We've seemingly entered a brave new world of hope and civility in recent days. It's a nice change of pace, this belief in each other's inherent goodness. Poet Ross Gay captured that dormant spirit of humanity in his work long before now, releasing it on the page in poems such as Two Bikers Embrace on Broad Street; in the heartfelt, lengthy hug between a pair of Hell's Angels — "these men not, my guess, to be fucked with" — Gay sees the echo of the final hug shared by his uncle and his dying father, as well as the universal experience of finding solace in the heat of another human body. The moment staggers Gay: "All of us still, and listening, as if we had nothing/to blow up, as if we had nothing to kill." Ross reads from his work tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Duff's Restaurant (392 North Euclid Avenue; 314-533-4541 or www.riverstyx.org) as the guest of the River Styx Reading Series. Admission is $4 to $5.
Mon., Nov. 17, 2008
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