Saturday, April 26, 2008

A Comic Interlude (plus Issa)



Some things, of course, are just too good not to share. Above was Friday's clever Pearls Before Swine newspaper strip. For more clarity, since it is small, just click on the image.

Which brought to mind another daily comics crossover from a few years back:





The Family Circus crew, particularly Jeffy, has made a number of appearances in Zippy, but this one of Zippy in Family Circus takes the cake.

Now, you say, back to the poetry? Well, we never left ...


Don


A PS from the Issa archive, to perfectly capture the season and the vision of cherry blossoms this week (everywhere) ... and in case everywhere doesn't include you, check out the photos at f/k/a of cherry blossoms and other flowering trees. And grab a couple of haiku to go while you're there.


a corrupt world
in its later days...
but cherry blossoms!

- translated by David G. Lanoue


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Don:

In celebration of National Poetry Month and Issa's Untidy Hut, here are my extremely subjective nominations for Nearly Perfect Single Volumes Of Poetry From Beginning To End:

1. The Sonnets (William Shakespeare/1609)
2. Harmonium (Wallace Stevens/1923)
3. The Tower (W.B. Yeats/1928)
4. Silence In The Snowy Fields (Robert Bly/1962)

My nominations are submitted only with the understanding that if anyone were to debate my choices, I will lose!

Best,

Jeffery

Issa's Untidy Hut said...

Hi, Jeffrey:

Well, thanks very much for the list. I'm definitely going to send a call out to folks for their nearly perfect single volumes of poetry. I've got a number of things lined up this week, so may go with two separate posts. It's all a question of finding the time!

This has really got me thinking. I'm reading a volume that is intriguing in this context: Mary Oliver's new book, Red Bird. There are many very good poems in this book; there are also many I wouldn't dream of handing to someone individually to see what they thought because they just don't stand up well. As an overall experience, however, the book almost makes the definition. It holds together very well as a unit; it is a good single reading experience, each poem, even the ones not up to snuff, adding to the overall experience.

By my thoughts, this definitely would not be an almost perfect single volume. And yet it is a very good overall reading experience, a very good volume of poetry. Just not near perfect.

Go figure.

More soon,

best,
Don