It's after midnight . . .
By Christopher Bernard
It's after midnight . . .Jun 22, 2020
A Golden Frog
A Golden Frog, from Six Animal Songs from the Gone World, from Chien Lunatique, by Christopher Bernard (reader).
The King of the Web
The King of the Web, from "Chien Lunatique," by Christopher Bernard
Vanishing
"Vanishing," from Chien Lunatique, by Christopher Bernard (speaker)
Black Fire
Black Fire, from "Chien Lunatique," by Christopher Bernard (speaker).
The Dragons of Paris
Two knights bring down the dragons that have long haunted the intellectual sewers of Paris.
The Socialist's Garden of Verses, excerpts 8
I read the opening pages of part 1, "Senor Despair" (pronounced "des-pa-eer"), of the long poem, "Senor Despair and the Angel".
The Socialist's Garden of Verses, excerpts 7
I read "The Great God Pan," "The Hammer and the Dance," "On Wanting to Shatter a Screen," "Urbi et Orbi," and "Social Distancing" from section three, "Dispatches from Pandemia," from my new collection of poems, "The Socialist's Garden of Verses."
The Socialist's Garden of Verses, excerpts 6
I read the poems "Faust Takes an Aperitif in Paris" and "Faust Leaves His Heart in San Francisco" from part four, "Faust Closes the Books on the Modern Age," of my new collection.
The Socialist's Garden of Verses, excerpts 5
I read "Cold Dawn," "Romantic Group in a Prospect of Mountains," "Warms Like the Sun," "After Longley After Amergin," and "Brief Poems" from my new collection of poems.
The Socialist's Garden of Verses, excerpts 4
I read my poems "The Angry Goat of Carrickfergus," "On Being Uninteresting," "The Children's Crusade," and "Phantom Buildings."
The Socialist's Garden of Verses, excerpts 3
I read poems from my new book: Radu Lupu's Schubert, Whisper Me, O Sweet Illusion, When the Music Died, and At the Docks.
A Brief Meditation on a Modern Religion
Reflections inspired by a recent viewing of Alex Gibney's documentary, "Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief."
The Socialist's Garden of Verses, excerpts 2
I read from my upcoming poetry collection: November 8, 2016, Between Two Cups of Time, Opera Zedd, and The Mockingbird
The Socialist's Garden of Verses, excerpts 1
I read Invocation, T#$%! Chaucer, and The Love Song of Donald J. T#$%!, from "Prelude in Hell" from my new collection of poems.
The Virus Speaks, The Eye in the Mountain, and The Two Infinities
I read these three poems written earlier in 2020.
Preview of my Sacred Grounds Reading via Zoom
I read three poems I will be presenting at Sacred Grounds Cafe in San Francisco.
Regressions in Lockdown + A Year of Burning
I read two of my recent poems about this year of calamities, personal and public.
A Monk Despite Himself
A poem reflecting the experience of semi-quarantine during the pandemic.
Imaginary Species
Three of my poems, written within the last few months: Imaginary Species, Decades (for Jack Foley on his 80th birthday), and Ink
The Year of the Comets + The Long Weekend
Two of my poems: "The Year of the Comets" and "The Long Weekend"
Chap. 16 of The Hyenas: A Tale of India
The final episode: Ashok confronts Mantal as night falls over Lucknow.
Chap. 15 of The Hyenas: A Tale of India
The husband, his wife and her lover are pulled toward disaster.
Chap. 14 of The Hyenas: A Tale of India
Ashok's nightmare.
Chap. 13 of The Hyenas: A Tale of India
Ashok and Dhara and Mantal meet after a night of Mantal's hunting. Ashok feels the beginning of a suspicion.
Chap. 12 of The Hyenas: A Tale of India
The dream of the hyenas.
Chap. 11 of The Hyenas: A Tale of India
Ashok remembers his time in America, his return to India, and the birth of his ambition.
Chap. 10, Pt. 2, of The Hyenas: A Tale of India
The story of how Ashok wooed, and won, the love of Dhara.
The Hyenas: A Tale of India, Episode 10 (part 1)
Mantal hunts at night, sleeps with Dhara during the day. Dhara remembers her childhood and her dreams for the future.
Episode 9 of The Hyenas: A Tale of India
A band of hyenas, under cover of night, infiltrates a local village.
The Hyenas: A Tale of India, Episode 8
All three of them dream: Ashok of success and power; Dhara and Mantal of love.
The Hyenas: A Tale of India, Episode 7
Mantal moves through the forest near the Gobinds' home, hunting down hyenas.
The Hyenas: A Tale of India, Episodes 5 and 6
After being confronted with a young victim of the hyenas, Dhara and the beggar go to her home, where Ashok makes the beggar a proposal.
The Hyenas: A Tale of India, Episode 4 (continued)
Dhara meets the beggar again, on a long walk in the country.
The Hyenas: A Tale of India, Episode 4
Dhara is troubled by an unusual-looking man she sees on her daily walks.
The Hyenas: A Tale of India, Episode 3
Dhara is having a party of her women friends when she suddenly faints, suffering a hallucinatory fantasy: her friends appear as the consorts of Shiva, accusing her of betraying herself and her world..
The Hyenas: A Tale of India, Episode 2
Ashok comes home to his young wife Dhara with startling news,
The Hyenas: A Tale of India, Episode 1
A tragic and mystical story of jealousy and love, set in modern India.
What Would You Be Willing to Die For, Lt. General Patrick?
Would any of us honestly be willing to perish for the sake of the American economic system?
The City Is Filled With Birdsong
In the quiet and emptiness of San Francisco, sheltering in place, one can hear the air filling with the singing of birds.
The Silence
The silence in the city of San Francisco after the directive to shelter in place.