Chris Hayden writes:
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I can think of the example of Nostradamus, who wrote in quatrains. Is
poetry merely a device that is used to present their message, or is there
something about the process that induces a trancelike state wherein a clear
free association and linkage of ideas and events can occur?
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I don't believe in prophecy. All the same, Nostradamus's quatrains have long
fascinated me. You couldn't call them good poems, but they're a marvellous
example of language used to impress and mystify. I've tried to do English
translations or equivalents, but so far I haven't managed it. I read
somewhere (a website I think) that one school argues that he simply
'prophesied' everything that had happened in the last 50 years or so,
wrapping it up in ambiguous language so it would seem to come true in the
future. I'd like to write something about him one day (poem or even novel)
but I suspect it's been done quite a lot already.
Best wishes
Matthew
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