oh dear it is all going off in paris (and some other french towns). god bless the insurrectionary masses acting in defence of their pensions (and the other comforts their ancestors managed to extort from the ruling class).
in the chronology of aleksandr blok's visit to italy
'shall I awaken in another homeland / and not in this land of gloom?' remarks aleksandr blok in one of the italian poems translated by lucy vogel.
'I am living in venice almost as though it were my own city... as though I have been living there a long time.' he remarks in a letter home (as quoted in chapter 3 of lucy vogel's 1973 aleksandr blok - the journey to italy). venice is in some ways like st. petersberg - built in marshes, in someways not part of the country it is joined to. it had already been a point of reference for blok, see this 1902 poem (perhaps based on memories of his visit as a child).
'centuries and countries were interwoven / we were going north from venice / we saw the rain-filled fogs...'
blok begins in venice (he will be there until may 8th) and then on to ravenna but this is not the order that the cities will appear in blok's finished collection. he will write 23 poems in total under 15 titles in the years 1909 to 1914, a few of them written during his visit. he will append an epigraph at the start and an epitaph at the end. whilst he is there he will keep a travel diary and send letters home (many of which have survived).
horsemouth is indebted to john for the vogel book. for pirog, 'the artist is not only a spectator, the artist is a necessary participant... it is particularly important that the artist who created the work of art be present within that work of art.' - and this is blok's problematic, getting himself into the poem.
horsemouth is in fact mainly reading arianna huffington's boo on that most famous malagueno picasso. ... and he is a mostly badly behaved chap (it's just as well that the art is good).
in the chronology of the devil rides out yesterday was mocatta's visit and the visit of the angel of death, today there is the discovery of the kidnapping of the daughter and the final battle with the satanists. horsemouth must say he admires the stamina of rex and the duc de richleau as they magically slug it out with the evil ones.
by an accident of time-stamping horsemouth's may 1st blogpost has been filled back in april 30th. he must also remember to post the books read/ films watched/ gigs been to list for april (if he hasn't done this already).
today a grey day (as usual bright sunshine woke horsemouth up but by the time he'd got the coffee on had vanished). horsemouth will post this, get a little more coffee and then see what his email holds.
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