Stacy Horn

I went out to the Gowanus section of Brooklyn to hear a lecture about parapsychology given by author and researcher George Hansen. The place was the Observatory, where I will also be giving a lecture about singing next month. I should have given a lecture here about my last book about the former Parapsychology Laboratory of Duke University! Everyone who runs the place has an interest in the macabre.

I just looked at the month of July, and before me there will be a bunch of events “surveying the interstices of art and medicine, death and culture curated by Observatory’s Morbid Anatomy,” and after me a “Wearable Taxidermy Workshop by Beth Beverly, Rogue Taxidermist.” So someone scanning the list will read: death and culture, happiness and singing, taxidermy.

They must have been thrilled to find a space where you need to pass by the South Brooklyn Casket Company in order to get there.

The actual entrance is around a corner and through this beautiful alley. Who doesn’t love a great alley?? They are among the best things about New York.

This is George Hansen, who gave a very entertaining lecture. George is the author of the book, The Trickster and the Paranormal. George also very graciously mentioned me and my Duke book, so thank you very much George!

Now that I’ve been to the place I think I should focus my lecture on singing about death, which is something choral singers do a lot.

Last night my friend, the poet Christina Davis, read from her new book An Ethic at Callicoon Fine Arts on the Lower East Side/Chinatown. (Published by Nightboat, who did a beautiful job by the way.) That’s Christina on the right.

Christina had other people read from the book, like Jen Bervin, Catherine Barnett, Dorothea Lasky, Filip Marinovich and Kathleen Ossip. That was kinda cool. A short movie of Christina follows below.

The last poem she read took my breath away (it’s not on this movie though). It just hit me. Besides being great I think it must have something to do with where I am right now.

Or, as Thoreau replied
          to the deathbed question,

“What do you see?”

One
world at a
time.

Some of the more interesting papers I came across while researching my book were by Mary L. Cohen, an assistant professor at the University of Iowa who has been researching prison choirs. The prisoners she quotes sound exactly like the singers in my own choir.

“The most wonderful time I had in about 8 years … it touched my heart so much that I almost cried three times.” “This is how I felt about the concert: ecstatic, elated, excited, joyful, grateful.”

Here’s one I didn’t find at the time that looks like a must read, Mother Theresa, how can I help you? The story of Elvera Voth, Robert Shaw, and the Bethel College Benefit Sing-Along for Arts in Prison, Inc. “This event, organized by his longtime friend and collaborator, Elvera Voth, was Shaw’s final out of town engagement prior to his death. It was as well a remarkable public testimony to a passionate belief, shared by Voth and Shaw, that choral singing could be an instrument of social justice, healing and empowering the disenfranchised.”

I’d come across a prison choir while working on the Hart Island chapter of my book, Waiting For My Cats to Die. Hart Island is the site of New York’s Potters Field and it’s maintained by the Department of Correction. While looking through the Department of Correction archives, I came across a crude but endearing inmate-produced magazine called The Hart Islander (inmates were housed on the island for a time). The December 25, 1959 issue begins, “Our first issue—our baby—our sweetheart,” and there’s a description of their Christmas show.

“From it’s [sic] spirit-lifting choral beginning to it’s [sic] shoulder shakin’, moving end, the X-mas show was completely enjoyable … The future for Three Notes would be assured with proper management and polish … their delivery of Walking by the River and I Laughed at Love were quite good, perhaps better, than vocal groups on the scene today … Mr. Parrish does very good work with Caravan and All the Way with a most interesting vibrato that could sell records.”

While looking around for an appropriate picture for this post I came across a 1950s prison doo-wop group from Tennessee called The Prisonaires who actually did sell records. They had a radio hit called Just Walkin’ in the Rain. It’s quite beautiful and worth listening to all the way to the end.

The picture is from a 1953 Life Magazine article titled, Stars Behind Bars: Life with the Prisonaires. More about the Prisonaires here.

I haven’t put up A Dress I Can’t Possess post in a long time. For those who are new to my blog, I live in New York City, in a part of town with a lot of clothing stores. Every day I pass by windows with beautiful dresses (and other pieces) that I cannot afford. I love the collar on this one.

I need to put together a new outfit or two to wear promoting my new book, though. The quest for affordable clothes begins!

The other day, while getting ready to face the most impossible-to-please critics in New York City (people on the street) I realized, I need a haircut. But haircuts are so expensive and five minutes into thinking about how to get an affordable but great haircut my brain just shutdown. Screw it. It’s an unsolvable problem. I quit. Go write another book. That’s more do-able.

So last night, at the benefit for my choir, the Choral Society of Grace Church, I just went with “hair up.” It works. Here are some of us on the roof of the lovely Tribeca penthouse where the party was held. (It sounds like I live such a fabulous life, doesn’t it? In truth, I watch a lot of tv.)

After taking that shot I walked around to the other side of the table, pointed my camera up and took this. Can you believe this? This is someone’s view. They can take their coffee up to the roof, sit down, and gaze upon this.

Later, the mind-blowing pianist Jeremy Denk performed for us—and just how did we luck out and get the not-quite-human Jeremy Denk to play for our benefit? (Not-quite-human because really, what human can play this well?) Thank you Jeremy Denk for agreeing to do it, and thank you for visiting our planet.

I have a short video of some of his playing, but before I get to that, we had a raffle. I won something! Guess what I won. Come on. GUESS. The answer after the photo.

A haircut!! Seriously. I won a haircut at the salon of the amazingly talented fellow choir member Lisa Fiorentino. Thank you, universe! Thank you Lisa for donating this raffle prize!

And now, for the other-worldly beauty of Jeremy Denk and Robert Schumann (thank you to whoever approached Denk and made this happen).