Tuesday, April 23, 2024

OBSCURE POET-WILFRED OWEN

 


WILFRED OWEN

Born March 18, 1893


One of the leading poets of the First World War


Influences- the bible, the Romantic poets, particularly William Wordsworth and John Yeats.


Verse was about the horrors of trench and gas warfare.


Killed in action  November 4, 1918 at age 25.


Regarded my many as the greatest poet of WWI. 



Anthem for Doomed Youth

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
      — Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
      Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells; 
      Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,—
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
      And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?
      Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
      The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

Monday, April 15, 2024

VEHICLE FOR CHANGE

Writing allows me a vehicle to express myself. I can create characters to my own liking. Our experiences shape our writing. 

It can guide us in directions that we may need to go. I imagine myself doing some things my characters do. I have on a few occasions been able to do things one of my characters have done. It has pushed me to tackle new challenges, something that I need once in a while. 

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

WORDS OF WISDOM

Learn as much by reading as by writing.


~John Dalberg-Acton, Historian (1834-1902)



Tuesday, April 09, 2024

WHITE HORSE TAVERN

 


This tavern first opened in 1880. It was a place where longshoreman came to to eat and drink. In the 1950s and 1960s it was a hangout for writers and artists. 

Some notable patrons were poet Dylan Thomas, James Baldwin, Norman Mailer, Delmore Schwartz, and beat writer Jack Kerouac.

Famous musicians who came here were Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, and Mary Travers (of Peter, Paul, and Mary folk trio). Other patrons were activist Jane Jacobs

White Horse is the second oldest bar in New York City. 


Monday, April 08, 2024

Wednesday, April 03, 2024

WORDS OF WISDOM

The most real dialogue is when I am alone, writing.


~Peter Handke, Novelist (b.1942)

IDEAS ARE FLOWING

I have been writing poetry, story outlines, commentaries, and prose. Just today, I began writing a play. All of this has been spontaneous. 

My best time with story ideas is when I wake up. The mind is clear from the cares of the previous day. Thus far, I have been busy putting these ideas into tangible writings.



Monday, April 01, 2024

NEW WORD

OENOPHILE  n.

A connoisseur of wines

WRITERS/POETS BORN IN APRIL

Hans Christian Andersen

Maya Angelou

Samuel Beckett

Charlotte Bronte

Tom Clancy

Annie Dillard

Louise Gluck-poet

Sue Grafton

Seamus Heaney-poet

Washington Irving

Henry James

Charles Johnson

Yusef Komunyakaa-poet

Harper Lee

Terry Pratchett

William Shakespeare

Booker T. Washington

William Wordsworth

WORDS OF WISDOM

  The best advice I ever got was that knowledge is power and to keep reading. ~David Bailey