Sonnette

Many of the people in our class know I'm from a small town in Eastern Montana, named Broadus. What many people do not know is that my family keeps our cattle on a piece of land called Sonnette. As we spoke about the healing power of Sonnets I kept thinking about this piece of land that is so important to our family.

Wallace Stevens is the "King of Things" In a lot of ways I think that Wallace Stevens could relate to the lives of ranchers. Many times people think of ranching as this thing that is highly romanticized and is this "lost art" way of life. However, those of us who have experienced this life, understand that it is much more than a highly romanticized way of life. The land, while beautiful, is simply a thing, a thing that is important, but still a thing.  We cannot look at this thing which is so important in a romanticized way, because it is functional, and in many ways life is not romantic but rather practical. This healing land, is the essential land, this is what feeds our cattle, and in turn keeps our livelihoods alive. In many ways we cannot afford to be super sentimental about our ways of life.

In many ways ranchers represent Wallace Stevens really well. They too are "Kings (Queens) of Things" as well because they are always thinking....always. When you don't leave your job, and you work there 24/7, 365.... your whole life revolves around thinking, and using the things around you so that you can survive. In many ways perhaps they all share the philosophy that life is not about reflecting on the metaphors in life but rather on the reality of what is in front of you. 

Depression Before Spring

The cock crows

But no queen rises.

The hair of my blonde

Is dazzling,

As the spittle of cows

Threading the wind.

Ho! Ho!

But ki-ki-ri-ki

Brings no rou-cou,

No rou-cou-cou.

But no queen comes

In slipper green. 

In many ways I feel this poem reflects how both ranchers, and Wallace Stevens look(ed) at life. Life is not about keeping things in a highly idealized manner, instead we live our lives as they come to us, everything ages, and everyTHING is simply a thing. 

Thank you Alexandra

After class yesterday, I feel the need to thank Alexandra for her post on Picasso's painting, and also Professor Sexson for showing the material in class. I had seen the painting before, had even studied the painting IN Spain, however, it was not until this class that it began to make sense to me. I had always understood, to a certain extent, that the paintings of Picasso were brilliant and done in such a way that the intent of the piece was not obvious to many of the observers. Intellectually I could appreciate Picasso, but emotionally I felt (forgive me) bored. That is....until last class period. Something about watching the piece be dissected in such a way made the piece make more sense to me. Perhaps it was the underlying music, or even the attention to every detail that made the piece somehow more real, more tangible. I actually left that class feeling physically sick, I then proceeded to sit through my Spanish Culture and REVOLUTION class where I was still left to face the war created in my mind by this short Youtube video.

I wonder if perhaps this is what happens when someone finally understands, or perhaps begins to understand Stevens. This moment that moves to you physical feelings, that seem to over power your being. I don't know....I am not there yet, but I will be....Thanks to Alexandra I have gained a greater understanding of what it could potentially mean to be a Stevensian.

Seeing Things as they ARE

The class last Friday, I'm sure we can all agree, was quite inspiring. I keep wishing that I could have a strong reaction as many of my classmates seem to be having. During the reading of "The Man with The Blue Guitar" I had a few moments where I just simply felt the need to write. As though that was my only way to express the emotions I was feeling. I just kept thinking: How amazing to be loved as you ARE. So I wrote:

I see you as you are, not as you are not or, how

others see you, but as you shall be, as you

are meant to be, as you always shall be

just as you are

My feelings for you are as they should,

In the way that you are, you are,

you are,

You are to me as a pen to the endless form

The blue guitar, is as you are.

And there that was it that was all I could produce. But for those few moments I felt that what I was writing, was exactly what I should be writing and there was nothing else I needed to pay attention to. I simply needed to be. What an interesting thing, to have the Blue Guitar illicit so many different feelings within so many different people. 

Another thing I felt the need to analyze about the Blue Guitar, was the title itself "The Man with the Blue Guitar" If we are to understand that each word is a metaphor for something else then should the title literally read "Humanity with the Imagination Instrument" and if so what does this mean for the rest of the poem? Should we be reading deep within the poem, or simply enjoy it as is? I don't know classmates what do you think? 

Eric Whitacre

I guess I'm still stuck on this idea of understandings and epiphanies. I love the idea of something changing your life, and making you see something in another way, if only for a moment. A part of me believes that this is exactly why some people come to college, they are searching for a personal epiphany, as though that will some how give them validity in their experiences, and especially on their decisions for their future. It seems to me in a lot of ways Wallace Stevens must have been searching for something similar in his writing. The difference between Harmonium and his Ideas of Order are vast. Everything seems to have changed from his metaphors, to even the questions that he is asking us, or perhaps himself. Now I am honest enough with myself to note, that perhaps the change has not taken place within the poetry of Stevens, but rather within myself. Is it possible for you to have an epiphany, and not even be aware of the process? I don't know but I believe I shall continue to read...in the hopes of an answer.

As it is, I would like to end his particular post, with an epiphany of another person. Eric Whitacre is an absolutely amazing composer, in this video clip he talks about his own personal epiphany and how that shaped his life. I'm hoping to incorporate Whitacre into my research paper, incorporating his ideas/compositions/and accomplishments with the writing of Stevens. So I would LOVE to hear your suggestions and thoughts, and if nothing else enjoy listening to his music, he's kind of a big deal :)

Mozart, 1935

We were asked to have the "Ah-ha" moment by the next class. While I cannot say that I found this exact moment, I can say that I had a "hmmm" moment. While reading "Ideas of Order", or perhaps more accurately flipping through the pages looking for my "Ah-ha" moment...my eyes latched onto the piece titled "Mozart, 1935" It reads as such:

Poet, be seated at the piano.

Play the present, its hoo-hoo-hoo,

Its shoo-shoo-shoo, its ric-a-nic,

Its envious cachinnation.

If they throw stones upon the roof

While you practice arpeggios,

It is because they carry down the stairs

A body in rags.

Be seated at the piano.

That lucid souvenir of the past,

The divertimento;

That airy dream of the future, 

The unclouded concert...

The snow is falling.

Strike the piercing chord.

Be thou the voice,

Not you. Be thou, be thou

The voice of angry fear,

The voice of this besieging pain.

Be though that wintery sound

As of the great wind howling,

By which sorrow is released,

Dismissed, absolved

In a starry placating.

We may return to Mozart.

He was young, and we, we are old.

The snow is falling

And the streets are full of cries.

Be seated, thou. [108]

I found this poem to be particularly interesting. First of all, because Mozart was 35 when he died. The line that states "He was young, and we, we are old" says so much. To have died so young, and to have still accomplished so much, is absolutely amazing. How amazing is it then that Stevens would choose this particular year to write immediately after this very specific name. 

Other things I find interesting include, but are not limited to, what was going on in 1935. This is right around the time of the redefinition of the arts, the beginning of some serious Jazz movements, and moving from these "classical" ideas. When he keeps asking Mozart to sit down, be seated, its almost as if he's saying "okay you have had your  turn, you did some really cool things, but check out what we have coming"

Mozart is one of the greatest composers in history, but even he ended up being no more than a table. He was buried in an unmarked, mass grave. So upon his death, even though he accomplished much, he was no more and no less than any other man. It just seems interesting how very related he is to Lucrecius, in spite of how moving his music is. And perhaps that is the point, that even though, Mozart, Lucrecius, and even Stevens created beautiful, lasting pieces of work, there was much to come after them, and they died just as all men die. 

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird IV

Looking at the poem "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" I was struck most by the fourth passage: 

A man and woman

Are one.

A man and a woman and a blackbird 

Are one.

Summer just got over, how many of us had the opportunity to go to a wedding and listen to the same three or four readings from the bible. It is statistically likely that you also heard the following verse:

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him--a threefold cord is not quickly broken. 

--Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Now we know that Steven's is a Lucrecian, ergo, this poem cannot actually be about religion, so how do we take this? I keep thinking it is a perversion of religion. The "Holy-Spirit" or one of the three representations of the Lord is often found in the form of a snow white dove. If we believe that Stevens is deliberately taking away from that pure image and is rather inserting the blackbird as a metaphor for what life is without God, or religion then this poem becomes a lesson on what married life must be like. 

"A man and woman/Are one" this seems to refer to Ecclesiastes and the joining of the two people to create one partnership. Stevens seems to be saying sure, joining two people creates one life, but also adding in a blackbird, instead of religion, is in no way affecting their life. Whether the bird is white or black is completely irrelevant and consequently the lives of these two people are exactly the same without a religion. Life is Life. 

Language Acquisition

A few days ago (ok let's be honest, weeks) Professor Sexson made the association between Language, Ideas, and the concept that we understand the world best before we dilute our world with more words. I was particularly struck by this notion, since I have been studying how to teach languages. What I learned was that we learn languages in a very specific way. First we Listen, then we Speak, then we Read, and finally Write. This is the order by which we understand language.

 I tend to  believe this theory, especially after I come to class and listen to the poetry. Here is where I begin to understand what is going on, where as when I sit at home, with my Bible in hand, and try to understand Steven's words all on my own, I struggle. And perhaps this is because I am actually trying rather than simply "listening" to the words. Maybe we focus too much on what we need to learn from the piece, rather than simply letting the information wash over us. This being said, I think what is beautiful about language, is that we move on from this, just as we will with Stevens. As we move past Harmonium, and into his later work, I know that I will need to speak (memorize) the poetry, Read more in-depth, and finish with Writing. Hopefully by using this process I can gain an open and deeper understanding of Stevens.