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----- Oorspronkelijk bericht ----- Van: John Temple <[log in to unmask]> Aan: british poets <[log in to unmask]>; Candice Ward <[log in to unmask]> Verzonden: woensdag 1 november 2000 23:52 Onderwerp: Fw: A Terrible Poem > Candice, > >What England? > No easy answers, I suspect. But I thought 'what conscience?' was as > equivocal in its way as 'The conscience of England' and to move up a peg, > only the barely redeemable require(s) a Redeemer (cf-- since he came > up--HH's _The Light of the World_) Q: Is this the same one as 'The Muckrake' > that used to hang over my Grandma's fireplace??? Undark _implies_ the > luminously challenged. > I suppose England as in: 'and that will be the end of---------; Lie back and > think of-------; The Last > of---------;--------'sgreen'npleasant;----------expects;----------expectorat > es;--------------swings (like a pendulum do);---------, my/ their/ > anyone's-------------; O2B in-------;--------that was wont to conquer others > etc; this--------.' > Let me say that, rather than making the link as explicitly as I imputed > to him, Robin Purves says, 'Earlier poems by Prynne...exhibit a propensity > for reasonably direct statement that has since been curtailed'. With > apologies to Robin (and indeed to JW) for lifting their words out of context > (but returning were as weary etc) > the relevant passage is: 'The claim, by John Wilkinson, that "when Iain > Sinclair in _Radon Daughters_ described his Prynne-figure, Simon Undark, as > 'the conscience of England' he is closer to the mark than any previously > published interpreter of Prynne".. is, with Sinclair's original claim, the > most grotesque manifestation of the urge to endow the poet with an > unimpeachable moral seriousness and responsibility over and above the > specific pertinences of his written oeuvre.' > Being the 'conscience of England' has never been easy. In Elizabethan > times it could mean the sacrifice of a Court career. The poignant closing > line of that recently recovered (Antiques Roadshow, Welsh Dresser) m/s of > the Original Cambridge School All Stars of 1590 Miscellany, abducted in the > West Midlands en route to the Manchester printers, by a chancer in > deerpoacher's uniform plus ridiculous crow-feathers, makes the point most > eloquently: 'Thus conscience doth make cowherds of us all'. > On a more serious note, I'm aware that some of you girls are unhappy > with our new branch manager, Mr. Sinclair. As you know, formal complaints > have to go through Head Office and since none of us want that, if you catch > my drift, I'll have a quiet word with him myself. (We meet alternate > Wednesday's in the Hall across from the Blauwe Zauberflote Theme Pub just > north of Raynham, on the A666) > Happy Halloween, > > John > ----- Oorspronkelijk bericht ----- > Van: <[log in to unmask]> > Aan: <[log in to unmask]> > Verzonden: dinsdag 31 oktober 2000 23:12 > Onderwerp: Re: A Terrible Poem > > > > Uh, break-dancing? UR such a doood, JT! > > > > Okay, where are we in this ruptural rapture of yours? A--or rather > > THE break, I guess your saying--between _Force of Circumstance_ > > and _Kitchen Poems_: yes, agreed, although you can see something > > faintly dawnish breaking (haha) near the end of _Circumstance_, > > such as the potential role of song, for instance. > > > > Now your second break/dancin' around _Brass_, which you now want > > to style as more of "a distancing gesture" and point to that book's > > epigraph doing the trick; again, I'd agree about some sort of tonal > > shift and one that sounds like "aha!" to my ear. I think it has > > something to do with French, but not wanting another onset (in the > > Irish sense) to ensue as it did the last time I raised it here, let > > me just drop that subject, toot sweet. > > > > On the "Conscience of England," however, I would like to ask if > > the question is not "what conscience" but what ENGLAND? (What say, > > JT?) Remember who "saddled" our pony with it, speaking of "sardonic": > > Wasn't it Mr SinSardoniclair (or am I Miss Remembering)? And wasn't > > the epithet originally applied not to Prynne _precisely_, but rather > > to that simplex Pi-man Simon Undark in _Radon Daughters_? If so, > > whose "gesture" is it, then, or, who's under that saddle and who's > > sitting pretty atop it? > > > > Witches to say TRICK or TREAT? > > > > Candice > > > > > > >Hi Candice, > > > 'Dissociation-of-sensibility' arbitrary bullshit underlying most > > >'break'dancing, it's good to get your reaction. The only true _break_ in > > >jhp's career is between a 'disavowed' early book (remember that Holman > Hunt? > > >painting- 'your child, Sir'?) and what followed. And timely for Nate to > > >remind us of that, I'd say. > > > What I most had in mind, I think, was that epigraph to _Brass_, hard > to > > >see as other than sardonic, and-- while maybe a little short of 'no more > Mr. > > >nice guy!'-- still a distancing gesture from that everpresent ethical > > >urgency of the early poetry, which as Robin Purves points out (in The Gig > > >#2) continues to saddle him with that 'The Conscience of England' (what > > >conscience??) handle: 'On eut crié 'bravo! Ouvrage bien morale! Nous > étions > > >sauvés'. David Kennedy's post (The Less Received) reminds us that we > could > > >resist the urge to scratch, > > > > > >All best, > > >John > > > > > > > > > > > > %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%