tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post349479876183013748..comments2024-02-25T01:34:15.287-07:00Comments on Fred's Place: It's AprilFredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-12566983095016296052015-04-23T07:50:41.982-07:002015-04-23T07:50:41.982-07:00Di,
It has nothing to do with your posts on _Corr...Di,<br /><br />It has nothing to do with your posts on _Corregidora_. I consider them both to be on the dark side.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-3206539201106943992015-04-23T07:38:09.340-07:002015-04-23T07:38:09.340-07:00I wonder if you're just saying that normally, ...I wonder if you're just saying that normally, or thinking that I'm squeamish, because of my posts on <i>Corregidora</i>. Hai Di Nguyenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02230670162621139739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-37538959898437416962015-04-23T07:17:00.655-07:002015-04-23T07:17:00.655-07:00Di,
_Heart of Darkness_ and "The Hollow Men&...Di,<br /><br />_Heart of Darkness_ and "The Hollow Men" --- definitely not light reading.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-24234286656666479462015-04-22T14:48:45.491-07:002015-04-22T14:48:45.491-07:00Oh. Okay. I haven't read Heart of Darkness eit...Oh. Okay. I haven't read <i>Heart of Darkness</i> either. Hai Di Nguyenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02230670162621139739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-66337469387990431652015-04-22T06:42:54.197-07:002015-04-22T06:42:54.197-07:00madamevauquier,
Enjoy. madamevauquier,<br /><br />Enjoy. Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-52821817012342516892015-04-22T06:41:58.184-07:002015-04-22T06:41:58.184-07:00Di,
My favorite is "The Hollow Men." T...Di,<br /><br />My favorite is "The Hollow Men." The last stanza was used as an epigraph for an SF story whose name and author I've long since forgotten. When I discovered that it had come from Eliot's poem, I had to find and read it. <br /><br />That's when I discovered that the epigraph for the poem was from a story I had much enjoyed--Conrad's _Heart of Darkness_. <br /><br />Interesting linkage there--Conrad's _Heart of Darkness_ and Eliot's "The Hollow Men."Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-89272914842577738092015-04-22T01:14:30.052-07:002015-04-22T01:14:30.052-07:00Yeah, I should. I love "The Lovesong of J. Al...Yeah, I should. I love "The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock". Hai Di Nguyenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02230670162621139739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-39036607575327969002015-04-21T20:33:40.947-07:002015-04-21T20:33:40.947-07:00Thanks for the push, Fred. It's one I've a...Thanks for the push, Fred. It's one I've always been meaning to read. I just downloaded it from PG. Here's the link if anyone needs it:<br />http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1321Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-1639831345140055752015-04-21T19:36:10.600-07:002015-04-21T19:36:10.600-07:00madamevauquer,
Thanks for posting these two poems...madamevauquer,<br /><br />Thanks for posting these two poems. They strike as suggesting the April is a problematic period. I think that poets/writers seem to agree about how to view most months. April seems to be the exception.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-15211765347767572142015-04-21T19:33:17.328-07:002015-04-21T19:33:17.328-07:00madamevauquer,
Yes, it does show up frequently an...madamevauquer,<br /><br />Yes, it does show up frequently and usually without attribution. If you have some time, I would recommend reading _The Wasteland_. It was published in 1922 and echoes the destruction of Europe in WWI. Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-78856062075043591822015-04-21T19:29:26.670-07:002015-04-21T19:29:26.670-07:00Di,
I hope you have a chance to read _The Wastela...Di,<br /><br />I hope you have a chance to read _The Wasteland_ some time. Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-85304124971526812272015-04-21T17:36:41.335-07:002015-04-21T17:36:41.335-07:00I had to run over to Project Gutenberg because I t...I had to run over to Project Gutenberg because I thought I remembered that Edna St. Vincent Millay had some poems about April. Sure enough, there is actually a collection titled "Second April" at http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1247<br /><br />The first poem in the collection is "Spring":<br /> To what purpose, April, do you return again?<br /> Beauty is not enough.<br /> You can no longer quiet me with the redness<br /> Of little leaves opening stickily.<br /> I know what I know.<br /> The sun is hot on my neck as I observe<br /> The spikes of the crocus.<br /> The smell of the earth is good.<br /> It is apparent that there is no death.<br /> But what does that signify?<br /> Not only under ground are the brains of men<br /> Eaten by maggots,<br /> Life in itself<br /> Is nothing,<br /> An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.<br /> It is not enough that yearly, down this hill,<br /> April<br /> Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.<br /><br />Further down is one which really touches me:<br /><br /> Song of a Second April<br /><br /> April this year, not otherwise<br /> Than April of a year ago,<br /> Is full of whispers, full of sighs,<br /> Of dazzling mud and dingy snow;<br /> Hepaticas that pleased you so<br /> Are here again, and butterflies.<br /><br /> There rings a hammering all day,<br /> And shingles lie about the doors;<br /> In orchards near and far away<br /> The grey wood-pecker taps and bores;<br /> The men are merry at their chores,<br /> And children earnest at their play.<br /><br /> The larger streams run still and deep,<br /> Noisy and swift the small brooks run<br /> Among the mullein stalks the sheep<br /> Go up the hillside in the sun,<br /> Pensively,--only you are gone,<br /> You that alone I cared to keep.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-2193816125907949582015-04-21T17:27:16.297-07:002015-04-21T17:27:16.297-07:00I've never read The Wasteland, but now I know ...I've never read The Wasteland, but now I know where "April is the cruellest month" is from. Thanks, Fred.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-44685916609775170342015-04-21T17:08:58.883-07:002015-04-21T17:08:58.883-07:00RT,
I don't know which month is most commonly...RT,<br /><br />I don't know which month is most commonly referred to, but I will bet April would be among the most frequent. <br /><br />I "struggled" through a semester with the Canterbury Tales in Middle English. A year later, it was time for my qualifying exams, and the Tales was on the list. I got a Penguin modern translation and settled down with that. However, it was so dissatisfying that I put it away and dragged out my beaten up Tales in Middle English and happily "struggled" through it again.<br /><br />This also taught me to pay more attention to language, and I found myself more willing to take on works where the language was much, much less than transparent. Because of the TALES, I .discovered one of the best SF novels ever created--Russell Hoban's RIDDLEY WALKER. If you are curious about the connection, check out my several posts about RIDDLEY WALKER.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-41007586684968400292015-04-21T14:34:31.741-07:002015-04-21T14:34:31.741-07:00I've just learnt that April's National Poe...I've just learnt that April's National Poetry Month. Didn't know. <br />Thank you for these poems. Especially those lines from <i>The Wasteland</i>. <br /><br />For Vietnamese, at least Southerners, April isn't a happy month though. Hai Di Nguyenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02230670162621139739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-89447652879461029042015-04-21T13:16:56.307-07:002015-04-21T13:16:56.307-07:00Thank you for sharing these poems, Fred. I am espe...Thank you for sharing these poems, Fred. I am especially fond of Eliot, which probably says more about me than the poet.<br /><br />And I am sure your blog followers will appreciate the "translation" of Chaucer. You remind of those student days when I struggled through Chaucer and -- even more problematic -- Beowulf in the older forms of English. Yikes! <br /><br />As for April, I wonder if any other month has been so repeatedly a motivation for poets. Seasons are common provocations but perhaps not months. Of course, that "thesis" is off the top of my head, and I could be quite wrong. Hmmm.R.T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13220814349193561823noreply@blogger.com