Poetry Friday: Bach in the DC Subway

Bach in the DC Subway – by David Lee Garrison

As an experiment,
The Washington Post
asked a concert violinist—
wearing jeans, tennis shoes,
and a baseball cap—
to stand near a trash can
at rush hour in the subway
and play Bach
on a Stradivarius.
Partita No. 2 in D Minor
called out to commuters
like an ocean to waves,
sang to the station
about why we should bother
to live.

A thousand people
streamed by. Seven of them
paused for a minute or so
and thirty-two dollars floated
into the open violin case.
A café hostess who drifted
over to the open door
each time she was free
said later that Bach
gave her peace,
and all the children,
all of them,
waded into the music
as if it were water,
listening until they had to be
rescued by parents
who had somewhere else to go.

(Found at Poetry Foundation. Photo by Dan Dickinson).

readergirlz goes fantastical: Teen Read Week Day 5

After a week of simply outstanding author events at readergirlz, tonight is the Gala closing event: into our beyond, with readergirlz diva Dia Calhoun and pioneer YA Sci-Fi Sylvia Engdahl.

I am certain this is going to be a really special event, with two outstanding fantasy writers to wrap up the week. Here are a few great links about Dia and Sylvia:

Sylvia, at Teens Read Too (and a wonderful page full of all the cats Sylvia has ever loved)

Dia, at Little Willow’s

Come celebrate the end of a great week-long party with the readergirlz gang, tonight at the blog at 6 pm PST.