tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post3653760191067583551..comments2024-03-23T20:37:37.891-07:00Comments on First Known When Lost: MotionStephen Pentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-12412513253133549512017-01-10T20:57:55.230-08:002017-01-10T20:57:55.230-08:00George: Thank you for providing the passage, whic...George: Thank you for providing the passage, which is lovely in Fitzgerald's translation, and for pointing out that it is an echo of the Odyssey. I appreciate your taking the time to share your knowledge.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-18679025908889254842017-01-10T03:25:44.504-08:002017-01-10T03:25:44.504-08:00The passage I quoted is from early in the first bo...The passage I quoted is from early in the first book of the Aeneid, the Trojan's first harbor in Libya. Robert Fitzgerald gives it as<br /><br />There are high cliffs on this side and on that,<br />And twin peaks towering heavenward impend<br />On reaches of still water. Over these,<br />Against a forest backdrop shimmering,<br />A dark and shaggy grove casts a deep shade,<br /><br />This is an imitation of Homer's description the harbor at Ithaca where the Phaeacians leave the sleeping Odysseus in Book XIII of the Odyssey.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14819154529261482038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-65413197048605785142017-01-07T21:41:35.551-08:002017-01-07T21:41:35.551-08:00sunt_lacrimae_rerum: Thank you for those thoughts...sunt_lacrimae_rerum: Thank you for those thoughts. I agree with you about Derek Mahon's virtues as a translator. He is one of my favorite poets, and I am very fond of the many translations he has done, from a variety of languages. You may already be aware of them, but, if not, I highly recommend his two collections of translations: Adaptations (The Gallery Press 2006) and Echo's Grove (The Gallery Press 2013). Echo's Grove includes everything that appears in Adaptations, as well as many additional poems. It also includes an interesting Foreword about his translation practices.<br /><br />As for Stevens: I'm pleased you have noticed his recurring presence here. He is always in the background for me, I think. Eventually, the time comes for one or two of his poems to appear (or reappear) in a post. When I got to thinking about "motion," these two poems came immediately to mind. But, as you know, a great number of his poems might fit equally well here.<br /><br />As for "xin" and "kokoro": the article on "xin" that I referred to can be readily found on the internet. It is quite illuminating.<br /><br />As always, thank you very much for visiting.<br />Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-84768414787226484272017-01-07T13:57:20.502-08:002017-01-07T13:57:20.502-08:00George: Your knowledge of Homer and Virgil far ex...George: Your knowledge of Homer and Virgil far exceeds mine, but I wonder if what you have in mind is a passage from Book VI of The Iliad (which, coincidentally, I considered in a post titled "Leaves" in October of 2014). Here is Pope's translation:<br /><br />Like leaves on trees the race of man is found,<br />Now green in youth, now with'ring on the ground:<br />Another race the foll'wing spring supplies,<br />They fall successive, and successive rise;<br />So generations in their course decay,<br />So flourish these, when those are past away.<br /><br />Here is William Cowper's translation:<br /><br />For, as the leaves, such is the race of man.<br />The wind shakes down the leaves, the budding grove<br />Soon teems with others, and in spring they grow.<br />So pass mankind. One generation meets<br />Its destined period, and a new succeeds.<br /><br />I am probably on the wrong track, but these passages occurred to me.<br /><br />Thank you for the lines from Tate's "Ode," a poem that I memorized in my younger years when I was enthralled with "the Fugitive Poets" (Tate, Ransom, Warren, et al.) for a number of years. I'm happy to be reminded of it.<br /><br />And thank you as well for the reference to Heraclitus, which hadn't occurred to me. His thought fits perfectly here, doesn't it?<br /><br />As always, it is good to hear from you. Thank you very much for visiting again, and for sharing your thoughts.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-33418477472136299632017-01-07T06:29:46.719-08:002017-01-07T06:29:46.719-08:00"In Jaccottet's poem, it is "the hea..."In Jaccottet's poem, it is "the heart" that "flies from tree to bird,/from bird to distant star,/from star to love." This is a lovely thought. But it becomes even lovelier when one thinks of xin and kokoro: it is an indivisible compound of heart, soul, spirit, and mind that flies from leaf to star to bird to . . ."<br /><br />Thank you! That's really delicious. I will have to look this up. Derek Mahon is a wonderful poet and I would trust him with translations. As always, I love the way you illuminate the many ways to look at Wallace Stevens.sunt_lacrimae_rerumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05659053841051896981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-65572978448565982892017-01-06T16:48:04.694-08:002017-01-06T16:48:04.694-08:00It seems to me that there is a Homeric epithet hav...It seems to me that there is a Homeric epithet having to do with moving leaves, but I can't place it. It is possible that I have in mind Virgil's imitation of a Homer scene, with "coruscis ... silvis". Otherwise, for leaves in the wind, I think of Allan Tate's "Ode to the Confederate Dead": "Dazed by the wind, only the wind/The leaves, flying, plunge and expire."<br /><br />Yes, the world is steadily in motion. As Heraclitus says, everything flows.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14819154529261482038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-57469937549157362102017-01-05T22:27:51.892-08:002017-01-05T22:27:51.892-08:00Susan: Thank you for mentioning the figure in the...Susan: Thank you for mentioning the figure in the painting: I had missed that! I suppose I was so enthralled by the greens of the canopy of leaves and the browns of the branches that my eyes never worked their way down to that spot. Wonderful. Your thought about the person being the painter is a good one.<br /><br />Happy New Year to you as well! As I hope you know, I greatly appreciate, and highly value, your presence here over the years. I look forward to continuing our conversations in the coming year. Take care.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-57417428161360132572017-01-05T22:18:33.846-08:002017-01-05T22:18:33.846-08:00Mr. Guirl: Thank you very much. That's extre...Mr. Guirl: Thank you very much. That's extremely kind of you to say. But it is a two-way street: I receive a great deal in return, in particular the long-time presence of sympathetic readers and visitors like yourself, which I greatly appreciate (and which keeps me going). I thank you for that.<br /><br />Your New Year's resolution is a fine one, and I envy you your musical ability, something I have never had. I agree that music and poetry have a great deal in common: sound, movement, and rhythm of course, but also a way of being in the moment, I think.<br /><br />It is always 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-27007268548894969262017-01-05T17:41:09.709-08:002017-01-05T17:41:09.709-08:00I wonder how many of your visitors have noticed th...I wonder how many of your visitors have noticed that in the first painting, "Oak Arch Grey", there is a person (probably a man)sitting under a tree towards the middle. I think he is drawing -- perhaps preparing this very painting. I did not see this until I made a gallery of the four paintings, which slightly enlarges them.<br />Happy New Year, Stephen. I hope we have much more of First Known When Lost to look forward to this year.<br />SusanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-85231833978379867032017-01-05T00:12:31.021-08:002017-01-05T00:12:31.021-08:00Mr. Pentz,
May this year be all you most hope for...Mr. Pentz,<br /><br />May this year be all you most hope for. I look forward to the gift of your blog posts in 2017, which you generously share with your readers.<br /><br />I usually make a few New Year's resolutions, and one is to play the piano more. I took lessons for most of my youth and am now playing again, much to my intense delight. Music and poetry have much in common.<br /><br />Tim GuirlTim Guirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04273546542482255916noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-79879453986183027442017-01-03T08:20:40.683-08:002017-01-03T08:20:40.683-08:00Fred: Thank you very much for sharing the haiku, ...Fred: Thank you very much for sharing the haiku, which is new to me. It is lovely, and exactly on point: all is in motion.<br /><br />It reminds me of a haiku by Buson (although Buson's is not as focused on motion as Soseki's):<br /><br />The bottom seen clearly,<br />The fish seen clearly,<br />Deep is the water of autumn.<br /><br />(Translation by R. H. Blyth, in Blyth, Haiku, Volume 4: Autumn-Winter, page xxi.<br /><br />As always, it is a pleasure to hear from you. I greatly appreciate your long-time presence here, and I look forward to sharing our discoveries again throughout the coming year.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-64559009404033429052017-01-03T08:10:57.170-08:002017-01-03T08:10:57.170-08:00John: Thank you for your kind words about the pos...John: Thank you for your kind words about the post. Your autumn anecdote about the sound of each leave falling is lovely, and perfect in this context. One has a similar feeling when, suddenly and unexpectedly, a single leaf falls right in front of you.<br /><br />And thank you as well for the lines from MacCaig's poem, which also fit well here. MacCaig is a wonderful poet of the everyday and the commonplace (and I do not use either of those words pejoratively), isn't he? I'm glad you quoted MacCaig, for you have reminded me that it has been too long since I last visited his poems -- a good way to begin the new year, I think.<br /><br />I wish you and your family a wonderful New Year as well. I look forward to continuing our conversations throughout the coming year.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-49021637906342553602017-01-02T11:18:56.860-08:002017-01-02T11:18:56.860-08:00Stephen,
I don't know why but this came to mi...Stephen,<br /><br />I don't know why but this came to mind while reading your post.<br /><br /><br /> Clear-colored stones<br />Are vibrating in; the brook-bed. . .<br /> Or the water is<br /><br />-- Soseki --<br />A Little Treasury of Haiku<br />trans. Peter Beilenson<br />Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-77945701513547203882017-01-02T11:17:09.533-08:002017-01-02T11:17:09.533-08:00Stephen, A wonderful post to begin the new year. S...Stephen, A wonderful post to begin the new year. So much to savour. I recall a walk I took back in the autumn, standing beside a stream at the edge of local woods and realising that standing there, silent and still I could hear the sound of each individual leaf falling, 'sovereign and irreplaceable' as you say.<br /><br />To quote from a favourite Norman MacCaig poem, An ordinary day.<br /><br />"...and my mind observed to me, <br />or I to it, how ordinary <br />extraordinary things are or<br />how extraordinary ordinary<br />things are, like the nature of the mind<br />and the process of Observing.<br /><br />May I take this moment to wish you a happy and joyful New Year.<br /><br />John<br /><br />John Ashtonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-69637653968387695122017-01-02T11:09:50.673-08:002017-01-02T11:09:50.673-08:00Mudpuddle: Thank you very much. Your New Year...Mudpuddle: Thank you very much. Your New Year's wish for us all is a good one. I wish you well in the coming year.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-10976390307044576112017-01-02T10:03:34.556-08:002017-01-02T10:03:34.556-08:00dynamite post; many tx for engaging with the real...dynamite post; many tx for engaging with the real... i hope the new year will grant insight and wisdom to us all...Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-68543595495519859792017-01-02T07:33:32.666-08:002017-01-02T07:33:32.666-08:00Esther: Dōmo arigatō gozaimasu. Happy New Year t...Esther: Dōmo arigatō gozaimasu. Happy New Year to you as well. It is always a pleasure to hear from you, and I greatly appreciate your presence here over the years. I wish you the best in the coming year.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-42504996257561833682017-01-01T19:11:01.620-08:002017-01-01T19:11:01.620-08:00Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!
Kotoshi mo yoroshik...Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!<br />Kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.<br />n(_ _)nEsthernoreply@blogger.com