17 ago 2005

"It is the profound and beautiful
femininity of the earth
that is always under man attack."

---Clayton Eshleman.

Ok, it's a cheap trick to pull a few bad lines off Silliman's blog and quote them out of context. I admire Eshleman as a translator a great deal. Especially his stupendous versions of Vallejo. But these lines are a deal breaker. I think they are worse than my best (worst) attempt at deliberately bad poetry, "The Dreams of my Youth." At least that was ironic. You just can't say "profound and beautiful." It isn't allowed. And surely the earth is just as much masculine as it is feminine.

6 comentarios:

Jess Mynes dijo...

Right on Jonathan, right on.

Anthony Robinson dijo...

I agree Jonathan, but per Kasey's recent instruction, I think you really meant to say "You can't just say 'profound and beautiful,'" because, well, you know, you CAN say that. Eshleman did, dig?

Jonathan dijo...

I actually had it that way and changed it back again, thinking that I was following "Kasey's Rule." The more I think about it, the more confused I get about the difference.

Anthony Robinson dijo...

"just can't" means it's impossible.

"can't just" means that you find it distasteful.

John dijo...

Your post is profound and beautiful. And yet it can't just be profound and beautiful -- *we demand something more*.

Jess Mynes dijo...

The right on was more meant for, "the earth is just as much masculine as it is feminine." Just to clarify.