A Few of My Favorite Things

Uber creative-spirit Didi Menendez (poet, artist, publisher of MIPOesias) suggests we respond to these prompts on our own websites.

Hence, my thoughts here. Feel free to do your own list.


Songs from the soundtrack of your life:

Three Little Birds, Bob Marley
King of Rock, Run DMC
Over the Hills and Far Away, Led Zeppelin
Shake Your Rump, Beastie Boys
Crosstown Traffic, Jimi Hendrix
Randy Describes Eternity, Built to Spill
Even Flow, Pearl Jam

Favourite book[s]:

Lazy answer---see my profile for a list. But to try to answer this...favorite recent novels are Chang Rae Lee's Aloft and Daniel Chacon's and the shadows took him...and I love and am still loving the latest books of poems by Tina Chang, Shin Yu Pai, Amy Uyematsu, Brigit Pegeen Kelley, Susan Schultz, Kim Addonizio, and Martin Espada. Oh yeah, and I liked the recent books The Culture of Fear (although not so recent, on media and anxiety) and Rebels on the Backlot (on indie filmmakers such as Tarantino, David O. Russell, P.T. Anderson, Spike Jonze, and others). I am also reading some great religious texts.

Favourite film[s]:

It's probably not too exciting to admit, but I loved Raiders of the Lost Ark. But this comes from a guy who also loved E.T. Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing is an all-time favorite, as are most things Scorsese, Spielberg, and Cohen brothers. I also dig Charlie Kaufmann screenplays. One of my favorite movies from the last three years: the super-powerful Brazilian film City of God.

Favourite poem[s]:

Way too difficult to answer this one. But two that always come to mind are Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" and Li Young Lee's masterpiece "Furious Versions." One of my newest favorites is Espada's "Alabanzaa."

The Beatles or Marvin Gaye?

Both. But I guess I've heard and loved more of the Beatles.

Favourite comfort food:

Cherry Garcia.

What fuels your drive?

history, the spirit, the sound of certain lines.

What inspires you?

Great art, great music, family, and stories of survival and perseverance.