Posts
2011-08-29
One thing that I’ve always found rather amazing is how pervasive the Arthurian Legends remain in our culture. One of my favorite series of books, Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising Cycle, is heavily based on Arthurian myths. The Once and Future King gives a history of Arthur from boyhood on, and he appears in a whole slew of other books. There are references in music - from Led Zeppelin’s Battle of Evermore through Roxy Music’s Avalon. Then you have all the movies about Arthur - the best of which is, of course, Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
2011-08-22
My parents are the antithesis to what I think of as poetic. Practical and pragmatic, yes, but poetic they are most assuredly not. Growing up, everything needed to have a purpose and that purpose needed to be something that would apply to making you an adult. Which is why any attempt to delve into literature, music, or history was met with disdain at best and open derision at worse.
2011-08-15
Since we’ve started this little poetry appreciation project it seems like I am constantly dredging up half-buried memories from high school and college. The entire time I was reading about Dorthy Parker I kept feeling that I knew her work from somewhere; when I came across her poem Resume I finally remembered where. Senior year in High School I was introduced to that particular piece by my Literature teacher who remarked that Ms. Parker was known for her sarcasm and satire and invited comparisons to yours truly.
2011-08-08
I’ve been listening to podcasts and reading books about the American Civil War - 150th anniversary and all - for the last few weeks, so for this week I thought I would pick a poem tied into that conflict. For Civil War era poetry - at least when I’m picking - the choice comes down to Melville or Whitman, and since I’ve shared a Melville piece on a previous Poetry Monday, I’ve decided to go with Uncle Walt today.
2011-08-01
At first glance this is a rather depressing poem, but I tend to view it differently. After all, loss is part of life and even though the author bemoans the fact that they are all gone at least he had the chance to know those old familiar faces. I know, it’s a real “glass is half full” type attitude that stands in stark contrast to the fact that the final line of each stanza hits you with the force of a funeral dirge.