Quite true, Alison. But there all sorts of questions appending to those
sacred groves. Too many questions in fact. As best as I can put, in the
short space of an e-mail, it does seem to me that something is going
Terribly Wrong in the language continuum, or web, that is in itself a
refection of how our societies are operating. That reflection is now
invading, as it were, all the areas of speech, I know this is a really
inadequate statement.
I have a fall back position: it's quite cold in its analysis. Human beings
evolved in groups of about 20 to 30 strong for millennia, family structures
existed but loosely, psychologically we are attuned to such numbers and our
societies are now at a point of saturation of numbers that our attunements
cannot anymore cope with the existent facts. Projections like Muses were
early signs of dysfunction, the Greeks of course had democracies that only
existed for a tiny handful of by modern standards small populations, most
interaction was face to face, among those who had the luxuries of speech and
citizenship, slaves had neither. Power is the word, and the unprecedented
physical power our species has developed, after all, we are but clever apes,
is out of proportion to everything evolution has prepared us for. The safety
valves, the sacred groves, are out of order, all fall'n.
For all intents modern humans are no different from our Neolithic ancestors
in psychology yet we have societies that have technologies that far exceed
the chipped flints and cave-daubs.
I do think of poor Marysas often, I reckon btw Zbigniew Herbert's poem on
him was the best ever.
All the Best
Dave
David Bircumshaw
Spectare's Web, A Chide's Alphabet
& Painting Without Numbers
http://www.chidesalphabet.org.uk
----- Original Message -----
From: "Alison Croggon" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 12:19 AM
Subject: Re: connection
On 24/3/04 10:46 AM, "david.bircumshaw" <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> I used to think poetry a kind of protected space, where still a kind of
> innocence could occur, among the groves. Well it seems now that the sacred
> trees have been ripped down and the sanctuary now offers none.
Playing with the muses was never especially safe. Think of Marysas, who was
judged by them. Or Thamyris. Even Demodocus was blinded.
As Pound said:
Let the gods forgive what I
have made.
Best
A
Alison Croggon
Editor, Masthead
http://www.masthead.net.au
Home page
http://www.alisoncroggon.com
Blog
http://alisoncroggon.blogspot.com
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