The Hamlet Project

News are the things that are new
It’s a plural new.
When we have newspapers, they are recounting of that which is new.
Until this moment, I never thought of where
We get news. News is a product
Something on paper, or in a TV broadcast
Spoken by a serious man in a suit.
When we say it in conversation, to ask for someone’s news
Is to formalize the report a little. It’s like asking for
An update (which is a news report.)
But “what news?” is not far from “What’s new?”
They are, in essence, the same idea –
A check in about what has changed since the last time we connected.
I have discovered , though, that asking what’s new is
A peculiarly American greeting
That America is obsessed with newness –
We name our cities New.
We like products new
We like constantly changing
Ever new horizons
Leaving behind old ideas
Old traditions
Old ways, lines and structures.