Swallow

This month our book club made a daunting effort in the realm of poetry.  Daunting because most of us are not regularly poetry readers.  In fact I have rarely read poetry at all since finishing Year 12 English Literature.  Shame on me!

Swallow is a book of modern poetry with lots of 'in-crowd" references and barely a rhyme in sight.  So I guess it is not surprising that most of us did not "like" the book too much.  There was plenty of criticism tossed around along the lines of "should our taxes really be paying for this?" and "it seems like she is just being too obscure by trying to be so clever".  My contribution to the discussion was mostly not in praise of Ms Potter.

However, over the days that followed book club I flicked through Swallow again and, I have to say, I liked the collection a lot more when dipping into it more casually.  (Rather than frantically trying to make some sense of it so I wouldn't look like the only twit at bookclub - only to find that the rest of the club hadn't be able to get much out of it either).

 There are actually a good handful of poems that have grown on me and I feel that I was a
bit harsh in some of my comments at book club. So sorry Ms Potter, not that you will ever know of course, that I judged you too quickly and too harshly.

My favourite of the collection is "In the Shadow of My Mother".  Googling Tsvetaeva, who is mentioned in the poem, resulted in an hour or so of becoming acquainted with Marina Tsvetaeva, tragic Russian poet of the early 1900s.  And while I still feel that there is some spark of passionate humanity lacking in Potters poems, and yet so evident in Tsvetaeva's poetry, I still think it is worth re-producing the poem here.

In the Shadow of My Mother

I'll set you, lady poem

in a smock of silk under moonlight

      wait for tieds, magic and days

      to grind, mill, turn

      and water you

      wait for sentiment

      to be smoothed

      into a milk-white shell

      an alluvial sign I can ossify

      from crested wavers within

Then I'll hitch my lady poem

to a star that tames gypsy passions

passions Tsvetaeva wrapped 

around herself

like an underwater cloak

      before her unsteady boat

      any my unbuttoned throat

both slid like petrified arms

into the dark green sleeves

of broken

gothic waters

(I hope it is okay to reproduce this here.  It seems in keeping with the copyright clause in the front of the book.)

To read "Poem of the End" by Marina Tsvetaeva you can follow this link:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2008/jun/02/poemoftheweek41
or this one, which has links to translations of a number of her poesms:
http://faynights.users.btopenworld.com/Laura/Marina/poems.html

The Dispossessed

Ursula le Guin is one of my favourite authors.  I only discovered her a few years ago when she was referenced in the movie version of "The Jane Austen Book Club".  Since then I have been metering out her books so that I don't run out too soon.  I have been saving this book for a while and I am happy to say that it did not disappoint. 

The Dispossessed is a fantastically complex novel and yet it is a very engrossing read.  Le Guin has an amazing talent for exploring weighty themes in her novels without the character or plot becoming staid or "preachy".
 
The dilemmas and conflicts face by the main character, Shevek, take us through a wide range of issues and ultimately address our ideas of utopia and meaning.  And, being good science fiction, there is also a good dose of ethics, gender issues, psychology (with a not-so-subtle reference to the Stanford Prison Experiment), speculative physics and of course, relationship concerns. 

Capitalism, Socialism and Anarchism are all treated with an even hand.  History has already shown us some of the possible pitfalls in capitalism and socialism.  In some ways The Dispossessed  is a thought experiment in Anarchism, and, given that le Guin has no historical examples of how a large Anarchist society might work, I think she gives a convincing account.  The ideals of anarchism are respected even while showing the difficulties in practical application that may occur and indeed compound over time.

It was particularly good timing for me to read this as I am currently study a 1st Political Science unit:  The Liberal Democratic State.   It has been fascinating and informative to study the early ideology of Liberalism and see how this has, in practice, delivered many unintended consequences in our contemporary capitalist and individualistic society.  As we scratch our heads and wonder what are our alternatives I think that le Guin's offering can perhaps help us to think a little more broadly and creatively.

Living Organized

On average I have read a home organisation book about every 2 years of my married life - making this number 5 (I think).  This little book was a quick read and provided me with a few helpful hints and a big shot of motivation for keeping my home a bit more organized.

It also encouraged me to think about my own "style" and to get an image of what I would ideally like my home to look like so that I have something to work towards.

She starts the book with a quiz entitled "Do you need this book?
I had to laugh at question 2:
"The thing that most frightens my children is
a. the thought of being killed in a car accident.
b. the threat of international chaos.
c. the possibility that one of their friends might come to our house without giving a two week warning.

Well, I don't have kids, but I could certainly identify with this fear.  When I know that people will be visiting my home I like to have it looking clean and presentable.  If you come to my house at a prearranged time you will enter a place of orderliness and serenity and will probably be greated by the smell of freshly baked biscuits or muffins.  But, pity the fool that drops in unannounced!  They will be greeted by a very embarrassed hostess who quickly tries clear a place for them to sit down, and they will likely leave with cat fur clinging to their clothes.

Needless to say - this is not how I want to live! 

So, time to get organised.  But I have done that many times before.  So really what is needed is a plan that not only helps me to get organised but also helps me stay that way.   Felton's book has encouraged me to get a strong visual image of the beautiful home I want to achieve.  Now to see if I can continue to work toward that goal!