In Dublin last week I walked up to the Unitarian Church by Stephen’s Green for the launch of Chris Agee’s book of poems, Next to Nothing. This is his third book of poems and it deals with the time following the death of his daughter Miriam at age four in 2001. The poems, some of them quite wonderful, capture many of the numerous aspects of grief, although it’s quite clear that the book is not intended to emotionally stand up to the terrible event. It’s still a very moving collection, featuring a long sequence of very short, untitled poems, glimpses of life and memories in the aftermath.
Chris Agee is an American who’s been living in Ireland since 1979. He has two previous books of poetry, In the New Hampshire Woods and First Light. He’s also edited a number of anthologies and his reviews and articles appear frequently, often in The Irish Times. He edits the great journal Irish Pages from the Linen Hall Library in Belfast.
In Dublin, I also finally caught up with Wendy and Lucy, an American independent film by Kelly Reichardt starring Michelle Williams. A young woman travelling on a slender budget from Indiana to Alaska, where she hopes to find work in the salmon industry, stalls in an Oregon town when her dog Lucy goes missing and her car breaks down. Not an awful lot happens in the film other than Wendy’s encounters with a few of the local citizens, but due to the mood Reichardt establishes, Williams’ near perfect performance and fine work from the other members of the cast, the film stays with you, a parable for hard times.
The film is closely based on the short story “Train Choir” by Jon Raymond,who is based in Portland, Oregon, and little known outside of the Northwest. The story appears in Raymond’s recently publshed story collection, Livability, which also contains “Old Joy,” from which Kelly Reichardt made an earlier movie of the same name. Jon Raymond’s work is quiet, very carefully put together, and moving. His only other book, Half-Life, a novel, is also available.
Filed under: By Dick
