Your Childish Self

Ted Hughes' beautiful letter to son Nicholas in 1986 has made the rounds but it is much on the mind here today.

"...Everybody tries to protect this vulnerable two three four five six seven eight year old inside, and to acquire skills and aptitudes for dealing with the situations that threaten to overwhelm it. So everybody develops a whole armour of secondary self, the artificially constructed being that deals with the outer world, and the crush of circumstances. And when we meet people this is what we usually meet. And if this is the only part of them we meet we're likely to get a rough time, and to end up making 'no contact'. But when you develop a strong divining sense for the child behind that armour, and you make your dealings and negotiations only with that child, you find that everybody becomes, in a way, like your own child. It's an intangible thing. But they too sense when that is what you are appealing to, and they respond with an impulse of real life, you get a little flash of the essential person, which is the child." 

Please read the entire letter at Letters of Note.

ciao/xo

(photograph by Pelayo Lacazette)

Haiku Cat Master Cat Food Breath

Such a large tummy/ I can't wash it all at once/ A squeegee would help. -- Cat Food Breath

The funniest cat on Twitter now has a website. That's right: Cat Food Breath is now entertaining supplicants at more than 140 characters. Those of you who resist Twitter & Facebook can partake of the wit & wisdom of a 17-pound Siamese with a sushi habit. CFB stays au courant, as well, so #OccupytheCouch is now part of the Twitterverse.

CFB brightens our day with pithy one-liners, haiku (original & um, reworked), & philosophical asides, even fashion advice (accessorize with cat fur. It's gonna happen anyway). Not a day goes by without a laugh-out-loud moment. Or several. This is not a one-sided affair either; CFB will gladly converse with you & set you straight as to who is the boss. Be sure to use the word 'cute' in any reference to CFB, it will smooth the way. Here is a funny interview that CFB gave to the lovely author of paper bag & string (& of the website Careers For Your Cat, more about which soon).

What follows are some original haiku by the master. Read in bemused tone as if to an oaf. Used by permission.

Has your cat been fed?/ Don't let the bowl stay empty/ Kitty needs food now.

Are you wearing black? / Accessorize with cat fur/ You will look stunning.

Quit hogging the bed/ You are always on my side/ I need more pillows.

Where's my crunchy food? / My bowl seems to be empty/ Fill it now or else.

ciao-giggle-meow/GGCM

(photograph with kind courtesy of CFB)

National Book Festival 2010

It's that time of year again--the National Book Festival is Saturday, 25 September 2010. Giulia is pitching a hissy again because...she can. And because there is no way she's going this year & she has been told early & often. (She just voted for her favorite author, though, here.)

We are very disappointed in the mysterious disappearing poetry section of the festival. Read here for poet Bernadette Geyer's analysis. We agree heartily & wonder what poets are going to do about it? Huh? Put up your dukes & fight, people. (Not literally.) 2010 festival poster artist, Peter Ferguson

ciao-cheesed-off-meow/GG's literary editor

Chile - País de poetas

Isla Negra: Neruda's house Bell.. , originally uploaded by B'Rob.

Mexican peasant, our homeland, Ameríca, has magnificent mountains,/rivers, deserts and mines rich in minerals. Yet the inhabitants of this/generous land live in great poverty. What then should be the poet’s duty?”- Pablo Neruda

We hope that you will help this wonderful country & its people in whatever way you can. Here is a list of highly-rated humanitarian organizations working in Chile via Charity Navigator. Here is the Chilean Embassy's link with additional information. We know it is easy to become fatigued by so much bad news, but a small donation goes a long way--just make sure it goes to an organization that uses money wisely. Here is a link about Chilean poets.

ciao-subdued-meow/GG & her editor

Dylan & Sylvia

Update: Illness continues, along with non-negotiable errands out in the rain. Not promising. Therefore, a little birthday repeat from the archives.(GG is not acting up at the moment -- as she was this day last year -- but she'll make up for it, no doubt.)

*********************

No, we're not morbid. Why do you ask? Because anyone who posts anything about Sylvia Plath must be: 1) morbid; 2) full of teen-age angst; 3) fill in the blank? Nah. We just like a lot of her work. We do wish that acolytes who seem to have read only The Bell Jar, Lady Lazarus, & Daddy would, uh, read more. And for heaven's sake, quit going on about Ted Hughes; read his poetry, too. Today, is also the natal day of the greatest Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.

GG is acting up, again. We throw up our hands. There is much interesting news, recipes, fashion, literary tales, newly-discovered blogs to mention. But no time. So here's a recipe for Welsh rarebit (not rabbit!) from the Joy of Cooking. (The cookbook was very important to Plath.) Additionally, here are two poems from each troubled, but honored, poet.

Cheers,
GG's poetry editor

[illustration via Vintage Holiday Crafts]

Elizabeth Alexander, the Inaugural Poet

We're thrilled for Elizabeth Alexander (who grew up in Washington, DC). She said the other day that the poem is basically finished. Go here for details & to read poems. Pardon us while we commence festivities, including Maria Caterina di Perugia's natal day celebration (today!) GG is miffed that she's not coming with us (but we don't know where/what yet) & it's simply too icy cold out to take her with us. (Photo Elizabeth Alexander/website.)

xo, GG's editor

Poets & Their Places

Poets & Writers Magazine did a feature last year on writer's spaces. These are two of the photos featured. The first is Amy Groshek's space in Madison, Wisconsin; the second is Carmen Iriondo's in Buenos Aires. Maybe it's good that we don't have a working camera...we might be tempted. Hmmm. Nope.

The Importance of Place: Where Writers Write and Why by Alexandra Enders in last February's (2008) issue is nicely done.

xoxo,

GG's editor

Dylan & Sylvia

No, we're not morbid. Why do you ask? Because anyone who posts anything about Sylvia Plath must be: 1) morbid; 2) full of teen-age angst; 3) fill in the blank? Nah. We just like a lot of her work. We do wish that acolytes who seem to have read only The Bell Jar, Lady Lazarus, & Daddy would, uh, read more. And for heaven's sake, quit going on about Ted Hughes; read his poetry, too. Today, is also the natal day of the greatest Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.

We're very busy, still no fast Internet, no camera; the illustration is in the public domain. Both Plath & Thomas families/biographers/industries are notoriously litigious. Honestly, a little cat blog is paranoid? You betcha.

GG is acting up, again. We throw up our hands. There is much interesting news, recipes, fashion, literary tales, newly-discovered blogs to mention. But no time. So here's a recipe for Welsh rarebit (not rabbit!) from the Joy of Cooking. (The cookbook was very important to Plath.) Additionally, here are two poems from each troubled, but honored, poet. Also, a new-to-us site maintained by a Plath biographer; it's intro: "A celebration, this is..." It's about time. (We cannot vouch for the biography, as we have not read it yet.)

Cheers,
GG's editor

The Bay of Noon

GG Central had to scan a personal copy of Shirley Hazzard's The Bay of Noon for a half-way decent image. Grrr. It must be the third copy we've had in our library over many years. If you've not read her, you simply must. Don't forget The Transit of Venus, Greene on Capri, & The Great Fire. There isn't a living soul writing better English prose than Hazzard. Here is the epigraph for The Bay of Noon, which we've loved forever. (Naples & the Mezzogiorno--an obsession, for over 25 years. We first visited at age, um, 10 years.)

To bless this region, its vendages, and those
Who call it home: though one cannot always
Remember exactly why one has been happy,
There is no forgetting that one was.

W.H. Auden, Good-bye to the Mezzogiorno

baci, bisou, ciao-meow...see you next week.
xoxo, GG

Palestinian Poet Mahmoud Darwish - RIP

We are so sorry...and sorrier still that we could not see eye-to-eye on matters political, quite often, especially of late. Still, he was a poet of immense talent & courage; he took his duty to his fellow exiles very seriously. No poetry about or connected to Palestine & Israel--especially with regard to Jerusalem & the Galilee (where he was born)--can be discussed without Darwish's profound contribution. Below is the statement on his website today. More as the funeral approaches; he will be buried in Ramallah. Ha'aretz newspaper has published an obituary that can be accessed here. Poet Carolyn Forché's anthology Against Forgetting: Twentieth Century Poetry of Witness included Darwish in the War in the Middle East section, along with Adonis, Amichai, & others.

Mahmoud Darwish…

in the presence of Absence

Mahmoud Darwish has quietly left us on Saturday 9 August 2008 after 67 years of a life jumping from one peak to another, rising higher every time, transcending his own successes. He was a beautiful human being, able to see what no one else can see: in life, politics, and even people, expressing his visions in a language that seems to be made only for him to write with. When he decided to take on this difficult surgery we thought that he can beat death, like he did several times before… but he, it seems, with his prophetic insight, could clearly see his “ghost coming from afar”.

He wanted to surprise death rather than wait for the “time bomb” that was his artery to explode unannounced… he went prepared, as he always is, leaving us behind to “nurture hope”.

Happy Birthday, Reetika

RGV & GG's editor shared a fondness for small luxuries such as Chanel lipstick and hoped someday that their fashion tastes could be indulged a bit (OK, a lot!) more than reading Vogue. The notion of internet fashion (especially vintage fashion) videos was entertaining, as were style & fashion blogs. Neither of us had the tech upgrades to view any streaming video in 2003, though we did look at some style & fashion sites. We agreed: not enough time for work, friends, & personal maintenance, let alone much surfing. However, it was an entertaining idea & she encouraged GG's editor to start a blog. That has not happened but will soon. Preparation is ongoing for a petit début–most likely in early September. (Read a poem here.)

Wings of Desire

Before Sen. Obama's visit to Berlin, Giulia & her editor thought about the many references to Wim Wender's film Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin) in the offing. WOD is one of the few films we own. Many people seem to forget about the Rilke connection to the film; we will post soon on that subject. [For our French friends, see Les ailes du désir]

Poetry is like bread, poesia es paz

Happy belated birthday [12 July] to Pablo Neruda!

xoxo,

Giulia G.

Remembering Reetika Vazirani, 1962-2003

Today is the fifth anniversary of Reetika's death. She was a lovely, gracious person, and a marvellous poet, too. Here is a link to a web chapbook of Reetika's poetry.

Everyone who knew her misses her very much. It is difficult to believe that it has been five years. Condolences to her mother & her entire family.