tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post1130971326341611975..comments2024-03-23T20:37:37.891-07:00Comments on First Known When Lost: Life Explained, Part Twenty-Four: "I Move Along Again, Towards The Exit"Stephen Pentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-41617020884508961082012-02-21T20:01:12.375-08:002012-02-21T20:01:12.375-08:00Tim: thank you very much for visiting, and for the...Tim: thank you very much for visiting, and for the nice connection with Bleak House. I am ashamed to say that it has been decades since I have read it -- time for a return!<br /><br />Thank you again.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-4013162856130270242012-02-21T19:40:51.158-08:002012-02-21T19:40:51.158-08:00This brings to mind the urchin street sweeper, Jo,...This brings to mind the urchin street sweeper, Jo, in Dicken's novel, Bleak House, who is always "moving on". And we who have read the novel know that he is ultimately moving on towards his own death.<br /><br />TimAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-60914256324256872952012-02-21T14:58:52.199-08:002012-02-21T14:58:52.199-08:00Shelley: thank you for visiting again, and for you...Shelley: thank you for visiting again, and for your thoughts. Yes, phrases such as that are what help to make Larkin wonderful (in my opinion) -- that mixture of bleak truth and beautiful language is hard to beat, I think.<br /><br />I'm glad that you like the paintings. I agree that we shouldn't read too much into them retrospectively. As far as I can tell, Mary Dawson Elwell simply liked to paint interiors, and did a fine job of it.<br /><br />Thanks again.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-52501119924732488272012-02-21T07:46:09.136-08:002012-02-21T07:46:09.136-08:00"For them is rising ground"--that's ..."For them is rising ground"--that's just magnificent, both in profundity and expression.<br /><br />The art from the thirties (the period of my writing) is so rich. It's as if it's almost imbued with a pre-knowledge of what's coming.<br /><br />But that's impossible.Shelleyhttp://dustbowlpoetry.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-59064638374202549772012-02-20T07:37:39.169-08:002012-02-20T07:37:39.169-08:00SRPlant: that's an excellent way of describing...SRPlant: that's an excellent way of describing "Double Journey." It is especially true of the final stanza, isn't it? "The place I know I'm going to/approaches. I move along again,/towards the exit" sounds exactly like late Larkin, now that you point it out.<br /><br />I'm pleased that you like the poems by Mew -- she is worth looking into, I think.<br /><br />As always, thank you very much for stopping by, and for your thoughts.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-76774555923764098502012-02-20T01:56:33.911-08:002012-02-20T01:56:33.911-08:00“Double Journey” is a nice, modest piece; it's...“Double Journey” is a nice, modest piece; it's like the framework for a Larkin poem before Larkin has been applied.<br /><br />I enjoyed your recent Charlotte Mew poems, she's an interesting discovery for me.SRPlanthttp://srplant.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com