"Instead of the hand through which warm blood flows from the heart to the fingers holding my pen, they would have given me an excellent artificial hand -- the dialectic."
"I am concerned with the crimes that are being, and will continue to be, committed. Crimes in the name of the new and radiant man; crimes committed to the sound of orchestras and choruses, to the blare of loudspeakers and the recitation of optimistic poems." You are like him Eliza, in your deep commitment to word-art and poetry, and to the truth about the crimes being committed today trumpeted through the blare of loudspeakers.
Today, coupled with a devastating and unexpected personal loss, his words make me weep. Yours is the only email I could open today from someone I do not know, because you always have something worthwhile to say. Thank you for all you do, and for the introduction to this writer.
Thankyou, Eliza, for these excerpts. They reminded me of the importance of wide reading, and deep. A few special writers have stayed with me through the years. They have kept my life in balance, warding off the tendency to think the latest popular thoughts are the best. As for poetry, it is second only to religion for me. Sometimes first because it addresses the presence of mystery and transcendence. (Odd, but also ironic and-- for me-- sad, how that last word has become misunderstood and transformed, which you document quite effectively.)
One of my favourite compatriots. We studied his poetry at school, but I don’t know if many young people read The Captive Mind nowadays. I hope they do. They should.
Milosz's Chapter on Tadeusz Borowski (Beta) in "The Captive Mind" proved a real inspiration when I wrote a play based on Borowski's life in the early eighties, one that launched my writing career. More recently his "Visions from San Francisco Bay" contained an essay on adolescent love that illuminated a painful episode in my life. So I owe Milosz big time.
"I am concerned with the crimes that are being, and will continue to be, committed. Crimes in the name of the new and radiant man; crimes committed to the sound of orchestras and choruses, to the blare of loudspeakers and the recitation of optimistic poems." You are like him Eliza, in your deep commitment to word-art and poetry, and to the truth about the crimes being committed today trumpeted through the blare of loudspeakers.
Today, coupled with a devastating and unexpected personal loss, his words make me weep. Yours is the only email I could open today from someone I do not know, because you always have something worthwhile to say. Thank you for all you do, and for the introduction to this writer.
Thankyou, Eliza, for these excerpts. They reminded me of the importance of wide reading, and deep. A few special writers have stayed with me through the years. They have kept my life in balance, warding off the tendency to think the latest popular thoughts are the best. As for poetry, it is second only to religion for me. Sometimes first because it addresses the presence of mystery and transcendence. (Odd, but also ironic and-- for me-- sad, how that last word has become misunderstood and transformed, which you document quite effectively.)
One of my favourite compatriots. We studied his poetry at school, but I don’t know if many young people read The Captive Mind nowadays. I hope they do. They should.
Milosz's Chapter on Tadeusz Borowski (Beta) in "The Captive Mind" proved a real inspiration when I wrote a play based on Borowski's life in the early eighties, one that launched my writing career. More recently his "Visions from San Francisco Bay" contained an essay on adolescent love that illuminated a painful episode in my life. So I owe Milosz big time.
Wow. Thank you
Thanks for this. I hadn't thought about Milosz for a long time. I love reading the old ways of saying things, "men and women."
Ute Heggen, author, In the Curated Woods, True Tales from a Grass Widow