Kurosawa, van Gogh, and Chopin, and the Permanence of Dreams

This is the first scene of the fifth part, “Crows,” of Kurosawa’s 1990 film “Dreams,” based on the director’s actual dreams. Its production was assisted by Lucas, Coppola, and Spielberg. Kurosawa was 80 at the time, and this was his third to last of his films. The music by Chopin is the 15th prelude of […]

Caravaggio’s Dagger – Too Often Not A Dream : War

Caravaggio - The Beheading of John the Baptist - Detail, with the signature of the artist in the prophet's blood

My book, Caravaggio’s Dagger, is structured as six Taxonomies, of which the first, “The Pyre of the Accidental Butterfly,” deals with instances of war and social disruption. “Too Often Not A Dream” is the 11th and culminating poem of that Taxonomy. The poem can be listened to here. The book can be found here. It was written between 4 June 2004 […]