tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post435262337632720296..comments2024-03-26T01:52:45.563-07:00Comments on Fred's Place: It's not always EdenicFredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-40909950092644194872017-10-25T11:39:40.753-07:002017-10-25T11:39:40.753-07:00R.T.--no problems. Sorry to hear that you have to...R.T.--no problems. Sorry to hear that you have to drop out, only for a while I hope. Looking forward to your comments when you stop by here every now and then. <br /><br />I find it necessary at times to cut back also. A break is helpful in sorting things out. Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-21121532307929718092017-10-25T10:54:26.613-07:002017-10-25T10:54:26.613-07:00Fred et al . . . I impose upon your blog posting t...Fred et al . . . I impose upon your blog posting to offer an apology for my sudden departure (again) from the blogging community (i.e., my blog -- Informal Inquiries -- has once again been consigned to the ashcan of blogs) . . . the reasons are not worth mentioning . . . I am determined to recapture some sanity and clarity in my life (and -- for the moment -- my blog had been interfering with that capture) . . . if time and mind permit, I will continue to visit other blogs every now and then because the conversations that can happen there are life-rings to me while I navigate the maelstrom . . . perhaps I will someday build a blog and join the community but not for the moment ... so-o-o-o I tell you all of this so that you will not think me too rude or too dead because of my blog's disappearance . . . and so it goes . . . thanks for letting me vent here, Fred. RTDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17113953356514605424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-74913412113580754662017-10-25T07:33:52.135-07:002017-10-25T07:33:52.135-07:00Sharon--yes, the language is plain and straightfor...Sharon--yes, the language is plain and straightforward--simple words. I get the feeling that the translators are not trying to be excessive or extravagant, but are simply trying to convey the feelings of the poet.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-27704142481675499802017-10-24T14:55:36.627-07:002017-10-24T14:55:36.627-07:00These poems vividly paint their pictures very well...These poems vividly paint their pictures very well. I feel I am participating in their cold isolation inside their craggy holes in the mountains.<br /><br />I like these kinds of poems because they are introspective and dramatic. And as you said in previous comments. The writers did not always feel that way. We all have our dark moments.Sharon Wilfonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17466621290140789056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-3869136222208838602017-10-23T18:16:21.891-07:002017-10-23T18:16:21.891-07:00Mudpuddle--but I doubt if they are, and even if th...Mudpuddle--but I doubt if they are, and even if they were, they wouldn't believe I was talking about them. After all, they are the true murricans.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-48592566177808559312017-10-23T16:22:56.548-07:002017-10-23T16:22:56.548-07:00hear hear...hear hear...Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-7841203539123544912017-10-23T08:30:11.317-07:002017-10-23T08:30:11.317-07:00R.T.--that's my perspective anyway, certainly ...R.T.--that's my perspective anyway, certainly not Ryokan's or Han Shan's. I have frequently found in my reading of Asian poetry and fiction, ancient and modern, that we aren't so different in our roots after all. <br /><br />I find Ryokan, Han Shan, Basho, and many others to be far more understandable and sympathetic than many of my so-called fellow Americans.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-11425541982876938562017-10-23T07:59:28.466-07:002017-10-23T07:59:28.466-07:00Mudpuddle--in one poem he writes that he went to t...Mudpuddle--in one poem he writes that he went to town to beg for food, but got waylaid by children and spent several hours playing with them. <br /><br />In another, he writes that he didn't go to town that day and wondered if the children were still waiting for him to show up. Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-52561608765239611172017-10-23T07:44:00.450-07:002017-10-23T07:44:00.450-07:00Brian--yes, that's true. The very simple stat...Brian--yes, that's true. The very simple statements in the poems convey that to the reader. <br /><br />But, most of the poems by Han Shan and Ryokan are much more positive, even joyful. That's what draws me to these poets--I get a more complete picture of both sides of life here. Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-8806937094967493772017-10-23T07:12:57.670-07:002017-10-23T07:12:57.670-07:00Hmmm. How odd that Edenic (so Biblical and western...Hmmm. How odd that Edenic (so Biblical and western in its deeply set roots -- no pun intended) can be an issue within the context of Asian poetry. This says so much more about the readers than the words. It gives me great pause to consider how our culture frames our perceptions. However, you (Fred et al) give me hope that cultural bridges can exist. In any case, thank you, Fred, for the posted poems. RTDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17113953356514605424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-15228598086376692492017-10-22T15:48:07.417-07:002017-10-22T15:48:07.417-07:00Ryokan is one of my favorites haikuists... he lov...Ryokan is one of my favorites haikuists... he loved children and gamed with them a lot; he was kind of a child himself, climbing trees and clowning around in the villages he begged in...Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-21021060601624024772017-10-22T12:25:11.845-07:002017-10-22T12:25:11.845-07:00Life can be brutal and so difficult. These poems c...Life can be brutal and so difficult. These poems convey that in such an effective and unique way.Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-14060797142794380152017-10-22T10:42:42.209-07:002017-10-22T10:42:42.209-07:00Mudpuddle--chuckle. If I remember correctly, I thi...Mudpuddle--chuckle. If I remember correctly, I think Han Shan was at a monastery for some time, but he eventually left. Ryokan also, from what I just read, spent time in a monastery, but he left to become a hermit.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-65245826439787150342017-10-22T09:58:54.788-07:002017-10-22T09:58:54.788-07:00if they were in the monastery, the abbot would jus...if they were in the monastery, the abbot would just whack them with a stick and say "quit whining"... that's why they're hermits... anyway, after enlightenment, there is no enlightenment... nice poems...Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-43042807862879722422017-10-22T09:27:44.028-07:002017-10-22T09:27:44.028-07:00madamevauquer--yes, the second one is the most bru...madamevauquer--yes, the second one is the most brutal. I think the fourth would follow it. These two speak of their physical ailments also.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-36754968816569444212017-10-22T09:09:33.542-07:002017-10-22T09:09:33.542-07:00Thanks for sharing, Fred. The second one by Ryokan...Thanks for sharing, Fred. The second one by Ryokan is the one which really gets me. Brutal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com