This is my first experience of Rich's poetry and will definitely not be the last. I will read this book many times to savor my favorite poems, try to This is my first experience of Rich's poetry and will definitely not be the last. I will read this book many times to savor my favorite poems, try to glean further meaning from lines that held tightly to so much emotion and pieces of life and experience. What amazes me here is what seems to be the co-mingling of the personal and the universal. I realize that all good literature works to create this but Rich simply (or not simply) does it.
She writes of a woman's life, of women's lives, of human lives and how they matter in the ongoing work that is LIFE. And she writes of love of all sorts: traditional married, lesbian and partner, parent and child. She writes of loss. And she writes of our place in the world.
From "Twenty-One Love Poems":
This apartment full of books could crack open to the thick jaws, the bulging eyes of monsters, easily. Once open the books, you have to face the underside of everything you've loved-- the rack and pincers held in readiness, the gag even the best voices have had to mumble through, the silence burying unwanted children-- women, deviants, witnesses--in desert sand. Kenneth tells me he's been arranging his books so he can look at Blake and Kafka while he types; yes; and we still have to reckon with Swift loathing the woman's flesh while praising her mind. Goethe's dread of the Mothers, Claudel vilifying Gide, and the ghosts--their hands clasped for centuries-- of artists dying in childbirth, wise-women charred at the stake, centuries of books unwritten piled behind these shelves; and we still have to stare into the absence of men who would not, women who could not, speak to our life--this still unexcavated hole called civilization, this act of translation, this half world. (p 27)
And then I say you must read "Natural Resources" and "Transcendental Etude." which I would love to excerpt here but there are simply too many good sections and they probably each should be read as a whole.
I strongly recommend this collection to anyone who is interested in poetry. Give yourself some time with it. Savor the experience. ...more
Not enough "there" there...that's my immediate response on finishing The Sun Also Rises. Perhaps it's unfair, for I am a Faulkner devotee and there reNot enough "there" there...that's my immediate response on finishing The Sun Also Rises. Perhaps it's unfair, for I am a Faulkner devotee and there really can't be two more dissimilar writers in modern English. I waited for drama, but whatever dramatic moments arose were as understated as E.H.'s descriptions of the Spanish countryside.
The bus climbed steadily up the road. The country was barren and rocks stuck up through the clay. There was no grass beside the road. Looking back we could see the country spread out below. Far back the fields were squares of green and brown on the hillsides. Making the horizon were the brown mountains. They were strangely shaped. As we climbed higher the horizon kept changing. As the bus ground slowly up the road we could see other mountains coming up in the south. (p 113-114)
What I find is that this form of writing does not increase my curiosity about what is to come. I'm not intrigued about this land Jake and his friend are entering. For me, it's almost boring as described.
And sadly much of the novel struck me the same way. It reminded me of much I've read of Hemingway and many other writers and artists who lived in Paris between the wars, where parties and alcohol seemed to be fairly constant. The relationships don't conform to any reality I can relate to but then this is also very much a man's book, I think, as Hemingway was a man's man. So perhaps that adds to some of the foreign feeling for me.
All in all I'm glad I read this as I felt a gap in my literature experience but I doubt I will hurry back to Hemingway in the future.
Probably closer to a 2.5 but there were some parts I did like....more
Having read Flags in the Dust last year made this a special read along with the OTSLT group now. To see the very early years of Bayard Sartoris with hHaving read Flags in the Dust last year made this a special read along with the OTSLT group now. To see the very early years of Bayard Sartoris with his father and Grandmother, the skirmishes with Yankee troops, as well as Granny's clever hoodwinking of same to support those dependent on her during those very hard times has been exciting. Faulkner's vision of these people and their land is so consistent as to be amazing. To see the forebears of the Snopes and others adds to enjoyment of other books read (and yet to come)
There are many moments in the book that I want to hold on to but I will read it again for certain. Granny was such a figure of courage, pride and certainty in an uncertain time. This is my favorite of her moments.
She just said "Come"and turned and went on, not toward the cabin, but across the pasture toward the road. We didn't know where we were going until we reached the church. She went straight up the aisle to the chancel and stood there until we came up. "Kneel down," she said. We knelt in the empty church.She was small between us, little; she talked quiet, not loud, not fast, not slow;..."I have sinned. I have stolen and I have borne false witness against my neighbor, though that neighbor was an enemy of my country. And more than that. I have caused these children to sin. I hereby take their sin upon my conscience....But I did not sin for gain or for greed," Granny said. "I did not sin for revenge. I defy You or anyone to say I did. I sinned first for justice..." (p 147)
There are many forms of justice in The Unvanquished and Faulkner seems to be very much concerned with the evolution of that concept in his characters' lives.
I am looking forward to my next Faulkner book. ...more
A revelation and a delight---those were my reactions on reading, then on finishing, Great Expectations, first read, and not enjoyed while in high schoA revelation and a delight---those were my reactions on reading, then on finishing, Great Expectations, first read, and not enjoyed while in high school, only slightly remembered from that time(vague recall about who his actual patron might be).
This second experience, oh so many years later, has reawakened the joy of reading the Victorian serial novel. I looked forward to picking this book up each time I did so. I chuckled and laughed with some of Dickens words, names and descriptions, enjoyed the characters he developed, and the variety of emotions he could elicit. What a master.
Among my favorites---Pip's progress toward self knowledge itself, Wemmick and the Aged One, Herbert and so many in that little village, who are all drawn so well. And Dickens' descriptive skills--of the marshes, the boats on the Thames, Newgate, the death masks. So many details that complement and forward the action.
Now I want and plan to read more of Dickens as soon as I'm able. As always it's the scheduling that is the hardest part....more
A conflict of cultures is the backdrop for this early Francine Prose novel. Simone decides to flee Haiti (it's the very unsettled early 1990s). Her loA conflict of cultures is the backdrop for this early Francine Prose novel. Simone decides to flee Haiti (it's the very unsettled early 1990s). Her lover has cheated; there's no reason to stay, every reason to flee to the U.S. So she finds a way.
Simone finds her way to Hudson's Landing, New York, a place of contemporary American values and problems, consumer culture, money, old families, fast living, a whole new type of living that her past experience never prepared her for. Now she has moved from the poorest land in the hemisphere to one of the wealthiest areas, where all the inhabitants have problems that are soon to invade her life. There may not be shooting on the streets every night, but there's lots of back stabbing, occasional animals left hanging dead in the woods.
A sample description:
The driveway seemed several times longer than the road from home. Finally they reached the house: a white segmented Palladian dinosaur creeping down toward the Hudson. Small groups chatted on the rolling lawn, while braver guests advanced warily to admire the view of the river, as if the river were a sleeping child or dog they were afraid of waking. (p 102)
This is a very interesting and thought provoking darkly written satire. My only issue is that it does not always seem to flow smoothly. It seemed to stutter through the action at times...but this may well be because it is Simone's reaction to all that happens (and we see everything through her eyes). Overall, however, I'm glad I read it and I'm looking forward to sampling more of Prose.
In my second book of ISOLT, I find myself with both more patience and more impatience while reading. The glories of the writing are simply wonderful. In my second book of ISOLT, I find myself with both more patience and more impatience while reading. The glories of the writing are simply wonderful. The moments of insight sweep me away and I read them over again, once or twice to get their meaning completely. But there are some passages in between that test me, not yet to the point where I feel any threat of desertion but I do occasionally wish I could shake our narrator a bit, tell him to open his eyes perhaps a bit wider, take in more than one nose or eye at this time. (I know I'm being a bit silly here but haven't each of you had such moments?)
But there are such glories too---the description of the train trip to Balbec and the sun rising and setting. The descriptions of Albertine as he first meets her and of lying on the beach, his room at the hotel. His descriptions of young love. Proust is testing me as he tests himself and his memory to tease out all the small details of the past. And I will continue on this ride.
I have added a link to Teresa's review as I found it says much I appreciate.
Once again, Susan Hill has written a mystery and police procedural that provides developed characters and plot, ideas that don't lead to easy or glib Once again, Susan Hill has written a mystery and police procedural that provides developed characters and plot, ideas that don't lead to easy or glib resolution--much like real life. In this episode, while Serrailler is on a sabbatical after a long and difficult case, two local prostitutes are murdered and then a third goes missing. Simon is summoned home shortly before his scheduled return date to take full charge of the investigation. As in prior outings the Lafferton Cathedral itself becomes a character as there is a new Dean who is setting off waves among the established congregation with his ideas for new policies and procedures. A very English tale.
All of the characters have considerable back story, which is not to say that we know them all equally. but we do come to see how most of them work, how they function every day and how these crimes effect them on all levels. Hill is a master at pulling the rug out from under the feet of the reader on occasion so beware.
In this truly fascinating biography, Richard Ellman presents the entirety of James Joyce: his family, both natal and his family with Nora; his rather In this truly fascinating biography, Richard Ellman presents the entirety of James Joyce: his family, both natal and his family with Nora; his rather strained relationship with Ireland coupled with a love affair of sorts with the city of Dublin; his varied relationships with contemporary writers in Europe; his love of the musical world; his many relocations throughout the continent; his love of language; and of course his writing. And there are sides I've left out.
While the history of the man is intriguing, its importance is as the background to the books he was to create. Without the reaction against the Catholic Church and Ireland and without the love of Dublin, these books would not have seen the light of day. Ellman provides analyses of each book, from creation through publication, the whole torturous path, and along the way also gives the reader so much enlightening information that assures future reading of any Joyce works will be different. I have marked several sections to be read when I read Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and (probably) Ulysses again. And I will definitely read the section for Finnegans Wake if/when I reach that book.
Joyce was undoubtedly a genius, a conflicted man, a difficult man, a man who, in his own way, loved his family but also expected the world and everyone in it to move to his drum. But perhaps that is part of the mark of genius.
Ellman makes some interesting summations near the end of his excellent tome. In this first:
In retrospect, it seems clear that the 'monster,' as Joyce several times called Finnegans Wake in these days, had to be written, and that he had to write it. Readers may still sigh because he did not approach them more directly, but it does not appear that this alternative was open to him. In Dubliners he had explored the waking consciousness from outside, in A Portrait and Ulysses from inside. He had begun to impinge, but gingerly, upon the mind asleep. There lay before him, as in 1922 he well knew, this almost totally unexplored expanse. That the great psychological discovery of his century was the night world he was, of course, aware, but he frowned on using that world as a means of therapy. Joyce's purpose was not so didactic; he wished, unassumingly enough, to amuse men with it. (p 716)
And finally, in summing up the life of James Joyce,
The surface of the life Joyce lived seemed always erratic and provisional. But its central meaning was directed as consciously as his work. The ingenuity with which he wrote his books was the same with which he forced the world to read them; the smiling affection he extended to Bloom and his other principal characters was the same that he gave to the members of his family; his disregard for bourgeois thrift and convention was the splendid extravagance which enabled him in literature to make an intractable wilderness into a new state. In whatever he did, his two profound interests ---his family and his writings---kept their place. These passions never dwindled. The intensity of the first gave his work its sympathy and humanity; the intensity of the second raised his life to dignity and high dedication. (p 744)
I highly recommend this superb biography to anyone interested in James Joyce, in literary biograpy, or any of Mr Joyce's literary works....more
Manning's Balkan Trilogy is a very interesting look at a side of World War Two that I don't often encounter, that fought in eastern Europe. It mirrorsManning's Balkan Trilogy is a very interesting look at a side of World War Two that I don't often encounter, that fought in eastern Europe. It mirrors some of her life experiences and is followed by The Levant Trilogy which I definitely plan to read also.
As the story begins, Guy and Harriet Pringle are arriving in Romania after a sudden romance and marriage during his leave in England. Now he resumes his lecturing duties in the university and Helen tries to fit in. But the turmoil of Western Europe is now reaching East and Britain's ally is weakening. We become bystanders for all levels of conflict as the Romanian people undergo internal strife, pogroms, onslaught of those fleeing war in other countries, and, ultimately, the realization that the Germans will come. Throughout this the reader also is witness to multiple interpersonal vignettes: the Pringle's marriage, the members of the British Consul, Yakimov ("poor Yaki"), the students and other teachers. Then the escape to Greece. Who will make it to Greece and will Greece be safe?
All in all a very readable and, at times, exciting book, one that I wanted to get back to once I had put it down. Do not be put off by the length....more
I have wanted to read this book for a long time...and it definitely lived up to anything I could have hoped for. Actually, I never could have imaginedI have wanted to read this book for a long time...and it definitely lived up to anything I could have hoped for. Actually, I never could have imagined the novel as it actually exists. This is a combination of 18th century history, fantasy, a dollop of things magical and mysterious, a touch of poetry, astronomy and possibly astrology. Just about everything is present in this large novel. It's grand in all senses of the word.
I will acknowledge that this may not be for every reader but those who like an epic, enjoy historical fiction with the add-ons I mention above will have a reading experience unlike any other. If you read through my status updates, you will get a flavor of the dialect used and some of the story. I really can't give you adequately a taste of the outrageous humor and vignettes sprinkled throughout this novel, but, believe me, some of them are laugh-out-loud funny. Particularly "the duck." Anyone who has read Mason & Dixon will never forget this very different fowl!
The vision of international and American colonial history immediately prior to the revolution is fascinating. What else is there to say. Well, I made the decision early on to read the book slowly and this worked well for me. Some sections read more quickly than others and I read this in company with other books. I came to look forward to returning to it and picking up Charles and Jeremiah's journeys to track the Transit of Venus, to perform various surveys, and then for their ultimate task, the line that is still marked and which I recall crossing on a trip several years ago.
This is highly recommended to those who enjoy an epic with a very definite difference! ...more
When I decided to read this book again now as a "buddy" read, I had a residual memory from a distant reading maybe 25 or more years ago. A memory thatWhen I decided to read this book again now as a "buddy" read, I had a residual memory from a distant reading maybe 25 or more years ago. A memory that was positive but nebulous. Now I have a new, and, happily, very precise memory to carry forward. I love this book with its portrait of the rural towns and peoples of New England, primarily of the state of Maine and primarily of the town of Dunnet's Landing, seen through the eyes of a visitor from the city, a woman sympathetic to the people and lifestyle.
Jewett, an influence for Willa Cather, another author I admire so much, writes largely unsentimentally of the daily lives and relationships of the farmers and fishermen, wives, husbands, widows and widowers, the small details that unite these people who are still in some ways close to their Puritan stock. The writing is simple but also very appropriate. It is majestic in it's description of the mighty pines standing guard over the landscape. It is classical in describing some of the characters.
A few examples: describing Mrs. Todd,
She stood in the centre of a braided rug, and its rings of black and gray seemed to circle about her feet in the dim light. Her height and massiveness in the low room gave her the look of a huge sibyl, while the strange fragrance of the mysterious herb blew in from the little garden. (p 8)
And an island description:
Through this piece of rough pasture ran a huge shape of stone like the great backbone of an enormous creature. At the end, near the woods, we could climb up on it and walk along to the highest point; there above the circle of pointed firs we could look down over all the island, and could see the ocean that circled this and a hundred other bits of island ground, the mainland shore and all the far horizons. It gave a sudden sense of space, for nothing stopped the eye or hedged one in,---that sense of liberty in space and time which great prospects always give. (p 45)
This openness and bleakness is freeing and also part of the hardship.
After Mrs. Todd discusses the hard loss of her husband at sea, a common loss among the women in the area, our narrator writes:
She looked away from me, and presently rose and went on by herself. There was something lonely and solitary about her great determined shape. She might have been Antigone alone on the Theban plain. It is not often given in a noisy world to come to the places of great grief and silence. (p 49)
And lastly, this wagon trip with a taciturn friend:
Many times, being used to the company of Mrs. Todd and and other friends who were in the habit of talking, I came near making an idle remark to William, but I was for the most part happily preserved; to be with him only for a short time was to live on a different level, where thoughts served best because they were thoughts in common;the primary effects upon our minds of the simple things and beauties that we saw. Once when I caught sight of a lovely gay pigeon-woodpecker eyeing us curiously from a dead branch, and instinctively turned toward William, he gave an indulgent, comprehending nod which silenced me all the rest of the way. The wood road was not a place for common noisy conversation; one would interrupt the birds and all the still little beasts that belonged there....I grew conscious of the difference between William's usual fashion of life and mine; for him there were long days of silence in a sea-going boat, and I could believe that he and his mother usually spoke very little because they so perfectly understood each other. (p 145-6)
Sarah Orne Jewett wrote in and of a different time, in a quite solitary part of this country. What particularly impressed me was the unsentimental, but loving, presentation. (The only exception I noted was in the final two stories, "Martha's Lady" and "Aunt Cynthy Dallett", both written a few years after most of the rest of the book did seem a bit on the sentimental side and were not among my favorites.) Jewett is of these people. She understands them and their history and would like us to know them too.
This was written in the late 19th century and uses Downeast dialect at times. If reading some dialect bothers you then this might be an irritant. Otherwise I highly recommend this book to short story readers and all who enjoy venturing into an earlier time in American life.
Thank you to Diane Barnes for a truly enjoyable buddy read!
Although I have read this book before, that was long enough ago that this was essentially like reading the book for the first time.
I believe this is tAlthough I have read this book before, that was long enough ago that this was essentially like reading the book for the first time.
I believe this is the fifth of Cather's books that I have read (this both the first and the most recent) and confirms my appreciation for her skills in presenting the landscapes of the American West, the developing American way of life as it pushes west, and the varying and various peoples who lived on and from the land. Cather had mentioned the canyons of the Southwest in The Song of the Lark while otherwise describing the development of the plains.
Here, everything is devoted to the vast desert territory of the Southwest, land that has been newly added to the nation. The titular character is sent to Santa Fe to establish an American bishopric and we live the following decades with him.
It had been nearly a year after he had embarked upon the Mississippi that the young Bishop, at about the sunset hour of an afternoon, at last beheld the old settlement toward which he had been journeying so long: ...Across the level, Father Latour could distinguish low brown shapes, like earthworks, lying at the base of wrinkled green mountains with bare tops,--wave like mountains, resembling billows beaten up from a flat sea by a heavy gale; and their green was of two colors --aspen and evergreen, not intermingled but lying in solid areas of light and dark. (p 21)
This was to be Latour's home for the rest of his life.
He came to know the countryside, the Mexicans, the various Pueblos and their customs. Cather describes the beliefs and ways of all quite carefully. There are aspects that are dated but there are parts that are amazingly current. In describing Latour's trip through the desert with a Mexican friend and their Indian guide, Cather writes:
When they left the rock or tree or sand dune that had sheltered them for the night, the Navajo was careful to obliterate every trace of their temporary occupation....Father Latour judged that, as it was the white man's way to assert himself in any landscape, to change it, to make it over a little (or at least leave some mark of memorial of his sojourn), it was the Indian's way to pass through a country without disturbing anything; to pass and leave no trace, like fish through the water, or birds through the air. It was the Indian manner to vanish into the land- scape, not to stand out against it....It was as if the great country were asleep and they wished to carry on lives without awakening it... (pp 233-234)
There is much history in this novel, history of the settlement of the Southwest since the arrival of the Spanish, history of the Catholic Church in America by way of this Bishop's life in Santa Fe, reflections on the often sad past in Indian Country and the new changes with continued western expansion.
In one last selection from the novel I will give a sample of the descriptive prose Cather does so well. In other novels she describes the Plains. Here it is Acoma Pueblo:
Ever afterward the Bishop remembered his first ride to Acoma as his introduction to the mesa country. One thing which struck him at once was that every mesa was duplicated by a cloud mesa, like a reflection, which lay motionless above it or moved slowly up from behind it. These cloud formations seemed to be always there, however hot and blue the sky. Sometimes they were flat terraces, ledges of vapour; sometimes they were dome-shaped, or fantastic, like the tops of silvery pagodas, rising one above another, as if an oriental city lay directly behind the rock. (p 95)
I strongly recommend this novel to those wishing to delve into American classics.
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