the baboon of maesllwch castle (and the business of poets)

‘publication is not the business of poets’ firmly remarks emily dickinson. (and our young hero in the magus quotes her). but what if it is? 

poets read. (ok some poets perform, some even rant). the text exists - it is written down - it may even be a book. the quote takes the position that creation must be separated from publishing(or even thoughts of publishing) - that publishing is a filthy commercial activity. our young poet (in the magus) feels like he is writing (and writing well again) but then he realises it’s still not good, he reads all his old stuff (and that’s rubbish too), so he tears it all up. 

but hey it leaves him ready for fresh adventures. 

there has been a (somewhat embarrassing) hiccup in musicians of bremen’s releasing schedule but the material released already remains strong. horsemouth is getting his best responses yet on it. 

some friends are touring around south wales in a camper van - they began their journey at glasbury, the site of maesllwch castle, the owners of which, in kilvert’s day, used to keep a pet baboon (he writes about it on this day in fact); 

‘the stories bout the baboon … grow more and more extraordinary. it is said that when visitors come toe the castle the creature descends upon their heads, clambering down the balusters of the staircase. he put [friends of kilvert] to flight, routed them horse and foot so that they clapped spurs to their horses and galloped away in mortal fear, the baboon racing after them. he carries the cats up to the top of the highest castle tower, and drops them over into space, and it is believed that the baboon seeks an opportunity to carry the young heir up to the top of the tower and serve him in the same way.’ 

horsemouth’s friends are now safely down at the gower. 

 the weather has turned (another non-summer is possible). it is as if a switch has been flicked in the weather control ministry. 

horsemouth was raised under the old aesthetic regime where art and commerce were held distinctly separate and apart so that art could function as a critique of commerce- the new aesthetic regime where they are closely intertwined if not identical seems very strange to horsemouth (and yet it is so). and yet horsemouth owes his aesthetic formation to the world of music where musical pieces are designed to sell, designed to connect. ezra pound was very concerned with ensuring that the world continued to support art. 

yesterday a walk down past the abbey to abbeydore court (and back) with his mum and the dog, a minor fencing task with his dad, four episodes on the trot of the bridge (original danish|swedish version) until early in the morning (ok 1am). 

horsemouth is anxious to move to a physical release (a CD) though he is heartened by the take-up in the download. horsemouth always wants to get the music heard (this is the moment at which the magic happens).