#joyce mansour

[the-cricket-chirps]

Joyce Mansour (Egyptian-French, Bowden, U.K. 1928–1986 Paris)

Untitled (Objet méchant) (Nasty Object)

1965–69

[henk-heijmans]

Portrait of Joyce Mansour, ca. 1950 - by Gilles Ehrmann (1928 - 2005), French

[antigonick]

—Splayed on your shadow Pounded by your tongue—

—Joyce Mansour, excerpt of "I want to Sleep with You Elbow to Elbow", in When Can I See You Again, translated by Emilie Moorhouse

[majestativa]

Oh most Divine of the divine ones, the blasts of your heart crucify the universe.

— PIERRE MOLINIER ⚜️ Je suis né homme-putain: Écrits et dessins inédits, to Joyce Mansour, (2005)

[mournfulroses]

Joyce Mansour, from a poem titled "Tinfoil," translated by Martin Sorrell

[hangsawoman]

the poetry foundation poem of the day ……..

[les-cris-des-fendues]

Ph. La bouquiniste

*

Une femme créait en elle le soleil

Et ses mains étaient belles à voir.

La terre s'ouvrait sous ses pieds fertiles

Et l'enveloppait de son haleine orangée

Fécondant ainsi la sérénité.

P.33

Joyce Mansour " Cris" Pierre Seghers Ed.

[mythologyofblue]

For I must wander On the deep sea bed Showering pearls on dead men Gathering shells And sweeping the shadows of passing boats With my falling hair Across the sliding sands into the mouth of hell

-Joyce Mansour, "Torn Apart"

[imekasf]

Favorite Things 2024

Every year(ish) I try to jot down some of my favorite things from a given calendar year - mostly for myself, but maybe also for you! Anyway, here is this year's list, in no particular order (and with spoilers) - let's list!

-->Agatha All Along - Season 1, Episode 7: Death's Hand in Mine (Disney+) I'm gonna go ahead and guess that this specific episode will make a lot of people's lists this year. This entire show was fantastic, but this episode in particular was an absolute masterpiece. The gorgeous visual of Lilia falling in that bubblegum pink gown against a black backdrop was simply breathtaking. The way the episode expertly weaved together all of Lilia's small but important moments was incredible. And Patti LuPone is a goddamn legend.

-->Emerald Wounds, Select Poems by Joyce Mansour Fun fact about me; I love poetry. I picked up this book at City Lights Booksellers, which is a well-known beatnik bookseller in San Francisco. About 75% of my decision to buy was based on the written recommendation from their staff, which read: Oh, how dark! Oh, how wet! Oh, how terrifying! Oh, how absolutely erotic! Between death and love: the sex lives of dreams, flayed open. Surprisingly, not a Scorpio.

Anyway, I read In the Dark to the Left, and cackled until I cried.

-->Wicked, Part 1 Like most of the English-speaking world, I have a long history with this property. I grew up watching and adoring The Wizard of Oz; I read and liked Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire; I saw the original traveling run of the stage version of Wicked in San Francisco (twice). So of course I had a lot of expectations going into this film. And they were almost all met and at times exceeded! The cast is incredible, the visuals stunning, and the songs! Ugh. I'm getting teary just thinking about it. Ariana Grande is also SO funny. I don't think I fully realized until this year how naturally comedic she is. Incredible.

-->A Man on the Inside, Season 1, Episode 7: From Russian Hill With Love (Netflix) Honestly, this entire series is just completely heartwarming, hilarious, and delightful, but this episode is the one that showcases more of the city that I call home than any other (They even filmed a scene in the middle of a Giants game at Oracle Park!) so of course it is going to be a favorite.

-->SNL Season 50, Episode 3: Ariana Grande & Stevie Nicks (NBC) When SNL is firing on all cylinders it is practically unstoppable. This has been a fairly strong season for them, and the Ariana Grande episode was a true season highlight. My Best Friend's House is a darkly hilarious earworm; Bridesmaids introduced us to the now-inescapable character of Domingo (and showcased Grande's talent for singing completely flat and off key on purpose), and Castrati had no business being as goddamn funny as it is. Bonus shout out to Episode 2, which brought back Nate Bergatze, who is a true gem of a comedian.

-->Travel Season - Season 1, Episode 1: Fried Chicken in Korea (YouTube/Watcher) I love travel shows. And I love food shows. Mostly I love travel food shows, so this new show from Watcher Entertainment ticked a lot of boxes for me. I love the vibe of this show, I love the warmth it conveys, and I love watching naturally curious people discover and try new things. It was smart of this crew to focus on one singular location for the entire season, giving them plenty of time to deep dive into a lot of different types of food.

—>Taskmaster, Series 17 (YouTube or Channel 4 in the UK) If you haven’t yet watched this phenomenal British game show, what are you doing? This is the ultimate comfort watch, in that it is entertaining, escapist, hilarious, and charming.

Like many of the casts in previous years, Series 17 included two charming contestants who were terrible at tasks (Sophie Willan and Nick Mohammad, the latter of whom dressed as a vampire to do his tasks and the editors cleverly removed his reflection from mirrors and water); a very clever contestant who did nearly everything right (John Robins); a sexy sassy older woman who flirts with the Taskmaster (Joanne McNally); and a curmudgeon (Steve Pemberton). This cast doesn’t quite live up to the absolutely magical chaos of Series 16, but it is still worth a watch.

-->Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé Whether or not you think this album sits in the Country genre (it does and it also doesn't, as it is so much more than just Country), there is no denying the masterpiece that this turned out to be. I definitely spent most of the Spring of this year spinning this record, and waiting with baited breath for a tour announcement (still waiting, btw). It was hard for me to choose just one track, as I went through many phases, but since AMERIICAN REQUIEM is still sitting firmly in my On Repeat playlist, it must be the one that resonated the most.

-->Hot Fuss, The Killers Hang on. This album is 20 years old, you might be saying - and you’re right, it is! But the band celebrated the anniversary with a mini-residency in their hometown of Las Vegas, and when I tell you this was one of the best nights of my life, I’m not even exaggerating. I scream-sang every single song from this album, and it was joyous, cathartic, and fun as hell.

-->Diamond Jubilee, Cindy Lee (YouTube/Bandcamp) There is a reason this album is popping up on every Best Of list of 2024 - it's fantastic. It sounds both contemporary and classic, and has the warmth of a vinyl record being spun on a Sunday afternoon. That they managed to gain so much traction while staying off the major streaming services says a lot about how great this album is.

-->Kaleidoscope, Chappell Roan Just like everyone else, I listened to Chappell Roan a lot this year, but this particular song made me burst into tears the first (and second) time I heard it, so it gets a spot on the list.

-->Bobby Sox, Green Day Green Day celebrated the anniversaries of both Dookie and American Idiot this year, by playing both albums in their entirety on a world tour. They also released perhaps their best album in years, Saviors, which they also played tracks from on their epic tour. Bobby Sox is their bisexual anthem (Billie Joe has been out as bi since the 90’s, btw) and it is my favorite track on an album full of bangers.

-->L'AMOUR DE MA VIE, Billie Eilish At 22 years old, Billie Eilish has accomplished more than most of us will in our entire lives. She is the textbook definition of an old soul - someone who sings like she has smoked a thousand packs of cigarettes and burned through a hundred lovers.

--> The music video for Taste, by Sabrina Carpenter I have a deep and unwavering love for the cult classic Death Becomes Her, so when I saw that pop video queen Sabrina Carpenter's video for Taste was paying homage to that film (with Jenna Ortega, no less!) I knew I'd be in for a good time. Carpenter retains the goofy antics of the film and has the perfect sense of humor for a video like this. Sure, there's a lot of (fake) blood, but what's a little brutal murder amongst friends?

-->Have I Got News For You (CNN/Max) This news-based panel show has been on in the UK for something like 30 years, and while the U.S. version is still working out some of the kinks, they have completely nailed the casting. Host Roy Wood, Jr., and team captains Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black are perfect for this format, and it makes me hopeful that we might see more panel shows make their way across the pond soon.

-->James Acaster: Hecklers Welcome (Max) If you are not familiar with the extremely specific comedy stylings of Acaster (or only know him from Taskmaster or that GBBO meme) this may not be the best stand up special to start with (I’d recommend Repertoire on Netflix first). That being said, this special is brilliant, and really showcases what a unique and whip-smart comedian he is.

-->How Did This Get Made? Episode 357: Eye of the Beholder (Podcast) Every episode of HDTGM is a banger, but I chose this one because I love Ewan McGregor, and hate this movie so, so much. It's awful. Which is why this episode of HDTGM is great.

I'm sure I have forgotten a million things even though it took me like a month to write this. But nobody has read this far down anyway so it's all good!

[bydayiamnothingandbynightiami]

I want to sleep with you elbow to elbow Hair entwined Genitals enlaced With your mouth as a pillow. I want to sleep with you back to back Without breath to keep us apart Without words to distract us Without eyes to tell lies Without clothes. I want to sleep with you breast to breast Clenched and sweating Glistening from a thousand shivers Consumed by the wild inertia of bliss Splayed on your shadow Pounded by your tongue And to die between the rotted teeth of a rabbit Contented.

Joyce Mansour

[violettesiren]

Three days of rest Why not the tomb I can't breathe without your mouth The wait distorts the close morning And the long hours of the staircase Smell of gas Flat on my face I wait for tomorrow I see your skin glowing In the big gap of night The slow swing of the beautiful clear moon On the interior sea of my sex Dust on dust Hammer on a mattress Sun on a lead drum Always smiling your hand pounds indifference Cruelly dressed leaning toward emptiness You say no and the smallest thing that Bends its back shades a female body Artificial Nice Imitation perfume of the hour on the couch For which pale giraffes Did I leave Byzantium The putrid solitude A moonstone in an oval frame Again sleeplessness of stiff joints Again a flickering dagger in the rain Diamonds and delirium the keepsakes of tomorrow Sweat of taffeta beaches with no shade Foolishness of my lost flesh

The Sun in Capricorn by Joyce Mansour (Translated by Molly Bendall)

[arablit]

Joyce Mansour's 'Emerald Wounds' Makes Griffin Poetry Prize's 2024 Longlist

March 21, 2024 – The Griffin Poetry Prize — one of the world’s largest and most celebrated poetry prizes — yesterday announced their 2024 longlist. Among the longlistees was Egyptian poet Joyce Mansour’s Emerald Wounds: Selected Poems, translated from French by Emilie Moorhouse. (Read selections from Emerald Wounds here.) Joyce Mansour (1928-1986) was born in Bowden, England, to Jewish-Egyptian…

[majestativa]

He removes her soul from the comfort of her bed And sucks on her agony.

— Joyce Mansour, Emerald Wounds: Selected Poems, transl by Emilie Moorhouse, (2023)

[surrealistnyc]

Emerald Wounds, a new translation of Joyce Mansour's poetry, is out today from City Lights Press, which is offering 30 percent off the cover price on their site.

[armynurse1922]

It's not my fault

If my thighs are moulded

Into my skin

I didn't want to open up

The grin of your desire

When I drew back my skirt

Strangling with joy you seized hold of my cleft

It's not my fault

If the alarm went off

And your hand was caught in the trap

Wrenched out judged jostled

And hung by the neck like a doll of cream

It's not my fault

I wanted to forgive you

[beastandbird]

:: I Stole the Yellow Bird, 2023 by Joyce Mansour ::