tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post8515322819008553903..comments2024-02-05T00:16:13.698-05:00Comments on Banjo52: Rainer Maria Rilke, "Archaic Torso of Apollo," trans. Stephen MitchellBanjo52http://www.blogger.com/profile/04342397136888422440noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-46555315338213553642013-05-01T22:13:53.140-04:002013-05-01T22:13:53.140-04:00^ ^ ^
good one SA^ ^ ^<br />good one SAPasadena Adjacenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09031325790590238246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-4560970119500805092013-04-30T10:28:57.559-04:002013-04-30T10:28:57.559-04:00This was a very special one, to me at least (who u...This was a very special one, to me at least (who usually do not read much poetry - except for this blog ...). Try as I might, I found no better solution that your suggestion about reading the first and last lines only. That solved it.<br /><br />PS Thank you for the comment and E-mails! Much appreciated.Rune Eidehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01008247272056395901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-42396661842211783542013-04-30T09:33:27.555-04:002013-04-30T09:33:27.555-04:00I am so slow here...
The poem is full of imagery,...I am so slow here...<br /><br />The poem is full of imagery, from the first line to the last. You know, many of us will never read a poem again without making a sentence out of JUST the first and last lines!<br /><br />I first got sidetracked reading with the cadence of the italian sonnet. Once I gave that up, the poem was a lot more interesting. <br />Banjo, your interpretations and discussion points are always INTERESTING! It is like you add the music to the words? <br /><br />Eyes like ripening fruit - what does that denote? Bulging eyes or watery eyes or eyes that have been picked on by birds? Imagery rocks!<br /><br />Thanks, Banjo, for the poem (I only know Rilke from his books) and your photos. Lovely. Brenda's Arizonahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17880225110712592548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-45858946168861414022013-04-29T01:34:15.501-04:002013-04-29T01:34:15.501-04:00I wonder what Rilke, had he lived 8 years longer, ...I wonder what Rilke, had he lived 8 years longer, would have made of Rene Magritte's torsos, especially the one entitled "Rape."<br /><br />Personally, I've found it is not that "You must change your life," but it is that you must change how and what you think about (your) life.Stickup Artisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00028394186285973772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-13110446094873109422013-04-28T08:57:57.383-04:002013-04-28T08:57:57.383-04:00PA, life in hammock, gazing at mostly beautiful pa...PA, life in hammock, gazing at mostly beautiful pastoral objects vs. gazing at a headless statue that exudes light, sees all, dwarfs all . . . is that Rilke or you or me? Anyway, maybe it's a helluva question.<br /><br />I didn't know Alice Walker did that. Impressive. I think the subject of female beauty (and all physical beauty?) is fraught with problems, actual or potential--a hugely complicated issue. Banjo52https://www.blogger.com/profile/04342397136888422440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-7607761766370133982013-04-27T19:11:30.497-04:002013-04-27T19:11:30.497-04:00Glad you gave an interpretation. I read through it...Glad you gave an interpretation. I read through it with a "meh" attitude. Maybe because by the time I had come around to Rilke, he'd been relegated to the 60's boomer heap. Stained in a way that was not punk friendly (although I like Rumi). Waisting life in a hammock is more relatable to me.<br /><br />I also remember the writer Alice Walker, when handed a literary award with a female torso on it that had been designed by Robert Graham, she said "you keep it, I've been fighting against this my entire life"Pasadena Adjacenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09031325790590238246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-62100394926382784012013-04-26T18:16:22.480-04:002013-04-26T18:16:22.480-04:00Ken, I know many, many people felt that way about ...Ken, I know many, many people felt that way about Rilke in the 60s and 70s, but I don’t hear his name so much anymore. And when I do, it’s not spoken with the reverence it once was. Is that just my acquaintances, or has his halo faded lately? Your girl who got away—that’s a story I’d love to hear in more detail, but I bet you won’t share it here. Nor would I. Put it in an email if you care to. I’m interested. Banjo52https://www.blogger.com/profile/04342397136888422440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-71871983528588937112013-04-26T13:45:37.153-04:002013-04-26T13:45:37.153-04:00I had never been much for poetry, then there's...I had never been much for poetry, then there's Rilke. Always stops me cold, inspires me, takes me "there," like no other. Is it because he is mystical as they say? Timeless? Abstract yet soulful? I remember the first girl who gave me a book of his poetry. She got away. Ken Machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09100185198750536244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-72209548542686991592013-04-25T19:09:37.771-04:002013-04-25T19:09:37.771-04:00AH, I wouldn't argue against that--that it'...AH, I wouldn't argue against that--that it's about what art, not just a god, is and can do. The headless statue is, after all, art. <br /><br />More importantly, I bet you, Wordsmith (which came out "wormsmith"), can appreciate how long I've wanted to use "jejune" and not be preposterous in the process. It's a preposterous word and can never be used well, but my frolic with it here is at least accurate in the literal sense, I think. I wonder if any other word in English is so inherently pretentious and stupid. I wonder now about the potential for a jejune schmuck. <br />Banjo52https://www.blogger.com/profile/04342397136888422440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-45393656122867920072013-04-25T17:50:27.385-04:002013-04-25T17:50:27.385-04:00All my life, I've led the jejune cheers for Ri...All my life, I've led the jejune cheers for Rilke. In this regard, no one can out-jejunest me.<br /><br />Your interpretation, and most of all your associations, have never occurred to me before. Which makes them fascinating, and probably true.<br /><br />I've always taken this particular poem as how one feels a great work of art.<br /><br />And what language.<br /><br />Otherwise this stone would seem defaced beneath the translucent cascade of the shoulders and would not glisten like a wild beast's fur<br />would not, from all the borders of itself, burst like a star: for here there is no place that does not see you. <br /><br />This language takes you on the trajetory of firecracker -- it goes up up up, bursts, and then the sparks form a picture, fall and dissolve. <br /><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com