tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post4101570491668093206..comments2024-02-26T00:59:26.907-08:00Comments on Ana the Imp: Forever EnglandAnastasia F-Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-85987073458747729822010-10-10T12:08:17.602-07:002010-10-10T12:08:17.602-07:00Hey, Retarius, he didn't say there was anythin...Hey, Retarius, he didn't say there was anything wrong with it. :-))Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-68004168086162255132010-10-10T01:18:08.508-07:002010-10-10T01:18:08.508-07:00Oi! Orwell! What's wrong with crème-de-menthe ...Oi! Orwell! What's wrong with crème-de-menthe ya bastard? I've gone right off you now, George. <br /><br />Seriously, darling Stasi, there is one more space on the spectrum for the odious. I'm sure you omitted it only by oversight because it's been so prolific in recent years that it's unmissable. <br /><br />It's the determination to fight war, no matter the circumstances.Retariushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09165689727557860449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-63214843841753506912010-10-08T00:58:05.117-07:002010-10-08T00:58:05.117-07:00Brendano, yes, indeed, What repels me is not horr...Brendano, yes, indeed, What repels me is not horror of war, a perfectly natural reaction, but an <i>a priori</i> determination not to fight war, no matter the circumstances. Sassoon and Owen contributed in their own way to this determination.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-80836145087862342602010-10-08T00:57:34.521-07:002010-10-08T00:57:34.521-07:00Donovan and Dylan both had their moment, for me th...Donovan and Dylan both had their moment, for me the finest music of(roughly) that time was The Nice, Soft Machine, early Pink Floyd..all culminating with King Crimson.Fletch's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16402507296202065300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-23569292601555884172010-10-08T00:39:42.737-07:002010-10-08T00:39:42.737-07:00I agree that pacifism would have been of no use ag...I agree that pacifism would have been of no use against a monstrous evil such as Nazism, which had to be fought. But it would have been extremely worrying if the pointless mass slaughter of WWI had been accepted as somehow normal, and I'm not sure how far the likes of Sassoon and Owen can be 'blamed' in any case.<br /><br />I mentioned Yeats because Adam described Houseman as 'the finest poet of the early 20th century'. That's a bit like favouring Donovan over Dylan, Adam. :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-43477347624394109282010-10-07T16:51:00.848-07:002010-10-07T16:51:00.848-07:00That to truly love Houseman one must be a miserabl...That to truly love Houseman one must be a miserable English person. As Powell was and as I am. You love life too much to truly cherish Housman, Brendano has too much of the Celtic spirit to love him. Houseman is rain o'er a neglected canal, he is the blood that flows on a winter lawn, he is the sacrificial slaughter of one's deeper consciousness.Fletch's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16402507296202065300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-74575817962602224732010-10-07T16:48:56.025-07:002010-10-07T16:48:56.025-07:00What view would that be, Adam? :-)What view would that be, Adam? :-)Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-12025366171722881562010-10-07T16:47:36.785-07:002010-10-07T16:47:36.785-07:00Calvin, would that be one of the Bruces? :-))Calvin, would that be one of the Bruces? :-))Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-3405638840372516702010-10-07T16:07:14.991-07:002010-10-07T16:07:14.991-07:00Apparently(according to to-day's Telegraph) on...Apparently(according to to-day's Telegraph) one of Dave's friends has similar views on German as I do.Fletch's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16402507296202065300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-14113031934247844832010-10-07T15:58:49.385-07:002010-10-07T15:58:49.385-07:00Hey, steady on, Brendano; nobody mentioned Yeats! ...Hey, steady on, Brendano; nobody mentioned Yeats! No matter: Yeats is a superlative poet; I have no argument at all with that. I adore so much of his verse, but <i>An Irish Airman Foresees his Death</i> is a particular favourite. I have thought of some of the lines when I’ve been flying, the lonely impulse of delight which drove me to the tumult in the clouds, not that I foresee my own death! <br /><br />The point I was making about pacifism really has to be understood in the context of British interwar history as a whole. The initial euphoria at victory quickly turned to horror, understandable horror, at the cost, which turned to the admirable desire that such a thing should never happen again. But as the 1920s turned to the 1930s, as the world turned into a far more dangerous place, then it was vital that the country was at least prepared for the eventuality of war. The pacifist mood, which Owen and Sassoon did so much to contribute to, had the effect of seriously undermining national morale to the point where it was almost too late. People fail to realise that while Churchill did his part in warning of the German menace Neville Chamberlain played a part in buying time through the now generally discredited policy of appeasement. The simple truth is that England was not ready for war in 1938 and hardly ready in 1939. Pacifism is admirable in an ideal world but we do not live in an ideal world.<br /><br />Thanks for alerting me to your blog. I'll have a look as soon as I can.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-28208673646145242962010-10-07T15:50:05.987-07:002010-10-07T15:50:05.987-07:00In the immortal words of Monty Python (posing as a...In the immortal words of Monty Python (posing as an Australian arts critic): "Only pooftahs write poetry."<br /><br />I favour Eris, myself.Calvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10640148105202971907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-86297858489836428842010-10-07T15:48:27.785-07:002010-10-07T15:48:27.785-07:00Most appropriate.Most appropriate.Fletch's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16402507296202065300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-80281918264009885692010-10-07T15:43:46.413-07:002010-10-07T15:43:46.413-07:00Eros and Psyche, Adam. Perhaps I should change my...Eros and Psyche, Adam. Perhaps I should change my name to Voluptas. :-))Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-50990282246813289582010-10-07T15:36:59.485-07:002010-10-07T15:36:59.485-07:00Brendano,
Yeates is a fine poet. But Houseman is ...Brendano,<br />Yeates is a fine poet. But Houseman is better--one has to be a miserable Englishman to understand this. You are not English--Ana's not miserable...hence my point is proved.Fletch's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16402507296202065300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-24845554507301474382010-10-07T03:05:41.234-07:002010-10-07T03:05:41.234-07:00The idea that Houseman was a finer poet than Yeats...The idea that Houseman was a finer poet than Yeats is hardly tenable. The poem Adam pastes here is little better than doggerel.<br /><br />I enjoyed the Grantchester poem ... hadn't read it in full before. I don't understand why Ana is repelled by the pacifist mood ushered in by the work of the war poets. Pacifism seems a natural enough reaction to the horror of that awful, pointless suffering and waste of life.<br /><br />I posted something on WWI on my blog this morning, as it happens.<br /><br />http://brendano7.wordpress.com/2010/10/07/the-women-of-france/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-21694390585450710242010-10-07T02:13:50.191-07:002010-10-07T02:13:50.191-07:00For those who deserve it, it is. Some are born to...For those who deserve it, it is. Some are born to live--others are born to die. Some live too long--some live not long enough. Justice in this field is only acquired through self-knowledge. You know that you are the daughter of Eros. I am but the ashes of Thanatos.Fletch's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16402507296202065300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-55144164889073041442010-10-07T02:11:59.854-07:002010-10-07T02:11:59.854-07:00I disagree. Life is the great challenge, the grea...I disagree. Life is the great challenge, the great adventure. :-)Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-7554259533896412262010-10-07T02:04:04.416-07:002010-10-07T02:04:04.416-07:00Death is vastly more seducing than life.Death is vastly more seducing than life.Fletch's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16402507296202065300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-87091113240054459132010-10-07T02:03:04.788-07:002010-10-07T02:03:04.788-07:00Yes, I do, but I did say good in parts! I was stil...Yes, I do, but I did say good in parts! I was still at school when I read Houseman and the chief impression he left was of a slight obsession with death, loss, passing and decay.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-85257650039983995952010-10-07T01:30:46.123-07:002010-10-07T01:30:46.123-07:00There pass the careless people
That call their s...<i><br />There pass the careless people<br /> That call their souls their own;<br />Here by the road I loiter,<br /> How idle and alone.<br /> <br />Ah, past the plunge of plummet,<br /> In seas I cannot sound,<br />My heart and soul and senses,<br /> World without end, are drowned.<br /> <br />His folly has not fellow<br /> Beneath the blue of day<br />That gives to man or woman<br /> His heart and soul away.<br /> <br />There flowers no balm to sain him<br /> From east of earth to west<br />That's lost for everlasting<br /> The heart out of his breast.<br /> <br />Here by the labouring highway<br /> With empty hands I stroll:<br />Sea-deep, till doomsday morning,<br /> Lie lost my heart and soul</i><br /><br />Do you not find that lovely?Fletch's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16402507296202065300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-32522381968211862932010-10-07T01:28:50.310-07:002010-10-07T01:28:50.310-07:00Really? I don't see houseman mawkish at all. ...Really? I don't see houseman mawkish at all. I see him as being a dark orb of profound sincerity who moves the mid-night tides like a blanket over the ill of spirit. He was a romantic in an increasingly un-romantic age.Fletch's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16402507296202065300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-44852478358079952252010-10-07T01:25:36.945-07:002010-10-07T01:25:36.945-07:00Thanks for the link. :-)Thanks for the link. :-)Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-60081322158653276432010-10-07T01:25:12.268-07:002010-10-07T01:25:12.268-07:00For me Houseman is a bit like the curate's fam...For me Houseman is a bit like the curate's famous egg - good in parts! I have to say that I find a lot of his poems overly sentimental and a tad too mawkish for my taste.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-156709948859425652010-10-07T01:09:13.394-07:002010-10-07T01:09:13.394-07:00http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfZPNQPNw-U
Anothe...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfZPNQPNw-U<br /><br />Another local connection. I visited the semi-attached 'umble abode where Sid Barret died of complications from insanity.Fletch's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16402507296202065300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-73333164676660611402010-10-07T01:03:33.196-07:002010-10-07T01:03:33.196-07:00He truly is a fine poet. It is a shame he's n...He truly is a fine poet. It is a shame he's not given the recognition by many which he ought naturally be afforded. Though of course the finest poet of the early 20th century(though he was already in his final years by then) was Houseman.Fletch's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16402507296202065300noreply@blogger.com