Author: penwithlit

Harmony With Nature.

‘In the Time of Harmony; the Golden Age is Not Passed…’ by Paul Signac,Wikimedia Commons.

“I tried to discover, in the rumour of forests and waves, words that other men could not hear, and I pricked up my ears to listen to the revelation of their harmony.”

Gustave Flaubert

Nature has much to teach us about harmony, if only we would slow down a little and take heed of its ‘revelations.’ If we feel relatively peaceful inside, then that is the time to turn outwards, to see what the environment has to offer us and to teach us.

Do I Love Orchards, Do I Love Forests – Maria Primachenko. Wikioo.

“Love yourself. Then forget it. Then, love the world.”

Mary Oliver

How often do we pause to discover the intricate and miraculous workings of nature? Can we find a few moments moment to ‘stop and smell the…

The following sonnet was composed by Charles Causley when he was inspired after viewing a 1632 Normandy crucifix.

I am the great sun

I am the great sun, but you do not see me,
 I am your husband, but you turn away. 
I am the captive, but you d o not free me, 
 I am the captain but you will not obey.

I am the truth, but you will not believe me, 
 I am the city where you will not stay. 
I am your wife, your child, but you will leave me, 
 I am that God to whom you will not pray. 

I am your counsel, but you will not hear me,
 I am your lover whom you will betray. 
I am the victor, but you do not cheer me, 
 I am the holy dove whom you will slay.

I am your life, but if you will not name me, 

A random survey of self-portraits created by women through the centuries

American cartoonist Barbara Shermund (1899-1978)

1. Self-portrait with red headscarf, ND / Watercolor on paper / Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, Ohio State University

2. Self-Portrait, 1933 / Drawing / Private collection

[3 embedded links above]

Gallery of Barbara Shermund original artwork:
https://www.comicartfans.com/galleryroom.asp?gsub=156689

Colonisation is a theme common enough in contemporary fiction, but I haven’t come across much fiction featuring the English colonisation of Ireland*.  Audrey Magee’s The Colony, nominated for the 2022 Booker Prize and the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction, explores the theme in a microcosm of Irish society on a small remote island in the summer of 1979.  Unlike heavy-handed critiques of colonisation (which have their place in educating readers about its enduring consequences), The Colony is more subtly nuanced in its depiction of a world in flux.

Magee’s island society is insulated from the Troubles which derived from the colonisation of mainland Ireland; there is only news of bombs or car-jackings in this Irish outpost.  Chillingly brief radio reports of sectarian violence punctuate the novel but do not impact on the storyline, except to signal that the violence influences even the matriarch who has staunchly resisted any change…

At a recent U3A meeting we looked at‘The Liverpool Poets’who were were/are a number of influential 1960s poets from Liverpool, England, influenced by 1950s Beat poetry. They were involved in the 1960s Liverpool scene that gave rise to The Beatles.

Their work is characterised by its directness of expression, simplicity of language, suitability for live performance and concern for contemporary subjects and references. There is often humour, but the full range of human experience and emotion is addressed.

The poets that are most associated with this label are Adrian Henri, Roger McGough and Brian Patten. They were featured in a 1967 book The Liverpool Scene edited by Edward Lucie-Smith, with a blurb by Ginsberg and published by Donald Carroll.

The anthology The Mersey Sound was published by Penguin in 1967, containing the poems of Adrian Henri, Roger McGough and Brian Patten, and has remained in…