Yesterday’s post: music, based on poems by Emily Dickinson, by Don Skoog. Two days ago: the poem “The Carolers” by Ed Skoog. Today: a few final funny off-shoots re: Don Skoog and a pair of other Skoogs.
First, when my bloggish Skoog-Fugue began two days ago, I was surprised to find that I had mentioned Don Skoog before on my plog (poetry blog) in a post from last October, HERE. In an article entitled “Making Emily Sing: Exploring the Relationship between Poetic and Musical Time in Setting Dickinson’s Poetry to Music,” Skoog quoted poet Lewis Turco who said, “if a poet strips words of their denotations and uses them for their connotations only, the poet is then writing in abstract syntax,” and – among other discussions in the post – I questioned if it were even possible for a poet to “strip words” of their denotations and to convey connotations only.
First, when my bloggish Skoog-Fugue began two days ago, I was surprised to find that I had mentioned Don Skoog before on my plog (poetry blog) in a post from last October, HERE. In an article entitled “Making Emily Sing: Exploring the Relationship between Poetic and Musical Time in Setting Dickinson’s Poetry to Music,” Skoog quoted poet Lewis Turco who said, “if a poet strips words of their denotations and uses them for their connotations only, the poet is then writing in abstract syntax,” and – among other discussions in the post – I questioned if it were even possible for a poet to “strip words” of their denotations and to convey connotations only.
| Also, while exploring the name “Skoog,” I learned of the Murashige and Skoog medium (or MSO or MS0 (MS-zero)), the most popular plant growth medium used in laboratories worldwide for cultivation of plant cell culture on agar. According to Wikipedia, “MS0 was invented by plant scientists Toshio Murashige and Folke K. Skoog in 1962 during Murashige's search for a new plant growth regulator” – and sure enough, Folke Skoog was on the list of “notable Skoogs” I posted two days ago. |  |
Finally, when I searched out info on both Ed Skoog and Don Skoog, I stumbled upon a 1950 edition of “The Diapason,” a still-in-print (or at least still operating online) magazine serving those with interest in the organ, church music, harpsichord, and carillon (coincidentally, I wrote of Dickinson’s use of the word organ this past May, HERE and HERE).
I opened the 50’s issue and ran a word search on “Skoog” and got one hit, though totally unrelated to the two Skoogs, Ed and Don. No, I found “Vernon Skoog,” the Dean of the Alabama Chapter (or possibly a Regent of the Alabama Branch?) of the American Guild of Organists.
| Furthermore, while scanning the 1950 edition of The Diapason, I saw this obituary concerning Walter Flandorf. The first headline made me laugh: “Death Ends Career of Walter Flandorf.” Death’ll do that! Turns out, by the way, that Flandorf was nationally recognized for his recitals, performing on major instruments at Carnegie Hall, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and the Vatican – AND – he was formerly the staff organist for radio station WGN and other stations in Chicago. |  |
On a final note, I have a funny anecdote about my past days living in Virginia Beach. There on Northampton Boulevard was a place called the Lake Wright Dinner Theater which hosted various plays, musicals, and musical artists. On several occasions they advertised an organist who was appearing there. I don’t remember the man’s name, so for now, I’ll just be silly and say it was “Bernie Skoog” – and on their marquee they’d advertise, “NOW APPEARING: BERNIE SKOOG AND HIS ORGAN.” I’d laugh every time I’d drive by the sign and wondered if they knew what they were up to. Ya think?
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