Poetry

[jenks]

reminded me of this about Rimbaud which i read in Painter's Proust biog yesterday

'He repaid one friend’s hospitality by defecating in the morning milk'

no further explanation given....

 

[Benny Bunter]

I've been reading a lot of what you might call meditative poetry recently, where you have to slow your pace right down and consider every word, so this has been a brilliant contrast to that. It's like teen rock star poetry, the sort of energy that could only come from a young wild man. Doesn't matter at all that he gave it all up so early, where would be have gone from here if he'd carried on?

 

[Benny Bunter]

@thirdform have you read season in hell? I think you'd like it

 

[Benny Bunter]

"Life is the farce we all of us must act out"

 

[Benny Bunter]

That's the key line I reckon and that's what he's doing throughout, acting out every conceivable role that enters in his head, and that's why it's also so funny

 

[Benny Bunter]

It's a total poetic vision in that he accepts everything and rejects everything at the same time, in the same moment, it all goes on the page

 

[Benny Bunter]

Enough! This is the punishment. - Forward march!
Ah! My lungs burn, my head throbs! night rolls in my eyes beneath this sunlight! My heart... My limbs...
Where are we going? into battle? I am weak! the others are advancing. Tools, weapons... time!...
Fire! fire at me! Go on, or I'll surrender. - Cowards! - I shall kill myself! I shall throw myself under the horses' hooves!
Ah!...
- I'll get used to it.
That would be the French way of life, the path of honour!

 

[Benny Bunter]

He manages to inhabit one extreme position and it's exact opposite extreme at the same time, at all times, no middle ground, intensity turned up to maximum.

 

[craner]

@thirdform have you read season in hell? I think you'd like it

He's read everything and put it through the grinder of his own political cosmology. The version that comes out the other end will bear no resemblance to the text you thought you had read. It may not even be about it. Somehow Tottenham and Togliatti will also be mentioned.

 

[Benny Bunter]

A season in Tottenham

 

[luka]

its the best book ever written

 

[Benny Bunter]

Could well be. I got interrupted halfway through and I'm too pissed to carry on now

 

[luka]

get a job you layabout

 

[Benny Bunter]

I have got a job! Took the day off so I could read Rambo.

Just woke up and my face feels all puffy urgh. Back out again in a minute

 

[luka]

its obviously not a proper job

 

[Benny Bunter]

Well it might not be throwing ropes on a boat at 4 in the morning but someone pays me to do it

 

[Benny Bunter]

Tried to pick the rambo up from where I left off earlier (what page?) but the effect has worn off now, best save it for another day.

 

[woops]

in case you don't know the guy who wrote the Rambo novel was a big fan of Rimbaud and etc

 

[Benny Bunter]

Yeah isn't that why he called it Rambo in the first place just cos he liked Rimbaud? Not sure what the connection is apart from that but it's a good story

Any thicko could enjoy Rimbaud/Rambo though without any prior learning so maybe it's not too surprising

 

[luka]

its also like blake. its the name you know even if youve never read a book