Gathered Round the Flicker
For the Kiggins Theatre’s 80th
Anniversary
After the Thin
Man. Absolute Quiet. Born to Dance. East Meets West. Follow the Fleet. Thirteen
Hours By Air. Our Relations. It Had to Happen. Pennies from Heaven. Sea
Spoilers. Showboat. Stowaway. Too Many Parents. The Moon’s Our Home. Where
There’s a Will. Bullets or Ballots. Everything Is Thunder. Red River Valley.
Empty Saddles. Border Fight. Silver Spurs. Ride ‘Em Cowboy. Go West, Young Man.
everything I know
about life
I learned at the
movies
how to love, how
to
open my mind to
new ideas
how devastating
betrayal is
what integrity
means
The Invisible Ray.
The Walking Dead. The Phantom Rider. The Clutching Hand. Fury. Isle of Fury.
Reefer Madness. Mysterious Crossing. Things to Come. Blood on Wolf Mountain.
Devil Doll. Dracula’s Daughter. The Prisoner of Shark Island.
like the audience
in Plato’s cave
we sit together
in a darkened room
and allow our
greatest fears and fantasies
to overtake our
senses
Three Smart Girls.
These Three. Love Before Breakfast. Come and Get It. Freshman Love. Love on the
Run. Anything Goes. Woman Alone. Flying Hostess. The Gorgeous Hussy. Don’t Get
Personal. Private Number. Theodora Goes Wild. A Woman Rebels. Small Town Girl.
Poor Little Rich Girl. The Luckiest Girl in the World. Wife vs. Secretary.
Hearts Divided. Romeo & Juliet. Libeled Lady. Til We Meet Again. Forget Me
Not.
gangsters, aliens,
politics, sex
adventure and
romance
writ larger than
life
on an enormous
glowing screen
together we become
completely lost in a story
and forget our own
story for a while
The Man I Marry. The
Magnificent Brute. The Great Ziegfeld. The Bohemian Girl. The Man Who Could
Work Miracles. The Man Who Changed His Mind. The General Died at Dawn. The
Lower Depths. The Garden of Allah. The Story of Louis Pasteur. The High
Command. The Singing Kid. The Desert Island. The Trail of the Lonesome Pine.
The Charge of the Light Brigade. The Vigilantes Are Coming. The Accused. The
Accusing Finger. The Amazing Adventure. The Road to Glory.
film images blend
with memories
to become our
history
our collective
memory
these stories
teach us how to
love, live, and
forgive
to believe in
ourselves
to follow our
dreams
so many memories
connected to time
spent
at the movies
relationships
begun and ended
holding hands
frozen terrified
weeping
inconsolably
synchronicity
demonstrated
miracles made real
1936: Anthony
Adverse. All American Chump. Cain and Mabel. Camille. Captain Calamity.
Dimples. My Man Godfrey. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. Flash Gordon. Charlie Chan at
the Opera. Tarzan Escapes. Secret Agent. Sabotage. Whom the Gods Love. Men Are
Not Gods.
watching Fantasia
completely wasted
finishing half a
pound of peanut M&Ms
out of sheer fear
and anxiety during Aliens
being one of the
only people to laugh during the decapitations in Sleepy Hollow
the blind date who
fell asleep during the film
countless
superhero bonding experiences with my son
seeing just how
cruel we can be, and how heroic
realizing how
important it is to remain on the path
being made fun of
for crying during E.T.
crying together
and clutching her hand
2016: Doctor Who.
The Walking Dead. The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Darling. The Golem. Back to
the Future. The Hateful Eight. Theory of Obscurity. Room. The Invitation. Where
to Invade Next. The Winding Stream. The Lord of the Rings. Love & Mercy.
life happens at
the cinema
a complete
imposition of another’s vision
upon the
consciousness
after the best
films we emerge into the sunlight transformed
and it takes a few
moments to return to this world
and everything
looks different
and the heart
soars
and we know what
must be done
Christopher Luna
Clark County Poet Laureate
April 24, 2016
Many thanks to Dan Wyatt for trusting me to commemorate this auspicious occasion, and for being a civic-minded businessman who frequently makes his landmark space available to the community. Support your local independently-owned movie house!
http://www.kigginstheatre.net/
