One Drop of Wine: And in the Hanging Gardens, by Conrad Aiken
td Whittle
Posted on January 24th, 2012
And in the hanging gardens there is rain
From midnight until one, striking the leaves
And bells of flowers, and stroking boles of planes,
And drawing slow arpeggios over pools,
And stretching strings of sound from eaves to ferns.
The princess reads. The knave of diamonds sleeps.
The king is drunk, and flings a golden goblet
Down from the turret window (curtained with rain)
Into the lilacs.
Marie Spartali Stillman, Beatrice (1895) The Samuel & Mary R. Bancroft Collection of Pre-Raphaelite Art at the Delaware Art Museum
Tagged: And in the Hanging Gardens, Beatrice, Blue Voyage, Bonaventure Cemetery, Conrad Aiken, F.W. Burton, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, John Everett Millais, Marie Spartali Stillman, poetry, The Knight Errant, The Meeting on the Turret Stairs
One Drop of Wine: our poetry appreciation series
td Whittle
Posted on January 23rd, 2012
This week, we are beginning a new series called One Drop of Wine, featuring our favourite poets and poems. We will add to the series randomly, as we discover or remember poems we wish to include. Sometimes, we will share a few interesting facts about the poet but, if the poet is modern and still widely read today, we will skip the fact-sharing and simply post the poem on its own. The choices we make will be based purely on our belief in the aesthetic value of the poetry itself, rather than on any social, political, or other “extra-poetic” (as Harold Bloom would say) factors. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do, and we welcome your comments.
Tagged: poetry, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, The Favourite Poet
January 2012
Sandra Peterson Ramirez
Posted on January 22nd, 2012
I’ve been spending the first month of the year watching my father die. He’s slipping away, slowly, bit by bit, the life dripping out of him. Drip. Drip. Drip. Mostly I sit and watch TV with him–Wheel of Fortune, televangelists, rodeos. He’s too weak and tired to talk much now, but even before we didn’t say much. And what is there to say to each other at this late date?
Come the Raw Prawn: a dozen of my favourite Australian colloquialisms
td Whittle
Posted on January 17th, 2012
There are several websites you can peruse, and books you can buy, to learn Australian slang. While these tend to vary in breadth, depth, and quality, most are certainly worth a quick squiz (i.e. a brief look). What keeps Aussie colloquialisms fresh and lively, to me, are not only the terms themselves, but also the way they are mixed and matched by various individuals and groups of people. Of course, as in any country, phrases and their usage will differ from region to region. When I visit some new place whilst travelling round the country, or when I attend a local dinner with a few fresh faces in the crowd, I carry a small notebook and pen in my handbag. This is because, even…
Winter Light
Sandra Peterson Ramirez
Posted on January 10th, 2012
13 Ways: Someone Like You
td Whittle
Posted on January 7th, 2012
“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” – Robert Frost Bonjour, Helen! It’s Grandmother Grace here. This is my first time to use this recording software. Your Grandfather set it up for me, and he tells me that it is superb, so I will trust his judgement on that. Your Mum tells me you are having the time of your life in Paris. Well, that does not surprise me at all. I loved Paris, too, as a young woman. I visit it still in my dreams sometimes. I like to imagine you listening to my voice from a cafe near the Seine, sipping warm milky coffee while the sun shines on your hair.
Tagged: fiction, short story