Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,
We all have different enthusiasms when it comes to American and world culture. As you may have gathered, for me, poetry is central. I host of poetry radio show, run a poetry reading series, and read poems to a variety of unsuspecting and sometimes even unwilling audiences as the Poet Laureate of Davis (Have you seen my business card?). For others, the cultural expression of choice may be the visual arts, dance, storytelling, opera, or theater.
For many, a primary obsession is music. Plato opined that, “Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.” While many people could benefit from more charm and gaiety in their lives, just about everyone recognizes the importance of music. And while some people purport not to care for modern dance, Italian opera, or even, can you believe it, poetry, everyone likes one form of music or another. Music gives us an opportunity to transcend language, and even momentarily transcend thought. As Hans Christian Anderson said, “Where words fail, music speaks.”
It could be argued that corporatist forces have “dumbed down” and diluted the force or depth of available music. Do you ever get the sense that the same 100 or 500 songs are played on the radio over and over again? I sometimes acknowledge the “trivial” in contemporary music by asking trivia questions about current pop hits, the sort that pass by like transitory fads. Do you expect to return to the most popular hits of 2015 in 10 or 20 or 50 years? I suspect not.
We are lucky to have a resource in Davis that is devoted to music that confronts faddism. That resource is KDVS, our campus and community radio station. Staffed by the equivalent of music professionals, curators, and librarians, KDVS offers us an unrestricted free-form perspective on our musical opportunities. KDVS can offer the discriminating listener a glorious variety of musical schools, genres, and talents, thus ensuring discovery and surprise. In 2014, for instance, I played only North African music between the guests and recorded poems on “Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour,” the show I have been hosting for the last 15 years. I don’t believe the host of any other American radio show can make that claim.
As I do with my poetry outreach, the KDVS on-air personalities work as volunteers, devoting long hours of research, often in KDVS listening booths, so that those DJs can offer a listening experience that reflects careful attention and curation. All of us in the Sacramento valley benefit from their enthusiasm, expertise, and long hours of devoted volunteership.
Now is the time when we can show our thanks to KDVS and its staff of volunteers. If you visit the KDVS Fundraiser page, you will see how close the station is to its $60,000 goal, and how easy it is for you to contribute. Those who do can choose from a variety of premiums, including music in a variety of genres, books, posters, and gift certificates.
Of course I hope you will contribute during my show. “Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour” airs this coming Wednesday at 5, and my co-host will be the educator, novelist, and stand-up comedian Chris Erickson. I have set a goal of $1,000 for the hour, something I could easily reach if all of you called in Wednesday at 5 p.m. with a pledge of merely $5 (though I know many of you can afford to give even more generously). The phone number is (530) 754-KDVS, and your donation will be fully tax-deductible. You could contact them now with your pledge, or set an alarm for Wednesday. I always love reading out the names of the donors, so I hope you can call in with a pledge of any amount while I am live on the air.
The three highest donors will receive a signed copy of my book, Where’s Jukie?, and the most generous of all the donors will also receive an original poem that I will write on a topic of your choosing. Join in on the fun! Pledge Wednesday!
Thanks to my good friend Jason for guest-hosting the Pub Quiz last week. I am grateful to have had the time to read at the MIND Institute fundraiser poetry reading – we raised bunch of money for research into autism.
Tonight’s Pub Quiz will feature questions on four-letter brand names, cramming components, followers and those who choose never to follow, titles that start with the letter B, astronauts and chefs, red tides, cities in common, presidential aspirants, soulful people, royalty, Homo sapiens, trees, big numbers, excellent writing, mighty beatings, the letter Z, people who are not Celine Dion, grapes, people who rush, jasmine, beer culture, actresses who are unknown to me, centripetal forces, names in the news, unwise races, fringed wings, the KDVS fundraiser, David Letterman, and Shakespeare.
I hope you enjoyed Picnic Day. See you tonight!
Your Quizmaster
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