Given the seeming preponderance of the reclusive life -- sometimes
preceded by loss -- it may not be inappropriate to quote from Cyril
Connolly's /The Unquiet Grave /[p. 41]/:
"/What makes the great writers of the past vivid to us is the extent of
their misery; the despair of Pascal, the bitterness of La Rochefoucauld,
the ennui of Flaubert, the 'noia' of Leopardi, the 'spleen' of
Baudelaire, -- none but the truths which have been extracted under
mental torture appeal to us. We live in so desperate an age [Connolly
was writing in Bedford Square in 1943 and 1944) that any happiness which
we possess must be hidden like a deformity, for we know that, though all
our nature revolt, we can create only through what we suffer."
And Connolly then quotes from Donne who wrote, "Nor was there any man
seen to sleep in the cart between Newgate and Tyburn . . ."
Thus, for the creative writer, being at ease, at peace, in comfort and
safety, surrounded by loved ones all in good health, may not be helpful.
Lawrence
/
/
On 12/27/2015 9:29 AM, Djordje Vidanovic wrote:
A much belated 'Merry Christmas' to all you, dear friends. Lawrence, great pics you have there. I'd enjoy Ben's and Duffy's life with you, I just hope they feel the same. As for what we do alone, I am afraid that I am much more into /vita contemplativa/, than in /vita activa/, alas. I love playing chess, and solving chess problems, etc.
On Fri, Dec 25, 2015 at 5:10 AM, Lawrence Helm <lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
John, Sherrie, Ed, Ursula, et al
Thanks.
I'm living now as a hermit, spending my time much as I did today
-- as in the last 41 photos of
https://lawrencehelm.smugmug.com/RiverPhotography/Dec-2015/
Though I'm not actually often talking to anyone other than Ben and
Duffy, as someone Cyril Connolly quoted in /The Unquiet Grave,
/"one must read in order to think" (or something like that), and
while I believe that, I don't quite know what to think of
Connolly's book. He strikes me as having been mightily impressed
by Confucius somewhere along the line. Still, I've other things
to read and think about -- and though Connolly didn't say it, I
suspect one must think in order to write -- and I shall be
striving to do that.
Lawrence
On 12/23/2015 7:29 PM, John McCreery wrote:
May your new year be filled, as always, with poetry.
John
On Thu, Dec 24, 2015 at 9:34 AM, Ursula Stange <ursula@xxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:ursula@xxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Heartfelt greetings, Lawrence.
> On Dec 23, 2015, at 2:38 PM, Lawrence Helm
<lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
>
>
>
> Just a few more things to tidy up,
> To Fulfill my responsibility, then
> I’ll be free to go, eighty-one
> Being a respectable age to, no
> One will be bothered if
> I do. If I choose to
> Stay a longer, pondering
>
> This feeling of having
> Gone on this long,
> Surviving two wives, a
> Number of relatives and
> Friends, I might look again
> For purpose, something to do
> In between reading Borges’
>
> Conversations and Connolly’s
> The Unquiet Grave, neither
> Of whom found purposes
> Worthy of much though they
> Moved on as long as they could
> With imposing style, and
> Enjoyed each warming day.
>
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The Word Works, Ltd., Yokohama, JAPAN
Tel. +81-45-314-9324 <tel:%2B81-45-314-9324>
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