DEAREST ENGLISH CLUBBERS
I hope everyone is having a splendid summer--working on a tan, reading those books on your list, working that extra job, taking classes, etc…
I thought I might post something about a summer activity for the English Club. There were many ideas mentioned and thrown about before we all went on break. Ideas were as followed: Camp out, movie nights, picnics, canoe trip…
This Tuesday Superman comes out at midnight. I’d like to throw out an open invitation to anyone that wants to go and see the late showing. (will anyone catch that?) There is another showing I think at around 10ish if anyone is interested in that one, just shout. (No RSVP needed, just meet in front of the theatre…. bring a friend, buddy, pal,)
If anyone wants to get together and do something “Englishy” just make a post---perhaps outdoor activities are not your forte. We could have a “coffee brunch and chat” at BN?
AND, I thought I would make a double post out of this. A little birdie told me that she wanted another poetry posting. So anyone that has been inspired to write something this is your time to share.
fellow English Club member, JeSi
how about some inspiration by my favorite poet (and poem) EE Cummings:
thanks to:( Poetry Server )
“somehwere i have never travelled,gladly beyond”
somehwere i have never travelled,gladly beyond
any experience,your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near
your slightest look easily will unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose
or if your wish be to close me,i and
my life will shut very beautifully,suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;
nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility: whose texture
compels me with the colour of its countries,
rendering and forever with each breathing
(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens;only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody,not even the rain, has such small hands
I think everyone can agree that we wouldn't be English majors (or English Club members) if we didn't love the English language, but there are a few deeper sources of discussion when it comes to subject of the language we share. With immigration in the news recently, and the everlasting debate of assimilation, culture, and globalization, we have to ask ourselves how universal, and accepted, English really is. Should immigrants (of any nation) be forced to learn English? How much does our language contribute to our identity as Americans, Westerners, young, old, white, black, etc.? What does it represent in the larger scope in terms of nationality and a new global society? It certainly seems easy to say that everyone should be able to speak a common language, simply for convenience, but to what extent does that practical idea become an imposition, a symbol of conformity to American standards? Should we surrender our native languages in the great sweep towards a global community, or should we try to preserve our verbal heritage?
“Summer Reading” irritates me. Why is there this assumption that when the weather gets nice, and you finally have a little time to read, all you want to read is tripe? I mean, sure, you can hardly read Ulysses on the beach, and I like a good mystery as much as the next guy (though the “good” part is key). But when you have time to read, why not read something hearty, something that will rock your world, change your life, and make you cry, laugh, gnash your teeth, and leap to the aid of your fellow human beings? So, here are some of my suggestions for “Summer” Reading – I hope others, students, faculty, staff, will add theirs to the list.
I always feel like I’ve never read anything, and that my knowledge consists mostly of gaps, so what about some classics, those milestone works that have influenced all writing and much else after them? Mark Twain said that a “classic” was a work that everybody praised but nobody read. Prove him wrong. These are all works that will live with you the rest of your life.
Homer, The Iliadand The Odyssey. These are the great, original epics. The first concerns the battle of Troy, and the second (a kind of sequel), the 10-year return of Odysseus from that war. I recommend the recent translations by Robert Fagles. They’re powerful and readable, and don’t seem overly antique or precious. Richmond Lattimore’s translations are also excellent––the state of the art for the previous generation.
Virgil, The Aeneid. The essential Roman epic, maybe a little less directly appealing than Homer, but powerful nonetheless. Again, Fagles is the preeminent recent translator, but Allen Mandelbaum is good too.
Ovid, Metamorphoses. Ovid is the badboy of classical culture, the poet of shifting and changing, of eroticism and revolution. The Metamorphoses is the source of many of the most famous of the classical myths, and has been one of the most influential works of literature for millennia. Incidentally, this was perhaps Shakespeare’s favorite book. Try the translation by Rolfe Humphries. It’s very accessible. For a more stylish translation of some of the stories by a twentieth-century English poet, try Tales from Ovid, by Ted Hughes.
Cervantes, Don Quixote. A modern classic, the book some call the first novel (not really true, but it’s certainly early, and probably more influential than anything earlier). The Don is either a madman or an idealist, or maybe both. Too much reading of Romances (tales of knights, love, and adventure) addles his brains, and makes him believe he is a latter-day Lancelot. Hilarious and powerful. As with the Greek and Roman works, there are loads of translations. Choose one that reads well. The recent one by Edith Grossman seems excellent.
Melville, Moby Dick. Hooray! Something in English. I love this book, but it is genuinely weird. By the end you’ll know more about whales than you ever thought possible, but you’ll also have much more. Melville’s contemporaries hadn’t a clue about what to do with this totally original novel, but it’s become one of the American classics.
OK. So shifting away from “classics,” here is my recommendation for a recent novel. I could include more, but I’ve hogged enough space already, and others (YOU TOO) will want to add their top picks.
My pick is Austerlitz, by W.G. Sebald. Anything by Sebald is a good choice, but this is probably his masterpiece. Sebald, who died in 2001, was an expatriate German who spent much of his life teaching in England. Though he lived in England, he wrote entirely in German, but his work has had at least as great an impact in the English-speaking world as in Germany. Part of this credit must go to the translator, Anthea Bell, who has won prizes for her work. One aspect of her success is that you never feel as if you are reading a work in translation. Everybody from Susan Sontag to Dave Eggers (and including Anthony Lane, W.S. Merwin, Anita Brookner, Michiko Kakutani, and ME) has gone gaga over Sebald's work, partly because it's so original. And how rare is it to come across writing these days that's genuinely original! You are never quite sure with Sebald whether you're reading fiction or non-fiction, as he blends together precisely detailed architectural schematics, cityscapes, excerpts from the history of ideas, meditations on botany or landscapes, and actual photographs, with a compelling narrative of a man (who seems rather like we imagine Sebald) trying to uncover the secrets of his own past. Sebald's great preoccupation is with the seminal catastrophe of modern times, the Holocaust, but he seems more generally interested too in what might be called historical entropy -- decline, decay, collapse, forgetting. Everything gets worse. He's not a happy author, but he's a brilliant one, and he's also a remarkably easy read for someone so deep. Read this book and you'll want (a) to read it again right away (how often does THAT happen!), and (b) to read everything else he's written.
[This was posted on the "Da Vinci" thread, but I repeat it here. Feel free to discuss any issues raised by the posting I allude to, or by my own comments here. Let me say, though, that while I welcome a serious discussion about free speech and responsible behavior -- like one that happened on the blog a little while back -- I am not inclined to put up with hate speech here, unless there is an overwhelming response from club members to the contrary. Even then, I may decide to make this one of the rare occasions on which I invoke my advisory authority.]
As Faculty Advisor to the English Club, I have deleted the last four postings ont he Da Vinci thread, two by the self-styled "SLH" and two responding to these. The initial posting by SLH was, in my opinion, hateful and intended to be personally offensive to many in the club. This kind of verbal behavior is not acceptable. Vigorous, even angry debate can be valuable and productive. Vicious insults are another matter. If you don't like this, you can feel free to email me or talk to me about it in person. I have always felt that the student members of the English Club should be allowed to manage their own affairs. At the same time, I would be irresponsible as an advisor if I allowed the juvenile nastiness of one individual to cause hurt to others in the club and to jeopardize the health of the club in general. Let me say further that, while I am very much in favor of free speech, our society and the university wisely place some constraints upon this freedom. Speech that constitutes harassment or defamation (what is sometimes called "hate speech") is not, in my opinion, or I believe the university's, a protected right. It may also, on a blog like this, constitute a violation of the academic code. If postings like this pop up again, and I can find out who is posting them, I will consider reporting the individual reponsible to the Dean.
That said, my primary interest is not in exercising constraining power but in protecting the health and welfare of the English Club community. I hope you will all continue to use the blog for productive, stimulating, fun, and even challenging conversation.
Sincerely,
Hannibal Hamlin
The staff of the Immaculate Cauldron is proud to announce that this year's launch party will be in the Coffee House Friday, June 9 at 7 pm. Everyone will receive a free copy of the Immaculate Cauldron and have the opportunity to take part in some great discussions. The event will be catered by the Immaculate Cauldron staff as well. We have many great cooks among our ranks, so be prepared for some amazing food. Nic has offered to bring the soup he made for the Poetry Reading, which we all remember was very tasty. We hope to see you all there.