Welcome to Praiseworthy, a new interview feature here at Let Us Now Praise Ordinary Things that will become a regular part of our newsletter. The goal of these interviews is to introduce you to individuals whose work I love, and to give them the opportunity to offer insights, memories, and recommendations that, in one way or another, are infused with the desire to express praise and gratitude for some of the beauty they have found in daily life.
Cynthia Good is an award-winning poet, journalist, former TV news anchor, and author of the chapbook “What We Do with Our Hands,” published last fall by Finishing Line Press. She has written seven books and launched two magazines. Her poems have appeared, or are forthcoming, in numerous journals including Tupelo Quarterly, Terminus Magazine, and Waxing and Waning. Her full-length manuscript “In The Thaw of Day,” has just been accepted for publication.
Something worth celebrating about the place that I live is…Where do I start? Every day I celebrate the gentle morning air that envelops you before you open your eyes when you wake up in Baja where my home is, in Cabo San Lucas, listening to the birds before sunrise, the way the light comes over the mountain and in through the side round window, the long hum of fishing boats churning out on the Pacific, the sound of the waves different every day, the scent of kelp, jasmine and trash burning somewhere in town.
The greatest concert I’ve ever attended is…I recently saw the Peter Gabriel concert at the LA Forum. The artistry was amazing. Besides his songs such as “Red Rain” and “Solsbury Hill,” he included lots of new material and he hired and collaborated with artists to include extraordinary work with each song; so it was stunning to watch as well as listen to.
The book or poem that has helped me through a difficult period in my life is…For sure Jamaica Kincaid’s “Down by the River,” also “Tender,” by Toi Derricotte made me realize I was not the only one in the world reeling and devastated by life events. Also, check out “The Road to Sri Bhuvaneshwari,” by Robin Coste Lewis in her book “Voyage of the Sable Venus.”
The road trip I’ve always wanted to take is…The one I just took driving 2,500 miles from my past life in Atlanta to LA. I broke it up into three parts, traveled two of them with girlfriends and on my own from Austin to Santa Fe and then Sedona. It was a visceral way for me to take the journey, latterly moving from my past toward a much different future in a new place.
The song most likely to make me cry is…Adele’s “Hello.” I heard it loud and alone in my room ten days after I buried my mother. After the funeral and everything and then travel, finally I wasn’t busy any more or surrounded by people, and this song came on. It seemed like my mother was trying to reach me from the other side to tell me she was sorry and that she loved me. I couldn’t stop crying.
The movie that always lifts my spirits is…“A Beautiful Life.”
The meal that reminds me of childhood is…Thanksgiving. So many mixed emotions, every year I write about it and think about it differently. We’d all gather at my Grandmother Lena’s with her bitter apple pie, her dry turkey, and fabulous gravy.
The painting I’d most like to see in person is…I was desperate to see an oil painting my mother did years ago, a diptych of two dancers leaping across the room toward each other. The painting, actually two panels, each four feet wide, sat gathering dust in my Atlanta storage locker for two years. I missed it so much. Miraculously I was able to ship it undamaged to LA and it actually fit perfectly on an eight-foot-wide wall in my bedroom.
The greatest love story in all of cinema is…For sure “Harold and Maude.” I always loved it from the first time I saw it as a girl, and now, of a certain age, I love it even more.