Of course, Licoln was quoting the Gospel of Mark 3:25. I find so much of Eco interesting and have read one of his last collections, “Inventing the Enemy”. You are surely correct that much more tolerance is essential to rational discourse, especially where feelings run high over political issues.
Category: Uncategorized
Categories
Kneipe Freitag
Reminds me of scenes out of Kubrick’s “Barry Lyndon”.
|
Before the first visitor comes the spring While I sit with my paper and prawn chow mein This is the third poem upon this theme following my previous posting. Notice that the place is only almost hospitable. This reservation is somehat typical of Mahon. Nevertheless there is a lovely relaxed and informal feel about this poem and the sense that home is not entirely out of reach. |
Categories
Poetry and Chinese Restaurants
It may seem niche and perhaps surprising that some great poems have been written in this context. Here is the one which carries ecclesiastical overtones:-
This interesting poem seems to be set in some town with spires and appearing in the early sixties examines the racial tensions between the conventional attitudes of the clerical customers in the slightly exotic atmosphere of the restaurant and those of the Chinese staff. Its tone is sardonic and wistful. There is a definite culture clash going on as well as some confusion over philosophies and belief systems.
I am not quite sure why the owner’s brother is burning money and the theme of incense seems to resonate throughout. Has he a drug habit or is he having to pay protection money? Both seem possible. The attitude to the Africans seems indulgent as well as racist. It is not entirely clear if it is the poet or the Archdeacon who takes this view over them. There again the eating habits of the customer’s are much disapproved by the Chinese traditionalists and authorities.
A somewhat sifferemt but related poem by D.J.Enright may be found at https://www.poetryarchive.org/poem/dreaming-shanghai-restaurant
Categories
Inktober Day 7
Impressive- what sort of pen or brush is being used?
Sohar Fort, Oman
I lived in Oman for a few years in the early 1970s at which time the old forts in the country had not yet been renovated. This one was at Sohar, little more than a fishing village, but strategically important for its position in the north of Oman.
Inktober was created by Jake Parker in 2009 as a challenge to improve his inking skills and develop positive drawing habits. It has since grown into a worldwide endeavor with thousands of artists taking on the challenge every year.
Fascinating introduction to an early photographer.
Last year the Bibliothèque nationale de France organised Les Nadar, un légende photographique, an exhibition on this family of photographers (accompanying catalogue: S950.b.201.5289 featuring Paul Nadar’s portrait of Sarah Bernhardt on the cover). The most important of these was Gaspard-Félix Tournachon, photography pioneer, freelance writer and caricaturist, known by his pseudonym, Nadar. In addition, his son Paul and his half-brother Adrien Tournachon were gifted photographers.
Caricature of F. Nadar in La lune, 1867, 2015.8.2833
Félix Nadar was born in 1820 into a family of printers and booksellers in Lyon. From a young age he was an admirer of Dumas, Hugo and Balzac. He started to study medicine in Lyon but once his father died in 1837, he had to quit and moved to Paris. There he started his career as writer and caricaturist, collaborating in some journals. He frequented the Parisian bohemian scene in the Latin Quarter; where…
View original post 650 more words
Fascinating Shaw-I must read Holroyd’s biography.
Fintan O’Toole, Judging Shaw:
The Radicalism of GBS (Royal Irish Academy, $40.00)
By 1920, theatergoers throughout the world recognized the three letters “GBS” as a shorthand reference to George Bernard Shaw, not only the era’s most prolific and successful English language playwright but also a prominent social and political commentator with radical left-wing views. GBS in 1920 was Shaw’s self-created brand, which he cultivated carefully and marketed shamelessly. In Judging Shaw: The Radicalism of GBS, prominent Irish journalist and cultural critic Fintan O’Toole explores how the brand GBS interacted with Shaw the man and evolved over the years. O’Toole does so through eight thematic essays, each a section on a separate aspect of Shaw’s long life (1856-1950), but without adhering to a strict chronology. His work is more appraisal than biography.
Author of over sixty plays, among them Man and Superman (1902), Pygmalion (1912) and Saint Joan (1923), Shaw…
View original post 2,702 more words
Great photo-wonderful coastline too.
Suffolk’s marshes, beaches and estuaries meld into a dreamy landscape rich in history.
Categories
Das ist das Traurige in der Welt…
Quite lovely and moving!
Richard von Hagn: Margaretenmühle vor Husum (1930)
Am blauen Stein
Hinter den Feldern am blauen Stein
Singt ein Vogel im stillen Hain:
Das ist das Traurige in der Welt,
Es löst sich das Blatt und fällt,
Doch das ist das Gute daran,
Es hängt sich woanders an.
Nimmt es der Wind aus den Ästen fort,
Treibt es einsam von Ort zu Ort,
Heimatlos, herbstlich, auf dunkler Spur
Dem Abend entgegen nur,
Doch über die Stoppeln hinweg
Strahlt leuchtend ein heller Fleck.
Dort in der Ferne glänzt Himmelslicht,
Wo der Kirchturm nach oben sticht,
Werden wir einmal zu Hause sein,
Ein Gotteswort lädt uns ein,
Die Sonne, sie weist uns den Pfad,
Ihr Zeiger dreht unser Rad.
Abschied von Freunden, die seelennah,
Traute Blicke, die nimmer da,
Liebende Herzen, die aufgehört
Zu schlagen, in Gram zerstört;
Ach, Ödland, wie wird mir hier kalt,
Das Jahr ist zu Ende bald!
Hinter den…
View original post 35 more words
Foto: ©Constanze
♠ ~ Herbstfeuer~ ♠
Das Grün des Sommers reicht weit in den Herbst
und mancher Apfel rot erglüht in Tagen,
die grau durchwirkt die lichten Äste tragen;
und alles, was du mit dem Goldton gerbst,
das leuchtet funkengleich in dunkler Zeit,
sei ernsthaft stets und für den Tod bereit,
doch feire auch die späten, güldnen Stunden,
die lange Ernte eines kurzen Lebens,
das seinen Sinn in Dankbarkeit gefunden
für all dies Schöne, das Musik ist, stillt
ein tiefes Herz, und deshalb nicht vergebens,
auch wenn mit Wehmut vieles dich erfüllt,
weil scheinbar es verhallt und Heimstatt schwindet
in schwerer Brust, die atmend sich doch hebt
und weiter an den Schicksalstüchern webt;
du selbst bist es, der sich ans Dasein bindet
und nicht zu früh fällt wie das Obst, verkümmert,
obwohl das Grün noch bis zum Winter schimmert,
orange sich färbt und gelb und braun und müd
sich…
View original post 22 more words
penwithlit 