Page 10 The Evening Bulletin Wednesday, 28 September, 2005 CULTURE b POETRY TELEVISION Building The Archives Mrs. President PENN PROFESSORS BUILD A DIGITAL ARCHIVE OF POETRY PERFORMANCES AND READINGS GEENA DAVIS STARS AS FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT IN ABC’S ‘COMMANDER IN CHIEF’ Bernstein Hopes People Will Rethink Role Of Live Readings Awkward Series Could Find Its Footing Down The Line By DAVID BLUM By NICHOLAS GILEWICZ ously called “Mac,” “Ma’am,” and Writer Rod Lurie created last THE EVENING BULLETIN “Madam President”) served as a season’s quirky and terrific crime ith the arrival of member of Congress and the drama Line of Fire for ABC; he has lite universities have a rep- Commander in Chief on chancellor of a major university great storytelling talent, and an utation, often deserved, of WABC, the United States before Teddy Roosevelt Bridges ear for vivid and powerful dia- disengaging from the of America will have three presi- asked her to be his running mate; logue. Perhaps the pressure from E dencies to follow — the Jed communities that surround once she became vice president — ABC to develop another hit them. Poetry often has a similar Bartlet administration over on the first woman, and the first drama for the newly empowered reputation for being obtuse and NBC, the Bush White House in political independent, to reach Desperate Housewives network led disconnected. So, combining Washington, and now the Allen that level — we’re led to think him to make so many obvious the two might seem ill-advised. team taking over for recently President Bridges froze her out. choices here; it’s much harder to But the University of deceased President Bridges in When he lands in a hospital with a develop bold programming for a Pennsylvania’s new project, Rod Lurie’s well-meaning new bleeding aneurism, it’s expected successful network than a strug- PENNsound, has managed to drama about the first female to that the vice president will resign gling one, where innovation can engage the poetry community hold the nation’s highest office. to allow Nathan Templeton, the often prove the only solution to a on a global scale. Launched in There’s no question that speaker of the House, to assume ratings crisis. Let’s hope that if January of this year after eight- President Bush remains the most the presidency. We’re told that Commander in Chief finds an audi- een months of planning, dramatic and interesting one to Templeton’s politics more closely ence on Tuesday nights, Mr. Lurie PENNsound provides MP3 files follow; unlike his television coun- resemble those of Bridges, will find his footing soon after- of poetry, all free, all fully down- terparts, Martin Sheen and though we’re given little clue what ward, and a way to deliver an loadable and shareable, provid- Geena Davis, Mr. Bush manages those beliefs might be — an early ongoing series with more com- ELIZABETH TROST/University of Pennsylvania to bring to his daily duties a sense and significant failing of plexity and vision than the pilot. ed that they are used exclusively Poet Charles Bernstein, co-founder and executive editor of for personal or noncommercial of uncertainty and theater that Commander in Chief — in contrast He’s got the skill; now all he needs use. Buffalo’s Electronic Poetry Center, came to Philadelphia to teach makes a presidency realistic. His with the clearly liberal leanings of is the imperative. THE NEW YORK SUN at the University of Pennsylvania. Along with fellow professor Al human failings make Mr. Bush, if President Bartlet over on NBC. Under the direction of Penn nothing else, the most compelling professors Charles Bernstein Filreis, he is editor of PENNSound, a large archive of poetry Instead we get a taste of of the three; he may not be the Templeton’s snarky disposition; Quick Take: ‘Lost’ and Al Filreis, the project has readings and performances available for free on the Internet. most likable, but at least he does- assembled over half a terabyte of played with an unexpected lack of Last week’s season pre- rial culture — that is to say poet- tures some excellent young writ- n’t run his presidency to ensure subtlety by Donald Sutherland, a miere of Lost demonstrat- material on its servers — or in ry is of our times, not outside of ers like Steve Dalachinsky, that a network executive will pick iPod terms, the equivalent of future battle of wits seems less ed what we all knew before them. “I’m interested in poetry Brendan Downing and Jordan up his administration for more likely than a fight over who has the the second season even about 125,000 songs. Like as a material medium and how it Davis. episodes. music files, the live recordings superior haircut. (I’d vote for Mr. started — that the creative operates culturally. And so far, While many Penn students Still, I can’t deny that I like the Sutherland’s mane over Ms. minds behind ABC’s are broken down by poem into people have mostly neglected “singles,” so it isn’t necessary to work at the project through idea of a gorgeous president. Davis’s bob.) amazing show have more the performance of poetry — work-study programs, Geena Davis has been a stunning The new president also has to entertainment value to download an entire 40-minute not ‘performance poetry,’ but performance to sample a poet’s Mustazza says that the sheer Hollywood presence ever since contend with the question of what offer than the producers of the live reading of poems — as volume of material they have is she turned up in Dustin to do with her husband, Rod Threshold, Invasion, and work. PENNsound’s technical primary text.” director Chris Mustazza says daunting. “It’s not so much like Hoffman’s dressing room in Calloway, who had previously Surface combined. It’s still that people are downloading The claim that live readings there’s a flow of material. It’s Tootsie, wearing nothing but a been her chief of staff. Scenes of the best show on network about 13 gigabytes of poetry are as important an aspect of the more like a mountain that keeps negligee and a toothy smile. With the new first gentleman (Kyle television. Contrary to its every day — enough poetry to poem as the written version is growing, even though we’re that broad, expressive face, she Secor) touring the White House producers’ promises, fill the new high-end iPod Nano one that some poets would hotly always chipping away at it.” The brings to this righteous role a kitchen and bemoaning the pink “Down the Hatch” (or more than three times over. contest, yet at PENNsound, amount of recordings forces dimension that expands on Mr. furniture of his predecessor’s whatever the episode was “Although weirdly, our peak use many of the performances do Bernstein and Filreis to be dis- Lurie’s script — she’s tough, deci- office seemed out of place in the actually called) answered is Fridays at 3 a.m.,” he laughs. something all too rare in poetry criminating in what they post. sive, and even a little nasty when pilot, where time could have been no questions at all. It “Nobody can figure out why.” readings: enhance the written They look at a box of tapes, and necessary. But she can’t escape the better spent fleshing out more merely raised a whole new word, and make the poems feel quickly label them I (for making earnestness that pervades this Digital rights of course are a provocative matters of policy. set of them — deepening more complete. Charles Olson’s them available ASAP), II (for enterprise; everything in Among other things, Commander the mystery and adding concern — but PENNsound has “Maximus Poems,” for exam- loading on the server and getting Commander in Chief is designed to permission from every writer, in Chief appears to be struggling layers of complexity to the ple, are regarded as dense, tough the rights and the recording live get our vote, and the result feels for a proper tone; The balance show’s mystical mytholo- estate, or publisher for each reads. But his virile 1957 per- when I is done), and III (to store less like a drama than a paid polit- poem archived on the site. between humor and portent gy. My personal favorite formance of selections from until I and II are done). “It’s a ical message.The conflicts raised seemed off in the first episode. So new mysteries: Why was Bernstein says that although he “Maximus” gives the poems a practical way of testing what we before one commercial break are believes “[the major] publishers did the presentation of the new the “Quarantine” sign on clarity they don’t necessarily value,” Filreis asserts. resolved by the next, and by the president’s family life, with her the inside of the hatch don’t act in the interest of poetry possess on the page. pilot episode’s end, all is right with or the public,” there haven’t “Universities generally treat three children coping in pre- door? And why does Fed by live reading series and writing as visual and textual — the world. Why should I tune in dictable ways to their mother’s Desmond seem partial to been any major issues with next week — to watch her fix rights. In stark contrast to digi- donated recordings from PENNsound adds sound” to the new role. (“You’ll be John-John the music of Mama Cass? I around the country, Bernstein’s mix, says Filreis. And in fact, he more of the nation’s problems in and I’ll be Patti Davis,” says Allen’s can’t wait for Wednesday tal music, the lack of a commer- 42 minutes? cial market for poetry record- own vast archive (in his office, sees PENNsound as an out- eldest daughter to her brother at night.