Princeton's Premier Personality (and no, it's not Cornel West)
As Cornel West receives his fair share of air time for his outspoken criticism of Obama, it's worthwhile to remember that our favorite snazzily-dressed Tigertown celebrity has some pretty stiff competition for the coveted position of Princeton's most intriguing faculty member. Case in point: Paul Muldoon, whose roles as a professor, poet, and rock band leader were highlighted in this great profile piece from the Worcester Telegram.Along with being a Pulitzer-Prize-winning poet (for Moy Sand and Gravel in 2003), Muldoon somehow finds time to teach creative writing courses and act as chair of the Lewis Center for the Arts. His rock band, Rackett, is a Princeton staple and has toured internationally, and he's currently working on a new collaboration with folk singer/songwriter John Wesley Harding. While it might seem natural that a poet known for his lyrical style would take a stab at songwriting, he's found it to be a challenging new medium:
“Once the shape of a verse for a song is established, one has to pretty much stick to that. There's a mathematical component to it whereas with writing poetry it's not at all necessary to, particularly in an era when the conventional shape of poems is not something to which many people pay a huge amount of attention.”
And just in case you weren't already intimidated by the fact that this man does more before breakfast than most of us do all week, Muldoon is also a budding visual artist: a number of his pieces are being auctioned off this weekend as part of Small World Coffee's "Love Show," with all proceeds going to the Arts Council of Princeton. Muldoon's giving a reading this afternoon at Holy Cross, but it looks like he'll be racing back to Princeton in time for the Show's opening party tomorrow night. If you're not too wrapped up in this week's bickering zaniness (or aren't already planning to see "OAF," Intime's Freshman One-Act Festival, which I may be slightly biased towards because one of the plays was directed by yours truly), it should be a really terrific event, with performances by local bands, appearances by Princeton's artiest residents, and, of course, coffee galore.