“The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.”

[Ed note: Warning. No technology content ahead. May not be suitable for all readers.]

Well, I’ve finally broken down and installed the RealPlayer so that I can listen to The Writer’s Almanac on my computer every day instead of mostly missing it on our local NPR station. What I find fascinating about it is that it manages to bring poetry back from the obscure backwater that it inhabits in my high school English classes of the past. What’s even more fascinating is that normally I absolutely cannot stand to listen to Garrison Keillor do a reading – his “News from Lake Wobegon” segment from A Prairie Home Companion is like nails on a chalkboard to me. But for some reason I think his poetry readings are just absolutely superb. It’s probably because he lacks that self-conscious “poetry cadence” that most people (including poets themselves) use when reading poetry. I think the poetry choices are also very good and I have found the poems he reads to be very personally affecting, something that I had really forgotten that poetry can do. Many kudos to a fine and worthy effort.

And for those who wonder, the title of this entry comes from one of my favorite poems (do people still have those these days?), “The Emperor of Ice Cream” by Wallace Stevens. Why it is a favorite, I have no idea. Something about the line “Let be be finale of seem” just does it for me, I guess…

[We now return you to your regularly scheduled technology blog.]

8 thoughts on ““The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.”

  1. Steve

    The line "Let be be finale of seem" reminds me of a question I heard a long time ago.

    What was was before was was was?
    Before was was was, was was is.

    Reply
  2. Jacob (MVP)

    I think that "The Emporer of Ice Cream" is one of your favorites because Wallace Stevens is a magnificent writer. Definitely one of my favorites of all time. My favorites of his include "The Idea of Order at Key West" and "Of Mere Being."

    Reply
  3. kiles

    I’ve taught this poem.

    I found the best way to introduce what it was about was to play the opening sequence from Six Feet Under. If you rearrange the lines a little, it fits really well. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Saul Rodriguez

    Im doing a report on this poem, the emporer of ice cream is pretty hard to do a report on. I also need to do a 25 min oral presentation on this poem and its writer Wallace stevens can you please help by emailing me some info SaulRod65@yahoo.com

    Reply

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