From English Lit.
—————–
Most of the poems here below I encountered as part of my education. And the exceptions; they should have been part of my education
Ozymandias: Apparently ‘Ozymandias’ was a Greek version of one of the names of the Egyptian pharaoh, Rameses the Great.
Kubla Khan: Coleridge read a few lines from a book and then fell into a drug assisted sleep which was disturbed by the vision that gave birth to this poem. Here’s the full story.
Tiger, Tiger: This is one of those poems that I got to read before I ever had a chance of understanding it. William Blake asks big questions.
La Belle Dame Sans Merci: This is believed to be the last poem that John Keats wrote before he died of consumption. Some say that this poems is about the disease itself and I guess that’s possible. No matter. However you read it, it’s haunting.
Sonnet 116: Even for Shakespeare, this is astonishing. The nature of real love all in a mere 14 lines
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun: Another Shakespeare sonnet that can be read a million times and still feels fresh.
Go And Catch A Falling Star: John Donne was ultimately disappointed in women. Here he asks us to go out into the world and witness miracles, then return if we can with news of the greatest miracle of all; a woman both true and fair.
From Beyond Albion’s Shore
—————–
Not so many people read the poetry from foreign cultures.
Pomegranate Laughter: This is one of the many poems by Jalaluddin Rumi, originally written in 13th century Farsi, which must necessarily lose something in translation. Nevertheless, Rumi’s poetry can transcend the limits of language at times. The translation here was done by myself and Judith Ryser.
20th Century
—————–
The zeitgeist imposes its own filter on poetry, as it does art. 20th century poetry has its own flavor.
And Death Shall Have No Dominion: Dylan Thomas wrote some poetry that hit me in a way that no other poetry ever did. This is one such poem.
The Hollow Men: T S Eliot hit me with this poem while I was still in my teens, changing my ideas about what poetry was.
Contemporary
—————–
The Cockerel: I spent hours talking to Peter about poetry and he was courageous enough to send me an exemplar of his work. This was it.
Weapons of Mass Destruction: This poem grabbed hold of a pen and wrote itself.
The Witches: Peter sent me this one day. It made me think of the threefold mystery of woman. Who are these witches?
Silence Please - STFU: This poem, which focuses on attempts to achieve silence, is a homage to Quentin Tarantino and the extraordinary contribution he has made to our culture - particularly his versatile use of idioms.
