tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post5178391159573750058..comments2024-03-23T20:37:37.891-07:00Comments on First Known When Lost: "How It Rained! . . . How It Snowed! . . . How It Shone!"Stephen Pentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-90069714872951787662013-11-24T21:14:16.109-08:002013-11-24T21:14:16.109-08:00Bovey Belle: schoolchildren reciting "Huw Puw...Bovey Belle: schoolchildren reciting "Huw Puw, too": wonderful! I would never have thought that that poem would work its way into the curriculum! That's a great anecdote.<br /><br />You are fortunate to have lived in Hardy Country. It would be nice to see the landscapes of the poems and the novels on a daily basis, and to live in both a real and an imagined world.<br /><br />As always, thank you very much for visiting, and for your thoughts.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-33618038928338240102013-11-23T11:15:33.194-08:002013-11-23T11:15:33.194-08:00Aha! Two poems I know well. Flintcombe Ash I kno...Aha! Two poems I know well. Flintcombe Ash I know too - I used to drive close by on my way to the Doctor's when I lived in the Piddle Valley. (It was based on a farm at Alton Pancras). Poor Tess, hands blue with cold, eyebrows shaved off making her "look like a mummet" but at least unattractive to - and safe from - men. I saw her every time, in my mind's eye.<br /><br />My children used to recite the R S Thomas poem at school, and would come home and chant, ever louder, "There was Huw Puw TOO!!!" His use of words conjures up the faces and idiosyncracies wonderfully - "Opening his slow lips like a snail." I hear an echo of Dylan Thomas there. I must away and read more of his work.<br /><br />Thank you for sharing.Bovey Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13117332471600275100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-6621067547092972142013-11-21T20:27:43.336-08:002013-11-21T20:27:43.336-08:00Mr Ashton: I agree with you about Thomas. Althou...Mr Ashton: I agree with you about Thomas. Although he was harsh and unsparing, which can make his poetry seem uninviting at times (one doesn't necessarily come to him for solace), I admire his honesty. He was always true to his vision, which I greatly respect. As you say, his sort of truthfulness is not likely to "enamour [him] to many people." But, as I recall you remarking about him previously, his honesty, though harsh, is what makes his poetry valuable.<br /><br />Yes, it is time to be pulling up the swedes -- I don't know how it is over there, but we have had freezes the past few nights.<br /><br />As always, it is good to hear from you. Thank you for stopping by.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-72880423526610876172013-11-20T04:27:33.772-08:002013-11-20T04:27:33.772-08:00Mr Pentz, both today's and your previous post ...Mr Pentz, both today's and your previous post resonated with me, as I myself have recently been pulling swedes from my own vegetable plot and on one occasion in particularly heavy rain. <br />"How it rained" is superb. I think you are right when you say that he is one of the few writers who can write believably from the point of view of a woman.( Being also a man ,I apologise for any presumption I may make.)<br /><br />I agree with you that the curmudgeonly R S Thomas is often overdone .I remember reading a piece by a journalist some while ago who described him as "the loneliest man I ever met". I think when you have a vision of the world like Thomas that as you say' was truthful to what he saw', it is unlikely to enamour you to many people. For me he is sill an astonishing writer, and there are both moments of great beauty in his poetry, as well as an acute understanding of the pain and difficulty of individual lives.John Ashtonnoreply@blogger.com