an ant on a leaf seems small;
on a banana leaf -- somehow -- big.
Banana Leaf Ant [Senryū]
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BOOKS: “The Weary Blues” by Langston Hughes
The Weary Blues by Langston HughesMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Available online — Lehigh University
Langston Hughes was one of the greats of 20th century American poetry, and The Weary Blues was his first collection (1926,) containing some of his most beloved (and anthologized) pieces, including: “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and “I, too, sing America” [a.k.a. Epilogue; which plays off Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing.”] I’ve always loved how Hughes used the rhythm of repetition and the technique of standing in for the everyman (as he famously did in “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” but in other of his poems as well.) He also had a gift for concision.
These sixty-nine poems deal in a wide range of themes including race, travel, love, etc. Music, be it Jazz or Blues, is an ever-present force in Hughes work. In addition to the aforementioned classics, among my favorite pieces from the collection are: “Winter Moon,” “March Moon,” “‘The Night is Beautiful'” [a.k.a. Poem,] “When Sue Wears Red,” “Water Front Streets,” “Long Trip,” “Seascape,” “Suicide’s Note,” “Songs to the Dark,” and “Lament for Dark Peoples.”
I’d highly recommend this collection for poetry readers.
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Unsolicited Advice [Free Verse]
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DAILY PHOTO: Mekong at Luang Prabang
PROMPT: Sequel
I think sequelization is a pox upon the literary world. I would hazard to say that anything good I’ve ever read was a standalone work. Seldom does the “resolution-to-hook” ratio lead to a satisfying, let alone illuminating, reading experience. A popular book series is far more likely to end like the television series Lost than to pull all its outstanding narrative strings together coherently.
Unless you’re talking nonfiction, in which case I would be open to another volume of The Complete History of the World at some point.
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Rogue Ducks [Senryū]
Winter Poem
BOOK: “Among Warriors” by Pamela Logan
Among Warriors: A Woman Martial Artist in Tibet by Pamela LoganMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Author Site
This is an interesting travelogue describing Logan’s 1991 journey through Tibet and Nepal via bicycle, foot, and hitchhiked rides in trucks. It’s reminiscent of Alexandra David-Néel’s description of a journey in Tibet, though Alexandra David-Néel’s trip was both successful in ways Logan’s was not (e.g. in 1924 the former reached Lhasa, which Logan is turned away from,) and Alexandra David-Néel had to go full native — i.e. she couldn’t have completed her trip without convincing all the locals she interacted with that she was, in fact, from the region, herself. Still, Logan comes across as no slouch, heading out even when permits were denied or stalled, getting turned back, and making legitimate attempts to sneak her way to her objective. One must acknowledge that late 20th century China is a very different world than early 20th century Tibet, and so it may not be a fair comparison.
It is Logan’s stating of her objective that sets this book up to be anticlimactic, despite its thrilling elements. Her initial objective was to come into contact with Khampas — nomadic Tibetan warriors who were legendarily hard. While Logan has many adventures and fascinating experiences, she doesn’t succeed in her stated objective. I found it bold, but perhaps ill-conceived, to so ardently discuss said objective (even in the back blurb,) knowing that — adventures or no — it would feel like a let-down to many readers.
If you are interested in learning more about the highways, byways, and villages of Tibet, particularly how it was back in the early 90’s, I’d recommend reading this book. However, I wouldn’t go into it with any blurb-generated expectations.
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DAILY PHOTO: Adiyogi of Chikballapur
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PROMPT: Villain
Heath Ledger’s Joker [The Dark Knight (2008)] has a monologue that goes: “Nobody panics when things go ‘according to plan’… even if the plan is horrifying. If tomorrow I told the press that, like, a gang-banger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics, because it’s all part of the plan…I’m an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It’s fair.”
It is definitely true that our psychology allows us to accept tens of thousands of deaths from drug interactions or auto accidents, but then we will go to outlandish extents — billions upon billions of dollars — to avoid the possibility of a couple of terrorism fatalities. We would use resources much better if we were not so panicky about uncertainty.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 