by phillipw | Jul 20, 2020 | AC, BO, BR, CA, CR, GA, HA, HE, KA, MA, NE, PA, PR, SA
Troy in New Orleans, Manhattan, or London Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem So I found “Helen” sitting in a streetcar; the Dionysian revels of her court were transferred to a Metropolitan roof garden...
by phillipw | Jul 16, 2020 | GR, MI, MY, OR, PR
Some Myths are Far More Real “Orpheus is a hero, not a god, and a hero more valuable than most gods, just as Prometheus was.” ~ Michael Schmidt, The First Poets, 21 The gods are less than Orpheus of Thrace. Gods loomed up large but they were never real. Majestic for a...
by phillipw | Jul 14, 2020 | AN, AP, DE, GR, PR
Ruined Myth and Heavy Reality Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The pillars look more like some backbones stripped Of skin and muscle than Apollo’s space In Delphi and are squat and stodgy, chipped And...
by phillipw | Jul 7, 2020 | AN, PO, PR, RH
Heroes, Victims, and Poseidon The metre of ancient Greek poetry succeeds in “achieving a length and complexity that are unusual in the heroic verse of other literatures.” ~ Michael Grant, The Rise of the Greeks, 325, as quoted in Michael Schmidt, The First Poets, 16....
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 | Jul 5, 2020 | OD, PO, PR
A Sacred Prize Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse Gods used to care about men’s singing love And poetry. A victory in song Made up of music and male words above The rest in contests was akin to strong Success in battle. ...
