"... Let's find pleasure in forgiving and being forgiven. Let’s find pleasure in the long space between unanswered emails and letters, how they make the receiving a surprise all the more joyful ..."
So much in this post about Madeleine Cravens' poetry to be grateful for in these early morning hours. Always appreciate the notes with links at the end of your posts
Grateful to learn of Werner Herzog's memoir. Was introduced to his films when I was in my 20s. Was just revisiting Cave of Forgotten Dreams, something I do frequently. Our public library has 2 copies. I'm 12th in line.
OMG. I LOVVVE this poem. I love this commentary. I love how when I get a cold I can stay in bed without unrelenting drive to DO, GO, and can just.be.sick. One example of many. Thank you for this Sunday astonishment, Devin Kelly, you are a wonder.
What a wonderful poem. You're right - reading it aloud is, in the words of David Abram, a "spell of the sensuous."
I love this idea of "the failure of orchards" — such a succinct image for this failure reframe. My mind immediately goes to life persisting, flowers, likely, still blooming and instead of a harvest, a grove.
I loved this poem as well when I first saw it in the New Yorker, and what you have to say about it is dead on. I'm in 100% agreement with what you have to say about the problematics of the grading process, and this in particular: "I believe in a messier correctness, one that is less based in some societal or academic standard and is more based in an awe of sorts, a style, a mode of attention and awareness, a deeply personal thing, inherent to each person, and so much a part of who we each are." What I have loved about working with students (which I would argue is not necessarily the same thing as "teaching") is precisely how powerful it can be for the students and for me when their writing conveys (and helps them to discover) who they are and what lights them up. It's about learning how to pay attention, which is the gateway to appreciation, which is the gateway to joy. Thank you for the thoughtfulness and care with which you ply your craft, and for the work you do in sharing your thoughts about it with us.
I love the phrase "un-blueprints a life." I enjoyed reading this poem aloud. When you pulled out the list of "nots" it really struck me as a challenge to reach beyond consolation. To not just put up with errors when you take pleasure in lovers because even lovers err, but to dedicate the whole act of taking pleasure to the errors. When I read "not the pleasure of tethers but the pleasure of strangers, the terrible strangers who will become your lovers" it makes me think of the challenge that it is to love the stranger in your lover, to go past the limits of what we can understand of each other, beyond any certainty of gain, to leave correctness behind and take pleasure anyway. Thank you for writing!
“I think I believe in a messier correctness”: yay and blessings! Always the dilemma of this longtime editor and educator: how to blow on that small flame of messiness without letting it burn down the house.
"... Let's find pleasure in forgiving and being forgiven. Let’s find pleasure in the long space between unanswered emails and letters, how they make the receiving a surprise all the more joyful ..."
So much in this post about Madeleine Cravens' poetry to be grateful for in these early morning hours. Always appreciate the notes with links at the end of your posts
Grateful to learn of Werner Herzog's memoir. Was introduced to his films when I was in my 20s. Was just revisiting Cave of Forgotten Dreams, something I do frequently. Our public library has 2 copies. I'm 12th in line.
OMG. I LOVVVE this poem. I love this commentary. I love how when I get a cold I can stay in bed without unrelenting drive to DO, GO, and can just.be.sick. One example of many. Thank you for this Sunday astonishment, Devin Kelly, you are a wonder.
MY GOD. Thank you, yet again, for introducing me to a (new) all-time favorite poem.
What a wonderful poem. You're right - reading it aloud is, in the words of David Abram, a "spell of the sensuous."
I love this idea of "the failure of orchards" — such a succinct image for this failure reframe. My mind immediately goes to life persisting, flowers, likely, still blooming and instead of a harvest, a grove.
Thanks for sharing!
I loved this poem as well when I first saw it in the New Yorker, and what you have to say about it is dead on. I'm in 100% agreement with what you have to say about the problematics of the grading process, and this in particular: "I believe in a messier correctness, one that is less based in some societal or academic standard and is more based in an awe of sorts, a style, a mode of attention and awareness, a deeply personal thing, inherent to each person, and so much a part of who we each are." What I have loved about working with students (which I would argue is not necessarily the same thing as "teaching") is precisely how powerful it can be for the students and for me when their writing conveys (and helps them to discover) who they are and what lights them up. It's about learning how to pay attention, which is the gateway to appreciation, which is the gateway to joy. Thank you for the thoughtfulness and care with which you ply your craft, and for the work you do in sharing your thoughts about it with us.
I love the phrase "un-blueprints a life." I enjoyed reading this poem aloud. When you pulled out the list of "nots" it really struck me as a challenge to reach beyond consolation. To not just put up with errors when you take pleasure in lovers because even lovers err, but to dedicate the whole act of taking pleasure to the errors. When I read "not the pleasure of tethers but the pleasure of strangers, the terrible strangers who will become your lovers" it makes me think of the challenge that it is to love the stranger in your lover, to go past the limits of what we can understand of each other, beyond any certainty of gain, to leave correctness behind and take pleasure anyway. Thank you for writing!
“I think I believe in a messier correctness”: yay and blessings! Always the dilemma of this longtime editor and educator: how to blow on that small flame of messiness without letting it burn down the house.