And it's Maggie's turn! If I'm not mistaken, Stephen (Dad) wrote this after hearing (unflattering) reviews of Maggie's performance in the stage production of "Closer." (I, myself, became quite intimate with this poem last night when I typed it up 4 times and finally admitted defeat to Blogger, which seemed incapable of addressing my formatting issues. Thank God for scanners, huh?) Here is, as lifted directly from Claptrap: Notes for Hollywood, "Watching You Strip/My Daughter." What can I say? I love this poem...and I love it when we act like we're all smart. :D
26 comments:
I'm not one of the smart ones, so I won't even try to analyze this poem, but I do think it's both beautiful and full of emotions.
Question: How do I buy this book and have it shipped to Sweden???
I'm an idiot when it comes to poetry, so I'm not going to try to analyze it either. It's a beautiful poem to a tremendously loved daughter and all I can say is that I wish I had a dad like that...
anna, you can order it here and they will send it to Sweden for you.
http://www.authorsbookshop.com/gyllenhaalclaptrap/
Thank you, Penny Lane...I'll put up that link ASAP.
Joyce, I agree completely. Reading that makes me proud to be a daughter. I sometimes wonder about critics. Who are these people who give themselves the right to criticize others doing things that they, no doubt, could never do themselves?
And how about that "bleached bone beam" line, huh? I can't deny it; I'm a sucker for alliteration. ;)
I didn't understand the poem. It makes absolutely no sense to me...Am I the only one?
Anon 7:28 - No. You're not the only one. I don't know, but I think my reason for not getting it is the fact that english is not my mother tongue. The poem about Jake was a little easier to understand, but I didn't quite understand that completely either to be honest.
Still, like in Jake's poem, I totally sense the love and pride he has for his child(ren). It's so evident.
Anon and Cina - do you know the background to this? When Maggie was in Closer on the NY stage a critic called her a 'braying mule'. At the reading Stephen told the audience he was (understandably) upset by this comment and this poem is in response to it.
i love this. i love how stephen is such a supportive father and how his response to his daughter stripping on stage was one of pride and female empowerment. i’m guessing maggie’s closer performance came before secretary, and i bet poppa’s supportive reaction to closer helped give her the courage to take on that brave role.
one part i didn’t quite get tho—does pops use julia roberts as a reference (or one to blame?) for the “dizzy” image that female entertainers have to maintain? think i’m misinterpreting-- julia did subsequently handpick mags for mona lisa smile…
also, have u guys read the one about jake's opening night in london? it's pretty fantastic as well. i think pops wrote it in response to his regret in not making his opening night. what a great dad. no wonder jake and maggie turned out so great!
Thanks zoo, I didn't know that! :-)
.... and now I have just ordered Claptrap! :-)
Thanks, penny lane. I couldn't find anything on international shipments (though I have to admit I was in a bit of a rush) when I searched the site earlier today. I will place my order right away! ;D
HE'S BACK!!!!!!!
Head on over to www.justjared.com and you'll see...I think the spandex is growing on me, and he looks really good in yellow.
Someone please tell me how I managed to live in LA for four years and never once see him, but now that I no longer live there, he's all over the areas I used to go? Unfair.
For some reason I have been in just a piss poor mood this week. Feeling crappy and like definitely not feeling like I want to go to work and be helpful to others. Yet I look at this site and I cheer up, if only for those brief moments...and those pics at justjared...um...those bike shorts on Jake are just...I'm speechless. I think I swallowed my tongue. *thud*
OT-News Update....Landis tested positive for high levels of testosterone
I think they are in process of a retest...just heard on the news...
Yeah, I just read that too in a Swedish newspaper. He didn't show up for a competition in Denmark (I think) and that raised suspicion. I just don't get why they keep doing it, they must know they will get caught! *shakes head* It's a shame.
And gin - I'm with you. Those pics are to die for. Or rather - Jake is to die for. Man he's working that lycra.... and he's working it very well now! Never thought I'd say that, LOL!
I see you got the poem back. Now where'd the spandex go?
yay, poem's back-- what happened to the bike pics? there are good ones on popsugar too... 1 open shirt =P
There's two posts now! I was trying to keep the discussions separate since Jake in Spandex is sort of unrelated to Jake's father celebrating Maggie in verse. I can't believe my mom was able to so swiftly and accurately execute my e-mailing directions over the phone. I'm so proud. :)
I hope he rethinks too. I find it interesting that this is kind of happening in real time - there's Jake, obviously preparing, then this story breaks.
I'll have to respectfully disagree with any accusations of Lance cheating. After seeing him on Oprah, the ESPY's, etc, he might be a little on the cocky side, but no one can deny he's an amazing athlete. He's been accused of doping time and time again and he's been cleared in every singe incident. I don't buy the "newer drugs" argument (there comes a point when the benefits just aren't worth the risks) and I certainly don't think we should extrapolate his battle with cancer from something that he's neither admitted to nor been proven to have done.
The Landis thing I see as interesting but nothing more. How the man could even ride a bike in the pain that he's in, I have no idea. I'll respectfully keep an open mind till I find more.
As for the SMS service, DAMN I wish it was true! Someday, my friend! Baby steps... :)
If you read Lance's book(s), you'll understand why the man is unstoppable. His body is different, plain and simple. His heart is 30% larger than yours or mine, and his lactate level is much lower than yours or mine which means he doesn't tire out like the average athlete.
The point is, the man is unbelievable. He's an inspiration, and a legend, and to be honest, he has the right to be cocky after all that he's accomplished.
And no offense meant to anyone, but it bugs me when people automatically assume, because of his cockiness and everything he's done, that he uses drugs to help him win titles. It's untrue.
Impetuous and submerged in love feminist poem. I'm gonna add it to my blog, as beautiful as Maggie is.
JakeWatch SMS-service?! Hell, I'll be needing that in a weeks time too!!!
For me every athlet is clean until it's proved the opposite :)
Poppa has a very personal style in his poems, that's for sure. I'm by NO MEANS an expert on poetry, on the contrary, but I kinda like his way of writing. It's very... straightforward I guess would be a good description, yet he's using a lot of metaphores. And as I said before, although I don't understand all of these metaphores or undertones, the tremendous love he has for his children (and his wife for that matter) shines through in his writing and that is enough for me.
I wonder if Steven might have been reading Sylvia Plath. The last section of the poem reminds me of Plath's "Ariel," and describes a similarly transformative moment when the speaker of the poem becomes Godiva & then flies into the sun. I like his voice in this poem. It's a combination of really colloquial (the comparison to a Maserati taking off is pretty distinctive -- you can hear someone speaking when you read that) and yet it's also somewhat formal (as when he brings in Medea, who murdered her children). I get a stronger sense of his voice in this poem than any of the others I've seen on the Web site so far. Also, he's not afraid to play around with the arrangement of the lines in space (this isn't a plain, left-margin poem), so it looks like he's been reading some of the Beat-descended poets. He's a little obvious in some of his line breaks and physical arrangements of the sections, though. Like a film student who's a little bit too showy with the transitions between scenes. And he's still got that Dylan Thomas poem bugging him -- he really likes to advise & exhort in his poems. But I suppose that's natural when one's addressing one's children. You want to praise & encourage, or pass on some sort of wisdom that might prove useful. I'll call this an "attagirl" poem/
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