Holland Cotter, art critic at The New York Times, winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, writes about his love of recited poetry in the wonderful new series "First Crush":
Here's a preview of the essay, titled "Finding Poetry on the Page and, Later, on the Canvas":
I was lucky to come from a family of reciters and readers. My
great-great-aunt Helen, probably born a decade or so after the Civil
War, was in her late 70s, maybe 80s, when I was 8 or 9. She came from a
poetry-memorizing Victorian culture and knew long passages of Tennyson’s
“Idylls of the King” and Longfellow’s “Song of Hiawatha” by heart. Whenever I visited, I asked her to “do ‘Hiawatha.’ ” To this day, I can
still hear the rhythms and sounds of her delivery, particularly the way
she enunciated Longfellow’s “Indian” names. They conjured up miraculous
visual images, natural and supernatural: a woman descends from the moon
to earth; a rainbow turns into a field of flowers; birds and forest
animals speak.
I love to see how a love of words - especially poetry - spreads to a love of all kinds of creative activities. Language is a door to wonder in general, isn't it?
Click here to read Cotter's short and lovely essay.
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Poetry Friday today is being hosted by Lisa over at Steps and Staircases (on Tumblr.) Head over there for links to what other people have posted.
Julie, I read this last night and I couldn't agree with you more; it is just lovely. I love the last lines, when he's describing his reaction to "Blue Window" by Matisse: "I liked that it had stories not yet told. There was room for a writer-to-be in there." A door to wonder indeed! Thanks for sharing this. It deserves a wide audience.
ReplyDeleteCatherine
That's a wonderful essay! And, any child is lucky to come from a poetry memorizing family! I did as well - my paternal grandfather memorized and quoted Shakespeare. I didn't know what it meant, but I sure loved it. Just before he died, he bequeathed his set of tiny Shakespeare volumes to me.
ReplyDeleteJulie, Thanks for sharing about this First Crush series. I intend to read more in the series.
ReplyDeleteYes, there are many doors leading to wonder. Poetry and books are big doors for me!
Lisa
www.stepsandstaircases.tumblr.com
I wish I had memorized some poetry when I was younger. We were never required to do that in my classes in the late 50s and 60s. Now, I consider myself lucky if I can remember how to drive to work in the morning. Thanks for finding the essay for us!
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