June 21, 2021 - Seven miles / the sun by Jordan Myers
Seven miles the sun
quickly for a while joy
breathing
some June night
away.
June 20, 2021 - Solstice. by Jordan Myers
This time last year dining cabanas were appearing in parking spaces between bike lanes and traffic. Outdoor dining became the new indoor dining. Outdoor dining became dining.
June 18, 2021 - Walking up the stairs of the subway / of the N train stop at Lexington / & 59th. by Jordan Myers
Walking up the stairs of the subway
of the N train stop at Lexington
& 59th: Street level, glancing west.
Standing beneath the marquee sign
outside Cinema 1 2 3 by Angelika
on a Friday night, just past sunset.
June 16, 2021 - In between seances & dreams / by Jordan Myers
In between seances & dreams
telepathic soundscapes / + roving,
windswept, & 100% west, gazes.
June 14, 2021 - From our archives: Issue No. 8 - 05/20/20. by Jordan Myers
I walked through a sleeping city; I walked by a silent Carnegie Hall. I stood at West Fifty-seventh and Seventh Avenue and for a few moments, I could hear the sound of the American flag clapping in the wind. On West Fifty-eighth, I looked over my shoulder at the setting sun. I could barely see its rays, held between the buildings at dusk. Then the night fell, but the streets made no sound, and I kept walking.
June 13, 2021 - All silence and sirens. / by Jordan Myers
All silence and sirens.
All sirens and silence.
All rain and umbrella.
All umbrella and rain.
All west side and east.
All east side and west.
All pauses then flight.
All flight then pauses.
Every avenue at once.
Every once all avenues.
June 11, 2021 - Cab Calloway’s “Everybody eats when they come to my house.”
Omg! I’ve just heard the most amusing and timely song: Cab Calloway’s "Everybody eats when they come to my House,” which was recorded sometime between 1939 and 1947 and released as part of a compilation of Calloway’s work: Are You Hep to the Jive? (1947). Amusing because the list of foods that he pairs with names oh so steadily and sweetly grows from the predictable and mundane, “Have a banana, Hannah / Try the salami, Tommy,” to pairings so surprising and bizarre that it’s difficult not to smile and feel welcomed, as though he were singing directly to you: “Pasta fazoula, Tallulah / oh, do have a bagel, Fagel.” Timely because the joys of getting together in person with family and friends is making a comeback, and in a major way.
I don’t know of any other jazz song ––– nor song of any other genre –––– that so unabashedly and enthusiastically engages in word play in a way that’s this reminiscent of a children’s book. The only song that comes to mind that’s in the same realm would be Blackalicious’ “A to G” from 1999, wherein, following a sample from what sounds like a 1950’s instructional video, in which a female voice speaks, “We’re going to learn to hear words with vowel ‘A’ sounds, listen with care.” Blackalicious lists word after word that does in fact begin with the letter A –––– “I be the analog arsonist, aimin at your arteries / All-seeing abstract, analyze everything / Adding on, absolutely abolishing / Average amateur’s arsenal just astonishing” –––– and then does the same for B, C, D, E, F, and of course, G.
But what separates “A to G” from the appeal and enjoyment of “Everybody eats when they come to my House” is this: “A to G” is an exercise in verbal dexterity; whereas“Everybody Eats” is a celebration! Calloway, who was a regular performer at Harlem’s historic Cotton Club through much of the 1920s and ‘30s, and was the first African-American to have a nationally syndicated TV show, sings with a warmth and charisma that would make it nearly impossible to decline his invitation. Plus, he makes it clear that even if you’re only a little hungry, he’s got all sorts of options and tidbits to choose from:“Well, you get the cherry, Jerry.” So why not stay, at least for a little while.
June 9, 2021 - June’s sunlight has a cadence. by Jordan Myers
Break the croissant into two, choose
butter or strawberry jam. Spread said
butter or strawberry jam across said
croissant. Eat said croissant. English
breakfast tea. Choose milk, or no milk.
No sugar at all. Morning light. Wash
the croissant down with English breakfast
tea. Wash the English breakfast tea down
with water. Rinse. Repeat. June’s sunlight
has a cadence, steady.
June 7, 2021 - It happened along Sixth Avenue near West Fifty-fifth Street, a few moments after noon. by Jordan Myers
It happened along Sixth Avenue near West Fifty-fifth Street, a few moments after noon. It happened outside of the Warwick Hotel. Four or five women in business dresses walked with two or three men who were wearing suits. It happened so quickly. The way they were walking was so effortless and usual, the way people would walk these Manhattan streets before March of 2020. They walked north along Sixth Avenue, and nearly each one of them was carrying a bag of take-out lunch, or a cup of coffee. No masks. I was sitting on a bench across the street and I could only see them from a distance so I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but they were laughing. They looked happy. The sun was high and bright in the sky.
June 6, 2021 - At sunset you were floral and thinking August memories / in Washington Square. by Jordan Myers
At sunset you were floral and thinking August memories
in Washington Square. Years ago we walked all the way
south to Delancey and crossed the bridge into Brooklyn
late at night on a Saturday three autumns later: just the
skyline in the silent distance; just the city always moving;
just our first night in the Village; just the way the leaves
change from red to orange to beige then fall; just the sound
of the snow crackling beneath our feet along Mott Street
at night. Just the summer solstice & the view from the roof
of the brownstone on Great Jones: just the eclipse, the portrait
black & white from July; just the moon, + those first few breaths
walking through another forever summer night ––– our quiet sigh.
June 4, 2021 - Letters from Roland-Garros - S. Williams over D. Collins: 6-4, 6-4.
On Friday, at approximately ten-thirty in the morning in New York and four-thirty in the afternoon local time, in Paris, France, two Americans, Serena Williams, ranked number seven in the world and a three-time French Open Champion, and Danielle Collins, ranked number fifty, walked onto the orange clay Court Philippe-Chatrier for a third round match at Roland-Garros. Williams, the favorite by a wide margin, donned the lime green and white Nike sporting attire, which has become accustom for her over these last three matches, and Collins, with a nod to New Balance, wore all black, with pink and white sneakers.
The first set featured the return of Williams’ dominant straight down the T serve, which Collins struggled to return. On occasions when she did not forfeit an ace to her opponent, Collins would barely get her racquet on one of Williams’ bombs, which were coming down from high and coming in hot from the other side of the net. However, through Collins’ service games, she was able to bring Williams out wide with her serve, pulling Williams off the court, after which Collins would follow-up with several down-the-line backhand winners, many of which Williams could barely give chase.
A funny thing happened on a short ball from Williams that drew Collins in toward the net: although it appeared that Collins was able to chase down Williams’ shot and return it back to her opponent, the ball, in fact, bounced twice and should have been called out. Neither line judge, nor the umpire, nor the commentators made note of this discrepancy; however, the slow motion replays that ran after the match confirmed the double bounce. Nonetheless, it was a good get by Collins and a solid coaching point ––– hustle for the ball, and even if you only appear to get there in time, you may get lucky. Although Collins did ultimately lose the point; she did also force Williams to hit one more shot.
Williams took the first set 6-4, and once she won the first game of the second set, it appeared that she had decided to accelerate and close out the match in straight sets. Yet Collins, after a change of racquets, employed a level of confidence and precision that rattled her opponent (Williams hit at least four double faults in the second set, two of which were against break points) and went up 4-1, thus demonstrating why she belonged in the third round at Roland-Garros.
Williams responded in kind: her dominant serve returned; and she displayed incredible power and control on a number of swinging volley winners. Then almost all at once, despite Collins’ best efforts, the score tallied 5-4 in favor of Williams, who at 40-30, had reached match point, and was serving for a chance to advance to the fourth round. Although Collins may have expected it, she wasn’t able to do anything about it: Williams’ serve was a fast ball ––– sprinting straight down the T, to which Collins could barely reply. Match, Williams: 6-4, 6-4.
When the two Americans, who are said to be dear friends, approached the net after the match, at first they shook hands. Then after a shared smile and a beat, they embraced.
