Dear Listers, As a Joni fan from the 60's, I find myself checking in with the list when I know it will be a buzz. Got my T'logue first thing Tuesday, having called Circuit City to make sure it was stocked, and had it opened and ready to pop in the CD player by the time I got in my car. Anything I have to say about Joni's genius would be redundant.
Reading the poetry thread, I remembered there was a similar thread on the list in '97 and there was an excerpt which had a detailed analysis of Marcie which I believe was part of a poetry textbook. I checked the Archives, but they don't go back that far. Too bad. I was an ESOL teacher in Japan for 26 years and often used Circle Game in my poetry classes to introduce Joni. You never know where new fans will be born. I always look for opportunities to spread the Joni word and my greatest triumph was hearing Joni quoted (after a comment by me) by one the leading experts on Domestic Violence. Judith Herman, author of Trauma and Recovery, is presently at work on a book on Justice. I was interviewed by her because of my lengthy court odyssey when trying to extricate myself from my abusive relationship. I couldn't resist telling her that, as I would sit in court watching the machinations of the various players in our criminal justice (or maybe injustice) system, I'd sing Joni songs to myself. My then-husband's case once got continued being bumped by an Ethiopian case since Ethiopian interpreters are harder to come by than Japanese ones. So, I'm humming "Ethiopia" walking out of the courtroom. The ADA says, "Joni couldn't have a song about that!" Even though my ex-husband was found "not guilty" at his jury trial, I felt there was "poetic justice" of a sort when Judith Herman opened her talk on Justice at Radcliffe with the Joni quote from "Sex Kills"...."Is Justice Just Ice?....." So, I was very pleased that "Sex Kills" was included on T'logue. There's a moody sky today in Boston....think I'll head out for a mini-hejira with Belle, the yellow lab I'm minding, and find some trees. Mary
