by phillipw | Oct 24, 2020 | AN, EP, Ho, PA
Prime Poet “Again Sarpedon’s bright spear missed, the blade passing over Patroclus’ left shoulder, leaving the man unscathed. But Patroclus hurled his bronze, in turn, and the spear sped from his hand and not in vain, striking Sarpedon where the ribs...
by phillipw | Oct 21, 2020 | AN, EP, HE, Ho, IL, LO, PO, RO
He Lost, was Slaughtered, but Only He and She had Triumphed Prince Paris was the winner. Every day For years he woke up to his perfect love. He knew where perfect love and beauty lay Because she lay beside him. Far above All other beauty and above the race Of women,...
by phillipw | Jul 18, 2020 | EP, HE, MY, TR
The Poetic Kind of True Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem “The stories begin in kinds of truth. As events recede in time, they grow not smaller but larger in language. The ancestor who fought...
by phillipw | Jul 7, 2020 | AN, EP, IM
Ever Newly Old Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Each time that Homer spoke his epics, they Were new. His improvising made the old A new creation slightly. He could play With ready-made...
by phillipw | Jul 7, 2020 | AN, EP, PO, PR
Epicinian: Poetry Is a Victory if We Do Not Bastardize It “The continuous efforts of English poets in every generation to rediscover a ‘language really used by men’ would have been incomprehensible to a[n ancient] Greek.’” ~ Michael Schmidt, The First Poets, 15,...
by phillipw | Jun 19, 2020 | AN, EP, Ho, IL
Homeric Similes “These similes serve to take the reader away from the battlefield for a brief while, into the world of pre-war peace and plenty. Often, they occur at a moment of high action or emotion, especially during a battle. In the words of Peter Jones,...
