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From the Arthurian Lit Readings: “Sir Palomydes’ Quest” by William Morris
Arthuriana and the Matter of Britain influenced centuries of writers and artists, but many think of the Arts & Crafts movement and Pre-Raphaelites when it comes to the visuals. Few know, however, that William Morris himself was more than a painter–in fact, he was also a fantasy writer and poet (among many other things). During my graduate research, I came upon his poem “The Defense of Guinevere” and, ultimately, more of his Arthurian poetry work. Sir Palomydes has always been one of my favorites, the prince from the Middle East sent to Arthur’s court as a paragon of chivalry–who falls in love with Iseult but never gets her (thanks,…
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All I have is a voice
All I have is a voice To undo the folded lie, The romantic lie in the brain Of the sensual man-in-the-street And the lie of Authority Whose buildings grope the sky: There is no such thing as the State And no one exists alone; Hunger allows no choice To the citizen or the police; We must love one another or die. W.H. Auden September 1, 1939 (1939)
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October and Pomegranates
I am thinking of my dear Aunt C a great deal today. I wrote two poems about the pomegranates that grow at her house, and I'm sharing them while I ruminate on the beauty, and darkness, that we find in October, that most brilliant of months.
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“You speak of Lord Byron and me…”
“You speak of Lord Byron and me; there is this great difference between us. He describes what he sees, I describe what I imagine. Mine is the hardest task.” — John Keats to his brother George, 1819. For more on the issue, there’s a bit here.
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blog, editing, fantasy, fiction, nanowrimo, pilgrim of the sky, poetry, watcher of the skies, WIP, writing
Watcher of the Skies and Thoughts on NaNoWriMo
So, my last post really did make it sound like I wasn’t doing NaNoWriMo, mostly likely. And apparently that’s the thing that got me going. Or something. I’m not going to try and explain it in too much details, but it goes something like this. I screwed up my back. I had to take medicine. I found out my kid does, in fact, have Asperger’s. My brain was mushy, I was in need of escape in the form of writing therapy that wasn’t going to require much editing (see: medicine), and my best friend Karen started talking to me about Joss Raddick. Readers of Pilgrim of the Sky know Mr.…
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Thursday poetry, 5/7 “Delight and the Word”
To keep my brain nimble and, um, creative, I’ve decided to start a Thursday poetry tradition here. I can’t promise the poetry will be awesome, or inspiring, or even good. But once upon a time I fancied myself a bit of a bard. So, here goes. Delight and the Word Delight and the Word met in a fever dance under the shadow of the ship’s mainsail– the creak of weathered wood and the hum of the engines played counterpoint. When the Word’s mouth opened, all was softness and breath, the hushed moist maw of the Beginning and End. But Delight was wilder and her hands were fleur de sel; her…
