erik lundegaard

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Friday July 17, 2009

The Unseen

Wherever you are, if you have the chance to see a play by Craig Wright, you should go. If you have the chance to see an episode of television written by Craig Wright (“Six Feet Under,” “Brothers and Sisters,” “Dirty Sexy Money”), you should see it. If you’re lucky enough to get DVD commentary from Craig Wright you should listen to it. It’s always worthwhile.

I am hugely biased in this matter since Craig is a friend of mine. We’ve known each other, off and on, since 1987, and, back then, despite my easily bruised, young writer’s ego, I quickly realized he was in another league. He still is. I love, for example, his comments about “Waiting for Godot” here:

I’m reminded of Rilke and his advice to a young poet: Learn to love the questions themselves. For many, including myself, including probably Beckett, Godot was The Answer, and that’s why he never showed up. For Craig, Godot is in the questions, and the questions are always there, and in innumerable form. His discussion here also reminds me of his song, “Heaven,” which he wrote with Peter Lawton:

All we would like to know
Is why you kept all of us waiting
When you knew
That you would never be coming at all

Life is a mystery
It’s mystery enough without waiting
For someone who
Knew he would never be coming at all

We want to be open
We want to be open
But you don’t give a single sign
You’re coming to call

That’s Beckett. And, yes, Craig. But the song ends with a notion that’s purely Craig:

Or is this waiting
What you meant
When you said
Heaven?

He does this alley-oop all the time, as I’ve written, and every time it’s surprising and beautiful.

Posted at 09:40 AM on Friday July 17, 2009 in category Culture