I went to the library to find some of the material Bradbury mentioned. I found a book of stories by John Collier, and a collection of Greatest American Essays of the Century, which had an essay by a writer Bradbury liked, Loren Eiseley, even if it did not have the specific essay, "The Fire Apes," which he said was fantastic.
The story "The Frog Prince" was absolutely hilarious. About five pages long. Saying anything about what happens would spoil it. But I will say that the best part was all in dialog. The essay I read was from 1956 and called "The Brown Wasps." There was a lot of beautiful anthropomorphism in the essay. I'm sure some naturalists could have attacked him on that score. The images from this essay will linger with me, I think. I also got a sense that some writers know how to write about loneliness in a way that makes it communal. In a certain sense it seems to take the bite out of it and allow people to see a beauty in it. I'll be keeping my eyes open for more of that. The poem I read was "The Epicure: Sung by one in the Habit of a Town Gallant" by Thomas Jordan (ca.1612-1685). A funny carpe diem poem, saying let us eat, drink, and be merry, for we'll all be gone or what have you "a hundred years hence." Some reference to a hundred years hence is found at the end of each stanza, and the minor variations are interesting.
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can you post the epicure poem?
ReplyDeletevarious versions can be found here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=43963
The second one on the page looks most familiar.
I think your line is one of the most sensitive
ReplyDeleteand beautiful thoughts I've ever read of yours. The line talks about some who can write about loneliness in a communal way. Hmmm. Others have done this also?
Other beautiful writings are your memories of our bro/sis in law experiences these last 30 years (in one week).
It's 6am at Winter Park Hospital. In the last 45 minutes I've had a painful shot, blood drawn and a machine unplugged. Doing fine.
Are you still writing this blog?