Pomes

How would you write if there were no tomorrow? How would you see the world differently? The elegance of Douglas Lowry's writing is testimony to the intertwining of all the worlds of arts and music, including poetry, and is a curated gift to those who love the arts, whether philosophers, wits, or anyone who loves a good read.


Poetry is a way of looking into someone's soul. The original poems in this book were written over several years by Douglas Lowry, emeritus dean of the Eastman School of Music, and scattered throughout his many computers, iPads, and journals. They have been in safekeeping there since his death in 2013. Receiving a diagnosis of multiple myeloma created a sense of urgency. While a great musician and scholar was dying, he might have hoped, but never imagined, that any of his literary works would be published. It was said of Lowry that "he displayed a wide-ranging intellect, a fluent way with words, a remarkable range of artistic and scientific references, and a fine sense of humor." In one of Lowry's many speeches he talked of "the theatre of ideas; not just musical ideas inspired by somebody else's musical ideas, but the mosh pit of literature, visual art, drama; of the sciences, of social friction, of politics; in short, the mosh pit of the human condition."

These poems cover all of that and more. His tentacles of interest reached every corner of the human condition, delusions, fantasies, memorable characters in literature, mythology, and life experiences. Music, of course, was paramount (with a dose of irreverence) but also the pleasures of literature, history of the ancients, family, nature, and thoughts on life, death, meaning, and the divine. Toward the end, resignation set in with his realization, "days and nights aren't nearly as immortal as they used to be, are they?"

DOUGLAS LOWRY, the Joan and Martin Messinger Dean Emeritus of the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, NY, was a composer, conductor, and academic leader.

RALPH W. KUNCL is an American neurologist, president emeritus of the University of Redlands, and former provost/executive vice president at the University of Rochester, NY.