Poetry

[erikred]

Jeanette Winterson features C.P. Cavafy's "The God Abandons Antony" in her Poem of the Month.

This is heartbreaking and so beautiful.

Comments

[mumbojumble.livejournal.com]

I agree. No one ever thinks about poor Antony. I also love Winterson; she's on my qualifying exam list (on metamorphosis in literature).

Rather perversely, I will now turn you away from literature and toward, well, this, just because you're a Joel Veitch fan. Blame my husband, not me. He saw it first.

Re:

[erikred.livejournal.com]

Wow. I hope they really used Joel to do this. It'd be a shame to be sued over wacky flash-ish animation. :)

[tinymammoth.livejournal.com]

Wow, Leonard Cohen has a song that comes from this poem, I didn't realize it wasn't original with him.

His take is very different, but similar in theme:
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/ALEXANDRA-LEAVING-lyrics-Leonard-Cohen/C566E1BE78AC832748256AF00029EB9B

Re:

[erikred.livejournal.com]

I came across the Leonard Cohen version while looking up the poem, and I, too, was surprised to find it.

You're right, his take is very different (loss of love vs. loss of fortune). It's interesting how the changing of a few letters can cause such a disparate meaning.

I love what I've heard of LC, but I haven't heard much of his music. Anything you'd care to recommend?

Re:

[tinymammoth.livejournal.com]

I love pretty much all the Leonard Cohen. "The Best of Leonard Cohen" has some of the best of the earlier work. "Ten New Songs" is his most recent, and more mature.

I've heard "Death of a Lady's Man" is weak, but aside from that it's hard to go wrong.