Poem of the week is Psalm 22. It is our small concession to Easter.

Poem of the Week: 3/16/08-3/22/08

There are two parts to a great poem. The first is a compelling imagery that should draw you in even before you can quite figure out what it is all about. The second is skillful allusions that bring a whole world of thought to life with a few sparse lines.

The Consolations by Adam Kirsch falls a little short when it comes to the department of compelling imagery. But it makes up for this deficiency by working hard on the department of skillful allusions. On the balance, it does not quite rise to the heights of a truly great poem, but as mediation on America’s current economic problems it has no poetic peer as of yet.

Unfortunately, if you don’t get any of the illusions, this poem can be dismissed out hand. So we recommend that you read up on Boethius before you read this poem (Catholic Encyclopedia and Wikipedia both have good short biographical pieces on him). If you really have time, it would not hurt to read a translation of Boethius’s The Consolation of Philosophy.

But if you have not the time for that, at least read the three places that Adam Kirsch draws direct quotes from. Here is a translation of the song that quote that heads the first section Mr. Kirsch’s poem comes from. Here is a translation of the song that the quote that heads the second section of Mr. Kirsch’s poem comes from. And here is a translation of the song that the quote that heads the last section comes from.

Andrew’s poem Shakes the Place is this week’s poem of the week.

This week’s poem of the week is THE WRECK OF THE HESPERUS by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This is partially because the poem fits the mood of the week. But also because the pictures that go with the poem are cool. They knew how to draw back in those days.

This week’s poem of the week is a lament for a fallen culture

This week’s essay of the week calls to mind this bit of poetry from The Modern Traveller by Hilaire Belloc. I have to admit that I find it impossible to separate the irony implicit in the Modern Traveller from Belloc’s debates with H. G. Wells.

Mr. Dueck has a new poem up. Not his best ever, but we like to encourage new work.

Today I made some attempt at cleaning up, my constant struggle, and found a lot of clippings I had meant to comment on. It seems only fitting to start with the review I ripped out of The Economist (January 6th, 2007). The book under the microscope is called A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Click Here to continue reading.

Since it is going on 15 million views, most people have probably already seen this clip of a sad little bird. If you listen carefully, you can here the thud at the end.

This week’s essay of the week brought to mind A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London by Dylan Thomas. Most people see this poem as a heroic defiance of the Nazi regime. But I see the refusal to “murder the mankind of her going with a grave truth” to be the essence of why Europe is sick and dying.

In other words, the logic that seems to govern Europe is the logic that says “After the first death, there is no other” and consequently cannot bring itself to care about anything except the certainty that can be made in this life.