Saturday, September 17, 2011

Ophelia

"To die, to sleep—
No more—and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to—’tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished!"
(William Shakespeare: Hamlet)

Friday, June 24, 2011

Eurydice

"Being dead filled her beyond fulfillment.
Her sex had closed.
She was already root."
(Rainer Maria Rilke: Orpheus. Eurydice. Hermes)

Friday, May 27, 2011

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

God Save the Muses


Muse went away by the road,
The autumnal, narrow, steep,
And her swarthy feet were slopped,
With large drops of dew in her slip.

I begged her, with hope and fear,
To stay till the winter’s white lace,
She answered, “There is a grave here,
How can you still breathe in such place?”

I wished to give her a she-pigeon,
The whitest in our doves’ nest,
But suddenly and without reason,
She fled after my slender guest.

I looked after Muse, and was silent,
I loved only her till my end,
And in skies grew a sunrise giant,
As the gate into her own land.

(Anna Akhmatova)

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Thursday, April 21, 2011

The Woman Without Qualities

"[S]He is gifted, strong-willed, open-minded, fearless, tenacious, dashing, circumspect—why quibble, suppose we grant h[er] all those qualities—yet [s]he has none of them! They have made h[er] what [s]he is, they have set h[er]course for h[er], and yet they don't belong to h[er]." (Musil - The [Wo]Man Without Qualities)

Friday, March 4, 2011

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Saturday, January 29, 2011