I am amazed and grateful to have my vision so improved. It was what I was hoping for but you never know. It’s easy to take something like vision for granted.
I have been reading a bit more on the classical side lately. Enderby led me to read some Ben Jonson.
When asked what his idea of a good poem was in The Clockwork Testament , Enderby quoted some unattributed Jonson.
Once again the interweb search comes to the aid of the ignorant (me).
Enderby quoted the first stanza of this poem: Queen and Huntress. I don’t own a volume of just Jonson but I do have a lovely Oxford Book of English Poetry which has a generous sampling.
Ishmael Reed sent me scrambling to find a poem by Walt Whitman.
In Flight to Canada, Reed describes a gala at the White House attended by Whitman. Reed quotes from a poem he calls “Repondez.” I pulled down my copy of Leaves of Grass, but it wasn’t there. No wonder. It was from an 1867 version of Leaves of Grass. I read it here and quite liked it.
It made me wonder about the different versions of Leaves of Grass. I have a nice little Bantam Classic version which follows the last version of Whitman’s life, published months before his death.
It’s the 1892 version. Justin Kaplan’s informative introduction says that Whitman did many very different versions during his lifetime. Kaplan also says if he had continued to live after the 1892 version he likely would have done another.
Jonson has a wonderful poem, “To the Memory of my beloved the Author, Mr. William Shakespeare: and what he hath left us.” It is the source of quotes you might recognize about WS. Shakespeare “hadst small Latine, and lesse Greeke.” He, Shakespeare, “was not of an age but all time.” And so on.
This poem reminded to pick up Julius Caesar by WS and continue reading in it.
Eileen and I just returned from the Farmers Market. I bought mushrooms, apples, pears, and chevre. I have also indulgently done an order from Zingerman’s for us which will not only include a couple of jars of their wonderful pesto sauce, but also cheese, bread, and a small portion of scones.
So my life is going well. My rash is out of control and constantly worrying me. It is hideous to see and covers my legs and arms. I am seriously thinking of contacting my dermatologist on Monday despite the fact that I don’t have much faith that he can help me since he didn’t before.
The last time the rash simply abated of its own volition but never entirely went away.
Madeleine Albright: America’s Opportunity to Lead the Fight Against Authoritarianism
I continue to follow the news about my poor struggling country. We are in trouble. If the Democrats don’t get their shit together and pass a Voter protection measure we are in trouble. David Brooks on the stupid stupid PBS Newshour last night seem to think this wasn’t a big deal. He’s wrong. The Republicans are out to win at any cost including destroying our system. I have bookmarked this Albright article since she is brilliant.