tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post7615001437513709594..comments2024-03-23T20:37:37.891-07:00Comments on First Known When Lost: UnknowableStephen Pentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-6651916797215111952017-03-23T10:56:13.806-07:002017-03-23T10:56:13.806-07:00Wurmbrand: Thank you for your follow-up thoughts....Wurmbrand: Thank you for your follow-up thoughts. As for the article in Slate: I'm afraid I won't venture anywhere near it. I don't have the fortitude that you do! As you know, I do my best to avoid such locations. (I'm of the same mind as the person quoted by Rod Dreher in one of your previous comments here: I would rather wash the dishes, look out the window at the trees and the birds, and think of some lines of Chinese poetry.)<br /><br />As for your attempt to talk some sense into the author of the article by directing him to Marcus Aurelius: I know you already know this, but I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for a reasonable response. But perhaps I am not giving him enough credit. People can change.<br /><br />I greatly appreciate your parting thought: thank you very much.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-30547148749237567862017-03-22T09:20:02.089-07:002017-03-22T09:20:02.089-07:00Thank you again for this posting, and for a recent...Thank you again for this posting, and for a recent one in which you quoted from Marcus Aurelius. I have quoted from the two postings in writing to a professor of philosophy and religion who has recently published, at Slate, an essay calling for fighting and intolerance of ideas he rejects. Since he allowed for violence, I didn't see in his essay a firm respect for the people with whom he at present disagrees. I hope that his mind and heart will be touched. May the Logos bless you.Wurmbrandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17345523517796356674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-14572532633657881382017-01-30T13:30:06.123-08:002017-01-30T13:30:06.123-08:00Ms. Evershed: Thank you very much for your kind w...Ms. Evershed: Thank you very much for your kind words. And thank you as well for the quote from Frederick Buechner, which is new to me, and wonderful. It articulates much better than I can what I am trying to get at. The phrase "something mutual, precious, and human" is lovely and perfect. If I am helping, in some tiny way, to "preserve" that "something mutual, precious, and human," then I would be gratified. We all do what we can do. If nothing else, we should refrain from adding to the clamor and the rancor.<br /><br />Thank you for visiting, and for sharing your thoughts. I hope you will return soon. Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-19034887073000603732017-01-30T08:28:33.923-08:002017-01-30T08:28:33.923-08:00Hello Stephen (if I may),
I've been an occasi...Hello Stephen (if I may),<br /><br />I've been an occasional visitor to your blog for a while now and just wanted to leave a quick line to express my gratitude for these very timely thoughts and poems. Reading this, I'm reminded of a line from American novelist Frederick Buechner: 'if factions grind their separate axes too vociferously, something mutual, precious, and human is in danger of being drowned out and lost...' Thank you for helping to preserve that 'something mutual, precious and human' on your blog. <br /><br />Liz Liz Evershedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08088848100152550082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-23374112837720849522017-01-27T09:58:33.875-08:002017-01-27T09:58:33.875-08:00Mr. Nelson: Thank you for the link to the piece b...Mr. Nelson: Thank you for the link to the piece by Rolf Dobelli, which I hadn't seen. I agree with all of his points. Of course, resistance to "news" has a long history. This poem by Mary Coleridge (written in 1900) has appeared here before:<br /><br />No Newspapers<br /><br />Where, to me, is the loss<br />Of the scenes they saw -- of the sounds they heard;<br />A butterfly flits across,<br />Or a bird;<br />The moss is growing on the wall,<br />I heard the leaf of the poppy fall.<br /><br />And there is the poem by Stephen Crane (originally a journalist by trade) beginning "A newspaper is a collection of half-injustices," which ends with these lines:<br /><br />A newspaper is a symbol;<br />It is feckless life's chronicle,<br />A collection of loud tales<br />Concentrating eternal stupidities,<br />That in remote ages lived unaltered,<br />Roaming through a fenceless world.<br /><br />I hope you can revisit Bashō. As you know, a critical underpinning of his art (and of most traditional Japanese poetry) is Chinese poetry and philosophy (both Taoism and Buddhism). This is why I mentioned him in connection with the Chinese poets and philosophers mentioned in the passage you quoted. He gives us, I think, the same perspective on life.<br /><br />As for robins: they are wonderful creatures, aren't they? I was born in Minnesota, and spent my early years there, so, like you, I was used to seeing them disappear in winter, and we always looked for "the first robin of spring." In the Pacific Northwest, they tend to stay the entire year, and I always find the winter flocking behavior charming.<br /><br />Thank you for the further follow-up thoughts.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-65282673753299330742017-01-27T07:31:17.341-08:002017-01-27T07:31:17.341-08:00You mentioned watching the robins. For some years...You mentioned watching the robins. For some years I have recorded the date in the autumn when I last saw a robin, and the date in the following year when I first saw one. Here in North Dakota robins generally don't winter over. However, a few years ago, one day in early January I was walking along the frozen river and trudging through snowdrifts, and saw several robins flying among the bare trees. I hoped they had not lingered too long and would therefore perish before the snow thawed in March and April; but for me this was a moment of wonder. <br />Wurmbrandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17345523517796356674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-4932252577005203362017-01-26T19:37:46.071-08:002017-01-26T19:37:46.071-08:00I will revisit Bashō.
Perhaps you and guests at t...I will revisit Bashō.<br /><br />Perhaps you and guests at this blog saw this piece about news a few years ago. I'm sure it isn't the last word on the subject.<br /><br />https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/apr/12/news-is-bad-rolf-dobelliWurmbrandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17345523517796356674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-81951215950869589902017-01-26T17:14:59.020-08:002017-01-26T17:14:59.020-08:00Mr. Nelson: Thank you very much for the follow-up...Mr. Nelson: Thank you very much for the follow-up thoughts.<br /><br />First, the content of the conference you describe is, alas, not at all surprising, is it? I comfort myself with the thought that a conference like that, and tens of thousands like it, mean absolutely nothing in the long run. Millennia from now, there will still be those who read (citing at random) Bashō, Wordsworth, Hardy, Herrick, and others because of the truth and beauty they find there. Such things have always been preserved and passed on by a small percentage of those who inhabit the planet at a given time. We each have a small but important part to play in that ongoing act of preservation.<br /><br />Second, the passage from one of Rod Dreher's readers is lovely and perfect. (I read the entire piece on Dreher's blog as well.) The writer articulates wonderfully, and at greater length, many of the same feelings about the politicization of the world that I have expressed here over the years (more recently in response to the simplistic, inexcusable, and intolerant reactions to the Brexit referendum and the presidential election). Fortunately, I have never participated in the world of social media (other than this blog), and never intend to. As for newspapers (and televised news): I gave them up years ago. <br /><br />I was delighted to see the writer mention the five Chinese poets and philosophers, all of whom have appeared here on occasion. I was particularly pleased to see him/her mention T'ao Ch'ien, who is not as well known as the others, since he is a particular favorite of mine. When I feel the need for serenity, I often turn to his poems, a few of which have appeared here in the past. I concur entirely with the writer's advice on the ability of the Chinese philosophers and poets to put things in perspective. The great haiku poets -- Bashō, Buson, and Issa -- have a similar impact.<br /><br />Thank you again for sharing your further thoughts.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-25337524403235931032017-01-26T10:26:37.469-08:002017-01-26T10:26:37.469-08:00Here is something from a kindred spirit, posted at...Here is something from a kindred spirit, posted at Rod Dreher's blog today (26 Jan. 2017), on "The World Around Us":<br /><br />Though I remain a Catholic, I’ve found my truest companions these days in the Eastern thinkers and poets, especially Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, Li Po, Tu Fu, and Tao Ch’ien. Read these thinkers and you can truly access the circular nature of the world, how good and evil coexist together and for periods outshine one another, and, most importantly, how important it is to maintain a focus on the longer view and the broader term. A new resident occupies the White House, but the Potomac flows on untroubled. Federal lands may be sold, but Old Faithful still hisses and churns. After the Russian ambassador was shot in Turkey, virtually everyone I follow posted a frantic series of “World War III is here!” items. The next day, things were calm again. The dogs are no doubt barking, but the caravan is still passing.<br /><br />I’ve taken the rather drastic step of eliminating everyone from my social media world who comments regularly on current events. I no longer start the day with the newspaper; instead, I read novels and poetry and contemplative works while I have coffee. I get the WSJ [Wall Street Journal] by mail in the afternoon, when the news seems less drastic and more contextual. We need more of this, I think, and perhaps we need to make it a movement. Slow living? Slow news? Either way, we’ve got to detach from this anxious, always-on-and-blaring online world.<br /><br />I was doing dishes this morning and looking at our bird feeders outside the kitchen window. On the ground were perhaps a dozen song sparrows, noisily squabbling over seeds. I almost teared up at how merrily they seemed to hop around. As I walked to work a deer glanced at me lazily from the trees, unaffected by my presence. A spring breeze blew the conifers, and a woodpecker chattered at me from a pin oak. Clouds rolled on. I exchanged a few remarks about the weather with a campus police officer. This afternoon I will read a Winnie the Pooh book with our son, and perhaps take him to a creek to look for minnows and float walnut-shell boats downstream.<br /><br />The world, in all its non-collapsing glory, is still there. It is all around us, and in us, and between us. We need to look up and see it.<br /><br /><br />Wurmbrandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17345523517796356674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-45394169190079431952017-01-26T10:17:47.034-08:002017-01-26T10:17:47.034-08:00Thank you, Stephen. I have printed copies of thos...Thank you, Stephen. I have printed copies of those two paragraphs and left them on our till-today-unpoliticized free book table. But just today, what should appear but publicity for "Hearing Marginalized Voices: Otherness, Statelessness, and Cultural Isolation," calling for proposed papers dealing with "Communication and Global Politics," "Gender Studies," "Sociolinguistics," etc. One cannot expect that the conference (at North Dakota State University) will seethe with fresh, warm, human, poetic consciousness. Thank you, then, for the opportunity to offer a little counter-music to the insistent drumbeat of politically correct activist "scholarship" that is (almost) all we hear.Wurmbrandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17345523517796356674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-24234009789297529872017-01-26T10:08:33.551-08:002017-01-26T10:08:33.551-08:00Mr. Nelson: I would be flattered and delighted if...Mr. Nelson: I would be flattered and delighted if you share my thoughts with students. As you know from some of my prior posts, it is a subject I feel quite strongly about, and I completely agree with the thoughts you express in your comment. As a teacher, you are far closer to the reality of the problem than I am, so any change, however small, that can be effected with some tiny help from my words would be wonderful. Although (and, again, you are far closer to the reality than I am) it does seem like an uphill battle: the politicization has been metastasizing for far too long. But we can only effect change one person at a time, starting with ourselves, of course.<br /><br />Thank you very much for your thoughts. It's good to hear from you. I appreciate your stopping by again.<br /><br />Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-71106705493166511082017-01-26T09:58:12.031-08:002017-01-26T09:58:12.031-08:00Acornmoon: I'm happy to hear from you again. ...Acornmoon: I'm happy to hear from you again. Thank you very much for stopping by.<br /><br />Yes, the idea of "a portrait of a soul" is a nice one, although, unless it is a self-portrait, a poem can, as you know, only provide us with glimpses and glimmers. Hence the title I gave to the post: "unknowable." One of the common features of these four poems is that they are reserved and respectful, and do not presume too much. Still, as you suggest, they do, I think, catch a passing glimmer of four particular souls.<br /><br />Thank you again for visiting, and for sharing your thoughts. I continue to visit your blog to check in on your lovely creations.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-91117285125291807042017-01-26T08:39:13.273-08:002017-01-26T08:39:13.273-08:00I would like to be able to share the following two...I would like to be able to share the following two paragraphs, with credit, with students. The politicized view is exactly what they are wearisomely taught to adopt by teachers. You can imagine the problems that arise when they read, say, Wordsworth.<br /><br />----The utopian, inhuman worlds of politics and social science are concerned with groups and categories, not with individual human beings. Thus, many of those who are unhappy with the outcomes of the Brexit referendum and the American presidential election have reacted in a way that reveals a great deal (none of it good) about how they view their fellow human beings: they see caricatures and stereotypes, not individual souls. What the unhappy fail to realize is that, by objectifying others, they are at the same time objectifying themselves, and have in turn transformed themselves into caricatures and stereotypes. This is what happens when one becomes politicized.<br /><br />Good poets and artists, on the other hand, are concerned with individual human souls. Which is not to say that they are saviors or saints. Nor are they out to edify us. Rather, they simply ask us to look at the beautiful particulars of the World. Those particulars may at times cause us to catch our breath in sadness and, yes, in pity. But this is life, not theory.-----<br /><br />Much of the problem that the students are caught up in relates to the "postmodernist" assault on "logocentrism" and "essentialism." I have a sign in my office: "You can be clever and you can be sensitive but you can't be wise if there is no Logos."<br /><br />Dale Nelson<br />---Wurmbrandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17345523517796356674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-20511286722616959172017-01-26T06:23:38.064-08:002017-01-26T06:23:38.064-08:00I love the idea that a poem can be a portrait of a...I love the idea that a poem can be a portrait of a soul.Acornmoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14982884920388966786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-34851872132167002042017-01-25T21:04:09.278-08:002017-01-25T21:04:09.278-08:00sunt_lacrimae_rerum: Thank you very much. I grea...sunt_lacrimae_rerum: Thank you very much. I greatly appreciate your kind thoughts. These four poems always move me when I read them, so I was lucky to find the occasion to place them together. I'm pleased you liked the gathering. My debt, of course, is to the poets and the painters; I am only the gatherer.<br /><br />As always, it is a pleasure to have you visit. Thanks again.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-46975295601562084582017-01-24T13:33:24.191-08:002017-01-24T13:33:24.191-08:00Thank you for yet another blog post that left me i...Thank you for yet another blog post that left me in tears. Your brilliant achievement in finding just the right collection of words and illustrations that amplify and clarify each other is like finding the right contrapuntal harmonies in the great sea of art. sunt_lacrimae_rerumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05659053841051896981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-69763151758102678572017-01-21T10:47:23.538-08:002017-01-21T10:47:23.538-08:00Mr. Wentworth: Thank you very much for your kind ...Mr. Wentworth: Thank you very much for your kind words. Of course, any wisdom and compassion in the post are attributable solely to the poets and their poems (particularly Bashō's haiku and the two lines from Yeats). I can state with certainty that I will never be able to claim either of those qualities for myself! I am merely a messenger.<br /><br />It's good to hear from you. Thank you for stopping by again.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-91553719810112329202017-01-21T05:10:22.462-08:002017-01-21T05:10:22.462-08:00As I prepare to head out to the Women's Sister...As I prepare to head out to the Women's Sister March this morning here in Pittsburgh, I could not have sought, nor received, wiser, more compassionate counsel. Sincere thanks, Don WentworthDon Wentworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10731340119717821887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-41153377677474611802017-01-20T13:11:10.492-08:002017-01-20T13:11:10.492-08:00John: Thank you very much for all of those lovely...John: Thank you very much for all of those lovely thoughts. <br /><br />As you know, those lines by Larkin are quite dear to me, and they have appeared here on more than occasion. I'm happy you quoted them: they came to mind when I was writing the post, but I decided that perhaps I have repeated them here too often, so I left them out. But now, thanks to you, they have made their way here, which is nice. We were thinking along the same lines.<br /><br />I appreciate your observations on sentimentality and pity. I think, as you imply, that those feelings are viewed ironically by a great number of people in the modern world. But they are perfectly legitimate human feelings.<br /><br />Finally, thank you for the lovely description of what you saw on campus in the morning. As you and I have discussed before, these sorts of scenes are around us every day, and we have to be attentive so as not to miss them. Although my technical knowledge of birds is extremely limited, I find that they are often the ones who catch my attention when I am sleepwalking through the World. They shake my shoulders and say: "Look!" As you say, what we see each day is an "unrepeatable miracle."<br /><br />As always, I greatly appreciate your stopping by. Thanks again.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-17044450291805746302017-01-20T12:50:13.066-08:002017-01-20T12:50:13.066-08:00Nige: Thank you very much. That's extremely ...Nige: Thank you very much. That's extremely nice of you to say.<br /><br />As ever, it is a pleasure to hear from you. I wish you and your loved ones all the best in the coming year.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-47019060071383512472017-01-20T07:16:09.234-08:002017-01-20T07:16:09.234-08:00Stephen,
Taking for granted the mystery of our ow...Stephen, <br />Taking for granted the mystery of our own lives I would also include the lives of those fellow creatures with whom we share this earth. Assuming equally that we should never condescend, simplify or presume to know how they feel or think, yet we can empathize whenever we witness suffering. <br /><br />The Tinker’s Wife with which I was not familiar made me think of Larkin’s lines;<br />“we should be careful <br />Of each other, we should be kind <br />While there is still time.”<br /><br />Genuine pity and those feelings of kinship that it engenders is never sentimental in my opinion, and to empathize is surely one of the marks of a civilized person. It is that part of our being which enables us to understand experiences we may not have shared. <br />Noticing the particulars of this world is, as you point out beautiful and also painful on occasion. It can make us catch our breath, even catch that indefinable something that might on occasion be the beginning of tears, if that isn’t too sentimental. The opening line of the Lionel Johnson poem” Her face was like sad things”, is rather like that.<br /><br />We never know what gifts the world will give us. We should at least try to be aware and quietly thankful for every day. This morning I saw a song thrush,sadly an increasingly rare sight here, searching the frost brittle grass close to our campus pond,and all around the trees were full of the bright sound of early morning birdsong. The sun was huge, a fiery orange glow nestling above the bare branches of the tallest trees. It was far too early for students to be abroad, I had those moments to watch and listen, savouring the unrepeatable miracle of this one winter morning.<br />John Ashtonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-695450064883536952017-01-20T06:38:36.774-08:002017-01-20T06:38:36.774-08:00Wise words, Stephen - and a very beautiful post. T...Wise words, Stephen - and a very beautiful post. Thank you. Nigehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13314891387515045404noreply@blogger.com