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| Sébastien Bourdon A Massacre of Christians before 1671 drawing National Galleries of Scotland |
from Manifest Aversions, Conceptual Conundrums, & Implausibly Deniable Links
I am not a secular man, but in moments of crisis I turn to agnosticism for the comfort it gives in freeing me from superstition. Once, when gravely ill and sure I would die at any minute, I embraced agnosticism, and, with Nietzsche in hand, swore I would remain an agnostic even if I recovered. But once I did recover, I lapsed again into religious belief, feeling the danger was over and it was safe to return to my old ways. Still, the fear of dying under the veil of dogma still grips my soul late at night and I yearn for the courage to embrace reality without prophylactics.
– Charles Bernstein (2009)
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| Sébastien Bourdon The Annunciation before 1671 etching National Galleries of Scotland |
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| Sébastien Bourdon Levites ignoring the wounded man (from the story of the Good Samaritan) ca. 1650-60 engraving National Galleries of Scotland |
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| Claude Lorrain Rocky Landscape ca. 1640-45 drawing Teylers Museum, Haarlem |
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| Claude Lorrain Tall trees in the park of the Villa Madama, Rome before 1682 drawing Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge |
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| Claude Lorrain Wooded landscape ca. 1640-45 drawing Teylers Museum, Haarlem |
from Jubilate Agno
Let Hillel rejoice with Ammodytes, whose colour is deceitful and he plots against the pilgrim's feet,
For the praise of God can give to a mute fish the notes of a nightingale.
Let Eli rejoice with Leucon – he is an honest fellow, which is a rarity.
For I have seen the White Raven and Thomas Hall of Willingham and am myself a greater curiosity than both.
Let Jemuel rejoice with Charadrius, who is from the height and the sight of him is good for the jaundice.
For I look up to heaven which is my prospect to escape envy by surmounting it.
Let Pharaoh rejoice with Anataria, whom God permits to prey upon the ducks to check their increase.
For if Pharaoh had known Joseph, he would have blessed God and me for the illumination of the people.
Let Lotan rejoice with Sauterelle. Blessed be the name of the Lord from the Lote-tree to the Palm.
For I pray God to bless improvements in gardening until London be a city of palm-trees.
Let Dishon rejoice with the Landrail, God give his grace to the society for preserving the game.
For I pray to give his grace to the poor of England, that Charity be not offended and that benevolence may increase.
Let Hushim rejoice with the King's Fisher, who is of royal beauty, tho' plebeian size.
For in my nature I quested for beauty, but God, God hath sent me to sea for pearls.
– Christopher Smart (this fragmentary poem, of which more than 1700 lines survive, was composed ca. 1758-63, but remained unknown and unpublished until 1939)
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| Claude Lorrain Landscape ca. 1630 etching Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge |
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| Karel Dujardin Seated man removing his boots ca. 1657 drawing Harvard Art Museums |
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| Karel Dujardin Study of long-haired young man before 1678 drawing Morgan Library, New York |
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| Jacques Fouquier Wooded landscape with pool before 1659 drawing Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Eustache Le Sueur Drapery study of Roman toga, and Study of hand before 1655 drawing Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
from Syringa
The seasons are no longer what they once were,
But it is the nature of things to be seen only once,
As they happen along, bumping into other things, getting along
Somehow. That's where Orpheus made his mistake.
Of course Eurydice vanished into the shade;
She would have even if he hadn't turned around.
No use standing there like a gray stone toga as the whole wheel
Of recorded history flashes past, struck dumb, unable to utter an intelligent
Comment on the most thought-provoking element in its train.
Only love stays on the brain, and something these people,
These other ones, call life. Singing accurately
So that the notes mount straight up out of the well of
Dim noon and rival the tiny, sparkling yellow flowers
Growing around the brink of the quarry, encapsulates
The different weights of the things.
– John Ashbery (1977)
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| Nicolas Poussin Riverbank scene with travelers and washerwomen before 1665 drawing National Galleries of Scotland |
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| Nicolas Poussin Mountain landscape before 1665 drawing National Galleries of Scotland |
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| Nicolas Poussin Dance to the Music of Time ca. 1640 drawing National Galleries of Scotland |
Poems from the archives of Poetry (Chicago)