in addition to those already mentioned, includes: Elias Koteas, Raoul Bhaneja, and Bruce Greenwood. The adult Arshile Gorky is brought broodingly to life by Simon Abkarian, and Garen Boyajian does an admirable job as the adolescent Gorky. For those whose lives are not defined or daily obliterated by the horrific butchery that characterizes existence in such places as modern-day Darfur or World War II Nazi Germany, the word "genocide" comes across as a sociopolitical contradiction almost too insane to contemplate. The movie Ararat not only forces viewers to confront the insanity of that contradiction but to take full measure of the brutalities, abuses, and corruption that can destroy lives for decades when allowed to go unchecked. From that perspective, the political, spiritual, and simple human importance of Egoyan's film can hardly be overlooked. by Author-Poet Aberjhani author of "The Bridge of Silver Wings" and Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Facts on File Library of American History) |
Author-Poet Aberjhani gave 5 stars to: Days of Grace
Author-Poet Aberjhani reviewed:
Days of Grace
| A Lasting Legacy of Grace and Greatness, In this invitingly intimate and yet stoically objective memoir, Ashe grapples with the issues of sports, racism, and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) which he contracted while receiving a blood transfusion after his second heart bypass operation in 1983. DAYS OF GRACE reveals different sides to a man many described as "cold" while he lived. The view from within does not support this description. Some very warm snapshots are provided of Ashe as a man who never stopped being an obedient son, as a fervent patriot, lover of art, serious intellectual, mystical seeker, generous philanthropist, devoted husband, and loving father. Ashe's tendency to gloss over such feats as writing a landmark three-volume history of black athletes, his historic 1970 win at the Australian Tennis Open and 1975 victory at Wimbledon; or his association with people like Nelson Mandela and Jesse Jackson, rings true to an exceptional character whose many parts added up to a truly noble and memorable sum. As tragically as he may have died, DAYS OF GRACE provides an amazing portrait of just how heroically he lived. by Author-Poet Aberjhani author of "The Bridge of Silver Wings" and Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Facts on File Library of American History) |
Author-Poet Aberjhani's Blog
Home and the Wanderer (Part 1 of 2)
Posted on June 28th, 2008 at 2:28pm —
No Comments (Add)
The Homeless, Psalm 85:10
One War Veteran's Holiday Request
Posted on May 24th, 2008 at 1:21pm —
No Comments (Add)
ELEMENTAL: The Power of Illuminated Love
Posted on May 19th, 2008 at 11:39am —
No Comments (Add)
Celebrating the Literary Arts
For Your Personal Copy Please Click Here
Prior to that, it won the Choice Academic Title Award and Best History Book Award for it’s treatment of an era that not only gave us such outstanding authors as Zora Neale Hurston and leaders like James Weldon Johnson, but laid the foundation for the Civil Rights Movement and provided such lasting legacies as gospel music, jazz, the blues, rap, and other staples of African-American culture. For more on “Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance,” please click or paste the following: http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewwork.asp?AuthorID=25279 .
Profile
- About Me:
- As far as I can tell, I'm one of those people who were born to write because writing, paired with reading and editing, has been the only constant throughout my adult life.
I studied journalism and creative writing at: Savannah State University; Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla.; Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn.; Temple University in Philadelphia; and the New College of California in San Francisco. I served my country and my writing apprenticeship as a U.S. Air Force military journalist in Alaska for two years, Great Britain for four, and South Carolina for two more.
- My Birthdate:
- July 8
- My Birthplace:
- Savannah, Georgia, USA
- My Hometown:
- Savannah
- My Favorite Website:
- http://www.creativethinkersintl.ning.com/profile/Angelscribe22
- My Favorite People:
- Human Beings in General
- My School or Alma Madder:
- Multiple Colleges and Universities
- My Career:
- Author, Editor, Poet, Publisher
- My Accomplishments:
- RECENT PUBLISHED WORKS
--May 2008, ELEMENTAL, The Power of Illuminated Love, book of poetry with art by Luther E. VAnn.
--March 2008, poem “Angel of Hope’s Persistent Flight,” in Poets’ Picturebook Ezine.
--Dec 2007, book of poetry titled THE BRIDGE OF SILVER WINGS.
--November 2007, novel CHRISTMAS WHEN MUSIC ALMOST KILLED THE WORLD (Black Skylark Singing Press)
--September 2007, Launched Creative Thinkers International web site.
--September 2007, Featured Poet in SMOKING POET Ezine.
MEDIA COVERAGE
--March 2008, novel “Blood Kin, A Savannah Story,” featuring a foreword by Aberjhani, hit number four on ESSENCE Magazine Best Sellers List.
--7 March, 2008, featured in news article “A Taxi Writer” in Savannah Morning News.
--12 January, 2008, subject of feature article “Words and Paint” in Savannah Morning News.
--2 December, 2007, “Chase Von Interviews Aberjhani” for the online Student Operated Press.
--July 2007, interview with Randall Barfield featured in online ezine POETRY LIFE AND TIMES.
--February 2007, photo featured in "Preview Magazine" feature commemorating exhibit of art by Sam Gilliam at the Telfair Museum in Savannah, Georgia.
PRESENTATIONS, HONORS, & PERFORMANCES
--April 2008, Featured Member on People's Lounge for National Poetry Month.
--February 2008, presented with membership in the Telfair Museum’s Friends of African-American Arts Committee in Savannah, Georgia.
---Fall 2007, Featured Poet in the Smoking Poet Ezine.
--April 2007, joined the Academy of American Poets.
--January 2007, named The Writing Forum Poet of the Month.
--January 2007, presented anonymous sponsorship for Black Skylark Z-Ped Music Player web site on Authors Den.
--May 2006, named "Savannah Poet and Spoken Word Artist of the Year 2006" in CONNECT SAVANNAH Readers' Poll.
--October 19, 2005, joined The Authors Guild, Inc., and The Authors League of America, Inc.
--December 5, 2004, “Let The Arts Speak” Literary Cafe at Savannah State University, sponsored by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Awarded Certificate of Appreciation.
--August 28, 2004, “Significance of the Harlem Renaissance in Savannah” at Carnegie Library, Savannah, Georgia.
--September 25, 2003, “Celebration of the Book Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance” at Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey.
--November 1998, performance poet for Black Heritage Festival at Johnny Mercer Theater in Savannah, Georgia.
--April 11-13, 1997, performance poet at Valdosta State University Writers’ Conference, Valdosta, Georgia.
--April 25, 1996, literary performance for National Poetry Month Festival at Books on Bay Bookstore, Savannah, Georgia.
--1996 executive board member and critics committee chairperson for the Poetry Society of Georgia.
--October 18, 1995, “Portrait of a Poet” lecture and performance for the Poetry Society of Georgia in Savannah.
--May 17, 1995, "An Evening With Aberjhani," performance and lecture sponsored by Savannah State University Writers' Club.
- Why I'm Here:
- Professional, To Network, To Make Friends, To Share Ideas
- My Passion:
- Living and writing life as fully as possible.
- My Hopes:
- To always live and express my soul's true purpose.
- My Dreams:
- Living and writing life as fully as possible.
- What Else?:
- Thank you for inviting me to share this space.
Author-Poet Aberjhani's Videos
Props & sponsors! :-)
For your consideration!!!
Groups
-
Therapeutic Sharing
(16 members)
-
TheThinkersClubs
(32 members)
-
DeltaRowPikes
(2 members)
-
Foodies
(11 members)
-
Almaden Valley Community
(6 members)
-
Poets Passion
(28 members)
-
The Kids Lounge
(12 members)
-
The Business Lounge
(22 members)
-
The Urban Book Lounge
(84 members)
-
The Author's Lounge
(66 members)
The People's Lounge Badge
Spread the word. Get your own The People's Lounge badge for your website or MySpace page. (Get Code)
The Pen is Mightier than the Sword— This week we feature TPL Member "Pam Osbey" and her writings— thanks for your contributions to the Community!
Stuff that TPL likes :-)
Congratulations to Keith B. on his new book cover!
Thanks to Chester Elmore for this amazing artwork.
Thanks to Slain for this glorious add— One Love indeed!!! 
Thanks to Gary Williams for this great book cover! Nice job!!!
Forums
There's Self-Publishing Wealth In Your Future
Hi Everyone! Finally, what we promised is ready!!! Self-publishing Your Way to Wealth. It is in your future because it is a positive impact in the lives of those you touch. It overpowers inflation...
Tagged: resources, succeed., success, teleseminar, ebook
Started by Martha Tucker in General Discussions Jun 23.
Royalties and The Right Publisher. I need help making the big decision!
I am interested in knowing about the experience of other writers and how they feel about their publishing company and royalties. Some royalty companies offer monthly payment and others, quarterly....
Started by Mari McGee in General Discussions Jun 17.
Win A Book: Meet Author Ivan Wright Here at The Urban Book Lounge 3 Replies
Join Author Ivan Wright on his virtual book tour! Ivan will be available on The People's Lounge ( Urban Book Lounge) for questions June 9th - 15th Those of you who have enjoyed his first nove...
Tagged: Book-Marketing, Publicity, Author-Promotion, Mystery-Books, Black-Authors
Started by Dawnny Ruby Platinum Book PR in General Discussions. Last reply by Dawnny Ruby Platinum Book PR Jun 16.
Starting a Music Blog, feeling a bit lost. 2 Replies
First of all, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Demi'urge. It's not my real name but it's one of my most comfortable ones (hey I can use that in a poem.) I am a poet, a somewhat music en...
Started by Demi'urge in
Comment Wall (20 comments)
You need to be a member of The People's Lounge to add comments!
Join this network
Therefore, I would like nothing more than to collaborate with you someday in a creative manner. :-) I am interested in all forms of visual communications— print, web, space/environment, film etc.
Your friend, Wil
I hope it helps your cause and what your doing!!!
Like the music of individual bells
That ring together as one
Understanding each other
And where they are coming from
Like the keys of a piano
Black and White
And all the shades are just right
This one important time
This colorful life
No reason to fight
Just emit our unique chimes
In concert we'll find
Our connection.
NubianGraphics.com
View All Comments