"We've seen it all go, and we'll watch it go again.
The great thing is to last and get your work done.
And see and hear and learn and understand; and write
when there is something that you know, and not before;
And not too damned much after. Let those who want to
save the world. If you can see it clear and as a whole, then
any part you make will represent the whole if it's made truly.
The thing is to work and learn to make it."
There's your quiz for today. It sums it all up for the writer, young and
old. Speaks to learning your craft and keeping your mouth
shut until you do.
We're off to Spain, Italy and Switzerland. That should serve as
a clue to the above quote. I concocted a pitcher of sangria last
night to get me in the spirit. Beaujalais, oranges, strawberry
juice. Strauss waltzes and salmon stuffed with goat cheese.
"The garbled moil of whatever it is," Bukwoski wrote on a
recorded album of his poetry he gave me in 1969.
From inside the garbled moil.
"If you're going through hell, keep walking."
Shakespeare, as quoted by Winston Churchhill.
adios. adieu. onward towards Madrid....tr
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10 comments:
Not going to spoil the fun for others - this is a tremendous book even if you're approaching the "tragedy not sport" from an anti- point of view. It's many years since I read it but the complex emotional impact has stayed with me, and the philosophical rumination reminded me of Thoreau at one end and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance at the other.
Thanks for the reminder, Tom and look out Italy...
Ahhh Tom , your acerbic wit never leaves me lacking for more. It is a dull knife that'll cut ya. Personally I like what Buk hammered onto the page with his admonition to never seek " anyone's " approval in one of his poems. A big clue was given. Of course Buk never gave quizzes. One for you to work with on the plane trip. A companion piece to your
" Who's Gonna Build Your Wall ".
" Who's Gonna Deliver The Goods "
The last time I checked, salmon were not running in the Rio Grande. As you know the gap is turning into a chasm. I am as apolitical as the next guy but . . . Hell , Frida Kahlo put it on the line. No artist possibly suffered more for art.
It's more like saving our own ass ( it's a global economy , man ). I know all you can really do is to change yourself. It was just an invitation to awareness. Romantic revolutionaries run when the bullets fly. Just drove out of the hell that is now Iowa yesterday morning.
It comes and goes and Janus has seen it all.
Onward to the next exit , there are many you know.
From the Holyyoke, CO. exit. Moiling on down the line.
I drive on . . . the hell with walking
-ST
Ah, dynawebb has it. the rest of you must put on an old record of paso dobles and maybe dip into some Garcia Lorca to find out where deep song might pull you....this book, we're seeking is a little archaic right up until that last chapter which bemoans and lists everything left out of the book... this last chapter explains why this writer changed the face and color of the modern English sentence. Mocked, now. Parodied. Not equaled.
No, not Bukowski....by a longshot.
Think of one of Frank Lloyd Wright's neighbors....TR
Since we're lifting the veil an inch at a time...
Every working day I remember the admonishment of this writer that the sole duty and obligation — the whole point — is to write a true sentence.
It's as simple and as hard as that. Really is.
TR . . . never implied Buk. That was another puzzle. My preferred summation. As for the other to add another inch to my favorite commenter. TR , I rememember your disappointment in his museum.
Lunching on camorones barrachos at Viva Zapatas in North Las Vegas across from The Pilot.
Better to die on your feet
then to live on your knees EZ
Another one from Buk . . . "you know where the battlefield is "
-ST 112 degrees in Vegas where you can now play
XXX bowling
Addendum . . .
I mentioned previously Tugenev's influence on this writer. So much more on this one. Regarding Lorca. He took the bullet. One of Cohen's favorite. Named his daughter after him. The brotherhood of words.
-ST
Jose Tomas, El Juli, Zotoluco, Manolete...those who go to the well and lean way over into the querencia. tr
Without naming the book, this comes in Chapter 20.
Another favorite passage by the author in question comes in the other "nonfiction" book, about Africa, in Chapter 8, that contains an uncharacteristically long but true sentence about the passage of time and the Gulf Stream...
The Price of a True Sentence
( In memory of Carlos' brother )
I saw Carlos off to the airport. He was dressed in black, mourning the death of his brother and was now returning to his native Mexico for the funeral. His brother, a newspaper journalist in Mexico was brutally beaten after an expose on corruption. He died weeks later at his parents home. Carlos is a friend and former work associate. He came to the U.S. not speaking a word of English. We worked together in a hellish business. He took classes. I sponsored him into management. He now runs the plant. Carlos and his wife are ones I could always trust without hesitation. His brother paid the highest price for the true sentence. Mexico is still at war with it's past.TR, that chapter you quoted is sacred text and Carlos' bother made it all the holier.
-ST Santa Ana, CA
Thanks for the story ST.
It's good to remember that there are places where telling the truth will get you killed — and that people will do it anyway, because they must.
That is the very definition of heroic.
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