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Wednesday, August 31, 2005

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cover of Rossetti's Selected Poems (Bloomsbury edition)

Christina Rossetti's poetry (at least, as represented by those poems which are collected here) deals with the fairly familiar themes of death, love, nature, and faith. Early on in the book, I noticed several references to the vanity of life, as dwelt upon in the book of Ecclesiastes. Most of the poems are fairly short, and take up only one page or two (and these are not large pages), which makes them easier to take in and re-read. There are also a few longer poems, though, most notably "The Convent Threshold" and "Goblin Market". The last section of this book is a sonnet sequence based on the poetry of Dante and Petrarch, and is Rossetti's idea of what we might have if some the beloved and often unnamed ladies in poetry had been allowed to write poetry for themselves, rather than only appearing in the words of their lovers.

Some people say that you shouldn't read selected poetry, because you are at the mercy of the editor and their interpretation of the poet-- you can't see the whole picture. However, selected editions of poetry like this do have the benefit of being short enough that you can read them in a relatively brief time period, maybe in the space of a day or two, which seems like a good thing to me. I have lots of anthologies of poetry, huge collected works-- but they are too massive and intimidating to just pick up and read. And while I may not get the bigger picture of Rossetti's work, there is certainly much to enjoy here.

Rossetti lived from 1830-1894, and wrote during what we call the Victorian period, so her word choice and order might sound a little stilted or archaic to people who read only modern verse. But if you are able to get past that, there are some lovely poems and great ideas. Some of the poems about love are rather playful-- for instance, Rossetti's poetic version of the infamous "let's just be friends" line, where the final rhyme makes her refusal quite emphatic:

Here's friendship for you if you like; but love,--
No, thank you, John.

The longer poem "Goblin Market", which has quite a range of metrical variation, tells the story of two sisters, Lizzie and Laura, who are tempted by the forbidden fruits offered by Goblin sellers every evening. One of the sisters gives in and tastes the luscious fruit-- but afterwards, can no longer here the Goblin voices nad pines away for desire of the fruit. Finally her sister screws up her courage and goes to the Goblins to try to buy fruit for her dying sister-- the Goblins refuse, of course, but when they attempt to force the fruit down her throat, she lets them do so, and runs home with the streaming juices on her face to save her sister with her love. It may be intended as a morality tale about innocence and sisterly love, but the poem would be just as at home in a book of fairy stories.

Many of Rossetti's poems are pervaded by her religious convictions, which seems, unfortunately, to make her unpopular with the literati in this day & age. People seem inclined to think she was deluded, or not brave enough to think for herself and move beyond religious faith; there is plenty of tension and doubt even in her religious poetry, and the conflict between earthly love and faith is certainly clear in "The Convent Threshold." But Rossetti herself wrote that she didn't mind being forgotten, in the concluding lines of the beautiful poem "Remember."

Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

Title:Selected Poems
Author:Christina Rossetti
Date published:1992 (Bloomsbury edition)
Genre:Poetry
Number of pages:127
Notes:Purchased in London. This is a repeat reading.

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Friday, August 26, 2005

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A woman becomes a restaurant critic for the New York Times, but before she actually gets there every restaurant has pictures up so they can make sure to give her the best treatment. Basically wherever she goes people will know who she is and she won't get to see what the restaurant is really like.

So, she contacts her mother's friend who is an acting coach, and together they come up with a disguise. Eventually she has five or six different disguises and different personalities, discovering that she has all sorts of characteristics inside of her to become a variety of people. This book is very well written – since she wrote articles for a long time, she knows how to use words well.

Reichl loves food, so in her descriptions she allows you to understand a little bit of what it would taste like and how one might enjoy the food if one knew what it was. She makes irregular food seem like it could be eaten regularly. Not everyday, but Reichl makes it seem like anyone could eat it, which is an amazing feat. She also includes some of her magazine articles and some recipes to round out the book. This book is honest and insightful. An enjoyable read, and not too hard to understand (not too complex..)

Title:Garlic and Sapphires
Author: Ruth Reichl
Date published:April 2005
Genre: Biography
Number of pages: 328 pages
Notes: Recommended by my friend Amy P.

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Saturday, August 20, 2005

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cover of Stargirl

Stargirl is one of those unique, delightful characters who seems most likely to exist only in fiction-- but you can't help hoping you might get to meet someone like her, or wondering if there have been other stargirls in your life that you have missed out on getting to know because you care too much what other people think. Stargirl's self-chosen name suits her perfectly-- she is full of light, and can't help shining. There is a twinkle about her, but at the same time it's hard to focus on her clearly-- it's difficult to see her well. You might say that, in a sense, Stargirl lives out Walter Pater's ideal:

To burn always with this hard, gem-like flame, to maintain this ecstasy, is success in life.

This book came up because Sapphire and I were talking about the delightful character Luna Lovegood (she wanted to know if Luna was in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, which she has not yet read)-- Sapphire was dismayed that I had not yet read this wonderful book, and immediately brought it out for me to read. I finished it a day later.

It was a bit strange to be reading about high schoolers-- in some ways they seemed too young, and in some ways too old, to be in high school. (Has it been so long since I was in high school? I guess if I met some high school students today I probably would think they were pretty young...) It was fascinating to watch the roller-coaster ride of Stargirl's relationship with the school-- first as the oddball weirdo, then as someone to be emulated. Even in their adoration of Stargirl they were still conformists-- they copied her actions, without really even beginning to understand her, and certainly without living the way she lived.

The story is told through the eyes of Leo Borlock-- an ordinary person who understands peer pressure, and doesn't want to stand out of the crowd or be in the spotlight, but is incredibly drawn to the extraordinary Stargirl. His experience shows how wonderful it can be to spend time with someone so caring and thoughtful and unself-conscious and forgiving, but also shows how easy it is to care too much what other people think of you-- even though they are people you don't love, and who certainly don't love you.

There's a certain sadness to the end of Stargirl, because it shows how easy it can be to overlook or undervalue someone so unique and precious and extraordinary as Stargirl, or yield to peer pressure even when you know and love someone as amazing as this. But there is also a note of hope... It seems that there is hope for humanity, just to know that there might be someone like Stargirl out there.

Title:Stargirl
Author:Jerry Spinelli
Date published:2000
Genre:Young Adult
Number of pages:192

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Tuesday, August 16, 2005

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cover of The Moviegoer

Jack Bolling, aka Binx, loves the movies, and thinks movie stars are surrounded by more reality than ordinary people. He likes going to theaters in different neighborhoods, and always has to anchor himself in a specific place by getting to know the theater owner or the ticket lady. One of his greatest fears is becoming an Anyone, and living in an Anywhere. He doesn’t go to that many movies in the course of the book, but for Binx being a moviegoer is more of an attitude, because when he meets a romantic young man on a bus, he thinks of him: "He is a moviegoer, though of course he does not go to movies."

Binx is an odd character. His aunt begins to understand him when she tells him,

Your discovery, as best as I can determine, is that there is an alternative which no one has hit upon. It is that one finding oneself in one of life’s critical situatiosns need not after all respond in one of the traditional ways. No. One may simply default. Pass. Do as one pleases, shrug, turn on one’s heel and leave.
In spite of this, Binx has a certain wisdom. Now and then he mentions his idea of search, and while he is cagey about naming or labeling what exactly he is searching for, he notes that "the polls report that 98% of Americans believe in God and the reamining 2% are atheists and agnostics-- which leaves not a single percentage point for a seeker." At another time, he notes that it is better to be "selfish" in conversations-- that is, to ask people about their work or lives because you are genuinely interested in it, rather than simply to be nice.

Binx's refusal to subside into an Anyone in an Anywhere is most evident in his need to get a sense of places. When he travels to Chicago, as soon as he steps off the train, before he can go anywhere, he must get the scent of the place.

Nobody but a Southerner knows the wrenching rinsing sadness of the cities of the North. Knowing all about genie-souls and living in haunted places like Shiloh and the Wilderness and Vicksburg and Atlanta where the ghosts of heroes walk abroad by day and are more real than people, he knows a ghost when he sees one, and no sooner does he step off the train in New York or Chicago or San Francisco than he feels the genie-soul perched on his shoulder.

There was a moment early on that resonated for me, and confirmed the fact of Binx as a moviegoer-- he is on a bus and catches the eye of a pretty girl. He knows that nothing will come of it, but thinks that if it were a movie, some disaster would strike and they would be thrown together. He comments early on that the movies are onto the search he has undertaken, but that they always mess it up. And the ending is ambiguous as to Binx's own success; he says something about abandoning his search, but he seems at least to have moved somewhere beyond where he started.

Title:The Moviegoer
Author:Walker Percy
Date published:1960
Genre:Fiction
Number of pages:191

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Monday, August 08, 2005

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cover of Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

A wonderful book that takes the Biblical metaphor of the Body of Christ and looks more deeply into the metaphorical connotations. For a kinesiology major it made a lot of sense – but took many things I had learned and tied them together practically. This is a book worth reading, and probably re-reading. Christians are all part of the Body – and are called to be so in tangible ways – being aware of other parts of the body, obeying the head, being connected to those who are on the front lines and struggling with being the 'skin'. Two authors who love Jesus a lot and want to share what He has taught them with wisdom.

Title:Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
Author: Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey
Date published:1980
Genre:Spiritual
Number of pages: 206
Notes:

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