2 March 2004 | Vol. 4, No. 1
Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer
At first there was nothing:
just audiences whacked mouth-dumb
at talking pictures, Jolson singing.
His face put black in black and white:
white around eyes, near lips, white
gloves. Blackening for effect
the black filmstrip before its white
light. The blacks of his eyes
widening, inching toward
the delicate cream. And the voice: