How the wind howls this mornAbout the end of May,And drives June on apaceTo mock the world forlornAnd the world-s joy passed awayAnd my unlonged-for face!The world-s joy passed away;For no more may I deemThat any folk are gladTo see the dawn of daySunder the tangled dreamWherein no grief they had.Ah, through the tangled dreamWhere… Read More The End Of May
“Speculation is perfectly all right, but if you stay there you’ve only founded a superstition. If you test it, you’ve started a science.” –Hal Clement – science fiction author (30 May 1922-2003) “Some things are too hard to believe, however entertaining they might be to hear or read.” “Human beings are prone to believe the… Read More Speculation
Il 29 maggio 1727, Pietro II Romanov (1715-1730) nipote di Pietro il Grande, divenne zar di Russia, alla morte della sua seconda moglie Caterina. (vedi qui: La lavandaia che divenne zarina)Purtroppo durante la sua infanzia Pietro era stato per lo più ignorato, e solo nell’ultimo periodo, quando divenne chiaro che sarebbe stato l’erede , non… Read More Il giovanissimo imperatore di Russia
Today, 28 May, is the anniversary of the birth of William Pitt the Younger, Britain’s youngest ever Prime Minister, who was born in 1759. At the age of 21, he was elected into Parliament and at the age of 24 he became the youngest Prime Minister of Great Britain. Later he was the first Prime… Read More Three-Bottle-Man 🍾🍾🍾
Henry Kissinger ~ born on 27 May 1923 “Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.” “Blessed are the people whose leaders can look destiny in the eye without flinching but also without attempting to play God.” “Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation.” “Il potere è il massimo afrodisiaco.” “Beate le… Read More Kissinger and Power
The second treatments of the Eloisa and Abelard story written by Australian poet Gwen Harwood and published in 1961 under the male pseudonym of Walter Lehmann is ‘Abelard to Eloisa.’ (The first was ‘Eloisa to Abelard’ : see here) Now it is Abelard ‘s turn to speak and he addresses passionate words of love and… Read More Gwen Harwood and Abelard (2)
Two treatments of the Eloisa and Abelard story were published in 1961 and the situation was used as a weapon in the gender war.The author was Australian poet and librettist Gwen Harwood who, writing under the assumed name of Walter Lehmann, managed to place two modernistic sonnets in a magazine The BulletinShe had already published… Read More Gwen Harwood and Eloisa (1)
🎶“Ah, but I was so much older then / I’m younger than that now” (1)🎶 Today Bob Dylan, singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, turns eighty “I consider myself a poet first and a musician second. I live like a poet and I’ll die like a poet.” (2)“Art is the perpetual motion of illusion. The highest… Read More Happy Birthday, Bob Dylan 🎉
Christina Rossetti took up the subject of Alexander Pope’s “Eloisa to Abelard“ in her poem “The Convent Threshold” (written in 1858) which might be seen as a disguised retelling of that story.The long poem is a monologue that follows a woman’s desire to rise above her sinful human existence, leaving earthly passion behind and transmuting… Read More Christina Rossetti and Eloisa
Chi si è accorto che ieri erail 21°giornodella 21a settimanadel 21° annodel 21° secolo? Buon sabato a tutti!
words and music and stories 