14 Comments

I do find it hard to feel a sense of wonder in contemporary poetry generally, possibly due to the more overtly realistic descriptions. But I recently read some of Margaret Atwood's poetry and enjoyed them. The key I think is that she transmutes quite a number of her poems into an almost mythical mode, and her imagery is vivid.

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This is a wonderful account of the role of compounds in Sanskrit literature. I wanted to make two suggestions for the interested student. Les Morgan's Croaking Frogs: A Guide to Sanskrit Metrics and Figures of Speech is the best resource on Sanskrit meter in English. It cover most of the major meters and also has an interesting metrical analysis of the Hathayogapradipika, a seminal text in Hatha Yoga. Also, I'd like to put in a plug for the online Sanskrit Library. It provides links to all of the important Sanskrit dictionaries in Latin, English, German, French and Sanskrit itself as well as a set of useful tools for parsing Sanskrit Grammar. Here is the link: https://sanskritlibrary.org

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Thanks Louis and for the recommendations!

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‘Howling snow-laughter’ transformed my experience of ‘Sodding snow-soddenness’ into something much more magical after Paris made its first attempt at winter weather this afternoon. Perfect timing Victoria! In old Norse and English poems, and I think in Gaelic, kennings likewise (tho more modestly) enlarge the scope for description by means of

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Thanks Andrew. Yes, it turned out to be a very appropriate day for this piece!

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Whoops ... by means of compounding/association.

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Hi Robert, I am finally on substack under the name above. This is Robert Girvan, The Outside Cat poetry from IG. I am following you here, and have just published my first poem on substack. I am looking forward to reading this. I have recently read all the Odes of Horace….

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Hello!! Beautiful essay, just absolutely loved reading it. Slight correction, the name of the metre mandākrāntā (मन्दाक्रन्ता). Meghadūta is beautiful poem, and your explanation did justice to it :)

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Thank you! And for catching the error. I've corrected it in the online version.

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Such a brightly gleaming essay that it made me laugh! It strikes me that part of poetry’s role is to articulate the allatonceness of language itself, as it carries word meanings and cultural histories along, as lightly as a cloud does its water droplets. And this reminds me of Rody Gorman, who writes in Irish and Scottish Gaelic and English, and recently published a translation of the medieval Irish text Buile Shuibhne, The Madness of Sweeney, subtitled An Intertonguing, where the three languages intersect. A random example: My curse on Sweeney, he-it loveshareoffencedestroyedme the hourtime he javelindashattacked my little clusterclockbell in a javelintroopspray frenzy.

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Thanks James! Love the bit of Gorman text. I’ve worked a bit (on the academic side) on early modern examples of macaronic and since my own household is bilingual I think quite a lot about the creativity / playfulness of language mixture.

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I am sorry Victoria, I just noticed your handle, "Horace & Friends," and assumed that Robert was writing about Horace! I had not read carefully, yet you still liked my rather off point post. That was decent of you. I read your essay above just now, and will read it again. I love these comparative essays as they obliquely and at times directly offer commentary on poetic practice today, whether by design, or natural consequence. A rich understanding of tradition, form, and the higher uses of language are not things we overburdened with today in much that is written, so what you have written is helpful on that basis alone. I look forward to reading more, and more carefully. Robert Girvan

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No problem Robert and thank you!

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In mentioning T. S. Eliot when looking at this Sanskrit poem I was thinking of The Wasteland compared to the image of Ravana tearing the mountain away from its foundation. It makes me think of how World War I tore apart the foundation of western civilization leaving civilization or anything civilized, practical or reasonable in waste thereby moving it in a different direction. I know it is just an image and might seem dubious but I can see or somehow feel where the modern seems reflected in the Ancient. I think Ancient sanskritic culture is hugely undervalued. So this poetry and accompany essay very exactly shows it's value. Thanks for a great post.

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