Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
Novalis' Notion
From the introduction of a book of fairy tales by Hermann Hesse:
"If there ever was a creed that he devoutly followed, it was the German romantic Novalis's notion that 'Mensch werden ist eine Kunst' -- to become a human being is art. For Hesse, art -- the ultimate self-fulfillment -- meant connecting with a profound, essential feeling associated with 'home.' But his home was not the home of his parents. Home was something intangible that was linked to aesthetic intuition and nurturing maternalism but was unique to each individual. It was both a return and a moving forward at the same time, and it could be attained only through art, through the artful formation of the self."
"If there ever was a creed that he devoutly followed, it was the German romantic Novalis's notion that 'Mensch werden ist eine Kunst' -- to become a human being is art. For Hesse, art -- the ultimate self-fulfillment -- meant connecting with a profound, essential feeling associated with 'home.' But his home was not the home of his parents. Home was something intangible that was linked to aesthetic intuition and nurturing maternalism but was unique to each individual. It was both a return and a moving forward at the same time, and it could be attained only through art, through the artful formation of the self."
Sunday, July 22, 2012
The Grasp of Your Hand
The Grasp
Of Your Hand
by Rabindranath Tagore
Let me
not pray to be sheltered from dangers,
but to be
fearless in facing them.
Let me
not beg for the stilling of my pain, but
for the heart
to conquer it.
Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved,
but hope for
the patience to win my freedom.
Grant me that I may not be a coward, feeling
Your mercy in
my success alone; but let me find
the grasp of
Your hand in my failure.
Friday, July 13, 2012
With a Bird in Your Palm
From Elytis, The Eternal Wager
1
That one day you will bite into the new lemon
and release
huge amounts of sun from it.
2
That all currents of the seas
suddenly illumined will reveal you
raising the tempest to the ethical level.
3
That even in death you will again
be like water in the sun
turning chill by instinct.
4
That you will be catechized by the birds
and a foliage of words will clothe you
in Greek so you will seem invincible.
5
That a water drop will culminate
imperceptibly on your eyelashes
beyond the pain and way after the tear.
6
That all the worlds' unsympathy will turn to stone
on which you can sit like a prince
with a docile bird in your palm.
7
That alone at last you will harmonize
slowly with the grandeur
of sunrise and sunset.
1
That one day you will bite into the new lemon
and release
huge amounts of sun from it.
2
That all currents of the seas
suddenly illumined will reveal you
raising the tempest to the ethical level.
3
That even in death you will again
be like water in the sun
turning chill by instinct.
4
That you will be catechized by the birds
and a foliage of words will clothe you
in Greek so you will seem invincible.
5
That a water drop will culminate
imperceptibly on your eyelashes
beyond the pain and way after the tear.
6
That all the worlds' unsympathy will turn to stone
on which you can sit like a prince
with a docile bird in your palm.
7
That alone at last you will harmonize
slowly with the grandeur
of sunrise and sunset.
Monday, July 2, 2012
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