Another hilarious, true-to-life Wendy Cope, cos I’m in that sort of mood.
( The Reading by Wendy Cope )
( The Reading by Wendy Cope )
Shakespeare mocking the sonnets his contemporaries wrote while explaining why his lady, and his love, was much more fantastic. Like puppies and sunshine and rainbows. :)
( Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare )
( Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare )
Another one that’s cliché for a reason. A few months ago, my LJ was sort of themed to this poem – the title was the title of my LJ, with the friends page etc titled with quotes from it. (Now it’s replaced by Inflammatory Writ by Joanna Newsom). This poem never fails to make me happy.
( High Flight by John Gillespie Magee Jr )
( High Flight by John Gillespie Magee Jr )
More Yeats, because I love him. Also because I’ve been reading Angel, by Cliff McNish – two teenage girls, one’s on the edge of the popular group and is making her way ‘in’, one’s a total misfit, they become friends, etc. It’s an often-done plotline but a great book, and reminded me of Walking Naked by Alyssa Brugman, an even better one. Walking Naked introduced me to the poem (the title is actually taken from it) and A Coat is probably the first poem I ever fell in love with. Even my sister, who I borrowed Walking Naked from – and Middle Sister is not the kind who reads – remembered the poem years later. :) We had a conversation on the way home from school about WHAT DOES IT MEAN WE DON’T UNDERSTAND.
( A Coat by William Yeats )
( A Coat by William Yeats )
Some e e cummings, because sometimes I enjoy being a horribly cliché English Literature student.
( the boys i mean are not refined )
( the boys i mean are not refined )
National Poetry Month: Song by John Donne
Nov. 19th, 2009 10:31 pmI was really disappointed when we did John Donne at uni, because I didn’t like his poetry at all. This specific poem, though, I’d read years ago and loved. This is partly because of where I read it: it was used as a curse in a book I loved, Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. It was such a clever use of a poem, and of course reading it now I like the poem itself but also its rush of associations with a cast of characters I love – although mysteriously, the blond, sarcastic, insecure love interest who’s horribly bossy and a Casanova and much braver and better than he admits is not a particular favourite of mine.
( Song by John Donne )
( Song by John Donne )
I can’t believe I haven’t posted a Shakespeare sonnet yet! Here’s one; it’s more difficult to read than a lot of the translations, but I love it to pieces.
( Sonnet 29 by William Shakespeare )
( Sonnet 29 by William Shakespeare )
Today is Remembrance Day. It’s a worthy thing to remember dead soldiers; but then as now, death isn’t the only (or the worst) thing that can happen to people in war. The maimed tend to be forgotten, which is so tragic; dying for your comrades is much more poetic than having someone else wipe your arse for you for the rest of your life, and involves much less funding.
( Disabled by Wilfred Owen )
( Disabled by Wilfred Owen )
A short one that will be quick to read, since I barely have time to post!
( Some People by Wendy Cope )
( Some People by Wendy Cope )
This is one of my favourite poems, by a Russian writer (who had an interesting life quite aside from her work) named Marina Tsvetaeva. I’m putting up two versions of her poem, by two different translators. I prefer Feinstein’s version, but that might be because it’s the version I read and loved first.
( Where does this tenderness come from? by Marina Tsvetaeva, translated by Elaine Feinstein )
( Where does this tenderness come from? by Marina Tsvetaeva, translated by Andrey Kneller )
( Where does this tenderness come from? by Marina Tsvetaeva, translated by Elaine Feinstein )
( Where does this tenderness come from? by Marina Tsvetaeva, translated by Andrey Kneller )
This one seemed rather appropriate, as the first week of NaNoWriMo ends. Particularly since I have spent the day battling with my ![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hp_darkfest fic and I am exhausted. Much as I enjoyed spending most of a day just on writing: it is a luxury.
( for the young who want to by Marge Piercy )
hp_darkfest fic and I am exhausted. Much as I enjoyed spending most of a day just on writing: it is a luxury.( for the young who want to by Marge Piercy )
Argh, cannot decide: do I want to go out and see the friends who I haven’t seen for like ten days (keeping in mind I’m WAY POOR, and all my clothes, including my only proper coat, are in the laundry) or stay in and write? I’m really behind on NaNo. I should stay in, I just want to see my friends.
ANYWAY.
Here’s some Philip Larkin after all. The man was a genius, for all that he lived in Hull.
( High Windows by Philip Larkin )
ANYWAY.
Here’s some Philip Larkin after all. The man was a genius, for all that he lived in Hull.
( High Windows by Philip Larkin )
I was going to post some Phillip Larkin today (he was grumpy, brilliant, and obsessed with porn: like us!) but I just had a nap, and during that nap I had a nightmare. I never have nightmares, and when I do they’re either about my family or very suspenseful. This was a hideously graphic one which involved, among other things, my crashing an actual bus with people in it because I was driving it via computer game, and seeing the hideously graphic death of a friend of mine (only in the dream, but it still hurt) and nameless year sevens, who were all run over by a train.
THANKS, BRAIN.
I was going to post something incorrigibly cheery – some John Asgard, perhaps – but truthfully the dream freaked me out enough that I want something to protect me.
( St Patrick’s Rune by Madeleine de l’Engel )
THANKS, BRAIN.
I was going to post something incorrigibly cheery – some John Asgard, perhaps – but truthfully the dream freaked me out enough that I want something to protect me.
( St Patrick’s Rune by Madeleine de l’Engel )
And here we have a poem by my favourite poet of all time, Wendy Cope. It’s hard to get her stuff on the net (because her copyright’s still active – I encourage all of you to buy her stuff, though! And I think this might come under educational/personal use!) and she deserves promotion. Also, I like to share funny stuff with you guys.
( A Serious Person by Wendy Cope )
( A Serious Person by Wendy Cope )
This one is a cliché, but for a good reason. I plan to come back to it in next week, apparently the worst part of NaNoWriMo, and read it. Then to laugh at my own melodrama and get back to writing. :)
( Invictus by William Ernest Henley )
( Invictus by William Ernest Henley )
This poem was introduced to me by my very favourite English teacher. If I get to be an author, I’m sure I’ll dedicate a book to her somewhere down the line.
( The General by Siegfried Sassoon )
( The General by Siegfried Sassoon )
Here’s my first National Poetry Month post! I absolutely adore this one. Dedicated to creatore_magico, who mentioned this poem (which I was already planning to post) as a favourite; and to bryoneybrynn, who introduced me to it, and is the reason I now own a Pablo Neruda collection. :)
( Sonnet 17 by Pablo Neruda )
creatore_magico, who mentioned this poem (which I was already planning to post) as a favourite; and to bryoneybrynn, who introduced me to it, and is the reason I now own a Pablo Neruda collection. :)( Sonnet 17 by Pablo Neruda )
