I love that you're keeping these myths alive and giving them fresh voice, James. When are you publishing your poetic retelling of the Arthurian myths? I'll place my pre-order now. :)
Also I loved "blood-scumbled"...I've been experimenting with these kinds of unique compound adjectives in my own work, they're fun to find and use!
Hahah appreciated, Thomas, but that's a mountain far too daunting! (Besides, Malcolm Guite is rolling right along with this; hopefully the first part comes out next year.)
Here's my slightly philosophical take on descriptors like that: playing it fast and loose with grammar has been the realm of bad marketing for decades. They're going to do it anyway, AP Style Manual or no, so what about poets? Why don't we tweak the rules for good every once in awhile? If I have to read nonsense like "Make your delicious better", then there should be writing out there to balance things out somewhat.
My thoughts on Arthur almost exactly. Whatever, whoever, myth or man, he calls to (some of) us, and there's more than the Christianized king of chivalry behind the stories, something older and darker and belonging to the land.
I’m very glad my perspective doesn’t sound so crazy then. :) I can’t say I much understand the association between myth and the land, but oh boy, that connection certainly exists.
Thank you for starting my day off with beauty. The poem is amazing! There are descriptive passages that made my head rise several inches off my neck. This was one, "Through the mist
Comes a crimson captain, plastered In filth from foot to face, his jaw Blood-scumbled and bearing a smile."
I read THE ONCE & FUTURE KING by T.H. White when I was 12 and it affected my whole life. The book is White's enchanted and philosophical retelling of the Arthurian legend. One of the great takeaways from the book is Arthur's saying, "Might doesn't make right. Might should be used to do right." Through the years, I've read Malory, Tennyson, Howard Pye, Roger Lanceyln Green and, more recently - and wonderfully - ARTHUR THE ALWAYS KING by Kevin Crossley-Holland with mind boggling illustrations by Chris Riddell.
Thanks again, for the evocative poem and putting my role model,Arthur into my mind this morning. Oops! One more thing, "Camelot," (which I saw on Broadway with the original. cast), is my favorite musical.
Ahh, those are classics, Sandy! The Once & Future King is just excellent. I haven't come across "Arthur the Always King" but thanks for mentioning it, I'll check it out. Thanks so much for reading, and I'm glad you're a fellow an Arthur fan. :)
Really glad you liked it, Hasse. It doesn't really get any clearer, the further down you go! I can only imagine what it would be like if we hadn't lost so much over the years.
Always impressed by the consonance/assonance you manage in your poems. This was a fun read, and even more so once you dipped our toes into the legend a bit to really give it depth.
Thanks a ton, Brit, I really appreciate that. It really feels to me like Welsh Artur is one of our big unsolved mysteries; looking more deeply into it only brings up more questions. (Fun and fascinating questions, sure, but very few answers!)
Admittedly I’m much more familiar with the more popular English versions and haven’t delved into the older Welsh tales. You’ve peaked my interest! Any recommendations for books you’ve been enjoying on this exploration?
For one single book that’s most respectful to source material, “Arthur in Early Welsh Poetry” is in my opinion the best of the bunch. It's a compilation that walks readers through the salient passages of the remaining stories, but also provides context to understand what’s being mentioned. …To the extent possible, anyway. Still one big ol’ mystery. :)
After seeing what the stories are, this is a good one to glean a few more insights: “The Arthur of the Welsh: The Arthurian Legend in Medieval Welsh Literature”, edited by Rachel Bromwich and a few others. These are a collection of essays written by Welsh Artur scholars that I thought were pretty fascinating, although some ideas must be taken with a grain of salt.
I love that you're keeping these myths alive and giving them fresh voice, James. When are you publishing your poetic retelling of the Arthurian myths? I'll place my pre-order now. :)
Also I loved "blood-scumbled"...I've been experimenting with these kinds of unique compound adjectives in my own work, they're fun to find and use!
Hahah appreciated, Thomas, but that's a mountain far too daunting! (Besides, Malcolm Guite is rolling right along with this; hopefully the first part comes out next year.)
Here's my slightly philosophical take on descriptors like that: playing it fast and loose with grammar has been the realm of bad marketing for decades. They're going to do it anyway, AP Style Manual or no, so what about poets? Why don't we tweak the rules for good every once in awhile? If I have to read nonsense like "Make your delicious better", then there should be writing out there to balance things out somewhat.
My thoughts on Arthur almost exactly. Whatever, whoever, myth or man, he calls to (some of) us, and there's more than the Christianized king of chivalry behind the stories, something older and darker and belonging to the land.
I’m very glad my perspective doesn’t sound so crazy then. :) I can’t say I much understand the association between myth and the land, but oh boy, that connection certainly exists.
Not sure it's something to be understood intellectually.
Thank you for starting my day off with beauty. The poem is amazing! There are descriptive passages that made my head rise several inches off my neck. This was one, "Through the mist
Comes a crimson captain, plastered In filth from foot to face, his jaw Blood-scumbled and bearing a smile."
I read THE ONCE & FUTURE KING by T.H. White when I was 12 and it affected my whole life. The book is White's enchanted and philosophical retelling of the Arthurian legend. One of the great takeaways from the book is Arthur's saying, "Might doesn't make right. Might should be used to do right." Through the years, I've read Malory, Tennyson, Howard Pye, Roger Lanceyln Green and, more recently - and wonderfully - ARTHUR THE ALWAYS KING by Kevin Crossley-Holland with mind boggling illustrations by Chris Riddell.
Thanks again, for the evocative poem and putting my role model,Arthur into my mind this morning. Oops! One more thing, "Camelot," (which I saw on Broadway with the original. cast), is my favorite musical.
Ahh, those are classics, Sandy! The Once & Future King is just excellent. I haven't come across "Arthur the Always King" but thanks for mentioning it, I'll check it out. Thanks so much for reading, and I'm glad you're a fellow an Arthur fan. :)
This felt like ghosts of the past reaching out to us.
I am very ignorant about that Welsh Artur. It was a plessure to get to dip my toes a bit in those strange and foggy waters...
Really glad you liked it, Hasse. It doesn't really get any clearer, the further down you go! I can only imagine what it would be like if we hadn't lost so much over the years.
Always impressed by the consonance/assonance you manage in your poems. This was a fun read, and even more so once you dipped our toes into the legend a bit to really give it depth.
Thanks a ton, Brit, I really appreciate that. It really feels to me like Welsh Artur is one of our big unsolved mysteries; looking more deeply into it only brings up more questions. (Fun and fascinating questions, sure, but very few answers!)
Admittedly I’m much more familiar with the more popular English versions and haven’t delved into the older Welsh tales. You’ve peaked my interest! Any recommendations for books you’ve been enjoying on this exploration?
Yeah, there are two I'd really recommend:
For one single book that’s most respectful to source material, “Arthur in Early Welsh Poetry” is in my opinion the best of the bunch. It's a compilation that walks readers through the salient passages of the remaining stories, but also provides context to understand what’s being mentioned. …To the extent possible, anyway. Still one big ol’ mystery. :)
After seeing what the stories are, this is a good one to glean a few more insights: “The Arthur of the Welsh: The Arthurian Legend in Medieval Welsh Literature”, edited by Rachel Bromwich and a few others. These are a collection of essays written by Welsh Artur scholars that I thought were pretty fascinating, although some ideas must be taken with a grain of salt.
I loved the reading, and the layered sound effects.
Thanks, Joffre! I'm far from a sound design expert, but, well, anything to prevent the AI voices from taking over I suppose.