poetry

46d

#OTD in 1888, writer T.S. Eliot is born in St. Louis, Missouri, US.

"He was a leading figure in English-language Modernist poetry where he reinvigorated the art through his use of language, writing style, and verse structure. He is also noted for his critical essays, which often re-evaluated long-held cultural beliefs."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._S._Eliot

Eliot's books at PG:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/599

#books #literature #poetry

T. S. Eliot is shown seated outside and smoking a cigarette.

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49d

NETTLES: A Launch & Showcase
16 Oct, Scottish Poetry Library, Edinburgh – free

Launching NETTLES, Nazaret Renea’s debut poetry collection, plus readings from four of the young poets taking part in Scotland’s Next Generation Young Makars scheme: Mattea Gernentz, Elissa Hunter-Dorans, Ben Mann & Caitlin Sherret.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nettles-a-launch-and-showcase-with-scotlands-next-generation-young-makars-tickets-1734620258889

#Scottish #literature #poetry

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1y

Spanish poet and man of letters Manuel José Quintana was born #OTD in 1772.

Quintana was known for his eloquent poetry and his active involvement in the political and cultural affairs of his time. One of Quintana's most famous works is his poem "La Pelayo," which celebrates the victory of the Spanish forces led by Pelayo over the Moors in the Battle of Covadonga in 722 AD.

Books by Manuel José Quintana at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Manuel+Jos%C3%A9+Quintana&submit_search=Go%21

#books #literature #poetry

Portrait of the Spanish romantic poet Manuel José Quintana (1772-1857). This work was donated in 1880 by Manuel José Quintana and Teresa Gómez y Rivas, who were nephews of the poet, to the Iconographic Museum, to later become part of the Gallery of Illustrious Spaniards.

Title page of Modern Poets and Poetry of Spain by Juan Bautista Arriaza et al.

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49d

You were
Born from
The light of
A thousand
Stars, you
Needn’t fear
The dark.

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27d

For the handful of Russian-speaking in here, who could find this relevant:
this Saturday, 19:00 (JLM/MSK), Metazhurnal will host an online presentation of my book (texts from 2004–2016).

I’ll read; several poets & critics will say some words.
The event will be in Russian. There’ll be a recording.

Join here: https://www.youtube.com/@%D0%9C%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B6%D1%83%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BB
PDF: https://tangowhiskybooks.tumblr.com/post/796662596077060096/%D0%BA%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B3%D0%B0-12-tw-12

In print, the book may still be found in Moscow, Tbilisi, Yerevan and Jerusalem.

@bookstodon @poetry

#bookstodon #poetry #russian

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46d

April, the last full fixture of the spring:
“Feet, Scottish, feet!” – they rucked the fear of God
Into Blackheath. Their club was everything…

—“London Scottish”, by Mick Imlah (1956–2009) – born #OTD, 26 September.
Published in THE LOST LEADER (Faber, 2008)

1/5

https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/london-scottish/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #warpoetry #WW1 #rugby #LondonScottish

London Scottish
Mick Imlah

April, the last full fixture of the spring:
‘Feet, Scottish, feet!’ – they rucked the fear of God
Into Blackheath. Their club was everything:
And of the four sides playing that afternoon,
The stars, but also those from the back pitches,
All sixty volunteered for the touring squad,
And swapped their Richmond turf for Belgian ditches.
October: mad for a fight, they broke too soon
On the Ypres Salient, rushing the ridge between
‘Witshit’ and Messines. Three-quarters died.

Of that ill-balanced and fatigued fifteen
The ass selectors favoured to survive,
Just one, Brodie the prop, resumed his post.
The others sometimes drank to ‘The Forty-Five’:
Neither a humorous nor an idle toast.

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1y

Italian poet and librettist Pietro Metastasio died #OTD in 1782.

His librettos were characterized by their lyrical quality, emotional depth, and dramatic structure, which made them well-suited for musical adaptation. Some of his most famous works include "La clemenza di Tito," which was later set to music by Mozart, "Didone abbandonata," and "Artaserse."

Books by Pietro Metastasio at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/4069

#books #literature #poetry

Metastasio, c. 1770 by Meytens or Batoni

Opere drammatiche, oratorj sacri e poesie liriche (1737)
Metastasio, Pietro - Available in the BEIC digital library and uploaded in partnership with BEIC Foundation.

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47d

From the Caribbean to Caledonia: Two National Bards in Conversation

In this special edition of the Scottish Poetry Library podcast, Scotland’s current Makar, Peter Mackay, & the former Poet Laureate of Jamaica, Lorna Goodison, discuss Robert Burns, Bob Marley, Dante’s Inferno, the Gaelic & Jamaican tongues, & much more

https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/podcast/from-the-caribbean-to-caledonia-two-national-bards-in-conversation/

#Scottish #Jamaican #literature #Scotland #Jamaica #poetry #podcast #RobertBurns #BobMarley #Dante #Gaelic #Gaidhlig #language #minoritylanguages

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1y

English poet Lord Byron died #OTD 200 years ago.

Some of his most famous works include the epic poem "Don Juan," the narrative poem "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage," and numerous shorter poems such as "She Walks in Beauty" and "When We Two Parted." Byron became involved in various political and social causes, including advocating for Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire.

Books by Lord Byron at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1708

#books #literature #poetry

Portrait by Thomas Phillips, c. 1813

Frontispiece to the 1825/1826 (see below) edition of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage by Lord Byron, published by W. Dugdale, Russell Court, Drury Lane. The engraving is by I. H. Jones. The text depicted is Canto I, Stanza 39, which reads: Lo! where the Giant on the mountain stands, His blood-red tresses deep'ning in the sun, With death-shot glowing in his fiery hands, And eye that scorcheth all it glares upon; Restless it rolls, now fixed, and now anon Flashing a far,—and at his iron feet Destruction cowers to mark what deeds are done. For on this morn three potent nations meet, To shed before his shrine the blood he deems most sweet.

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1y

Lord Byron – “half a Scot by birth, and bred / a whole one” – died 200 years ago #OTD, 19 April 1824

This poem was written in a letter to Thomas Moore from Venice in 1817, when Byron was feeling particularly shagged out after Carnevale…

#Byron #LordByron #Scottish #literature #poetry #18thcentury #19thcentury #romanticism

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https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43845/so-well-go-no-more-a-roving

So We'll Go No More a Roving
BY Lord Byron (George Gordon)

So, we'll go no more a roving
So late into the night,
Though the heart be still as loving,
And the moon be still as bright.

For the sword outwears its sheath,
And the soul wears out the breast,
And the heart must pause to breathe,
And love itself have rest.

Though the night was made for loving,
And the day returns too soon,
Yet we'll go no more a roving
By the light of the moon.

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47d

Glasgow, late September and the city I spoke of
in another country (its fierce sandstone
burning, its bombast of finials built on the heads of slaves
the monumental tower blocks of a later order
catching fire from the west as a plane comes in)…

—Gerrie Fellows, “Dream Cities”
published in The Body in Space (Shearsman, 2014)

https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/dream-cities/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry

Dream Cities
Gerrie Fellows

I
Glasgow, late September and the city I spoke of
in another country (its fierce sandstone
burning, its bombast of finials built on the heads of slaves
the monumental tower blocks of a later order
catching fire from the west as a plane comes in)
has become in two months
a dream a nostalgia

For it is litter not grandeur
a muddied disturbance in a dirty river
a sullen reflection sliced by concrete
(the monumental pillars
and glorious boulevards of a later order)

Against the vivifying light
of the south the suburban avenues
of a world of space it is rain
rain and old world pallor

and beyond it
on the high points of Aonach Mor and Ben Nevis
(so early a door closing and opening)
the first snows of the winter

II
Early November and the city I parted from
in two months has become a dream technicolour
not quite Auckland or Christchurch
but a dream place of skyscrapers and heady blossom
stern waxy magnolia silk of almond and crab apple
A dream place but Christchurch as it was then
in mid-September Jane driving me to the airport
past gardens reeking with nectar

for there Spring has continued without me

And here I wake no longer at home

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47d

From breakfast on through all the day
At home among my friends I stay,
But every night I go abroad
Afar into the land of Nod…

—Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Land of Nod” – from A Child’s Garden of Verses

Image: illustration by Charles Robinson (1870–1937) to “The Land of Nod”

Today, 25 September, is #WorldDreamDay

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https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47431/the-land-of-nod

#Scottish #literature #kidlit #poetry #19thcentury #RobertLouisStevenson #dream #dreams #dreaming

The Land of Nod
by Robert Louis Stevenson

From breakfast on through all the day
At home among my friends I stay,
But every night I go abroad
Afar into the land of Nod.

All by myself I have to go,
With none to tell me what to do —
All alone beside the streams
And up the mountain-sides of dreams.

The strangest things are there for me,
Both things to eat and things to see,
And many frightening sights abroad
Till morning in the land of Nod.

Try as I like to find the way,
I never can get back by day,
Nor can remember plain and clear
The curious music that I hear.

Pen and ink illustration by Charles Robinson to Stevenson’s poem "The Land of Nod". The image is tall and thin; the right side is dominated by a black crag (or possibly a strange tree-trunk), in front of which, in the bottom right-hand corner, stand two fantastical bird-like creatures with scruffy feathers and outsized, beaked heads. Although not overtly threatening or frightening, they are unsettling in their appearance. Behind them, a small child, head bowed, toils up-slope with the aid of a staff. Strange, cloudy outcrops and buildings are in the background. In the top left-hand corner, a giant, long-nosed face peers over the top of the cliff.

Caption: "Up the mountain sides of dreams"

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1y

Portuguese poet, philosopher, and writer Antero de Quental was born #OTD in 1842.

Some of Quental's notable works include "Sonetos Completos" (Complete Sonnets), "Prosas Dispersas" (Scattered Prose), and "Odes Modernas" (Modern Odes). His poetry is characterized by its introspective and philosophical nature, often delving into the complexities of the human psyche and society.

Books by Antero de Quental at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/34296

#books #literature #poetry

Picture of Antero de Quental, ca. 1887. Published in Antero de Quental. In Memoriam, Lisboa 1896.

Cover of Os sonetos completos de Anthero de Quental by Antero de Quental

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50d

My poetry chapbook The Reducing Flame received a positive online review at Razorcake.
https://razorcake.org/reducing-flame-the-6-5%c2%bd-x-8%c2%bd-16-pgs/
Copies of my book are still available in both print and ebook formats at my Ko-fi shop
https://ko-fi.com/richmagahiz/shop
#specpo #poetry #sciencefiction #fantasy #horror

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43d

nuair a tha mi fhìn nam sheasamh
aig ceann Loch an Dala
’s mi a’ coimhead thar cuain geur
a’ deàrrsadh ’s a’ deàlradh
fo ghrian na sìorraidheachd
chan fhaic mi sgath dhen ghlasadh cheilteach…

—Iain S. Mac a’ Phearsain, “ceann Loch an Dala”
in Friends & Kangaroos: New Writing Scotland 17 (ASL, 1999)

#Scottish #literature #Gaelic #Gaidhlig #poem #poetry #Islay #emigration

ceann Loch an Dala
Iain S. Mac a’ Phearsain

nuair a tha mi fhìn nam sheasamh
aig ceann Loch an Dala
’s mi a’ coimhead thar cuain geur
a’ deàrrsadh ’s a’ deàlradh
fo ghrian na sìorraidheachd
chan fhaic mi sgath dhen ghlasadh cheilteach
a’ ciaradh Ile
na eilean shìthichean faoin
ach soitheach mo shinnsearan
a’ triall dhan iar
Gilleasbaig is Eòghann
a’ cur cùl ri Cill’ Nèimh
an aghaidh leis a’ ghaoith
’s an làmhan air a’ chliathaich
blàth ’s cha mhòr air chrith.

head of Loch Indaal
John Scott MacPherson

personally, when I stand
at the head of Loch Indaal
and look out
over a razor-sharp sea
shining and radiating
under an everlasting sun
I see none of the Celtic twilight
reducing Islay
to an island of vacant faeries
but my ancestors’ ship
heading for the west
Archibald and Hugh
turning backs on Kilnave
facing downwind
their hands on the gunwhales
warm and almost shaking.

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43d

As your lover on waking recounts her dreams,
unruly, striking, unfathomable as herself,
your attention wanders
to her moving lips, throat, those slim shoulders
draped in a shawl of light…

—Andrew Greig, “A Long Shot”
published in This Life, This Life (Bloodaxe, 2007)

https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/long-shot/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #golf #RyderCup

A Long Shot
by Andrew Greig

As your lover on waking recounts her dreams,
unruly, striking, unfathomable as herself,
your attention wanders
to her moving lips, throat, those slim shoulders
draped in a shawl of light, and what’s being christened here
is not what is said but who is saying it,
the overwhelming fact
she lives and breathes beside you another day.

Other folks’ golf shots being even less interesting
than their dreams, I’ll be brief:
as she spoke I thought of a putt yesterday at the 4th,
as many feet from the pin as I am years from my birth,
several more than I am from my death –
one stiff clip, it birled across the green,
curved up the rise, swung down the dip
like a miniature planet heading home,

and the strangest thing is not what’s going to happen
but your dazed, incredulous knowing it will,
long before the ball reaches the cup then drops,
that it’s turned out right after all,
like waking one morning to find yourself
unerringly in love with your wife.

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1y

English poet William Cowper died #OTD in 1800.

His first volume of poetry, "Poems by William Cowper, of the Inner Temple, Esq." was published in 1782. This volume included some of his most famous poems, such as "Table Talk" and other shorter pieces that reflected his views on nature, spirituality, and humanity. His most famous work is "The Task" (1785), a six-book poem in blank verse, which was inspired by a friend who challenged him to write a poem about a sofa.

#books #literature #poetry

Portrait of William Cowper (1731-1800).

A portrait of William Cowper dressed in 18th-century attire, with a black coat, yellow waistcoat, and matching breeches, seated beside a red upholstered chair with one arm resting on a table. The individual holds a quill in their right hand, and an open book lies on the table. The background is a plain dark color, providing a contrast to the lighter tones of the clothing and furniture.

Page of The Task, and Other Poems by William Cowper.

An old book cover titled "The Task and Other Poems" by Cowper, with a floral design around the central circle which reads "Cassell's National Library" and edited by Professor Henry Morley.

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44d

Back here, the iron line crosses future, past:
Then my father will surely be seen

Trekking the sodden, lonely land,
Weekenders, together –

—Jackie Kay, “Rannoch Loop”
published in BANTAM (Picador, 2017)

https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/jackie-kay/bantam/9781509887927

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #walking #hiking

Rannoch Loop
by Jackie Kay

Back here, the iron line crosses future, past:
Then my father will surely be seen

Trekking the sodden, lonely land,
Weekenders, together –

Or trudging through the ancient pine woods,
The musk smell of red deer,

My father, here on the moor,
Years and years after he’s gone,

Held by the land’s callused hands.
Och – big hikes across time, lochs, bogs,

September weekend or Easter, far flung,
Doon by Loch Ericht, on the west side

To the old crofter’s burnt-out croft,
Still a magnificent doss, and he’ll doss there,

(Twelve men to the wee hoose)
And rest, rest, till finally refreshed.

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44d

On BBC Sounds: Jackie Kay talks to John Wilson about her childhood in Glasgow as the mixed-race, adopted daughter of a loving couple.

Jackie first introduction to performance & theatre were the parties her parents hosted to raise money for the Communist Party.

Growing up in Glasgow in the 60s & 70s, Jackie had very few Black role models & took inspiration from the works of Audre Lorde & Angela Davis.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002jttv

#Scottish #literature #identity #poetry #JackieKay #Glasgow

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1y

English poet Rupert Brooke died #OTD in 1915.

He is known for his idealistic war sonnets written during the First World War, especially "The Soldier". Rupert Brooke’s promising literary career was cut short when he died in April 1915 from sepsis resulting from an infected mosquito bite while he was part of the British Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.

Books by Rupert Brooke at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/148

#books #literature #poetry

Image of Rupert Brooke (frontispiece) from For remembrance: soldier poets who have fallen in the war

Arthur St. John Adcock - https://archive.org/details/forremembranceso00adco

Vintage sepia-toned photograph of Rupert Brooke with neatly combed hair wearing a light-colored shirt with arms crossed; one of the sleeves appears to be rolled up slightly.

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46d

Out now via Dragon Trax Recordings:

Various Artists - Soondaze EP

An eclectic collaborative release combining electro-pop, trip hop, acoustic ambience and poetry featuring contributions from @ireless, Andy Stockton, Mark SaFranko and me.

The release artwork features some lovely watercolour paintings by Mark SaFranko who also contributed some music to the release.

https://dragontraxuk.bandcamp.com/album/soondaze-ep

#TripHop #Poetry #AcousticGuitar #ElectroPop #DragonTrax #SoondazeEP #music

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43d

I want answers, but there are only the wild geese
Calling, high in the almost-dark, bearing south,
And me, stopped short, clutching a bag of groceries
On the doorstep of my not-quite home…

—Susan Mansfield, “Bearing South”
from The Rooftop Busker: New Writing Scotland 33 (ASL, 2015)

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #autumn

Susan Mansfield
BEARING SOUTH

I want answers, but there are only the wild geese
Calling, high in the almost-dark, bearing south,
And me, stopped short, clutching a bag of groceries
On the doorstep of my not-quite home.
I feel the calm of their inner compass
And wonder if this is what we mean by certainty,
A deft arrowhead of wingbeats
In tune with the turning wind, the changing light,
A geography in their feathery breasts
Older than the names of continents.
A journey without thought of parting or arrival,
Only the press of forward motion,
The urgency and risk of it all,
A brief touch-down in stubble fields, then on,
The pulse of fellow flyers in the slipstream
And the clear voices calling in the dark:
I am here, I am alive,
I am here, I am alive.

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49d

There is one week to go till my new poetry collection "Dracula in the Colonies" is launched! You and your favourite friends (or even your random acquaintances) are warmly invited to the launch at Unity Books Wellington on Wednesday 1 October, starting 6pm.

Full details including a couple of lovely book endorsements: https://www.timjonesbooks.co.nz/blog/
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1159319136008748/

#Books #Poetry #Bookstodon @bookstodon #Aotearoa

Front cover of Tim Jones' new poetry collection "Dracula in the Colonies", showing a map of Aotearoa / New Zealand in a 19th-century style against a yellow background with the title of the collection and author name in red.

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48d

Today's POTD ©️ me

MESSIAH

So Jesus
ministered to
the dregs of society.
In His name a religion
was raised.
Messiahs

have
been seen
and are awaited by
Christian Jewish and
Arab believers.
Millions

upon
millions of
them. Irony: The
Messiah will
go

unrecognized.

cuz

the Messiah
will be dirty, poor,
bedraggled, sometimes
even bloodied. That's

just

how it is,
ministering
at the edges to

dregs

#literature #poetry #religion

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42d

Faar’s Baabie Jeanie’s loon? The aal wife hersel
Stans treeshin hame the milkers at the ley park yett…

—“War: 1939–1945”, by Flora Garry (1900–2000) – born #OTD, 30 September
Published in FROM THE LINE: Scottish War Poetry 1914–1945

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https://asls.org.uk/publications/books/volumes/from_the_line/

#Scottish #literature #20thcentury #poem #poetry #Scots #Scotslanguage #warpoetry #WW2

Flora Garry
War: 1939–1945

‘Faar’s Baabie Jeanie’s loon? The aal wife hersel
Stans treeshin hame the milkers at the ley park yett.
Faa caas the mornin cairt an fordals neeps an strae,
Wi waages up an risin an fee’d folk sae ull to get?
Baabie Jeanie’s Jockie, faar’s he?

An yon swack hashin chiel in Willum Sinclair’s shop?
He heeld ye oot o langour, sae joco an kin’ly wi’t.
‘Noo, lassie’ to the grunnies: ‘Weel, dearie’ to the quines,
He’s a want ahin the coonter, Willum’s sic a strunge breet.
I miss a news wi yon lad. Faar’s he?

An Droggie’s clivver dother? She could mak her fadder’s peels.
Nae hoven wyme or clocher, nae beelin, hack or strain
Bit she could ease; an fin royt nackets tummelt greetin at their play
She’d rowe up their bleedit sair bits, sen them duncin furth again.
The bairns likit Chrissie. Faar’s she?

An Cyaarnadellie’s foreman? I’ the clear Spring nichts
He trystit wi the banker’s deemie up at the market place.
Noo, she’s skycin roun the gable-eyn, her leen, i the early gloam,
Wi a muckle cwyte aboot her an a graavit ower her face.
Cyaarnadellie’s foreman, faar’s he?’

‘Speir at the waarslin tides, the desert saans, the caal starlicht.
They ken far.’

treeshin: calling; enticing
yett: gate
fordals: stores
swack: agile
hashin: hustling
heeld ye: held you
languor: boredom
joco: jovial
quines: young girls
strunge breet: surly chap
droggie: the chemist
peels: pills
hoven wyme: swollen stomach
clocher: cough
beelin: festering sore
royt nackets: boisterous children
trystit: met regularly, 'dated'
deemie: maid, general servant
skycin: scurrying
her leen: alone
cwyte: coat
graavit: scarf
speir: enquire

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